As a Magnate, I Started Checking in at a Convenience Store - Chapter 742
Chapter 742: You Have to Admit Your Mistakes!
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Chen Li, accompanied by his secretary, was led by the hotel staff to the private room Zhou Chao had reserved in advance!
Seeing the empty room, the secretary, puzzled, asked, “Director Li, who are we meeting? Why such a grand setup, yet no one’s here, just an empty room!”
“Shut up!” Chen Li frowned slightly, his tone heavy.
The secretary, still looking around, trembled at the rebuke, quickly lowering her head in preparation for a scolding.
“Xiao Jin, sometimes use your brain. If I tell you not to speak, then stay quiet!” Chen Li said with some gravity, wishing his sister-in-law’s sister, his secretary, were a bit sharper.
“Understood, Brother-in-law!” the secretary, Xiao Jin, whispered with a hint of grievance in her tone.
“Call me Director Li!”
“Yes, Director Li!”
Shaking his head with some resignation, Chen Li regretted bringing the secretary along. He had hoped to expose her to the world, but now he realized it was a mistake.
Taking a seat, the door to the private room swung open, and a hotel attendant entered with a tea tray.
“May I ask where the person who reserved this room is?”
The waiter hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, “I’m sorry, sir, I’m not too sure either. If you need anything, I can ask someone for you!”
Chen Li thought for a moment but decided to let it go. The boss should be arriving soon, he assumed.
“No need, thank you!” he replied, and the attendant politely nodded and left the room.
Just as Xiao Jin was about to speak, the door opened again, and three figures walked in.
“Director Li, sorry for the delay earlier. Apologies for keeping you waiting!” one of them said, a young and handsome man in his mid-twenties.
Upon hearing this, Chen Li looked over and saw that the speaker was a young, handsome man who appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old!
Just as he was feeling a bit puzzled, he noticed the presence of Si Cong behind him, and Chen Li instantly understood.
The young man in front of him was the behind-behind-the-scenes boss mentioned by Ling Chen earlier.
“Mr. Zhou? I didn’t expect you to be so young!” Chen Li quickly stood up and walked towards Zhou Chao.
Although he seemed calm and composed, Chen Li was actually extremely nervous.
The implications of owning such a top-notch enterprise at such a young age were clear to him.
Zhou Chao must be a prominent figure in Jingdu.
At the same time, he cursed whoever had stirred trouble with him. Now he had to clean up the mess!
As Chen Li extended his right hand, Zhou Chao graciously shook it.
“I hope you don’t mind us asking you to come all the way here for a meal.”
“Mr. Zhou, the pleasure is mine to meet such a young and promising entrepreneur like you!”
After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Chao arranged for everyone to sit down and gave Lin Wu a nod, signaling him to inform the hotel that they could start serving.
The hotel’s service was excellent. They didn’t make Zhou Chao and his guests wait long before the table was filled with various dishes.
“Director Li, I had the staff specially arrange a table of Inner Mongolian specialties. I hope they suit your taste.”
“Haha, I can eat anything. I’m not a picky eater!” Chen Li laughed, appreciating the effort put into the meal.
“Director Li, you’ve had a long journey. Let’s eat first and then discuss business!”
The atmosphere in the private room became much more harmonious. Zhou Chao and Chen Li chatted animatedly.
Si Cong on the side didn’t remain silent either. He initially interjected a few comments and gradually joined in the conversation between the two.
As the conversation deepened, Chen Li’s astonishment at Zhou Chao grew. Whether it was his demeanor or his knowledge, he was top-notch. It seemed his speculation was correct!
At the same time, Chen Li’s mood gradually became tense. He knew that the calmer the early stages, the rougher the later stages would be.
After about 40 minutes of dining, Chen Li tried various probing questions, but all his attempts were in vain. He didn’t glean any useful information from Zhou Chao.
Instead, he learned quite a bit about Zhou Chao from Si Cong, but it was mostly trivial matters, hardly anything useful.
“Director Li, you’ve almost finished your meal. How about we go for some tea? The tea room in this hotel is quite nice. I visited it earlier, and it’s a good place to digest our meal!”
“Didn’t expect Mr. Zhou to be so young and still enjoy tea. I thought only us old fogeys had such hobbies. Since Mr. Zhou has arranged it, I’ll just go with the flow!” Chen Li was also surprised. Young people nowadays seemed to be getting more sophisticated.
Zhou Chao smiled faintly. “Not at all. We young people also keep up with the times. We still have a lot to learn from venerable seniors like Director Li. Right, Si Cong?”
Si Cong was suddenly addressed by Zhou Chao. At first, he was a bit slow to react, but then he quickly chimed in, “Absolutely! My dad even called me before going abroad, saying there might be an opportunity for me to visit Director Li and learn a thing or two from you!”
As the saying goes, the speaker’s intentions are innocent, but the listener’s are not. Chen Li’s eyes flickered when he heard that Lao Wang had gone abroad.
He knew Lao Wang wouldn’t go abroad for just any reason. He feigned curiosity and asked, “Did your dad expand his business overseas?”
“With my dad’s abilities, how could he possibly expand the business overseas? It’s all thanks to Young Master Zhou’s construction projects over in Camel City. He found it troublesome, so he handed these projects over to us. The profits aren’t much, probably just a few billion!”
Si Cong’s tone was casual, but to Chen Li’s ears, it sounded different.
It was blatant boasting. Considering the struggles his own company faced each year and the cutthroat competition in the industry, the profits generated didn’t come close to this amount. And this was something Young Master Zhou didn’t even want. Was this for real?
If only I had such a good opportunity next time!
Chen Li could only think to himself, maintaining an expression of admiration on his face.
“I never expected Mr. Zhou’s friends to be so capable, even able to take on challenges in the Middle East. Obtaining such resources is truly enviable!” Chen Li praised, before Zhou Chao could say anything.
Before Zhou Chao could respond, Si Cong, with an air of pride, added, “Of course! Even the Crown Prince of Saudi addresses Young Master Zhou as ‘brother’ when they meet.”
Even Chen Li was stunned by this bombshell of information, realizing deep down that it must be true. After all, given Si Cong’s status in the domestic circles, he wouldn’t boast such falsehoods just to show off.
“Director Li, don’t listen to Si Cong’s nonsense. Abdullah and I are just good friends!” Zhou Chao said calmly, but a hint of amusement flashed in his eyes.
From a vantage point unseen by Chen Li, Zhou Chao gave Si Cong an approving look.
Si Cong’s eyes flickered, and he smiled, saying, “Young Master Zhou, Director Li, let’s go to the tea room. This isn’t the place for chatting!”
Both Zhou Chao and Chen Li nodded, and the group left the private room, heading towards the tea room upstairs.
Chen Li also understood that the main event was about to unfold. What happened earlier was just a warm-up.
The unknown is always the most frightening. Despite having experienced many ups and downs, Chen Li felt a bit uneasy at this moment.
Upon arriving at the tea room, the staff were about to perform a tea ceremony for them when Zhou Chao stopped them.
After sending away the waiter, Zhou Chao sat in the main seat and began to brew the tea himself. “Brewing tea requires personal attention to bring out its unique charm. Allow me to demonstrate for you today!”
Watching Zhou Chao’s skillful movements, Chen Li could tell that Zhou Chao was indeed knowledgeable in the art of tea.
Soon, a cup of tea was placed in front of both Chen Li and Si Cong.
“Today, I’m taking the liberty to offer tea to Director Li and Si Cong!” Zhou Chao said as he lifted his own cup to take a sip.
Although the Longjing tea in the tea room wasn’t top-tier, it was still of good quality.
“Lin Wu, take this young lady out for a stroll!” Zhou Chao suddenly said.
Xiao Jin looked at Chen Li, who nodded slightly, before following Lin Wu out of the tea room.
Chen Li understood that it was time to get down to business. He immediately set down his half-drunk cup of tea.
“Today, inviting Director Li here may seem presumptuous, but it’s not for anything particularly important. Mainly, I just wanted to meet this legendary figure, Director Li!”
Zhou Chao paused for a moment before continuing, “Although Director Li and I have just met, I can see that Director Li is a decisive person. It’s just a pity… there are always people dragging their feet!”
Hearing this, Chen Li understood immediately. Someone from his company must have offended Zhou Chao, and it seemed like the offense was significant, otherwise Zhou Chao wouldn’t have personally called him to come here.
“If I find out who the hell it is, I’ll teach them a lesson when I get back!”
Although he was furious inside, he maintained a puzzled expression on his face.
“I wonder what Mr. Zhou means by that?”
Zhou Chao noticed Chen Di’s feigned ignorance but didn’t mind.
He then explained the situation in detail, not withholding anything, not even the previous incidents. After finishing, Zhou Chao picked up his teacup and calmly took a sip.
Initially, Chen Li thought it was just a case of his company’s employees being careless and offending Zhou Chao accidentally. Little did he know that it was actually the son of one of his company’s shareholders causing trouble under the company’s banner!
The more Chen Li thought about it, the angrier he became. Fuming with rage, he slammed the table, startling Si Cong beside him. Meanwhile, Zhou Chao remained calm.
Realizing his mistake, Chen Li apologized, “I’m sorry, gentlemen. I was just too angry earlier!”
Then, he turned to Zhou Chao and said, “Mr. Zhou, rest assured, I will give you a satisfactory answer!”
Feeling that it wasn’t enough, Chen Li added, “No, I must make those brats apologize to you in person!”
Before Zhou Chao and the others could react, Chen Li grabbed his phone and stormed out of the tea room.
Watching Chen Li leave, Si Cong turned to Zhou Chao and asked, “Is he really going to make those young guys come here and apologize?”
“Let’s wait and see!”
