The world of film and television starts from a young age.

Chapter 2229 Connections and Relationships, Mother-Daughter Conversation

"President Zhou!"

"President Zhou!"

In a building in Lujiazui, Zhou Chen took the elevator to the sixteenth floor. As soon as he entered the company, the two young women at the front desk immediately stood up and greeted him respectfully.

Zhou Chen nodded to them and casually asked, "Did President Cui come to the company today?"

"Yes, Mr. Cui arrived at the company early this morning."

"Ah."

Zhou Chen nodded slightly and then walked into the company. As he walked, the employees greeted him one after another.

Although Chenxing is a securities investment company that has only been established for a few years, its development has been very rapid. In just a few years, the company has grown to a financial center location like Lujiazui, and has rented two floors of buildings with more than 100 employees.

Although Cui Zhihua is now basically in charge of the company, everyone in the company knows that Zhou Chen is the real power behind the scenes.

Zhou Chen didn't go to his own office, but went directly to Cui Zhihua's office and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Zhou Chen pushed open the door and entered. Cui Zhihua, who was busy at work, looked up and was immediately surprised when he saw Zhou Chen.

"When did you get back? Didn't you go to Nanjing to chase after your girlfriend?"

His tone was teasing. His relationship with Zhou Chen was not just that of a superior and subordinate. He had been Zhou Chen's teacher before, and their relationship was both that of a mentor and a friend. So even though he was now working for Zhou Chen, their relationship was much better than that of colleagues.

Zhou Chen walked over and sat down opposite Cui Zhihua, leaning back in his chair.

"She's not my girlfriend yet."

"It's only a matter of time. I've known you for seven or eight years, and this is the first time I've seen you so serious about a girl. When you pulled me into starting the company and were busy with work, I never saw you this serious. When will you bring a girl over? I'd really like to see what kind of girl can captivate you."

Cui Zhihua was Zhou Chen's teacher before, and now he has been working with Zhou Chen in business for several years. He knows Zhou Chen quite well, which is why he is even more curious.

Zhou Chen said confidently, "If nothing unexpected happens, I will be able to bring it to you, Teacher Cui, soon, within this year."

"Then I'll wait and see."

After the casual conversation, Cui Zhihua's expression turned serious.

"It's good that you're back. I have two things that are a bit difficult to resolve. Could you take a look at them first?"

He took two folders from his desk and handed them to Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen took it and opened one of the folders, but after only a few glances, he frowned.

"Fundraising? Ha, are they trying to freeload?"

Cui Zhihua said with a sneer, "They're just trying to freeload. And this is after I refused them once. When they came to me before, do you know what they were thinking? They actually wanted to invest in our Chenxing. The price they offered wasn't low, but they underestimated our company's potential and your abilities. I knew you definitely wouldn't agree to let others invest, so I directly rejected them."

"However, there are still a few people who are quite persistent. Since they can't invest, they actually came up with this idea: to inject capital into our company without taking any shares. They just want us to use their money to invest and generate returns for them. As you said, it can be considered fundraising."

"This time I didn't completely refuse. I planned to let it cool down for a while and then discuss it with you. Now that you're back, you can decide."

After reading the contents, Zhou Chen put down the folder and said with a half-smile, "These second-generation rich kids have many ways to make money, but their spending is also high, and most of them are shady. They don't want to cause trouble for their parents, so they want to make money through legitimate means. They are all Wu Hai's friends?"

Cui Zhihua nodded slightly: "It was Wu Hai who acted as the go-between before."

Wu Hai is the only son of a high-ranking official in Shanghai. He has a good relationship with Zhou Chen. Having lived through dozens of worlds, Zhou Chen naturally knows that it is difficult for a simple businessman to establish himself. Therefore, he makes friends with officials, not seeking help, but only seeking stability and less trouble.

Wu Hai has a good personality and is very good at handling things, so Zhou Chen has helped him make a lot of money. Over time, their relationship has naturally become better and better.

Zhou Chen thought for a moment and said, "If they don't have too much capital or a big appetite, then it's fine to help them make money. But we also need to be prepared for the worst. These people are not trustworthy. Just be on good terms with them. Teacher Cui, you need to be careful about this."

Actually, he didn't want to deal with these messy things at all, but when you're in the world, you can't help yourself, and you still have to maintain necessary connections. Fortunately, he has Cui Zhihua as his capable assistant, so he doesn't have to do many things himself.

Cui Zhihua said irritably, "I'm unlucky to have met a boss like you. I really don't know how I was bewitched by you. I gave up such an easy job as a university teacher and insisted on coming here to be your slave. If I hadn't left, I might have been promoted to professor by now."

Zhou Chen said with a smile, "The professor is good, but President Cui is not bad either."

Cui Zhihua smiled. President Cui is indeed better. Since he and Zhou Chen left university to start their own business, both their careers and families have developed greatly.

Although being a teacher was a good job with a decent income, it wasn't enough to support my wife and children. After all, this is Shanghai, and as outsiders, it's not easy to build a family business. Moreover, the pressure of life was immense, which led to various conflicts between my husband and me.

But things are different now. He earns more and more money, his status in the family is rising, and the old family squabbles and conflicts are long gone. The family is now happy, and the relationship between husband and wife is exceptionally blissful.

Therefore, he often has to lament that money is a man's dignity and face, and that only when a man has money will a woman listen to him. Although this is unpleasant to hear, it is the reality.

"There's one more thing. I've been observing that project you have for a long time. It's a technology product that I think has a great market potential, and I'm interested in investing in it. But we're not the only ones eyeing this technology company; there are several others. And according to our team's estimates, investing in it might require a lot of capital."

"This matter requires the approval of the big boss like you."

"Integrated circuits and chips..."

Zhou Chen's eyes lit up. In this era and at this time, the domestic demand for chips was particularly strong, and the industry's development prospects were also very good.

So he sat up straight and read on seriously, but after he finished reading, he frowned.

After a long pause, he spoke again.

"Teacher Cui, let's give up on this project."

Upon hearing this, Cui Zhihua immediately became anxious: "Give up? Why? I think this company has great potential. Their technology is quite mature, and their research direction is excellent. As long as they have enough funds and time, they will definitely succeed. If they succeed, we will reap huge rewards, and it will also benefit the country and the people. Why not invest in such a good project?"

Faced with Cui Zhihua's eagerness, Zhou Chen slowly explained, "Teacher Cui, what you said is all correct, but as you also said, this requires a lot of funds and time. Investing in this project is equivalent to gambling. It is good for the country and the people, that's true. If it were me personally, I wouldn't mind investing in this project, but from the company's perspective, this project is not suitable."

"Can……"

Cui Zhihua wanted to say more, but Zhou Chen just shook his head.

“Teacher Cui, I know you have lofty aspirations and want to do more than just make money. You also want to contribute to society. But that’s how it is to run a company. We have to be responsible for all the employees in the company.”

After hearing Zhou Chen's words, Cui Zhihua remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh.

He was well aware that the return on this investment was uncertain, and his desire to invest was partly driven by personal motives. Zhou Chen was right; this project was not the optimal choice.

After discussing the project, Cui Zhihua told Zhou Chen about some recent developments in the company. Zhou Chen sat in his office for over an hour before leaving.

Back in his office, Zhou Chen's secretary immediately placed all the prepared items on his desk and then reported on the company's recent situation, which was largely consistent with what Cui Zhihua had said. So after she finished speaking, Zhou Chen waved for her to leave.

Now that he was all alone, Zhou Chen didn't immediately deal with the matter. Instead, he thought about his conversation with Cui Zhihua.

Zhou Chen has high hopes for Cui Zhihua. He is capable, has strong execution skills, and is very insightful. To him, Cui Zhihua is an excellent manager and spokesperson.

But with advantages come disadvantages. Although Cui Zhihua is now the CEO of the company, in addition to making money, he also has a heart that wants to contribute to society.

To be honest, Zhou Chen admired Cui Zhihua's desire to contribute to society and the country, but as a businessman, Cui Zhihua's idea was a bit too naive. Fortunately, Cui Zhihua was relatively easy to persuade.

Shaking off these thoughts, Zhou Chen began to deal with the accumulated tasks.

…………

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye!
Nie Xiguang and Jiang Rui, who had been studying abroad, finally returned to China after two months of travel.

The feeling of being grounded made Nie Xiguang feel much more relaxed. Even after so much time had passed, she still hadn't changed her fear of flying; she could only barely suppress it.

After returning to China, Nie Xiguang first sent his cousin Jiang Rui home, and then returned to his own home in Wuxi the next day.

Jiang Yun, as a mother, naturally missed her daughter very much after she had been abroad for so many days. As soon as her daughter returned, she cooked a lot of delicious food for Nie Xiguang.

Nie Xiguang ate heartily the food his mother had made, while Jiang Yun looked at the photos Nie Xiguang had taken one by one.

"You look thinner in these photos. Did you go to Europe for a study tour, or are you on a diet?"

Nie Xiguang said with a bitter face, "Mom, you know how bad European food is. I thought at least their cakes would be good, but they're so sweet that even I, a Wuxi native, can't stand them. But don't worry, I'll eat my fill in the time it takes to get back to China in just half a month."

Seeing Nie Xiguang swallowing large mouthfuls, Jiang Yun patiently advised, "Don't engage in revenge eating. Just eat normally."

"Okay, I understand, Mom."

After Nie Xiguang had finished eating, Jiang Yun spoke again: "You've been playing for two months. Now that you're back, you need to settle down and get back to work. The firm called a couple of days ago to ask if you wanted to come back. By the way, didn't you say you were going to look for a job? How's the job search going?"

Nie Xiguang replied, "One company in Suzhou, two companies in Nanjing, and two companies in Shanghai have sent me job offers. However, only the one in Suzhou said I could start work in September. The others said they would notify me when there are available positions."

"What kind of companies are they?"

“There’s an accounting firm in Nanjing and a Fortune 500 foreign firm. In Suzhou, there’s a private manufacturing company that produces photovoltaic panels. In Shanghai, there are two companies, one a private enterprise and the other a foreign-invested enterprise, and they’re all related to finance.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun looked slightly surprised and asked, "What's the name of that company in Suzhou?"

"Shuangyuan Photovoltaic Technology!"

Jiang Yun was genuinely surprised to hear her daughter mention the company's name. She then told Nie Xiguang about the origins of Shuangyuan Photovoltaic Technology.

Nie Xiguang was very surprised after hearing this. She didn't expect that the company she randomly invested in would actually be her own family's company. What a coincidence!

Then Jiang Yun said something that surprised Nie Xiguang even more: her father, Nie Chengyuan, wanted her to work remotely and become his successor.

“Yuancheng is a business that your father and I built together. Although we are divorced now, you are still his only daughter. Now that you are all grown up, it is normal for him to have this idea. However, whether or not you go to Yuancheng depends on your own thoughts. Whatever decision you make, Mom will support you.”

Things happened so suddenly that Nie Xiguang was completely unprepared and didn't know what to do. So he listened to Jiang Yun's advice to go see her father first and talk to him before making a decision.

Two days later, Jiang Yun asked Nie Xiguang about his thoughts again.

She only has one daughter, Nie Xiguang, and everything she thinks about is for Nie Xiguang. With their family's conditions, even if Nie Xiguang does nothing, she will live a good life. But she doesn't want her daughter to do that. She supports Nie Xiguang to work and shine in the workplace.

"Xiguang, have you thought it through?"

Nie Xiguang looked conflicted. She had been thinking about where to work for the past few days, but she couldn't make a decision no matter how much she thought about it.

"I haven't decided yet. My dad wants me to work remotely, but what could I do there?"

Jiang Yun was very intelligent. As soon as she heard her daughter's words, she knew that her daughter did not want to go to the remote area.

"It's better if you don't go remotely. Actually, Mom doesn't really support you going remotely either, but it's not because of Mom's selfishness. It's because Mom doesn't want you to get caught up in the complicated situation caused by the breakdown of my relationship with your father. That would make you feel torn and unhappy. Maybe we can talk about it when you are strong and mature enough."

Nie Xiguang's eyes reddened, and he nodded vigorously: "Mom, I'll listen to you, I won't go to the remote location."

Jiang Yun held Nie Xiguang's hand and said softly, "If you don't want to go to a remote place, then Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, which place do you want to go to? These are all jobs you found yourself."

Nie Xiguang said weakly again, "I don't know, I haven't thought about it yet."

"You want to go to Shanghai."

Jiang Yun immediately guessed Nie Xiguang's thoughts, and then asked, "Is it because of that young man named Zhou Chen?"

Nie Xiguang's face instantly turned red, and he frantically waved his hands.

"I didn't, Mom, it wasn't because of him, I, I..."

Jiang Yun smiled gently and said, "There's no need to be in such a hurry. I've been through this before, so I understand how you feel. At this age when you're just starting to fall in love, you've met such an outstanding man who treats you so well. Of course you're going to be moved. I understand."

Nie Xiguang looked embarrassed and said in a coquettish tone, "Mom, it's not what you think. Zhou Chen and I are just good friends now."

"Now?"

"mom……"

Jiang Yun smiled, stopped teasing, and reached out to stroke Nie Xiguang's head, her eyes full of affection.

“Xiguang, you’ve grown up. I’ve said before that I won’t interfere with your relationships. It’s your own business, and only you can make the decisions. I won’t interfere with your love life, but I still want to give you some advice about your work.”

"Mom, please speak, I'm listening."

I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry. I only woke up now. I remember I set a timer to post yesterday, but my brain malfunctioned and I failed to post it. I'm really sorry everyone. This chapter is from yesterday, and I'll post today's later.