20 years of restarting life

Chapter 3544 The Ringing Doorbell

"We're going back to Mingzhu today, so I came to pick you up. I don't know how many of you there are, so take this and let the brothers draw some."

He handed the cigarette to the security captain.

"Mr. Zhao, you're always so polite. It's true that the richer and more capable a person is, the better. We work in two shifts, with five people on each shift, which is just right."

The security captain smiled and said to Zhao Chang'an, "Thank you, Mr. Zhao."

At the same time, he picked up the walkie-talkie, turned it on, and said passionately in a slightly exaggerated tone, "Brothers, Boss Zhao gave us a pack of cigarettes!"

"Thank you, Mr. Zhao!"

"Which General Manager Zhao?"

"Tsk~, which Mr. Zhao are you talking about? Aside from the richest man being so generous, how many times have you received a whole box of cigarettes?"

The three security guards on the other end of the walkie-talkie also got excited.

The security guards in this upscale residential community are all highly skilled personnel specially selected by the security company. Their salaries are also quite good; they can all afford a pack of cigarettes.

However, it is this respect between people that implies equality that truly excites them.

Once inside the residential complex and downstairs, Zhao Chang'an called Shan Cai. Shan Cai, somewhat dazed, said that no one was home and that she would leave the keys downstairs and ask Shan Cai to come up.

They're obviously still sleeping in.

Zhao Chang'an got out of the car and looked up at the building. He saw that the curtains and window of the bedroom on the sixth floor were open, and he was craning his neck to look down.

Upon seeing Zhao Chang'an, her eyes immediately crinkled with laughter, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she quietly tossed the keys down.

"Snapped!"

The key fell onto the concrete pavement with a slight thud, and Shan Cai quickly shrank back, closing the window. Clearly, the cold air outside made her shrink back.

On the open-air balcony on the fifth floor of her house, the big golden retriever had been startled by the sound of its young mistress opening the window. It ran to the stainless steel railing of the balcony, and its head was sticking out. When it saw that it was Zhao Chang'an, it let out two "howls". However, it was probably trained by Yan Na and Jiang Xian to not disturb the neighbors, so the sound was not loud.

In a security room in a nearby residential area, the security guard looked out through the glass door and, upon seeing that it was indeed Zhao Chang'an, immediately perked up and hurriedly opened the door, running over at a brisk pace.

"Mr. Zhao."

Before the person even arrived, the voice came over in a low voice.

Zhao Chang'an smiled and handed him a cigarette. Seeing him frantically searching for a lighter in his pocket, he smiled and lit it for him, making the security guard blush with surprise.

"Mr. Zhao, I'll open the door for you."

The security guard excitedly took a bunch of three keys from his belt and went to open the unit door.

This residential complex has a total of eight buildings, and this security guard is specifically responsible for the security of these three buildings at night.

Zhao Chang'an walked into the building, smiled at the security guard, then gently locked the door, walked to the elevator, pressed the elevator button, and entered the elevator, pressing the number five.

This elevator only has six buttons: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11. The button for a single apartment is number 5, but the actual residential floors are the fifth and sixth floors of a duplex apartment. There are two elevators, with three households per floor.

When Zhao Chang'an arrived at the fifth floor, he smelled the rich fragrance of osmanthus as soon as he stepped out of the elevator. He saw a large pot of old osmanthus trees in full bloom by the window at the end of the wide corridor. The combined effect of heating and sunlight made it fragrant in this cold winter.

Arriving at Shan Cai's house, I took out my key and opened the door. The big wolfhound inside had already run out from the balcony, excitedly wagging its tail and running back and forth in the corridor.

It's obvious that it's getting anxious because no one has taken it out to play during these past few days of heavy snow.

Zhao Chang'an waited until the golden retriever had run back and forth seven or eight times before it affectionately ran to his side and rubbed against his leg. Then it went back inside and went straight to its doghouse on the open-air balcony, closing and locking the door. The room was quiet, but warm and cozy. Not only were there over a dozen hardy plants on the balcony outside the glass door, but the living room on the first floor of the duplex also had over a dozen potted plants of rare and valuable flowers and plants. The clivia and orchids were in bloom, and colorful little fish swam in a tropical fish tank.

The silver tabby was perched on a wooden pillar on the corner platform between the first and second floors, looking at Zhao Chang'an.

"Meow!"

Seeing Zhao Chang'an go upstairs, the silver shaded dog barked in dissatisfaction and jumped away.

Although Zhao Chang'an had been working hard all night, his ability to serve Shan Cai to her satisfaction was no joke.

Once the storm had passed, the two of them embraced in bed and whispered sweet nothings to each other.

"Did your mom explode?"

Judging from Shan Cai's expression this morning, Zhao Chang'an guessed that Shan Qiang hadn't yelled at her much.

"At first, she looked really grumpy. She took my phone and looked through my call history, but of course she couldn't see anything. I've been in frequent contact with my fellow townsmen at school these past few days. Later, her expression improved a bit, and she just kept saying how much Xie Yuan likes me."

Shan Cai said smugly, "I've been outwitting my mom for years. She just asks me indirectly or checks my phone's call logs and text messages."

"Ding dong, ding dong!"

Just then, the telephone doorbell in the second-floor corridor suddenly rang.

Startled, Shan Cai trembled and asked Zhao Chang'an with a pale face, "Did you lock the door?"

"No, it's someone else. They either didn't bring their keys. I'll go listen, you come too."

Zhao Chang'an was also getting anxious. If Shan Qiang came back without her keys and blocked the door, it would be a real problem.

As for getting Shan Caizhuang to sleep, that's unrealistic. His car is downstairs, and it belongs to Wen Ye. There's no way Shan Qiang wouldn't recognize it.

He ran to the telephone doorbell in the corridor, picked it up but didn't say anything, waiting for Shan Cai to come out and speak.

"Mr. Zhao, Mr. Shan is back. His car is blocking the entrance, and the team leader is pretending that the retractable gate is broken."

The anxious voice of the security guard from before came through the doorbell.

-

Shan Qiang looked at the two security guards outside the car with a bit of anger, who were holding the retractable gate and pressing the remote control repeatedly.

Yanna told the two idiots that the sliding gate could be pushed open manually, but they insisted that they had never pushed it like that before. What if they broke the equipment worth more than 10,000 yuan? Even if they didn't break it, what if the manager said that they broke it?
Yanna was so annoyed that she didn't want to talk to these two idiots anymore.

Today, Shan Qiang is wearing the trendy style that's popular in the central air-conditioned buildings near Mingzhu this year: very slim black leggings and a khaki wool coat. She rarely dresses like this before, let alone for a conference like today.

However, she was clearly somewhat taken aback by Zhao Chang'an's indifference. Besides, Jiang Xian had also advised her that today's meeting was being interviewed and reported by a TV station, and that her fashionable and youthful attire would boost shareholders' confidence in the company's youthful and forward-thinking management, thus stabilizing the stock price.

It's not cold when it snows, but it's cold when the snow melts. At this time, it's below -10 degrees Celsius outside the car. If she walks home like this, she's really afraid of catching a cold and sneezing during her speech and interviews. That would be embarrassing.

"Don't rush, let them work on it a little longer. Wait five more minutes at most, then call the property manager to have him handle it."

Shan Qiang glanced at the time. The meeting was scheduled for 9:30 a.m., and it was 7:30 a.m. now, so there was still plenty of time.

She was busy until the early hours of the morning last night to finish today's work, so she could only come back early this morning to see her daughter. However, her flight was at almost noon, and her daughter was probably still sleeping in. It would only take her a few words to talk to her, and it wouldn't be long.

Moreover, Shan Qiang was also angry to know that her daughter didn't like to listen to her earnest and well-intentioned words.

(End of this chapter)