Chapter 270 - 192: Big Shot

Chapter 270: Chapter 192: Big Shot

"Seriously, why are you making such a weird sound?"

’How can you sound like you’re on top of the world just from sitting in the passenger seat?’

"Oh, it’s nothing! It’s just... this seat is so comfortable!"

Chen Xiao was speechless. ’I’m not feeling comfortable at all!’

"It’s comfortable lying down, and it’s comfortable on your stomach, too!"

Qiao Xin blushed and said, "Chen Xiao, you’re terrible!"

"What do you mean? I’m just stating facts!"

He looked completely serious. After staring at him for a long moment, Qiao Xin started to think she had misjudged him. She had no idea this guy loved to tell dirty jokes.

Chen Xiao had been to Dr. Feng’s Industrial Park before. He had driven over once when Feng Feifei first began negotiations with the High-Tech District.

Back then, however, no companies had moved in yet, and the place was completely deserted.

Now, it was bustling with people coming and going—a truly lively scene.

All the new recruits for the Junxing Intelligent Research and Development Center and Dr. Feng’s Technology Group Headquarters were onboarded directly here. There were nearly a thousand people already.

High salaries made for fast recruiting.

Over 100 tables were set up for today’s annual meeting. Fortunately, the company’s own auditorium was large enough. A typical hotel wouldn’t have been able to accommodate so many people.

Of course, the event was still catered by a hotel; the venue was just the company’s auditorium.

The reception staff were bustling about, busy as could be.

Feng Feifei was mainly responsible for greeting the local government leaders and the executives from several major corporations. She was one to remember old favors; she personally greeted the representatives from companies that had helped her when she was just starting out and arranged for them to have seats near the front.

People like Li Guoqiang and Cha Lan were among them, seated at Table Two.

Table One was reserved for city and local leaders. The only entrepreneur seated there was Xu Wu, the General Manager of Junxiao Group.

As someone controlling tens of billions in capital, Xu Wu had certainly earned her place at this table, conversing with the various leaders as an equal.

One was alluring and exuded a captivating charm; the other was poised and regally elegant.

One had a forceful, domineering style; the other was a master of soft power, influencing things subtly yet achieving explosive results.

Both women were dressed to the nines for the occasion. As the Sect Leaders of their respective groups, they were destined to be the focus of the entire evening.

Bai Lu was also there today, seated at Table Two. Bai Sheng, the General Manager of the Jiangzhou Design Institute, hadn’t come. Since Bai Lu had always been the one heading the collaboration with Dr. Feng’s company, Feng Feifei decided to invite her instead.

From her seat at Table Two, she kept glancing around, though it wasn’t clear what she was looking for.

Bai Lu’s beauty was undeniable, but hers was a more refined and gentle kind. That, combined with her status as a guest, meant she was destined to be outshone by Xu Wu and Feng Feifei tonight.

Li Guoqiang and Cha Lan were chatting idly. Cha Lan joked, "Why isn’t President Chen here yet?"

Li Guoqiang said, "I just did a lap around the room. I didn’t see a place card with his name on any of the tables."

"He wouldn’t just not show up, would he?" Cha Lan asked.

"You never know with him. He’s not a fan of these things. He might be hiding in some corner."

"Let’s find out his table number later so we can go over and propose a toast."

Xia Bin drove his Cullinan, his calligraphy and painting scroll in tow, and followed the address from the front desk to find Dr. Feng’s Industrial Park.

He was dumbfounded when he got to the entrance and drove around for a while.

’A company with an annual output of twenty million can afford a place this big?’

’They probably just sublet from someone, right? Just renting one floor in the industrial park?’

Outside vehicles had to register to enter. Xia Bin asked the security guard, "Is this Dr. Feng’s Robot Co., Ltd.?"

The guard replied politely and asked him to register his phone number and company affiliation.

After giving his details, he asked in disbelief, "Sir, this whole place belongs to your company?"

After receiving a confirmation, Xia Bin no longer dared to underestimate the company.

’What kind of bum scoop did that design firm give me? I can’t work with them anymore. If they can’t even get simple information like this right, what good are they?’

After he parked, a member of the reception staff hurried over. "Sir, may I have your name and the organization you represent?"

They needed his company and title to look up his seat, after which they would ask him to scan a QR code to check in and then escort him to his table.

Xia Bin gave an awkward laugh. "I’m actually uninvited. I’m Xia Bin, the General Manager of Four Seasons Clothing."

He still felt he had plenty of clout; after all, his company had annual sales of one billion.

Uninvited? The staff member didn’t dare to be dismissive. While directing him to the check-in area, they discreetly requested instructions from a supervisor on how to handle the situation.

As it happened, there were other guests from the retail sector, so Xia Bin was eventually seated at their table.

Liu Haoran had also been invited as a representative of Yino Group. This was because Yino Group had partnered with Dr. Feng’s Robot Co., Ltd. to establish a separate business unit for researching humanoid robots for use in their retail stores.

Junxiao Square also had a partnership with Dr. Feng’s Robot. Xu Jun had originally been invited, but he was busy negotiating the acquisition of several new plazas.

Xu Wu had given him a strict deadline: finalize five acquisitions in twenty days. Even though two of them were already settled, the task was still incredibly demanding.

He couldn’t spare a single moment, so he had sent Zhao Hui to attend in his place.

Liu Haoran and Zhao Hui both knew this was the company where President Chen was "lying low," so they naturally didn’t dare to take the invitation lightly. They had arrived early and were now chatting together, imagining the future developments.

"Huh?"

A server came over to add another place setting to their table, putting down a new place card. Since it was right next to Liu Haoran, he couldn’t help but notice.

"Xia Bin?"

Zhao Hui had never met Xia Bin, but he remembered the name clearly. Xia Bin and Peng Yu were both people that he and President Chen had "taken care of" together.

Neither of them could figure out how he had managed to get an invitation.

Chen Xiao’s license plate was registered, so he drove straight in. After getting out of the car, he glanced over at Qiao Xin, who still wore a look of wanting more.