Chapter 719: Not That Big! (2)
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

When the bride and groom came to offer toasts, Zhou Chao’s table had already finished their meal, leaving Lin Wu still eating.

Upon noticing Zhou Chao, Wu Sheng, and Si Cong hurried over, saying, “Young Master Zhou, we’ve been looking for you everywhere. How did you end up here?”

“It’s all the same anywhere. It’s boring to eat with you guys. Look how relaxed it is here!”

Si Cong shook his head in resignation. “Young Master Zhou, let’s have dinner together tonight as a gesture of apology for the incomplete hospitality at lunch.”

Giving Si Cong a disdainful look, Zhou Chao replied casually, “Skip the formalities. Get back to your tasks. Why are you standing here? As for dinner tonight, let’s talk about it later.”

Acknowledging Zhou Chao’s response with a nod, Si Cong gestured for Wu Sheng and himself to have a drink before moving on to the next table.

“Let’s go, we’re heading back!” Once Si Cong and the others were out of sight, Zhou Chao motioned for Lin Wu to follow quietly.

After leaving the hotel, they drove straight back to Junzhou Huating.

Back home, Zhou Chao slipped back into his relaxed mode, lounging on the sofa with his smartphone.

Around four o’clock in the afternoon, their leisure was interrupted.

Lin Wu entered with Si Cong, carrying a gift bag.

“Why are you here?” Zhou Chao asked, sitting up from the sofa.

“I’ve brought the car back for you. I washed it on the way, and I also filled up the tank with gas. Oh, and Wu Sheng asked me to bring you this. It’s nothing expensive, just a small token of appreciation!”

Si Cong placed the items on the nearby table before lazily sinking onto the sofa.

Zhou Chao nodded slightly, indicating for Lin Wu to tidy up the items. Then, he turned to Si Cong.

“What’s up? Did you have a tough time today, Si Cong?”

“Ah, don’t even mention it. It really wore me out. If I had known it would be this exhausting, I wouldn’t have agreed to be the groomsman!”

As he said this, Si Cong began to complain, lamenting how he had to wake up early, got teased by the bridesmaids during the ceremony, and had been busy non-stop without a moment’s rest. Now, he was using the excuse of delivering a car to Zhou Chao just to get away from the partying that would surely happen in the evening.

“You seem pretty cheerful, though. Surrounded by all those beautiful women, didn’t any catch your eye?”

“Forget it. I’d rather have a chat with an internet celebrity beauty!” Si Cong shook his head hastily, always keeping a distance from socialites.

Zhou Chao chuckled lightly at Si Cong’s response, refraining from making any judgment as everyone had their own preferences.

“By the way, Zhou Chao, are you interested in going out for a trip sometime soon?”

“In the dead of winter? Where would we go?”

“There are plenty of places to visit in the winter. Skiing, snowball fights – all kinds of fun stuff. And then we can soak in a hot spring with some beauties. Just thinking about it feels relaxing!”

As a true southerner, Zhou Chao had a special love for snow. Living in Modu, where snowfall was rare, made activities like snowball fights and building snowmen a luxury.

When Si Cong brought up the topic, Zhou Chao couldn’t deny his interest. However, he had some matters to attend to in the near future, and he wasn’t sure if he would have time to join them on their trip.

“Let’s talk about it later. I’ve got some things to take care of recently. Once I’m free, we can discuss it further. If you guys haven’t gone by then, we can plan something nearby. We don’t need to travel far just for some snow!”

“Sure, there’s still some time left anyway. By the time you’re free, I should be done with my tasks as well. But speaking of which, Zhou Chao, what major project have you been busy with lately?”

Upon hearing that Zhou Chao had been busy lately, Si Cong became interested. He knew that whatever Zhou Chao was occupied with must be significant.

“It’s not anything major, just preparing to sell some of the research results from the company. We’re looking for partners domestically.”

Si Cong nodded thoughtfully. “The research results you mentioned wouldn’t happen to be those machine tools you talked about before, would they?”

“Yes, exactly. They’re already in mass production now. It’s time to let them see the light of day and, incidentally, elevate the domestic level of technology.”

Upon hearing this, Si Cong couldn’t help but twitch his mouth. Since when did elevating the domestic level of technology become just an incidental matter? Of course, only Zhou Chao dared to say such things, claiming to have the most advanced machine tools in the world!

But soon, Si Cong’s expression turned remorseful. He muttered, “What a pity. I’m not involved in this sector; otherwise, I could have made some profit this time!”

“I advise you not to have such thoughts. This time, we’re only targeting the powerful leading enterprises domestically. Even if you want to become a middleman, it won’t work!”

“Not expanding internationally for now?” Si Cong asked, somewhat surprised.

Zhou Chao shook his head slightly. “Let’s satisfy the domestic market first. After all, the domestic market is the primary one. As for overseas, there’s no rush. It’s not like we’re the ones in a hurry!”

Upon hearing this, Si Cong understood. It seemed that this was an attempt to help domestic companies achieve breakthroughs in certain aspects and see if they could seize some international market share. He didn’t expect Zhou Chao’s vision to suddenly broaden so much.

“I didn’t expect Young Master Zhou’s vision to be getting bigger and bigger!”

Zhou Chao waved his hand dismissively at the comment. “Don’t talk about visions or whatever. It’s all just talk. If I really had such a grand vision, I wouldn’t be thinking about how to sell at a high price later!”

Numerous major local companies weren’t lacking in funds; their deficiency lay in technological expertise. In advanced sectors like precision engineering, failing to meet their stringent standards resulted in a significant gap.

This resulted in many large enterprises relying on foreign machine tool companies for high-precision equipment. If any issues arose, they would have to pay to hire professional engineers to handle them.

Now that Zhou Chao had the ability to break into this sector, he didn’t know how far things would develop in the future. But this step had to be taken eventually, so he might as well take a bigger stride and let others see!

The two of them chatted about these matters for about half an hour. In the end, after Si Cong made several urgent phone calls, he reluctantly bid farewell to Zhou Chao and hurriedly left. He wouldn’t be able to escape the night’s revelry.

Watching Si Cong’s departing figure, Zhou Chao shook his head with a smile and picked up Shoufu, giving it a few strokes.

“It’s a good thing you’re not a scoundrel!”

If Shoufu could speak, it would surely jump up and scold Zhou Chao. It also wanted to have a happy cat life, but unfortunately, its owner was too cruel!

“Boss, I have something to report to you!!” Lin Wu ran in with his phone at this moment.

Seeing Lin Wu’s anxious look, Zhou Chao furrowed his brow slightly. “What’s the matter?”

“The Volkswagen Group will hold a board meeting next month. They hope you can attend in person to discuss some important matters for next year!”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chao remembered that he seemed to have signed a stake in a major automotive group before, not a significant amount, around ten percent each!

“Let’s talk about it later. By the way, how is Miles doing with the Saudis? Why haven’t we received any information from there recently?”

“Boss, rest assured, that old scoundrel Miles is living leisurely. A few days ago, when I talked to him, he was having a blast with some local dignitaries from the Saudis. I heard the oil company has started operations, so President Ling specifically transferred 200 million over to him. The initial expenses were indeed quite substantial!”

“Alright, as long as the money is being put to good use. Remember to have President Ling send his own people over, preferably with tripartite management, to avoid any embezzlement.”

“Boss, don’t worry, President Ling has already arranged for people to be in position!”

Zhou Chao nodded faintly, feeling quite confident in President Ling’s ability to handle things.