Chapter 68: The Little Secrets of Subordinates

After accompanying Tingting for a meal of fried chicken, Lu Chen finally returned to his bedroom to rest for a while.

By the time Lu Chen woke up, he discovered it was already dark.

Returning to the study, Lu Chen poured himself a cup of coffee and preheated a Cigar.

After taking a puff of the Cigar, he grabbed the newspaper and began to read.

For some time now, the news hadn't contained anything particularly interesting.

Lu Chen only looked at it as a tool to relieve boredom.

Who could blame him when there was nothing fun to do in this era?

After a good while, Butler Wang came over and knocked on the door.

"Sir, Secretary Shen has returned."

Butler Wang bowed slightly and spoke directly.

"Let Wanyu eat first."

Lu Chen pointed to the sofa beside him.

He tossed a pack of cigarettes to Butler Wang.

"I noticed there seem to be fewer servants in the house lately; have you not been hiring more?"

"Some had sticky fingers, so I dismissed a portion of them; new people will arrive tomorrow."

Butler Wang lit a cigarette, his eyes carrying a hint of complexity.

"Manager Chen helped look into it; there was no data leak, just the loss of some money."

Lu Chen paused for a moment, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, and glanced at Butler Wang.

"Mm, just handle it as you see fit."

Lu Chen took a puff of his Cigar and slowly exhaled the smoke.

"How are things with Xuan Hua? The layout is complete, right?"

"Manager Li has already completed the acquisition, and the matters you ordered are being processed."

Butler Wang rolled his eyes slightly upward and took a puff of his cigarette.

"Manager Liu's mother's condition has also been brought under control; the surgery is tomorrow morning—er, that is, it can be done tonight—and we will be notified the moment there is news."

"Knock, knock, knock."

"BOSS, I'm here."

Shen Wanyu, with a tired smile on her face, knocked lightly on the study door.

Lu Chen nodded slightly.

Butler Wang bowed slightly and walked straight out of the study.

He seemed to have let out a sigh of relief.

Lu Chen did not linger on Butler Wang's retreating figure for long and pointed to the sofa on the other side.

"Wanyu, among the big shots we've been cooperating with lately, are there any who want to back out or change the contracts?"

Lu Chen took another puff of his Cigar, slowly exhaling smoke, his eyes carrying a hint of depth.

"That hasn't happened, but through your negotiations during this period, we discovered that the landlords of six plots of land have all chosen to sell their land directly."

Shen Wanyu placed the documents from her arms onto the coffee table.

"The common trait among these landlords is that they are all small-time landlords, and they don't have much to do with Nitan itself."

Shen Wanyu placed her hands in front of her, her posture becoming a bit straighter.

Her face carried a hint of confusion.

"However, they all coincidentally chose Crown as their receiving bank."

Shen Wanyu paused for a moment before continuing to add.

"Originally, their receiving banks were not Crown, but before the payments were made, they all changed them to Crown, which is what made the finance department feel something was wrong."

"Butler Wang, help me contact Manager Wang from Crown; tell him I need 5 million Hong Kong dollars in cash tomorrow and have him deliver it to the Zhuangyuan."

Lu Chen waved his hand to interrupt Shen Wanyu, who was about to say something else.

"Let the finance department compile statistics on this matter. Ask all the landlords who have cooperated with us; just treat it as us showing concern for and following up on the flow of funds."

"Understood, I will follow up on this."

Shen Wanyu nodded and wrote it down in her small notebook.

She then continued.

"Recently, some landlords have been proactively contacting the company—well, they are all ones who had previously refused—and in the process of talking with the company, most are selling their land directly."

"Buy."

Lu Chen tapped the armrest in silence; after a good while, he looked up at Shen Wanyu.

"BOSS, the company's cash flow is not very high anymore."

A hint of hesitation appeared on Shen Wanyu's face, and after a few seconds, she spoke.

"I will find a way."

Lu Chen paused, silently took two puffs of his Cigar, and spoke again to Butler Wang, who had just returned outside the door.

"Help me contact Elder Li, and also set up an appointment with Miss Luosha; I need both as soon as possible."

Butler Wang left again.

Lu Chen then chatted with Shen Wanyu for a while.

From the company's recent movements to the gossip she had heard.

Lu Chen finally felt that Crown was truly being audacious now!

"Alright, there's no need to investigate the movements of those landlords anymore."

Lu Chen frowned and spoke directly.

"And the prices negotiated with those new landlords, keep them as low as possible for me."

"Where is Chen Mo? Is he still outside handling matters?"

Lu Chen glanced at Shen Wanyu with some confusion.

"I heard Steward Wang say earlier that Chen Mo seems to have gone to handle something; he should be back soon, right?"

Shen Wanyu rolled her eyes slightly upward, and only after several seconds did she speak.

"Fine, if he returns, have him come to see me."

Lu Chen waved his hand, closed his eyes, and only opened them after a long while.

It seems the Crown plan has accelerated.

After a good while, Chen Mo, smelling faintly of iron rust amidst the scent of soap locust, knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Lu Chen frowned; Chen Mo's hair was damp, clearly having been washed.

"Sit."

Lu Chen tossed a pack of 555s to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo skillfully opened it and lit one.

Only then did he speak in a somewhat hoarse voice.

"I just... went to the training ground, and while... training, I accidentally injured someone."

"Hmm, just don't hurt yourself. Give the injured brother a bonus; don't be stingy."

Lu Chen looked deeply at Chen Mo, pulled a 555 from the cigarette pack for himself, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"The Nitan side is ready to start work; if you have nothing to do, go to the company and post recruitment ads."

"Alright, I will arrange it and ensure that the development at Nitan proceeds smoothly."

Chen Mo let out a long breath and smoked the rest of the cigarette in one go.

He glanced at Lu Chen cautiously, seemingly relaxing only then.

Although his voice remained hoarse, the heavy tone was gone from his manner of speaking.

"You, show more concern for your daughter; don't just leave her to Steward Wang all day."

Lu Chen did not look at Chen Mo, and after taking a puff of his cigarette, his tone carried a hint of ease.

"I reckon in a while, your daughter will be calling you Uncle Chen, while hugging Steward Wang and saying, 'Daddy Wang bought me new toys again.'"

"Right, I'll go educate her in a bit; you all just spoil Tingting too much."

Chen Mo laughed hoarsely for a while, his tone then carrying a hint of ease.

This made Lu Chen nod slightly.

After tossing another cigarette to Chen Mo, they chatted for a while.

After a long time, Steward Chen knocked on the door.

He glanced at Chen Mo, and Chen Mo nodded slightly.

He walked to Lu Chen's side, leaned over, and spoke softly.

"Sir, Miss Luosha has three hours of free time starting at 5:00 PM tomorrow; you can go to Elder Li's place for dinner tonight."

"Fine, let's arrange it that way."

Lu Chen nodded slightly and stubbed out the 555.

"Get ready and we'll head out."