Chapter 52
If half a year ago, there was a contest to vote for "the person who cares most about Jiang Nuo in the world", the winner would definitely be Jiang Nuo himself.
But now, this honor will probably have to give way to Gu Jiangkuo - that's what Jiang Su thought.
Ever since the funeral of Mr. Jiang, Young Master Jiang fell ill due to excessive grief and overwork. Gu Jiangkuo put aside his work and studies and focused all his attention on Jiang Nuo.
Jiang Su often saw Gu Jiangkuo holding a phone and remotely directing the construction site, or seizing every spare moment to review his lessons. While taking both into account, he was always ready to respond to Young Master Jiang's requests.
None of the Twenty-Four Filial Sons are as filial as he is.
For example, in the middle of the night that day, Jiang Su was sighing and studying, cramming for an exam, when he saw Gu Jiangkuo hurried downstairs, putting on his coat as he walked.
"Brother Gu, it's so late, where are you going?"
"Buy taro paste cake." Gu Jiangkuo responded hastily and rushed out the door like a gust of wind.
Jiang Su: “…”
Jiang Su dropped his book, climbed upstairs curiously, knocked on his brother's door, and poked his head in: "Eating cake in the middle of the night, aren't you afraid of getting fat?"
"How did you know I wanted to eat cake?" Jiang Nuo raised his eyelids from the phone screen casually.
"...Brother Gu, you rushed to buy it because you wanted to eat it." Jiang Su simply came in and said with a playful smile, "Which cake did you buy? Brother, give him a call and bring him some milk tea."
"That place doesn't have milk tea," Young Master Jiang said rudely, "Don't bother him so late at night."
Jiang Su thought to himself: Who is tormenting him?
Jiang Su glanced at her brother's phone again. It turned out to be the Weibo interface. A food blogger had posted a picture of a taro cake that looked very sweet and tempting. Jiang Su happened to know the cake shop. They only sold cakes and no milk tea. There was only one store, about 20 kilometers away from home, with no branches.
More importantly...
"It should be closed at this time. He won't be able to buy it even if he goes there." Jiang Su complained.
Jiang Nuo said worriedly: "Yeah, he probably can't buy it, but he insisted on going, I just mentioned it." Speaking of which, takeout was not popular that year, and things like "Mou Tuan" and "Mou E" had not yet been established. Takeout relied entirely on delivery from their own stores, and there was no system. Unlike a few years later, as long as you have money, you can eat the food you want no matter how far away or what time it is.
If I invest in related companies in advance, will there be any development prospects? It seems that there is no way. For example, large companies like those in the early stage give out a large number of coupons, subsidize merchants, and subsidize customers in order to acquire customers... The investment is too much. Jiang's scale is too small and it is probably not affordable...
Jiang Su had no idea that his brother's divergent business thinking focused on the second half of his sentence. He felt inexplicably shown off and couldn't help but say, "Brother, you're not that sick, are you?"
Mr. Jiang's thoughts were interrupted, and he came to his senses: "Huh?"
"I mean, you have a rosy complexion, you can eat and drink, and you can even stay up late to check Weibo. You are so energetic, you don't look like a patient at all." Jiang Su complained mercilessly. Speaking of which, his brother specially hired a nutritionist to take care of his body. During this period, he did nothing but eat and sleep, but he didn't gain weight at all. Instead, his complexion became more and more beautiful, and his skin became more and more tender, just like he was in confinement after childbirth.
"You've almost recovered, why aren't you going to work yet?" Jiang Su finished the second half of the sentence expressionlessly. Could it be that he's become addicted to Gu Jiangkuo's service and has since stopped attending court?
Even when he was ill, President Jiang was still able to devote all his energy to his work: "You don't understand. A leader who can keep the company running even when I'm away for a few days is someone who truly knows how to utilize people. You don't think I'm idle every day and do nothing, do you?"
“…”
From Jiang Su's dazed expression, President Jiang got a positive answer and immediately gave his brother a disdainful roll of the eyes. "Besides the routine reports, I'll assign a few people to report the same thing to me every day to see how they interpret it... I can judge a matter from different perspectives, and also see the relationships between people. Jiang's just gone through a major reshuffle, so things still need to adjust... Forget it, since you can't understand this, there are two other things I'd better do while I'm 'sick' and have the energy to do them."
"Xiao Su," Jiang Nuo changed the subject, "First, you mentioned this to me at Dad's farewell ceremony: Are you really willing to let me be your legal guardian? Have you thought it through?"
Hearing this question, Jiang Su also became serious.
He has lived with Jiang Nuo for such a long time, and has learned a lot from him. Guardianship is not just a trivial matter like who goes to the parent-teacher meeting, but more importantly, it involves equity.
A 12% stake in the Jiang Group was an astronomical sum, and there was no guarantee that Lao Meiqin, or rather, the pretty boy beside her, wouldn't be tempted. Since he was still a minor, as the legal guardian, it was possible for him to manipulate and transfer or resell this huge fortune.
In fact, Jiang Su didn't understand anything too complicated. He only knew now which one of his two closest relatives, Lao Meiqin and Jiang Nuo, to choose to trust.
Now he had his answer.
"I've thought it over, brother. I'm serious." Jiang Su said.
"Okay," Jiang Nuo said, "Your mother knows what your guardianship means. It's a huge fortune, and she won't let it go easily. But now that we've made this decision, I'll try to cut the Gordian knot quickly and avoid any friction, so as not to make things difficult for you. ... This won't be easy, and I might have to use some extraordinary measures. Will you trust me and leave this matter entirely to me? Will you not interfere, no matter what I hear or see?"
Jiang Nuo rarely spoke to him so seriously. Jiang Su pursed his lips and said solemnly, "Okay."
It just so happened that he didn't want to see Lao Meicen again - as if getting close to her would be like betraying his father - so it would be better for him to leave everything to his brother, not care about anything, and pretend he didn't know about it.
Many times, Jiang Su would feel that her brother looked weak and even softer and more delicate than a girl, but he was very responsible in his bones. When encountering troubles, he did not escape but rushed to the front. He was both courageous and capable. Perhaps this was a real man and a real pillar of the family.
"Very good," Jiang Nuo patted his brother's head. "Since you've been so well behaved, I'll reward you with a piece of taro cake later."
"Yeah, thank you, brother."
Jiang Su thought to himself: This pillar of the family is also very gentle.
Jiang Nuo added: "But you can only eat one piece. Jiang Kuoda bought this for me in the middle of the night. And you are not like me. You can eat as much as you want without gaining weight. You are not a child anymore. You should pay attention to your body shape, otherwise you won't be able to find a girlfriend."
Jiang Su: “………………”
Take back all the praise just now, and destroy it.
Jiang Su said expressionlessly: "It's so late, the cake shop has been closed for a long time, you can't buy it even if you go there, forget it." Let's starve together!
But the slap in the face came very quickly. Five minutes later, Gu Jiangkuo came back exhausted. He still had his coat on, and it was damp from the cold dew outside. His short hair was a little messy from the wind. The cake in his hand was steady and not damaged at all. There was more than one flavor. In addition to the taro paste that Jiang Nuo ordered, there were also his signature durian and chestnut cakes.
Jiang Su was shocked: "It's the middle of the night, and his shop is still open?"
Gu Jiangkuo said casually, "It's closed, but the young master wanted to eat, so he contacted the boss and asked them to come over and work overtime."
Jiang Su: ...Awesome!
Because he bought a lot of food, and Young Master Jiang would never touch food that had passed its best-ever period, so in the end, Jiang Su was lucky enough to get a lot of cakes.
When his belly was full, he said to Gu Jiangkuo with a bit of embarrassment, "Brother Gu, I'm sorry I ate all the leftovers and forgot to leave any for you."
"It's okay," Gu Jiangkuo said, "I don't eat sweets."
Jiang Su: "Don't you like sweet things?" This is consistent with Brother Gu's personality. A cold-faced cool guy like him should not touch desserts, but prefer whiskey and vodka.
"No," Gu Jiangkuo said honestly, "Eating sweets will make you fat."
Jiang Su: “???”
Very good. After all the fuss, he was the only one who got fat. Jiang Su left angrily with wide noodles tears in his heart.
Gu Jiangkuo was left to seriously analyze himself: He knew that he was average looking and could not attract people with his face. If he couldn't maintain his figure, he would definitely not be able to win Xiaonuo's favor.
.
After getting authorization from his younger brother, Young Master Jiang took action and chose a day with good air after rain to go out in the evening.
At the end of the city, where the sky meets the tall buildings, there is a long rainbow hanging in the air. Gu Jiangkuo acts as a driver and takes Jiang Nuo to a private teahouse.
The name of this place is "Teahouse", which is actually pronounced as "a place for secret talks". After all, no one would really spend 1888 to drink a pot of Tieguanyin here.
Naturally, what this teahouse is most praised for is not the tea, but its privacy.
Mr. Jiang deliberately arrived fifteen minutes late, and by the time he arrived, the man had already stood up and paced around. He was a handsome man with a rather gruff demeanor.
It was Lao Meiqin’s lover, Pan Yian, the pretty boy who cheated on Lao Jiang.
"Hello, Mr. Pan." Seeing him, Jiang Nuo's eyes flashed with disgust, but he still shook hands with the man very gracefully, "Sorry for being late."
"How could that be?" Pan Yian, who had been waiting anxiously, rubbed his hands and said, "Please sit down."
"By the way, this is my assistant," Jiang Nuo introduced. "We're all family, so you can talk freely about anything. Now, Mr. Pan, can you tell me what you want to talk to me about?"
Gu Jiangkuo was stunned when he heard this. He vaguely knew that this Pan was Lao Meiqin's lover, and he also knew that Jiang Nuo was planning to ask him out to discuss Jiang Su's custody rights—and therefore, the equity—but he hadn't expected that it would be Pan Yian who took the initiative to ask Jiang Nuo out! What was going on?
"This," Pan Yian pulled out a business plan from his briefcase, "is actually a business I'd like to discuss with Mr. Jiang. It's a very good project, and everything is ready. We just need an investment as start-up capital."
However, Mr. Jiang didn't even answer. He took a sip of his tea and said, "What kind of investment do you think you need me to negotiate in person?"
Pan Yi'an hadn't expected Jiang Nuo to be so arrogant. The proposal froze in mid-air, neither handing it over nor taking it back, feeling incredibly awkward. Gu Jiangkuo observed this, remained silent for a moment, then took it for Jiang Nuo on his own initiative, explaining to Pan Yi'an, "Mr. Jiang never personally reviews it. It's always us assistants who look over it for him and then pick out the key points for his report."
Pan Yian immediately nodded to Gu Jiangkuo gratefully: "Thank you for your help."
Then he made an excuse to go out and make a phone call.
When there were only two people left in the soundproof room, Jiang Nuo gave Gu Jiangkuo a look of approval without any concealment, "Jiangkuo, you have a good understanding." Before he even winked, he had already done the job, and did it so naturally.
"It's not hard to guess," Gu Jiangkuo said, adding as he politely poured Jiang Nuo a fresh cup of tea. "If you didn't want to pay attention to him, you wouldn't have come here at all. You probably just wanted to warn him first. The war is all about timing. Young Master, you're the good guy, so of course you need someone else to play the bad guy to complement you."
He is indeed worthy of being the future Mr. Gu! Jiang Nuo thought, with such a smart brain, even if he has no connection with a top wealthy family like the Nanyang Gu family, he will not be bad if he works hard on his own!
Then Gu Jiangkuo asked, "But what I don't understand is why he came to you instead of you coming to him?"
Jiang Nuo picked up the tea that Gu Jiangkuo had personally poured, took a sip with confidence, and said with a smile, "Have you ever heard the saying, 'High-end hunters appear in the form of prey'?"
"..." Gu Jiangkuo had never heard of this internet slang that was used many years later, but he was attracted by the person who was talking in front of him. It was really unfair to see good-looking people smile, especially a cunning smirk.
Gu Jiangkuo's ears turned red and he was a little distracted.
Jiang Nuo didn't wait for the other party to guess the answer, and simply answered his own question: "Actually, before obtaining Jiang Su's consent - about two months ago, I had already sent people to secretly monitor Pan Yian. I thoroughly investigated his three generations of ancestors and grandchildren. I knew what his bottom price was, and I kept sending people to whisper in his ear and make suggestions, making him understand that instead of relying on that stupid woman Lao Meiqin to fight for the family property in a hopeless battle, it would be better for him to come to me directly with bargaining chips."
Gu Jiangkuo: "His bargaining chip is the custody of Lao Meiqin?"
"That's right," Jiang Nuo said. "This is his only bargaining chip. If my guess is correct, he's talking to Lao Meiqin right now, discussing how much he'll offer us next."
Gu Jiangkuo suddenly understood: "You mean, if we let him beg us, we will have the initiative and can lower his price to the maximum, and 'buy' back the custody of Jiang Su at the lowest price." This is indeed a good idea that has the best of both worlds. Doing so will not hurt the relationship, will not make the situation awkward, will not put Jiang Su in the middle, and can also effectively prevent the other party from asking for an exorbitant price.
I have to say that Young Master Jiang is very thoughtful. No wonder everyone in the Yanlin business circle and the company praises the new CEO Jiang for his meticulous thinking and for being able to think five steps ahead.
But Gu Jiangkuo didn't expect that Jiang Nuo would be so rational and could calmly negotiate with the pretty boy who cheated on his father.
Then, Master Jiang slowly shook his head. "It's not the lowest price. What I want is for that Pan guy to lose so much money that he can't even afford to wear pants, and he won't be able to find anyone to settle the score with. He can only suffer in silence and consider himself unlucky."
At this time, footsteps were heard outside the door again. Jiang Nuo made a gesture to silence him, and put on his young master style again, showing Pan Yian a very shallow smile that did not reach his eyes, "Mr. Pan, you are back."
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