Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Xiao Luo’s attitude was firm. Xu Guansong would never convince him to drop his lawsuit against Chen Jianbai. Last time, the two had parted at the office on bad terms. This had prompted Xiao Luo to turn his attention to Xu Guansong for the very first time. Could Xu Guansong with the beer belly really be Taste Buds’ spy?
Indeed, without any proof, doubts still remained!
After two days, they received a piece of unsettling news.
One of their loyal customer, a company that ordered mooncakes for their staff during the Mid-Autumn Festival every year, abruptly announced that they would no longer buy from Luo’s Workshop.
The news was like a bolt of thunder in a clear sky and a fatal blow to the Luo’s Factory!
The Fuke Group was one of the top 500 process manufacturing enterprises globally. Their factory in Jiangcheng alone had 230,000 workers. Including all domestic and foreign branches, they employed a total of 1 million people. Although Luo’s Workshop had only received the accounts for their plants in Jiangcheng and two other cities, the Fuke Group’s order was at a staggering 8 million dollars.
The Fuke Group was unquestionably Luo’s Workshop’s biggest customer!
When they heard this terrible news, Luo’s Factory’s department heads suffered like ants in a hot pan. They swarmed into Xiao Luo’s office, and the rather spacious room was instantly jampacked.
“Mr. Xiao, please hurry up and think of something. If we lose the Fuke Group, then Luo’s Workshop will be…sigh…”
“Why did they suddenly turn down our mooncakes? What should we do now?”
“Is Luo’s Workshop done for?”
The distressed department heads discussed the matter anxiously in Xiao Luo’s office. They were not baseline employees. They, who had chosen to stay at the company during these uncertain times, were emotionally attached to Luo’s Factory. They really wanted to work through the organization’s difficulties.
These voices, however, were too noisy for Xiao Luo’s tastes.
“Quiet, please! Stop babbling! Let the boss talk, alright?” shouted Luo Qi from the Research and Development department.
She was the only department head who didn’t wear formal clothes to work. She believed that people who worked in research and development needed creativity and inspiration, and wearing uniforms considerably reduced their sources of inspiration.
She was dressed in a vibrant yellow T-shirt, decadent ripped jeans, and sneakers with light green lines. Her shiny black hair reached her shoulders and was fastened with an adorably shaped blue starfish hairpin. She had a pure and youthful countenance and wore makeup, not even powder. Still, between her eyebrows, there was a hint of flirtatiousness.
After Luo Qi’s outburst, the entire office swiftly plunged into silence. They turned their eyes to Xiao Luo. The boss sat at his desk, holding his chin with his left hand like he was pondering something.
“Silence at last.” Xiao Luo stood up and said after letting out a long exhale. “Since you’re finally quiet, it’s my turn to speak. Luo’s Workshop and the Fuke Group have a contract signed. How much is the penalty for breach of contract?”
“The penalty for a breach of contract is 10 million dollars, Mr. Xiao.”
Li Zimeng stepped forward. She was the one who had been personally involved in the signing of the Fuke Group’s contract. She was well aware of Xiao Luo’s intentions. She knitted her eyebrows and continued awkwardly, “But our contract will expire precisely on the date of this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival.”
“The contract is going to expire, you say?” Xiao Luo knitted his eyebrows.
Li Zimeng quietly lowered her head and replied, “Yes, and I am responsible. I’d originally planned to renew the contract after we delivered the stock. Still, I never expected that the Fuke Group would…”
“Miss Li, I only want to know why, for such a huge client like the Fuke Group, a new contract wasn’t drafted in advance before the old one expired?” Xiao Luo’s tone was somewhat cold, stiff, and critical.
Li Ziming lowered her head even further and muttered, “My mistake.”
Her voice was as soft as a fly. She honestly hadn’t expected things to turn out this way. A mere few days before, she’d verbally confirmed everything with Mr. Zhang Hongda. He ran the Fuke Group’s Jiangcheng plant. He had assured her personally that the contract would be renewed on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Who could have known that things would change so much in such a short time?
“Mr. Xiao, I think there’s no use blaming Ms. Li right now. Our top priority now is to pull back the Fuke Group,” Xu Guansong said in awe.
Luo Qi echoed, “He’s right, Mr. Xiao. Miss Zimeng will never expect the Fuke Group to add insult to injury at this moment. They’re really just…bad.”
Xiao Luo regained his composure soon after. This was the first time that he’d felt like, as the boss of Luo’s Workshop, he still had a long way to go in shouldering this heavy responsibility.
“Get in contact with the Fuke Group’s boss. I want to meet him in person. Also, get me a list of Taste Buds’ customers. I want the list on my desk by this afternoon.”
It was almost inevitable that Taste Buds had snatched their client again. Just the thought of it whipped up Xiao Luo’s anger. He wanted to mount a powerful comeback and not only acquire the Fuke Group but also seize all the clients that belonged to Taste Buds.
As he thought of all this, greed flashed in Xiao Luo’s eyes together with rage and danger. They were just like the eyes of a wolf!
The department heads hovered about the office in fear. They’d never seen such aggressive eyes before. Furthermore, this aggressiveness seemed to be contagious, transmitting from Xiao Luo onto their own bodies. They clenched their fists in a fragmented silence as determination emerged in their eyes.
…
After ten o’clock in the morning, Xiao Luo, Luo Qi, and Xu Guansong arrived by car at the Ming Tai golf course to meet the Fuke Group’s boss, Zhang Hongda.
“As one of the golf course’s investors, Mr. Zhang comes here for a few swings almost every day,” Xu Guansong explained.
Luo Qi pouted and said, “Why did you invite him to a meeting at this place? You want Mr. Xiao to entertain him with golf?”
Xiao Luo smiled and said, “By promising to see me, he is already showing his sincerity. Bring the contract and come with me to meet him.”
By now, Xiao Luo had completely calmed down. He couldn’t always talk business while being infuriated and drenched in a murderous aura, right?
“Aye-aye!” Luo Qi smiled playfully.
“Don’t act like that. Be more serious,” Xu Guansong immediately rebuked her with a stern look on his face.
Luo Qi stuck out her little tongue at him.
When they reached the golf course, a staff member led them to the driving range. From far away, they could see a middle-aged man in a white shirt and black sunglasses with shiny combed hair. He was sitting underneath an umbrella, leisurely sipping his tea and gazing ahead. Beside him stood two bodyguards in black tuxedos and an assistant. There were also two ladies with model-like hourglass figures, attentively massaging his shoulders and legs.
“Is that Mr. Zhang? He really does know how to enjoy life!” Luo Qi asked curiously.
“Oh, sweet lord! Can you just zip your mouth? Don’t screw things up before we even get a chance to talk about business,” Xu Guansong shot back agitatedly.
This was impolite and very rash behavior. If Zhang Hongda were to hear her, his impression of the three of them would definitely crumble. If that happened, then how could they talk about business? There would be nothing left to talk about.
Who could have guessed that, after he finished criticizing Luo Qi, Xiao Luo asked again, “Is that Zhang Hongda?”
Pssss!
Xu Guansong gasped. Calling him by his name? W-w-what the hell was he thinking? Did he still want to talk about business or not?