Chapter 363: I’m Clearly Black Silkwood

By mid-November, the private fund’s establishment had quickly fermented, attracting more individuals seeking strategic collaborations through gifting.

With solid financing sources and mature marketing strategies, not just local bosses from Linchuan but also brands from other regions were becoming restless.

The gifts they offered were beyond imagination—there wasn’t anything they couldn’t procure.

However, what Jiang Qin needed now was not gifts but stronger credibility, so he had to maintain an incorruptible stance between investors and investees, refusing any gifts.

“Sorry, your villa wasn’t earned through my efforts, I can’t accept it.”

“Has Young Master Cao slimmed down a lot recently?”

On a chilly morning at Linchuan University’s cafeteria, Jiang Qin sat on a plastic chair sipping freshly made Eight-Treasure Porridge and suddenly posed the question.

Cao Guangyu: “?”

Zhou Chao took a bite of his meat pie and said, “Jiang is asking if you’ve slimmed down recently.”

“How could I not lose weight? The cafeteria keeps playing your news, it’s so disturbing I can’t even eat.”

Cao Guangyu cursed under his breath as he bit into his pie, finding it tasteless.

He loved to show off, but as he watched his roommate outshine him continuously and extravagantly—although he was happy for him, there was also envy and resentment. I’m the real rich second-generation; my family owns a stretch Lincoln!

“Forget it, I’m not eating anymore. I’m going to find Ding Xue.”

“You’ve only had two bites.”

“Can’t eat anymore, it’s almost eight. I’ll be late if I don’t leave now.”

Cao Guangyu slung his bag over his shoulder and quickly left the cafeteria. Just as Jiang Qin felt puzzled, the clock struck eight and a handsome Daniel Wu appeared on the cafeteria TV, broadcasting the news about the establishment of the Golden Silkwood Fund and its external financing.

Some nearby also paused, putting down their chopsticks to glance at the TV, reacting in various manners.

Maybe others didn’t know, but for the students of the School of Finance, they were well aware of the significant effort required to set up a private fund.

“Always showing off, he’s just a leader.”

“All those rich bosses are targeting established companies. What does he have to do with them? Following up with a few shouts and he thinks he’s so great, acting like a finance tycoon.”

At that moment, Zhuang Chen was also in the cafeteria, sitting with Jian Chun and her dorm mates. Although they hadn’t eaten anything sour, their mouths were full of sarcasm.

Hearing this, Jian Chun, Song Qingqing, Jiang Tian, Pan Xiu, and other girls couldn’t help but look up at him, their expressions akin to viewing a fool.

“Am I wrong? The leader isn’t the chairman.”

Jian Chun put down her spoon and looked at him speechlessly, “Phoebe Zhennan, Feng Nanshu, can you really not see the connection or are you pretending not to?”

Jiang Tian also gave him a disdainful look, “If Jiang Qin wasn’t in charge of naming the fund, why would it coincidentally include the character ‘Nan’? If he was just a leader, why would those billionaire mine owners willingly give the naming rights to him?”

Song Qingqing also couldn’t help but sigh, “I was impressed by the male god once and I was convinced. You’ve been impressed for a year and still aren’t convinced? Try setting up a foundation called Pure, Innocent, Pure Milk then I’ll be impressed with you.”

“What does it have to do with me? Who wants purity anyway!” Jian Chun reacted explosively upon hearing that.

Jiang Tian looked at Zhuang Chen, “You see Jian Chun’s reaction? Can names be taken casually? Still can’t figure out why it’s called Phoebe Zhennan?”

“…”

Zhuang Chen felt uncomfortable from the retort but realized they were right. Unable to rebut, he silently continued eating.

In fact, the girls of Financial Class 3 weren’t wrong. Though Jiang Qin always played an unofficial role—whether it’s a leading or pioneering person—in reality, whether it was Linchuan Business Group or Golden Silkwood Fund, Jiang Qin was the actual decision-maker.

The reason his external identity seemed undervalued was purely because of his youth.

Girls are more sensitive to naming, and after hearing the private fund was called Phoebe Zhennan, they quickly understood the origin of the name.

But if you were to ask Jiang Qin directly, that clever dog would never admit it.

Feng Nanshu? What does she have to do with it? The name was randomly chosen, haha.

Of course, while he was stubborn, nothing could explain things away to a fan who loved their shipping.

“Feng Nanshu, how much does he dote on you? Setting up a fund and naming it Phoebe Zhennan. He’s really thoughtful!”

Gao Wenhui had been ecstatic all morning because of the name, lying on her bed and kicking her legs in the air.

Feng Nanshu looked down at her legs—slim yet not bony, slightly plump, especially attractive wrapped in black stockings, particularly her petite black feet.

“But I’m clearly Black Silk Nan,” the little rich girl looked somewhat perplexed.

Gao Wenhui turned to look at her, “Don’t forget, he’s not just your husband but also a miser, so of course, there would be gold as well as ‘Nan’.”

“So that’s it, Wenhui, you are a good person.”

Gao Wenhui hummed, thinking, of course, I’ll be seated at the main table in the future.

In the following period, overall work continued to progress. Businesses that obtained financing began to quickly strategize, chasing after the already leading four brands.

Zero Time Convenience Store, Pure Joy KTV, Linchuan Barbecue, Vienna Hotel—all brands born in Linchuan, whether new or old, were developing better and faster.

Jiang Qin began to slow down his lifestyle, methodically handling trivial matters in life.

Monday, waking up for class in the morning, the teacher’s voice is really pleasant. Just a couple of sentences in, and I’m already dreaming of Duke Zhou.

Tuesday, chatting with Dean Zhang and walking the dog with Professor Yan. The two old men are in good spirits; they should be able to live in the villas I plan to offer them.

Wednesday, participated in the first Taobao Double Eleven Shopping Festival. The results were good, raking in a million in advertising fees.

Thursday, received a call from Teacher Chen, took Feng Nanshu to meet He Manqi’s parents at a conference. After returning, my head felt messed up as if broken, even dreamt about the crystallization of friendship going to kindergarten.

Friday, had dinner with Linchuan Business Group’s members and received a call from my father asking if I could help Lin Ling find a job.

Lin Ling is that cousin I met at Lin Peng’s wedding banquet. Her dad is my distant great uncle, named Lin Dewai.

According to Jiang Zhenghong’s words, when their family was very poor, Lin Dewai’s family had helped them out.

This wasn’t something unusual because, in every family, there are always both good and bad relatives.

Lin Ling’s graduating school wasn’t very prestigious, and she hadn’t continued with her studies. After trying several jobs with low pay and not so good firms, she thought of asking Jiang Qin for help.

So, Jiang Qin set up a meeting for them to visit the Linchuan Business Group’s comprehensive office at No. 102 Xinghong Road at nine o’clock in the morning.

That day happened to be the Cold Clothes Festival. There were fires burning paper offerings at the crossroads, and the temperature had dropped a few degrees. Jiang Qin drove slowly across the street, reaching No. 102 Xinghong Road. Lin Dewai’s family was already waiting at the entrance, accompanied by several other relatives.

Jiang Qin got out of the car and handed out a pack of Huazi cigarettes among the few men present.

“This is your Great Aunt, here’s your Uncle Lin Tong, your Aunt Zhao Xiangqin, your Cousin Lin Feng, and Lin Ling, my daughter, you’ve met her before.”

Jiang Qin greeted everyone, “It’s quite cold, let’s go inside and talk.”

The relatives turned to glance at the large private courtyard and nodded, following Jiang Qin inside.

“By the way, cousin, what did you study?”

“I studied financial management.”

Lin Ling followed behind, looking somewhat restrained. On one hand, because she wasn’t very familiar with Jiang Qin, and on the other, because Jiang Qin was her younger cousin, having a younger cousin help her find a job felt somewhat awkward.

At the door, Jiang Qin suddenly stopped, “Once we go inside, don’t say you’re my cousin, just say you’re my younger cousin.”

“Oh, okay…”

Lin Ling agreed, turning to look at Lin Dewai, her expression slightly puzzled.

Lin Dewai didn’t understand why Jiang Qin had given that instruction, but nodded anyway, as finding a job was most important.

As for what Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, they were all whispering to each other, partly admiring the courtyard and partly discussing Jiang Qin’s every move.

To be honest, they still didn’t really understand what Jiang Qin did exactly. After all, they were ordinary people; even if they caught some news during their leisure time, it was usually about what happened in the country or which celebrities were involved in scandals.

Regarding industry upgrading or business strategizing, they weren’t interested nor did they understand it.

All they knew was that Jiang Qin drove an Audi, Jiang Zhenghong wore a thirty thousand yuan belt, and Lin Ling had mentioned something about delivery services, group buying to the store, and some forum for university students, none of which they quite understood.

“President Jiang? Is that really you?”

“My goodness, finally meeting you. You can’t run away this time. I must treat you to a meal.”

As soon as they entered the large courtyard, several middle-aged men in suits approached them warmly, eagerly lining up to shake hands with Jiang Qin.

One of the men pulled Jiang Qin aside, and Jiang couldn’t help but smile, “I haven’t run away, President Sun. I’ve just been really busy recently. Everybody go tonight, I’ll treat, and by the way, is the contract all set?”

“It’s all set, and the funds are in place too, just waiting on your decision.”

“Alright, then let’s talk tonight. I’ve got some relatives here right now; got some matters to handle.”

“Oh, these are our family relatives, eh?”

As the Uncles and Aunts hadn’t yet realized, each found themselves holding a Huazi cigarette between their fingers.

Being adults, they all had some ability to read the room. Though they received little information, they could tell that these people handing out cigarettes were all very wealthy.

The keys hanging from their belts were all luxury car brands, and several were accompanied by drivers and assistants.

No wonder Jiang Qin wanted Lin Ling to call herself his younger cousin. Although they were of the same generation, the title of younger cousin connoted a junior, whereas being called an elder cousin placed one in a senior position. Given the current circumstances, it seemed Lin Ling wouldn’t be able to handle being in a senior position relative to Jiang Qin.

Entering through the main doors, they took the elevator to the third floor, arriving at Tan Qing’s office door.

“Great Uncle, you all just wait here for a bit. I’ll take Lin Ling inside.”

“Alright, you arrange it.” Lin Dewai nodded, standing by the door.

Lin Ling followed Jiang Qin into the office, still feeling nervous, unsure who she was meeting or what was being arranged, repeatedly rehearsing her self-introduction in her mind.

But, to her surprise, it turned out she didn’t need to say anything at all.

“Boss, what brings you here?”

“I’m finding a job for my younger cousin. She studied financial management.”

Tan Qing brewed a cup of tea and offered Lin Ling some water, “Phoebe Zhennan is actually short-staffed. Would that be okay?”

Jiang Qin nodded, “That’s perfect since it matches her field. Then she’ll go to Phoebe Zhennan.”

“I’ll call Sun Zhi then. He went to the bank to handle some procedures; probably won’t be back until the afternoon.”

“Is the foundation that busy? He has to go to the bank himself?”

“There’ve been a lot of financial issues these past few days, the procedures are quite complex, and there’s too much networking to keep up with.”

“…”

As the two conversed, Lin Ling, who had been silent, suddenly looked up at Jiang Qin sitting across from her and realized, she really didn’t need to interview or introduce herself because… this place was clearly under his control.

He wasn’t here to help her find a job; he was here to have a job arranged for her.

Meaning, from the moment she entered… no, from the moment her father made the call to Uncle Jiang, she already had a job.

And it was a very prestigious place, looking much like a government office…

A few minutes later, Jiang Qin listened to Tan Qing reporting the work progress of Linchuan Business Group and Golden Silkwood Fund. Then he stepped outside with Lin Ling.

Seeing this, Lin Dewai hurried over, “How did the interview go? When will she be notified?”

“Notified?”

“I mean, the result. Whether she’s suitable or not.”

Jiang Qin paused, then realized, “They don’t know I call the shots at Linchuan Business Group. They thought it was just through my influence, trying their luck.”

“No need for notifications. Just have Lingling come to work tomorrow.”

Lin Dewai stunned, then joyfully said, “She got the job just like that? See, Jiang Qin has real clout. Oh, right, how long is Lingling’s probation? She should get social security once she’s a full employee, right?”

“…”

A bit overwhelmed, Jiang Qin thought: These relatives are truly simple folk. “I’ve shown up, why would there still be a probation period? Specifics, I’m not sure. Lingling will find out when she starts tomorrow. Someone will discuss it with her.”

“Alright, alright, we’ll just follow the arrangements then.”

Lin Dewai initially wanted to pull Jiang Qin home for a meal but Jiang Qin declined.

Despite the week being filled with minor duties, these matters were necessary and unavoidable.

Consequently, the set banquet was just eaten by his family themselves.

However, the meal was relatively silent because Linchuan, a second-tier city, far surpassed places like Jizhou. They used to feel superior when facing relatives from Jizhou, self-proclaiming themselves as wealthy relatives, calling the others poor.

Now, they finally understood that they were, in fact, the poor ones.

“Lingling, when you go to work tomorrow, make sure to ask about the salary, how long the trial period is, and how you can become a permanent employee, heard?”

Lin Feng, the cousin, suddenly spoke up, “That place looked rather imposing. It probably won’t be easy to become a permanent employee.”

Cousin Lin Tong also said, “Even if it’s not easy to become permanent, you have to stick it out. Nowadays, finding a stable, good job isn’t easy.”

Lin Ling pursed her lips, muttering softly, “Actually, there’s no probation period…”

“What?”

“Cousin… ah, cousin Jiang didn’t explicitly say, but I guess I’ll be a formal employee once I go.”

“How can that be? Which organization doesn’t have a probation period nowadays?”

Lin Ling put down her chopsticks, “Once inside, the lady in the office called him boss, so it seems the organization is his after all. My dad just had to ask about the probation period. Didn’t you see Jiang Qin had no idea how to respond? There just isn’t a probation period.”

Lin Dewai, “…”

Cousin Lin Tong took a deep breath, “If that’s really the case, we might not even qualify as poor relatives in his eyes.”