My Ares Son-in-Law

"Snapped!"

This slap was heavier and louder than the one Jiang Xuanxuan had just given her; it was incredibly powerful.

Zhou Hao staggered and crashed into the wall after being hit. Blood instantly seeped from the corner of his mouth, and half of his face swelled up, but he dared not put up any resistance.

"Useless!" The old woman lowered her voice, her tone vicious, each word like a sharp blade stabbing at the heart.

"I told you to come here and make a good impression, and this is what you did? You slandered your savior in front of her, speaking recklessly. Have you lost your mind? You're more trouble than you're worth!"

Zhou Hao covered his face, lowered his head, and dared not utter a sound. He was filled with grievances but had no power to refute them.

"If we can't win over Jiang Xuanxuan and can't reach a cooperation agreement with the Jiang family, our Zhou family in the capital will soon face big trouble, and our funds and connections will be stretched thin."

The old lady coldly rebuked, her tone heavy, "Do you know what this means? You want to drag the entire Zhou family into the mire!"

Zhou Hao trembled, lowered his head, and stammered, "Grandma, I... I didn't mean to, I was just angry for a moment."

"Don't call me 'Grandma,' I don't have such a useless junior like you."

The old lady took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and said coldly, "It's too late to say anything now. Let her calm down for a few days first, and then we'll think of a way to make amends. This matter can't be left like this."

She turned and walked out, leaning on her cane. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped and said in a deep voice, "By the way, have Keying go to Baoqiu Building Materials tomorrow."

"Baoqiu Building Materials?" Zhou Hao was taken aback, his face full of doubt. "What would you do with her there?"

"Go and buy on credit." The old woman's voice was cold and hard, devoid of any emotion.

"The new project in the eastern suburbs urgently needs 30 million yuan worth of building materials, but the company's cash flow is currently broken and it cannot come up with this money."

Although Huang Dabao is a difficult person with unscrupulous methods, Keying is gentle and eloquent, making her the most suitable person to handle the negotiations.

Zhou Hao opened his mouth, wanting to say that this was clearly pushing Zhou Keying into a fire pit, but when he saw the old lady's gloomy face, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue and dared not say anything more.

The next morning, at the villa where Xiao Chen was staying.

As soon as Zhou Keying hung up the old lady's phone, her face turned extremely pale. Her brows furrowed, and her eyes were filled with worry and unease.

Baoqiu Building Materials Group is notorious in the industry for being stingy and never extends credit or shows any consideration for personal relationships.

Although she had never directly dealt with the boss, Huang Dabao, she had heard countless rumors about him... He was lecherous, greedy, of low character, and used despicable methods; he was an absolute scoundrel.

Sending a lone woman like her to borrow 30 million from such a person is tantamount to sending a lamb to the slaughter; it's clearly an attempt to put her in great danger.

Zhou Keying was now in a state of deep anxiety and didn't know what to do.

Just then, Xiao Chen came downstairs and, seeing Zhou Keying's expression, couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? You look so pale."

Zhou Keying opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but then shook her head. She didn't want to trouble Xiao Chen with everything, since Xiao Chen actually had nothing to do with her: "It's nothing, just some trivial matters at the company, I can handle it myself."

"What company is bothering you so much? Don't hide it from me, tell me. Let's see if I can help you, otherwise your emotions are affecting me and making me unhappy too."

Xiao Chen joked. Zhou Keying smiled wryly, thought for a moment, and then said, "Grandma Zhou asked me to go to Baoqiu Building Materials to get 30 million yuan worth of building materials on credit. The new project in the eastern suburbs urgently needs materials, but the company has recently run into a major cash flow problem and can't come up with the money for the time being, so we can only go to get them on credit."

"Baoqiu Building Materials?" Xiao Chen thought for a moment, and seemed to have a vague impression of it. Dansheng Group seemed to have some cooperation with this company. "Is it Huang Dabao's company?"

"You know him?" Zhou Keying was a little surprised; Xiao Chen knew a lot of people.

"I've heard a bit about him," Xiao Chen sighed. "But this guy has a terrible reputation in the industry. He's greedy, lecherous, and extremely difficult to deal with. You'd better be careful if you do dealing with him, or he might eat you alive."

Zhou Keying gave a bitter laugh, feeling extremely wronged. "I didn't want to deal with him either. He's a notorious scoundrel and lecher in the industry, with despicable and vile methods. The old lady made me go alone, which clearly means..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the deeper meaning was already clear: she was trying to push her into a pit of fire.

Xiao Chen thought for a moment and said, "I bet you wouldn't give up even if I asked you to. You're a great woman in every way, except you're too stubborn. How about this, I'll go with you. That kid won't dare to mess around in front of me, otherwise I'll kill him."

"No need." Zhou Keying shook her head gently. "This is a messy internal affair of the Zhou family, involving too many people. It would not only be inappropriate for you to go, but you would also needlessly cause trouble."

Xiao Chen added, "If all else fails, I can have Dansheng Group make an advance payment for the project to cover the shortfall. It's not a difficult task."

“Xiao Chen,” Zhou Keying interrupted Xiao Chen, “let me try first. I can handle this myself. I can’t always rely on others to bail me out. Besides, Dansheng Group doesn’t belong to you or me, so there’s no reason for them to take on our risks for nothing.”

"Don't worry, it's broad daylight. No matter how arrogant he is, he won't dare to act recklessly in public. I'm just going to discuss business. If we can't reach an agreement, I'll leave immediately and won't cause any trouble."

Xiao Chen didn't say anything more and watched Zhou Keying leave.

This girl has a strong sense of self-respect. She has a thousand and one reasons, but she just doesn't want to bother him. However, he can't ignore this matter.

Other things are one thing, but this Huang Dabao is capable of anything, and that guy doesn't care whether it's day or night.

The headquarters of Baoqiu Building Materials Group is located in the industrial zone on the eastern outskirts of the provincial capital. It is a 20-story office building that looks impressive on the outside, but is full of the vulgarity of nouveau riche inside.

When Zhou Keying arrived by car, the receptionist was already waiting at the door with a standard professional smile on her face.

"Are you Ms. Zhou? Mr. Huang has been waiting in his office for quite some time. Please come with me."

The receptionist led her into the elevator, which took her straight to the eighteenth floor.

The elevator doors slid open slowly, revealing a long corridor covered with a dark red carpet. At the end of the corridor stood a heavy solid wood door.

"Ms. Zhou, please." The receptionist bowed and gestured for her to leave, then turned and walked away.

Zhou Keying took a deep breath, suppressed her unease, and pushed open the door to go inside.

The office spans a spacious 150 square meters, yet feels empty. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer panoramic views of the eastern suburbs, and sunlight streams through the glass, illuminating the large mahogany desk and exuding luxury.

Behind the desk sat a middle-aged man in his early forties, Huang Dabao.

He wore a gaudy floral shirt with the collar wide open, a thick gold chain around his neck, and three large gold rings on his fingers, exuding the vulgar air of a nouveau riche.

Only those small eyes constantly gleamed with a shrewd and sinister light, clearly indicating a malicious nature. (End of Chapter)