Chapter 28
Ever since his disagreement with Qiao Qi last night, Zheng Juyong had been working tirelessly to secure a new order. Fortunately, two chefs, Liu and Qin, were willing to help, though he'd have to offer some incentives. Liu had been in the UAE the longest, and while he couldn't read Arabic, he could speak it fluently and was quite clever. Qin, despite the language barrier, was a cheerful and outgoing man, especially when drinking.
He had already prepared enough materials, and with the help of these two people, he actually managed to get a deal. Although the amount was not large, only 300,000 US dollars, it was a good start! However, the boss lady's face was not very good, probably because of the Moutai liquor.
Actually, this was Master Liu's idea, and Master Qin also encouraged him: "Those Saudi businessmen should leave this afternoon, unless they have a few drinks. Even if they are strangers, once they get excited, anything will be easy to talk about!"
Drinking is strictly prohibited in Saudi Arabia, and even in Dubai, there are strict operating restrictions.
At first, Zheng Juyong refused. He'd been studying all night, not only preparing his own ingredients but also researching Saudi Arabian etiquette. He worried that his cleverness might backfire. But then Master Liu leaned in and whispered, "There are policies from above, and countermeasures from below. It's the same the world over! From the moment they walked in, I knew they were going to want a drink. This is a Chinese restaurant! Boss Zheng, you haven't been here long. When you're free someday, we'll take you to Bahrain to broaden your horizons. You'll know everything! Otherwise, do you think you can buy off the kitchen with a few US dollars? Just one look at this little teapot tells you they're seasoned!"
Zheng Juyong originally asked the two masters to come and help, so how could he refuse their kindness? In fact, as they said, the wine did play a key role.
He couldn't hold his liquor, so after the party, he returned to his previous hotel and fell into a deep sleep. Waking late into the night, he looked at the signed contract and felt like he was dreaming. It's done? Did he really manage to get it done? That wasn't that hard... The Persian Gulf is truly a land of gold.
Last night, he didn't know how to defend himself, nor how to dispel Qiao Qi's concerns. At that moment, any words seemed pale. Fortunately, he had this order today. Although the amount was not large, it was enough to prove himself. So tonight, he would regroup and go see Qiao Qi.
When I came to the Burj Al Arab for the first time, I found that I didn’t have a check-in voucher or a restaurant reservation, and I couldn’t even cross the pier. I had to call Qiao Qi, but Qiao Qi was in the swimming pool at the time and no one answered.
Just when he was at a loss outside the pier, he ran into Xiao Weiyan, who had rushed back drunk from the banquet. Xiao Weiyan's face was red from drinking, and he had to rely on the driver to support him when walking. His shirt was hanging out of his belt, which was really not decent.
"Xiao Weiyan?" Zheng Juyong carefully examined him to make sure he was not mistaken. "How much alcohol has he drunk?!"
"Is there a Chinese butler in the Burj Al Arab Hotel now?" The driver sent by the law firm had only dealt with Xiao Weiyan for a day or two and did not know Zheng Juyong yet. It happened that Zheng Juyong was dressed elegantly tonight to meet Qiao Qi, which made people misunderstand that he was the butler who came here specifically to welcome Xiao Weiyan.
Xiao Weiyan couldn't stand up anymore and hung on the driver's shoulder, slightly opening his drunken eyes: "Huh? You're here?"
The driver thought he was the butler and directly unloaded Xiao Weiyan on him. Then he trotted over with a large gift bag, which contained a wine box, a bunch of office computers and other electronic products, as well as a few thin folders.
"This... so many things? Is he moving?" Zheng Juyong had to support Xiao Weiyan, who was drunk. He was already a little unhappy, and when he had to carry such a big bag of things, of course he complained.
"Ah...someone inside will pay the tip for him." The driver misunderstood his meaning, thinking he was asking for a larger tip. "Thank you for your hard work. If Mr. Xiao asks about it later, please tell him that many of the documents and materials he was planning to take away involve competing businesses, so Eric has to take them back. I hope he can understand. If he needs anything later, he can discuss it with Eric. We wish him a safe journey."
"Competing business? Good luck?" Although Zheng Juyong had never worked for anyone else, he understood what competing business meant. So, Xiao Weiyan had quit? Was he going to Vancouver? Was what Daniel said true? Oh, it seemed like it was true, and Xiao Weiyan had even been tricked by his own boss while drunk! There's always someone better than you, and could this day come to the arrogant Xiao Weiyan?
After the driver relayed his message, he left it to Zheng Juyong without further ado. Taking advantage of Xiao Weiyan, the prospective guest, he successfully crossed the pier and entered the hotel. However, once inside, he didn't know which floor to take Xiao Weiyan to, and he didn't dare ask the actual housekeepers and service staff, fearing they would kick him out again.
After temporarily placing Xiao Weiyan in the rest area, he rummaged through the bag, trying to find the room card or something, when he inadvertently heard an unfamiliar cell phone ring. Xiao Weiyan was dazed and couldn't find his phone from his trouser pocket.
"I'll do it, I'll do it." Zheng Juyong took out the phone from his trouser pocket, glanced at the caller ID, and frowned, "Sister Jiawei?"
Pressed the answer button.
"Brother Yan, are you back? Hello? The driver said he brought you back ten minutes ago, why haven't you come up yet? Hello? Can you hear me? Hello? Hello?..." There was no response for a long time, and Jiawei on the other side became a little worried. She knew what he looked like when he was drunk.
Zheng Juyong sighed. These two were just as he expected. Although he didn't want to intervene, he had to: "Sister Jiawei, it's me. We are downstairs. Please come down."
"Ju...Juyong? Why is it you? Okay, wait for me, I'll be down right away!"
Jiawei was anxious and ran downstairs in her hotel slippers. It was obvious that she had been staying here for several days. "Juyong, uh...can you help me take him upstairs first?"
Zheng Juyong's face was not very good, but he did what he had to do without hesitation. He did not hesitate to dirty his new clothes and carried Xiao Weiyan all the way back to the room. When he entered the room, he noticed that there was only a double bed in the inner room.
Jiawei led the way, asking him to take Xiao Weiyan to the bed, but he walked straight to the sofa and angrily pushed the drunk man off his shoulder: "It stinks, don't vomit on the bed, it's better here!"
"Haha, thank you, you've worked hard." Jiawei thanked him on behalf of Xiao Weiyan, which really made him uncomfortable.
With a lot of questions in his mind, he silently watched Jiawei tidying up everywhere, as if she was Xiao Weiyan's girlfriend.
After a while, the two finally sat down.
As if turning herself in, Jiawei rubbed her knees, her palms sweaty. "This... is the room he booked. But he just moved in last night. Oh, don't get me wrong, he lived on this sofa last night. I saw that he was drunk tonight, so I wanted to make him feel more comfortable... Juyong, you, don't get me wrong..."
Zheng Juyong interrupted her coldly: "Sister Jiawei, I'm not a child."
Jiawei licked her lips. She couldn't sit still any longer and wanted to get up. "Would you like some water? Oh, yes, tea. Guan Guan said you like tea, right? Here's some."
Zheng Juyong looked at his watch. It was already past ten o'clock in the evening. He didn't want to waste any more time. "It's too late. I can't drink. I just want to know why you refused to answer my call."
Being rejected by him, Jiawei had to sit back down awkwardly: "I... live here, I don't know how to explain it to you."
He glanced at Xiao Weiyan, who was lying unconscious on the side, and suddenly felt that he should stand up for Guan Ying. He changed his sitting posture to a righteous one, crossed his arms in front of his chest, like Sherlock Holmes solving a case at the scene: "Actually, you don't need to explain anything to me, I already noticed you!"
When Jiawei heard this, her heart immediately choked up in her throat. If even he had discovered it, wouldn't Guan Ying have discovered it long ago? Jiawei's voice trembled a little: "Juyong, you, you think too much..." At the end of her words, her voice was so weak that even she couldn't hear it clearly. She was so guilty that she couldn't even finish her lie.
Zheng Juyong couldn't bear to listen any longer. He crossed his arms and shook his head righteously. "Sister Jiawei, you know that you're really not good at pretending or making excuses. You really should learn more from Xiao Weiyan. Forget it, you don't have to be nervous. Whether you two slept in the same bed is your private matter. I don't care and I'm not interested. But he is Guan Ying's boyfriend. Don't expect me to protect you."
It seemed he had discovered something, but not much. Jiawei's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but she kept blinking, trying to hold back the tears that had just overflowed due to her guilty conscience and panic.
Seeing her weak and easily bullied appearance, Zheng Juyong couldn't bear to be cruel anymore. He could only kick Xiao Weiyan's leather shoes beside the sofa in anger. "What's so good about him? You've only known him for a few days. Is he more important than the friendship between you and Guan Ying that has lasted for so many years? Did you know that he's going to Vancouver soon?"
"I know. His flight is tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?! But, but Guan Ying is still in the police station, and he just walked away like that? What kind of person is he!"
Jiawei stood up, retrieved a piece of paper from the desk and handed it to him: "He has already taken care of it. This is a notice from the police station. Tomorrow, I will trouble you to pick up Guan Guan."
"..." Zheng Juyong lowered his head and looked carefully, then looked up at Jiawei, "Aren't you going with me?"
Jiawei lowered her head. She wanted to meet Guan Ying, but she was afraid that she would collapse if they really met.
Zheng Juyong had slept for most of the day, so his mind was very clear at the moment: "You are not going to Vancouver with him, are you?"
Jiawei lowered her head even lower.
"Oh!" Zheng Juyong's heart was in turmoil. After all this fuss, if he hadn't caught them, these two would have planned to elope with Guan Ying. A nameless rage surged up, and he rolled up his sleeves and picked up Xiao Weiyan, who was lying on the side. "Get up right there! Stop pretending!"
People become heavier when they are drunk, and Xiao Weiyan was stronger than him. Zheng Juyong didn't struggle much before he slipped him off the sofa. Xiao Weiyan fell headfirst onto the carpet, and his outer thigh hit the coffee table hard. He curled up in pain while his consciousness was blurred. Zheng Juyong was angry and didn't care whether he was in pain or not. He grabbed Xiao Weiyan's collar and dragged him to the bathroom: "Xiao Weiyan, if you are still a man, stand up and explain yourself!"
"Ju Yong, he is really drunk. What do you want him to say?" Seeing this, Jia Wei didn't dare to get closer, but she couldn't bear to see him hurt Xiao Weiyan.
Zheng Juyong didn't care and dragged Xiao Weiyan a meter or two away on the floor. Tired of Jiawei's screams, he finally let go. He turned to the bathroom, brought out a basin of water, and poured it over his head: "Wake up!"
"Pfft...ha...Eric, hehe...I'm not drinking anymore, I really can't drink anymore...Pfft..." Xiao Weiyan drank too much alcohol in the second half of the farewell party because Eric deliberately searched for the documents he took with him. Now, even though he was soaked, he couldn't wake up.
"That's enough!" Jia Wei finally mustered up the courage and stood in front of Xiao Weiyan. "Juyong, please, stop torturing him. I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything!"
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