Chapter 213: Full of Feudal Superstitions
Chapter 213: Full of Feudal Superstitions
Pretending to be something one is not can be quite exhilarating, Jiang Qin admitted to himself that he was just a commoner who relished in feeling like a dragon soaring through the heavens. However, today wasn’t about showing off; he simply didn’t want to lose out on those sixteen cups of milk tea.
A male god? Whoever cares about that, money is what truly matters.
After all, with a promotion around the corner and the days of burning cash upon him, all he had left in his pocket was a little spending money.
How could he save some money without dipping into others’ pockets? That was the essence of frugality.
Five minutes later, the girls were slurping the last of their milk tea, clearly having finished it. This indirectly proved how outstanding Gao Dawei’s taro recipe was.
It’s well-known that girls usually drink only half of their milk tea, as if drinking it halfway somehow prevents weight gain. To find a milk tea that they would drink to the last drop was rare.
Back when he was choosing a location for his shop at Linchuan Polytechnic University, if it hadn’t been for Gao Dawei’s divorce and his subsequent loss of motivation, just with this signature taro flavor alone, he might have given Xi Tian, a brand with its own traffic halo, a run for its money.
“It’s really good.”
“Indeed, no wonder you could open four branches.”“The texture is so smooth. It’s even better than the silk stocking milk tea, isn’t it?”
Amidst these discussions, Hou Xiangkai stared at Jiang Qin for a long time, slowly piecing together what had just happened.
Yes, it must have been intentional. All that talk about being a rich second-generation and living off an allowance was just an act, a ploy to get him to buy the milk tea. Because the milk tea shop was his!
This meant that from the moment he uttered “Why should you be the male god?”, Jiang Qin had already been digging a trap with a little shovel.
Admitting his capability, acknowledging him as a rich second-generation, it was all a ruse to lure the enemy deeper.
If you don’t confront him head-on, he wins.
If you do confront him, he profits.
So no matter how awesome you are, even if you buy thirty-two cups of milk tea to completely crush him, he’s the one who benefits in the end, and you’re left without a leg to stand on!
But even after realizing this, Hou Xiangkai couldn’t swallow his pride. “I spent money on milk tea, only to be shown up by you. Doesn’t that mean my money was wasted? Opening a milk tea shop isn’t that expensive, just tens of thousands, right? If I wanted to, I could afford it too!”
Hou Xiangkai’s words were filled with a defiant extravagance.
“?”
Jiang Qin turned his head and glanced at him, a slight frown forming between his brows.
For some reason, he now found it amusing rather than irritating when someone tried to show off to him.
Strange…
This was probably a bad habit cultivated by Cao Guangyu. It was getting hard to distinguish friend from foe.
However, Hou Xiangkai might have had some luck on his side, because just as Jiang Qin was considering tricking him into a meal, a phone call suddenly came in.
Wei Lanlan informed him that the contract from Vienna had been retrieved and stamped, and all that was left was his signature.
“Thank you for your support today, Yu Shasha. I have some matters to attend to at school, so I’ll be leaving first.”
“Ah? You’re leaving so soon?”
Jiang Qin nodded, pulled out his car keys, and pressed a button. The Audi across the street flashed its lights.
At that moment, all sounds ceased, and everyone’s movements froze.
In this silent, watchful moment, Jiang Qin opened the car door, got in, and before driving off, rolled down the driver’s side window, slowly driving out of the campus commercial street. Each movement seemed to press heavily on Hou Xiangkai’s heart.
It was only after Jiang Qin slowly disappeared from view that everyone turned their gazes away, exchanging looks of disbelief.
Hou Xiangkai was the most internally shattered. He felt as if his scalp had been struck by lightning, his heart tightening.
If he hadn’t made that last remark about “tens of thousands, I could afford it too”, the suffocating feeling wouldn’t have been so intense. But after that comment and seeing the Audi, he felt as if he was sitting on a fire, unable to sit still.
“Well… I should head back to prepare for the competition. Shasha, make sure you come to watch if you have time.”
With a forced smile, Hou Xiangkai wrapped his coat tighter around himself and hurriedly turned into the male dormitory area.
As soon as the two male students left the scene, the female college students sitting nearby couldn’t contain themselves and bombarded Yu Shasha with a flurry of questions.
“He drives an Audi to school?” Tang Li asked in disbelief.
Yu Shasha nodded: “Yes.”
Chen Wenfang couldn’t help but widen her eyes: “Is that car bought for him by his family?”
Yu Shasha shook her head: “No, he probably bought that car himself with the money he earned.”
Gu Tiantian took a deep breath: “Does owning a milk tea shop make that much money?”
“He’s also involved in other businesses and runs a website. Besides that car and the four milk tea shops, he owns four apartments.”
Stunned, the girls looked at each other, their expressions a mix of amazement and bewilderment. Yu Shasha appeared calm on the surface, but inside, she was ecstatic, feeling almost like she was floating on air.
However, she decided to keep the details about the campus beauty contest and the group buying delivery a secret for now, planning to save it for a future dose of happiness.
After all, just from what they had witnessed today, they probably already understood what a true male god was.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qin returned to the Entrepreneurship Center 208 and found everyone there, with Wei Lanlan and Tan Qing waiting for him, each holding two contracts.
“Boss, you’re back?”
“Yes, give me the contracts.”
Sitting down, Jiang Qin uncapped his pen and signed his name: “How’s the progress with the other business owners? Any developments?”
Tan Qing glanced at Wei Lanlan: “Lanlan’s side is going smoothly, but I’m facing some trouble. The owner of the entertainment city, Mr. Wang, is quite difficult to deal with.”
“What’s the difficulty?”
“He flatly refused me from the start, showing no interest in our project. After that, I couldn’t get through to him on the phone at all, so there’s no way to follow up.”
As Tan Qing spoke, he handed over the information he had collected along with Mr. Wang’s business card.
The card had a key word written on it: Buddhist.
“Buddhist? What can we do, we can’t just wait for him at a temple, can we?” Wei Lanlan couldn’t help but comment upon seeing the word.
Jiang Qin took out his Nokia and dialed the number on the card, clearing his throat as he did so.
Soon, a cold voice from the other end of the line asked who he was.
“Mr. Wang, it’s me, Old Jiang, the one running the group buying website.”
“You’re asking who the girl was who called you before? She’s my secretary.”
“No, wait a moment, Mr. Wang. I know you’re not interested in cooperating, and I didn’t plan to bother you again, but there’s something I really need to discuss with you. Can you spare me a few minutes?”
“The thing is, last night I had a dream about the Buddha, and he told me to contact you once more…”
Wei Lanlan and Tan Qing held their breaths, their eyes widening as they watched their boss spout what seemed to be complete nonsense, not daring to make a sound.
The other people in 208 also stopped their work, listening to this conversation full of feudal superstitions, feeling a tingling sensation on their scalps.
After a while, the call ended, and Jiang Qin put his phone back in his pocket: “Done. Mr. Wang said we can meet tomorrow afternoon at three. Tan Qing and Lanlan, you both go. Take the project PPT that Senior Sister Cao and the others prepared last semester. This boss is tough to deal with, so be careful with your words.”
“Buddha appearing in a dream? Can that really work?”
Wei Lanlan was completely baffled: “Boss, you were just making that up, right? And Mr. Wang actually believed it?”
Jiang Qin sat down and thought for a moment: “No, he probably didn’t believe it.”
“Then why would he agree to meet with us?” Wei Lanlan was very confused.
Jiang Qin looked at her: “Lanlan, are you superstitious?”
Wei Lanlan shook her head decisively: “I believe in science.”
“Then you might not understand that those who believe in gods and Buddha often adopt a ‘better safe than sorry’ mindset.”
Jiang Qin took a sip of water from his cup: “So, even if Mr. Wang didn’t believe my story about the Buddha’s dream, he would think that meeting us wouldn’t hurt. From another perspective, what if it really was a message from Buddha? He would regret not following it. So, it’s not about believing me; it’s about peace of mind.”
Wei Lanlan began to understand this mindset: “Like you sneaking out in the middle of the night to tie a red string on the Marriage Tree?”
“Ptuh…”
Jiang Qin, who hadn’t swallowed his water yet, ended up spraying it all over his pants.
Seeing this, Wei Lanlan and Tan Qing quickly turned around to grab some paper towels and handed them to him.
“Boss, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just accidentally scalded my mouth. Don’t worry about me, go familiarize yourselves with the project PPT.”
Jiang Qin wiped himself off casually, shooing the two back to their workstations, then coughed deliberately as if to suggest that nothing had happened.
This was the basic quality of being a boss: you can lose your composure accidentally, but you should never admit it.
“Xuemei, sit up straight, don’t slouch in your chair while working.”
“?”
Lu Xuemei was bewildered, thinking she hadn’t done anything to be singled out. Was sitting improperly even a reason?
Yet, on the other side, Lu Feiyu was almost lying flat in his chair. Wasn’t this blatant workplace bullying?
Meanwhile, Jiang Qin screwed the lid back on his cup and turned on his computer, searching for addresses and information about large pet stores in Linchuan City.
He had thought it through: adopting a stray dog wasn’t very safe. It would be better to buy one.
But he had no idea what kind of dog to buy, as he had never owned one before.
In his previous life working in Shen City, he was often away on business trips and struggled to take care of himself, let alone being responsible for another life. So, he knew nothing about dog breeds.
After searching for a while, Jiang Qin decided to visit a pet store in person and choose whatever dog caught his eye, offering it a life of lavish luxury.
AN: “Please give some votes! My child is starving to death!!!”
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