286: Going Abroad

How could such a good thing come to him?

The Zhou Group was developing well in the foreign market. Anyone who could think for themselves could foresee its future achievements. Therefore, the person who was sent to be responsible for all this was basically being gilded*. After returning, they would be able to advance to a more important role in the company.

[T/N: *gold-plated; to have a higher achievement than comparable peers by going to a certain environment, e.g., a college student who studies abroad can return and beat job competitors who didn’t study abroad.]

Faced with this appetizing role, many people in the company were ready to move - including the Zhou Lin husband and wife. Although Zhao Jiansheng’s position in the company was not low, he had not been able to get close to the ones who held the most power. If he could go this time, it would be very advantageous for him and his wife. However, since there were other high-level executives who held similar intentions, the competition they faced was not small.

"Grandfather, why did you choose me?"

Zhou Shichang kindly patted him on the shoulder, and said with a satisfied tone: "The branch office is not for those who don’t have the capabilities. Your grandfather chose you for two reasons. One, because you are familiar with the president of Eimer. Two, because without you, who knew how much money the Zhou Group would have lost this time? With all you’ve done, others won’t be able to refuse the fact that you’ve earned the role. Most importantly, your grandfather believes that you will do a good job, and hopes that you will help share my burden of company affairs."

This was already very obvious to Wang Cheng, but it was Zhou Shichang’s first time clearly expressing his desire to cultivate Wang Cheng into his successor. If Zhou Lin heard his words, she would probably die of anger.

Wang Cheng was very happy to be trusted by his elder. "Since Grandfather thinks so highly of me, then I’ll try not to let your expectations down no matter what. I will double my efforts to work harder."

"Okay, it's good that you have such determination." Zhou Shichang knew he was right about this grandson of his. "One more thing: after Assistant Xie leaves, his position will be vacant. Do you know any good candidates for his spot?"

Wang Cheng froze at first when he heard this, then his eyes lit up. His grandfather was giving him a hint. He had mentioned Zhang Wu to his grandfather last time, but nothing came of it. He thought that his grandfather had forgotten about that matter, who would think he still remembered it? Wang Cheng, who had climbed the pole* many times, seized this opportunity.

[T/N: *to act on current momentum of who has power, or to follow a certain higher-up, to gain personal benefits]

"Yes: Zhang Wu, who helped me manage the Dongwang Group, is a good candidate. He had done the most in helping me fully control the Dongwang Group." Zhou Shichang laughed when he saw Wang Cheng rush to recommend him. "But when he leaves, who will manage the Dongwang Group?"

Wang Cheng said, “Isn’t Zhang Wu’s father still there?” Of course, that was only a pretense. In fact, Wang Cheng had already asked for Zhang Wu to cultivate his own successors. Zhang Wu had followed his command, and had several right-hand men with him now. With his dad watching, nothing big was bound to happen. The reason Wang Cheng didn’t say all this outright was because he couldn’t tell his grandfather that they had predicted he would let Zhang Wu into the Zhou Group.

"You li’l slyboots, you’re the same as your mother was when she was young." Zhou Shichang saw his eldest daughter in him at this moment, and couldn't help but sigh and recall the past. Time flew by so fast, and his grandson grew so big in the blink of an eye.

Wang Cheng responded with a laugh.

"I heard that your mother introduced you to the Tang family’s daughter. What did you think of her? You are twenty-five years old this year, so it’s about time you think about getting a girlfriend. Others have already interacted with several girls at your age, but you haven’t with even one. You know, your grandfather still wants to hug a great-grandchild," Zhou Shichang suddenly said. He was quite pleased that this grandson was not like his other grandson, who often went out to mess around. However, if Wang Cheng was too peaceful, that would also make his grandfather anxious.

Wang Cheng didn't expect that the topic would suddenly turn to the issue of having a girlfriend. After hearing his grandfather’s words, he suddenly broke into a cold sweat. How did his grandfather know that he and Tang Jiayan had met? No, no, now was not the time to think about that question. Hundreds of similar thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Wang Cheng was slightly surprised: "How did Grandfather know about this?"

Zhou Shichang laughed and said, "What's so unusual about this? The Tang Group has business dealings with the Zhou Group."

It turned out that this was the case. Wang Cheng felt a little relieved. "Since Grandfather knows, then I won’t lie to you. I didn’t feel much when I was with Miss Tang. Grandfather should know that big companies like the Zhou Group don’t really need business marriages as ‘icing on the cake’. And personally, I advocate dating for romance. It’s normal for me to not have met the right girlfriend. After all, I’d lived in the mountains before, so I naturally didn’t have much of a chance to meet anyone at all."

"Then you follow your own ideas, your grandfather won't rush you."

Wang Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.

After he left the office, Wang Cheng intended to find Xie Wenzhi. However, he was told that he had gone to see President Feng. During the morning meeting, they had already confirmed that Xie Wenzhi would be responsible for the foreign branch. Therefore, Xie Wenzhi would start doing work for his new position today. Many people thought he was quite fortunate to receive such a role. However, after becoming more familiar with his new job, he realized that he was actually responsible for quite a lot of things.

Wang Cheng then called Zhang Wu. Zhang Wu was surprised to receive the call, and assumed it was related to the Dongwang Group. As a result, he was being summoned to work at the Zhou Group headquarters. He almost thought he had heard it wrong.

"Time may be a bit tight, so try and hand your current responsibilities to someone else as soon as possible. The position I recommended you for is very important, many people are eyeing it."

"Don't worry, Zhou Shao, I will get things done as soon as possible. However, there is a problem. Although I have trained a few to take my position a while ago, I don't think they can take on more important tasks. They have insufficient experience and aggression, I am afraid that they may not sufficiently subdue old foxes."

Wang Cheng told Zhang Wu what he had told his grandfather.

Although Zhang Wu was surprised, this was a good idea. He could be rest assured leaving things with his father.

Not long after Wang Cheng hung up, Xie Wenzhi came out.

"Zhou Cheng, what are you doing here?" Xie Wenzhi didn't know that the chairman had appointed Wang Cheng to be in charge of the foreign branch with him.

Wang Cheng smiled and said, "We will be working together in a while. Please advise me in the future."

Xie Wenzhi was taken aback, and then understood after a moment. He immediately smiled and replied, "I’ll be depending on you."

The news spread quickly in the company.

There weren’t many jealous employees because most of them already knew that Wang Cheng had saved them from suffering, this time. It was quite reasonable for the chairman to appoint him to a foreign branch. However, there were still a few people who felt that it was unfair, such as the Zhou Lin husband and wife.

Zhou Lin had originally been thinking of fighting for the open job with her father tonight at home. So, after learning the news, she went crazy in her office, sweeping the things on her table into a mess. Her assistant and secretary didn’t dare to come in, fearing that they’d be treated as gas bags*.

[T/N: *an item to vent into, to take anger out on]

"Father’s intentions to ​​cultivate Zhou Cheng are already obvious. The current situation is very unfavorable for us," Zhao Jiansheng said as he smoked on the sofa. He usually didn’t smoke at the Zhou house because Zhou Shichang didn’t like the smell of cigarettes. As a result, he quit his addiction. However, he occasionally smoked a cigarette when he was upset or irritated. He was also quite unhappy that Wang Cheng was being sent to the foreign branch. He had worked in the Zhou Group for over twenty years. Though he had very high ambitions, he hid them well and worked hard to prove his ability to his father-in-law. However, his father-in-law was always on guard against him, causing him to lose his patience.

"Father made it clear that he doesn’t trust us, what can be done about it?" Zhou Lin was angry, but she didn't want to sit around and wait for death.

Zhao Jiansheng frowned; he also had no solution for this problem. After the company was cleaned up last time, it had become more difficult for them to gain power. Although the two of them had cooperated with Hengyu Group to orchestrate a plan last time, Hengyu was still a hidden danger to them after all.

"Where is Chenlin?"

"Who knows, that stinky boy has been running around out of sight every day since he moved out of the main house. He’s most likely hanging out with that group of fox and dog friends again." The son was a disappointment, and the couple themselves were also having difficulty making progress in the Zhou Group. Zhao Jiansheng felt that his father-in-law might still be suspicious of them after that last information leak of theirs, but didn’t have any evidence against the couple. Because of such concerns, they didn’t dare to make any big moves during this period of time, for fear of being caught in a bind. Then, all their previous efforts would have been in vain.

That night, Wang Cheng did not return to Binhai Garden. It was hard for him to find an excuse not to return to the Zhou house when he’d just returned.

Because of this decision, those who were tracking him did not capture any decisive evidence, nor did they know that Wang Cheng previously stayed in Binhai Garden.

During dinner, Zhou Lin mentioned that Wang Cheng was going abroad. She was obviously internally vomiting blood, but she still pretended to care about Wang Cheng. Wang Cheng felt an oncoming headache when he heard her false ‘loving’ words. This was exactly why he was so reluctant to come back to the Zhou house. Every day, people would put on false faces and pretend to care about him. This situation always made his hands itchy - he was really afraid that one day, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from punching them. In fact, he wouldn’t really mind doing it now.

On a phone call in the evening, Wang Cheng told Chu Yifeng the good news.

Chu Yifeng was actually only staying in China because of him. Now that Wang Cheng was also leaving the country, the two of them could frequently meet abroad instead.

"This is just in time, I will take you to meet my grandfather."

When he heard this, Wang Cheng felt quite unmanly. He still had so many concerns, it was impossible for him to be as confident as Chu Yifeng. "Uh, does your grandfather agree to us being together?"

"He disagrees."

"..."

After half a day, he was able to make up an entire plot in his head.

"I don't agree with you taking me to see your grandfather. Are you trying to get him angry? Your grandfather is too old and might not be able to stand the stimulation. I think you should think twice about this."

Chu Yifeng let out a low laugh. "Don't worry, although he probably won’t agree, he is still quite open-minded, and will not suppress his youngsters or cut off our relationship like ordinary elders over here. Then again, if you do IVF like Yuan Xia, the old man will most likely accept you without saying a word."

Wang Cheng didn’t know what expression to make anymore.

***

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