Chapter 48 048 He could wait as long as it took.
As in previous years, the weather in the northern part of the city went from sunny and calm to fierce winds in the blink of an eye.
As December arrives, Chen Miaoying has to wear a thick down jacket every time she goes out.
The little girl was about 1.2 meters tall. After putting on the fluffy down jacket, she looked round and chubby, like a little rabbit.
From the time the weather turned cool to the time when winter was in full swing, Meng Ran's small business continued to operate steadily.
Although it's not enough to make a lot of money, the first batch of "Cat Castles" sold well, with many customers spontaneously sharing photos on social media to help promote the business.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Meng Ran quickly designed a relatively simple cat climbing frame.
The new model has a smaller footprint and a significantly lower price, broadening its target audience and resulting in sales several times higher than the original product.
This resulted in a significant increase in workload.
Meng Ran was responsible for design, supply chain coordination, and shipping, and soon she was extremely busy.
On the other hand, Jiang Yuqing's account management work is far more than just editing and posting videos.
Video data analysis and the collection and organization of user feedback are all time-consuming and labor-intensive tasks.
After discussing it, the two decided to temporarily slow down their expansion and focus on completing the existing orders with high quality and quantity.
We plan to rent an office building after the New Year and hire a few new employees to lay the foundation for the standardized operation of the studio.
In this way, Meng Ran was finally able to catch her breath.
At the end of the year, Hengyue's annual meeting was about to be held, and Chen Sulin asked Meng Ran if she wanted to attend.
Before Meng Ran could make a decision, Chen Miaoying was even more enthusiastic: "Dad! I want to! I want to go with Mom!"
In previous years, Chen Miaoying was too young, and Chen Sulin, as the big boss of the company, needed to keep things under control. He couldn't keep his daughter by his side all the time and was worried about leaving her with his assistant.
But Chan Miu-ying had been looking forward to participating for a long time.
In Chen Miaoying's view, her father's company's annual meeting was like a super-sized carnival, with delicious food, fun activities, and performances.
Seeing Chen Miaoying's excitement, Chen Sulin calmly comforted his daughter: "Don't get so excited. When you grow up, you'll have plenty of opportunities to participate in these kinds of activities."
Upon hearing this, Meng Ran glanced at Chen Sulin.
She thought to herself, her guess was right after all.
Chen Miaoying is still too young, so Meng Ran has not yet formally discussed her daughter's future career plans with Chen Sulin.
However, it is clear that Chen Miaoying has a generous and cheerful personality, and is emotionally stable and not shy, which makes her very suitable to be a manager.
If Chan Miu-ying herself doesn't object, Chan Suk-lam will likely pave the way for his daughter step by step, eventually letting her take over his current position.
At her current age, Chen Miaoying naturally cannot understand the implied meaning in her father's words.
She only heard her father say, "Wait until you grow up," and pouted, "But I don't want to wait until I grow up, I want to go now!"
Chen Sulin: "That depends on whether your mother has time to take you."
Chen Miaoying stopped eating, put down her chopsticks, and looked at Meng Ran with blinking eyes: "Mom!"
Meng Ran couldn't withstand such an offensive.
In addition, she recently secured a new batch of orders for her studio, so she wasn't that busy.
Meng Ran nodded: "Okay, you can go with Mom."
Chan Miu-ying cheered, "Yay! That's great, Mom! Mom, I love you!"
As for what to wear to the annual meeting, Chan Miu-ying had already decided. She wanted to wear one of the gifts she received for her birthday this year: a super gorgeous princess dress in Elsa colors.
Meng Ran and Jiang Yuqing made an appointment to go to the mall together to buy a new dress.
With the Chen family's resources, it wouldn't be difficult for Meng Ran to get a haute couture dress before the annual meeting.
But this wasn't some lavish banquet, and she wasn't the type to seek the limelight.
Therefore, Meng Ran did not intend to restrict herself with elaborate gowns; a more formal dress would suffice.
As for jewelry to match, there are plenty of options at home, so there's no need to buy any.
The only problem is that Meng Ran is unsure whether she should continue wearing her current wedding ring.
Because Zhao Yanzhou unexpectedly showed up on the day we were choosing our wedding rings last time, the plan to buy new wedding rings was temporarily put on hold.
After saying goodnight to Chen Miaoying, Meng Ran returned to her bedroom and asked about Chen Sulin's wedding ring.
Chen Sulin was unbuttoning his shirt cuffs: "You don't actually dislike the current wedding ring, do you?"
Meng Ran was surprised for a moment, but then she figured it out herself.
Indeed, how could Chen Sulin possibly hide her little schemes from him?
Meng Ran: "Well, at that time... I hadn't fully adapted to being married."
After saying that, she felt strange again: "Since you already knew, then why..."
Why did you say you would take her to buy a new one back then?
Chen Sulin didn't answer, but took her hand and gently stroked her fingers.
These days, Meng Ran has gotten used to wearing her wedding ring, so even when she doesn't have to attend any events, she rarely takes it off.
After a moment, Meng Ran looked at Chen Sulin as if she had just realized something: "Back then, you were only thinking about tricking me into wearing the wedding ring, weren't you?"
Chen Sulin raised his eyebrows slightly.
“We were a legally married couple,” he said. “How can you call it fraud?”
Meng Ran: "..."
She felt that she could only take half of what this man said at most.
While he spoke in a grand and respectable manner, his ultimate goal was simply to get her to willingly wear the wedding ring.
Chen Sulin: "However, we were indeed in a bit of a rush when we bought these rings."
“I’ve contacted a designer. When you have time, let’s meet with the designer together,” he said. “You can discuss your thoughts on the wedding ring with him in person.”
Meng Ran was taken aback: "You had already thought it through? Then why didn't you tell me?"
Chen Sulin: "You've been so busy these days, I guess you don't want to be distracted."
Meng Ran blinked: "Maybe I'll be even busier in the future."
She recently made a plan to expand her studio after hiring staff after the New Year, and to extend her business beyond just cat trees.
Chen Sulin kissed Meng Ran on the corner of her lips: "Then let's take it slow."
He'd wait as long as she was by his side.
...
The annual meeting is held on a Friday at the end of the year.
During the day, Chen Sulin handled official business at the group as usual.
In the afternoon, Meng Ran helped Chen Miaoying ask for leave from the kindergarten teacher and took her home to prepare for the annual meeting.
Although she left kindergarten a few hours early, Chen Miaoying was overjoyed. She walked out of the classroom with her head held high, like a proud little swan.
Meng Ran couldn't help but smile; she could understand her daughter's joy.
Which child could refuse being picked up by their mother early amidst the envious glances of all the other children in the class?
With Aunt Zhang's help, Meng Ran dressed Chen Miaoying up carefully, putting her in a beautiful princess dress and styling her hair in an exquisite way.
The mother and daughter traveled together to the annual meeting venue.
When I arrived, the annual meeting had not yet officially started, and the venue was somewhat empty.
Meng Ran led Chen Miaoying around the venue and they ran into an acquaintance, Jiang Shuran.
When they last met, Jiang Shuran didn't know that Meng Ran's husband was the company's big boss, and she almost made a blunder.
After returning home, Jiang Shuran repeatedly recalled the few words she had spoken to Meng Ran, and the more she thought about it, the more regretful she became, feeling as if she had unintentionally offended her boss.
She lived in fear and trembling for several days, regretting that she couldn't control her mouth. She had finally found a job with good pay and a promising future, but she ruined it with her careless words.
It wasn't until her direct supervisor talked to her about this year's bonus and told her that she had received an A in performance evaluation that year that Jiang Shuran was finally relieved and thankful that Chen Sulin was not the kind of boss who would take revenge on someone else.
"Ranran," Jiang Shuran said with a smile, "You brought your little princess to the annual party?"
Meng Ran greeted Jiang Shuran with a smile.
Jiang Shuran squatted down and complimented Chen Miaoying's dress, making Chen Miaoying very happy.
Chen Miaoying said sweetly, "Auntie, your dress is so pretty too, it's sparkly, like the stars at night!"
Children are very perceptive of adults' attitudes, and Chen Miaoying immediately realized that the aunt in front of her was very kind to her, and that her mother also liked the aunt.
Just like last time in the park, she immediately noticed that her mother didn't like the uncle across from her.
When it comes to people her mother likes, Chan Miu-ying never hesitates to show her kindness.
Both of them, one older and one younger, were talkative.
Jiang Shuran and Chen Miaoying chatted for a few minutes, and it was as if they had known each other for a long time.
"Miaoying," Jiang Shuran asked, "would you like to go play on the stage? Auntie can take you."
As soon as Chen Miaoying entered the venue, she was attracted by the colorful stage decorations. Because her father had reminded her not to run around, she did not say she wanted to play.
Hearing Jiang Shuran's suggestion, Chen Miaoying nodded repeatedly: "Okay! I want to go!"
Meng Ran: "Is it okay? Will it affect other people?"
Jiang Shuran: "It's okay. The staff member in charge of the performance process is my friend. The annual party hasn't started yet, so it's fine to just go and take a look."
Then Jiang Shuran looked at Chen Miaoying and said, "Besides, Miaoying is such a well-behaved girl, she definitely won't mess with the things on the stage, right?"
Chen Miaoying shouted, "Yes!"
Meng Ran smiled and said, "Alright then."
Chen Miaoying skipped and hopped, holding her mother's hand in one hand and the hand of the aunt she had just met in the other.
Meng Ran chatted with Jiang Shuran: "Sister Shuran, do you have a child too?"
Jiang Shuran: "Yeah, what's wrong? Do I look like someone who's had a child? Unlike you, Ranran, you're still so young. I was shocked when I saw you last time; I thought time had turned back."
Meng Ran quickly said, "No, no, I didn't mean that. I just think you're very good at communicating with children."
Jiang Shuran laughed and said, "I was just kidding. Well, my child is about the same age as Miaoying, but not as well-behaved. That's why I didn't dare bring my little devil today, afraid that he would cause trouble if I let go of him."
As they walked up the stairs to the stage, Meng Ran once again reminded Chen Miaoying not to touch or tamper with anything.
Chen Miaoying obediently agreed, and when she saw something new and interesting, she would only get closer to observe it without reaching out.
After wandering around the stage for a while, Chen Miaoying was finally satisfied.
Jiang Shuran then suggested taking Chen Miaoying to other places in the venue.
Meng Ran was worried about taking up Jiang Shuran's time, so she told her to go about her own business.
Jiang Shuran waved her hand: "It's okay, I didn't have anything to do today anyway. Besides, Miaoying is so cute, I really enjoy playing with her."
She had her own little schemes; last time in the cafeteria, she almost offended the big boss.
The moment Jiang Shuran saw Meng Ran, she made up her mind to do her best to restore her image in the eyes of the big boss.
Chen Sulin's magnanimity in not taking it to heart shows his broad-mindedness, but she couldn't leave a bad impression on the big boss as someone who talks nonsense.
Seeing that Jiang Shuran insisted, Meng Ran no longer declined.
She wasn't familiar with the venue, so it was good that someone was showing them around.
After wandering around for a while, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
Chen Sulin sent a message saying he would arrive at the venue soon.
Meng Ran replied with "okay" and told him that she and Chen Miaoying were having a great time here.
Putting her phone away, Meng Ran wanted to go to the restroom.
Chen Sulin said he was almost there, which meant the annual meeting process was about to officially begin.
There will be speeches and performances, and Meng Ran doesn't want to have to go to the restroom halfway through.
Chan Miu-ying had already been there once before, and didn't want to go again.
Jiang Shuran offered to help take care of Chen Miaoying, reassuring Meng Ran that she could go without worry.
Meng Ran thanked him and went to the restroom alone.
After coming out of the cubicle, Meng Ran checked her makeup in the mirror again and touched up her lipstick a little.
On my way to find Chen Miaoying and Jiang Shuran near the dessert table, my phone vibrated again halfway there.
She looked down at her phone and suddenly heard a voice in her ear.
"Are you looking for your seat?" asked a young man. "Which department are you in? I just arrived too. If you're unsure where your seat is, I can show you there."
Meng Ran looked up and met the man's cheerful smile.
"Thank you, but no need," she smiled. "I came with a friend."
The man wasn't upset by the rejection; his smile remained bright: "Oh, I see. By the way, you're a new employee this year, right? Me too. You and I are about the same age, so you must have graduated not long ago?"
Meng Ran frowned slightly.
She had originally hoped that the other party was simply being kind, but now she had no choice but to clearly refuse.
Just as Meng Ran was about to speak, she saw the man opposite her suddenly become serious.
"The leaders are coming!" the man whispered a reminder. "You're new to the company, haven't you met our big boss yet? Come with me, let's not block their way."
As he spoke, the man took two steps to the side.
Seeing that Meng Ran was still standing there unmoved, the man urged, "Hey, why aren't you coming over?"
Meng Ran turned around and saw Chen Sulin walking over.
Chen Sulin did not appear at the venue alone; he was accompanied by several other people, including Assistant Zhou and several senior executives from the company.
However, the others stopped a few meters away, leaving only Chen Sulin to come over.
Chen Sulin: "Why are you here all alone?"
Meng Ran: "I just went to the restroom. Chen Miaoying is with Jiang Shuran. I'm going to find them."
Chen Sulin: "I'll go with you."
Meng Ran: "Weren't you going to go on stage to give a speech?"
Chen Sulin: "It won't officially start until 15 minutes later, so I still have time to spend with you all for a while."
Meng Ran replied with an "okay": "Miao Ying is over at the dessert table."
As she spoke, she turned her head and gave the young man from before a slightly apologetic look.
The other party probably didn't see her wedding ring. When Chen Sulin arrived, they specifically reminded her, which at least for now seems to be well-intentioned, but they just chose the wrong person.
The young man, who had been standing there in a daze, seemed to be frightened and took several steps back after a moment of hesitation.
Meng Ran: "..."
Chen Sulin's voice came from beside him: "What are you looking at?"
Meng Ran: "It's nothing, let's go."
Chen Sulin: "Hmm."
The two found Jiang Shuran.
Upon seeing Chen Sulin approach, Jiang Shuran flashed a standard smile: "President Chen, you've arrived."
Chen Sulin nodded slightly.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Jiang Shuran gracefully withdrew and handed Chen Miaoying back to Meng Ran.
Chen Miaoying couldn't wait to take her father's hand: "Dad, you're finally here!"
She then looked at her mother and said, "Mom, you've kept me waiting for so long."
Meng Ran apologized: "I'm sorry, Mom..."
She hesitated for a moment, and Chen Sulin continued, "Mom was stopped by an inconsiderate person and was delayed for a little while."
Meng Ran: "..."
She glanced at Chen Sulin silently.
He hadn't said anything earlier, so she assumed he didn't care.
It turns out it just didn't have time to manifest.
Chen Miaoying tilted her head and said "Oh".
She's now preoccupied with something else: "Daddy, when can I start watching shows?"
Chen Sulin said gently, "Right away. Why don't you go and sit down with your parents?"
Chan Miu-ying: "Okay!"
Without Chen Sulin needing to give any special instructions, the staff in charge of the event arrangements had already reserved the best seats for the boss's family.
After settling his wife and daughter in, Chen Sulin went backstage to prepare for his opening speech.
Meng Ran ate with Chen Miaoying while waiting for the annual meeting to officially begin.
When the time came, the curtain was drawn back on time.
Everyone wants to relax at the end of the year, and Chen Sulin knew that no one was in the mood to listen to long speeches, so he spoke briefly.
After the speech, Chen Miaoying cheered more enthusiastically than anyone else, clapping loudly as if she wanted to use both her hands and feet.
Meng Ran chuckled and asked softly, "Did you understand everything?"
Since it was a speech addressed to all employees, Chen Sulin used calm and rigorous language when he spoke, and some of his sentences were not something that kindergarten children could understand.
Chen Miaoying shook her head: "I only understood half of it."
She looked at her mother earnestly: "But I know Dad is amazing! When I grow up, I want to be as amazing as Dad and speak in front of so many people!"
Meng Ran smiled and said, "Okay, then Mom will look forward to hearing our CEO Ying speak from now on."
Chan Miu-ying: "Okay!"
After the opening remarks, Chen Sulin returned to the two women's side and watched the performance with them.
This was Chen Miaoying's favorite part; she watched it with great interest.
However, compared to the various programs that Chen Miaoying likes to watch, for most of Hengyue employees who come to attend the annual meeting, what they look forward to most is definitely not watching the performances.
Meng Ran has the right to speak on this. Back when she was just an ordinary worker, the part she looked forward to most at the annual meeting was the lucky draw.
Unfortunately, she was unlucky at the time; she didn't win a single prize, let alone a big one.
This time, Meng Ran also had no chance to redeem herself: she was not an employee of Hengyue and was not eligible to participate in the lottery.
Before she came, Chen Sulin asked her if she wanted him to give her special treatment.
The lottery is drawn based on the employee ID numbers of company staff, but the procedure can be changed, and adding another person is not difficult.
Meng Ran refused.
The lottery is a benefit offered by the company to its employees. As Chen Sulin's family member, she shouldn't compete with the average working person for it.
Otherwise, imagine working hard all year, only to find that the grand prize at the company's annual party was won by the boss's wife through connections.
If it were Meng Ran herself, she would definitely curse the evil capitalists in her heart.
Halfway through the performance, the long-awaited lucky draw finally began.
Start by drawing the smallest prize, the Sunshine Prize, and then gradually work your way up to the grand prize.
Meng Ran had heard Jiang Shuran say that Hengyue's annual meeting prizes were very generous in previous years, with the grand prize being worth at least six figures in RMB.
As the host began drawing prizes, the winning employee numbers for each round started appearing on the screen.
Meng Ran suddenly became curious and whispered to Chen Sulin, "Logically speaking, you're also a company employee, so there's a chance you could win this prize, right?"
Chen Sulin: "Hmm."
Meng Ran: "So, over the years, have you won any prizes?"
Chen Sulin: "I've only ever won a consolation prize once."
Meng Ran chuckled.
Chen Sulin looked at her.
Meng Ran smiled and said, "I was just thinking, Mr. Chen, your luck is just as bad as mine."
She has never won anything good in a lottery since she was a child.
Last time I finally thought my luck had turned around, but it turned out Zhao Yanzhou was behind it all.
As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of exclamations suddenly erupted from the surrounding area.
Meng Ran looked up and saw that the second prize was being drawn.
The second prize will be drawn in a total of ten draws, with the prize being an empty shopping cart, up to a maximum of 50,000 yuan.
Among the ten employee numbers displayed on the big screen, one number was clearly "M00001".
Meng Ran widened her eyes slightly, wondering if this employee number one was what she thought.
The host's words soon confirmed Meng Ran's guess.
"Wow, it seems this year is really something else! Our second prize draw actually included Mr. Chen himself."
Meng Ran was speechless.
She had just been mocking Chen Sulin for having the same bad luck as herself, but she was immediately proven wrong.
The employee who is chosen to empty the shopping cart must publicly show what items are in the cart.
Of course, you can also refuse and give up the award.
While the host was still creating a lively atmosphere on stage, someone had already come over to ask Chen Sulin if he wanted to show off his shopping cart.
It's normal for a big boss not to want to expose their privacy.
Chen Sulin whispered something to the staff.
Meng Ran looked at him curiously: "You gave up?"
Chen Sulin: "No."
Meng Ran blinked. Chen Sulin didn't actually look down on the 50,000 yuan?
The big screen displayed the shopping carts of each winner in turn, with a wide variety of contents, ranging from seasonal clothes and the latest electronic products to all kinds of home furnishings.
One of the employees doesn't usually shop online much; his shopping cart only contained items worth a little over two hundred yuan.
Everyone in the room sighed, feeling sorry for this employee who was both lucky and unlucky.
As a former employee, Meng Ran empathized with the situation and thought that if she ever participated in such a lottery in the future, she would definitely fill her shopping cart with items in advance and try her best to take advantage of the company's offers.
Unfortunately, she has already opened her own studio, so it's unlikely she'll have such an opportunity again.
The host left Chen Sulin's shopping cart until the very end.
The entire room fell silent for a moment upon seeing the products on the screen.
Chen Sulin's shopping cart from top to bottom:
Children's picture books, plush toys, dresses, women's shirts, earrings, lipsticks, skirts, and eyeshadow.
Further down, there were several more pieces of women's clothing.
Meng Ran stared blankly at the big screen, only then remembering that a while ago she had complained that her phone screen was too small and had been browsing shopping websites on her family's tablet.
The tablet was logged into Chen Sulin's account.
So now Chen Sulin's shopping cart is full of things she wants to buy.
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