Chapter 55: Chen Mo, what are you trying to do?

In the early morning, Lu Chen sat in the main seat of the reception hall.

He took a sip of coffee and slowly preheated his Cigar.

He did not go to see off Li Xuanhua and Liu Xiaofeng and the others, but instead had Shen Wanyu do it for him.

He took a puff of his Cigar, slowly exhaled the smoke, and only then glanced at his watch.

The plane should have departed by now, right?

Lu Chen's eyes drifted toward the new day's newspaper.

Before long, Housekeeper Wang returned.

"Sir, your itinerary for today is to attend a private gathering hosted by Mr. Wei Er, a director of Crown."

Housekeeper Wang stood by Lu Chen's side, as meticulous as ever, and said softly.

"Hmm, call Chen Mo in a moment; let's go see what Director Wei Er is trying to pull."

A flash of sharp light crossed Lu Chen's eyes; he took a puff of his Cigar and slowly exhaled the smoke.

He picked up a newspaper, leaned his body back, crossed his legs, and began flipping through it.

After drinking two cups of coffee, Lu Chen had also hastily skimmed through the newspaper.

"By the way, is everything arranged for the little girl?"

"She has already been sent to the Jiaohui Xuexiao, and I have communicated with the principal, Mr. Zhang, and delivered a gift to Mr. Zhang on your behalf."

Housekeeper Wang paused for a moment, then reported in a steady tone.

"Good. Is the little girl having any trouble adjusting? You keep a close eye on it."

Lu Chen nodded slightly and flipped the newspaper, though his attention was not on it.

"There is a maid accompanying her; if anything happens, she will call back in time."

Housekeeper Wang's tone remained steady; he stood respectfully to the side and bowed slightly.

Lu Chen nodded slightly and continued flipping through the newspaper.

However, the newspaper contained no useful information, though there were some industry analysis reports on the current state of Xianggang that made Lu Chen scoff.

It was just superficial business analysis; what use was that!

"Sir, there is one hour left until Director Wei Er's gathering; it is time for you to depart."

Housekeeper Wang knocked lightly on the wooden door, and only after catching Lu Chen's attention did he walk in and bow slightly.

"Let's go."

Lu Chen stood up, grabbed a new box of Cigars on his way, and headed to the parking lot, where Chen Mo was already waiting.

Several burly men in suits were standing next to his new Buick, making the corner of Lu Chen's eye twitch.

"Chen Mo, get over here!"

Lu Chen paused for a moment before continuing.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Well, Boss, isn't this for your safety? Sometimes I can't look after you all by myself, so I called a couple more brothers over, isn't this..."

Chen Mo's voice grew quieter as he spoke, and his head drooped.

Lu Chen reached into his coat, pulled out 20,000 Hong Kong dollars from his personal space, and handed it to Chen Mo.

"Tell them all to disperse; there's no danger in going out to a gathering."

"Take this, let the brothers have something good to eat, and don't pull any stupid stunts. When I actually need you, I won't be polite."

Lu Chen glanced at the burly men who were looking over curiously and raised his voice quite a bit.

After Chen Mo took the Hong Kong dollars, he continued.

"Wait, get in my car; don't drive your own."

Lu Chen turned and returned to the Rolls-Royce driven by Housekeeper Wang, watching through the window as Chen Mo handed out money to those brothers one by one while chatting about something.

Then, he returned to the passenger seat of the Rolls-Royce.

"Sit in the back!"

Lu Chen rolled his eyes at Chen Mo before saying that.

Chen Mo was stunned, then lowered his head and obediently sat in the back seat.

The burly man, who was usually robust, now sat in the seat like a quail, not daring to lift his head or speak.

"You idiot, I know you mean well, but we are a company, not those street thugs."

Lu Chen sighed, tossed a pack of 555s to Chen Mo, and said.

"Besides, in this place of Xianggang, how many people actually dare to make a move against someone with status? Even if they dared to make a move, would they really dare to throw someone into the sea to feed the fish?"

Lu Chen reached out and patted Chen Mo, and after letting him light the 555, he continued.

"Having you follow me with that beat-up gun isn't for you to use, but for deterrence and to represent the strength to retaliate."

After Lu Chen finished speaking, he didn't say anything more, just silently took two puffs of his cigarette.

After Chen Mo finished smoking his cigarette in a few puffs, he looked up at Lu Chen.

"Boss, I understand."

Beads of sweat were unconsciously trickling down his forehead.

His face seemed to carry a hint of realization amidst the nervousness and guilt from just a moment ago.

Lu Chen nodded slightly and then said softly.

"For every business negotiation, there should be at most one bodyguard; any more than that and it's not called a negotiation, it's called strong-arming just like those street thugs. This doesn't show how powerful you are, it only shows how weak you are."

"If someone really wants to kill you, even if you bring all those brothers along, it won't help; it will only increase casualties in vain. Those who are plotting against you will only have ten or even a hundred times more people prepared than you."

Lu Chen looked out the window at the bustling street, where a hint of sweltering heat seemed to be spreading.

"Learn more from your Instructor Liu; don't put so many people out in the open. When we get back to the company, go collect another 100,000 Hong Kong dollars for your own use; if the money runs out, just keep drawing more."

"The master will arrive at Banshan Jiudian shortly. How would you like to proceed?"

Steward Wang silently pulled the car over to the side of the road, glanced at the rearview mirror, and only spoke to ask after Lu Chen had finished speaking.

"Get to the front seat already."

Lu Chen kicked Chen Mo with a smile, then straightened his suit.

"Let's go."

As Steward Wang brought the car to a steady stop at the entrance of Banshan Jiudian, Chen Mo got out from the passenger seat, declined the doorman's offer to open the door, and opened it himself; only then did Lu Chen step out of the car.

He straightened his suit and strolled after the doorman toward Huanghou Ting.

"Welcome, Chairman Lu! It has been a long time since you last visited Crown."

Seeing Lu Chen walk over, Wei Er's eyes lit up, and he whispered a word to the businessman beside him.

He then took two steps forward and reached out to shake hands with Lu Chen.

Meanwhile, Chen Mo was led in another direction by a waiter nearby.

Chen Mo looked back at Lu Chen, and Lu Chen gave a slight nod.

Only then did he clasp hands tightly with Wei Er.

"Long time no see, Director Wei Er. It just so happens I need to withdraw some Hong Kong dollars from Crown recently; I wonder if that would be convenient?"

"Convenient, Crown is always convenient. I just don't know how much capital you need, so I can arrange it in advance."

Wei Er was slightly stunned for a moment, then put his smile back on, held Lu Chen's hand as they walked into the banquet hall, and patted Lu Chen on the shoulder.

"Not much, just a few million Hong Kong dollars; no need to prepare anything special."

Lu Chen wore a smile on his face, nodding and greeting the surrounding guests as he went.

"Next, let Wang Jingli show you around. I have some matters to attend to here. We'll chat in a bit, Chairman Lu. Today is a private gathering, so please enjoy yourself."

Wei Er walked with Lu Chen into the reception hall with a smile before speaking.

He beckoned to Wang Jingli.