Chapter 911: Got It—Now You’re Starting to Dislike This Beauty, Aren’t You? (Part 2)

“Haha, it’s alright.”

Kang Baohong chuckled.

When Kang Yulian asked him to go on a blind date, he was a bit resistant as he was focused on his career. Unexpectedly, he clicked with the girl and found she was quite decent. After falling in love, he worked with more zest and secretly appreciated Su Zelin’s advice; otherwise, he would have missed a good wife.

During his pursuit of Chu Jie, “veteran” Su Zelin gave him quite a few tips, which made the girl agree to be his girlfriend so quickly.

The next day, after work, Su Zelin drove together with Qin Shiqing to Building A of the staff apartment at the new headquarters in Binjiang District.

The occupants of this apartment are either managers, supervisors, directors or their assistants across company departments or hold important positions like engineers. Each unit consists of three households per stair landing, with Yang Fen, Su Zelin, and Kang Baohong’s homes located on the same unit on the top floor, making them neighbors.

“Ding dong, ding dong…”

After a few rings, the person who came out to open the door was none other than Kang Baohong.

“President Su, Qin Shiqing, you’ve arrived!”

“President Kang, congratulations on your new residence; may fortune shine upon and everything go smoothly!”

Both Su Zelin and Qin Shiqing handed over big red envelopes; despite familiarity, social conventions couldn’t be ignored.

“Thank you, I’m very happy with your presence; why so formal, please come in!”

Despite his words, Kang Baohong accepted the red envelopes, as they were expressions of good intentions and blessings.

After putting on slippers, the two followed him into the living room.

A total area of over 170 square meters, with two living rooms and five bedrooms, decorated in Chinese style, featuring mostly wooden furniture, including huanghuali sofas, zitan tea tables, hongmu dining tables, and TV cabinets…

Su Zelin had considerable insight into fine hardwood furniture; in a previous life, he had a home also styled in Chinese decor with some of the world’s most expensive hardwood pieces.

The first house Kang Baohong bought was decorated in European style, and at that time he had a bit of a nouveau riche mindset, believing European was the ultimate symbol of luxurious living.

As New Era rose and his position and status elevated, meeting more and more successful entrepreneurs, he realized European style was not as popular among that group in the 21st century; rather, traditional Chinese style was preferred.

For instance, when at a boss’s office for tea, the host would show off the materials of the tea table, boasting it cost several hundred thousand, displaying seeming class.

Then other bosses would chime in, sharing how many hundred thousands their wooden sofa, dining table, bed, or tea table cost.

At such times, Kang Baohong felt very disheartened because he couldn’t join the conversation.

His home was styled in European, and indeed, the furniture wasn’t as expensive.

Over time, influenced by this, Kang Baohong’s taste gradually shifted, becoming more enamored with Chinese style and hardwood furniture, so he satisfyingly indulged his interests with the decoration of the staff apartment.

Yet, in Su Zelin’s eyes, he barely qualified as a beginner enthusiast.

A glance sufficed for an expert to discern the quality of these wooden pieces was ordinary at best.

Only the sofa seemed costly, perhaps costing around a hundred thousand according to current domestic prices.

To ordinary folks, a hundred thousand for a sofa might be astronomical, but in the eyes of industry connoisseurs, it’s nothing.

Take ebony as an example; top-grade ebony could fetch millions per ton in future markets, while ordinary ones only thousands per ton.

Thus, even within the same type of hardwood furniture, prices vary drastically.

If your financial resources are somewhat limited, playing at the high end is beyond your reach.

Currently, Kang Baohong’s financial condition doesn’t allow him to be a high-end player, although, by equity value, his worth is already that of a billionaire.

But net worth is just net worth; his primary accumulation comes from high salaries as general manager and small shareholder dividends over the years, and particularly, a surge over the recent one or two years.

The wealth accumulation at New Era resembles a snowball; starting small and growing exponentially, with company profits and shareholder dividends repeatedly hitting new peaks alongside market expansion and storefront increases.

This rapid growth trend will persist until township-level market strategies complete, with a nationwide network of thirty thousand stores, only then stabilizing.

Growth might continue afterward, but the terrifying earlier momentum will not reappear.

By then, Kang Baohong’s income will allow him to become a high-end hardwood enthusiast.

“President Su!”

As Su Zelin appeared, an old man sitting on the sofa approached.

His frame was slim and small, slightly hunched, skin dark, forehead wrinkled, temples gray, sparse stubble mixed with silver strands, hands covered in calluses resembling coarse pine bark, his entire being marked by traces of time, appearing to have endured many hardships in youth.

Kang Lixiang, Kang Baohong’s father.

The two had met before.

When Kang Baohong bought his first house, during the housewarming.

People from rural areas place great importance on the ceremony of moving into a new home, so family participation was a must, hence Kang Baohong took his parents over.

Actually, the elderly couple had long wanted to see their son in Lin’an; however, lacking educational opportunities since youth, they were culturally deficient, illiterate, even ignorant of how to take the train, hence never managed to come.

Soon after their son’s housewarming, they returned home, despite Kang Baohong’s constant plea for them to consider staying.

Yet they said they weren’t comfortable living in the city, knowing no one, feeling idle daily, preferring their hometown, so in the end, they didn’t stay.