2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 668 Pregnancy in the Family
The hospital's examination results are out.

I'm seven weeks pregnant now, which happened around National Day. My due date is around July next year.

"You silly child, it's been so long since your period started, how come you didn't even notice?"

Li Jinzhen muttered complaints to Gu Qingqing in Yiwu dialect, feeling both happy and scared, as the three months prior were the most dangerous time.

"We never thought of that. We assumed it would be postponed, which has happened before."

Gu Qingqing was also a little scared, but after all, she was only 22 years old and had never experienced such a scene before.

Tan Jincheng does understand these things, but he's been too busy lately.

"Eat a balanced diet, quit smoking and drinking, and avoid strenuous activities. There's nothing else to worry about. You and Mr. Gu are both so young and healthy, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Okay, thank you, Dr. Li."

"Of course, I've prescribed some folic acid and such. You can take it home with you later. If you need anything, your family doctor can contact us."

The Tan family has a family doctor, but he only takes care of minor illnesses and injuries; for serious illnesses, you still have to go to the hospital.

Tan Jincheng and his entire family went straight to the hospital early in the morning without trying to hide it from anyone. Beicang is such a small place, and in less than half a day, Tan Jincheng received many phone calls.

A celebrity once said that when you have money and status, you are surrounded by good people.

The significance of Flash Group, Weilai Auto, and Orange Technology to Beicang is self-evident. The fact that Boss Tan and his wife personally led their entire family to the hospital so early in the morning clearly indicates that this is no small matter.

"Pregnant? Holy crap!"

Tan Jincheng had just arrived home when Zhang Xupeng, who was busy with Double Eleven shopping, and Nie Ruoxi, who was keeping an eye on things at the 4S store, arrived at his door, along with Zhang Guolong and his wife.

After being stunned for a moment, Zhang Xupeng realized what was going on: "No wonder you looked so radiant last night, treating people to late-night snacks and giving out red envelopes."

"Haha, I wasn't quite sure last night, so I didn't tell you. You'd better work hard, kid. Now my child is the boss, but you shouldn't fall too far behind."

The two are the same age, with Zhang Xupeng being a few months older. They often argued about this when they were young.

"Depend on!"

At this moment, Zhang Xupeng felt that he had wasted a lot of time. Nie Ruoxi, who was standing next to him, blushed slightly and felt a little embarrassed. Gu Qingqing was also at a loss for words.

"What's the point of comparing these things? We've been comparing them since we were kids, why are we comparing them to the next generation?"

The elderly couples found it amusing, and at the same time marveled at how good the relationship between the two was, that it hadn't changed even now, which was truly rare.

Those who were close to her came directly to her home, while those who couldn't visit in person called. While Tan Jincheng was on the phone, news of Gu Qingqing's pregnancy spread among the mainstream people in Beicang.

"Congratulations! That's great news, haha."

Zhao Jinsheng laughed heartily on the other end of the phone. It was his boss who had asked him to make the call. Weilai Auto was in a period of rapid growth, and today was also Singles' Day, a major promotional day for Orange Products and GXG. He heard that Gu Qingqing, who was originally scheduled to go to Orange Technology last night to oversee things, also canceled at the last minute.

Tan Jincheng left after appearing at each of the two companies for less than half an hour.

At such a crucial moment, Tan Jincheng and his entire family rushed to the hospital early in the morning. It would be a lie to say that the leaders of Beicang were not nervous upon hearing the news.

They knew a bit about Tan Jincheng's personality. He valued his family, and as a young man, he was prone to impulsiveness. If something happened at home, he would really dare to abandon his family.

Not only was she fine after getting pregnant, but she actually got better.

"Thank you, Secretary Zhao. Please give my regards to the leadership. I'll be reporting to them in a few days."

Weilai Auto's actual sales in November should be around 10,000 vehicles, or even more. Even if calculated based on the lowest ex-factory price, the output value of the Beicang Weilai factory in November exceeded 700 million yuan.

In the fourth quarter of 2009 alone, Weilai Automobile will bring at least 15 billion yuan more to the industrial output value of Beicang District.

This wasn't part of the plan; we have to get something out of it somehow.

In 2008, Beicang District's GDP was 423 billion yuan. 15 billion yuan would account for 3.5% of Beicang District's GDP in 2008, which is no small amount. Moreover, there is also the Leichi project, which has already received orders for 5000 vehicles.

5000 vehicles have already been delivered to the dealers, and the payments have been made. This is also counted as part of the production value.

Although it can't compare to Weilai Auto, even without considering its contract manufacturing for Zhongtai, the sales volume of 5000 vehicles alone is enough to make Leichi New Energy a large-scale enterprise.

All of Tan Jincheng's businesses are now large-scale industrial enterprises.

"Alright, alright, I'll send Secretary Zeng a copy of the leader's schedule later. I'll take my leave now, President Tan."

"Thank you for your help, Secretary Zhao."

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jinsheng immediately reported the situation with Tan Jincheng to his superiors, who were very pleased to hear it.

"That's great! This kid has an heir now, so he should be more mature. Let's prepare a small gift to send over."

For thousands of years, traditional culture has held the belief that "a young man with no experience is unreliable." While Flash Group seemed to be very popular a few years ago, it was actually more like "heating the fire with oil"—a company run by a young bachelor, which was in danger of collapsing at any moment.

Most people who follow along and invest to make money do so with a sense of distrust.

This mindset only changed after Tan Jincheng got married last year. Flash Motors also began its rapid development after his marriage. Now his wife is pregnant, which is good news for both the district and investors. It's rare for a single person to have a lot of money, and it's also rare for a single person to wield significant power. Even if you're already very successful, you can't avoid some strange and suspicious glances.

This mindset is difficult to change in a short period of time.

Getting married and having children was a choice made jointly by Tan Jincheng and Gu Qingqing, and it also aligns with the factors that contribute to the company's stable development.

Today's hot topic is Singles' Day, with major e-commerce platforms launching a plethora of promotions. Employees at Orange Products and Jinpeng Industrial's e-commerce division are working themselves to the bone, but senior leaders seem completely unconcerned about the Singles' Day data.

At least that's how it looks on the surface.

Tan Jincheng didn't go to the company, and Zhang Xupeng's family spent the whole afternoon at Tan Jincheng's house. Even little Tan Jinyue didn't go to school today.

In the afternoon, senior executives from headquarters frequently came to offer their congratulations, while senior executives from other regions who had heard the news also called to congratulate him. It was as if the ministers in ancient times were uneasy if the emperor did not appoint a crown prince.

Although the boss is still very young, he is capable of managing the company for decades and there is no need to worry about the issue of succession. However, whether or not a successor is needed is one thing, and whether or not one exists is another.

This inexplicable feeling reassured the executives.

Nie Ruoxi, who rarely gets to spend an afternoon at Boss Tan's house, mainly spent her time chatting with Gu Qingqing about private topics between women.

Although Nie Ruoxi is a bit older than Gu Qingqing, she can't compare to Gu Qingqing in terms of presence. In front of the knowledgeable Gu Qingqing, she seems more like a little sister.

Zhang Xupeng was responsible for chatting with the elders and also playing with little Tan Jinyue.

After a day and a night, little Tan Jinyue has figured out her generational order; she's going to be an aunt.

Although I don't quite understand what "aunt" means.

Children's happiness is simple. Even now, no one in the Tan family is so foolish as to say anything like "Your brother doesn't like you anymore after he had his own child" in front of little Tan Jinyue.

More importantly, she didn't have to go to school today, which made her extremely happy.

Tan Jincheng, equally overjoyed, was busy dealing with guests and answering the phone; it was truly a peaceful scene.

It was late at night, and all the guests had left.

The young couple lay in bed, with Gu Qingqing leaning against Tan Jincheng's chest.

"Hehe, this year marks our sixth year of knowing each other. Next year, our baby will be born, so will we no longer have the so-called seven-year itch?"

It's true that Tan Jincheng's thought process is sometimes a bit hard for others to follow. After a happy day, he was lying in bed thinking about this.

Gu Qingqing gently punched him: "I think you should still go to school. The doctor said that as long as you don't do strenuous exercise, you'll be fine."

Tan Jincheng was a little worried that the baby's position might be unstable, so he suggested that Gu Qingqing not go to school for a while. However, Gu Qingqing didn't want to just stay at home and do nothing.

"If you really want to go, it's not impossible. Besides Sister Man, I'll also assign you a secretary to go with you. Also, take my car; it's much safer than your supercar."

"You agreed?"

"There's nothing I can't agree to. It's good to have some activities. But you need to be especially careful. If you have any reactions, you need to speak up immediately. We can't let it be like this time. Luckily, we haven't done anything special recently."

"What are you saying? You're getting inappropriate again after just a couple of sentences. But what are you going to do while I'm pregnant? Won't you do something inappropriate?"

Women are prone to overthinking once they become pregnant, and this is often the first thing they start to worry about.

"It's okay, just be careful for a few months before and after, it's not like it'll be bad forever. Besides, it's been so long, don't you still not believe me?"

"That's hard to say. In the past, it would only take a few days at most, but now it can take several months."

"Don't overthink it, no way; and besides, did you ever think about having my child six years ago?"

The standard response is not to argue with her at this point, but to simply say no without any hesitation, and at the same time change the subject.

Boss Tan has exceptional emotional intelligence.

Gu Qingqing was indeed diverted from such a sentimental topic: "How could that be? I just wanted to make some money off you back then."

On that afternoon in 2004, Gu Qingqing accepted her senior's invitation, but also met with Tan Jincheng with some wariness. At that time, Tan Jincheng, who had only recently come ashore, still had somewhat dark skin.

From a distance, he does have a bit of Louis Koo's look, but no one could have imagined that he would marry this small business owner who carries a stack of documents and does everything himself.

It's really dreamy.

"By the way, how about we treat my senior to a meal? She's kind of our matchmaker."

"You've decided. Set a time and I'll go with you."

That senior student who studied fashion design now works in the design department of Jinpeng Industrial. She is a junior manager in the design department, and she is in charge of designing Tan Jincheng's ideas for Hanfu elements.

"Okay, I'll ask her about it tomorrow. Let's go to bed now. But you didn't check the Singles' Day sales figures all day."

"Whatever, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)