Moreover, Wang Fugui knew Cheng Gui very well.
He was well aware that Cheng Gui had extremely high standards and was very particular about etiquette.
However, what Wang Fugui never expected was...
...that Jiang Cheng, at such a young age, would actually address Cheng Gui as "Old Cheng."
And Cheng Gui didn't show the slightest hint of displeasure or resentment toward it.
What did this mean??
It meant that in his heart, Cheng Gui regarded Jiang Cheng as someone of equal status to himself.
"Regarding the project in the eastern region, ever since the contract was signed, you've vanished into thin air; I haven't even seen a glimpse of you. Aren't you worried at all..."
Before Cheng Gui could finish, Jiang Cheng interrupted directly, "Hey, why would I show up? Do I not trust you??"
In reality, although Jiang Cheng hadn't appeared...
...Chen Xueer and his father's Jiangtai Building Materials had been closely following the project.
Therefore, there was no need for Jiang Cheng to make an appearance personally.
Cheng Gui's remark was just casual small talk.
However, he was still very pleased that Jiang Cheng gave him so much face.
"Hahaha, that is my honor."
Ever since Tianlong Real Estate collaborated with Jiang Cheng and Ansheng to develop that plot of land in the eastern region...
...the pressure of being besieged that Tianlong Real Estate faced in Chengdu had clearly lessened significantly.
Recalling how he had run around for years for this land, begging everyone he could...
...only for the project to be constantly delayed and unable to break ground.
Cheng Gui couldn't help but be filled with emotion.
Now, after collaborating with Jiang Cheng, everything was smooth sailing.
Especially when Cheng Gui saw Yuanlong Real Estate, which had always suppressed him...
...now being so wary of him.
When they didn't even dare to make a move easily, a surge of indescribable pride welled up in his heart.
Although he had given up a lot of profit...
...and ceded forty-nine percent of the shares in the eastern region to Xingchen...
...and even the building materials project was contracted to Jiang Jianming's Jiangtai Building Materials...
But it was all worth it to him.
After all, he had traded half his profits for the chance to stand tall in Chengdu for the next few years.
That was something money couldn't buy.
After some brief pleasantries, Cheng Gui suddenly took the initiative to ask, "And this is?"
Jiang Cheng replied, "This is the supervisor of the sales department of the clinker company under my Jiangtai company. She is responsible for the orders of clinker and cement in the eastern region."
Jiang Cheng didn't mention that she was his girlfriend's mother.
That was because Cheng Gui happened to be in the real estate business.
There was an overlap in their business.
Hearing this, Cheng Gui seemed to understand something, and his gaze became somewhat subtle.
Fang Yuan looked a few years older than Jiang Cheng.
But these days, relationships where the woman is older than the man are not uncommon in society.
Cheng Gui pretended to be completely unaware of the situation.
With a smile on his face, he politely extended his hand and took the initiative to shake hands with Fang Yuan.
He said, "Supervisor Fang, hello. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Fang Yuan also responded politely, "President Cheng, Happy New Year."
After the pleasantries, Cheng Gui seemed to suddenly remember something.
He turned around and casually introduced the girl following him to Jiang Cheng: "Oh, right, this is my secretary, Zhang Ting."
As soon as Cheng Gui finished speaking, Zhang Ting quickly stepped forward.
She greeted Jiang Cheng and Fang Yuan with a smile: "President Jiang, Supervisor Fang, Happy New Year."
Jiang Cheng and Fang Yuan also responded with a smile: "Happy New Year."
To be honest, when he first saw Zhang Ting...
...Jiang Cheng had internally assumed that Zhang Ting was Cheng Gui's daughter.
But now, bringing a secretary out to dinner on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year...
It seemed this Cheng Gui was not simple either.
Sigh, what a pity for such a nice girl.
As Cheng Gui's private secretary, Zhang Ting had been secretly delighted that Cheng Gui brought her out on the fifth day of the New Year.
But once she saw Jiang Cheng in person, that joy vanished without a trace.
She even suddenly felt that everything had become dull and uninteresting.
Especially when she heard Cheng Gui mention the project in the eastern region, she immediately understood Jiang Cheng's identity.
She hadn't expected the head of Xingchen Investment Company to be so young and handsome.
Why hadn't she met such a handsome boss??
Recalling when she had just graduated...
...Zhang Ting's fantasy was to join a large company as a secretary...
...and then start a sweet yet forceful love story with the company's overbearing CEO.
After all, all fantasy novels followed this trope.
Even if the female lead was just an ordinary girl, she could receive the CEO's doting affection.
In comparison, she had not only graduated from a 211 university but was also quite outstanding in appearance.
Surely such opportunities would be even more plentiful for her.
However, while the imagination was beautiful, reality was harsh.
After moving through several companies...
...there were CEOs, but most were balding, middle-aged, and overweight "overbearing presidents."
After a long time of searching and trying, Zhang Ting finally began to accept this reality helplessly.
After all, as she grew older, the fantasy she had held onto for years gradually shattered.
Under the heavy blow of reality, she had to bow her head...
...and chose Cheng Gui, whose physique was still reasonably well-maintained.
Just when she thought she had seen through it all...
...Jiang Cheng, this young, overbearing CEO, suddenly burst into her sight.
Now, after witnessing a young CEO like Jiang Cheng...
...Zhang Ting's heart was filled with nothing but frantic jealousy and envy toward Fang Yuan.
Why was she so lucky to receive Jiang Cheng's favor?
While she herself could only struggle in the mire of reality.
Boohoo~
"When you have time, come to my home; I'll cook personally and treat you to a meal."
Hearing these words from Cheng Gui's mouth made Wang Fugui's heart tremble.
One must know that for the wealthy, a home banquet is the highest level of hospitality.
Typically, only extremely close friends or important guests receive such treatment.
And now, Cheng Gui was actually going to cook personally to prepare a meal for Jiang Cheng.
This undoubtedly showed that his level of regard for Jiang Cheng was extraordinary.
Wait, eastern region? Jiang Cheng?
Wang Fugui suddenly remembered, wasn't Jiang Cheng the son of the boss of Jiangtai Building Materials?
At this thought, Wang Fugui's legs suddenly felt a bit weak.
What he feared and was wary of was naturally not the assets or scale of Jiangtai Building Materials.
To be honest, this company was only considered mid-level in the local building materials industry.
Its scale wasn't particularly large.
However, an incident that happened previously had made Wang Fugui look at Jiangtai Building Materials in a new light.
That was their successful blacklisting of Qin Cheng.
After all, generally speaking, it was real estate companies that blacklisted building materials companies.
But surprisingly, a building materials company like theirs was able to unite various banks...
...to impose a comprehensive blockade on Qin Cheng's real estate company.
Moreover, Tianlong Real Estate, as the second-largest real estate company in Chengdu...
...had actually taken the initiative to cooperate with them.
It was simply incredible.
After some conversation, Cheng Gui suddenly remembered Wang Fugui standing to the side.
Cheng Gui turned his gaze toward Wang Fugui and asked curiously, "Why are you standing here? Do you know each other?"
The corners of Jiang Cheng's mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.
His long, fair fingers lightly tapped the tabletop, producing a crisp sound.
He replied unhurriedly, "I don't know him. President Wang was just... giving me some life guidance."
Seeing Jiang Cheng's half-smiling expression, Wang Fugui felt a chill run up his spine.
His face instantly turned as pale as paper.
Recalling his arrogant and overbearing manner from moments ago, his heart was filled with intense regret.
Fine beads of sweat began to break out on his forehead.
His lips trembled slightly as he tried to force a smile that looked worse than crying.
He stammered, "This... I didn't expect you to be the son of Jiangtai Building Materials. I've heard so much about you! Just now, I failed to recognize your greatness and offended you. I hope you are magnanimous enough not to lower yourself to the level of someone as blind as me."
Seeing Wang Fugui admit his mistake so straightforwardly...
...Fang Yuan couldn't help but glance at Jiang Cheng in surprise.
When Jiang Cheng dealt with Fang Wende last time, Fang Yuan knew that Jiang Cheng's family background in Chengdu was very unusual.
And now, witnessing Cheng Gui's polite attitude toward Jiang Cheng again, along with Wang Fugui's obvious submission...
...it caused Fang Yuan's estimation of Jiang Cheng's background to be elevated several levels once more.
Cheng Gui's gaze swept back and forth between Jiang Cheng, Fang Yuan, and Wang Fugui.
Finally, his gaze rested on Wang Fugui's flushed face.
Before Jiang Cheng could even speak, Cheng Gui impatiently asked, "What exactly is going on?"
Although it wasn't Cheng Gui himself who was offended by Wang Fugui...
...Cheng Gui happened to be here to have dinner with him today.
Now that a conflict had arisen between Wang Fugui and Jiang Cheng...
...Cheng Gui felt he had to express his stance and pick a side.
Wang Fugui's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and fine sweat seeped from his forehead.
He opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound, only looking at Fang Yuan as if for help.
Seeing this, Fang Yuan turned her face away.
Her slender fingers lightly stroked the rim of the celadon teacup, clearly having no intention of bailing him out.
This was Jiang Cheng's home field; what could she possibly say?
Anything she said would be inappropriate.
Seeing Cheng Gui eagerly standing up for him...
...Jiang Cheng began to sip his tea unhurriedly.
This was the benefit of having power and influence.
When something happens, the people around you rush forward faster and are more anxious than you are.
"This... it's all my fault for being blind. I didn't know this lady was Mr. Jiang's..."
Wang Fugui finally squeezed out a sentence.
His voice was as dry as sandpaper rubbing together.
As he spoke, he stole a glance at Jiang Cheng sitting nearby.
He saw that Jiang Cheng was sipping his tea unhurriedly.
His long fingers lightly stroked the rim of the celadon cup, as if he didn't care about anything in front of him.
Seeing this, a flash of understanding crossed Cheng Gui's eyes.
He knew the ways of these scions of wealthy families all too well.
The more nonchalant they appeared, the more it indicated that the matter wouldn't be easily settled.
"Old Wang." Cheng Gui suddenly sighed.
Then he turned to look at Wang Fugui, the smile on his face now completely gone.
He unhurriedly turned the thumb ring on his left hand.
His voice, which had been somewhat gentle, suddenly became ice-cold.
"I remember that loan you asked me to guarantee last month..."
Before he could finish, Wang Fugui felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
His body shook violently, and he staggered back two steps.
That short-term loan of up to two hundred million was practically the lifeblood of his company.
If Cheng Gui were to suddenly withdraw his guarantee now...
...then his company would very likely fall into the predicament of a broken capital chain.
His face turned as pale as paper in an instant, and a layer of fine sweat broke out on his forehead.
Wang Fugui knew very well in his heart.
At this moment, no matter what he said to Cheng Gui, it would be to no avail.
The only way was to get Jiang Cheng to forgive him.
"President Jiang!" Wang Fugui almost lunged toward the table.
In his panic, his expensive suit knocked over a sauce dish on the table, splashing sauce everywhere.
Fang Yuan was startled by the sudden commotion.
Her hand loosened, and the spoon she was holding drifted to the floor like a feather.
Jiang Cheng's reaction was very swift; he bent down quickly to pick it up.
The moment he leaned over, his warm breath lightly brushed against Fang Yuan's slender ankle...
...like a breeze passing over a lake, causing an imperceptible ripple.
"Miss... Miss Fang," Wang Fugui's voice carried a sob, "I was foul-mouthed just now. Please be magnanimous... I won't bother you ever again."
Hearing this, Fang Yuan's heart softened.
Besides bombarding her with messages, Wang Fugui hadn't actually done anything out of line.
The only excessive thing was his threat just now to blacklist her.
Just because of that sentence... Fang Yuan glanced at Jiang Cheng.
She didn't know if it was appropriate for her to speak up in this situation.
After all, Jiang Cheng had taken a stance to stand up for her.
Fang Yuan stared at Jiang Cheng, secretly trying to gauge his intentions.
Just then, Zhou Ying returned from the restroom.
She saw two more people at the dining table.
One of them was Wang Fugui, who was pursuing Fang Yuan.
However, the expression on Wang Fugui's face was clearly not good.
His usually dignified body was now humbly bowed.
Zhou Ying immediately understood what was going on.
Seeing Zhou Ying return, Jiang Cheng introduced her to Cheng Gui.
"This is my girlfriend, Zhou Ying."
Then, he turned to Zhou Ying and introduced, "This is the head of Tianlong Real Estate, Cheng Gui."
With a smile, Zhou Ying politely nodded to Cheng Gui and said softly, "Hello, President Cheng."
"Hello, hello," Cheng Gui replied quickly, but his gaze involuntarily fell on Zhou Ying.
He was surprised to find that Zhou Ying and Fang Yuan looked very similar, almost as if they were cast from the same mold.
Cheng Gui couldn't help but take another look at Fang Yuan, thinking to himself, "Did I misunderstand just now? This Fang Yuan isn't Jiang Cheng's girlfriend?"
But he had clearly felt an ambiguous atmosphere between Jiang Cheng and Fang Yuan just moments ago.
Just then, Zhou Ying suddenly asked, "Mom, are you okay?"
These words were like a clap of thunder exploding in Cheng Gui's ears.
An expression of shock instantly appeared on his face, and his body involuntarily stiffened.
He never imagined that Zhou Ying and Fang Yuan were actually mother and daughter.
This Fang Yuan had defied aging too well; she looked barely older than Zhou Ying.