The Sick Beauty Gave Up Struggling

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When Xia Shu’an explained the cause and effect of the whole incident, Shen Boyan had already taken a shower. His moist breath was close to the small piece of skin behind Xia Shu’an’s ear, making Xia Shu’an feel a little cool and sleepy.

“Did you hear that?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“I heard it.” Shen Boyan stretched out his arm and turned off the light in front of the bedroom, leaving only two bedside heating lamps.

“I’m free Wednesday night for a meeting.”

“Um.”

“…”

“You’re pressing on my hair.”

In the darkness, Shen Boyan laughed softly. He was busy working all week, and Xia Shu’an was basically asleep when he came home. It was so rare to find a chance that Xia Shu’an was still awake.

“…I said you’re pressing my hair; don’t bite me; are you a vampire?!”

…….

Early the next morning, Xia Shu’an wore a turtleneck sweater to school.

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When the senior sister saw him, she was surprised and said, “Xiao Xia, your sweater is very nice. Where did you buy it?”

Xia Shu’an: “…I don’t know.”

It was sitting in the closet at home, and he took it randomly.

After sitting down, he sent a message to Chen Fei and told her that they could have dinner together on Wednesday night. Chen Fei quickly replied:

[Chen Fei: OK. ]

Wednesday night came quickly. Xia Shu’an got off work on time. He had contacted Shen Boyan, and the other party might be late, so he went to the company first. The people in the company were not surprised to see him. Xia Shu’an waited for a while, and the two of them set off to the agreed restaurant together.

The store was booked by Chen Fei. It’s an old local store, different from the popular decoration nowadays, and doesn’t deliberately create a classic style. However, you can taste the history of this store from the details, which is quite consistent with the theme of today’s meeting.

When Shen Boyan and Xia Shu’an arrived, people from the milk factory were already seated. As soon as they entered the door, people half-full of the table stood up and said one after another, “President Shen, hello, President Shen.”

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Shen Boyan had a smile on his face—cordial and respectful—the most common business-like attitude. He was younger than everyone across from him, and upholding the status of a junior on his face, he said humbly, “You’re too courteous. Some of you are old-timers in the business world; don’t be courteous; please take a seat, all of you.”

Everyone sat down sparsely.

There were a total of five people, and the one sitting in the middle was the factory owner. He was over sixty years old, with gray hair on his temples. He wore a pair of geriatric glasses and looked very friendly.

Among the others, introduced by Chen Fei, two are the factory director in charge of production, one is the deputy general manager in charge of company operations, and the other is the boss’s son and the manager in charge of sales.

This is the most typical core composition of a small company, which shows that they also have a serious and rigorous attitude towards this meeting. These people had been reminded by Chen Fei in advance, and they all knew Xia Shu’an’s identity. Of course, Chen Fei did not specify the relationship between the two. She only said that Xia Shu’an and Shen Boyan were friends, and it was Xia Shu’an’s introduction that led to this dinner meeting.

The boss’s surname was Li. He took a sip of tea and said with some restraint, “I’ve heard that President Shen is a very promising young man. When I saw you today, I could tell you’re indeed a young talent. Compared to you, who can develop and expand the company to its current scale at such a young age, honestly, I’m very ashamed.”

The last sentence was not without a few moments of sincerity added to it.

Shen Boyan still looked modest and considerate, saying, “Director Li, you’re joking. I just happened to catch up with the right time, right place, and luck. During difficult times, you still insisted on providing milk to every Rongchuan citizen—although I’m not from Rongchuan, my friend is—and he said that you’d rather sell at a low price to ensure that every Rongchuan child had milk to drink. I think this persistence of yours is the kind of character that we business people should learn from.”

“Hey, President Shen, you’re overpraising me.”

Director Li was very uneasy before he came. He’s a bit out of touch with society now and can’t figure out what young people think. Although Chen Fei and others persuaded him to meet Shen Boyan, he still didn’t know Shen Boyan’s attitude. Now look at his kindness and friendliness; at least his heart is relieved.

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After the two parties exchanged pleasantries for a while, Xia Shu’an called the waiter and said, “Let’s order first. Sister Fei, you can show the teachers what they want to eat.”

“Ok.”

As the intermediary, Chen Fei also sat between the two parties. She handed over the menu, and the two sides stopped the pleasantries to order food.

After ordering the dishes, the atmosphere in the room gradually settled down.

“When Xiao Chen asked me to meet the boss of Wenhui, I couldn’t believe it. I said that a company as big as Wenhui would never have time to meet me.”

Shen Boyan smiled and said nothing.

Director Li didn’t expect a response from him either, and he went on: “This factory of mine has been around for more than fifty years. Many of my friends and I have put so much effort into it. If it wasn’t really poorly managed, we would never want to sell it.”

“My first thought was definitely to find a local acquaintance to sell it to, but Xiao Chen told me that since I want it to keep operating well after selling, I should be careful when finding a buyer and not selling it on impulse.”

He originally wanted to sell it to the Gu family, but after Chen Fei heard about it, she analyzed the pros and cons for him and said that the Gu family’s own business wasn’t doing well, so they probably wouldn’t care about the milk factory. If he finds a big company with a professional, modern management model, the milk factory will be able to complete the transition from the old model to the modern economy.

Director Li is different from the people Shen Boyan has come into contact with so far. He isn’t good at beating around the bush and reveals his trump card almost immediately. This is very unfavorable for business negotiations, but because of this, Shen Boyan became somewhat interested in this business.

After all, even Factory Director Li knows that no child should suffer, and no matter how poor they are, they cannot be without milk to drink.

He can’t let his “family” go without milk.

By the way, do they use this brand of milk at home? He has seen the packaging before. It doesn’t seem to be this one?

Xia Shu’an watched Shen Boyan suddenly look at himself as he spoke and inexplicably look back at him.

Shen Boyan: Well, I have to go home and take a look.

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Shen Boyan crossed his hands and placed them on the table, his whole body showing a relaxed state: “I have a large food chain brand with food processing plants in Gaoping and Rongchuan. However, we don’t currently have our own milk brand yet. If we can acquire ‘Zhenhaowei’, combined with our company’s existing sales methods and the quality of ‘Zhenhaowei’, I believe that we can quickly create a brand effect.”

Director Li said with some solemnity in his voice, “Then if you acquire the milk factory, what arrangements will be made for the old employees in the factory?”

In Shen Boyan’s acquisition projects so far, company bosses usually talk about price and future profits and rarely talk about employees.

He curled his lips and said, “The frontline employees in the workshop won’t change in the short term, but their management positions will be adjusted, and there may be appropriate layoffs. The performance of the dairy factory indicates their limited abilities.”

This is in line with his expectations.

“Then, President Shen, will you use our current ‘Zhenhaowei’ brand or create a new brand?”

Shen Boyan said without hesitation, “‘Zhenhaowei’ has formed a local brand effect. Most people in Rongchuan have feelings for this name. As long as the quality remains unchanged, they are the best form of publicity. I won’t change the brand name, but the packaging and specifications will be changed based on the team’s opinions to make it more in line with modern sales.”

That’s all there is to it. The kids are sold. What do you care about what they’re wearing? It’s fine as long as they don’t freeze.

Factory Director Li also asked a key question: “What about the quality process?”

He said with an expression of dislike that was difficult to restrain: “There are many big brands on the market now, with poor milk sources, low protein content, and no taste when drinking. Can they also be called milk? They even use the term low fat to fool everyone…”

The more he talked, the angrier he became. His son at the side quickly said, “Dad, dad…”

Shen Boyan raised the corners of his lips slightly and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, we also drink this milk ourselves, and we won’t deliberately lower our requirements.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Li looked at Shen Boyan with a suspicious expression, fully demonstrating his distrust of the evil businessman.

It can’t be helped; after all, these days, there are too many businessmen with slick tongues. In his previous life, when Gu fooled them, they must have said a lot of good words, and what happened in the end? They turned around and tampered with their milk.1It’s a little confusing because the author suddenly switched to XSA’s pov.

After so many years of poor management, it has survived, but a quality problem directly led to the destruction of the brand. From then on, people only hated this brand that occupied an important position in their childhood.

Factory Director Li’s son saw that his father had relapsed into his old habit and was about to round off the scene, but someone cut him off.

“Mr. Li—”

Beside Shen Boyan, the young man who had not made much noise since he sat down suddenly spoke up. He was extremely handsome, and his appearance was something that Director Li had never seen before. This young man looked at Director Li with candid eyes, and his tone wasn’t solemn but very sincere: “I’m also a native of Rongchuan and drank Zhenhaowei when I was a child. Although my words don’t hold much weight, I hope you can trust Boyan. I’m sure that as long as he still holds the top position in Wenhui, he won’t let the quality of the milk factory deteriorate.”

Director Li took a slight breath and opened his mouth: “You are Mr. Xia, right? I heard from Xiao Chen that you helped organize today’s dinner.”

“Mr. Li, you are too polite.” Xia Shu’an said it in a humble tone. He was completely different from Shen Boyan. No matter how humble Shen Boyan pretended to be, ordinary people would know at a glance that this person was extraordinary. Respecting others was just a manifestation of his discipline.

However, Xia Shu’an was different. His sincerity and honesty were completely out of his heart, and it was also easier to gain the trust of others.

“I can guarantee my credibility. As long as Shen Boyan still controls Wenhui, he won’t do anything to discredit Zhenhaowei.”

“Mr. Xia…” Shen Boyan turned his head and said, “I will not lose control of Wenhui. If one day my control over Wenhui becomes unstable, I’ll just screw the company out of existence.”

Xia Shu’an frowned: What’s wrong with you? I’m here to help you speak.

Director Li showed a thoughtful expression, and Chen Fei also came to smooth things over: “Come on, let’s eat the food first and chat while eating.”

“Yes Yes……”

Everyone began to pick up their chopsticks.

What needs to be said is almost finished, and the rest is to compliment each other politely. Today’s dinner was mainly hosted by Shen Boyan, who drank less, so others naturally wouldn’t drink more. It’s a good way to avoid all the crooked drinking routines.

The last thing served was a bowl of pork rib soup. The waiter served a small bowl to everyone. Xia Shu’an picked up the spoon and was about to send it into his mouth when Shen Boyan suddenly said, “Sichuan peppercorns are added to the soup.”

“Huh?” Xia Shu’an was startled for a moment, then quickly put down the spoon. Across the table, Director Li happened to be talking to Shen Boyan. He noticed them and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Is this soup not to Mr. Xia’s taste?”

“No.” Shen Boyan answered on his behalf: “He can’t handle Sichuan peppercorns and will get stomachaches.”

“Oh, it’s like that.” Director Li said quickly, “Then don’t eat it. Don’t eat it.”

Xia Shu’an smiled politely, and Shen Boyan leaned forward and said something in his ear. The smile on Xia Shu’an’s face dropped, and he glared at Shen Boyan unhappily.

“…”

Because there was no alcohol, the meal did not last long, and after an hour and a half, the crowd left the table.

Director Li said, “Thank you, President Shen, for taking the time to come and have dinner with us today. We will consider it carefully when we get back.”

“You’re welcome.” Shen Boyan said politely, “I also very much hope that those conscientious enterprises can survive and regain their vitality. I have always firmly believed that enterprises that can survive the brutal business competition are excellent in all aspects, and this excellence also includes corporate conscience.”

“Good, good, President Shen, thank you!”

After shaking hands several times, Shen Boyan and Xia Shu’an finally went out. Their car was parked in the parking lot outside the shop entrance. There were too many cars here, and the space was small, making it difficult to get around. The two of them took a few steps, but suddenly, Shen Boyan stopped and squatted in front of Xia Shu’an.

Xia Shu’an stopped his feet and then allowed Shen Boyan to tie his shoelaces. The two walked out again and soon entered the same car.

Director Li stood at the door of the shop, watching this scene.

“Mr. Li, let’s go; the car is here.”

“Xiao Chen.”

“What?”

Chen Fei turned around, and there was a knowing smile in the old man’s eyes.

“President Shen and his friend are that kind of friends, right?”

Chen Fei was startled, smiled, and didn’t refute.

Director Li shook his head and walked down the steps.

Just look at the atmosphere at the dinner table; how could they be ordinary friends? Young men, don’t try to deceive this old man!

1It’s a little confusing because the author suddenly switched to XSA’s pov.