20 years of restarting life

Chapter 3585 Zeng Xiaoxiao's Invitation

Qiao Jing'er was driving, Feng Caiwei was sitting in the passenger seat, and Zeng Xiaoxiao and Xu Shasha were sitting in the back with Xiong Beibei on either side of them.

When Feng Caiwei returned to Mingzhu this time, she only brought a small travel bag, which she put in the trunk of her car.

"Sisters, it's only a little past one o'clock. What's the point of going back? Let's go out and have some fun. Our fellow townsmen from Chongqing, Yu Duo and Bao Zhixuan, co-own a beauty and plastic surgery clinic. My high school homeroom teacher, Mr. Chang's wife, also works there. I have a membership card. Let's go get a facial, a hair wash, and a manicure. These are all free every week. It would be a waste not to use them."

Zeng Xiaoxiao suggested with a smile, "This store is located on our way, and it has a lot of cosmetics that were bought from Korea. They are sold internally and not to the public."

Xiong Beibei was somewhat tempted. In this era, beauty salons were still considered high-end social venues for wealthy women. As a nurse in a large hospital, although she didn't have much money, she was still quite knowledgeable.

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Aren't the free trial sessions only for cardholders?"

“The three of us have cards, and Zhao Chang’an has one too, but he never uses them. Besides, his is a high-end card that can be used by others. They can just say it’s registered in his name, and it doesn’t cost any money anyway.”

Qiao Jing'er explained to Xiong Beibei.

However, all Feng Caiwei wanted to do at that moment was go back to her rented room.

When she returned to the mountain city this time, she didn't initially intend to negotiate a contract, but unexpectedly, she almost succeeded in doing so.

The news was reported to the director, who was very pleased because although the order was not large, it could be seen as the first shot to open up the Midwest market. So he told her not to go to work yet, but to get the order in Shancheng before returning to the company.

Now that things have turned out this way, it would be a lie to say that Feng Caiwei isn't upset. Thinking about having to face that snobbish director's cold face at work tomorrow, she has no interest in going out to play.

Despite feeling annoyed, she smiled and said, "You guys go ahead. I just got back today and need to rush back to clean my room. Let's make plans another day."

"No."

"Let's go together, it's more fun with more people."

Qiao Jing'er and Xu Shasha quickly tried to persuade her.

"Really, I'm really busy today, and I have to work the early shift tomorrow."

Feng Caiwei insisted, "I'll get off the bus when we get there; it's not far to take a taxi."

"That works too. Caiwei, do you have time this weekend? Let's have a barbecue party at my place, just the five of us. We live on the top floor and have built a small garden on that huge rooftop. We'll grill lots of vegetables, tofu, and small yellow croaker, brushed with cumin and Sichuan peppercorns for a spicy and delicious treat."

When Zeng Xiaoxiao saw that Feng Caiwei was unwilling to go to the beauty salon, she invited her to come to her home in a few days.

"Sure, but I'm worried about having to work overtime. As you know, this isn't something I can decide."

Feng Caiwei was finally moved. She had been working in Mingzhu for over a year, but she didn't have a single close friend here. Every day, besides the monotonous work, she would go back to her rented room and curl up alone to read books, watch TV, or watch rented DVDs, or wander aimlessly on the street.

Previously, Feng Caiwei had a big argument with her parents because she decided to leave her original job and work hard in a company. Now that she has joined this car company, her salary is three or four times higher than before, and she is located in Shanghai. At first, she was really happy and thought that she had made the right choice.

Even now, she still believes that her choice was right, but the loneliness of not having a private social life is becoming stronger and stronger.

She was still quite willing to have a barbecue at their home with these girls, without going to any shady places.

“That’s easy. You won’t be working on the fifteenth of the first lunar month, right? And Beibei, are you working on the fifteenth of the first lunar month?” Zeng Xiaoxiao asked.

“I go to work every day. Aunt Jiao needs to get vaccinated for several more days, but I’ll be fine after that and I don’t need to go to the hospital this afternoon.”

Xiong Beibei was actually thinking about how to spend the Lantern Festival. Her parents called her and said they would take the train back to Jingkou at noon, and her father would drive her to work early in the morning on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. That was no joke; they would have to leave at three or four in the morning.

"Okay then, let's meet on the afternoon of the fifteenth of the first lunar month. It would be best if you came early so we can go out to buy groceries together."

Zeng Xiaoxiao said, "Let's buy some sparklers, that would be so much fun!"

-

Sunlight streamed into the living room, and the temperature was just right—neither too hot nor too cold—making it very comfortable. Zhao Chang'an didn't turn on the central air conditioning, figuring that by the time he could warm up the living room, they would have finished their business and moved on to the next location.

"How are the negotiations with Wenye going?"

Duan Fengqing didn't beat around the bush.

“Mai Guixue and Lang Ruping are still stubbornly clinging to their positions, thinking that the people of Shancheng won’t dare to really take action against them. Liu Mingxiong met with them separately in private and was scolded so badly that he had a stroke.”

What displeased Zhao Chang'an was that even now, after Mai Xuegui, Lang Ruping, and their families involved in the case were brought back to Shancheng, they were only required to stay in a hotel and were not allowed to contact the outside world.

However, this lenient treatment actually sent a very dangerous message to the enforcers: that these people would not be truly dealt with because various implications needed to be taken into account.

Since the higher-ups think this way, why should they offend anyone below? So in many places, they tacitly and deliberately turn a blind eye, making it easy for these people to collude and give the same story.

Moreover, this surveillance emboldened Mai Lang and his ilk, who believed that the mountain town authorities wanted to downplay the matter and make it disappear. The only obstacle was the traitor Liu Mingxiong, who wanted to seize their shares.

Duan Fengqing could certainly sense Zhao Chang'an's dissatisfaction. This decision, which appeared to be from the hotel's perspective, was also made by her, because she was also troubled by this matter.

The conflict between Liu Mingxiong, Mai Guixue, and Lang Ruping has now escalated to the point where there is no possibility of them continuing to cooperate.

In other words, either Zhao Chang'an and Liu Mingxiong will control Qiangwei Cultural Tourism, or they will step down and Mai Guixue and Lang Ruping will take over.

In terms of ability, integrity, and genuine desire to build an excellent cultural tourism group, Zhao Chang'an is far superior to people like Mai Guixue who only think about making money. In fact, Duan Fengqing decided to support Zhao Chang'an in taking control of Rose Cultural Tourism from the very beginning.

However, she hoped that this equity transaction could be handled more amicably, ideally with Liu Mingxiong persuading Mai Guixue and the others to receive reasonable compensation so that they could part ways amicably.

"What price did Mr. Liu offer them?"

Duan Fengqing immediately grasped the core of the problem. Although Mai Guixue and Lang Ruping were angry that they had been tricked, as long as Zhao Chang'an offered a reasonable price, if Zhao Chang'an gave them 1 billion each, they and their families would kneel before Zhao Chang'an and call him their father.

"Name your price? What price are you asking for? Didn't they commit a serious crime, have all their assets confiscated, and then spend a few more years or even a decade in prison? What good things are they still thinking about?"

Zhao Chang'an's single sentence caused Duan Fengqing to suffer internal injuries from holding it in.

I've seen ruthless people, but I've never seen anyone this ruthless. No wonder Mai Guixue and Lang Ruping were so angry that they scolded Liu Mingxiong until he was completely bewildered.

To put it nicely, not rushing at him to fight him was the least of our worries!