As a Magnate, I Started Checking in at a Convenience Store

Chapter 504: Encounter at the Crossroads

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

As night fell, Zhou Chao lay in the bathtub, soaking in the warm water. Earlier in the afternoon, he had spent half a day shopping with Jiang Li. They hadn’t bought much, but they had covered a lot of ground.

Sometimes, Zhou Chao couldn’t help but wonder about the mystery of women. Jiang Li, pregnant and walking for three to four hours while shopping, seemed perfectly fine. On the other hand, he, a strong and fit man, felt like his legs were turning into jelly after just a few hours, and his feet were nearly numb.

“Brother Chao, how much longer are you planning to soak? Zhiwei just came by and said everyone is waiting for you downstairs for dinner.” Jiang Li’s petite head peeked into the bathroom.

“Have 1 been soaking for that long? It felt like just a short while.”

“It’s been half an hour. Come on, get out; everyone is hungry and waiting for you to join us for dinner.”

“Alright.” Zhou Chao nodded and got up from the bathtub. Jiang Li blushed as she saw what was swinging between his legs, quickly retracting her head and muttering, “Why does it seem like it’s grown a bit more?”

“Brother Chao, you really should pay more attention to your privacy. What if someone sees it?”

“No one else is here,” Zhou Chao said confidently.

With his quick pace, Zhou Chao changed into his clothes within a few minutes. As soon as he left the bedroom, he saw Jiang Li sitting on the sofa, playing with her phone, her face still flushed.

Seeing Zhou Chao, she quickly stood up from the sofa.

“My stomach is growling with hunger.”

“Let’s go.” Zhou Chao walked over and pinched Jiang Li’s nose.

They took the elevator to the floor with the private dining room. As they entered the room, Qin Ziwei and the others stood up, respectfully greeting, “Hello, Boss. Hello, Lady Boss.”

“Please, have a seat. You’ve all been waiting for a while.” Zhou Chao waved his hand, gesturing for everyone to sit down. He held Jiang Li’s hand and took a seat in the main guest position.

Qin Ziwei signaled the waiter to start serving the dishes.

“Ziwei, if things go well tomorrow, do you want to stay here and manage things or go back to the company?”

Zhou Chao’s question instantly captured the attention of everyone in the room. Except for Qin Ziwei, the rest were mostly middle and high-level executives of the company, and Qin Ziwei was considered the core of the company’s leadership. So, her decision was crucial for the future of the others.

Without much hesitation, Qin Ziwei replied, “Boss, 1’11 follow your arrangement.”

“Alright.” Zhou Chao nodded without elaborating. Instead, he changed the subject, “How was your afternoon? Where did you all go?”

The group exchanged glances and understood their boss’s style. They didn’t dwell on the previous topic and began chatting among themselves. Soon, the atmosphere in the private dining room became lively once again.

The hotel’s serving speed was impressive, and soon, twenty-four distinctive Hangzhou dishes were presented in front of them.

There were dishes like West Lake vinegar fish, Beggar’s chicken, Dongpo pork, Longjing shrimp, fish head tofu, West Lake water shield soup, and Song sister fish soup, among others.

The room was filled with the aroma of the dishes, and everyone couldn’t help but turn their gaze towards Zhou Chao, who was seated at the head of the table.

“Let’s dig in, don’t be shy!” Zhou Chao said as he picked up a piece of Dongpo pork and placed it in Jiang Li’s bowl.

Seeing Zhou Chao using his chopsticks, the others also started eating. Thankfully, the table in the center of the room was slowly rotating, which made it easier for everyone to reach the dishes without having to move the table themselves. After all, no one dared to touch the table without the boss’s approval.

Zhou Chao and Jiang Li ate quickly, as they had already eaten quite a bit during their afternoon shopping trip. Once they had finished, Zhou Chao led Jiang Li out of the private dining room, and it was only after they left that the rest of the group could relax.

“Director Qin, do you have any plans?” one of the executives asked Qin Ziwei in a hushed voice.

Qin Ziwei put down his chopsticks and looked at everyone in the room. After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Don’t overthink it. The boss has his own arrangements. All we can do is to excel in our respective roles. Do you understand?”

Everyone’s expressions tightened, and they nodded in agreement, saying, “We understand.”

Back in their room, Jiang Li brewed a cup of tea for Zhou Chao.

“Brother Chao, are you planning to let Qin Ziwei take care of things here?”

“I have that intention, but we haven’t fully acquired Hua Hong yet. So, I’m still undecided. Since the founding of the film and television company in the group, we haven’t produced any decent TV shows or movies. I plan to separate it from the group and establish a new film and television group with Hua Hong. 1 have high hopes for it, especially with the addition of two film and television bases. One in Xiangshan and the other in Hengdian, both in Zhejiang Province.”

“Two film and television bases?” Jiang Li was a bit puzzled, as Zhou Chao had never mentioned this before.

“Yes, I own both Xiangshan and Hengdian, and they are both in Zhejiang

Province. That’s why I had this plan.”

Jiang Li could hardly believe her ears. She quickly sat next to Zhou Chao and asked, “Wait, Brother Chao, did you say Hengdian belongs to you? When did you acquire it?”

“I didn’t mention it to you? Perhaps I forgot. It was just a few days ago when I was in Star City. Ah, maybe 1 was too busy and forgot,” Zhou Chao pretended to pat his own head and said.

“Brother Chao, you’re obviously lying to me and treating me like a child. You didn’t just forget. You just didn’t think to mention it,” Jiang Li huffed, looking like an offended pufferfish.

Seeing Jiang Li’s cute reaction, Zhou Chao couldn’t resist and kissed her on the lips. Jiang Li resisted for a moment but then willingly embraced him, her hands wrapping around his neck.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz!”

Just as they were getting into the mood, Zhou Chao’s phone started ringing.

In resignation, he released Jiang Li and looked at his phone with a frustrated expression. Jiang Li giggled at his vexed look.

“Let me see who’s so good at timing. I’ll give them a piece of my mind!”

Grumbling, Zhou Chao picked up the phone from the table. Seeing the caller ID, he became even more irritated. It was a call from Lin Wu.

He angrily answered the call, “Speak! What’s so important? If it’s not urgent, you’ll see how I deal with you!”

On the other end of the line, Lin Wu was completely confused. He hadn’t expected his boss to sound so furious. He glanced at the time and realized it was still not even 8 p.m. Could it be that he had called at the wrong time?

“Why are you silent? Speak up!

ii

Hearing Zhou Chao’s words, Lin Wu swallowed nervously and asked, “Boss, weren’t you in Star City? I went back to the hotel to find you, but the hotel staff said you and Ms. Jiang checked out two days ago. I just called to ask where you are now.”

Zhou Chao suddenly remembered that he hadn’t informed Lin Wu about his itinerary.

“I’m in Hangzhou right now, at the Hilton Hotel near West Lake.”

“Understood, boss. I’ll head over immediately.”

After a brief acknowledgment, Zhou Chao hung up the phone, tossed it onto the table, and leaned in closer to Jiang Li, saying, “Darling, let’s continue what we left unfinished earlier.”

“Pah, I don’t want to. I’m going to freshen up,” Jiang Li replied with a smug smile, getting up and walking towards the bathroom, leaving Zhou Chao looking helpless.

“When Lin Wu arrives, 1 must give him a hard time. 1 don’t know how many times he has disrupted my good moments,” Zhou Chao muttered to himself, feeling frustrated.

Early the next morning, Zhou Chao’s room was filled with people.

“Is all the preparation work ready?” Zhou Chao sat on the sofa and asked Qin Ziwei.

“Boss, everything is ready. All the necessary documents are complete.”

Zhou Chao nodded and then turned his gaze towards Lin Wu, who was standing nearby.

“What about your side? How’s the arrangement?”

“Boss, through our affiliated hotels, we’ve prepared five Rolls-Royce cars for you – one Phantom and four Ghosts!”

“Good job. It’s almost time. Let’s go.” Zhou Chao checked the time; it was already 9:10 AM. They had only fifty minutes left until the board meeting started.

The group, led by Zhou Chao, left the hotel. The five Rolls-Royce cars waiting at the entrance caught the attention of many onlookers.

Soon, the five Rolls-Royce cars left the hotel.

Meanwhile, within Hua Hong, tension was building. Many informed employees were already discussing the upcoming board meeting.

“Team leader, is this news true? Has our company really been acquired?”

“I heard it through unofficial channels, so I’m not entirely sure. But my friend in the General Office mentioned it. There’s a high probability that there’s a change in ownership, but we don’t know if there will be layoffs.”

“It shouldn’t happen, right? What will we do if they really lay off employees?”

News spread rapidly, and the entire company became aware of the major changes expected for the day.

“Brother Fu, everyone is discussing this matter below, and the whole company is in turmoil. What should we do?” Zhao Fang looked at Fu Cheng with urgency.

“We wait! 1 believe the mysterious major shareholder is about to arrive!” Fu Cheng stood by the window, speaking calmly.

At this moment, a convoy caught his attention. Five Rolls-Royce cars appeared outside the company building, and approximately ten people in business attire got out of the vehicles. Fu Cheng knew that these were the mysterious individuals acquiring his company.

“Let’s go and greet our major shareholder!” Fu Cheng said calmly.

“Okay!”

Leaving the office, Fu Cheng, along with Zhao Fang and several company executives, walked toward the main entrance. They coincidentally encountered Zhou Chao and his group as they were entering.

As Fu Cheng saw a young man leading the way, even he, who had always been composed, was momentarily surprised.

“Hello, 1 am Fu Cheng, the CEO of Hua Hong Film and Television.” Fu Cheng used a respectful tone.

“Hello, I’m Zhou Chao, the CEO of Dragonfly Group.”

The two men shook hands lightly and then released their grip.

At this point, Fu Cheng was wearing a puzzled expression. He hadn’t heard of this name before. It wasn’t entirely his fault since Zhou Chao’s group had maintained a low profile, and Fu Cheng worked in the film and television industry, so he wasn’t well-informed about other sectors.

However, behind Fu Cheng, Zhao Fang’s face had already changed drastically, and she stared at Zhou Chao and his group in disbelief.

“Young Master Zhou, please come inside!”

Zhou Chao nodded, and under Fu Cheng’s guidance, they entered Hua Hong. Along the way, many employees couldn’t help but exclaim, “Is this the major shareholder? He looks so young! He doesn’t seem older than me..”