As a Magnate, I Started Checking in at a Convenience Store

Chapter 348: Stick and Carrot

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Returning to the hotel, the two of them quickly freshened up and went to sleep. After a day of fatigue, they had no interest in exploring musical instruments or anything else.

The next morning, Zhou Chao didn’t wake up from his alarm, but from his lust.

Seeing the blankets shifting, Zhou Chao glanced at Jiang Li, noticing her eyelashes fluttering slightly.

“This little lady is awake but pretending to sleep. Let’s see how I deal with her!” Zhou Chao had a mischievous grin on his face.

Last night, they had taken a shower and gone straight to bed, wearing only bathrobes. However, after tossing and turning all night, the bathrobe had come undone.

He lifted the blanket, revealing Jiang Li’s flawless body, half-covered by the bathrobe, giving a tantalizing glimpse.

Seeing that Jiang Li was still pretending to sleep, he leaned down gently…

After a while, Jiang Li started to squirm uneasily, her pearly teeth biting her lower lip, struggling not to make a sound.

Zhou Chao whispered in her ear, “Darling, if you don’t wake up now, big brother will get ‘rough.’”

After enduring for quite some time, Jiang Li gave up resistance and opened her eyes, which had started to ripple at some point.

As she opened her mouth to speak, Zhou Chao kissed her, silencing her. For a while, Jiang Li retreated under Zhou Chao’s advance.

After a while, Jiang Li finally recovered.

“Waking me up so early made me all weak!” Jiang Li teased Zhou Chao with a glance.

“What should I do then?”

Cool down!” Jiang Li, regaining some strength, sat up and blushed slightly, then headed towards the bathroom.

Seeing this, Zhou Chao quickly got out of bed and followed her into the bathroom.

Time passed, and it was already 11 o’clock. By now, both of them had finished showering and come out. Zhou Chao was lying on the living room sofa, playing with his phone, while Jiang Li tidied up the bedsheet and called room service for fresh ones.

“Knock, knock, knock!”

Hearing the knocking, Zhou Chao sat up from the sofa, his brows furrowing slightly.

But he didn’t think much of it and got up to walk to the door!

Opening the door, Lin Wu’s straight-faced appearance appeared in front of Zhou Chao.

“Why are you standing so close? Trying to scare me?” Zhou Chao looked at Lin Wu with irritation.

Lin Wu scratched his head apologetically, awkwardly smiling.

“Boss, sorry about that! I just wanted to sleep for a bit.”

“Hmm? You just got back from Jingdu? It’s been almost a week since the expo ended. Why did you come back so late?” Zhou Chao finally realized that a week had passed since the expo, so why was Lin Wu returning to Peng City only now?

“Boss, I didn’t want to stay that long either. You know, after the expo ended, Chai Lao was called over by people from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. They said it was for exchanging experiences, and it was personally invited by Jiang Lao. I asked Chai Lao on the side, and he said it was just to share experiences, without revealing any of our technology!”

Zhou Chao sat on the sofa, deep in thought. The room fell silent, with only the sound of breathing.

“Alright, 1 understand. Did you bring everything back?”

“I brought everything back, without missing a single item. And there are people watching over it 24/7 to ensure nothing goes wrong.”

“Okay, you can go rest now.” Zhou Chao noticed that Lin Wu’s eyes were bloodshot, a common skill from staying up all night.

“Boss, I’ll go rest then!” Lin Wu turned and left the room.

Watching Lin Wu’s departing figure, Zhou Chao rubbed his temples, lost in thought.

“Brother Chao, what are you thinking?” Jiang Li, who had somehow appeared, stood behind Zhou Chao.

“I’m thinking about what our researchers are after right now.”

Zhou Chao closed his eyes, enjoying Jiang Li’s hand massage.

“Typical researchers work to make a living and support their families. The more talented ones explore the ocean of knowledge on top of that, but in plain terms, it’s all about gaining both fame and fortune.”

Jiang Li paused for a moment and continued, “Ideals are of little use; interests are the most basic rule.”

“Right,” Zhou Chao nodded thoughtfully.

“In the afternoon, I’ll go to the company. You can stay at the hotel.” After much contemplation, Zhou Chao patted Jiang Li’s hand.

“Okay, you go and do your work. I’ll stay at the hotel and catch up on some dramas.”

After having a meal at the hotel, the two of them returned to their room and rested for over an hour. By around 1:30 PM, Wang Feng arrived at the hotel in his car.

“Boss!” When Zhou Chao walked out of the hotel, Wang Feng quickly led him through the back door.

“Alright, have you informed everyone about the meeting?”

“Mr. Xu has already arranged it. The department heads are all aware.”

“Let’s go.” Zhou Chao said and began to rest his eyes.

When Zhou Chao arrived at the company, it was already 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

As he entered the conference room, he saw Xu Yu, Zhou Jilong, Chai Lao, Xiong Lao, and Lan Ling chatting inside. Among them, Chai Lao had the most radiant smile.

“Boss!” Seeing Zhou Chao enter, the five of them quickly stood up and greeted.

“Please have a seat.” Zhou Chao looked around at everyone, waved his hand, and gestured for them to sit down.

“Today, the main purpose of this meeting is to discuss our recent developments and some issues that have arisen.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions on everyone’s faces changed.

Seeing their reactions, Zhou Chao smiled lightly. “Don’t think too much. Today’s meeting is not official. It’s just a casual chat to prevent the same problems from happening again in the future.”

“Each of you can talk about your current research progress. What’s the status of your research?”

Zhou Chao scanned everyone and lingered for a moment on Chai Lao before finally looking at Xiong Lao.

“Xiong Lao, you can start. Have there been any new developments in wafer research?”

“Sure, Boss!” Xiong Lao remained calm and took a sip of tea to moisten his throat.

“At the moment, we have completely mastered the 12-inch wafer technology. However, due to issues with the production line, our production progress has not improved much. We can consider either buying new equipment or accelerating our research. Additionally, the 16-inch wafer has entered the experimental stage, and if everything goes as planned, it should be completed next month.”

“Currently, wafer production is the top priority for our company. After all, we can’t rely on the group to support us indefinitely. So, the research on the wafer production line takes top priority. Chai Lao, this matter is under your responsibility. I hope you will pay more attention to it.” Zhou Chao looked at Chai Lao with a meaningful glance.

Chai Lao, who was suddenly singled out by Zhou Chao, stood up quickly.

“Boss, rest assured, 1 guarantee that we will complete the research on the wafer production line as quickly as possible!”

“Alright, your main focus now is on the production line. As for the machine tool side, let Zhou Jilong take care of it for now.”

As Zhou Chao’s words fell, everyone in the room couldn’t help but feel nervous, especially Chai Lao, whose face showed a slight change.

“Of course, after the production line research is completed, Chai Lao will still be responsible for the machine tool side.” As for the changes in the group, Zhou Chao keenly observed them.

Following that, they discussed the sources of funding, and Xu Yu and Lan Ling reported on their work, as well as the issues that had arisen, all of which were thoroughly discussed and resolved by the group.

“Now, let’s talk about something cheerful!”

Everyone in the room wore a puzzled expression.

“Boss, what cheerful thing?” Zhou Jilong looked at Zhou Chao curiously.

“Of course, it’s about bonuses!”

“Bonuses!!!” Everyone exclaimed, even Chai Lao couldn’t hide his curious gaze.

All five of them knew that their boss was always generous with rewards, so they all nervously looked at Zhou Chao.

“From now on, whenever a project at the company’s R&D is successful, there will be different rewards, starting from at least ten million yuan, with no upper limit!”

Zhou Chao’s words exploded like a bomb among the group.

“Boss, isn’t this too much?” Xu Yu cautiously asked.

“Too much? I don’t think so. What you are researching now, once successful, will bring enormous profits to the company. So, this bonus is just a small part of it.”

In particular, Xiong and Chai, both of them began to smile, and even Lan Ling couldn’t help but show a smile on his face.

“All right, that’s it for today. Do you all have anything else? If not, I’ll leave first.”

Zhou Jilong and the others exchanged glances and shook their heads one after another. Seeing this, Zhou Chao got up and left the conference room.

Soon after, Xu Yu, Lan Ling, and the others also left. In the conference room, only Zhou Jilong and Chai Lao remained.

“Lao Zhou, do you think the boss has some issues with me?” After everyone else had left, Chai Lao finally spoke.

“Issues? There must be some. Let me ask you, did you call the boss to report what you’ve been doing in Jingdu these past few days?” Zhou Jilong was in charge of the research institute and was well aware of Chai Lao’s schedule.

ii

No… I didn’t. Is there something wrong with that?” Chai Lao asked with a lack of confidence.

“Something wrong? Chai Lao, you need to be more careful. Let me ask you, where did the technology in your hands come from?”

“The boss provided it.”

“If it weren’t for the boss, could you have been so successful and prominent in Jingdu? The Chinese Academy of Sciences even invited you to give lectures, and big corporations treated you as a VIP. Have you ever thought about who gave you this opportunity? Moreover, you stayed in Jingdu for so long, and you didn’t report back about what you did. Tell me, Chai Lao, do you want to go solo?”

Zhou Jilong’s words hit Chai Lao like a powerful explosion, leaving him speechless for a long time as they resonated deeply within him.

Chai Lao opened his mouth wide, wanting to say something, but not a word came out.

“Enough, I know you’re not that kind of person, but your recent actions are a bit puzzling. You haven’t forgotten about the patent issue, have you?”

“Lao Zhou, do you think the boss wants to sideline me?” They had signed an agreement before, and it had a duration of ten years.

“Sideline you? Why would he? Can’t you see that he’s giving you an opportunity? The wafer production line is your current top priority. Put everything else aside!

“Thank you, Lao Zhou!”

“Thank me? You should thank the boss. If it weren’t for the boss giving you this opportunity, you wouldn’t be as carefree as you are now. The boss called this meeting for your sake. You should think it over!” After saying that, Zhou Jilong left the room, leaving Chai Lao alone to contemplate..