Chapter 452 - 386: Project Completion (Part 2)

"President Bai! You’ve all done a fantastic job! I have a new project I’d like to discuss. Let’s find a place to talk after lunch!"

Bai Yang was taken aback for a moment, then the smile on his face grew even wider. "Of course, President Wu! I’ll have someone arrange a place right away!"

Watching Bai Yang walk off the stage with a grin, Wu Yun turned to take photos with the people who followed.

...

At noon, Jinshan Environmental Company, as the client, hosted a banquet for all the participating firms.

The seasoned veterans of the engineering world naturally knew the drill and arrived early at the farmhouse restaurant where the banquet was being held—the same place Wu Yun and his group had gathered the day before.

When they saw Wu Yun’s motorcade slowly pull in, some began to whisper among themselves. The document specialists and cost estimators from the project department were particularly excited.

They had been gossiping about Wu Yun’s visit all morning, never expecting an internet tycoon to venture into the chemical industry.

"Liu Dan! I dare you to go ask for his WeChat!" a slightly chubby girl said, nudging her colleague with an elbow.

The woman named Liu Dan felt a rush of blood to her head and was about to say, "Why would I be scared?"

But then she turned and saw the entourage surrounding Wu Yun and immediately found an excuse to back down. ’A domineering CEO is nice and all, but he’s not for us wage slaves! My future boyfriend will probably be a construction site worker too!’

As Wu Yun walked at the front, he noticed a few women to his left watching him with star-struck expressions. He gave them a slight smile and walked past.

"Oh my god! I’m completely smitten! Why can’t a man that handsome and rich be mine?!" the chubby document specialist lamented.

...

"President Wu, this way!"

"President Wang, this way!"

"President Zhou, this way!"

Because this was such a public occasion, Li Dongliang and the other two didn’t think it was appropriate to make an appearance, so they didn’t attend.

Only Wu Yun, Wang Gang, and General Manager Zhou Cheng were present as representatives.

Of course, the administrative staff of Jinshan Environmental Company was also fully present, having arrived at the farmhouse restaurant earlier to arrange the luncheon.

A woman in a gray work uniform with "Jinshan Environmental Technology" printed on it walked over to the three of them. "President Wu, President Wang, the seats are all arranged. We can head to the table now!"

Wang Gang immediately gestured for the other personnel to follow them inside.

Wu Yun’s group was assigned to a large private room. As soon as they entered, they saw a massive round table with what looked to be at least twenty seats.

Ever since his rebirth, Wu Yun had never gotten used to the customary humility of Huaxia People at the dinner table.

So, on most occasions when dining out, he would take the seat of honor without any hesitation.

Thus, only after he was seated did the others slowly begin to take their seats.

After a few rounds of deferring to one another, the woman in the gray work uniform stood up and said, "Alright everyone, stop trying to offer me a seat! Just listen to my arrangements, or the food will be served before everyone has even sat down!"

Someone immediately chimed in playfully, "Alright! Then we’ll listen to the only lady at our table!"

Wu Yun leaned over and asked Wang Gang in a low voice, "Is she with our company?"

Wang Gang smiled and said, "That’s Leng Qian, the manager of our company’s general affairs department. She’s a real smooth talker and gets along with everyone. There isn’t a single person from the other firms who doesn’t know her. She’s helped coordinate a lot of things on-site."

Soon, under Leng Qian’s direction, everyone was seated, interspersed with one another. The only person who hadn’t moved was Wu Yun.

The construction firm’s project manager was seated to Wu Yun’s left, and Bai Yang was on his right.

Dishes were brought out one after another, and a few bottles of Wuliangye were poured into serving carafes.

At this table, no one dared to refuse a drink. Everyone silently took a small glass of baijiu and placed it in front of them.

Once everything was ready, Wu Yun spoke up. "Everyone! I’ve been very busy and haven’t had a chance to visit the construction site, so I don’t know most of you here. Let’s start with some self-introductions. Ladies first. We’ll begin with Manager Leng and go to her right."

Leng Qian stood up gracefully. Even the baggy work uniform couldn’t hide her unique charisma.

"Hello, everyone! I’m Leng Qian, the manager of the general affairs department at Jinshan Environmental Technology Company!"

Leng Qian didn’t try to be unconventional; she just gave a simple introduction.

After her, the others introduced themselves one by one. Then, all eyes turned to Wu Yun, waiting for him to speak.

Wu Yun stood up, raising his glass. Seeing this, everyone else quickly rose to their feet as well, and for a moment, the sound of scraping stools filled the air.

"Thank you all for your support on this project. Without your hard work, we couldn’t have completed it on schedule! So to that..."

Wu Yun raised his glass. The others, though marveling internally at his youth, were not slow to follow his actions.

"My thanks to you all!" With that, Wu Yun downed the baijiu in a single gulp.

Wu Yun heard involuntary gasps from around him as the baijiu went down their throats.

After sitting down, Wu Yun glanced out of the corner of his eye at Bai Yang to his right. He saw Bai Yang put down his glass, his expression unchanged, and then pick up a serving carafe to refill Wu Yun’s glass with baijiu.

’This is so awkward,’ Wu Yun thought, internally conflicted. ’Having my future father-in-law pour me a drink... I can’t imagine how embarrassing it will be when we have the official family meeting!’

"Ah, President Bai, you’re too kind!" Wu Yun said gratefully, accepting the glass from Bai Yang with both hands.

Seeing Wu Yun’s humility, Bai Yang’s favorable impression of him grew even stronger. He smiled and said, "President Wu! It is I who should be thanking you for your trust in our company! Please, start the meal. Otherwise, no one else will dare to touch their chopsticks!"

As he spoke, Bai Yang gestured to the others at the table with a laugh.

Seeing this, Wu Yun picked up his chopsticks and said, "Everyone, let’s eat! Get some food in you before we drink more!"

Only after Wu Yun started eating did the others extend their hands and use their chopsticks to pick out the dishes they had already been eyeing.

After they had eaten for a while, Wu Yun raised his glass again. "Come, come! I’ll get us started! I took a tour today and was very satisfied. I hope we can all continue to work together in the future! Let’s drink to that! After this, feel free to mingle!"

Bai Yang looked at Wu Yun’s youthful profile, marveling at how accomplished he was for his age. He had been even more shocked when he first learned that Wu Yun was about the same age as his own daughter.

Recently, he had pieced together from various clues that his daughter had started dating someone. Every time she video-called him from home, she would run to her room, close the door, and even lock it!

When he asked Bai Yue about it, she refused to tell him who it was. At the time, Bai Yang felt like his precious little cabbage had been rooted up by a pig, and he was consumed with anxiety over it.

So, back then, Bai Yang had made up his mind to put Bai Yue’s boyfriend in his place when they finally met.

Bai Yang shook his head, pushing the wild thoughts from his mind. Seeing Wu Yun put down his glass, he once again refilled it with baijiu before filling his own.

Bai Yang stood up and bowed slightly. "President Wu! I’d like to propose a toast to you! Thank you for your trust! I’ll drain my glass; you can drink as you please!"

’How could I let my future father-in-law drink standing up while I sit?’ Wu Yun thought. ’He’ll definitely make my life difficult later if I do!’

So he also stood up, clinked glasses with Bai Yang, and drained his own in one go.

After finishing the drink, Wu Yun said, "President Bai! Take it easy on the drinks for a bit! We still have business to discuss this afternoon!"

But Bai Yang slapped his chest and declared, "Don’t you worry, President Wu! My tolerance—Old Bai’s tolerance—is at least half a liter, easy! How could anyone in management not know how to hold their liquor?!"

’Wu Yun felt the urge to facepalm. If Bai Yue found out her old man got drunk, wouldn’t I be the one stuck putting him to bed?’

Wu Yun quickly pulled Bai Yang’s arm, urging him to sit down. "Still, you should drink less. The business we have this afternoon is very important to me."

Hearing Wu Yun say this, Bai Yang’s mind instantly cleared. Wu Yun had invested tens of millions into this environmental company without batting an eye; if something was "very important" to him, wouldn’t that mean it was a deal worth hundreds of millions?!

"Alright, alright! Whatever you say, President Wu!"

Despite his words, Bai Yang once again topped off Wu Yun’s glass with baijiu.

Wu Yun had just taken a few bites of food when the project manager on his left, Xie Xin, raised his glass and said, "President Wu! I’d like to toast you!"