Chapter 19
My head still feels a little heavy, but the fatigue has completely disappeared. Sleep is still the most effective medicine for recovery, better than any supplement.
"Chairman Xu, you're awake? How are you feeling?"
Xu Wanyi had only been awake for a short while when a nurse with a very approachable face walked in. Her uniform had the words "United Private Hospital" written on the front. So this was the nationally renowned United Private Hospital! It was a Sino-foreign joint venture hospital established only a few years ago, boasting a strong staff, advanced equipment, and a modern management system.
Xu Wanyi has been deeply involved in the pharmaceutical industry for many years, as hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturing are closely linked, and she has a considerable understanding of hospitals across the country. However, their business does not directly involve hospitals, and since her office is in Beijing, she has never visited this private hospital.
Last night, I was in a daze. Ren Liye arranged everything, and I had no idea where I was or how I got here. I never expected to end up in the hospital that I had been paying attention to for a long time.
On second thought, I realized how long it had been since I had completely relaxed like this.
"Ms. Xu, are you alright?" The nurse asked again when she didn't respond for a while.
She finally snapped out of her thoughts: "Ah, I feel much better, thank you! My head is still a little dizzy, please excuse me."
After a pause, Xu Wanyi asked again, "The person who brought me here yesterday...?"
"You mean Attorney Li? She left very early this morning, saying she had work to take care of back home. But she gave me a lot of instructions before she left, and I've never seen her so nervous before."
The nurse still had that warm, welcoming smile, but Xu Wanyi felt that the smile had a deeper meaning, and her face couldn't help but feel hot.
"By the way, what procedures do I need to complete? I'd like to be discharged soon."
Xu Wanyi knew that she only had a fever and there was no need to make such a big fuss.
"No need, Attorney Li has already taken care of all the formalities. After you go back, please make sure you get plenty of rest. Your current weakness is mainly due to long-term fatigue and lack of sleep."
After listening, Xu Wanyi remained silent for a while. She knew her physical condition, but she had no time to rest; reality gave her no chance to catch her breath.
"Okay, I understand, thank you nurse!"
"Mr. Xu, you're too kind. It's nothing we should do. I won't bother you any longer. Please ring the bell if you need anything."
After saying that, the nurse quietly left the room.
Xu Wanyi leaned back against the headboard, picked up her phone from the table next to her, and sent a message to Feng Jing:
“I’m at United Private Hospital in the eastern suburbs. Could you come pick me up?”
Upon receiving the message, Feng Jing immediately stopped his work, shut down his computer, and quickly headed to the garage.
Every morning, the first thing Feng Jing does after getting up is to check her phone to see if the chairman has any work assignments. This morning, when she opened her phone, a message immediately appeared on her screen. To her surprise, the message wasn't from the chairman, but from Attorney Li.
Yesterday, when I took Li Ye upstairs, before we got on the elevator, Li Ye suddenly asked for my WeChat, saying that we could contact each other anytime if anything happened.
Feng Jing immediately pulled out his phone. The boss clearly treated Attorney Li differently, especially since Li Ye was a talented, handsome, and wealthy lawyer!
"So you really need something from me?"
Feng Jing was puzzled; she hadn't expected Li Ye to send her a message the very next day.
However, when she clicked on it, she was far from happy.
Li Ye told her that the chairman was sick and was currently at the East Suburbs United Hospital. He told her not to worry if she couldn't see the chairman at the company, to go to work as usual, and to wait for Chairman Xu to contact her.
The last sentence was: "Please don't contact Chairman Xu. Let her sleep more and rest well; she's too tired. You should make sure she gets plenty of sleep and eats properly. I think she'll contact you once she's rested."
Is this what a company lawyer would say? Feng Jing had several question marks on his forehead.
Isn't this relationship developing a bit too fast? Two people who have been through so much in the adult world, one a client and the other a lawyer, can they really become this close in just one month?
There's a problem, definitely a problem! Feng Jing felt that this matter once again confirmed his inner suspicions.
Therefore, when she received the message from the chairman, she was neither anxious nor flustered, and calmly drove to the United Hospital.
As Feng Jing drove, he pondered. It was strange; he was so certain of what Attorney Li had said, without a shred of doubt because she was just an outside lawyer. Logically, as the chairman's personal assistant, he should have personally confirmed everything with the chairman. Why did it seem like Attorney Li was closer to the chairman?
After much thought, she still couldn't find an answer when the gates of the United Hospital appeared before her. The hospital was situated in a vast oasis, and since the weather was fine and it wasn't rush hour, Feng Jing arrived quickly.
After the security guard asked her what she wanted to do and checked the license plate, he opened the gate and let her in.
After entering through the main gate, a two-minute drive brings you to a roundabout. In the center of the roundabout is an artificial pond with gently flowing water, producing a soft, delicate sound. A uniquely styled two-story building is quietly nestled among the green trees. The surroundings are very peaceful, with a gentle breeze occasionally rustling the branches and birds chirping softly.
Feng Jing knew there were many similar two-story buildings behind them. This was the main feature of the hospital – a classic courtyard-style facility. Of course, it was expensive, beyond the reach of ordinary people. She certainly couldn't afford it.
As soon as the car stopped, Xu Wanyi stepped out. She was wearing a coat, and a scarf covered half of her face. Before Feng Jing could get out and open the door, she opened the passenger door and got in.
"Back to the company."
“Chairman, you’ve just been discharged from the hospital. Would you like to go back to the hotel and rest for a while?” Feng Jing thought of Li Ye’s message.
"I'm not going back. It's already 3 p.m. I've been sleeping since last night, and I won't be able to sleep even if I go back."
Although Feng Jing really wanted to persuade the chairman to go back to the hotel, even just lying down would be good, she knew he had a second half to say: "There's a whole bunch of things waiting for you there!"
That's true. If we don't deal with it today, we'll have to deal with it tomorrow, and tomorrow will bring its own problems, leading to another all-nighter. It's better to go back to work. With that thought, Feng Jing stepped on the gas and sped into the parking garage of the Leguang Building.
Xu Wanyi went upstairs. The office had been cleaned up and was spotless, with no trace of last night's presence.
She walked into the lounge, intending to take a shower and change her clothes, when she suddenly noticed a coat hanging on a simple standing coat rack next to the lounge door.
This is Li Ye's coat.
She covered herself up last night, but clearly forgot to put it back on when she left. But given her constitution, she really didn't need such a thick layer; she had to unbutton so many buttons in the car... Lost in thought, Xu Wanyi unknowingly went over and smelled it.
After smelling it, she was shocked. How could she have made such a lewd move? Her face immediately turned bright red.
Thank goodness it was in the lounge and no one saw it, otherwise, where would she put her face as the chairman?
However, she quickly cheered herself up. There were indeed many things waiting for her to handle. The internal system's processes were enough to keep her busy, not to mention the ongoing projects.
And so it went, until seven o'clock in the evening. "That's enough for today," she thought, feeling her head spinning again.
I was supposed to return to Beijing today, but given my current health, it'll probably be a few days later. Suddenly, I remembered that Li Ye should still be on the twenty-first floor, and a strange feeling welled up inside me.
She spent the rest of the week researching another acquisition target. The group's development in the new energy industry was nearing its end, and she had always wanted to own an upstream company to control product costs.
However, the upstream of this industry involves mining and refining, which is a completely different industry. It is unlikely that you can build it yourself. The only possibility is to acquire an established company.
Unfortunately, this industry is basically controlled by state-owned enterprises and central enterprises. If you want to buy a company, you have to buy it from them.
Because she had been buying raw materials from them, Xu Wanyi had dealt with these people quite a bit and knew that it was extremely difficult to buy anything from them; often it wasn't a matter of money.
"Ring ring," the phone rang, and Feng Jing's voice came through: "Chairman, General Manager Deng from Beijing is looking for you."
Deng Hui is in charge of the new energy business line of their entire group. The new energy sector is not directly under Leguang Group, but in another group called New Energy Industry. One of Li Ye's tasks this time is to incorporate the companies under New Energy Industry into Leguang Group.
Deng Hui usually waits until Xu Wanyi returns to Beijing before reporting to her in person. For him to call her directly like this, it must be something important. It's either extremely good or extremely bad.
"Bring them in."
"Hey, Chairman Xu, the CEO of Tonghua Group is willing to meet and talk. He said he's free next Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. in their office." There was a hint of excitement in Deng Hui's voice.
Xu Wanyi was also very happy to hear this, as she had been following this project for a long time.
She knew Su Che worked at Tonghua Group and that she had been promoted to general manager this year. Su Che was Li Ye's college roommate, and she knew very well about her relationship with Li Ye. Moreover, when she was with Li Ye, she had a pretty good relationship with Su Che.
Even with this connection, she hadn't found a way to break through, but she never expected that Deng Hui would actually get a date with Su Che this time.
Could it be that Su Che secretly decided to help him after becoming the general manager?
"Okay, no problem. You arrange it. This time."
"Yes, Chairman."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Wanyi felt a sense of relief. Tonghua was at least among the top three in the industry, and Xu Wanyi was very interested in one of their subsidiaries called Maohua, which happened to produce their upstream products. If they could acquire it, it would definitely reduce the company's costs significantly.
Although the final outcome is unknown, this is undoubtedly a significant step forward. They spent a year searching for suitable targets, but every company in the industry kept it tightly under wraps, leaving no information leaked. This caused her considerable anxiety for a long time.
A few weeks ago, after listening to Wang Kan, the head of his investment and financing department, finish his report, Su Che specifically asked:
"You said Leguang Group has already asked about this several times?"
"Yes. But the companies they want to buy are all good assets that have been profitable. We have no plans to sell them, so I just refuse them directly without reporting it to the company."
"Okay, I understand. Alright, bring me their information and quotes."
Yes, such coincidences do happen in this world. Tonghua Group is the company Su Che works for, and she was just promoted to general manager at the beginning of the year.
Tonghua Group is actually a comprehensive mining group. Now the country is implementing refined management of the mining industry, requiring specialization. Their group has a large scope, involving a little bit of all kinds of minerals.
In response to the national call and to implement national policies, the group's board of directors has just made a resolution to divest those small-scale mineral resources, with Maohua being the first to be affected.
Although Maohua is a profitable company, state-owned enterprises have their own political tasks and responsibilities. Since the higher-ups have made plans to sell, then she should do her best to sell.
As a result, when Su Che heard that Leguang Group was very interested in the meeting today, she suddenly realized that this was Xu Wanyi's family business! She immediately thought of the poignant past between Li Ye and Xu Wanyi, as if she had returned to her college days.
Fortunately, the niche industry that Maohua operates in is not a restricted industry, so private enterprises can also get involved. It's just that most private enterprises don't have such a large capital base, so it seems like a state-owned enterprise monopoly, but that's not the case at all! The country's economic policies are quite friendly to private enterprises.
Su Che's office is in a small building in Dongcheng District. The area outside the door and in the courtyard is full of Chinese locust trees and ginkgo trees, which are lush and green. The scent of the trees is mixed with the unique dry air, giving people a unique northern flavor.
When she first came to work in Beijing, she found it particularly difficult to adapt to this compound and the atmosphere there.
Haixi is a very modern city with towering buildings and plane trees everywhere. Although it is not as humid as South China, it is not dry at all.
I never imagined that more than a decade would pass in the blink of an eye, and Beijing would become my second hometown.
And I gradually rose from a lowly soldier to become the most powerful person in this compound. Thinking about it now feels like a dream.
After reviewing the materials from Leguang Group, Su Che had to admit that Xu Wanyi's offer was very sincere, and she even briefly mentioned her development strategy after the acquisition, including employee resettlement, patent technology, and trademark registration.
According to this plan, Tonghua can make this deal look very good—not just good on the financial statements.
"Chairman Xu understands state-owned enterprises very well. He knows what we value and what we don't value."
With that in mind, Su Che dialed Wang Kan's number, "Mr. Kan, could you arrange for us to meet with the CEO of Leguang Group?"
"Okay, Mr. Su, Mr. Su, would you like me to meet with him first, report to him, and then you can take a look, or..."
Su Che knew Wang Kan's thoughts. When dealing with state-owned enterprises, it was impossible to meet the CEO without spending two or three months, or even half a year, beforehand. Her direct request to meet with the CEO of Leguang Group was against the norm.
"It's alright. This is a task assigned by higher-ups, and the timeframe is very tight. It might need to be reflected in the semi-annual report or the third-quarter report. Leguang's plan is worth discussing. However, let's discuss the details in this meeting first."
"Understood, Mr. Su. When is a convenient time for you?"
Wang Kan was used to serving his superiors, and he could tell immediately what the superiors were concerned about and what they truly cared about.
"Ask them how about next Wednesday at 10 a.m.?"
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away. I'll report back to you as soon as it's done."
After arranging everything, Xu Wanyi received the message. Actually, Su Che also had her own ulterior motives. She wanted to see if Xu Wanyi had changed at all after meeting Li Ye, or if she was as Li Ye said, "long gone and forgotten me."
Only she and Zhuang Ke knew the truth behind Li Ye's departure back then. As a friend, she hoped that Li Ye could find happiness in this life and never have anything to do with wealthy girls like Xu Wanyi with complicated family backgrounds again!
Finally, the two agreed to meet at 10 a.m. next Wednesday. Coincidentally, that day is Children's Day.
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