[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-romantic-path-to-success":3,"chapter-the-romantic-path-to-success-the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-541":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Romantic Road to the Top",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},2146732,3567,"Chapter 541","the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-541",541,"\u003Cp>Su Xinghui sent Lu Xiaoya to her room next door and said to her: \"Then you rest first, I’ll come find you later.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Returning to his room, Su Xinghui took out the contact information Hou Guangbi had given him and called the World Bank’s office in China. He called the office of the Chief Representative. The person who answered was a woman, speaking in Chinese. Su Xinghui asked: \"May I ask if Mr. Hackett is in?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The other party asked: \"May I ask who you are?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui said: \"I was introduced by Mr. Hou Guangbi, Chairman of the French Hou Group. My surname is Su, and I have business with Mr. Hackett.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The other party said: \"Please wait a moment, I’ll go tell Mr. Hackett.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui waited for a while, and the other party returned: \"Mr. Su, hello. Mr. Hackett is seeing a guest now, but he has time at four o’clock. He asked you to come see him at four o’clock.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui was overjoyed. He hadn't expected to see Hackett today. Hackett was the Chief Representative of the World Bank’s office in China, a big figure with great power, not someone just anyone could see. It seemed Hou Guangbi’s face was what counted.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Still the same saying: no matter which country you are in, connections are very important.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui said: \"Fine, then I will definitely arrive on time at four o’clock.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hanging up the phone, Su Xinghui looked at his watch; it was almost three o’clock. He stood up to prepare to leave. The Friendship Hotel was quite far from the World Bank’s office in China—about a twenty-minute drive. Although there were rarely traffic jams in this era, leaving early was never a mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett was Swiss, and the Swiss were famous for their punctuality. If he encountered an unexpected situation on the road and was late, it would definitely leave a very bad impression on Hackett. Leaving early meant that even if he encountered an unexpected situation, there would be room for remedy.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui told the floor attendant that he was going out on business and asked her to tell Lu Xiaoya if she woke up. The attendant agreed, and Su Xinghui went downstairs, hailed a taxi, and headed toward his destination.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>When the car arrived at the destination, it was still about forty minutes before four o’clock. The World Bank’s office in China was located in a high-rise office building in Jingcheng. Seeing that it was still early, Su Xinghui walked around downstairs. When it was five minutes to four, he took the elevator to the twelfth floor, where the World Bank’s office in China was located.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>At five minutes to four, Su Xinghui walked into the office. The receptionist asked who he was and who he was looking for. He said to the receptionist: \"My surname is Su, and I have an appointment to see Mr. Hackett at four o’clock.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The receptionist called Hackett, and after confirmation, nodded to Su Xinghui: \"Mr. Su, hello. Please come in with me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui followed the receptionist to Hackett’s office. Outside the office was a woman in her thirties. This should be Hackett’s secretary, and she should be the person who answered the phone when Su Xinghui called from the hotel room earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The receptionist said to the female secretary: \"Ms. Susanna, this is Mr. Su.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Susanna was a foreign woman with black-rimmed glasses and an ordinary appearance. Her hair was brown, and she was wearing a very formal suit. She said to the receptionist: \"Okay, you go out first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>After the receptionist left, Susanna said to Su Xinghui: \"Mr. Su, hello! I am Mr. Hackett’s secretary, Susanna. I’ll take you in!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui said, \"Thank you, Miss Su Shanna!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Shanna led Su Xinghui into an inner room, where a middle-aged foreigner of about fifty was sitting, intently reading a document. Su Shanna said, \"Mr. Hackett, Mr. Su is here!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett put down the document and looked up. Su Xinghui sized him up; Hackett looked like a shrewd and capable man, with typical Western features, a slightly hooked nose, and a sturdy build. However, his skin was not as fair as the average European, but rather a bit bronze, which might have been related to his profession.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett’s position was not one for someone who sat in an office every day. He frequently traveled on business, mainly to project sites to inspect conditions. Because of China’s complex terrain, these inspections often involved crossing mountains and ridges, and frequently enduring extreme heat and cold, so his skin tone was quite normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett subconsciously glanced at the wall clock; the time pointed exactly to four o'clock in the afternoon. He smiled, stood up, and said, \"Mr. Su, hello. You are a very punctual person.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui stepped forward to shake hands with Hackett and said, \"Mr. Hackett, time is money, and time is life. Wasting my own time is equivalent to suicide, and if I wasted your time, that would be equivalent to murder. Naturally, I need to be punctual!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett laughed heartily and said, \"Please sit, Mr. Su.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui sat down on a sofa, and Su Shanna asked, \"Mr. Su, would you like coffee or tea?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui had noticed a cup of green tea on Hackett’s desk as soon as he entered, so he said to Su Shanna, \"Then I will have tea.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Shanna brewed a cup of tea for Su Xinghui and placed it on the coffee table in front of him. Su Xinghui thanked her, and Su Shanna nodded at him before leaving.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Seeing Su Xinghui take a sip of tea, Hackett smiled and asked, \"Mr. Su, the tea tastes good, doesn't it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett’s Chinese was also quite good, though, of course, there was still an accent, which is hard for foreigners speaking Chinese to avoid.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui said, \"This is autumn tea, right? The flavor is indeed very fragrant.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett laughed heartily: \"Mr. Su is an expert! You tasted that it was autumn tea right away. This is Longjing autumn tea. Although the taste is not bad, it is still quite a bit inferior to spring tea. It’s just a pity that you came in the wrong season, Mr. Su.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui said, \"Mr. Hackett, it seems you have done a lot of research on tea.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett said with some pride: \"I have indeed done some research on tea. I have been in China for more than ten years, and I have drunk all kinds of tea, but I like Longjing the best. Besides Chinese tea, I also like Chinese food, and I am interested in all kinds of Chinese culture.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui nodded and said, \"Forgive my bluntness, Mr. Hackett, but although you have done a lot of research on tea, there are still some shortcomings in your brewing technique. The water you are using is also not the most suitable for brewing tea, so it hasn't brought out the best flavor of these leaves.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett said, \"Oh, are there any tricks to the water and the brewing technique?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui nodded and said, \"Of course there are. In our Shangjun County, there is an ancient temple with a high monk. I once drank tea brewed by his own hands, and the taste was simply superb. He only used wild tea from the mountains and spring water from the mountains, but he had his own unique way of handling the heat and the brewing technique. I think that tea tasted even better than this Longjing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett was immediately very interested: \"Is that so? Then I must go and taste it if I have the chance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui smiled and said, \"Of course there will be a chance. If the World Bank accepts our loan project, won't you be able to go to our Shangjun County to inspect the situation on-site?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett laughed heartily again: \"Mr. Su, you are very clever. However, tea is tea, and this will not affect my judgment of your loan project. I have always been a person who separates public and private matters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui smiled and said, \"I like dealing with people who separate public and private matters. Don't worry, I will not try to use our private interactions to influence your judgment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hackett nodded and said, \"Very good. Then I think we can talk about the main topic now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Su Xinghui took all the materials related to the Shangjun County Changjiangdaqiao project out of his bag and handed them to Hackett. Hackett took the materials and began to read them seriously. When he entered his work mode, he was extremely focused.\u003C\u002Fp>",1444,"2026-06-16T17:50:43.208Z","2026-06-17T08:56:06.694Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","691e6bb174f0843be4853f7ea96d16a88ded10e54c8b6342af605554091e7885","the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-542","the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-540",572,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-romantic-path-to-success-cover.jpg"]