amaotonovel Chapter 1317 Capturing Yang Xun
Chapter 1317 Capturing Yang Xun
Chapter 1317 Capturing Yang Xun
At the entrance of Xiaoleijia Team, Shi Hongwei rushed over in a flurry. Just as he was about to push the door open, Lei Shigen, who was hiding in the corner, grabbed his arm and dragged him to the old locust tree next to him.
"What are you doing?" Shi Hongwei was pulled so hard that he almost fell over, and he angrily slapped Lei Shigen's hand away.
Lei Shigen gestured for silence and lowered his voice, saying, "You'd better watch yourself. Haven't you noticed Dongbao's been in a bad mood these past few days? Avoid him if you can!"
Shi Hongwei peeked through the crack in the window and saw Lei Dongbao sitting in the team headquarters, his two thick arms propped on the table, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly, and a document in his hand that he was almost crushing.
"Because of that girl from the Song family?" Shi Hongwei withdrew his gaze and asked in a low voice, "She's already married, but Dongbao still hasn't let go?"
Lei Shigen sighed, "Who says otherwise? I went to his house yesterday, and guess what? He was sitting alone in the yard, drinking alone, the ground littered with cigarette butts. He'd smoked at least two packs."
Before Lei Shigen could finish speaking, Lei Dongbao's impatient shout came from inside the team headquarters: "What are you two whispering about at the door? Come in and say what you have to say!"
The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the word "doomed" in each other's eyes. Forcing himself to go in, Shi Hongwei forced a smile and explained, "No, nothing, I just needed to talk to Shigen about something, we've finished."
Lei Dongbao stared with his big, round eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the two men's faces, making their scalps tingle and their backs break out in a cold sweat.
After a long pause, he snorted coldly, stood up, and dusted himself off: "Come on, let's go to the county for a wedding."
"Huh?" Shi Hongwei was utterly astonished, his mouth agape as if he could fit an egg in it. "Dongbao...you're really going?"
Lei Dongbao glared at him, annoyed. "Why can't I go? Haozi is my brother, after all!"
As he spoke, he walked out, hopped on his old-fashioned bicycle, and was about to start pedaling.
Lei Shigen reacted quickly, grabbing the back of the bicycle seat: "Dongbao, you should at least bring something. Going empty-handed...that's not appropriate."
These words seemed to strike a nerve with Lei Dongbao. His face instantly turned ashen, and he glared fiercely at Lei Shigen: "Do you need to tell me? I'm going home to get it!"
After saying that, he stomped his foot hard, and the bicycle shot off, almost knocking Lei Shigen over.
Watching Lei Dongbao's departing figure, Lei Shigen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Do you think Dongbao has let go or not?"
Shi Hongwei curled his lip and pulled out a half-pack of crumpled cigarettes from his pocket: "What can you do if you can't let go? She's already married. Besides, would a respectable college student like her even look at a rough guy like Dongbao?"
"You two have been talking badly about Dongbao behind his back. I have to talk to him about it." A strange voice suddenly came from behind, startling the two of them.
Shi Hongwei turned around and saw it was Lei Sibao, that gossipy old man, and immediately flew into a rage: "Say one and I'll break your legs!"
Lei Sibao made a face and nimbly slipped between the two: "Go ahead and say it, I'm not afraid of you!"
After saying that, he ran away in a flash, just like a rat that had stolen oil.
"Oh no! Oh no!" Lei Shigen stamped his feet anxiously. "That liar Si Bao, he might actually be gossiping about us to Dong Bao, right?"
Shi Hongwei slammed his cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it to dust with his foot: "If he really tells the truth, I'll never forgive him!"
On the other side, Lei Sibao pedaled his bicycle furiously and finally caught up with Lei Dongbao on the dirt road at the entrance of the village.
He stood panting in front of Lei Dongbao's car, calling out, "Brother Dongbao, wait for me!"
Lei Dongbao slammed on the brakes, frowning at the sweating man: "Where are you going?"
Lei Sibao wiped the sweat from his face and said matter-of-factly, "Of course we're going to the banquet!"
"Didn't you go there yesterday?" Lei Dongbao's brows furrowed even more.
"They're having a three-day feast where people can eat as much as they want, they didn't say it was only once," Lei Sibao argued confidently, patting his bulging pockets. "Look, I even brought some parchment paper, I can take what I can't finish!"
Lei Dongbao rolled his eyes in exasperation at his spineless attitude: "Look at you, always trying to take advantage of others!"
Lei Sibao leaned closer, looking aggrieved: "So, doesn't this count as avenging you?"
"What revenge are you trying to get for me?" Lei Dongbao asked, looking completely bewildered.
Lei Sibao lowered his voice mysteriously: "Look, you like Song Yunping, and Haozi stole your wife. That's called the grudge of having your wife stolen! I can't stand his smugness. He even treated the whole brigade to a three-day feast. He thinks he's someone special just because he has a little money! I'll eat him to death. I'll eat him out of house and home. Wouldn't that be revenge for you?"
Lei Dongbao nearly fell off his bicycle. He suppressed the urge to cover his face and took a deep breath: "Sibao, Sibao, can't you use your brain for something useful all day?"
"How is this not a serious matter?" Lei Sibao looked aggrieved. "I'm avenging you!"
Lei Dongbao felt his blood pressure soaring. Pointing to the road back to the village, he yelled, "You'd better get back right now, and don't ever say you know me again. You can't afford to lose face like this!"
In the end, Lei Sibao still shamelessly followed along. When they arrived at the wedding banquet in the county, Lei Dongbao was also taken aback by the grandeur of the event—the county's best state-run restaurant was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, and more than thirty tables of banquet food were set up from the lobby all the way to the courtyard.
The waiters moved around, clearing away the food and serving new dishes as soon as one table finished eating. I don't know how much the banquet alone would cost.
Song Yunhui was the one greeting the guests outside. Although he had never had a good impression of Lei Dongbao, on his sister's wedding day, he could only force a smile and greet the two of them: "You've arrived? Please come in."
Lei Sibao loudly tried to pull Lei Dongbao to sit down at the table: "Dongbao, there's an empty seat here!" He then reached for the braised pork on the plate.
Lei Dongbao flung his hand away and said to Song Yunhui, "Xiaohui, is Haozi here? I want to congratulate him in person."
Song Yunhui pointed to the private room inside: "County Chief Xu is here. My brother-in-law is in the private room with him. Come with me."
The two entered the hotel's private room, where County Chief Xu was chatting animatedly with Qin Hao and Song Yunping. Today, Song Yunping wore a snow-white wedding dress, her hair elegantly styled, and her face lightly made up; she looked like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting. Lei Dongbao glanced at her once and quickly lowered his head, feeling as if his heart had been squeezed tightly.
When County Magistrate Xu saw Lei Dongbao enter, he greeted him with a smile, "Dongbao's here! Please have a seat! We were just talking about Xiao Lei Village."
Lei Dongbao was flattered and stood aside, rubbing his hands together: "It's rare that you still remember our little Lei family."
County Head Xu waved his hand: "Look at what you're saying. The Lei family has done a great job these past two years. Not only did they help the cannery complete its export earnings target, but they also started a wire factory this year. I heard your orders have already been sold outside the province?"
Mentioning the achievements of the Lei family, Lei Dongbao finally regained some confidence and said with a simple smile, "It's all thanks to Haozi's help; Yang Xun introduced us to quite a few big clients."
Qin Hao smiled and raised his glass: "That also depends on the quality of the wires produced by the Lei family. To be honest, I originally thought that given the Lei family's resources, it would take you at least three or four months to build the wire factory, but I didn't expect you to start mass production in just two months."
Overwhelmed by the praise, Lei Dongbao grinned from ear to ear, forgetting his nervousness, and began to chatter: "I had no choice. The Lei family was poor, so I had to mobilize everyone in the village. I brought all the children from the Lei family who had gone to high school to the wire factory. They worked during the day and studied at night, and they managed to master the skills."
County Head Xu patted Lei Dongbao on the shoulder with some emotion: "If all the factory directors in the county could be like Dongbao, how could our county's economy not develop?"
As they spoke, Song Yunping got up and poured Lei Dongbao a glass of water. When Lei Dongbao took the glass, he accidentally touched Song Yunping's finger and immediately recoiled as if electrocuted, his gaze momentarily unfocused. Song Yunping was even more radiant and beautiful than usual today; the faint scent of her perfume filled his nostrils, making him unable to look directly at her.
Song Yunhui noticed that Lei Dongbao's gaze towards his sister was strange and coughed heavily twice. Lei Dongbao then seemed to wake from a daze and quickly looked away, spilling half of the water in his glass.
"Well," Lei Dongbao hurriedly stood up, "I just came today to congratulate Haozi. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now. I have a lot of things to do at the Lei family."
Out of hospitality, Song Yunhui feigned a desire for him to stay and say, "Why don't you stay and have something to eat before you leave?"
"No, no!" Lei Dongbao waved his hands repeatedly and fled as if he were escaping. Just as he reached the door, he heard Lei Sibao's raspy voice calling out, "Dongbao! Over here! I've got you a seat, come on!"
Lei Sibao occupied three seats by himself, with plates piled up like a small mountain in front of him. He was also gnawing on a chicken leg and waving at him with his face shiny with oil.
Lei Dongbao's face darkened, and he wished he could disappear into the ground on the spot. He rushed over in three strides, grabbed Lei Sibao, and dragged him outside.
"Hey, hey, hey! Dongbao, I'm not full yet!" Lei Sibao struggled, grabbing a handful of peanuts with his other hand and stuffing them into his pocket. "That braised pork smelled so good!"
"Eat, eat, eat! All you ever do is eat!" Lei Dongbao hissed through gritted teeth in his ear, "If you don't leave, I'll break your legs!"
After their three-day wedding, Qin Hao took Song Yunping to Europe for a month-long honeymoon. Upon returning to China, Song Yunping chose to return to teach at a primary school in Jinling County, while Qin Hao went to Shanghai to oversee the recruitment for Haoran International's Shanghai branch.
In the Haoran International office on the Bund in Shanghai, Qin Hao was reviewing resumes. University graduates in this era are extremely valuable; after graduation, they either enter the government or state-owned enterprises, and most private companies wouldn't even give them a second glance.
However, as a "foreign-invested enterprise" engaged in international trade, Haoran International attracted a considerable number of college graduates to apply for its services.
"Mr. Lei, this is the last batch of interviewees' materials for today." The secretary placed a stack of documents on the table.
The main reason why Qin Hao attaches so much importance to the recruitment of the Shanghai branch is that Yang Xun's personal abilities are no longer sufficient to be the manager of the Shanghai branch.
With the expansion of Haoran International's business, supply chain integration will become the company's most important trump card in the future, and it cannot afford to lose it.
The corridor outside the conference room was filled with college students who had come to apply for jobs. They were of varying ages, the oldest looking to be in their early thirties and the youngest in their early twenties, a characteristic of the "old three classes" of college graduates.
The age gap among college students who entered university after 80 is not so obvious.
Yang Xun paced back and forth in the corridor, glancing occasionally at the closed door of the conference room.
As the manager of the Shanghai branch, he should have been in charge of the recruitment work, but this time Qin Hao not only personally oversaw the process, but didn't even let him participate in the interviews.
This unusual behavior made Yang Xun very uneasy.
"Hello, Mr. Yang."
"Mr. Yang."
Several passing employees greeted him, but Yang Xun ignored them. His gaze remained fixed on the conference room door until his secretary pushed it open and came out.
"What's the situation inside?" Yang Xun rushed forward and asked in a low voice.
The secretary paused for a moment, then asked, "You mean...?"
"Nonsense! Of course it's about how Hao-ge is feeling!" Yang Xun frowned impatiently.
The secretary looked puzzled: "That's great, Mr. Lei has been chatting and laughing with the applicant the whole time."
Yang Xun's heart skipped a beat. This was exactly what he feared—the more nonchalant Qin Hao acted, the more serious things might be. He waved his hand impatiently to dismiss his secretary and continued pacing down the corridor.
Looking at those college graduates in suits and ties, Yang Xun felt even more uneasy. With the company suddenly hiring so many highly educated people, could he, a manager who hadn't even finished junior high school, still hold his position secure?
Finally, the meeting room door opened again. The job applicants left one after another, with Qin Hao being the last to emerge.
"Brother Hao!" Yang Xun immediately went up to him, his face full of smiles.
Qin Hao nodded to him: "Do you have time? Come to my office and we can chat?"
"I'm free, of course I'm free." Yang Xun quickly followed, but his heart was pounding with anxiety.
In the CEO's office, Qin Hao gestured for Yang Xun to sit down opposite him. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the office in a golden glow, but it couldn't dispel the gloom in Yang Xun's heart.
"Haoran International is receiving more and more orders now," Qin Hao said bluntly. "I plan to divide the Shanghai company into four departments based on the regions of our foreign trade orders: North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and other developing countries."
He paused, then looked directly at Yang Xun: "I plan to put you in charge of the Southeast Asian operations."
Yang Xun's smile froze. While the Southeast Asian business was substantial, it paled in comparison to the European and North American markets. This was clearly a demotion.
"Brother Hao, you're the boss," Yang Xun said, barely suppressing his emotions. "You tell me what to do, and I'll do it."
Qin Hao sensed the emotion in his voice: "Yang Xun, I know you're upset. It's just the two of us here, so feel free to speak your mind. However, I hope you won't bring your personal feelings into your work."
These words seemed to unleash a torrent of emotion from Yang Xun. He took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly, "Brother Hao, I feel I've done my best at my job these past few years. I don't understand why they suddenly removed me."
He became increasingly agitated as he spoke: "Yes, I haven't had much formal education, and I'm not as literate or arithmetic-savvy as those college graduates. But business isn't about who's more educated! I dare say that no college graduate can match me in business!"
Qin Hao listened quietly, waiting for Yang Xun to finish venting before speaking: "You're right, doing business isn't just about having a high level of education. Experience can be accumulated, but there are some things they have that you don't."
He stood up and walked to the window, his back to Yang Xun: "For example, one's perspective, vision, and breadth of mind."
Yang Xun opened his mouth to retort, but Qin Hao stopped him with a raised hand: "Perhaps you think you've done a good job these past two years, but to be honest, I'm very disappointed in you."
Qin Hao turned around, his gaze sharp: "It's not that I haven't given you chances. But until now, you've only been focused on completing the export orders given to you by head office. I told you before that you need to integrate supply chain resources and identify high-quality companies; have you done all of that?"
Yang Xun was speechless.