Chapter 268 - 221: Ji Province Entrepreneurs’ Banquet

Chapter 268: Chapter 221: Ji Province Entrepreneurs’ Banquet

Two hours later, the corporate meeting ended.

As the numerous senior executives dispersed, the details of the afternoon’s meeting quickly spread throughout the entire corporation.

In just one day, two consecutive bombshells had dropped. It wasn’t just the ordinary employees; even many of the senior and mid-level managers were left reeling from the news.

However, once everyone in the company had digested the news, the vast majority reacted with excitement and elation.

The reason was simple...

When one person achieves enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

The expansion of the corporation meant an increase in its overall strength.

Under these circumstances, opportunities for promotions and raises would surely be far more plentiful than before. And for the average worker, what could be more exciting or delightful than a promotion and a raise?

Ever since the two announcements were made, even though New Year’s Day was still two days away, the entire company felt like it was already celebrating the new year. Joyful smiles graced everyone’s faces.

Well...

Except for the four vice presidents.

According to the grapevine, someone had just run into those four VPs inside the company, and the resentment radiating from them was thicker than a ghost’s.

While all sorts of news circulated wildly within the company, Gu Heng had taken Fan Hong back to his chairman’s office after the meeting ended.

"Uncle Fan, please, have a seat anywhere."

"Let me make you some tea."

With no outsiders in the office, Gu Heng no longer needed to deliberately maintain his imposing and dignified image.

"Chairman Gu, please don’t trouble yourself."

Fan Hong waved his hands repeatedly. "There’s already lemon water here. I’ll just have that."

Gu Heng was a sentimental and loyal man who had always treated him the same as he did in the old days. But Fan Hong was not the type to presume upon a kindness, so how could he possibly sit still while the chairman personally made him tea?

"Uncle Fan, if you’re not having any, I will."

"I’ve been in back-to-back corporate meetings. My throat is about to catch fire."

Gu Heng shook his head and chuckled. "If these two meetings weren’t so critical, and if I wasn’t worried Qi Min couldn’t command the room, I would’ve just slacked off and let her run them."

Hearing Gu Heng say this, Fan Hong didn’t try to stop him from making tea anymore. But he didn’t actually go sit on the sofa either, instead standing quietly behind Gu Heng, keeping him company.

Gu Heng’s tea-making movements were practiced and natural. With his back to Fan Hong, his voice drifted over. "Uncle Fan, about removing you from the position of chairman’s assistant and putting you in charge of creating the Zhenyuan Restaurant brand... I made that decision without discussing it with you first. You’re not upset with me, are you?"

"Chairman Gu, you’ve entrusted me with such a great responsibility and given me a chance to truly show what I can do. I’m more grateful than I can say. How could I possibly be upset with you?"

Fan Hong’s expression changed slightly as he replied with heartfelt sincerity.

"I’m relieved to hear you think that way, Uncle Fan."

Gu Heng turned around, two teacups in his left hand and a fairness pitcher filled with clear tea in his right. He gave Fan Hong a gentle smile. "Uncle Fan, regarding the plan and process for creating the Zhenyuan Restaurant brand, I already explained it in detail during the meeting, so I won’t go over it all again with you."

"Going forward, if you have any questions about the plan or feel that any part of it is unsuitable and needs to be changed, you can discuss it directly with Qi Min. What I want to talk to you about now is something outside of what was discussed in the meeting."

As Gu Heng spoke, he walked toward the sofa.

Fan Hong followed close behind, and the two ended up sitting opposite each other.

"Uncle Fan, do you know why I suddenly decided to invest a huge sum to enter the medicated cuisine industry and pour all our efforts into creating this new Zhenyuan Restaurant brand?"

Gu Heng poured Fan Hong a cup of tea as he posed the question.

"I do not."

Fan Hong shook his head, a hint of keen interest on his face.

In truth, it wasn’t just him who was curious about this; the other senior executives were as well. But since Gu Heng hadn’t brought it up, they couldn’t very well ask on their own.

"It’s because a while ago, I happened to come across a fragmented medicinal text. It contained many secret medicated cuisine recipes. At first, I thought these so-called secret recipes were just rural folk remedies. But then I had people test them and discovered that they all had miraculous effects. What’s more, they’re all traditional Chinese medicinal food therapies, with no side effects whatsoever."

Gu Heng shared the story he had fabricated long ago with Fan Hong.

However, the part about sending people to test the recipes was not fabricated.

A few days ago, Gu Heng had selected a medicated cuisine recipe from the *Meng Shen’s Dietary Canon* to test. Its intended effect was to improve and alleviate menstrual cramps in young women.

According to feedback from the test subjects who consumed the medicated dish, after taking the recipe prepared from the *Meng Shen’s Dietary Canon*, their menstrual cramps did indeed show significant improvement and relief.

If the original pain from the cramps was a level 10, then after taking the medicated dish, even the girl with the worst results reported her pain dropping from a 10 to a 6. In some cases, the pain level dropped all the way to a 3.

Before taking it, they were in so much pain their faces were pale and their foreheads were covered in a cold sweat.

After taking it, in just half an hour, their complexions went from paper-white back to a healthy, rosy color. The effect was almost identical to what was described in the *Meng Shen’s Dietary Canon*.

One could see the whole leopard by looking at just one spot.

The *Meng Shen’s Dietary Canon* was a product of the System, after all. Since Gu Heng had proven one recipe’s effects were real and valid, there was no need to test the rest.