Chapter 269: Making a Central Move

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Boss, hello!”

“Boss, hello!”

As soon as Zhou Chao arrived at the headquarters of the group, people greeted him one after another. He lost count of how many times he nodded along the way until he pushed open Ling Chen’s office door, where he silently breathed a sigh of relief.

“What’s wrong, Boss? You look a bit tired!” Ling Chen noticed Zhou Chao’s appearance and quickly stood up from his chair.

“All, it’s just that the employees at the company are too enthusiastic, making me feel a bit embarrassed!” Zhou Chao said as he took a seat on the nearby sofa.

Ling Chen placed a cup of tea in front of Zhou Chao and said, “It’s because the Boss is handsome and treats the employees well. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so enthusiastic.”

Zhou Chao smiled and looked at Ling Chen, saying, “Since when did you, Ling Chen, start complimenting people? That’s not a good habit. We can’t allow it in the future!”

“I’m not just complimenting you; I’m stating a fact. If you don’t believe me, you can ask others in the office area outside to see if what I’m saying is true or not!” “Believe you? Come on, everyone knows that you have to speak well of the Boss. If anyone dares to say something bad about the Boss, they might have to bear the consequences for a long time.”

After Zhou Chao finished speaking, both of them burst into laughter.

“Alright, enough joking around. Can you send me the recent reports to review? 1 have some free time now.” Zhou Chao put on a serious expression.

Ling Chen quickly walked to his desk and returned with a laptop.

“Boss, the reports for the past few months are all here, including expenses, revenue, and some outstanding receivables data.”

“Alright, I got it. You can go back to your work. Also, please get me a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice!”

“Of course, Boss!” Ling Chen went to the door, called his secretary to arrange things, and then after giving instructions, he returned to his desk and got back to work.

In this way, the two of them were busy with their respective tasks in the office. After a while, the secretary brought two glasses of fruit juice and left them on the table before quietly closing the door behind her.

“All!” After a while, Zhou Chao finally came back to his senses from his focused review of the reports. He stretched lazily, closed his laptop, and placed it aside. “Boss, have you finished reviewing?” Ling Chen, who had quietly come over at some point, asked.

“Yeah, I’ve finished. The performance in the first two quarters is quite good, but we need to pay more attention to the catering sector. I noticed a decline in performance every month. I’ll have the person in charge of that section take a closer look!”

“Got it, Boss! 1’11 arrange for an investigation as soon as possible. It’s getting late now. Would you like to try our own cafeteria?”

“Our own cafeteria? Oh, right! I haven’t tried the cafeteria that you and Li Xiang set up before. Let’s go, and today, let me taste how good our group’s cafeteria is!” Zhou Chao stood up from the sofa as he spoke, with Ling Chen following him as they headed outside.

It was lunchtime, and many employees were on their way to the cafeteria, all with cheerful smiles, walking in groups, chatting and laughing.

“I wonder what delicious food they have today. The lion’s head meatballs from yesterday were so good!”

“Unfortunately, I was out on business yesterday and didn’t get to eat them. 1 hope they have them today. I want to have two, no, three!”

On the way, employees were discussing the cafeteria’s delicious food. Zhou Chao heard these comments and mentally gave full marks to both Ling Chen and Li Xiang!

Soon, Zhou Chao and Ling Chen arrived at the cafeteria located on the second floor of the Global Center. It was an open-style cafeteria, but access was restricted to employees with work badges, and it generally didn’t serve the public.

As they reached the entrance, Zhou Chao looked at the sign hanging there and asked Ling Chen, “Who came up with this name?”

“Boss, if you don’t like it, we can change it.”

“It’s fine; this name is good!” Zhou Chao looked at the sign, which simply read “Cafeteria.” Well, that was straightforward!

Ling Chen led Zhou Chao inside. It was a self-service cafeteria where people served themselves, but many dishes were already portioned out in small bowls. Zhou Chao picked three bowls of his favorite dishes as he followed the flow of people, then found an empty seat and sat down.

“Not bad! You guys put in a lot of effort!” Zhou Chao took a bite of a chicken piece and fed it into his mouth. It was indeed quite good, better than many restaurants in the market.

“Boss, you made a great choice!” Ling Chen put down his chopsticks and said earnestly in response to Zhou Chao’s compliment.

“Oh, you! Let’s eat!” Zhou Chao heard Ling Chen’s compliments and shook his head helplessly, but he didn’t say anything more.

After finishing the dishes he had picked earlier, Zhou Chao went for another round. He filled two bowls with meat dishes and three bowls with white rice, finally feeling satisfied.

“This is really good. It seems like 1 should come to the company more often for meals when I have the time!” Ling Chen chuckled at Zhou Chao’s words.

“Boss, your cooking is way better than this.”

“When you can enjoy good food without cooking it yourself, why not savor it?” Zhou Chao glanced at Ling Chen without much patience. Ling Chen felt a bit embarrassed under Zhou Chao’s gaze and couldn’t help but laugh.

By the time the two returned to the company, it was still not even 12:30 PM. As soon as Zhou Chao entered Ling Chen’s office and sat on the sofa, he couldn’t help but yawn. Seeing this, Ling Chen quickly walked over to Zhou Chao.

“Boss, if you want to rest, I can take you to the company’s dedicated resting area.”

Zhou Chao waved his hand at once. “No need, I’ll just sit here and play for a while. If you want to take a nap, go ahead, don’t mind me.”

“Boss, I can’t possibly take a nap when you’re not sleeping!”

“It’s not that I won’t let you nap. Don’t go whispering behind my back saying that I don’t let you take a lunch break later.”

“That’s impossible!” Ling Chen quickly shook his head.

“Hey, Lao Ling, do you have any board games here? We can play to pass the time,” Zhou Chao said, using a more familiar term to address Ling Chen.

Hearing Zhou Chao’s change the way he was addressing him, Ling Chen felt pleased and replied, “Boss, I have a Go board here. I usually play it to pass the time. How about that?”

Ling Chen certainly wouldn’t directly claim to be a Go master. After all, if he were to defeat the boss in a game, it would be quite awkward.

“Go? Great! It’s been a while since I’ve played. Let’s have a few moves to pass the time!” Zhou Chao’s interest was instantly piqued upon hearing it was Go. After all, he was a Go grandmaster, and he had a special fondness for the game, from which he could derive some profound insights.

Ling Chen didn’t think too much and took the Go board from the cabinet. After setting up the board, he handed the black stones to Zhou Chao.

“Boss, you can play as black and go first!”

“Well, then I won’t hold back!” Zhou Chao made his first move, placing a stone in the center of the board, known as the (Tianyuan) point. Ling Chen looked at it, a bit surprised by Zhou Chao’s boldness.. He was playing quite aggressively!