Chapter 324 - 187: Another Call

Chapter 324: Chapter 187: Another Call

Chen Shufen also told Su Chen about her plan to expand Shufen Hot Pot into Rongcheng. She felt confident enough to do so thanks to the twenty million yuan he had given her, and she now dreamed of turning Shufen Hot Pot into a large-scale chain.

Something similar to an established hot pot brand like Dezhuang.

Su Chen was a little surprised when he heard the plan. He hadn’t expected his mom to have such bold ambitions.

Finally, Su Chen gave Chen Shufen a phone number for a contact in Rongcheng. He told her to call that number directly if she needed help, and to call him only if his contact couldn’t resolve the issue.

The number he left wasn’t just anyone’s; it belonged to Hou Ting, a good friend of Sicong.

With everything settled, Su Chen felt a great weight lift from his shoulders.

"Sky-blue awaits the misty rain, and I am waiting for you..." Su Chen hummed a cheerful tune, his steps light as he headed outside.

As the saying goes, "Paradise in heaven, Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth." Su Chen decided to see for himself just how beautiful Suzhou’s nightlife could be.

"Sir, are you heading out?" He ran into Jiang Hui in the corridor, who was holding a freshly cut fruit platter.

"Mhm, I’m just going for a walk. You don’t need to come." Glancing at the fruit platter in Jiang Hui’s hands, he picked up a toothpick from the side, speared two pieces of honeydew melon, and headed for the door, muttering as he went...

"You can have the fruit platter yourself. Don’t wait up for me tonight!" With that, Su Chen’s figure vanished from Jiang Hui’s sight.

The sky had just begun to darken, and the lights of countless homes were flickering on.

Su Chen didn’t go anywhere else, heading instead to Tongli Ancient Town, which he hadn’t finished exploring the day before.

"I didn’t expect Tongli Ancient Town to have such a unique charm at night!" As Su Chen walked into the ancient town, he discovered the crowds were much larger than during the daytime.

Many people were standing in front of a white wall, taking pictures. Su Chen glanced at the words written on it: "Your words say spring is not yet late, and so I have arrived in the true Jiangnan."

The orange-yellow lights bathed the entire ancient town, making it seem as bright as day. The black-canopied boats swaying on the small river, decorated with atmospheric lights on either side, made many tourists stop to take photos.

"Mung bean soup! Iced, Su-style mung bean soup!"

"Free samples of flower tea!"

"Chewy, sticky rice balls~"

Hearing the cries of various snack vendors, Su Chen made a point to buy a cup of Su-style mung bean soup.

But when he saw the shopkeeper hand him the prepared soup, he was completely dumbfounded.

It wasn’t for any other reason than the fact that this mung bean soup was nothing like he had imagined.

The clerk handed him two cups in total: one round and one tall.

The round cup contained things like mung beans and glutinous rice, which looked uncooked. The tall cup, meanwhile, held a pale green liquid that seemed to have been separated from the soup.

’This... how am I supposed to drink this? Don’t tell me I’m supposed to pour the soup into the cup with the beans and rice.’ Su Chen glanced at the people dining in and saw someone else with the same order, busy pouring the liquid from the tall cup into the round one.

’Tsk, tsk. I’ve really seen something new today. So this is how you drink Su-style mung bean soup.’ Su Chen found an empty table and began to copy the other customer’s actions.

Watching the distinct grains of mung bean and glutinous rice float in the cup, Su Chen couldn’t help but shake his head.

If he hadn’t seen other people drinking it, he would have been tempted to just throw it away. After all, anyone else would have assumed the soup hadn’t even been cooked yet.

Suppressing his strange feeling, Su Chen took a small sip. His eyes immediately widened.

’Huh, this soup is surprisingly good.’ Su Chen only drank the liquid, not eating the beans and rice along with it.

The soup was incredibly refreshing, with a faint hint of mint. It was a world away from the mung bean soup he was used to. ’This must be a local Suzhou specialty,’ he thought.

After finishing the soup, Su Chen also made a point to try the mung beans and glutinous rice...

How to put it... they were edible, but not exactly delicious. Su Chen took one bite and threw the rest in the trash.

Strolling along the stone-paved paths of the ancient town, he could occasionally hear the sound of a soulful singer-songwriter from a quiet bar on the opposite bank. Whenever he heard a pleasant tune, Su Chen would stop to listen for a moment.

After wandering along the main path, Su Chen found an open-air cafe right by the canal, a perfect spot to drink coffee while watching the black-canopied boats drift slowly down the river.

Su Chen’s seat had barely warmed up when his phone, sitting on the table, started ringing. The international number looked vaguely familiar.

’Isn’t this the number for the foundation that holds my Longteng Technology shares for me? I remember they called last time saying some big conglomerate wanted to invest.’

Su Chen recalled telling them he’d think about it. It seemed that "thinking about it" had taken nearly half a month...

’Haha~ I really let that one slide for a while!’ Su Chen chuckled as he answered the call.

"Mr. Su, my apologies for disturbing your rest!" As soon as he heard the voice, Su Chen knew it was the same person who had called him last time.

"What is it?" Su Chen asked, his tone slightly cool. He’d die before admitting he had completely forgotten about the matter he was supposed to be considering.

"Mr. Su, it’s about the investment and acquisition of Longteng Technology. I was wondering what you’ve decided. Mr. Mark, the head of Longteng Technology, and the people from Morgan are all awaiting your decision."

"Morgan?" Hearing the name, Su Chen’s lazy demeanor instantly vanished. He straightened up in his seat.

He never would have thought that the interested party was the Morgan Conglomerate. ’Looks like Longteng Technology’s new tech is something special,’ he thought, ’to attract a shark of this size.’

At this, a question popped into his mind: just which foundation was it that held his Longteng Technology shares? To be able to withstand pressure from Morgan was no small feat.

They say business is a battlefield. If this foundation hadn’t called him, Su Chen would have practically forgotten he even owned shares in Longteng Technology.

Besides, with Morgan’s power in the US, it would have been simple for them to bypass him, the majority shareholder, and seize Longteng Technology’s new tech. Yet, that hadn’t happened. Instead, they had called multiple times to ask for his opinion.

The water here ran deeper than it seemed.

"Mr. Su, are you still there?" The voice on the phone pulled Su Chen back from his thoughts.

Snapping back to reality, Su Chen got straight to the point. "Ah, yes, I’m listening. What does Morgan have in mind?"

As for why Su Chen immediately asked about Morgan’s intentions—well, Morgan’s power was simply on another level. In Su Chen’s eyes, the head of Longteng Technology was nothing more than a small fry in front of them.

"The representative from Morgan hopes to speak with you in person, Mr. Su. The time and place are at your convenience. Of course... if it’s inconvenient for you to appear, you can also fully entrust the matter to our foundation to handle!"

Hearing this, the corners of Su Chen’s mouth curved up. He was becoming more and more interested in this Longteng Technology.

"Looks like Longteng Technology’s new tech is quite the hot commodity," Su Chen muttered to himself. He knew the person on the other end must have heard him. The person didn’t say anything, but their breathing clearly grew a little heavier.

The smile on Su Chen’s face widened.

He thought for a moment. He didn’t have any plans recently, so this would be a good opportunity to take a trip to the US.

"The day after tomorrow. I’ll fly to the US then. We can talk about the specifics when we meet."

Hearing this, the person on the other end immediately replied, "Excellent, Mr. Su. I will await your arrival in the US!"

Su Chen hung up with a smile, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. After a good while, he finally picked up his coffee, only to find it was now lukewarm.

With this matter on his mind, Su Chen was no longer in the mood to continue wandering through the ancient town. He finished his coffee in a few gulps, got up, and headed back.

This would be his first trip to the US, so he needed to make sure all the necessary arrangements were in place. It wouldn’t do for any trouble to crop up.

After all, the US was hailed as "America the free, with a shooting every day." Su Chen had no desire to find out what it felt like to get shot.

After making three phone calls, Su Chen sat on the sofa, lost in thought for a good half hour, before finally getting up and heading to his bedroom.