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Chapter 42

  Although He Xiou said a lot of sweet words again, his fate of being in charge of cutting vegetables remained unchanged. However, before he came, Jian Yan and Aunt Jiang had already done most of the preparations. After he cut just a couple of vegetables, the four of them were able to enjoy the delicious hot pot.

  The meal was a joyous one, especially for Aunt Jiang, who kept saying that she would take this period of time to practice baking well and invite them over for cake next time.

  After the hot pot feast, Jian Yan and He Xi both had to go back to work, so Aunt Jiang didn't insist that they stay. Seeing the mess of bowls and plates on the table, Jian Yan wanted to help her clean up before leaving, but was also refused by Aunt Jiang: "No need, no need. Just leave them here. I'll clean up later. You two go downstairs together."

  Jian Yan thought for a moment and said, "Then we'll go first. We'll come to see you again next time."

  "All right. What kind of cake do you like? I'll make it for you next time."

  Jian Yan smiled and said, "I like everything Aunt Jiang cooks."

  Aunt Jiang's eyes crinkled up in a smile: "This girl has such a sweet mouth."

  He Xiu, who had been ignored all along, finally blurted out, "She just likes to eat and isn't picky."

  Jian Yan: "..."

  She glared at He Xiuyou, who tactfully avoided her gaze and turned to look at Aunt Jiang, saying, "Why don't you make a red velvet cake? She likes it." He hadn't forgotten the red velvet cake that was returned last time.

  After Aunt Jiang agreed, the two of them walked downstairs together. Jian Yan asked him, "By the way, what happened to that red velvet cake last time?"

  He Xiudao said, "I ate it." Then he looked at her with a particularly regretful expression, "The Christmas limited edition is just not the same as what you buy at other times. It's a pity you didn't get to have it. You'll have to wait until next Christmas."

  Jian Yan: "..."

  Oh, then just say something, please.

  She didn't hold back and swung her bag to hit He Xi. Although He Xi was hit, he was still quite happy in his heart. After all, as the saying goes, "A slap is a sign of affection." "Are you going straight home later?"

  "Well, the deadline for the draft is approaching and I haven't finished it yet. How about you? Are you going back to Starlight Department Store?"

  He Xiudao: "I'm going to the airport."

  "Airport?" Jian Yan looked at him in puzzlement. "What are you going to the airport for? Are you going on a business trip?" She knew that Xingguang Department Store had branches in many major cities across the country, and He Xi, as the general manager, would sometimes go on business trips to other places.

  He Xiu, however, said, "No, I'm going to pick someone up." After saying that, he winked at Jian Yan in a teasing way, "I can't afford to go on a business trip right now."

  “……” Jian Yan wanted to hit him with her bag again, "Why do I feel that you've been getting more and more unscrupulous lately?"

  He Xiu Dao: "I'm only not serious when I'm with you."

  “…… "So who are you going to pick up?" She decided to go straight to the point.

  He Xu spat out a foreign name: "Samuel."

  Jane was taken aback: "You don't mean that very famous silk scarf designer, do you?"

  He Xiu nodded: "Exactly. I invited him over this time because I made a plan for a silk scarf special event a few months ago."

  Jane was very curious: "Silk scarf special sale?"

  Well, a silk scarf can be said to be an indispensable accessory in spring and autumn. It can not only be tied around the neck, but also used as a hair band, a bag decoration or a waist decoration. Just adding a silk scarf can make your entire outfit look brand new.

  This point is very much agreed upon by Jian Yan: "Before, when I recommended silk scarves to customers, I also said that a tiny little change can make a big difference."

  He Xi smiled faintly and said, "That's why I came up with this special event plan for silk scarves. I hope that with just a small silk scarf, everyone can become fashionable."

  "That sounds great! Have you contacted Samuel, the designer?"

  "Well, the silk scarves he designed are very popular among customers. I hope to let more people know about the charm of silk scarves. This time he came over, it was for me to confirm the final design plan with him. By the way, I'll entertain him."

  Jian Yan nodded briefly and clearly, "But you still have to go to the airport to pick them up in person, right?"

  I sent someone to pick him up, but since I'm already out, I might as well go to the airport myself. That way, it shows my sincerity.

  "Oh..." Most designers have their own quirks in personality. To win them over, it still has to be Manager He who takes the lead. "Then I wish you all the best."

  "Thank you."

  The two parted ways downstairs. Jane Yan got home smoothly, but He Xiu didn't have such a smooth time picking up Samuel.

  His flight arrived at A City International Airport on time, but Samuel was nowhere to be seen at the exit. The colleague in charge of contacting him kept calling, but Samuel's phone remained switched off.

  "Still no response," the colleague looked at He Xi with a frown, feeling very dissatisfied with Samuel. Even if he was a world-renowned designer, it was unacceptable to treat them like this. Besides, they had signed a contract.

  He Xiu calmly thought for a moment and said to him, "Let's go back to the company first."

  "OK."

  On the way back to the company, my colleague kept trying to contact Samuel, but still without success.

  "Keep in touch with Samuel and call an emergency meeting for all departments," He Xiu ordered as he strode towards his office. His secretary, upon seeing him return, immediately stood up and said, "Manager He, Young Master He Chen is here."

  He Xiu's steps faltered slightly. Frowning, he asked her, "Where?"

  "In your office."

  He Xiu gave a cold laugh and said to her, "From now on, without my permission, he is not allowed to step into my office."

  “…… "Yes." Although He Xiu and He Chen are both from the He family, there are many instances of brothers competing openly and secretly in the world. So the secretary didn't ask any more questions and just did as told. After all, the one in charge of this Starlight Department Store is still the eldest son of the He family.

  When He Xi walked into the office, he indeed saw He Chen sitting calmly in his office chair. His gaze grew even colder as he walked up to him and asked, "Why aren't you at your Starlight Park? What are you doing here?"

  He Chen smiled and stood up from the chair. "Don't worry. I didn't peek at your confidential documents." He didn't need to do that at all. "You look so tired and dusty. Did you just come back from the airport?"

  He Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly: "Samuel's matter is indeed related to you."

  He Chen innocently spread his hands and looked at him, saying, "Don't take all the blame on yourself. But since you are my elder brother..." He deliberately pronounced the word "elder brother" slowly and heavily, smiling at He Xiu. "I can tell you what I know. It's said that Samuel didn't come on the afternoon flight at all, but on the morning flight."

  He Xu kept silent with his composed eyes. He Chen continued, "Moreover, I heard that he was taken away by Sean's people."

  "Shane" is the "Next Street Mall" that He Xiu mentioned before. It is the second largest shopping mall in City A after Starlight Department Store and has always been their competitor.

  "Never mind that you can't stand me, but you actually leaked our plan to the rival company?"

  He Xi smiled and said, "You have no evidence. Don't falsely accuse me."

  Just as the two were talking, a colleague who had gone to pick up the plane with He Xi rushed in, "Manager He, I just found out that Samuel arrived in the morning and was picked up by someone from Sean's side."

  After he finished speaking at a rapid pace, he only then noticed that He Chen was also there and immediately stood aside, looking somewhat at a loss. He Xi let out a breath and turned his head to look at him, "Understood. Have all the department managers arrived?"

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  My colleague quailed and replied, "I'm already in the meeting room."

  Tell them to wait a moment. I'll be there soon.

  "OK." My colleague responded and rushed out as hurriedly as he had come in. Phew, that was close. He really didn't want to witness the bloody scene of brothers fighting each other.

  The office returned to its initial quietness. He Chen felt a bit unnerved under He Xiu's gaze and decided to leave first: "Since Manager He has something to do, I won't disturb you."

  As I passed by He Xiū, he suddenly spoke up, "Aren't you afraid that He Jǐnglóng will find out about what you did today?"

  He Chen snorted in his heart. He Jinglong, all these years he had been in the He family, he had never heard him call his father "Dad".

  He turned his head slightly, looking at him with a smile on his lips: "Then, when you secretly bought the shares of the minor shareholders of the He family, weren't you afraid that he would find out?"

  He Xiu stared at him without saying a word. He Chen finally wiped the smile off his face and said with a hint of resentment, "Didn't you say you had no interest at all in fighting with me over the family property? So, now you find out that you can't let it go after all?"

  He Xiudao said, "Times have changed. In the past, I was all alone and it didn't matter much to me. But now, I have to earn money to support my family." He couldn't let Jian Yan suffer as his mother did.

  He Chen found it very amusing: "Come on, you've been managing Xingguang Department Store for the past few years and have made enough money to last an ordinary person for several lifetimes. How could you not have enough to support your family? Let's not talk about the distant past. That haute couture outfit on Jian Yan last time must have cost several million, right?"

  "Not enough," He Xi looked at He Chen, his gaze growing increasingly calm. "Now what I want is not just the general manager of Starlight Department Store, but also the president of the He Family Group."

  "Huh." He Chen's face also turned cold. "You have such a big appetite. Aren't you afraid of indigestion?"

  He Xiu gave him the first smile since he stepped into the office and then said a famous quote in a concise way: "Don't worry. My stomach is 128g."

  “……” He Chen didn't know where he got the idea to joke around. Anyway, he didn't have such an idea. He looked at He Xi and said in a tone that was both a warning and a self-encouragement, "I have the He family and the Zhao family behind me, and now there's even the Xu family. But you, you only have a scumbag father who abandoned his wife and children. What do you have to compete with me for?"

  He Xiu gave a cold laugh and looked at him, asking, "Did He Jinglong know about this when you said so?"

  He Chen didn't reply. He Xiu continued, "To deal with some people, you do need to rely on your background. But for others, it's not even necessary to compare backgrounds; just your intelligence is enough to crush them. Which one do you think you are?"

  He Chen: "..." Of course, he thought he was the first kind.

  "All right, you'd better go now. I'm afraid if you stay a little longer, my patience will run out."

  He Chen frowned and looked at him with a mocking smile, "What? Could it be that the famous He Dabaozi still intends to beat someone up?"

  He Xiu Dao said, "It's not like I haven't beaten you before."

  He Chen: "..."

  He strode out of He Xiu's office quickly.

  He Xiu turned on the computer in the office, copied some materials from it, and then left the office, walking towards the meeting room.

  Jianyan was painting at home and didn't stop until nearly eight o'clock. Maybe she was still a bit full from the hot pot she had for lunch, so she wasn't too hungry yet. She stretched on the chair and padded towards the kitchen in her fluffy slippers.

  Dinner still can't be skipped. Even if I'm not very hungry now, I'm sure to be hungry by midnight.

  She simply stir-fried a dish and cooked a soup with pea shoots. Jian Yan was thinking whether to wash the pork ribs in the evening to make a soup for tomorrow. She stood in front of the fridge for a while, then ran to the living room to call He Xiu.

  Ask him if he wants to come over for dinner tomorrow. If he does, she'll stew some pork ribs.

  It took a long time for He Xiu's phone to be answered, which had never happened before. Seeing that the call was finally connected, Jian Yan was a little worried that she might have disturbed him at work: "Are you still busy?"

  "Hmm..." He Xiu pinched his brow, his voice sounding a bit tired. "I've been in meetings all afternoon."

  Jian Yan subconsciously glanced at the wall clock in the living room and asked, "So, haven't you had dinner yet?"

  "Not very hungry."

  Jian Yan frowned and asked him, "What happened?" She recalled that He Xiu had told her at noon that he was going to pick up Samuel at the airport. Could something have gone wrong?

  He Xiu let out a soft sigh on the other end of the phone before speaking in a low voice, "Something has indeed happened."

  Jane asked, "Is it about Samuel?"

  "Um."

  Jian Yan's heart tightened in anxiety: "Could it be that something has gone wrong with the plane?"

  He Xiu finally chuckled and said, "No."

  "Oh, that's good..." Jane heaved a sigh of relief. "Then what happened to him?"

  Specifically, it's not that something happened to him; it's that our cooperation has run into trouble.

  "Hmm?" Could it be that Samuel suddenly wants to raise the price?

  He Xiudao: "He Chen somehow got hold of our project plan and even passed the information on to Sean's people. Samuel arrived in City A this morning and was with Sean's boss."

  The plot was so full of ups and downs that it took Jane a while to calm down before she said, "But Samuel should have signed a contract with you, right? And He Chen, even if he doesn't get along well with you, this is still the He family's business. How could he help outsiders?"

  He Xiu gave a sneer and didn't talk about He Chen. Instead, he brought up Samuel's issue: "He did sign a contract with us. But this afternoon, he got in touch with us, saying that Sean was more sincere than us, and he preferred to hand over his work to the person who was the most sincere."

  Jian Yan: "..." What a pompous excuse! It makes me want to punch him.

  "What about the penalty for breach of contract?"

  "Shane said he would cover it," He Xiu paused here, "but what we want is not just that little penalty."

  Jian Yan frowned and sighed softly, asking him, "Then is there any way to remedy it?"

  He Xiudao said, "Samuel only cooperates with one fixed factory to ensure the quality of the silk scarves. We also signed a contract with the factory in advance and arranged the production time. If we can submit the design draft to the factory before that, the factory won't have extra manpower to handle Samuel's order. But if we break the contract, Sean will definitely contact the factory immediately to start production. No, they might have already done so. The production of silk scarves also takes a long time. Once they start making them, we won't be able to catch up with their progress. And by the time they hold a special event for silk scarves, it will be meaningless for us to do it."

  And it's possible that they might even be accused of plagiarizing Sean's plan.

  Jane understood. The key issue now was whether they could hand in the design draft in time. "Have you contacted other designers? It's not like Samuel is the only one who can design scarves."

  He Xiudao: "I've made contact, but the time we agreed with the factory is the 25th. There are only a few days left, and no designer is willing to take it on."

  This can't be blamed on them. Such a hasty design, if there were any,

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