Chapter 538: Second Generation Nouveau-Riche
The previous restaurant had been rebuilt into a four-storied restaurant. The entrance was particularly impressive and stylish with a total of eight facades on both sides. While the outside area was occupied by the facades, the space inside was allocated for the restaurant's rooms. The most important of all was that luxurious boxes had been built on the second, third, and fourth floors.
"Rising Dragon Pavilion!"
The name of the restaurant had been changed as well. The last time Tang Xiu returned to Star City, he actually heard his parents mentioning it when they chatted.
After entering the hall, Tang Xiu noticed that the cashier in the checkout counter had been replaced by someone unfamiliar. However, when he saw a woman wearing earphones named Sun Yue walking down the stairs, he immediately smiled. Sun Yue was the previous cashier of the restaurant, a diligent and honest woman.
"Hey, Sister Sun!" Tang Xiu called out to her with a smile.
Upon seeing Tang Xiu, Sun Yue immediately looked pleasantly surprised and smilingly said, "Ah, Little Boss, when did you come back? This is the first time you come here after our restaurant was reopened for business half a month ago, right?"
"Yeah, I just returned to Star City to manage some things, and came here to have a look while convenient." Tang Xiu nodded. "Anyways, I thought I was in the wrong place when I arrived outside! Why the changes?"
"Our restaurant business has always been good and many patrons come to dine here, to the extent that they must book a few days in advance," said Sun Yue with a smile. "Therefore, the Boss thought to buy all the original buildings and then carried out the reconstruction. Your Dad, in particular, is really great. He spent a lot of money to make the workers work days and nights. After taking quite some time, the new restaurant was been finally built, and the name of the restaurant was changed as well."
Tang Xiu felt relaxed and asked with a smile, "Anyways, is my Mom here?"
"The Boss is in the office on the fourth floor!" Answered Sun Yue with a smile. "Do you want me to take you there?"
"Nah, no need. I'll go there myself!" Tang Xiu shook his head and smilingly replied.
Right at this time, a middle-aged woman in work clothes came in followed by a few staff members wearing blue overalls and carrying a boxes of drinks. The worker cards on their chests showed that they were all employees of the Magnificent Tang Corporation.
"Manager Sun, these are 200 boxes of Gods Nectar. Please receive and sign the receipt," said the middle-aged woman with a smile.
Sun Yue nodded and replied, "Thanks for the hard work."
"Manager Sun, could you arrange for a few of your staff to help us move the goods from the truck?" Said the middle-aged woman. "Today is the distribution day for the Magnificent Tang Corporation to ship our products to all of our shops in every part of the country. The workers are loading the goods into the containers, so only a few men followed us here."
"All right, I'll immediately arrange some people to unload and move them," said Sun Yue.
The middle-aged woman nodded. She then looked at Tang Xiu and said, "Are you also an employee here? Hurry and move the boxes. But do remember to be very careful; the Gods Nectar of our Magnificent Tang Cor is very expensive. You won't be able to afford it if you drop and break it."
Tang Xiu stared blankly, and so did Sun Yue.
Quickly after, Sun Yue recovered her senses and was about to speak as Tang Xiu waved at her and then rolled up his sleeve and smilingly said, "It's fine, I'll move them."
Without turning her head, the middle-aged woman turned and walked away.
"Little…" Sun Yue anxiously called, but Tang Xiu interrupted her.
"It's alright. This is my own business, so helping with the work is fine. Anyways, just go do your work! I'll go find my Mom later," said Tang Xiu with a smile as he walked outside.
In the open space outside the restaurant, the sounds of four medium-sized container trucks opening its back doors were heard. Tang Xiu casually came to the back of the truck and moved two boxes of Gods Nectar from the inside.
"Hey, hey, hey! Aren't you too bold? You want to move two boxes at once, who will take the responsibility if it falls and break? Put one down, and just carry one box!" The middle-aged woman cried out angrily.
Tang Xiu didn't put the box down, and said with a smile instead, "It's alright, I'm very strong. It's not a problem to move two boxes at once."
The middle-aged woman rushed to block his path and angrily yelled, "No way! Even if you're a Superman, you must still move one box at a time. Do you know that this box contains six bottles of Gods Nectar? You should have heard about Gods Nectar, right? The price of a bottle is 18,888 yuan. How much is in these six bottles, do you think? Then how much is in the 12 bottles in these two boxes? In case you drop them, do you think your paycheck for a year will be able to compensate it? Put one of them down quickly, and only move a box at a time!"
"I…" Tang Xiu opened his mouth, yet he didn't know what to say. He actually appreciated this middle-aged woman's seriousness and responsibility on her work. She did that for fear of breaking a single bottle of Gods Nectar. Regardless, her attitude in communicating with others was so…
"Hey, what are you waiting for?" The middle-aged woman angrily said. "Do what I tell you!"
"I can really move two boxes at a time," said Tang Xiu with a forced smile. "Let alone two boxes, even moving four boxes at once won't be a problem for me. Besides, I won't lose the money if I were to drop them, either."
The middle-aged woman was incensed, "Was what I just told you not clear enough? Or is it that your confidence is so big? You think you're able to compensate for it, do you think you're the son of a rich family or something?"
"Your name is Shen Meiyun, and you should be a warehouse supervisor of the Magnificent Tang Corporation, right?"
"Yeah, that's right," answered Shen Meiyun with a proud expression.
Tang Xiu shook his head, "Your responsible attitude toward your work really make me satisfied, but your attitude when you communicating with others is quite difficult for me to accept. Didn't the staff training the Magnificent Tang Corporation's employees urge you to try communicating with others in the best possible ways?"
Taken aback, Shen Meiyun was stunned. She didn't expect that a young employee of a restaurant would unexpectedly dare to educate her. Despite realizing that the issue lied in her manners, it was hard for her to accept it given the fact that she had a responsibility to bear. Her expression thus turned annoyed and angry as she scolded, "Do you have the say to mind my attitude, huh? It's because you didn't listen to my advice and is adamant on moving two boxes of Gods Nectar, that's why I… hmph, who are you, anyway? Why the hell do I have to explain myself to you?"
Tang Xiu shook his head and prepared to bypass Shen Meiyun. But just as he moved his feet, Shen Meiyun blocked him.
"What is wrong with you, young man? Don't tell me you can't understand human speech? I told you to move one box at a time, or don't move it at all! Do you really think you're a second generation nouveau-riche and have no place else to burn your money?" Yelled Shen Meiyun angrily.
"I really am a second generation nouveau-riche," said Tang Xiu with a frown.
"If you're the second generation of the haves, then I'm the first generation of moneybag!" Shen Meiyun rolled her eyes. "You're still young yet is such a hopeless case. If you really are a second generation nouveau-riche, do you even need to work at this Rising Dragon Pavilion?"
During the argument, Sun Yue walked out carrying papers and a pen, followed by a handful of porters. When she saw Tang Xiu and Shen Meiyun's standoff, she approached and asked with a confused expression, "Little Boss, what's going on?"
"I told her I'll move two boxes, but she didn't let me and want me to move only one. And now she even stopped and forbid me to move them," said Tang Xiu with a forced smile.
Little Boss?
Shen Meiyun was taken aback and stared blankly as she turned to look at Sun Yue and asked, "Manager Sun, w-what… what did you just call him?"
"Little Boss! He's the son of our Boss, so he's naturally the Little Boss of our Rising Dragon Pavilion," replied Sun Yue.
Shen Meiyun had small eyes, but after hearing this revelation, they turned perfectly round as a panicked expression appeared in them. As she looked at Tang Xiu, she shuddered and stutteringly said, "B-Big… B-Big B-Boss… Ah right, right… I-I'm r-really s-sorry... I-I d-didn't k-know it was you."
At this time, Shen Meiyun had succumbed to fear, because she knew who the owner of the Rising Dragon Pavilion was. The person who opened this restaurant was the mother of her Big Boss, the only son of this restaurant's owner. Since the young man before her was the Little Boss of this Rising Dragon Pavilion, it meant that he was her Big Boss!!!
Heavens! What stupid thing had she just done?
To think that… she treated her own Big Boss as a porter and was so rude towards him, wouldn't that only result in her getting fired?
"Whether or not I'm your Boss, you still shouldn't talk to others like this. Hasn't Kang Xia told you that every employee of the Magnificent Tang Corporation represents the face of the entire company? Anyways, forget it. Just put your best into your work after you go back," said Tang Xiu with a forced smile.
Shen Meiyun shuddered inside and hurriedly said, "B-Boss, I… I know my mistake. Please give me another chance and don't fire me! I'll definitely correct and won't make the Magnificent Tang Corporation lose face!"
"I won't fire you. But, you're going back to training. You will come back to your current job after the New Year!" Said Tang Xiu.
Upon hearing it, Shen Meiyun immediately turned excited and said, "Thank you, Boss, thank you so much! I'll report myself to the training department and correct myself according to your instructions."
Tang Xiu didn't speak again and directly bypassed her.
With a strange expression, Sun Yue looked at the back of Tang Xiu before her eyes landed on Shen Meiyun, as she asked with a curious expression, "Sister Shen, did you annoy Little Boss or something? He is a cordial person with great personality and is very kind to everyone! He even treats us, the staff, very well."
"Manager Sun, why didn't you say before that he is the Little Boss of your Rising Dragon Pavilion, the Big Boss of my Magnificent Tang Corporation?!" Shen Meiyun sighed bitterly. "He was going to move two boxes of Gods Nectar, and I was afraid that the goods would fall and break, so that I scolded him and asked him to move just one box."
Pfft… Sun Yue gave her a thumbs up and praised, "You actually reprimanded your own Big Boss? That's very amazing… huh… that's not right…. what did you just say? Little… Is little boss the Big Boss of your Magnificent Tang Corporation? You… are you kidding me?"
"Didn't you know that?" Shen Meiyun asked with a confused expression. "I heard from the director of our winery. He said loads of things when he got drunk and said that the Big Boss of the Magnificent Tang Corporation is the Little Boss of the Rising Dragon Pavilion. Hence, the director told us to be extra careful every time we deliver the goods here."
Sun Yue turned around to look at the restaurant's front door as tempestuous storm raging inside her heart. She finally realized the reason why the Rising Dragon Pavilion was the only restaurant able to buy Gods Nectar from the Magnificent Tang Corporation. It turned out that it was simply a family restaurant. Little Boss, he was… really a good person. With such an aloof status he was actually that kind and genial, moreover he was willing to humble himself to act as a porter.
Chapter 539: Ready for Action
The 200 boxes of Gods Nectar had finally been moved half an hour after. Upon seeing the sweating, panting porters, Tang Xiu ran to a small shop nearby and bought every one of them two packs of cigarettes and a bottle of mineral water.
"Thanks a bunch, little bro."
The porters sincerely smiled and thanked Tang Xiu after receiving such a treatment. The pack of cigarettes was of a cheap, low quality smoke as it only cost 20 yuan a pack, and the water was only mineral water, but such a small thing made their hearts feel warm.
After exchanging several polite words with them, Tang Xiu then turned to Sun Yue and said, "Remember to provide two packs of cigarettes and a bottle of mineral water for them after they have delivered the wine later."
"Okay, I'll do that myself!" Sun Yue looked at Tang Xiu with a respectful expression.
Smiling at her in response, Tang Xiu immediately walked to the elevator. After pressing the button, he watched the lively scene in the hall. It was a lunchtime, and only a few tables in the entire hall were unoccupied, whereas the rest, nearly forty plus tables, had been occupied by patrons, while the attendants served them with smiling faces.
Looking at this scene made Tang Xiu very contented, because he knew how much his mother had paid to develop the restaurant this stage. He felt that everything was worth it as long as his mother was happy.
As he arrived on the fourth floor, Tang Xiu found the general manager office through the nameplate and knocked its door. As the voice of his mother said to come inside, he then opened the door and walked inside.
"Why are you here, Xiu'er?"
Su Lingyun, who was sitting at the office table and reading a document, asked in disbelief when she saw Tang Xiu coming in.
"There was an accident on the construction site of the Long Family's project in Walled Hill Village, Mom," said Tang Xiu with a smile. "Since our family also has some properties there, I hurried back from Shanghai to take a look at the situation, thus I came to see you while convenient."
"Was it very serious, Xiu'er?" Asked Su Lingyun hastily. "Did you say we have some properties there? Are you getting implicated by it?"
"The accident has been managed and it will be finished soon," said Tang Xiu smilingly. "Don't worry, Mom. It's a project handled by the Long Family and it doesn't relate to me at all, so I won't be implicated by it."
Su Lingyun felt relieved, and said with a smile, "That's great as long as you're okay. Anyhow, Xiu'er, with you running here, will it delay your schooling?"
"Well, you don't know your son's academic performance, Mom," said Tang Xiu with a smile. "I have finished studying the first year's curriculum by myself already. I've now been visiting the campus library besides attending classes every day. I've studied and learned more knowledge so that I'll be more proficient and skilled in the future. Don't worry! My studies won't be delayed."
Su Lingyun smiled and nodded with satisfaction, "I know that you're the best, sonny. Ah, right, it's your first time coming to our renovated family's restaurant, right? What do you think? It looks impressive now, don't you think?"
"Yeah! It's very impressive!" Tang Xiu praised while giving a thumbs up. "I thought I came to the wrong place when arrived! Furthermore, the business seems good, too."
Taking Tang Xiu to the sofa in the corner, Su Lingyun then smilingly said, "It's more than good, it's great. Our restaurant is ten times larger than in the past, and we are jam-packed with patrons. I heard you saying back then that you wanted to count the money until your fingers get numb, and that's exactly what happened. I can't count the money by hand anymore."
"Then, it's really great, right?" Tang Xiu couldn't help laughing.
After chit-chatting with Tang Xiu for a while, Su Lingyun then suddenly seemed to recall something and quickly asked, "Eh, have you had a lunch after you got here, Xiu'er?"
"Not yet," said Tang Xiu, shaking his head.
"Then Mom will personally prepare it for you. Wait here!" said Su Lingyun and quickly got up.
Tang Xiu hurriedly stopped her and smilingly said, "Let someone else do it, Mom. You don't need to do it yourself. Besides, I'm going to manage some issues today and will go back to Shanghai tomorrow morning. Let us have a good chat."
"All right!"
Soon, fragrant dishes were delivered and Su Lingyun accompanied Tang Xiu until he was finished. Following that, mother and son chatted for a while before Tang Xiu left for the Magnificent Tang Group's edifice. On the way there, he phoned Kang Xia and learned that she wasn't there, but in the No. 6 warehouse. He then changed his direction and headed directly to there.
Wearing an engineering outfit, Kang Xia greeted Tang Xiu along with seven staff members.
"Is this No. 6 warehouse going to store the health products of our company?" Asked Tang Xiu with a smile.
"Yeah, our company is currently stockpiling a large number of our health products. We're doing it for a week more before shipping them to the major cities in the country. Also, we chose to use the hunger marketing model like we did previously as well, so we're going to distribute the goods four times each month with limited quota every week," answered Kang Xia.
"Anyhow, I haven't asked the brand name for the health products. What is it to be called and how much is it going to be priced?" Asked Tang Xiu with a smile.
"The brand name is Health Vitae Elixir," said Kang Xia. "The price is the same as Gods Nectar's: 18888 yuan a box, which contains two bottles."
Tang Xiu nodded and smiled, "Not bad. Are you still busy here? When will you return to the company?"
"I just checked the inventory in stock. We can go back now," said Kang Xia.
"All right, let's go then!" Tang Xiu smiled.
As dusk came, Tang Xiu, Kang Xia, and Andy had dinner together. After escorting them back to their residence, Tang Xiu then rushed to South Gate Town. On the way there, he contacted Chen Zhizhong and learned that the Endless Virtue Pharmaceutical had already carried out a business cooperation with the Everlasting Feast Hall, as the former would sell a large amount of valuable medicinal herbs to the latter.
Ring, ring, ring…
When Tang Xiu just drove through the front gate to the interior of South Gate Town, his mobile phone suddenly buzzed. After accepting the call, he said, "Do you need something, Xiaoxue?"
"Boss, we just got a message that someone is currently negotiating for the lease of Clam Island in the South China Sea. You will definitely be interested in the identity of that person." Gu Xiaoxue's voice came out of the phone.
"Who is he?" Asked Tang Xiu.
"It's someone from Beijing, from the Yao Family," said Gu Xiaoxue.
With a slightly changed countenance, Tang Xiu asked in a deep voice, "Are you sure that it's someone from the Yaos? Who's in charge of negotiating the leasing of the island over there?"
"Yes, it's confirmed that he's from the Yao Family. The person in charge is called Yao Xinhua," said Gu Xiaoxue.
"The Yaos are going to rent an island in South China, what are they going to do there?" Asked Tang Xiu.
"I haven't investigated about that yet." Gu Xiaoxue shook her head. "The Yao Family is acting very low-key. In particular, that Yao Xinhua seemed to have bribed a few people there. If my inference is not mistaken, they will soon sign the contract with the government. Also, I've sent some people to take a look at the island. The island is very good, and I think it will be very suitable for herbs' plantation. Additionally, there's another small island two kilometers away from Clam Island which is very suitable to rear fierce beasts."
Tang Xiu's face flickered and said in a deep voice, "I'll immediately rush to Jingmen Island, then we'll continue discussing this issue once I get there. Delay the Yao Family in signing the contract with the government if possible."
"Understood!" Gu Xiaoxue replied.
After the phone call ended, Tang Xiu called his mother, Su Lingyun, and told her that there was a trivial matter he needed to deal with, and that he would go back directly. He then contacted Yang Le and drove back to Shanghai.
"I really can't stand it, Tang Xiu. I drove all night long last night, and I only slept for four plus hours during the day. Now you are dragging me back to Shanghai in a hurry, and there's no way I want to shorten my life! Heck, no matter what, you drive!" Yang Le complained after having a seat in the car.
"Okay, I'll drive. Got back to your sleep!" Tang Xiu nodded.
"For us to go back this fast, what exactly happened, Tang Xiu?" Asked Yang Le curiously.
"There's a personal issue I need to deal with," said Tang Xiu. "After returning to Shanghai, I'll just pack a few clothes and head to Jingmen Island. Why? Do you want to go with me?"
Yang Le rolled his eyes, "Bah, no way. I just realized that you're a conman who ensnares people. We had an agreement to divide the booty from that ancient tomb exploration, remember? And the result? I got nothing whatsoever. I was scared shitless and half dead, but I got no benefits at all."
A smile outlined on the corner of Tang Xiu's mouth. He glanced at his depressed look and said, "Who said you didn't get any benefits at all? You saw those magical and mysterious scenes back there. That should be your biggest benefit, don't you think?"
"Bah, I couldn't care less about that," Yang Le grunted. "I saw what you did to the three gates with my own eyes. Though I don't know what means you used to make them vanish like that, I dare to bet that they must have been taken by you. You must share the booty with me once we get back to Shanghai."
Tang Xiu couldn't help laughing, "Properly speaking, I should indeed share the booty with you, but I changed my mind and planned to teach you some skills as a reward for your performance this time. Regardless, I still have another condition."
Yang Le was startled and hurriedly said, "What is it? Tell me, tell me!"
"You must go with me to Jingmen Island," answered Tang Xiu.
"What are you gonna do there?" Asked Yang Le.
"I'm going to rent two islands in the South China Sea," said Tang Xiu.
Yang Le stared blankly and asked in disbelief, "You're going to rent islands? Are you so full already that you got nothing to do anymore?"
"I have great uses for them," said Tang Xiu lightly. "So, are you coming with me or not?"
"I still need to know what shit you're gonna make me do," replied Yang Le.
"What I need from you is still unclear as of now. But as long as you come with me, maybe it will be useful to you in the future," said Tang Xiu.
"Fine. I'll go with you, then!" Yang Le nodded. "But we gotta make an agreement first. You gotta keep that promise to teach me those powerful skills of yours, got it?"
"No problem!" Tang Xiu smilingly nodded.
Yang Le looked out of the window and said with a smile, "Brother Tang, I found that, after being with you for this while, it was kinda fun and exciting. At the very least, I learned about another identity of yours after coming to Star City. Though I should have long guessed about that."
"What identity, exactly?" Asked Tang Xiu casually.
"You're the young miracle-working doctor at Star City Chinese Medical Hospital, am I right?" Said Yang Le.
Tang Xiu couldn't help laughing, "Everyone on Earth already knows this fact. You really think you are so awesome as the latest man who found out about it? Do you want me to praise you?"
"Bah, just drive!" Yang Le rolled his eyes and grunted.