Cheng Ran and Jiang Wanqing were already quite familiar with the old man at the newsstand. As soon as they went over and put down their money, the old man knew what they wanted to do. He would straighten up while tidying up his stock, smile, and point to the landline phone.
"You want to make a phone call? Go ahead and make one."
"Thank you, sir."
Jiang Wanqing took out a piece of paper with a phone number written on it, unfolded it, and dialed the number...
Beep...beep...beep...
The phone rang many times before a man finally answered it after about half a minute.
"Hello, this is the Northwest Group office. May I ask who this is?"
It seemed the call was made correctly, and Jiang Wanqing calmly consulted the other end.
"Hello comrade, my name is Jiang Wanqing, and I am the factory manager of the Jiang Family Factory in Southwest China. I would like to inquire about the cooperation between your group and our factory... what are the next steps?"
"Jiang family? I'm not familiar with that... Our factory manager has already gone to the southwest to discuss cooperation, which should be your factory?"
When did he arrive? Has he already left?
"Of course, I reckon they've arrived by now." The person on the other end seemed to realize they'd said too much, and their tone immediately became rude. "You're not a liar, are you? If you really are the factory manager of Jiang's, how could you not know about something so important?"
"Comrade, you can rest assured, I am definitely not a liar. You can find my name, Jiang Wanqing, anywhere. Thank you for today. Maybe we can meet again in the future. Goodbye."
She hung up the phone and looked back at Cheng Ran.
He had overheard the conversation on the phone and already suspected that things weren't so simple.
"Is there something wrong with Yang Changzhen?"
"It's too early to draw conclusions. The person on the phone said that the Northwest Group's factory director arrived in the Southwest today. Let's see if Yang Chang reports to me in the next couple of days..."
"Shall we go back now?"
"Um……"
Jiang Wanqing wanted to find out the truth right now, but... she also wanted to give Yang Chang a chance. If it had already been reported in yesterday's documents, then he wasn't lying. If he was up to something... she would definitely make him regret his choice and actions!
At that time, the train station—
Yang Chang and Zhang Jin waited outside the train station, calculating the time. The train should have arrived by now. A whistle sounded from the platform, and then people started to come out one after another.
"Have you arranged everything with Comrade Jiang?"
“It’s all done. I guarantee she won’t know what you’re doing right now,” Zhang Jin replied to Yang Chang.
"That's good. If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you responsible!"
Yang Changzheng coldly warned Zhang Jin. At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a brown woolen suit and a hat came out. He immediately went to greet him.
"President Kang! You must be President Kang of the Northwest Group. As soon as I saw you, I realized you have the same refined air as in the photos!"
"Director Yang?"
"It's me, it's me. It's an honor to meet you."
Yang Chang shook hands with President Kang and then turned to signal Zhang Jin to take the luggage.
"Mr. Kang, my car is waiting outside. Let's go have lunch first to welcome you to the Southwest and our factory!"
Yang Chang rattled off a string of words, not wanting to linger at the train station any longer. If he were recognized by someone he knew, he'd be in big trouble.
"Okay, let's go then."
And coincidentally, President Kang, who had been traveling a long and tiring journey, was also exhausted. It would be a good time for him to have a meal, rest, and then get back to work.
The three got into the car, which drove away from the train station. On the way, General Kang admired the scenery along the way in the southwest and praised Yang Chang highly.
"Director Yang, I admire you. The southwest is a mountainous region, far from big cities, and the transportation is not well developed. It's really impressive that you've managed to build such a large factory and make it one of the top factories. But I'm more curious about the relationship between your factory and Jiang Wanqing's Jiang family... what exactly is the relationship?"
Kang's words had a probing tone, which Yang Chang understood, but he just smiled wryly.
"To be honest, we used to be comrades-in-arms and partners. As for the future... competition between colleagues is inevitable, but let's not hurt our feelings, let's not hurt our feelings, hahaha..."
He put it tactfully, but President Kang wasn't stupid; he naturally understood what he meant, and the two of them immediately laughed together in tacit agreement.
Yang Chang took him to a restaurant, and after the meal, they went for a foot massage. They chatted while enjoying themselves, and ordered beautiful women, fruit platters, and snacks.
Laughter filled the private room as Yang Chang turned to look at President Kang.
"Mr. Kang, do you think it's easier for men to cooperate with each other, or for men to cooperate with women?"
"What insightful opinion does Director Yang have?"
The two men each called a beautiful woman to massage their feet. The women exchanged a glance, shook their heads, and smiled.
What's with all this talk about convenience? Don't you know what you're really thinking? This kind of convenience is not the same as that kind of convenience. Men tend to go bad once they have money; that's just how it is.
"Take Comrade Jiang Wanqing for example. She is indeed very capable, I'll be frank about that. But besides that, she's incredibly cunning. Someone like President Kang who does business with her in a serious manner won't get any benefits. It's different when you cooperate with me. I will definitely give you the biggest concessions. However, I also have a request, which I've told you before... you know what I mean."
Yang Chang picked up his drink, clinked glasses with President Kang, and the two smiled at each other.
"I understand, I understand... I'll go to your factory tomorrow to take a look. Whether it works out or not depends on your capabilities, Director Yang. You should understand that, right?"
"Of course! I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation tomorrow, Mr. Kang!"
"Hahaha……"
The day passed quickly, and Jiang Wanqing did not receive any news from Yang Chang regarding the cooperation between the Southwest Group and the factory.
She felt that her bad premonition had most likely come true. Humans are inherently driven by self-interest, and Yang Chang was no exception; it's just that his ambition hadn't been nurtured to such an extent before…
She and Cheng Ran had agreed to go out, but as if they had anticipated what they were going to do, Cheng's mother took advantage of the opportunity when Jiang Wanqing's parents went out to buy groceries to stop the couple.
"Trying to go out again, huh? No way!"
Cheng's mother blocked their room door, and Cheng Ran frowned as he looked at her.
"What are you doing now? Wanqing and I have important business to attend to, please move aside!"
His patience was almost exhausted, but when he finished speaking, Cheng's mother blocked him even more tightly.
"Whenever you go out, you always say you have important business to attend to. And who among you can guarantee my grandson's safety? If something happens to him, who will be responsible!"
"Cheng Ran, don't go along with your wife's nonsense. Go back and take good care of her. Listen to your mother. The child is the most important thing right now."
"Children, children, and children again," Jiang Wanqing was truly exasperated. She directly pushed Cheng's mother's hand away.
"No one can stop me from doing what I want to do, not even you! I can take responsibility for my own body and my children. I don't need you interfering in my life under the guise of doing what's best for me!"
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