Chapter 229
Zhuang Family
Zhuang Zhenyang paced back and forth in the room. Su Manqing looked at him helplessly. “What’s wrong with you?”
“I have a friend who attended Crescent’s wine-tasting event.”
Zhuang Zhenyang loved wine and had befriended several like-minded people, including two professional sommeliers.
Su Manqing nodded with an “Oh.”
Zhuang Zhenyang took a deep breath. “He said he tasted authentic Monkey Wine and a certain honey wine—so good that if you could drink two more glasses, you’d die without regrets.”
“Haven’t you drunk them before?”
“That’s different,” Zhuang Zhenyang shook his head. “What I had was blended. He drank the real thing.”
The wine Chu Feng had given him before had long been finished, and hearing that Crescent would soon release a large batch made him itch all over, as if a hundred mice were scratching in his chest.
Su Manqing suggested, “It’ll be on sale in a few days. Go grab some then.”
Zhuang Zhenyang shook his head. “The ones that come out will all be diluted.”
He sighed inwardly—his son’s company was selling wine, and yet as the father, he still had to scramble for it like any ordinary customer. If word got out, he’d die of embarrassment. In fact, the current situation was already enough for people to laugh at him.
Seeing him racking his brain so seriously, Su Manqing thought to herself, He never looked this focused when the company was in trouble. “Why don’t you just call Feixue?” she suggested.
Zhuang Zhenyang nodded awkwardly. “That’s the only way.”
Crescent Group
Zhan Yi descended from the sky and landed next to King Kong. “Why did you let that delivery guy in? Do you want your pay docked?” Crescent Group’s policy was that food delivery wasn’t allowed inside the building.
King Kong gave him a helpless look. “That was Mr. Zhuang.”
Zhan Yi looked puzzled. “Mr. Zhuang? Which Mr. Zhuang?”
“Who else? Zhuang Zhenyang.”
That was exactly why King Kong was conflicted—this was the boss’s biological father. If it had been Zhuang Zhenhua, he’d have thrown him out on the spot.
Zhan Yi frowned. “Why was he dressed like a delivery guy?”
King Kong shook his head. “You’re asking me? How would I know?”
“Didn’t the boss give you a list of people allowed in and people not allowed in? Which side is Mr. Zhuang on?”
King Kong took a deep breath. “He’s in the middle zone.”
“Middle zone? What does that even mean?”
“It means I can let him in or not—it’s up to me.”
Clearly, the boss didn’t know how to deal with this Mr. Zhuang, so he left the decision to him.
King Kong found it a nightmare—Chu Feng hadn’t put Zhuang Zhenyang on the approved list, which meant their relationship wasn’t good. But the man was still the boss’s father, and also Zhuang Feixue’s father—treating him too coldly would seem bad.
President Zhuang had lowered himself to disguise as a food delivery man, so the guard could only pretend not to recognize him and turn a blind eye, letting him in.
Zhan Yi: “…”
…
Inside the office.
When Zhuang Feixue saw Zhuang Zhenyang, she was startled.
“Dad, why are you dressed like this?”
“This way, I’m less noticeable,” Zhuang Zhenyang replied.
Zhuang Feixue: “…” Less noticeable? In what way?
At first, Crescent Group allowed delivery personnel to enter, but more and more people had been sneaking in using this method. Recently, the company had stopped allowing them in. Feixue didn’t believe the security guard would make such a slip; for her father to get in, someone must have deliberately let him pass.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Feixue frowned.
“I called you many times, but you didn’t answer.”
Feixue suddenly remembered she had been in a meeting earlier and had set her phone to silent.
“You seem to be doing pretty well in business now!” Zhuang Zhenyang said, looking at her. In his mind, his eldest daughter had always been a bit of a maverick—messing around in the entertainment industry or splurging on luxury goods. But now, seeing her help manage Crescent Group so competently, he suddenly thought perhaps he had underestimated her. Maybe Feixue’s business talent was no less than Feilei’s; she had simply never been given the chance to show it before.
Feixue froze for a moment. In the past, she had always wanted her father’s approval, but now that she had it, she didn’t feel as thrilled as she had imagined.
In the past, her father’s image in her heart had always been tall and radiant. But now…
The door swung open, and Zhuang Cheng walked in.
Seeing his father’s back, he tilted his head. “Sis, did you order takeout? What did you get?”
Zhuang Zhenyang turned around, making Zhuang Cheng take several startled steps back.
“Dad? What are you doing here?”
“Can’t I be here?” Zhuang Zhenyang said, glancing at him.
“Well, that’s not what I mean…” Zhuang Cheng scratched his head, thinking his father looked like he was up to something shady—if the disguise was blown, it could be trouble.
Feixue thought for a moment and asked, “Dad, did you come here for the wine?”
Zhuang Zhenyang felt a bit embarrassed but nodded. “Yes.”
Feixue: “…”
Just then, the door banged open again, and Delice burst in.
Seeing her rushing in, Feixue asked, “Delice, what’s wrong?”
With her hands clasped behind her back and her chin up, Delice said, “I heard salaries were paid yesterday, but I haven’t gotten mine.”
Feixue: “…” Normally, she handled the salaries for the ability-users, but for mysterious visitors like Manning and the others, Chu Feng personally took care of it. She had indeed forgotten about Delice.
“I’ll send it to you right away,” Feixue said.
Delice waved her hand. “No rush. But if you could add a bonus, that would be even better.”
Feixue: “…”
Looking at Zhuang Zhenyang, Delice asked, “Feixue, did you order takeout?”
Feixue: “…”
Delice glanced at Zhuang Zhenyang a few times, blinking. “You look kind of familiar…”
Zhuang Zhenyang awkwardly turned his face away.
Suddenly, Delice remembered something. “Ah! You’re that President Zhuang from the finance magazine!”
Zhuang Zhenyang: “…”
Delice curiously circled him. “Did you lose your job? Why are you delivering food? Did the Zhuang family go bankrupt? I’ve seen on TV that a lot of bosses go into food delivery after bankruptcy.”
Zhuang Cheng: “…” What kind of brain-dead TV dramas has she been watching?
Zhuang Zhenyang was at a loss for words.
Relentlessly, Delice continued, “Chu Feng always said the Zhuang family would go bankrupt. And it really happened! Actually, delivering food isn’t bad—I’ve heard you can make ten thousand a month. I only get four thousand. So, President Zhuang, do you make ten thousand?”
Zhuang Zhenyang took two steps back, unsure how to respond.
When Feixue and her siblings were young, he had been too busy building his career to gain much experience in dealing with children. Faced with Delice now, he was completely at a loss.
Pestered by her questions, he helplessly said, “Yes, yes…”
Delice looked at him enviously. “Wow, over ten thousand!”
Zhuang Zhenyang nodded. “That’s right!”
Delice grabbed his arm. “Exactly how much over ten thousand? Do you get bonuses?”
The door opened again, and Chu Feng walked in—just in time to see Delice pestering Zhuang Zhenyang about his delivery salary.
Zhuang Cheng quickly covered his face in embarrassment.
He thought: There’s probably nothing more awkward in life than this.
He glanced at his father, whose face was flushed red, and felt a twinge of sympathy.
Zhuang Zhenyang gave an embarrassed smile, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.
Chu Feng wasn’t feeling much better.
He had never thought highly of this “cheap” father of his, but still—he was the man’s son.
Delice looked around at the silence in the room, confused.
The awkward quiet made her uneasy, so she tugged at Chu Feng’s sleeve.
“The Zhuang family’s bankrupt, and the old boss is delivering food now. Chu Feng, you really can predict the future—you said inheriting the Zhuang family would just be inheriting a mountain of debt, and you were right!” she said with open admiration.
Zhuang Zhenyang’s face turned from pale to flushed again.
Chu Feng: “…” He had been joking! This silly girl never remembered the important stuff but clung to this line.
No wonder her last blunder hadn’t been an accident—this girl was born to cause trouble!
Still holding onto his arm, Delice said, “Feng, give me a raise!”
Chu Feng: …This troublemaker… always making messes and still wants a raise?
He reached out and ruffled her hair roughly. “Fine. How much do you want?”
Delice extended her index finger and said, “Five hundred.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Then five hundred it is.”
Delice suddenly realized she’d suffered a loss. “No, no—one thousand!”
“A move once made can’t be taken back. Five hundred.”
Delice deflated and nodded. “Alright then.”
Chu Feng glanced at Zhuang Zhenyang and said indifferently, “President Zhuang, you’re here for the wine, right? Sis, go prepare some.”
Zhuang Feixue was momentarily stunned. “Alright.”
Zhuang Zhenyang sighed inwardly. He had indeed come for the wine, and now he’d gotten what he wanted. Yet there was little joy in his heart—Chu Feng’s cold attitude made him feel, deep down, that perhaps he had failed as a father…
As soon as the Crescent Group released its various wines, they sparked a frenzy of buying. The newly launched “Crescent No. 6” was a diluted version of Hundred-Fruit Brew, limited to 300 bottles, each priced at one million yuan, with a limit of one bottle per ID.
By the logic that “the more expensive, the better,” Crescent No. 6 sold out first.
Sitting in his office, Chu Feng stared at the sales report with a strange expression. “This Crescent No. 6 really did sell out instantly! In comparison, the Crescent No. 3 tiger-bone wine—priced at 100,000 a bottle—took a whole twenty minutes to sell out.”
Resting his chin in his hand, he muttered, “The rich really only recognize the price tag. Damn rich people.”
Zhuang Cheng looked at Chu Feng, who was sitting with his legs propped up. “Second Brother, you’re a rich man now too.”
Chu Feng took a deep breath. “You’re right!”
Zhuang Cheng: “…”
Chu Feng sighed. “When you’ve been a proud working-class man for too long, you forget that you’ve become a tycoon.”
Zhuang Cheng: “…”
Zhuang Feixue coughed lightly. “Crescent No. 6 sold well not only because it was expensive. I had PR promote its beauty-enhancing effects.”
Chu Feng nodded. “Women, huh? The moment they hear it’s good for beauty, they lose all sense.”
Zhuang Feixue: “…” She thought, Not just women—these days, it’s the era of male beauty too. Plenty of men care about their looks. In fact, most of the No. 6 buyers were men.
