From Wage Slave to Tycoon novel Chapter 146

Chapter 146: Chapter 116: The Convenience I Need Is Very Simple, Right?

「The next morning.」

Su Chen had just sat down to eat breakfast when a shout echoed from the front courtyard.

"Su Chen, you son of a bitch, you’ve screwed me over!"

Hearing the familiar voice, a faint smile touched Su Chen’s lips. He called Jiang Hui over to prepare an extra place setting, gave a few instructions to Chen Fei, and then settled down to wait for Xiao Chen to arrive.

Before long, Xiao Chen walked in from outside, a grim look on his face.

"Brother Cheen, you’re here! Quick, sit down and have some breakfast!"

Su Chen had figured that after what happened last night, Xiao Chen would rush over to settle the score. But when Xiao Chen hadn’t shown up by ten o’clock, Su Chen knew he would definitely come looking for him today.

He just hadn’t expected him to be this early. The trip from his place was at least several tens of minutes. ’He must have left home at seven this morning, right?’

Xiao Chen was about to give Su Chen a piece of his mind when he saw Jiang Hui walk in carrying a place setting and some breakfast. He swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

"Mr. Xiao, please help yourself."

Seeing the neatly laid-out place setting and breakfast, Xiao Chen huffed, sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating ravenously, as if he were starving.

A faint smile played on Su Chen’s lips. He picked up a pan-fried bun and asked nonchalantly, "Did the old man not let you eat last night?"

At these words, Xiao Chen’s hands froze mid-action. He shot Su Chen a look but said nothing, simply lowering his head and continuing to eat.

The smile on Su Chen’s face widened. He could read the look in Xiao Chen’s eyes: ’And whose fault do you think that is, my dear brother!’

Xiao Chen wolfed down his food. Most of the breakfast that had been prepared ended up in his stomach.

"I’m so full!" Xiao Chen leaned back in his chair, rubbing his stomach with a look of pure satisfaction.

Just as Su Chen was about to ask about yesterday, he saw Xiao Chen give him a hostile glare. It was the classic look of someone ready to settle old scores now that they were full and satisfied.

Before Xiao Chen could even speak, Chen Fei emerged from the elevator carrying a case of wine. He walked over to the two men and placed the case firmly on the floor next to Xiao Chen.

One look at the case’s packaging and Xiao Chen knew it contained the fifty-year-old vintage wine—identical to the one he had taken home last time.

"Hmph. You think a case of wine is enough to let this go?" Xiao Chen asked, a flicker in his eyes, though his face remained stern.

At his words, the corners of Su Chen’s mouth curled up. He shot Chen Fei a look, signaling him to take the wine back.

A flash of bewilderment crossed Chen Fei’s face. ’I have no idea what Su Chen is up to, but the boss gave the order. What choice do I have?’

Just as he bent down to pick up the case, Xiao Chen’s indignant voice rang out. "Well, aren’t you something, Chen Fei! You’ve only been hanging around Su Chen for a few days and you’ve already forgotten your big brother? I dare you! I’d like to see you try and move that wine!"

Seeing Xiao Chen getting flustered, Su Chen burst out laughing. ’He’d really give up all his pride for a case of wine.’

"Alright, alright. Chen Fei was just about to carry it to your car for you. Isn’t that right... Chen Fei!"

Chen Fei wasn’t an idiot; he immediately understood what Su Chen was getting at. He quickly explained, "Brother Cheen, how could you think that? You know me better than that! I was just trying to carry it to the car for you. How could I possibly let you lift a finger for something like this? Right?"

Xiao Chen laughed in exasperation at the two of them. ’This well-rehearsed duet... do they take me for an idiot?’ Still, since Su Chen had been so considerate as to gift him a case of fifty-year-old wine, he decided to quit while he was ahead.

"I’ll believe you this time!" Xiao Chen pulled his car keys from his pocket and tossed them to Chen Fei.

Chen Fei caught the keys and left without another word, hugging the case of wine. He didn’t want to stick around and become the butt of their jokes.

Once Chen Fei was gone, the two of them grew serious.

Su Chen pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket—it was the same brand in the white box that Xiao Chen had given him before. He offered one to Xiao Chen.

For a moment, they both smoked, wreathed in clouds of white.

"Brother Cheen, Jiang Hui said you were looking for me yesterday. What’s up?" Su Chen had his suspicions, but he wasn’t clear on the details.

Xiao Chen took two deep drags from his cigarette before he began to explain slowly.

It turned out that with the country’s rapid development and its rising international standing, certain officials had proposed restarting the national artifact repatriation program. The goal was to bring cultural relics back through donations or purchases by prominent figures, both domestic and foreign.

Of course... the higher-ups were strongly encouraging donations rather than high-priced acquisitions. They didn’t want auction houses and foreign investors to see this as a chance to profit.

The appearance of Su Chen’s two zodiac heads, and the story behind them, presented Xiao Chen and the higher-ups with a golden propaganda opportunity. The idea was to pull the Arno family into it and have them cooperate with a publicity push.

Even if the Arno family refused to cooperate, they could spin it into a story about a major foreign family returning cultural relics, ensuring the message reached a wider audience.

Many powerful families and countries looking to build friendly ties with Huaxia would see this as a sign of the times. They would likely feel some pressure to follow suit, which would help achieve the ultimate goal of bringing more artifacts home.

Xiao Chen spoke for a solid ten minutes. By the end, his mouth was so dry that he had to down two glasses of water to recover.

Su Chen didn’t respond immediately after hearing all this. He understood what Xiao Chen was asking: he wanted Su Chen to be the one to communicate with the Arno family. Success would be ideal, but even if he failed, they could just resort to a more vaguely-worded news story.

Su Chen’s fingers drummed lightly on the tabletop. Knowing he was thinking, Xiao Chen was sensible enough not to interrupt, instead sipping his tea slowly.

After a long moment, Su Chen’s fingers stopped tapping. He looked up at Xiao Chen. "I can help with this. But regardless of whether I succeed or fail, I want you to talk to the higher-ups for me, Brother Cheen... about arranging certain... conveniences."

"Oh? And what kind of conveniences are we talking about?" The corners of Xiao Chen’s mouth curled up as he gave Su Chen a knowing look.

Su Chen met his gaze with a smile and said calmly, "If I were to start a new company, I would hope to receive their full support."

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