WRA CH34

Chapter 34: “So Capable of Giving Birth”

“Let me tell you some gossip.” Yu Yueyue had a better grasp of intel from their old company than she did of her new one. “After we quit, who knows what got into Feng Chujun—he actually fired your fellow villager Sun Youzhi. Right after that, the beautiful host of our company quit too.”

Xiang Zhen knew about Sun Youzhi being fired. Zhou Sicheng had told him to wait a few days and not to get anxious or upset.

He had apologized to Sun Youzhi, but Brother Youzhi told him that Miss Feng Juan had contacted him privately, saying that once she bought out Feng Chujun’s shares, she would invite him back with a promotion and a raise, advising him to rest for now and not look for a new job.

Only then did Xiang Zhen feel relieved.

“But why did the host sister quit too?”

Xiang Zhen remembered that the host sister, who was incredibly fast at cracking sunflower seeds, had bought him coffee before.

Yu Yueyue narrowed her eyes, putting her keen gossip radar to work: “Sun Youzhi is an upright guy. Every day he accompanied the host sister until one or two in the morning, and gave her a ride home after work since it was on his way. After a while, they must have developed feelings for each other.”

Xiang Zhen: “Didn’t you say there’s only hatred between colleagues?”

Yu Yueyue: “Sigh, love and hate happen in a single moment. Do you remember when the host brought you coffee? That was because you and Sun Youzhi are close.”

Xiang Zhen suddenly understood.

The 618 major sales event was just around the corner, yet after taking office, Feng Chujun had driven away three customer service reps, one supervisor, and their only host, leaving the livestream channel completely deserted. The company internally was a chaotic mess. A family business wasn’t Feng Chujun’s personal dictatorship; the other elders furiously reprimanded him for messing around, saying that returning from studying abroad meant he knew nothing about real-world industries.

“In a fit of rage, Feng Chujun sold all his shares to his cousin, claiming he was going to invest in AI. Once Feng Juan took charge, she invited Sun Youzhi and the host back with high salaries.”

Yu Yueyue added: “I heard from finance that they gave everyone a raise and started paying social security, and the three of us who resigned even got a severance package.”

The old company had suddenly turned things around.

Xiang Zhen was pleasantly surprised: “We get severance too?”

Yu Yueyue: “Yeah! Who would’ve thought! Maybe it was done on purpose to make Feng Chujun look bad. I heard Feng Chujun was absolutely furious. Abandoning a perfectly good family business to go bootlick those big shots in the AI sector—I’m just waiting for him to lose every penny.”

Xiang Zhen knew Feng Chujun had sold his shares to pay off bank debts and was on the verge of bankruptcy, but he held back and didn’t mention it. That was bank confidentiality.

Yu Yueyue happily packed up the miscellaneous items on her desk, ready to start work: “Once the severance hits, I’m going to buy a bag.”

Xiang Zhen felt inspired: “I’ll buy my hubby a wallet!”

He could put his bank cards and their wedding photo inside.

Yu Yueyue: “…” She had given up on directly advising them to break up.

Xiang Zhen returned to his office with a light step—his office was right next to Fan Hao’s.

Fan Hao had said he would take him around to get familiar with the operations of various departments first, and later let him freely choose which department he wanted. If he still wanted to do customer service, he could move back to work with his former colleagues.

Just as he sat down, he received a link from Yu Yueyue.

[Recommending a good drama for you. Copy and open XX TV to watch The First Half of My Life…]

[The relationship between these four people is worth savoring in detail.]

Xiang Zhen replied immediately: “I will.”

A long drama, oh! He would watch it once he had money to buy a VIP membership to skip the ads.

He certainly didn’t dare slack off at work to watch it like Yu Yueyue did.

If he had time to slack off, chatting with his hubby was much better!

Xiang Zhen shifted his gaze, looking around at his colleagues. There was a cup of coffee on everyone’s desk, courtesy of Fan Hao.

He asked Xiao Zhang, who sat closest to him, “Is the coffee good?”

Hearing this, Xiao Zhang hurried to take a sip: “It’s good! I can tell it’s freshly ground coffee.”

Xiao Zhang couldn’t just taste the difference between instant and freshly ground coffee; he could also tell that Xiang Zhen’s background was anything but ordinary.

To receive hands-on training from Manager Fan on his very first day, being guarded like a precious treasure—when had Manager Fan ever been so pleasant to a subordinate? He was practically respectful.

Xiang Zhen was selling the coffee, yet the person doing the deliveries was Manager Fan.

Then there was Xiang Zhen’s work uniform. Although it didn’t display an obvious brand logo, it was absolutely luxury tier. A few colleagues had looked up the intricate little details on the cuffs and found nothing like it on the market.

And that hair clip on his head—that was a real diamond, sparkling brighter than Xiao Zhang’s own wedding ring.

Xiang Zhen was definitely some wealthy young master out to experience the corporate world.

Although he was pretending to be poor, it was laughable—his acting was terrible.

Xiao Zhang felt completely at ease drinking the 9.9-yuan coffee sold on the young master’s Moments; the ingredients list was guaranteed to be impeccably clean.

Xiao Zhang said, “I’ll order two cups tomorrow.”

The corners of Xiang Zhen’s mouth curled up uncontrollably: “Thank you for the five-star review, dear.”

Xiao Zhang felt immensely flattered.

Xiang Zhen sent a message to his husband: “Hubby, how are things on your end?”

…

Carrying a box of coffee from the underground garage, Zhou Sicheng took the executive elevator, preserving a shred of his dignity.

He placed the thermal delivery box on the table in an empty conference room, snapped a photo, and sent it to his wife as proof of delivery.

[I’ve arrived at the company too.]

Zhou Sicheng stiffened for a second. How was this any different from a delivery driver snapping a photo upon arrival?

[Xiang Zhen: Hubby, you’re the fastest and most intact express delivery hero ever.]

Express delivery hero, my foot.

Zhou Sicheng sent a notification in the executive group chat:

[Those who placed orders, come and collect.]

Since the CEO had already arrived, the executives didn’t dare dawdle and quickly assembled in the conference room. A very small number of executives who didn’t usually work the morning shift but had impulsively ordered coffee had been forced to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Inside the smart conference room, Zhou Sicheng sat at the head of the table, his back rigid and severe. A ring of coffee cups was arranged around the oval table, accompanied by blank sheets of A4 paper and pens.

The executives’ hearts skipped a beat.

Beware of President Zhou using coffee as a pretext to trick people into a meeting!!!

Zhou Sicheng swept his peripheral vision across them: “Have a seat, everyone.”

They would never again mock the elderly folks lining up for free eggs; every generation had their own “free eggs” to claim. The executives crowded in, filing into the room one by one. They found the coffee they had ordered, peeled back the seal, and took a small sip.

As expected of the CEO’s wife’s craftsmanship—the ingredients were far too generous.

They praised it unanimously, squeezing out whatever adjectives they could muster. God knew some of them only drank tea and never touched coffee.

With tea, they could list one, two, and three reasons for its quality, but with coffee, all they knew was that it was a bit bitter.

Interlocking his fingers, Zhou Sicheng rested his hands on the table. “I’ve heard that some people rely far too heavily on secretaries to write their speeches, and when faced with an impromptu interview, they have nothing in their heads.”

“That won’t do.”

“Write an 800-word review of the coffee. Go ahead. Whoever finishes first leaves first.”

The executives: “…”

What the hell are we doing so early in the morning?

Zhou Sicheng: “If you can’t write it, drink some coffee to wake yourselves up.”

Gripping their pens, the executives wore solemn expressions.

Some suffered from writer’s block; after writing just one line, they felt like idiots, hastily scribbled it out, and flipped the A4 paper over.

Some, relying on sitting far away, pretended to answer texts while opening the Xiao Kui Bao app on their phones.

[Xiao Kui, Xiao Kui, write me an 800-word essay appreciating coffee. Emphasize that it’s bitter yet fragrant, bitter first then sweet, and integrate it with the century-long entrepreneurial history of the Zhoufu Group. It needs substance and cannot sound generic.]

[Xiao Kui: I’m sorry! During the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) period, the 800-word essay writing service is suspended. Please take exams with integrity; cheating is prohibited. Would you like me to provide some brainstorming ideas instead?]

The executive: “…”

Is today the Gaokao? Xiao Kui Bao, for you to drop the ball like this, I definitely won’t vote for you next time.

Zhou Sicheng’s eyes narrowed. He tapped the table: “Manager Zhao, are you downloading a competitor’s AI app?”

Manager Zhao: “…No.”

Of course, excluding a few, most executives were shrewd smooth-talkers who could spin words for anyone. Their pens flew across the pages like magic. After briefly evaluating the coffee, they began inflating their word counts by heavily flattering President Zhou, exhaustively praising the match made in heaven between President Zhou and his wife—even though they had never met him.

Only one person stood out like a sore thumb: Shen Ku. He wasn’t even a Zhoufu Group employee.

Zhou Sicheng was puzzled. Xiang Zhen’s Moments post clearly said it would be delivered to the Zhoufu Headquarters workstations, which was why only headquarters executives had responded. Why was an engineer from another company crashing the party?

Three years ago, the Zhoufu Group had invested in constructing a new corporate campus, aiming for a landmark architectural complex that would instantly reflect their corporate ethos of “Zhou Er Fu Shi” (moving in continuous cycles). A joint four-building design titled “Earth’s Revolution” had been approved.

The construction of this campus was contracted out. Shen Ku was the preliminary project chief engineer for the winning bidding company and one of the finest technicians in the country.

Zhou Sicheng had added his WeChat to ask him a few technical feasibility questions.

Since then, they hadn’t chatted.

Those who dealt with construction blueprints naturally ran on caffeine.

Was this Shen Ku some kind of coffee fanatic?

Zhou Sicheng sent him a WeChat message: [You can leave, you don’t have to write it.]

After taking a sip of coffee, Shen Ku’s expression remained utterly tranquil. Half an hour later, he handed over a standard post-tasting report, complete with a drawn curve graph mapping concentration against flavor profile.

Zhou Sicheng only felt that the look Shen Ku gave him was incredibly complex, brimming with something on the verge of spilling out.

What was it?

Zhou Sicheng lowered his eyes to the paper, suspecting there might be some unspeakable hidden code inside.

For example, had Shen Ku discovered a conspiracy to substitute materials or corruption involving cut corners during construction, but had been pressured by superiors to keep quiet?

Zhou Sicheng looked it over again and again, but all he saw was an entire page about “coffee.”

He would have to schedule a meeting with him another day.

Gathering all 35 coffee survey reports, Zhou Sicheng placed Shen Ku’s right on top. He initiated a video call with Xiang Zhen, his tone carrying a rare hint of seeking praise.

“Wifey, I collected some feedback to improve the coffee’s flavor.” Zhou Sicheng flipped through them with his thumb, flashing them briefly at the screen without letting Xiang Zhen look too closely at the unpresentable flattery the executives had written.

Xiang Zhen was stunned. In his office, Xiao Zhang had only said a simple “It’s good,” yet Zhou Sicheng must have lowered his pride and pleaded emotionally to get his colleagues to handwrite such long tasting reports.

Who else but Zhou Sicheng would do so much for him?

“Hubby, you’re the best.” Xiang Zhen was deeply moved. “Yueyue said you’ve never been this invested in any of my friends before. Hubby, are you falling more and more in love with me?”

Zhou Sicheng: “…”

He didn’t even need to analyze it to know those weren’t good words.

Upon analyzing it, his vision simply went dark.

So after doing all this, it was interpreted as being invested in Xiang Zhen’s friend. The more he did, the more mistakes he made.

Biting the hand that feeds you—spit out your severance package.

Fuming, Zhou Sicheng said, “Interact with her less in the future.”

Xiang Zhen: “Oh.”

Just as he hadn’t taken Yueyue calling his husband a cheapskate to heart, he treated Zhou Sicheng’s dislike for Yueyue as a passing breeze.

Xiang Zhen was very smart. This was called listening to both sides to remain objective.

Xiang Zhen: “Hubby, today is the Gaokao! What did you score back then? Did you snatch the sunflower in one fell swoop?” (T/N: “Duo Kui”, meaning taking first place)

Zhou Sicheng: “Not that high. Just ranked first in the district.”

Xiang Zhen: “First in the district! Hubby, then I’ll reward myself to you.”

Zhou Sicheng: “I’ll sign for the delivery tonight.”

With slightly flushed cheeks, Xiang Zhen hung up the call and scrolled through short videos for a while to cool down.

The trending topic on short videos today was naturally the Gaokao.

Xiang Zhen thought for a moment, and taking advantage of his lunch break, headed to the nearest examination center. He still remembered his dream of getting rich next year by selling sunflower bouquets outside test sites.

He decided to scout the competition first. To his disappointment, even though the sunflowers were of excellent quality, no one was selling them for the astronomical prices of 985 or 211 yuan; there was a decimal point tucked between those numbers. Perhaps Uncle Zhang’s sales channels were different. He’d have to ask him the next time they met.

Xiang Zhen didn’t spot Uncle Zhang, who used to come to his house to buy sunflowers, but there were many vendors selling freshly cut sunflower bouquets, as well as mature sunflower seed heads.

A single flower head weighed a full two catties, packed tightly with circle upon circle of hundreds of plump sunflower seeds.

This was an improved edible sunflower variety.

Xiang Zhen stopped before the flower heads, a sense of deep reverence washing over him: “So capable of giving birth.”

He touched his own burning forehead, suddenly feeling as though the sun was shining a little too intensely today.