Chapter 1960: Take Two Good Days Off

At 6:30 a. m., the alarm rang; Zhang Zhiqiang got up, washed up, went downstairs, and headed to the subway station for work.

" Xiao Wang, where's today's newspaper?" he heard a colleague call out as soon as he arrived at the company.

Zhang Zhiqiang walked over, picked up the newspaper on the desk, and flipped through it: "It's Friday today—do you really need to work this hard?"

The newspaper had a prominent headline: Chairman Yi Feng of Huachen Group, accompanied by his fiancée, is visiting Qingyang City for an inspection.

"What do you know! Huachen Group's stock has hit its daily limit, and with Chairman Yi's marriage to the Lin family, it's clear that within a few years, Huachenjiang Society will become the largest private enterprise in the south… Oh no! I need to go prepare breakfast." With that, the male colleague rushed out.

"Boss, you'd better get ready too," the colleague reminded.

"Got it," Zhang Zhiqiang replied.

After breakfast, Zhang Zhiqiang took the elevator straight to the 80th-floor chairman's office.

At this moment, the chairman's office was empty.

Zhang Zhiqiang turned to leave.

"Bang bang!" The door suddenly swung open.

"Secretary Zhang, what are you doing here?" the newcomer asked.

"C…C…Chairman, you're back?" Zhang Zhiqiang was overwhelmed with excitement, fumbling as he bowed deeply to greet him.

"Hmm, I drank too much last night," the chairman smiled. "I planned to return tomorrow, but I feared delays, so I came today—haha… Secretary Zhang, pour me a cup of coffee."

"Oh, yes… yes…" Zhang Zhiqiang hurried to brew coffee for the chairman; in his nervousness, he spilled the tea and scalded his fingers.

The chairman frowned, glared at him, and Zhang Zhiqiang immediately stammered apologies.

Zhang Zhiqiang returned from the break room with a fresh pot of coffee.

The chairman took the coffee, sniffed it near his nose: "The aroma's not bad."

"Thank you, Chairman, for your praise," Zhang Zhiqiang replied humbly, beaming with obsequious smiles.

"Enough with the flattery," the chairman snorted. "You've done well—competent enough." He handed Zhang Zhiqiang a file folder: "This is what General Yi wants to see. Take it up to him."

"Yes," Zhang Zhiqiang accepted the folder with both hands and backed out respectfully.

As he left the office, Zhang Zhiqiang took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, thinking inwardly: "That was intense."

When he reached the outer area of the chairman's office, he stepped forward and walked inside.

Inside, the chairman was bent over documents, reviewing them and making comments.

Zhang Zhiqiang stood by, waiting.

After about two or three minutes, the chairman closed the documents, looked up at Zhang Zhiqiang, and said: "Hmm, good. You did well this time. Take some time off to rest. Come back when you're refreshed."

"Uh… I'm not tired—I can keep working," Zhang Zhiqiang quickly shook his head in refusal, though he wasn't tired, he dared not stay.

"I told you to rest—rest! What? Do you think my orders as chairman mean nothing?" The chairman's face darkened, his tone icy.

"I… I…" Zhang Zhiqiang stammered, unable to refute.

"Go rest. Take two full days off," the chairman waved his hand.

"Yes," Zhang Zhiqiang said, face grim, and walked out of the chairman's office with a dejected expression.

As he stepped out, he ran into Xiao Wang, who had just arrived for work.

"Big Brother Zhang… what did the chairman talk to you about?" Xiao Wang whispered.

Zhang Zhiqiang sighed: "Ah… vacation. The chairman told me to take two good days off…"

"Oh… so that's it…"

"Tell me, don't you think our lives are just too miserable? We work ourselves to death every day with no reward," Zhang Zhiqiang couldn't help complaining.

"Who says otherwise? Enough complaining. Come on, let's get breakfast," Xiao Wang patted Zhang Zhiqiang's shoulder and pulled him off to eat.

…

After breakfast, Zhang Zhiqiang returned to his desk and sat down, only to see a copy of "Huachen Group Chairman's Visit to Qingyang" on his table.

"Damn! What the hell is this? I never saw this program!" Zhang Zhiqiang froze.

He picked it up and examined it closely.

"So that's it!" When he reached the end and read the news about Chairman Yi's marriage to the Lin family's daughter, Zhang Zhiqiang suddenly understood.

Last night, while drinking with Chairman Yi, Chairman Yi, half-drunk, had said he intended to marry the Lin family's daughter.

The chairman himself had been drunk too, and had agreed to it half-consciously.

After watching the program, Zhang Zhiqiang immediately called the chairman to report this major piece of news.