Chapter 10: Using the rules, even the unspoken ones

"What are they talking about?" Li Wenjing asked Fu Yudi.

"Some of it was unclear. They were father and son, and it sounded like the son was asking his father for money."

Zhang Zhaochuan joked: "A doctor is such a good person, but he angrily asks his father for money. It seems that all the sons in the world are angry with their fathers. I must have a daughter in the future."

"He is Dr. Gu. His father is so handsome too. I think he is more charming than the doctor." Fu Yudie said into Li Wenjing's ear.

"Charm?"

"Men can't stand the test of time. A piece of meat will turn into old bacon if left alone. French wine is better. The older it is, the more fragrant it is."

The two of them whispered a few words. Gu Weiyi saw Li Wenjing, greeted her, left his father and walked towards Li Wenjing. They chatted for a few words. His colleagues had already gone ahead with the leaders.

"New job?" Gu Weiyi asked.

"I'm just an employee. I came here with my boss to get a project. They're the ones who talk. Others sit on the small benches in the back row. What about you?"

As he spoke, his father came over and greeted her in Chinese, "Mademoiselle, hello, I'm Gustave, Charles' father."

Gustav put his arm around Li Wenjing's shoulders. Unaccustomed to physical contact from strangers, she froze in place like a tree. He leaned in to greet her. The scent of his perfume made Li Wenjing sneeze, spraying him in the face. She quickly apologized.

"It's okay." He took out a handkerchief from the upper left pocket of his white shirt and greeted her, "Oh ma belle, are you okay?"

He was too passionate, his eyes were almost identical to Gu Weiyi's, and in a blink, the tenderness in his eyes almost overflowed, and he was about to hug her tightly. Li Wenjing felt her face getting hot, and she didn't know how to answer him, so she just nodded blankly.

"My friend just had malaria and hasn't recovered yet." Gu Weiyi laughed twice, "Ignore him, old pervert, he'll only behave himself if he's hung on the wall."

Gustav didn't understand at first and blinked twice, his gaze shifting from Gu Weiyi to Li Wenjing's face. Neither of them explained, so he could only say, "How can you curse your own father like that? I saw your friend and came to say hello to this young lady."

Li Wenjing was caught between them, her face red with embarrassment. Fortunately, Zhang Zhaochuan called her to a meeting, so she quickly made an excuse to leave.

When we arrived at the office, the chief engineer first introduced the company's qualifications to the other party. There were three French people opposite. Halfway through the meeting, the door opened and Gu Weiyi's father came over. Everyone stood up to greet him.

Fu Yudi looked surprised and said to them, "This is Mr. Gustav Zebery, the newly arrived CEO of the Africa region and a major shareholder of the company."

Zhang Zhaochuan and Li Wenjing sat on a bench in the back and whispered to her, "Just say that Oxford's family is rich. Really, you have to seize the opportunity."

"Don't talk nonsense."

"It's for your own good. Xiao Qiao asks me to introduce you to someone every day."

Li Wenjing scribbled the meeting minutes in her notebook and didn't respond. The tangled lines on the paper resembled life itself, as complex as if they were separated using the finite element method in engineering, yet there were only fragments, each abruptly broken and disconnected. It was hard to fathom when things had become like this. People reach a certain age when they know nothing, about to become adults, earn money, find a partner, mate, marry, and have children. In this muddled, numb, and submissive process, time slips by unknowingly. Li Wenjing shuddered at the thought of this incomprehensible thing.

Gustav only stayed for ten minutes before leaving. In addition to the Chinese company, Spanish and British companies also expressed their intention to cooperate. They were only asked to bid for the civil engineering projects supporting the oil field.

The leaders continued to negotiate with the other party. Seeing that time was almost up, Zhang Zhaochuan went down to drive the car. In the elevator, he said to Li Wenjing, "There's a little drama, but not much. Look how anxious the dean and chief engineer are."

Li Wenjing said: "This kind of bidding is already decided in advance, but there must be this process and a few co-bidders."

"Yeah, the leaders are all green with anger. You have to rely on connections to do anything. Without connections, will they pay attention to you? The French don't smoke our Chinese cigarettes..." He slapped his head and said, "Hey, doesn't Doctor Gu have connections? It's good to be able to do it. Let the leaders eat meat, and the cattle and horses under them just drink soup."

Li Wenjing lost his temper and said, "I won't tell you. If you want to tell him, go and talk to him."

"Oh, I was just kidding, don't be angry."

The elevator arrived with a ding. Li Wenjing got off first, and he went to the basement garage. While she was waiting at the door, she felt a little annoyed and started smoking an e-cigarette. The familiar figure of Gu Weiyi appeared in the smoke, walking towards her. It felt like she had done something bad and he had seen her. Li Wenjing put the cigarette back into her bag.

He asked in surprise, "Do you smoke too?"

"Occasionally, when you're upset, do you smoke?"

"Who's got you upset?"

"you."

"I?"

Li Wenjing stared at him, her eyelids twitching slightly. "It's not just you. The project, work, company, society, everything, it all makes me feel very annoyed."

He thought for a while, but couldn't figure anything out. He scratched his messy hair and said, "Stop smoking. What's the point of smoking? Let's have dinner together tonight. What do you want? Barbecue, ribs, or seafood?"

“Chinese food.”

At dinner time, the two sat in a hot pot restaurant eating beef. Gu Weiyi's head was covered in sweat, and he had a big mouthful of ice in his mouth, so he couldn't even straighten his tongue.

"It's so spicy! I can't take it anymore. You can eat the meat."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier that you can't eat spicy food?"

Li Wenjing poured the remaining half of the meat into the clear soup pot.

"I've had hot pot before, but it wasn't that spicy. I was wondering why they didn't drink the broth. I took a sip, and my mouth was filled with Sichuan peppercorns. It was so numbing, I never had hot pot again."

"Hot pot in London?"

"Well, actually I don't like London at all. The weather is bad and the food is terrible. I don't want to go to school in England. I'd rather go to France."

"No, all you French people are in Africa."

Gu Weiyi was stunned for a moment, and Li Wenjing said, "Your father."

"I don't know how Gustav ended up in Africa. I just happened to run into him. I came to Mombasa to ask his company for money to build a hospital. I can't just let this go."

Li Wenjing smiled and said, "It sounds like a son acting like a spoiled child to his father."

"Even if he wasn't my father, I would still have come. It was just a coincidence."

"Have you got the money yet?"

"No, he said we have to discuss this with the government, but patients don't have that much time to bother. I'm also going to pray to God that the government will be a hundred times more efficient. Everything costs money these days. There's not enough medicine, not enough beds, and as long as the oil extraction isn't finalized, people will keep fighting." He sighed. "The money we signed with you last time was a special fund and can't be used elsewhere. I went to the Federation to request payment, but there's no news. I guess they didn't approve it when they counted the accounts at the end of the quarter."

"It's not that easy to ask for money. Everyone wants to take money out of other people's pockets, and no one will give money themselves."

"Oh, I hate money! Why is it so troublesome!"

Gu Weiyi fell back and collapsed on the sofa in the booth, staring at the flickering lights above his head.

"Do you still believe me?" Li Wenjing asked.

"certainly."

"The project won't be delayed. Tomorrow morning, you come to our office to sign the contract and meet with the leaders. We can set off immediately."

Gu Weiyi was full of questions. He raised his eyes and asked, "What do you mean? What can you do?"

"Using the rules and doing things within them is considered an unspoken rule."

"I do not understand……"

The waiter brought out the freshly fried crispy pork, interrupting him and giving Li Wenjing time to think. Li Wenjing fiddled with the beef slices in the bowl, nearly stabbing her face with a pair of long chopsticks.

"Don't ask. I can't explain it to you. You'll know when you get there tomorrow."

"Can you perform magic? Can you give me so much money?"

"It's not magic. A lot of money is spent just to see the noise. There is no effect. If it's useless, it's useless. They have the face and the substance, and they don't care how the money is spent."

Gu Weiyi smiled and shook his head, "I really don't understand. Okay, perform a magic trick for me tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it."