There are two restaurants in Xiangyue Park. One is the main restaurant, which is responsible for providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for all employees with a wide variety of dishes. The other is a small restaurant that provides light meals and snacks to replenish energy for employees who work overtime or miss meal times.
Chu Shichen sent notices to all departments and went to Yisi's floor in person. Since Xiang Mingzhang had positive intentions, he had to convey his message with sincerity.
By eleven o'clock, everything was ready for the luncheon. The blackout curtains were all opened, and the light-colored restaurant was spacious and airy, with long cold dish and drink counters on the east and west sides.
The employees were very happy to get off work early, and soon they flocked in. Middle and senior management also came one after another, and the atmosphere became more and more lively.
Xiang Mingzhang came with several engineers after spending the whole morning at the R&D center. He was tall and handsome and attracted a lot of attention. As soon as he arrived, people around him greeted him one after another.
Xiang Mingzhang nodded slightly in response, his eyes scanning the restaurant. Next to the white pillar, Chu Shichen was talking to Peng Xin. He looked over from a distance, locked eyes with him calmly, and raised a champagne glass across the bustling crowd.
It has to be said that Chu Shichen's calm demeanor and dignified temperament make him more like a boss than Peng Xin and more outstanding than most people present.
At this time, Li Zangqiu arrived late and walked towards Xiang Mingzhang with a friendly smile. The two men rarely met in private, so they greeted each other and stood together to chat harmoniously.
Li Zangqiu said with relief: "It's great that we all get together like this. Mr. Xiang is thoughtful."
Xiang Mingzhang said politely: "Just don't mind me causing trouble."
"How could that be?" Li Zangqiu said, "I have always wanted to have more contact between the two sides, but I am too old-fashioned and afraid that the method will be counterproductive. Thank you Mr. Xiang for arranging today."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "I just had a spur of the moment idea, it was Secretary Chu who made sure it was implemented."
Li Zangqiu praised: "Shichen is becoming more and more capable. He used to be playful, but it would be good if he is trained well."
Xiang Mingzhang continued, "How about the people that Xiang Yue transferred to the sales department? If they can't adapt to the local environment, please ask Mr. Li to give them some guidance and treat them as your own people."
"That's a bit too polite." Li Zangqiu said with a smile, "We are all the same, so how can we be uncomfortable with the local climate?"
Xiang Mingzhang took a sip of whiskey: "Then I feel relieved."
There was a lot of chatter in the restaurant. Xiang Yue had carried out many acquisitions and expansions in the past few years, constantly absorbing fresh blood, and the ordinary employees were well integrated.
Peng Xin felt relaxed and happy after receiving Chu Shichen's compliments, which livened up the atmosphere. Other colleagues in the department followed their boss' lead.
This group of smart people in the sales department are the best at socializing. When they meet, it seems like they have met too late. After a few words, it seems like they have known each other since childhood. After a drink, it seems like they have become life-long friends.
Other departments were influenced and gradually relaxed. Chu Shichen slowly walked around the hall, inspecting to make sure nothing was done perfectly.
In the non-alcoholic tea bar, there was a man drinking alone at the bar, looking uninterested.
Chu Shichen recognized who it was and walked over to ask, "Manager Ren, why are you here alone?"
Ren Meng, the manager of Yisi's finance department, was very sturdy. He raised his head and said in a deep voice, "Secretary Chu, I'm fine, just a little tired."
Although the work of the Finance Department is complicated and heavy, Chu Shichen just sorted out the report this morning, and Ren Meng's task at hand is not very heavy. He pretended not to know and said, "It must be harder than before after the merger."
Ren Meng held a cup of oolong tea in both hands and stroked the rim: "I have been with the company through ups and downs for so many years, it doesn't matter if I am a little tired or a little bit hard."
Chu Shichen said: "Sometimes there is no other way, everyone just tries their best while they are young."
Ren Meng smiled and shook his head: "People are different. Mr. Li is over 50 and still so motivated. I am far behind. In the past two years, I often feel that I am unable to do my best."
In such occasions, being depressed seems inappropriate, and experienced professionals will understand this.
Chu Shichen followed the other person's words and asked with concern: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Ren Meng tugged at his tie, pointed at his throat and said, "My respiratory tract is not good. I can bear it in spring and summer, but I feel uncomfortable when the weather gets cold. If the car exhaust is heavy, I can cough for most of the day."
Chu Shichen asked: "Have you seen a doctor?"
"It's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause." Ren Meng replied, "The doctor suggested changing my living environment to a place with a better climate. Alas... it's not realistic."
Chu Shichen comforted her, picked up the ceramic pot to pour tea for Ren Meng, and then stopped disturbing her. Halfway through, he turned back and saw Ren Meng still sitting there, out of place with the surroundings.
Chu Shichen seemed to be thinking about something, paused for a moment and then walked away.
As it approached noon, the sumptuous meal was served and everyone officially started to eat. Chu Shichen took a portion of cream salmon rice and coconut pudding.
Turning around, Ling Qi opened his coat and carried his bag, looking around as he walked, like a caveman entering the city for the first time.
Chu Shichen asked: "You just arrived?"
Ling Qi had just come back from accompanying his team leader to meet a client. He thought they were having a party. He was starving, so he took the same meal and asked, "Where should we sit?"
Chu Shichen pointed to a place not far away: "People from the R&D center are sitting together. You can go over there and request to join them."
When Ling Qi saw Xiang Ruxu at the table, he quietly refused: "I won't sit at the same table with my supervisor. What if I burp and it affects my future."
Several long dining tables were occupied, the square tables and booths were full, and the seats under the parasols on the terrace were also full. There was only one small three-sided table left in the corner, so Chu Shichen and Ling Qi went to sit down.
Seeing that the client wanted to wear a suit, Ling Qi bought one online that didn't fit him well. He left a part of his arm exposed, which was just right for looking at his watch. He said, "I have a report that I haven't submitted yet. I'll go back and finish it later. Take a look at my new watch. How do you think it is?"
Chu Shichen took a look and said, "Not bad, quite new."
"The other day the manager and his friends were discussing watches. They said everyone should have at least three watches to match their suits." Ling Qi said, looking at Chu Shichen's wrist. "You change your suits every day, but it seems you never change your watch."
Chu Shichen said: "Just one piece."
Ling Qi was a little surprised: "The manager said one dollar is too shabby."
Chu Shichen said calmly: "I'm not used to wearing a watch, so I'll just have one that tells me the time."
Ling Qi asked doubtfully: "What else can I use if not a watch?"
Ling Qi was surprised. He just opened his mouth to scream "Ah" but looked up and saw Xiang Mingzhang who had walked over. He was so scared that he changed his mouth and called out "Mr. Xiang".
Xiang Mingzhang chatted with several senior executives of Yisi for a while, then took an international call and came back to find Chu Shichen. He saw this fresh graduate there from afar.
Pulling out a chair, Xiang Mingzhang sat down at the third empty table.
Ling Qi avoided the head engineer, but unexpectedly met the company's president. He quickly wiped his mouth.
Xiang Mingzhang looked at the table and said, "Eat your meal."
The table was cramped, Chu Shichen folded his arms and asked, "Mr. Xiang, is everything going well?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "It's pretty good."
With the third person present, it was inconvenient to say anything else. Chu Shichen and Xiang Mingzhang's eyes met for a moment and they fell silent together. He picked up the spoon and quietly scooped the pudding to eat.
Ling Qi was unaware of this. After finishing a bowl of cream salmon rice, he was not very full and planned to get another bowl. Looking back, he saw two supervisors taking their meals and talking at that table. He wanted to wait a while before going over.
Chu Shichen was annoyed that he was dawdling, so he pushed his bowl over and said, "I haven't touched it yet, you eat first."
Xiang Mingzhang drooped his eyelids and shook the ice cubes at the bottom of the wine glass.
Ling Qi asked: "What do you eat?"
Chu Shichen said: "It's okay, I'll get it later."
Ling Qi smiled and said, "I'm welcome then. I'll treat you to milk tea this afternoon."
Chu Shichen urged politely: "Eat quickly, and then go back to work."
He didn't even say it was a report, but Ling Qi felt guilty: "I finished it on time, don't worry, we can go back together."
Chu Shichen didn't have time to swallow the mouthful of pudding. If he had done so in the past, he would have joked, "Fools are incorrigible," but now he didn't have the qualifications. So he bit the spoon and smiled helplessly to himself.
Xiang Mingzhang could see clearly from the corner of his eye that one was stupid and the other was smart, and they could chat intimately together, which made him seem a bit redundant.
The ice cubes melted and became smaller, and the drink became weaker. He drank it in one gulp, chewed the ice, stood up and left this corner.
During lunch break, Xiang Mingzhang left the restaurant and went to Xiang Yue's open library.
As long as you work in the park, whether as a security guard or cleaner, full-time or part-time, you can enter and exit freely. The graded work permits are of no use here. Even Xiang Mingzhang himself has to abide by the first-come-first-served principle when borrowing books.
The library was empty, and Xiang Mingzhang borrowed a novel that was neither too thick nor too thin.
The back door of the library faces the office building, and there is a sycamore path in front of the door. It is the only place in the campus that is cleaned only once a week.
Xiang Mingzhang came out, and in the path covered with fallen leaves, Chu Shichen stood with his hands behind his back, looking back lightly, obviously having followed him all the way and waiting here.
Stepping over the fallen leaves, Xiang Mingzhang asked, "Have you finished your meal with your colleagues?"
Chu Shichen: “Yeah.”
Xiang Mingzhang: "Didn't we drink milk tea together again?"
Chu Shichen inexplicably sensed a sense of... calculation
"I feel sleepy when I eat too much," he replied, and then changed the subject, "What book are you holding?"
Xiang Mingzhang used this as a way to kill time on the plane and said, "I'm going to Switzerland on a business trip tomorrow."
It was so urgent, probably a sudden decision. Chu Shichen asked, "Do you want to bring an assistant?"
"No." Xiang Mingzhang had already said hello to Peng Xin, "Your work will be easier when I'm not here. The bidding for the Lixin Bank project is about to start, so go and help."
In the end, there were a total of ten companies participating in the bidding. A third-party agency was involved in the bid evaluation. The procedures were strict and time-consuming and labor-intensive. It was completely incomparable to the previous pharmaceutical company projects.
The last time Chu Shichen suffered a severe setback during the bidding process, if it were someone else, they might be afraid of the rope once bitten by a snake, but Secretary Chu is probably more willing to learn how to catch snakes.
Chu Shichen blinked his long eyelashes gently, his eyes lingering on Xiang Mingzhang's tie clip. The diamond was shining with silvery white light, and it was adorned on the inky black tie like a crescent of moonlight in the night sky.
Xiang Mingzhang looked at Chu Shichen for a long time without saying anything, and said, "If you don't want to participate, just watch and understand the whole process."
Chu Shichen asked unexpectedly: "Is this compensation?"
Xiang Mingzhang has always done things without feeling guilty. He refused to admit it, but it was difficult for him to deny it. During the stalemate, a small sycamore leaf floated down and landed on his left shoulder.
Chu Shichen reached his hand to the side of his neck, pinched the leaf stem and took it off, saying, "If it is, it's not enough."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "What else do you want?"
Chu Shichen replied: "Wait a little longer, I'll owe you first."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "What if I don't agree?"
Chu Shichen thought about it, raised his hand, and put the fallen leaves back on Xiang Mingzhang’s shoulder.
Xiang Mingzhang was speechless for a while. All his good and bad tempers were blocked in his chest in an instant, causing his heart to beat with some labor.
It sounded... thumping.
(End of this chapter)