Chapter 302: The Wedding Wine

Zhang Yiyi's apartment complex was a rather high-end one, with only one unit per floor. When the elevator doors opened, Chen Erbao followed her and knocked on the apartment door.

When the door opened, a bald, portly middle-aged man walked out.

"Dad! Let me introduce you. This is my... friend, Chen Erbao!"

Zhang Yiyi scurried over to hug the man's arm, grinning.

Chen Erbao quickly offered a polite smile. "Hello, sir. This is my first time visiting. Yiyi told me you enjoy smoking, so I brought a small gift. Please, accept it!"

Having been in business for years, Zhang Yiyi's father was a smooth and worldly old hand. He chuckled as he accepted the cigarettes and alcohol.

"You came all this way, you shouldn't have brought anything... Hurry, come on in!"

Zhang Yiyi smiled, tugging on Chen Erbao's sleeve. "Hurry and come in!"

The three of them entered the living room, and Chen Erbao was ushered to the sofa.

Zhang Haiquan sat down nearby, picked up the teapot from the table, and started pouring tea.

"You know, Er Bao, Yiyi has never brought a friend home in all these years. You're the first!"

he said meaningfully.

Chen Erbao smiled back. "I've been caught up in all sorts of things for the past few years and only just came to the city to get my career started. To be honest, I should have paid you a visit much sooner, sir!"

"Hahaha... Xiaohui, come on out! Our daughter's friend is here!"

Zhang Haiquan called out toward the kitchen. Chen Erbao looked up to see a woman in an apron emerge. Her hair was pinned up high, and with her arched brows and light makeup, her features bore a faint resemblance to Zhang Yiyi's.

Chen Erbao stood and greeted her with a smile. "Hello, ma'am. I'm Chen Erbao. I'm sorry to intrude on my first visit!"

Liu Hui's skin was fair and smooth, and she was dressed very stylishly. She looked less like Zhang Yiyi's mother and more like a young woman in her thirties.

She walked into the living room, a smile on her face. "Please, sit down and rest. This daughter of mine, insisting on eating out before coming over... I'll whip up a couple of dishes for you so you can taste my cooking!"

"Oh, please don't trouble yourself, ma'am. Yiyi and I just ate..."

Chen Erbao hastily tried to refuse.

Zhang Haiquan laughed and cut in. "Er Bao, just make yourself at home. You can have a couple of drinks with me in a bit!"

"You bet, no problem!"

Chen Erbao readily agreed.

Standing beside Chen Erbao, Zhang Yiyi pulled a box of facial masks from her pocket and handed it over.

"Mom, Er Bao brought you a gift. It's a facial mask from his own company. They're all the rage right now!"

Liu Hui glanced at it in surprise and quickly took the box. "Oh my, you're too polite... This mask looks so familiar!"

Chen Erbao took one look and froze. 'Isn't this the Dream Fantasia mud mask?'

When he saw Zhang Yiyi wink at him, Chen Erbao instantly understood. 'This must be the mask I gave her last time!'

'I actually forgot to bring a set. Yiyi is so thoughtful!'

Zhang Haiquan was also quite surprised. "Er Bao, you run your own company?"

Chen Erbao nodded. "Yes, sir. I started my own facial mask company. Business is decent, and this is my product!"

Zhang Yiyi chimed in from the side, "His company is doing amazingly well right now! They have commercials on TV, and business is booming!"

Liu Hui read the words on the box, her face filled with shock. "Isn't this the Dream Fantasia mud mask... This is your company?"

Chen Erbao smiled and nodded. "Yes, ma'am. If you need any in the future, just have Yiyi give me a call anytime!"

Grinning, Zhang Yiyi pulled Chen Erbao down to sit on the sofa, her dimples faintly showing.

Zhang Haiquan began to size up Chen Erbao anew, his tone growing more serious. "I never would have guessed... the facial mask company that's been taking the world by storm lately is yours. The younger generation is truly formidable!"

As a long-time businessman, he was well aware of the storm Chen Erbao's mask had kicked up in the Hongyuan City cosmetics industry.

'I'd only heard the owner was a young man. I never thought he'd be an acquaintance of my daughter!'

"It's just a small-time thing, nothing worth mentioning..."

Chen Erbao said humbly.

"I'll get back to it. You two sit and chat!"

Liu Hui smiled, set the facial mask aside, and returned to the kitchen to get on with her work.

"Dad, you two keep chatting. I'm going to go give Mom a hand!"

"Go on, then!"

Zhang Haiquan now treated Chen Erbao as a fellow business owner of equal standing, refilling his teacup for him.

"Er Bao, I really didn't expect you to be the owner of the Dream Fantasia mud mask brand. You have a very bright future ahead of you!"

"You're too kind, sir. You're a veteran of the business world; I still have much to learn from you!"

"Excellent. Humble but not servile. I see great things in your future!"

"..."

After chatting for a while, Zhang Haiquan got down to business.

"Yiyi mentioned you were thinking about setting up your own security company?"

Chen Erbao nodded. "I'm preparing to scale up my operations by adding ten new factories in Jiangnan Province, and security costs are a huge part of that. I have some other businesses that also need protection, and it's becoming inconvenient to always hire outside firms. So, I figured I'd start my own. I have the capital, and Yiyi mentioned you have a lot of connections. I was hoping you could make some introductions. And down the road, I was thinking Yiyi could even help me manage the company!"

Zhang Haiquan beamed when he heard this, unable to stop smiling.

The fact that Chen Erbao was thinking about his daughter's future made him more than willing to help.

So, Zhang Haiquan thumped his chest and declared, "Rest assured, I know plenty of old friends from the army, and even more retired veterans. I can definitely help you get that sorted out!"

Chen Erbao was overjoyed. "Thank you so much, sir!"

"Think of it as mutually beneficial. My old army buddies are always wondering what to do after they retire. You're providing jobs that would be a huge help to them. Security is a perfect fit, so they wouldn't have to waste time adapting to a new industry!"

"That was my thinking exactly. They're all experienced, so we'd even save on training!"

"Hahaha, you and I will have a couple of drinks in a bit and have a good talk about this!"

"No problem."

The two chatted a bit more, and Zhang Haiquan found himself growing more and more impressed with Chen Erbao. He was absolutely delighted.

Liu Hui and Zhang Yiyi finished preparing a few cold dishes and brought them to the table.

Zhang Haiquan retrieved two bottles of Maotai from his room and promptly opened them.

"I've been saving these two bottles for a long time; I couldn't even bring myself to drink them. Er Bao, you're in for a real treat. Today you'll get to taste some truly aged liquor!"

"Thank you, sir!"

Zhang Haiquan took the liquor glasses and filled them to the brim before pouring soft drinks for Liu Hui and Zhang Yiyi. Then, the four of them raised their glasses for a toast.

"Bottoms up!"

Chen Erbao downed the glass in one go. He felt the fine liquor slide down his throat, a rich aroma spreading from his gullet to his stomach and warming his entire body.

"Great liquor!"

Chen Erbao's eyes lit up as he praised it.

"Of course it is! I was planning on saving these two bottles for Yiyi's wedding..."

Zhang Haiquan said, his meaning clear.

"Dad~"

Zhang Yiyi shot a bashful glance at Chen Erbao, her voice trailing off in a coquettish whine.

Hearing this, Chen Erbao gave an awkward laugh. "Actually, Yiyi and I have been seeing each other. The main purpose of this visit was to meet you both!"

Zhang Haiquan roared with laughter. "Well, that's perfect! Let's drink!"

He refilled both glasses, the two men clinked them together, and then they started chugging away.