Chapter 380 - 228: Preparing for the "Expedition

Chapter 380: Chapter 228: Preparing for the "Expedition

He’d never imagined that one day, those houses would have anything to do with him. That he’d be told to just pick one to live in?

Zhao Hui was stunned. He’d never thought Chen Xiao would buy a house and put it in his name. If it was going to be in anyone’s name, it should have been Xiangjun’s!

He could one day live in a villa—and a villa in Xiangshan Forest Language at that!

But the most crucial part was, what had Chen Xiao just said? He’d bought *several* villas!

Those houses were worth tens of millions each, and he just bought several at a time?

He realized Chen Xiao had a peculiar habit: he liked to buy everything in bulk. When he bought Moutai, it was by the dozens of cases.

And when he bought houses, he bought them several at a time!

He knew Chen Xiao had bought these for his grandmother and parents, and that he, Zhao Hui, was just benefiting from it all. Even so, he was incredibly grateful to Chen Xiao.

He raised his glass. "President Chen, I never imagined I’d one day have a life like this. I owe it all to you!"

"It’s just the two of us. Just call me Chen Xiao."

But Zhao Hui just couldn’t bring himself to say it.

"Find some time in the next couple of days and move in. You’ll probably be traveling for business a lot after the New Year. If your family needs anything, just tell me! I’ll make sure you have no worries on the home front."

"I’ll go back and report to President Xu tomorrow, and I’ll quickly wrap up and hand over my current duties. If there’s enough time before the New Year, I can get started on my new work!"

Chen Xiao was very satisfied with Zhao Hui’s current attitude. He saw Zhao Hui’s ambition and was happy that he had truly turned over a new leaf.

If he were like Zhao Liang, then even as Zhao Xiangjun’s own brother, Chen Xiao wouldn’t have wasted any time on him. At most, he would have arranged some cushy, do-nothing job to help him make a living, and he would never have been given another chance after that.

"Come on, Brother Hui, let’s knock one back!"

"Try this king crab..."

"This leopard coral grouper is also good..."

"Mmm, this soft-shelled turtle is wild-caught..."

Everyone knew Chen Xiao’s preference for simple, local fare, so wherever he dined, the dishes tended to be a bit "down-to-earth."

This was the first time Chen Xiao had ever served him food. Zhao Hui was so moved, he actually stood up.

"President Chen, I..."

Chen Xiao gestured downward with his hand. "Brother Hui, sit! It’s rare for us brothers to get a chance like this to really talk."

Brothers? A wave of heat rushed through Zhao Hui, and his eyes turned red.

Knowing Chen Xiao’s true power, being called ’brother’ by him was enough to make a man feel content for a lifetime.

After all, Chen Xiao was not one to feign emotions. His likes and dislikes were always obvious, and he wasn’t the least bit pretentious.

For him to call Zhao Hui a brother meant he truly saw him as one.

This was related to Chen Xiao’s life experience. His father had one brother, and each of them had only one child.

Chen Xiao’s cousin, the son of his father’s older brother, was ten years his senior. With such a large age gap, they rarely played together as children, so their bond was naturally not very deep.

Meanwhile, Chen Xiao’s mother was an only daughter, so he had no relatives on her side of the family.

Thus, aside from his playmates at school, Chen Xiao never really had a sense of what it meant to have a "brother" in his childhood.

Back in high school, he had a few close friends, like Liu Bo, whom he’d seen again not long ago. In those days, Chen Xiao would often treat him to meals and video games.

Liu Bo would look for Chen Xiao almost every day, and they would go to and from school together.

But now that they were adults, what happened? The last time Liu Bo came to Jiangzhou, didn’t he first contact Meng Jianshu, someone he’d barely known in high school?

Chen Xiao understood the reason perfectly. In Liu Bo’s mind, Chen Xiao was just a salesman, while Meng Jianshu was a big boss.

He figured Chen Xiao couldn’t offer him any help, but Meng Jianshu might be able to.

This was why Chen Xiao hadn’t shown his old warmth toward Liu Bo when they last met.

Once people grew up and started their own families, so many relationships changed.

That was how it was with many so-called "brothers." They slowly fell out of touch, until eventually, years or even a decade could pass without them ever thinking to contact each other.

Or perhaps they’d remember you were their "brother" when they needed to borrow money, but when it was time to pay it back, they’d think you weren’t being "brotherly" enough.

In this life, having one or two true brothers was already a great fortune. One shouldn’t demand to be surrounded by good brothers; that was impossible.

You could have many followers, but you would never have many true brothers.

And Zhao Hui, in Chen Xiao’s eyes, held a uniquely advantageous position. It was a case of loving the house and the crow on its roof.

Though Chen Xiao rarely spoke of his feelings for Zhao Xiangjun—much like she did for him—they were not a couple who was good at expressing things like "like" or "love." But their hearts and souls were already intertwined.

A single glance was all it took for them to understand each other’s hearts. It was a feeling that, having found each other, no one else could ever compare.

As Zhao Xiangjun’s brother, he was naturally the person most likely to enter Chen Xiao’s inner circle and become a brother to him.

"Oh, right, Brother Hui. There’s something I want to get your opinion on."

Zhao Hui’s excitement hadn’t yet subsided. Hearing Chen Xiao’s words, he immediately sat bolt upright, waiting for him to continue.

"This Spring Festival, I want to bring Xiangjun home to celebrate with my family."

Zhao Xiangjun had been back to Laiwu County several times recently, and now, Shen Yun rarely called Chen Xiao. But she would text or call Zhao Xiangjun every single day.

He felt as though he, the son, had been abandoned. He never expected that someone with Zhao Xiangjun’s cold and quiet personality would be able to win his mother’s affection so completely.

Although he wasn’t directly involved, whenever the two of them were on the phone, Chen Xiao could tell that they now got along even better than a real mother and daughter.

Ever since the first time Zhao Xiangjun drove the M9 back to Laiwu and gave the car to his father, Chen Tao, Shen Yun wouldn’t let her drive for any subsequent visits.

She would take the high-speed train, and Shen Yun would personally drive to pick her up and drop her off.

And every time Zhao Xiangjun went back, she and Shen Yun would go out together, buying heaps of things for the house, big and small. Chen Xiao could tell just by looking at the constantly changing numbers flashing in his Blessings of the Opposite Sex Fund.