20 years of restarting life

Chapter 3562 News about Li Shiya
When Zhao Chang'an and his two companions arrived at the location, Qi Xiu and his three companions were already there. Surprisingly, Liu Changming and his wife were also there. Yang Mo was in the kitchen, stir-frying vegetables over a blazing fire, with a young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old helping him.

“He is my older brother’s son. He dropped out of school before graduating from junior high and works as a kitchen helper in a small restaurant in town. He came to me this time wanting to arrange something for me.”

Liu Changming explained to Zhao Chang'an with a smile, "I just asked him to cook a few dishes to see how good he was. But after he finished the first dish, Li Li wouldn't let him cook any more, saying it would be a waste of food."

Everyone laughed at this. Liu Changming said, "I'll send him to Lao Mo's for a year of advanced training. Then we'll see what he's really made of."

"Okay, there will be openings at the comprehensive center. If you're interested, you can start your business there."

Zhao Chang'an handed Liu Changming a cigarette.

“If he’s not good enough, he won’t be able to survive there, so I’ll just leave him. If he’s somewhat competent, I’m planning to send him to Africa. Over the years, the chefs I’ve brought over have all wanted to open their own restaurants once they’ve gotten familiar with the business. In the last few years alone, three chefs have left my team. While they didn’t exactly make a fortune, they earned dozens of times their salaries when they opened their own restaurants. This is my nephew; at least he can stay long-term. If he wants to open his own restaurant, I’d be willing to beat him up.”

"I saw you and Aunt Guo at the basketball court this morning, Principal Liu. Were those students selected by you?"

It was only at this point that Zhao Chang'an put the two things together.

"Yes, they need to go to the Foreign Affairs College in Yenching for a year of special training, and then they will be either eliminated or assigned a position based on their performance."

Liu Changming said to Guo Wanqiu, "I really don't want Li Shiya. If you hadn't forced her in, she definitely wouldn't have passed my second screening. But I've also thought about it. We'll see how she performs. If she's excellent, I'd like to keep her in the department."

"I didn't know at first. It was only when Yang Yixin took me to coffee yesterday that I saw that she actually worked part-time at a coffee shop. Zhao Chang'an, I never expected that you had such a hidden talent in your hands. You even managed to get your hands on the most beautiful female student at our Shanghai International Studies University."

Guo Wanqiu looked at Zhao Chang'an with a half-smile on her face.

Zhao Chang'an's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained expressionless as he smiled and said, "I didn't actually hire this person. She's very close to Yue Lina's daughter, who works with the coffee shop, and Zhao Xiaoxiao is too, so the three of them work part-time there. With her leaving, my coffee shop near the Shanghai International Studies University will lose a lot of male white-collar customers. Yue Lina joked with me that at least half of the male white-collar workers there frequented the place because of her."

This candid statement, along with the mention that many young men are pursuing or have a crush on Li Shiya, subtly implies that Zhao Chang'an has no connection whatsoever with Li Shiya.

"She's really beautiful, and has a great temperament. She has a kind of aloofness that's like a lotus rising from the mud, pure and untainted. Last time I went for coffee, Yue Lu excitedly told me for ages about traditional weddings in rural northern Zhejiang, and said that Zhao Chang'an would definitely regret it if he passed by and didn't go."

Tang Shuang said to Zhao Chang'an, "Your friend Yue Lu has a really nice personality. Every time I go over for coffee, as long as she's not busy, she'll come over and chat with me. But her mother is exceptionally shrewd. She thought it was just a matter of a few hundred thousand yuan, so she let it go."

Zhao Chang'an knew that Tang Shuang was referring to Yue Lina's falsification of accounts. He had already anticipated this when he partnered with Yue Lina to open the coffee shop. It wouldn't be in line with Yue Lina's style if she didn't take a little money.

Fortunately, she was a smart woman and knew that Zhao Chang'an's bottom line was that the money she invested could not underperform bank fixed deposits. So, although she was greedy, she was still relatively restrained.

"I met Yue Lu because of Liu Yihui. Never mind, as long as it doesn't go too far and doesn't use Yi Nanmi's fame for overspending, consider it my wedding gift to Yue Lu."

Speaking of Yue Lu, Zhao Chang'an felt no awkwardness whatsoever. Thinking of Yue Lina's beautiful yet mean-spirited face, he couldn't help but laugh. "I think you're missing a sister. Yue Lu is fine, as long as you don't recognize Yue Lina as your godmother."

This brings us back to the joke Zhao Chang'an and Yang Yixin made in the car earlier. Although Tang Shuang didn't think much of it, Yang Yixin couldn't help but blush and grab Tang Shuang's thigh.

After saying those few words, Tang Shuang didn't say anything more. Instead, she and Yang Yixin whispered to each other, asking Yang Yixin to buy some things for her when she went to Xingcheng and France.

"I'll buy you whatever you want. I've been to Xingcheng and France, I know them better than Yang Yixin."

Zhao Chang'an interjected, "Including Yang Yixin, I'll take you to the beach to pick seafood. Many things that are very expensive in China are so plentiful there that the locals don't eat them."

"Don't meddle in our girls' affairs."

Yang Yixin retorted to Zhao Chang'an.

Guo Wanqiu glanced at Zhao Chang'an indifferently. Although she didn't say anything, her gaze made Zhao Chang'an feel uneasy.

However, this little incident diverted attention from Li Shiya, the campus belle of Shanghai International Studies University. After all, she was just a female student at the school, and Liu Changming only mentioned her casually without paying much attention.

-

What reassured Zhao Chang'an about the meal was that Guo Wanqiu, aside from saying at the beginning, "I really didn't expect you to have such hidden talents, managing to get your hands on the most beautiful female student at our Shanghai International Studies University," didn't say anything similar again.

Saying this once is enough; if you say it again, it will definitely arouse suspicion in Qi Xiu's eyes.

It was obvious that Guo Wanqiu was angry, but what could she do now that the die was cast? She could only grit her teeth and bear it, putting the matter aside for later.

While drinking, Liu Changming mentioned the Confucius Institute project, a collaboration between Shanghai International Studies University and OneNano, and expressed his hope that Zhao Chang'an could increase investment.

"At first glance, this seems like a loss for the company, but in the long run, the impact of this event on a company, especially on the establishment and penetration of its brand in Africa, is definitely a worthwhile business investment."

Liu Changming has worked in Africa for more than 20 years. He not only understands the local customs and culture, but his thinking has also been influenced by them. He likes to speak his mind directly and without reservation.

"Africa is rich in natural resources: minerals, timber, precious medicinal herbs, and even, if your company is strong enough, you can compete for oil field development—"

Liu Changming spoke eloquently, his face beaming with excitement. Clearly, he had a deep affection for the land of Africa and hoped to help the people there become prosperous and happy.