Age of Legends

Chapter 212 A Mixed Feeling
Zheng Xue followed Shen Nuoyi out and didn't ask him where they were going the whole time. It wasn't until she realized the route was somewhat familiar and then saw that the two people at the noodle shop in front of her also looked familiar that she realized... Huh?

In fact, Shen Nuoyi didn't know how to explain to Zheng Xue that yesterday she invited Zhang Chen to dinner, but something earth-shattering happened in the blink of an eye, and today she couldn't properly tell Zheng Xue that she had made plans with Zhang Chen again.

So I gritted my teeth and came closer.

"You guys are here too!" Zheng Xue greeted Zhang Chen and Wang Shuowei with a smile, though she already felt a little uneasy. She then asked Shen Nuoyi, "Are we... eating here too...?"

Zhang Chen had already sat down, but Wang Shuowei did not, and Zheng Xue did not sit down either. She and Wang Shuowei exchanged glances.

Wang Shuowei: Or... shall we leave?
Shen Nuoyi's lips were pressed into a tight, even line. She didn't know what to do. Should she keep Zheng Xue with her, or tell them she had a private appointment with Zhang Chen? Poor Shen Nuoyi, with her decisive and efficient personality, was at a loss for what to do at this moment.

Then Zhang Chen said, "Let's go together, what else?"

Oh oh.

Wang Shuowei and Zheng Xue breathed a sigh of relief. Was it just a chance encounter?
A group of people across the street saw that the four of them sat down together, and then dispersed.

Four people sat down at the square table. Zhang Chen said, "Yesterday I ate noodles, and Shen Nuoyi ate wontons. We said we'd switch dishes today."

So that’s how it is.

Wang Shuowei and Zheng Xue nodded; this made perfect sense.

"How about we switch our food?" Wang Shuowei asked Zheng Xue.

"Who wants to switch places with you!" Zheng Xue rolled her eyes at him. "I'll eat Lao Ma wontons!"

"Don't let your nose get so numb that snot is running down your face!"

"Pah, that's you!"

Shen Nuoyi watched the two clowns bickering with a smile, knowing that Zhang Chen was actually worried that she was too shy, so he left the two of them together.

Her gaze lingered on Zhang Chen for a moment, then quickly shifted away when Zhang Chen looked at her with a smile, her heart fluttering slightly.

She had never felt this way before, but now, it was unfamiliar and uncomfortable... but she didn't dislike it.

……

When Zhou Ping, the general manager of Nanguang Company, came out again, he happened to see Zhang Zhonghua in the waiting area outside. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Oh, Lao Zhang..."

He then called his assistant over, "Why is Lao Zhang waiting outside without telling me?"

"You had a series of meetings and then went back to your office to handle some matters. I thought you still had things to do, so I didn't want to bother you." The assistant said somewhat awkwardly.

Yes, Zhang Zhonghua, who was standing next to him, didn't have any special status, and everyone knew why he was there. Of course, he shouldn't cause trouble for the general manager under normal circumstances.

Ding Shenghua walked over from behind and said with a smile, "This is my fault. I ran into Lao Zhang earlier and said I was coming to inform you, but I had to host a symposium on combining learning and thinking, so I didn't have time."

“It’s alright, it’s alright, I can wait a bit. I just wanted to have dinner together. I’m off work now. Is everything alright, Mr. Zhou?” Zhang Zhonghua said.

Zhou Ping thought for a moment and then nodded, "Okay. It's been a long time since we chatted, let's chat together, and Shenghua too!"

"Let's go together!" Zhang Zhonghua called out.

At the Da Rong He Restaurant, Zhang Zhonghua booked a private room, and Zhou Ping and Ding Shenghua took their seats. They also opened a bottle of Wuliangye liquor.

At the table, everyone reminisced about their time working together. The atmosphere was harmonious. Zhou Ping said, "You, Lao Zhang, are capable. It's a pity that in a new company, sometimes there's a limited number of people in each position. When I saw that you weren't on the list, I wanted to come and ask you if you had any complaints about the great contributions you've made over the years. Ah, who knows? It might not be a bad thing. Look, you're out on your own now. I hope you make a fortune, Lao Zhang!"

Zhang Zhonghua knew Zhou Ping; he always seemed like a nice guy, but in reality, he was very smooth-talking, never getting involved in anything or taking responsibility. He was eloquent in his speech, but practically nonexistent in action. Especially with Ding Shenghua always there to smooth things over, whenever Zhang Zhonghua raised a crucial question, Ding would divert attention and deflect it for Zhou Ping.

Finally, Zhang Zhonghua could only get to the point: "Old Zhou, we've been together for so many years, and I have no other request. Now I just want to start my own business. It's true that FD29 was a technology line proposed by the company, but it was also rejected by the company at the time, as you know. Later, I worked on this design on my own in my spare time, and it had nothing to do with the company. Now I just hope you can sign a statement to prove that the company rejected the development of this technology line at the time! That's also a fact."

Seeing Zhou Ping's expression change slightly, Ding Shenghua immediately said, "Hey, Lao Zhang, why are you so stubborn? This decision wasn't made by President Zhou in the first place, so how can he sign this statement for you? But just do it anyway, this is something everyone in the company knows. If you insist on a written statement, Lao Wang was in charge of this matter back then, so ask Lao Wang to sign it for you!"

Zhang Zhonghua said, "Old Wang has retired, and now General Manager Zhou is in charge of the company." "Then General Manager Zhou can't sign this for you. Old Wang has retired, so this is all off. Don't worry, no one will cause you any trouble!" Ding Shenghua said.

Zhang Zhonghua didn't trust their verbal promises. To put it bluntly, since they weren't put in writing, he knew all too well that people who had fallen to this level could turn their backs on him in an instant.

But Zhou Ping refused to sign, and Ding Shenghua stepped in to smooth things over and help stop him. Zhang Zhonghua understood that Zhou Ping's meeting with him today was for two reasons. First, as a long-time employee, he had been coming to Zhou Ping's office repeatedly, which had made Zhou Ping look bad. Zhou Ping wanted to appease Zhang Zhonghua to avoid rumors of mistreating long-term employees.

Secondly, he couldn't possibly sign such a statement. It's not based on facts. Although Zhou Ping is the general manager, he doesn't have absolute power in the company. There are various shareholders, directors, and the chairman of the board. Various forces are intertwined, and Zhou Ping is afraid of giving others leverage against him.

Signing this statement would certainly be based on facts, which would be good for Zhang Zhonghua. But it wouldn't benefit Zhou Ping, because if someone were to frame him, they could use this matter for investigation. The FD29 technology line is currently being re-discussed in the industry. Now that CRTs have entered the flat-panel CRT market, if the argument is valid, why not build up the technology reserves? When the board of directors questions him, Zhou Ping has already signed a statement abandoning the technology line, although this alone won't bring him down. But how could he give others the opportunity to manipulate things for their own purposes?

Zhang Zhonghua is an honest man with a technical background. You can use some political maneuvering to tell him to stop making trouble.

When he received a definite reply that Zhou Ping would not issue a statement, but had given him a verbal promise, Zhang Zhonghua knew that this was probably the final result he would get.

It's hard to say exactly what the bureaucratic practices in these old companies are like; it's not like he just found out today. It's just that sometimes, without putting in the effort, there's always a glimmer of hope.

Once outside, the company driver picked up Zhou Ping and Ding Shenghua. A gust of wind brought Zhang Zhonghua completely back to reality; he really shouldn't have placed so much hope in them. Nanguang Company had fallen from being one of the city's top ten enterprises to its current state, constantly squeezed and relentlessly pressured in the market. In this situation, how many people like Zhou Ping and Ding Shenghua could possibly survive?

What Nam Kwong Company really needs to reform is not some superficial matter like divesting old businesses or adjusting assets, but rather to address the internal problems plaguing large corporations. It's just a pity that they aren't in charge themselves.

Zhang Zhonghua felt a sense of helplessness and silently told himself that he must learn from this experience when running his own company in the future. He must not repeat the mistakes of Nanguang Company.

When Zhang Chen got home, he saw his mother angrily complaining, "You've spent the money and hired people, and in the end they didn't sign a single word! Don't they have any shame?! I'm going to find Zhou Ping, don't they have any shame?!"

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Zhang Chen had no choice but to shout, "Alright, you two! Stop arguing, okay? I need to study!"

These words were truly effective; even Huang Huifen, with her strong personality, was speechless. She felt a sense of suppressed anger that she couldn't vent. In the past, she wouldn't have cared at all, but now that Zhang Chen's grades were quite good, his learning environment was the top priority, so the two didn't actually start arguing.

But then, in the evening, there was a knock on the door.

Zhang Zhonghua opened the door, paused for a moment, and exclaimed, "Xiao Chen!"

Xiao Chen (Chen Yu) used to be an administrator at the company, but now he works under Ding Shenghua. When Zhang Zhonghua saw Chen Yu knocking on the door, he quickly let him in.

"Old Zhang, I was in charge of meeting minutes at the company back then. You asked me to check the records from back then, and I found them. I've printed out the relevant minutes for you to take a look."

Zhang Zhonghua was stunned. He took the documents from Chen Yu and looked through them. Sure enough, they were meeting materials about abandoning the FD29 technical route. Zhang Zhonghua had only mentioned it to Chen Yu, asking if he remembered, but he hadn't expected Chen Yu to actually give him a copy. Since these archives were definitely with the new company, it was impossible for anyone to give them to Zhang Zhonghua if he went to the new company to openly ask for these past records.

He only knew Chen Yu and asked him about it. Chen Yu knew his difficulties and helped him organize the information.

For Zhang Zhonghua, this was a godsend. He was so excited that he quickly told Huang Huifen, "Take out those two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes and thank Xiao Chen. He really helped us a lot!"

Chen Yu quickly waved his hand, stood up to say goodbye, and said, "Really, it's not necessary. Back at my old company, when I first started, you took good care of me, Lao Zhang. I still remember that. This is a fact, and it's part of the meeting backup. If you need it, I'll help you find it. After all, it's not like I made a mistake. You'll find it useful. I'll be going now. I don't need the stuff! Don't give it to me!"

Chen Yu dodged Zhang Zhonghua's offer of a cigarette as a token of gratitude and quickly left.

Huang Huifen sighed with emotion, "I never expected that Xiao Chen would be such a loyal and righteous person!"

Holding the stack of records, Zhang Zhonghua thought about the setback he had encountered today. His former superiors were playing games with him, and his old colleagues, who were now in power, would only help him from the sidelines to block and suppress him.

On the contrary, the goodwill shown at that time was rewarded with great significance by the most inconspicuous people.

Clutching the meeting minutes that had temporarily given Die Rang a sense of security in building his business, Zhang Zhonghua was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

In this world, there are many who add flowers to brocade, but very few who offer charcoal in the snow. Even fewer are those willing to lend a helping hand when you are at your lowest point and least capable.

If you encounter something like that, call it luck.

Or perhaps it's fate.

(End of this chapter)