Chapter 198 Extra 3 (3)
Extra 3 (3) Sweet Marriage
"Fifty kilograms? You want so much? Please fill in the address! It will be shipped immediately!" The boss said happily. He no longer minded the customer's picky behavior and immediately asked the clerk to work.
Their beef jerky is actually quite expensive. Customers usually buy it by the pound. Who wouldn’t like to buy 50 kilograms of it at once?
Zhang Junnan was also a little frightened by the scene and laughed dryly, "I heard that Mr. Gu has a good appetite."
Jiang Nuo finally sensed something was amiss. What did "good appetite" mean? Did it mean Gu Jiangkuo had a big appetite? He himself liked to complain about Gu Dajiang's appetite, but if others said it, Jiang would be unhappy.
"It's not all for him," Mr. Jiang said. "Some is also for our colleagues. Xiao Zhang, you should have some too. I saw you using eggs to build muscle the other day. If you want to build muscles like Mr. Gu, you need to be more than just capable; you also need to know how to eat."
Zhang Junnan: “…”
Why did he feel like he was being framed? Was Jiang always mocking him for not being strong enough?
"Don't you think so?" Mr. Jiang insisted on asking for the answer.
"Ah, you're right," said Zhang Junnan.
Mr. Jiang was finally satisfied. He patted him on the back and said calmly, "Let's go shopping."
So, Assistant Zhang, who volunteered to accompany Mr. Jiang shopping, actually experienced what a "human-shaped handbag" was, and his body was soon covered with bags of various specialties.
He was a little suspicious that Mr. Jiang was angry because of his ridicule of Gu Jiangkuo just now, but looking at his friendly attitude, it didn't seem like he was deliberately making trouble for others. Maybe, maybe this is what being an assistant is like.
"Xiao Zhang, are you tired?" About two hours later, President Jiang said to his new assistant, who was almost covered in shopping bags. "You can hardly walk anymore. Let's go back."
"Ah, it's okay, I can walk!" Zhang Junnan was a little moved when he heard these almost comforting words. All his fatigue disappeared in an instant and he quickly expressed his opinion.
Jiang Nuo smiled faintly: "Don't be stubborn, your father gave you to me for experience, how can I really tire you out? Let's go back."
"Okay, Mr. Jiang."
Zhang Junnan was delighted to be cared for, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief: It seems that President Jiang is not angry with him!
However, Assistant Zhang, who had little social experience, didn't know that big bosses often have a basic skill in keeping their emotions under wraps. Mr. Jiang had just been giving a minor disciplinary warning, but because of his father, he couldn't be too obvious. Besides, as the president of a prestigious group, he couldn't really afford to get angry with a child. It would be so demeaning.
The reason why they went back now was because Mr. Jiang was tired from walking.
Even if he didn't lift anything heavy, Young Master Jiang's physical strength wouldn't support walking for two hours straight. After all, he seldom walked on his own legs. Every year when he went on vacation to Nanyang, Gu Jiangkuo even gave him a balance bike so that he could walk around the astonishingly large Gu family estate.
Mr. Jiang was very satisfied with the thoughtful little gift, but rejected Gu Dajiang's suggestion to play with the balance car.
.
There is still one day before President Jiang returns to Yanlin, and President Gu is visibly in a happier mood.
"Grandma, have you had lunch?" Gu Jiangkuo asked with a smile on his phone screen.
On the other end of the phone, elderly Mrs. Wang Zhilan, surrounded by several nannies and caregivers, shouted into the tablet computer, "Eat—en—!"
The old lady always felt that she had to shout at the top of her voice so that the other party could hear her clearly across the screen.
Gu Jiangkuo tried to correct her several times but it was useless, so he just gave up. However, from another perspective, the fact that his grandma had such a loud voice and could eat and sleep well also meant that she was in good health, so he should be happy.
Logically speaking, patients with Alzheimer's disease will not live so long, but grandma must have done too many good deeds in the first half of her life, and her good deeds were rewarded. Miraculously, her condition did not worsen. Even the doctor exclaimed that this was a medical miracle. If the Gu family and the Jiang family were not so wealthy that they did not care about the sponsorship fees, grandma might have cooperated to go to the medical research institution for examinations and experiments.
The tropical plants behind Old Lady Wang are lush and green, and paired with the green tiles and white walls of the manor, the environment is quite pleasing to the eye. Coupled with the suitable climate, it is indeed very suitable for recuperation.
The winters in Yanlin are relatively long. As the old lady got older, her immunity declined and she caught colds easily. In the first few years, she lived in both places. Later, one snowy day, the old lady insisted on going out for a walk and almost fell. So she simply lived in the Gu family manor for a long time, and Gu Jiangkuo and Jiang Nuo went to visit her regularly.
"It's all very well! It was only that day I saw the old immortal!"
Gu Jiangkuo: “?”
Gu Jiangkuo asked, "What immortal old man?"
Old Lady Wang: “That’s it—”
"Forget it, forget it." Gu Jiangkuo said, "Have some tea to moisten your throat. Don't make it hurt by shouting. Let the workers do the talking."
However, several servants and the nanny didn't understand what was going on, so Gu Jiangkuo didn't take it seriously. After all, grandma was still sick, and it was normal for her to have occasional memory problems.
A brief phone call every now and then and video surveillance with almost no blind spots are Gu Jiangkuo's means of ensuring that the workers in the Gu family manor take good care of his grandmother.
In addition, in a few days, it will be the day of the annual shareholders' meeting. He has to go back to preside over it and visit his grandmother. At this time every year, Jiang Nuo usually makes time to accompany him.
In fact, Mr. Gu Dajiang had secretly checked Mr. Jiang's schedule. This year, as usual, he had cleared five days in advance.
"How thoughtful." Mr. Gu thought sweetly.
The seven-year itch doesn’t actually exist, right?
Mr. Gu regained his confidence, but felt a little disconnected. He rushed into the gym during a break from work - he wanted to take advantage of the time before Nuonuo came back to exercise and get his physical fitness and body shape to peak condition.
In response, Jiang Xiaomi, who had seen through everything, quietly said, "Brother Gu still wants to catch the tail of youth and use his beauty to please others, hehe."
"Also, I heard from Aunt Mei that he needs to quit drinking. Is the age crisis so serious for a man who is almost thirty?"
Rong Yi also whispered to him, "You'd better use the time you spend worrying about other people's gossip to study. Mr. Jiang will be back tomorrow."
Jiang Xiaomi froze for a second: "That's right_(:з」∠)_"
.
The next day came in a blink of an eye.
Fortunately, there were no thunderstorms or strong winds, and Mr. Jiang's flight landed on time. Zhang Junnan attentively helped him push the luggage cart. Jiang Nuo walked out of the arrival hall surrounded by several senior executives.
As expected, as soon as I got out of the airport, I saw Mr. Gu coming to pick me up in person, carrying a bag and holding a bouquet of flowers.
It was a traditional event for Mr. Gu Dajiang to greet the guests at the airport with a bouquet of flowers, and Jiang Nuo wasn't surprised at all. But why was he carrying a backpack? Didn't he always dislike backpacks? He disliked them because they were feminine.
"Mr. Jiang! Welcome back!" Gu Jiangkuo's joy was beyond words, and a large bunch of warm roses was thrust in front of him.
Jiang Nuo took the flowers with a smile, "Mr. Gu, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to pick me up at the airport."
This is a rule set by President Jiang, who carries a lot of idol baggage. He cannot call someone "Nuonuo" in front of others, especially his subordinates and employees, as it will damage his image as the chairman.
However, even calling each other by official titles cannot weaken the magnetic field between the two.
Even though Gu Jiangkuo also greeted the executives in the same formal manner, as soon as Mr. Gu Dajiang and Mr. Jiang stood together, it seemed as if a layer of intimacy that no one else could penetrate was automatically formed.
Zhang Junnan on the side tried to interrupt several times but failed.
Finally, when the group was about to leave the hall, Zhang Junnan finally found an opportunity to interrupt, "Mr. Gu, our Mr. Jiang bought you a lot of snacks. I accompanied him shopping for more than two hours."
Gu Jiangkuo paused, "You went shopping with him?"
Jiang Nuo's heart was filled with alarm: Oh no! This tone is wrong, it seems like Gu Jingjing is about to have a fit!
He actually knew that his family would definitely be unhappy if he arranged Zhang Junnan to work in the office, but Mr. Zhang from Xinwang Digital Logistics personally asked him to let his son spend more time with him and work as his assistant for a few days to learn some skills. He couldn't refuse, but he was worried about leaving his son in the office, so he had to bring him out.
I originally planned to just go through the motions and let the kid do what he was supposed to do.
"Dajiang, I'll explain to you later." Jiang Nuo explained in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.
But Gu Jiangkuo was not jealous this time. Instead, he smiled at Jiang Nuo. Then he heard Zhang Junnan say provocatively, "Yes, it's just the two of us. I even helped Mr. Jiang carry his bag."
The action of carrying a bag can easily be misunderstood.
When an assistant carries the president's bag, it is a job requirement, but when a man carries another man's bag, it can also be understood as a more ambiguous meaning.
Zhang Junnan had heard of Mr. Gu, who was a well-known jealous person in the circle and would explode at the slightest provocation, so he said this on purpose.
However, Mr. Gu didn't react much. He just said, "Hmm," and then said, "You're a very responsible assistant. I almost forgot."
Surprisingly, he wasn't angry. Zhang Junnan looked at him in confusion.
Gu Jiangkuo threw his bag onto the luggage cart that Zhang Junnan was pushing, "I almost forgot I took my bag too."
Zhang Junnan: “!?”
Zhang Junnan almost blurted out a swear word. Did he do it on purpose?
However, Gu Jiangkuo said thank you in a very graceful manner, then swaggered and put his arm around Mr. Jiang's waist, saying affectionately, "Is the bouquet heavy? Let me help you carry it."
Zhang Junnan: “………………”
Zhang Junnan looked at the extra men's bags on the luggage cart, feeling angry, but unable to say anything. In short, he was very angry_(:з」∠)_!
However, this little disturbance is not worth mentioning. The executives are still talking and laughing, as if they didn't notice the undercurrent between the two men with such a huge disparity in strength.
Gu Jiangkuo happily hugged his daughter Nuonuo without even turning his head, thinking: Oh, little brat, you're trying to play the same trick on me! These are all leftovers from my past!
What made him even more relieved was Jiang Nuo's attitude. Nuo Nuo didn't seem to take Assistant Zhang seriously at all. Except for that moment just now, she didn't even glance at him the whole time.
It seems that he is just another fanboy who is in love with Nuonuo.
Speaking of which, Mr. Gu didn't think it was Jiang Nuo's fault that he often encountered such "fanboys". There was nothing he could do about it. After all, Nuo Nuo was good-looking and successful in her career. Who wouldn't like such a person? But she happened to be his wife! Others could only watch, unable to eat! Gu Jiangkuo was proud and felt a sense of crisis again - they had been married for seven years, and there were still so many crises. He had to be more considerate to keep Nuo Nuo's heart!
Somehow, the saying "If you want to capture a man's heart, capture his stomach first" suddenly popped up in his mind, and Gu Jiangkuo had a flash of inspiration. "Nuonuo, can I cook tonight?"
"Ah?" Jiang Nuo didn't catch up with his erratic thoughts for a moment, but after thinking about it carefully, he said, "Tomorrow, let's eat together with Jiang Xiaomi tonight."
"Oh, okay."
Yes.
The first thing Jiang Nuo did when he came back was to test Jiang Xiaomi’s “learning progress”.
Going further, the private car parking lot and the taxi waiting area were in completely opposite directions. Gu Jiangkuo naturally took the cart from Zhang Junnan and said in the tone of an elder to a younger person, "You are a good young man. You have a bright future."
Zhang Junnan: “…”
Watching the two bosses leave, Zhang Junnan was still in shock for a long time. It seemed that several executives had misunderstood and said with a smile, "Boss Jiang has family to pick him up, so of course he will use the private car channel. But we are not bad either. The company will reimburse the taxi fare."
"Oh, I'm so envious! My wife will never pick me up. The airport is so far away and she thinks it's too much trouble."
"It's normal for middle-aged couples. When my wife and I were dating, we couldn't bear to be apart for even a day. Once, she went on a training trip out of town and was gone for almost half a month. Oh, I missed her so much. How could I afford a plane back then? I couldn't bear to take a taxi, so I took the bus for two hours to get to the train station, picked her up, and then took a taxi."
"You and your sister-in-law were so affectionate back then."
“That’s called sweetness!”
"Hahaha, being sweet is useless. If I ask you to pick her up now, will you still do it?"
"I pick her up? Forget it!" President Long waved his hands repeatedly. "Don't even mention now. We've only been married for two years, and I'm already tired of it. There's no affair or anything like that. I just feel it's unnecessary. Well, that's what marriage is like. ... So I can't understand President Jiang and President Gu. They've been together for six or seven years, right? How can they still be so in love?"
"That's called love." Mr. Liu suddenly looked at Zhang Junnan, as if hinting at something, and said with a smile, "The relationship between our two bosses is different from that of ordinary people. They are both outstanding people, right? Take each of them individually, and they are both talented young bachelors. Even if they get married, there will be many people who care about them."
Zhang Junnan seemed to have really understood the hidden meaning of Mr. Liu's words, and turned his head away as if he felt guilty.
"So," Mr. Liu said, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes, and he continued with a smile, "Just looking at Mr. Gu's wealth, countless men and women are attracted to him. But every time they encounter contact beyond normal social interaction, he has to emphasize that 'I'm a married man,' regardless of whether others feel embarrassed or not."
"And Mr. Jiang has even more romantic interests. He's not only rich, but also handsome... Our big boss is more tactful and hasn't caused any embarrassing situations for his suitors, but they've all backed off."
"So," Mr. Long began to veer off topic, "there are always people who say that rich people are not clean and must have a lot of mistresses. I'm the first to disagree! When it comes to finding a partner, character really comes first. Handsome men cheat, and ugly men cheat too. Rich men cheat, and poor men cheat too. It shows that marital fidelity has nothing to do with temptation, wealth, beauty, or ugliness. It has everything to do with character."
Mr. Wang directly sublimated the theme: "So, a person's character can also be seen from his views on marriage. People who are loyal to their partners are not bad people. Following Mr. Jiang and Mr. Gu is definitely the right choice!"
"Yes," Mr. Long said, "Our Mr. Jiang is kindhearted. He's really different from the average capitalist. Did you hear about Jiuchi Real Estate asking us to cooperate in the bidding rigg?"
"I heard a little bit about it. They showed quite a bit of sincerity, but in the end, they were scolded out of the office by President Jiang. I rarely see President Jiang get so angry."
"What's going on? I've heard two versions. One version says Jiuchi wants to cooperate with us to develop a new real estate project, and the other version says they just want us to go through the motions and bid."
The so-called "bid rigging①" is actually collusion in bidding. Several bidders agree with each other to raise or lower the bid price in order to exclude other bidders, and then let the company that organized the bid rigging win the bid. It is a common violation in bidding.
Although it seriously infringes on industry fairness, it is still rampant due to the vested interests involved and is almost an unspoken rule in many industries.
For example, if Jiuchi Real Estate extends an olive branch and asks Jiang Group to help with bidding, they will definitely show corresponding "sincerity". If they agree, it will only be a piece of cake.
However, Mr. Jiang refused to agree to anything.
"Actually, both statements are correct," Mr. Long said. "Jiuchi came here for two reasons. The first is to ask us to help them bid for the 'non-performing asset' that the bank is dealing with. The second is to cooperate with us to acquire another piece of land. They are said to have inside information, but they can't keep it themselves."
“What non-performing assets?”
"Well, come to think of it, it's a piece of crap! It's an unfinished building. The original company, Yuandong Real Estate, ran away before the building was even built! As soon as they took the pre-sale money, they ran away."
"How did you run away? Did you run away with the pre-sale money?"
"That's right. All the money that should have been transferred was transferred away, leaving only a shell company. It filed for bankruptcy, cheating both the homebuyers and the bank. The bank had no choice but to take over the unfinished building and dispose of it as non-performing assets."
"These real estate developers are fucking bastards. Ordinary people save their entire lives and take out a 30-year loan just to buy a building. How can that be easy? They're even cheating people out of their hard-earned money. I curse them to never get rich and go to hell! They're also causing us to get called capitalists. Fuck that!"
"Hey, Mr. Wang, calm down," Mr. Liu said. "Disposing of non-performing assets is very cheap. I've seen them discounted by 10% or 20%! Jiuchi Real Estate is making a killing this time. Is Mr. Jiang refusing to cooperate with the bidding because he wants us to take it over ourselves?"
"Oh, you only know one side of the story. If they really wanted to bid for the land, President Jiang wouldn't be so angry. Let's compete fairly and make money in harmony. Do you know what the boss of Jiuchi owns another company called? It's called Yuandong Real Estate!"
"……Hold."
“…Fuck.”
"He's buying his own land. What's his intention? I know!" Mr. Wang slapped his forehead. "He wants to negotiate terms, right? Change the plot ratio or something!"
"As expected of Mr. Wang, coming from a real estate project department background, he hit the nail on the head. They bid for their own land, so whether they make a profit or a loss doesn't matter. But the negotiation is the key. They could have built 300 units on a site, but in the end, they were able to build 500, almost doubling the amount. Furthermore, by delaying the project for a few years, the profits generated are also quite substantial, considering the huge amount of money involved. They're really taking advantage of people."
"Hey, no wonder President Jiang doesn't associate with them!"
"Moreover, President Jiang also said that he plans to gradually divest the real estate business, finish the current Jingyuan community, and never touch it again in the future. Our group will completely transform into new energy and high-tech."
"Ah? Real estate is the business that our Jiang family started from. Can you just give it up?"
"Well, I think Mr. Jiang is farsighted. The real estate market has indeed been bad in recent years."
“…”
The topics of several executives went on and on, and they kept talking until they were queuing for taxis. They still seemed to be reluctant to finish their conversation, but Zhang Junnan gradually stopped listening to a word they said.
He only cared about the previous topic: Are Mr. Jiang and Mr. Gu really that close? Is there no way anyone can get involved?
Zhang Junnan didn't want to be a mistress either. In fact, he had always felt that same-sex relationships were so fragile. Six months together was considered a "golden wedding," but who could really last seven years? Jiang Nuo and Gu Jiangkuo hadn't divorced for seven years, surely to stabilize the company's stock.
Seven or eight years ago, he saw the local trending search for Yanlin and saw the young man at the concert. He never forgot him for a long time. Later, he accidentally saw Mr. Jiang wearing a black tuxedo and became popular again for playing Debussy's "Clair de Lune" at the company's annual meeting.
At that time, Zhang Junnan was at the age of falling in love for the first time. Perhaps when she was young, the person she liked from afar would leave a mark in her heart for the rest of her life.
So when he heard that his father actually had some friendship with Mr. Jiang, he eagerly begged his father for several days and finally succeeded in standing by his side.
But he never expected that it would develop like this - he understood Mr. Liu's suggestion.
"It turns out that there really is such a loyal and sincere love in this world." Zhang Junnan thought dejectedly as he got into the taxi, but besides being disappointed, he was actually a little envious.
.
The dinner was quite sumptuous, prepared by a chef invited to the house. Aunt Mei also showed off her cooking skills and made two side dishes that were her favorite when they were children for the two brothers.
However, there was one more person at the family dinner than expected. Rong Yi looked at Jiang Nuo calmly with a smile on his lips. He ignored Mr. Gu Dajiang who was glaring at him warily and said politely, "Mr. Jiang, it's not hard. I'm just helping to sort out some project processes. This is what I should do. Xiaomi is really smart and understands it immediately."
Jiang Xiaomi was grinning foolishly, looking like she was waiting for praise from her elder brother.
Jiang Nuo: “…”
For some reason, he always felt that Rong Yi and his own Jiang Xiaomi were too close. Unlike the pure friendship of classmates in their childhood, there seemed to be something more in Rong Yi's eyes.
Mr. Jiang suddenly felt unhappy, as if his cabbages were about to be eaten by pigs from other families. However, because he was not sure, he remained calm. However, after the meal, he pulled Gu Jiangkuo and whispered, "Do you think Rong Yi is not right?"
"I think so!" Mr. Gu Dajiang was filled with righteous indignation. "I've always felt that this guy is not a good person!" This bastard has had evil intentions towards you since high school! I've wanted to deal with him for a long time! Nuonuo, have you finally figured it out?
Jiang Nuo: "Really? I also think he has bad intentions towards our Xiaomi."
"That's right! Hey?" Gu Jiangkuo was stunned for a moment, then said happily, "That's not bad!"
Then, President Jiang glared at her, and her smile disappeared.
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