Chapter 509: Echoes of Ambition

They chatted about the ‘Red Star Erguotou’ project his son had worked on, and Xu Zhiquan still beamed with pride and joy.

“I heard Jiang Huaqin say that Meng Huiyang from Red Star absolutely loves this ad campaign— he’s crazy about it!”

In front of his dad, Xu Chen saw no need for modesty:

“When I handle a project personally, it’s always a sure win.”

Xu Zhiquan puffed on a cigarette and burst into hearty laughter.

“Oh, and another thing—the ‘Chenfeng Electric Vehicles’ TV ad has started airing on Beijing TV during the May Day holiday.

They say it was Director Li Yue from the Sports Administration who requested it. Should we reach out and thank him?”

Xu Chen: “Yeah, we should thank Director Li Yue and while we’re at it, ask about ‘Chenfeng Technology’ and the Olympics.”

Xu Zhiquan: “Is there real potential in that?”

Old Xu was still deeply invested, after all, he’d first suggested riding the Olympic wave for ‘Chenfeng Technology’.

Xu Chen: “Absolutely. Director Li Yue is actively working on it right now.

Before the break, I talked with him—he promised at least a collaboration with the Sports Administration.

He’s also pushing things with the Olympic Committee to secure a feasible deal that’s not too costly.”

Xu Zhiquan: “Is Director Li Yue really going all out like that?”

Xu Chen: “I helped Xie Bingran land another commercial endorsement, which counts toward his performance metrics.

Since I helped him, he’s got to return the favor.”

Xu Zhiquan smiled proudly: “I see.”

……

Back at the park in the afternoon, Xu Chen headed to the ‘bar’ to hang out with Fang Jun.

It was still during the May Day holiday, and the finance department wasn’t involved in production, so Fang Jun had planned to take time off anyway.

But Fang Jun seemed uninterested in going out, so she ended up back at the park’s ‘bar’.

Seeing Xu Chen arrive, Fang Jun cracked open a premium dark beer:

“I had someone bring this from Berlin—brewed with water from the Danube River.”

Xu Chen took a light sip:

“Smooth and rich with a thick malt aroma… top-notch beer really stands out!”

Fang Jun’s usually expressionless face lit up with a happy smile:

“I’ve got wheat beer too!”

……

Xu Chen only spent half an hour with Fang Jun before feeling a bit lightheaded.

Luckily, it was good booze, so no physical discomfort—just a pleasant buzz that relaxed him.

“This place is great. I’m even thinking of turning the 8th floor of our Shanghai office into a bar!”

Fang Jun perked up: “Count me in as a stakeholder, and I’ll sponsor some premium bottles to draw crowds!”

Xu Chen: “Deal!”

……

……

The holiday wrapped up on the 6th, and Xu Chen had a flight back to school that evening.

As usual, he stopped by the ‘Morning Wind Park’ in the morning and hung out in his father Xu Zhiquan’s office, sharing tea.

Xu Zhiquan fiddled with the teapot and cups, his Omega watch gleaming on his wrist, clearly showing off his satisfaction.

Xu Chen glanced through his emails during breaks—it was a project update summary from his assistant Gu Xinxi.

All ongoing projects were moving smoothly; the ‘Cadillac’ ad rollout was scheduled for mid-to-late May.

‘Cadillac’ had a two-month promotion period, including online ads, plus offline test drives and dealership events.

Xu Chen remembered the marketing director Hua Shao Jie and turned to his father Xu Zhiquan:

“Is Guo Liang mostly focused on building the distribution network and sales management right now?”

Xu Zhiquan: “Yeah, that’s the top priority.”

Xu Chen: “Brand marketing has been Guo Liang’s side gig. We should consider hiring someone dedicated.

He’s from sales, so it’s not his strong suit, and I bet he’s stretched too thin.

For instance, with the Olympic collaboration, a dedicated brand marketing director could handle that specifically.

Down the line, ‘Chenfeng Electric Vehicles’ will need nationwide, large-scale marketing, so we need an expert.”

Xu Zhiquan nodded:

“Early this year, Guo Liang set up a call with Nie Fei, and she mentioned this too…”

He looked at Xu Chen with a smile: “Do you have someone in mind?”

Xu Chen: “Will Guo Liang be okay with us pulling that responsibility from him?”

Xu Zhiquan: “No issue at all. Nie Fei brought it up, and Guo Liang agreed.

He’s got great emotional intelligence and understands the big picture.

He’s swamped as it is—just dealing with ‘Datuo Car Dealership’ keeps him up late.

Offloading some work would probably relieve him.”

Xu Chen: “I’ve got a candidate in mind, but I haven’t approached them yet.

To lure them over, we’ll need you, President Xu, to step in and chat.”

Xu Zhiquan: “Easy enough. We can invite them to tour the park.

Things are different now—our electric vehicle sales are booming, with revenue doubling monthly.

Attracting talent shouldn’t be a problem.”

Old Xu poured his son some tea:

“What’s their background?”

Xu Chen: “From Cadillac, in the auto industry.”

Xu Zhiquan paused, then shook his head with a sigh:

“Well, forget what I said earlier—we’re still miles behind Cadillac.”

Xu Chen laughed: “Not so. Talent attraction is about the whole package.

Our growth potential beats theirs hands down. Long-term gains here are better than being a mid-level employee there.”

Xu Zhiquan lit a cigarette, clearly intrigued.

He nodded: “I’m planning rewards for key executives, like equity incentives.”

Xu Chen: “You’re on top of things, President Xu!”

Xu Zhiquan chuckled: “I’ve picked up tips from Jiang Huaqin and chatted with Su Qitai from Wanrong Materials.

Other bosses with businesses in the billions have shared insights too.

To grow the company, I have to keep learning.”

Xu Chen lifted the teapot and respectfully poured tea for ‘President Xu’:

“I’ll talk to the candidate first. If they’re interested, I’ll set up a meeting with you.”

Xu Zhiquan: “Sounds good! Recruiting talent is our biggest challenge right now!”

Old Xu took a drag and frowned slightly.

“What’s up?” Xu Chen asked.

Xu Zhiquan hesitated: “There’s a personnel issue that’s been bugging me…

Director Yang is handling tech and production, but his limits are showing, especially in tech.”

Xu Chen thought: “What if we let him focus on production and bring in someone new for tech?”

Xu Zhiquan nodded: “That’s what I’m thinking.”

Xu Chen waited for him to continue.

“Our motors are a collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Physics Institute.

We’ve swapped shares with their motor factory for a deep tie-in.

Bringing in the Yamaha production line from Japan, their deputy director helped a lot.”

Xu Chen: “So, you’ve got someone lined up?”

Xu Zhiquan: “He’s a post-doc from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a real expert in motors and controls.

If I bring him on, he’d be our chief engineer at least.

I’ve hinted at it, and he hasn’t said no, so he’s interested.

From what I’ve heard, he’s caught in internal politics between the academy and the motor company, so he’s thinking of leaving.”

Xu Chen: “Sounds perfect!”

Xu Zhiquan finished one cigarette and lit another:

“He’d have to be Director Yang’s superior, or it won’t work right.

Just having him handle tech while Director Yang does production could cause conflicts—that’d hurt core operations.”

Xu Chen: “So it’s about managing people.”

Xu Zhiquan: “Director Yang’s different from Guo Liang or Fang Jun—he’s an intellectual, thoughtful type.

Suddenly putting a new boss over him from outside might ruffle his feathers.”

Xu Chen pondered: “I don’t think I can help much with that.”

Xu Zhiquan smiled: “I just needed to vent. I’ll handle it—your old man knows what to do.

It’s straightforward, just need to have an honest talk with Director Yang.

He’s a founding partner who joined from the start; I won’t let him feel slighted.”

Xu Chen hesitated but said: “Dad, make the cut when you need to—don’t let issues linger.”

Xu Zhiquan: “I get it. It’ll be fine.”

……

At noon, Xu Zhiquan drove Xu Chen to Beishan for some authentic lamb hotpot.

They also swung by the ‘Chenxin Nurseries’ planting base there.

Standing on a hillside, they looked down at the fields of saplings, with workers toiling below, oblivious to ‘President Xu’ on the slope.

‘Chenxin Nurseries’ now had nine bases around Tiancheng and nearby counties, all managed by Fourth Uncle Xu Zhilin, with technical oversight from Maternal Uncle Zhang Yongqing.

Each base had its own manager, all carefully groomed by Xu Zhiquan and Xu Zhilin.

The West of the City base manager was formerly a head chef at ‘Bright Factory’.

When Xu Zhiquan first took over ‘Bright Factory’, he sent veteran workers to support the nurseries, and this chef took to it.

Even when ‘Chenfeng Technology’ park restarted, he stayed with ‘Chenxin Nurseries’.

He’s reliable and handles things smoothly, so Xu Zhilin promoted him.

This sparked some envy among ‘Bright Factory’ vets.

In the last half-year, ‘Chenxin Nurseries’ expanded business outside Tiancheng, capitalizing on national infrastructure booms like highways and rural urbanizations.

The trade thrives on connections, and Xu Zhiquan, through ‘Chenfeng Technology’s Shandong Province expansion, networked with local leaders.

For someone like Xu Zhiquan, who’s great at building relationships, snagging nursery contracts was effortless.

In his past life, Xu Chen had heard that ‘a man’s fortune can turn in just a year or two’.

Now, watching ‘Chenxin Nurseries’ grow, he understood it even better.

With ‘Chenfeng Technology’s revenue on track, the Xu family’s rise would accelerate.

……

On the hillside,

Xu Zhiquan lit a cigarette and said:

“I’m starting to get why your Maternal Uncle enjoys tinkering with nurseries…

When I retire, I’ll join him—find a nice hill, grow flowers, and keep some cats and dogs.

He mostly stays at the old factory in town, surrounded by his plants and strays—that’s the peaceful life everyone envies.”

Old Xu spoke with a touch of emotion.

Xu Chen grinned: “Count me in.”

Xu Zhiquan slung an arm around his son’s shoulders: “Not you—you’ve got to stick with Ranran.”

Xu Chen: “Then I’ll bring Xie Bingran along.”

Xu Zhiquan paused, then laughed out loud.

……

……

Xu Chen landed in Shanghai late, around 9 p.m.

He’d taken days off from Class Monitor Min Siyang on the 7th and 8th to spend with Xie Bingran.

Her schedule was rare and precious, so Xu Chen made sure to be there.

He skipped the school dorm and went straight to their place in Tonghai New Village.

He cleaned the whole house until past 2 a.m.

……

The next day at noon, in the airport arrival hall.

A crowd packed the exit, mostly young girls holding signs like ‘Xie Bingran’, ‘Bing Ge’, ‘Bai Miao’, ‘Bai Sanshui’.

Flowers and camera flashes were everywhere.

Xu Chen wondered how they knew—the national team’s itinerary wasn’t public; he’d only learned it from Coach Cheng Hong.

He worried about how to slip Bing Ge away amid the chaos.

……

Amid screams and applause, a group emerged from the exit.

Xu Chen got pushed to the edge but, being tall, spotted Bai Miao, head coach Sun Mouping, Coach Cheng Hong, Coach Liu Shengnan…

A few others from the Xin Zhuang Base national athletics team followed.

He scanned for Bing Ge but couldn’t find her.

……

Fans swarmed Bai Miao, showering her with flowers and gifts as she signed autographs.

One fan asked, “Is Xie Bingran here?”

A staff member from the national team stepped forward: “Xie Bingran has events in Beijing, so she’s not with us today.”

A wave of disappointment rippled through the crowd.

……

……

Twenty minutes later,

The crowd dispersed, and the hall returned to normal.

Xu Chen sat on a bench nearby, sipping a soda water.

He suddenly smiled and stood up.

Xie Bingran wheeled her luggage over, fully incognito.

She wasn’t in the team uniform but a loose black jacket and jeans, with a baseball cap and a black mask.