Chapter 25 (with red envelope)
After completing a "big deal", Mr. Jiang simply gave himself a day off and went home directly in the afternoon.
After resting in the alley for a while, Jiang Nuo finally regained some strength - judging by the time, the bosses should have almost left.
Now is the perfect time to go home.
But the delicate Young Master Jiang was unwilling to walk even a step further. He called the address and asked the driver, Old Liu, to drive over. The road was narrow and crowded, making it difficult to drive or find the place. The wait was quite long, and Jiang Nuo felt her feet getting sore from standing, but she didn't lean on Gu Jiangkuo anymore.
Perhaps because the driver might come at any moment, he was embarrassed to let outsiders see him standing in an awkward position.
Gu Jiangkuo noticed his boss's subtle movement of slightly lifting his two feet in turn and whispered, "Tired? Let me massage them for you first."
After saying that, without waiting for Jiang Nuo's agreement, he squatted down, grabbed his calves with his big hands, and began to massage them with appropriate strength.
"..." Jiang Nuo wanted to refuse, but he was still outside, what would it look like?
But Gu Jiangkuo's two big hands had just the right amount of strength. After just two pinches, the pain was gone. It was really quite comfortable. He couldn't say no.
Old Liu still didn't drive the car over.
Young Master Jiang looked down at his tall bodyguard—even half-crouching, he was still quite large—and couldn't help but say, "Jiang Kuo, it would be great if you could drive."
Gu Jiangkuo paused in kneading his calf, raised his head, and said seriously, "Then I'll sign up for a class tomorrow."
Jiang Nuo was amused by his bodyguard's reaction. "There's no need to be so anxious." He just said it casually, there was no need to sign up for a class tomorrow.
Sometimes, Boss Gu was too obedient, as if he was willing to take any joke he said as a golden rule, like a well-trained, fierce dog that would never bare its teeth at him.
Then I heard the fierce dog Ben Quan say: "Master asked me to learn, so I will learn, but in the future you have to let me take you to and from get off work, Master can't lie to me and let me learn for nothing."
After saying that, he lowered his head again and massaged Jiang Nuo's legs tirelessly, not giving him a chance to refuse.
Jiang Nuo: “…”
Something felt wrong. When had I agreed to let him drive me to and from work? But refusing now seemed even more wrong, like I was going back on my word, regretting it the moment I'd said it.
Before Young Master Jiang could get out of his logical dilemma, he saw the driver, Old Liu, jogging over.
Old Liu was also stunned when he saw the appearance of his young master and Gu Jiangkuo. The young master was standing lazily in the shadow of the alley wall, without being harmed by the ultraviolet rays at all, while his tall bodyguard was squatting in the scorching afternoon sun, his wheat-colored skin turning a little red, half-kneeling, with a pair of big hands with thick joints holding the young master's slender legs.
Carefully and slowly, kneading and massaging may seem a bit too intimate.
But Lao Liu was a very cultured driver. He turned a blind eye to anything wrong with the boss and took the two of them into the car as if nothing had happened.
On the way, Jiang Nuo couldn't get a good sleep leaning on Gu Jiangkuo - his cell phone kept ringing.
As soon as the bidding ended, the news spread like wildfire. People came to inquire about the news, to comfort, and to inquire about the news in the name of comfort... There was an endless stream of people.
Mr. Jiang mostly dealt with it with nonsense literature, and only one phone call was useful throughout the whole process.
Gu Jiangkuo didn't see the caller ID, but he could roughly guess who it was.
When answering the phone, Jiang Nuo stopped being perfunctory and even sat up straighter. The expression on his face changed with the tone of his voice, slowly changing from serious at the beginning to relaxed later, and finally a smile appeared in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
"You're welcome. It's a win-win situation for everyone... The commission will be as we agreed before... Okay, goodbye, Mr. Zeng."
There are not many people with the surname Zeng in Yanlin.
Gu Jiangkuo's guess was confirmed, and he couldn't help but look at Jiang Nuo. The young chairman was in high spirits, with a smile still on his delicate and fair face, full of youthful spirit.
Gu Jiangkuo quietly withdrew his gaze and felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart.
Being able to stay by this person's side and guard him so closely is a happy thing in itself.
But people are always greedy. As they look at him, they are no longer satisfied. They are not satisfied with just looking at him and guarding him.
.
The weekday afternoon was particularly peaceful. Aunt Mei had gone out to buy groceries and had not returned yet. Old Mrs. Wang was taken out for a walk by the caregiver, and even Wangcai was taking a nap in the doghouse.
The whole villa was quiet.
Jiang Nuo dragged his tired body, changed his clothes quickly, and then couldn't wait to do what he had been looking forward to since morning - throwing himself on the bed and burying his face in the soft pillow.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door.
Young Master Jiang didn't even raise his head, dragging out a lazy tone: "The door is not closed."
The first thing Gu Jiangkuo did after entering the room was to pick up the air conditioner remote control and adjust the direction. "You can't let it blow directly like this, it's easy to catch a cold."
"Oh." Jiang Nuo responded vaguely, tilted his head slightly from the pillow, and saw that Gu Jiangkuo had also changed into home clothes - the one he had personally picked for him.
The beige short-sleeved trousers and soft, loose cotton clothes are a very homely and relaxing style, which softens his overall temperament.
Seeing that he had adjusted the air conditioner but hadn't left yet, Jiang Nuo remembered that she had invited him for a massage. She rested her head back on the pillow and said lazily, "Massage?"
Gu Jiangkuo hummed, put down the remote control, stood still for a moment, and then climbed onto the bed.
He was nearly 1.9 meters tall, with a body of strong and smooth muscles. He was indeed very heavy. As soon as he got on the bed, the soft mattress was pressed down very deeply. Jiang Nuo almost rolled over with the sinking mattress, and was barely able to stabilize himself when Gu Jiangkuo grabbed his waist.
"I'm sorry." Gu Jiangkuo said a little flustered, his hands still clasping Jiang Nuo's waist.
"..." Jiang Nuo was a little speechless. He wanted to tease, "You should lose weight," but when he saw his bodyguard's beautiful, muscular figure without a trace of fat, he swallowed the words back in disappointment. He muttered, "It's okay," and then propped himself up on his elbows and lay back down.
He just felt that the palm of the hand holding his waist was a little rough, scratching his skin and making it itchy and painful - the summer home clothes were short, and when she accidentally rolled over just now, a part of her white waist was exposed.
Gu Jiangkuo held Jiang Nuo carefully, and felt that his palm was smooth, tender and soft, even tenderer than freshly baked white tofu. He almost didn't dare to use force, for fear that his clumsy hands would hurt him. He was also afraid that if he didn't care, he would fall and become so stiff that he didn't know what to do.
As I was struggling, I felt my hand being grabbed.
Jiang Nuo half-stood up, turned around, grabbed his palm and examined it, rubbing it with his thumb, "Has the callus on your palm not healed yet?"
The palm of his hand felt soft and warm, just like being rubbed by kitten fur. Gu Jiangkuo was so hot in the air-conditioned room at 24 degrees Celsius that he felt like sweating. He said with forced calmness, "No. Calluses are very difficult to get rid of."
In fact, ever since Jiang Nuo first complained about the roughness of his palms and how uncomfortable they were as a pillow, Gu Jiangkuo secretly asked Sister Xiao Wang for advice and bought a hand cream she recommended. He placed it in the deepest part of his office drawer and would use it secretly when no one was around - Gu Jiangkuo always felt that this kind of thing was for women and not for men, and it would be embarrassing to use.
"If you think it's too rough, then I'll go back first..." Gu Jiangkuo said dejectedly.
"How could that be?" Jiang Nuo laughed, still maintaining the posture of holding Gu Jiangkuo's hand. Young Master Jiang was born with fair skin, and his whole body was white and transparent, like a piece of soft and smooth mutton-fat jade. His hands were also like that, and they were a circle smaller than Gu Jiangkuo's big hands. In contrast to those white, tender and slender hands, Gu Jiangkuo's hands seemed even thicker and more powerful.
Because the two people have quite different skin colors, the white one looks even whiter and the wheat-colored one looks even darker.
Jiang Nuo let him go, yawned, and lay back down. With a soft nasal tone, he said seriously: "I just think that you shouldn't suffer so much. From now on, when you are by my side, I won't let your hands get calluses."
Gu Jiangkuo's heart warmed up, and he said sullenly, "Yeah."
Then he began to massage Young Master Jiang.
He used to get injured often. For soft tissue contusions, the most effective way is to forcefully rub the blood clots to reduce swelling.
But Jiang Nuo was so different from him.
He has a small frame, so even though he looks thin, he actually feels soft all over. Not to mention using force, I'm afraid of hurting him with a normal massage.
Not to mention the exposed arms and legs, Gu Jiangkuo was very afraid that his calloused palms and fingers would scratch the young master's delicate skin.
This was also the first time that Gu Jiangkuo observed Jiang Nuo so blatantly and carefully.
Young Master Jiang was afraid of both cold and heat. Even though the air conditioner was on almost 24 hours a day at home, he still had to wear pajamas with short sleeves and shorts, so his slender white legs and arms were exposed. His arms were slightly bent and rested under his chin, while his long and slender legs were exposed to the sun.
He is thin, with straight and beautiful lines on his back and legs, except for his perky buttocks, which form a beautiful curve connecting to his concave waist.
Gu Jiangkuo's big hands massaged from the shoulders to the waist, but he was hesitant to go further down, afraid to touch the place that looked plump and elastic.
Two villains popped up in Gu Da Lao's mind. One upright villain advised: "You should stop indulging your selfishness. Quit while you're ahead. Know when to stop!" The other evil villain said: "The opportunity is fleeting! Don't you want it? You're so eager in your heart, even if you pinch it hard, what's the harm? Don't you want to make him cry? He must look beautiful when he cries!"
Just as he was struggling with his conscience, Jiang Nuo gave a command: "Can you massage my feet? They're so sore."
“…Yeah, okay.”
Gu Jiangkuo breathed a sigh of relief.
He was somewhat relieved that his shameful thoughts were stopped in time. If he really hurt him, he would definitely hate him, right? But... would he really cry if he was hurt?
This sudden thought startled Gu Jiangkuo, and he quickly collected his thoughts and moved to the end of the bed with a red face.
Jiang Nuo's feet are so cute, white, dry, and even the soles are soft. You can tell at a glance that she rarely needs to walk. They are a pair of pampered feet that are used to being picked up and dropped off by cars.
Just a little cold.
Gu Jiangkuo covered him with his palms, and then pulled over a thin summer quilt to cover Jiang Nuo.
Jiang Nuo did not object. In fact, he was already a little drowsy.
Gu Jiangkuo worked tirelessly to massage his feet, and while doing so he thought to himself: I knew he had delicate skin and tender flesh, but I didn't expect it to be so tender.
When he was a child, he thought fairy tales were made up. Now he believes them a little. The Princess and the Pea might be real. Isn’t Young Master Jiang a living example?
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Nuo fell into a deep sleep, breathing evenly and steadily.
Gu Jiangkuo got out of bed quietly, carefully covered Jiang Nuo with the quilt, and turned up the air conditioner by two degrees. He looked at his sleeping face by the bed reluctantly for a while before leaving as quietly as possible.
.
Perhaps because he had a very comfortable nap yesterday, Jiang Nuo was still full of energy and not a bit tired the next day. He was even distracted while thinking about the meeting.
He wondered: How can I get Gu Jiangkuo to give me more massages? He hadn't expected Gu Jiangkuo to be so skilled! Not only was his strength just right, but even his slightly rough fingertips were able to massage away his fatigue just right. However, he didn't dare push Gu Jiangkuo too hard. What if Gu Jiangkuo didn't agree, and he got rich later, what would he do?
"Mr. Jiang, did you hear what I just said?" Vice President Huang Dongliang said with some embarrassment.
This young Mr. Jiang, who was still wet behind the ears, was actually distracted in front of him and didn't take him seriously at all!
Jiang Nuo came to his senses and said, "I heard it. So what?"
Huang Dongliang: “…………”
Vice President Huang couldn't contain his anger anymore and said aggressively, "So, you need to give the company an explanation for what happened yesterday!"
Because of excitement, Vice President Huang slammed the table angrily, shocking the entire conference room. He is in his fifties and is a veteran who founded the company together with President Jiang. He has accumulated a lot of power and is used to taking advantage of his seniority. He naturally thought that this trick would still work on the young President Jiang.
However, at the same time as the sound of slamming the table rang out, Assistant Gu next to President Jiang suddenly stood up, reacting extremely quickly and also slamming the table.
This sound came almost immediately after, but was even stronger. The sound and force were enough to almost break a table with bare hands. The entire conference room was silenced.
Huang Dongliang, who wanted to use his seniority to pressure others, said: "…………"
Huang Dongliang met Gu Jiangkuo's sharp eyes like a ferocious beast, and felt an even more difficult-to-control rage in his heart, but his arrogance was extinguished in an instant.
"Jiang Kuo," Jiang Nuo said calmly, "How can you treat your senior like this? Sit down."
Then, Assistant Gu, who had been so ferocious just now as if he wanted to eat people alive, immediately retracted his sharp teeth like a well-trained loyal dog, responded in a disciplined manner with a "Sorry, Mr. Jiang", and sat back obediently.
His expression changed very quickly, and he looked like he was living in peace and tranquility. If it weren't for the several pens that were knocked off by his palm and were still rolling on the ground, one would have suspected that nothing had happened just now.
Huang Dongliang refused to pretend nothing had happened. He clutched his heart and tremblingly complained, "Boss Jiang! Is this how your assistant treats his boss? Even an elderly man?"
Jiang Nuo said calmly: "So I criticized him."
Huang Dongliang: “???”
When did he criticize him? Just that light-hearted "How could you treat your senior like this?" Huang Dongliang was defending his son in front of him, not taking him seriously at all. His heart ached even more as he was about to say more, but Jiang Nuo said slowly, "But I'm his boss, Mr. Huang, don't worry about it."
The implication is: I am the only one who can manage my people, and no one else can interfere. If you dare to scold him, I will point my finger at you and scold you.
Huang Dongliang: “…”
Jiang Nuo looked at Old Huang with a forced smile: "Let's get down to business. What happened yesterday? Vice President Huang, don't be so angry. We are all civilized people. Let's talk it out."
"..." Huang Dongliang first hit a hard nail with Gu Jiangkuo, and then hit a soft nail with Jiang Nuo. However, he couldn't get the better of anyone, so he had to hold his breath and said, "I heard that you went to the auction at Jinchuang Building yesterday and arbitrarily used a high price to provoke others. This damaged the interests of our company. You should explain it to everyone."
Huang Dongliang had just been beaten up by General Manager Jiang and Assistant Gu. He was now lacking in confidence, which led to a loophole in his words. He said "ignoring the interests of the company" instead of "damaging the interests of the company."
Jiang Nuo caught his slip of the tongue and asked, "Excuse me, what did I lose? Did I lose money?"
Huang Dongliang: “…”
"I mean," he quickly corrected himself, "if you treat investments like a joke, how can you manage what your father left you—"
"Where did you get the idea of a joke?" Jiang Nuo interrupted him. "I wasn't optimistic about the prospects of the Jinchuang Building, so I didn't bid for it. I didn't even buy a floor, and I didn't invest a penny. Mr. Huang's accusations are really baffling to me."
Jiang Nuo pretended to shrug helplessly, and then he explained in detail how bad the prospects of Jinchuang Building were. He had already carefully studied the various parameters of Jinchuang Building and its future prospects, and now he spoke very clearly.
Mr. Jiang spoke eloquently, talking about data and prospects all the time, frequently throwing out experienced insights that were not in line with his age, and occasionally interspersed with professional terms, which left the executives present stunned. Many people, including Gu Jiangkuo, even looked at him with admiration.
Many executives couldn't help but start to re-examine the young chairman.
Mr. Jiang was so eloquent that by the time he finished speaking, everyone had forgotten that it was he who had spent a fortune to bid for the Jinchuang Building but failed. They were all brainwashed and only remembered what a wise decision it was that he did not bid for the Jinchuang Building.
The owner is great!
Even Huang Dongliang was confused, but when he came to his senses, he wisely stopped entangled with Jiang Nuo - he didn't want to compete with him in sophistry anymore.
Huang Dongliang took a deep breath and decided to get straight to the point: "Today is the day for the quarterly financial report summary, so let's get back to business."
Someone immediately responded, "Yes, the first item on the meeting was the P2P project that President Jiang was personally responsible for. The report is out, and the losses are shocking. It's going to go bankrupt."
This man was a senior executive of Huang Dongliang's faction. Jiang Nuo glanced at him indifferently and gave Wu Tong a wink.
Wu Tong immediately stepped forward and cleared his throat: "I'm also involved in this project. Let me give the report."
Someone had already connected the PPT to the big screen. Wu Tong, controlling the mouse, said, "This project was initially under the sole responsibility of the now-formed Li Qing... Today, overall, it's still in the red, but a significant amount of debt has been recovered over the past two months, and the trend is positive... The turning point came when President Jiang, on x/x/x, invited media reporters and personally visited the victim of this project—Mr. Gu Jiangkuo, now Assistant Gu—in front of the cameras. He clarified the rumors about our company, which reassured some of the defaulters and led them to repay their debts, thus ensuring the success of this project..."
At first Jiang Nuo listened and nodded slightly, but later even he couldn't stand it anymore.
Wu Tong is really good at whitewashing the situation. He speaks in high-sounding words but not a single word of truth is told.
Everyone knows that these deadbeats didn't have a "change of heart"; rather, someone "accidentally revealed their real information" and used TV interviews to expand their influence, causing them to be exposed online. Only then did some of them succumb to the pressure and pay back the money.
But the flaws outweigh the merits. The executives present were no fools, so how could they not understand the twists and turns involved? Although Wu Tong's words were fanciful, he achieved his goal - it was all thanks to Mr. Jiang that this project was able to turn the tide! The previous management chaos was entirely Li Qing's fault!
It has nothing to do with their wise and great President Jiang. You old foxes like Huang Dongliang, you want to put the blame on the boss, but you absolutely cannot do that!
No wonder Wu Tong could become a senior executive at such a young age. Not only was he a first-rate blame-shifter, he could also find time to smuggle his own opinions and flatter President Jiang. He did it with such ease that Jiang Nuo couldn't help but give him an admiring look, while secretly reflecting: Wu Tong was such a wonderful person, but he didn't make use of him in his previous life. What a mistake!
The more Huang Dongliang and the others listened, the worse their expressions grew. Finally, they simply ignored the art of speaking and focused on one point: "Let's not talk about the previous losses, but the next batch is coming soon. This project is quite large, and this batch alone has a shortfall of over 60 million. What should we do?"
If they can’t pay, they will still be exposed to the storm, or a complete failure, and bad debts! Even if they are good at speaking, they can’t solve the problem with just their sweet words!
Sure enough, Wu Tong was speechless and looked at Jiang Nuo for help.
Mr. Jiang also fell silent.
Huang Dongliang felt a surge of joy in his heart, and immediately became more energetic: "Why aren't you talking? If you don't say anything, then I have to say something as an elder. Xiao Nuo, I, Uncle Huang, have watched you grow up. Your father's matter came suddenly, and such a heavy burden was placed on you overnight. It's normal that you can't handle it."
"But people, you can't just act tough when you can't do something. No matter how nice your words are, it doesn't matter. If you can't do something, it won't work! You're still young, and we old guys who have watched you grow up won't blame you."
"Yeah," another boss, who was his uncle, said, "Young people are eager to prove themselves and brag. Those of us who have been through this can understand that, but hard work and dedication are what's most important."
With a snap of a lighter, another senior executive, surnamed Zhou, lit a cigarette, took a drag, and said slowly, "If you do something wrong, you must be punished. How can you let it go just because you're young? This is a company, not a child's playground."
Very good, the red-faced actors have finished singing, and it’s the black-faced actors’ turn.
The one who smoked said that this is their ultimate goal.
Jiang Nuo looked at him with interest: "What punishment?"
Vice President Zhou hadn't expected such a blunt question. He was stunned for a moment, then curled his lips and smiled, "Yesterday, they treated tens of millions like a joke. There was no loss, so that's fine, we can forget about it. But today's bad debt, just one item is a shortfall of tens of millions. What's the total loss? Hundreds of millions? I know that the subsidiary that launched the project had a backup plan from the beginning to mitigate risks. At worst, they could just default on the client's money, file for bankruptcy, and have several legal persons restricted... But what about the losses it caused to the company before?"
“Even if it was Li Qing’s fault, he was the one you accepted as your fate, President Jiang. This at least shows that you don’t know people well.”
For a boss, not being able to judge people well is a serious mistake.
Jiang Nuo could almost see through the faces of Vice President Huang, Vice President Zhou, and the others and see what they were thinking—to bring him down. Just like they had done in their previous life.
In his previous life, Jiang Nuo was a real child who knew nothing and acted on impulse. He suffered a lot and grew up with many setbacks. After seven or eight years of hard work, he finally succeeded in kicking these old guys out of the company one by one.
But now, he wants to catch them all in one fell swoop.
"Vice President Zhou means that if this project eventually fails, I should resign?" Jiang Nuo said.
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like boiling water poured into boiling oil. Almost all the executives present spoke out at the same time. Even Wu Tong looked at Jiang Nuo in shock. Only Gu Jiangkuo said nothing. Somehow, he just believed in Jiang Nuo's ability unconditionally.
Vice President Zhou had been quite arrogant earlier, but after being asked this question by Jiang Nuo, he became speechless. Jiang Nuo didn't mind. He turned to look at Huang Dongliang and the others, and called out their names one by one, "Boss Huang, Boss Zhao... What do you mean? Are they all the same?"
“…”
"Then do you dare to sign a military order?" Jiang Nuo asked, "If this project fails, I will resign as chairman and general manager on the day it fails. But if the project ends safely, the rest of you will resign. What do you think? Do you dare?"
Huang Dongliang and others: "..."
Jiang Nuo sat back in the main seat steadily, waiting patiently for them. The place was completely silent. After an unknown amount of time, Huang Dongliang was the first to speak, slowly saying, "Okay."
"But this is no joke. If you're going to sign, then sign a formal military order. Find a lawyer, draft a legal and compliant gambling agreement, sign and seal it, and it will be legally binding. No one can deny it!"
Jiang Nuo raised his eyebrows slightly when he heard this and said with a smile: "Okay, that's exactly what I want. What about the others?"
The other people and Huang Dongliang have always been a group with common interests, and there is no reason for them to fall apart at the critical moment. Moreover, they are all sure that Jiang Nuo, a young man, will never be able to turn the tide - most of the head office's working capital is in their hands. If they don't let go, how can Jiang Nuo fill the hole in the P2P?
So, several executives agreed with serious expressions.
"Well then," Jiang Nuo announced after the dust settled, "today's meeting ends here. Let's get back to work."
Because the shock was so great, everyone was extremely quiet when they left. In this silence, President Jiang suddenly called out to Vice President Zhou.
Now that the relationship had been exposed, Vice President Zhou no longer put on a facade of respecting President Jiang. He stopped, frowned, and asked, "What's the matter?"
Jiang Nuo: "Just a reminder, smoking is not allowed in the meeting room."
He was allergic to the smell of cigarettes, and his throat had been itchy since just now, making him feel uncomfortable for a long time. Ever since Young Master Jiang became the chairman, he announced that no one in the company was allowed to smoke in public places such as meeting rooms. Today was the first time someone openly challenged him.
"Heh, you haven't even fully grown your hair yet, but you have so many rules," Vice President Zhou sneered, and waved the cigarette in front of Jiang Nuo with his fingers, "Sorry, I'm a heavy smoker, I'm afraid I can't quit-"
However, before he could finish the word "了", Vice President Zhou felt a pain in the hand holding the cigarette, and then both his hand and the cigarette were pressed into the ashtray.
There was a half-burned cigarette in the ashtray. Perhaps it burned him, and Vice President Zhou's face instantly twisted. He opened his mouth and cursed. But a deep male voice rang in his ears: "I advise you to clean your mouth."
It was the tall and strong Assistant Gu.
Vice President Zhou's wrist was still held by Gu Jiangkuo, as if he could crush his bones at any time. He knew the situation well and immediately admitted his mistake and shut up.
Gu Jiangkuo then slowly let him go, straightened his cuffs, took a step back, stood still very politely, and repeated to him exactly what Vice President Zhou had said to Jiang Nuo just now: "I'm sorry, President Jiang is a noble man, and he can't change his habit of not being able to smell cigarettes. Please cooperate."
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