"Brother Chen Xiao, want me to give you a ride? It's way too hot outside today!"
Chen Xiao had originally planned to drive himself, but having a free driver didn't sound bad either.
The elevator descended to the first basement level. After they stepped out, Ma Jing led Chen Xiao to her Mercedes-Benz C260. It was white and very stylish—definitely a good fit for a woman. The car cost around 260,000 yuan, all told.
Chen Xiao opened the passenger-side door, got in, and buckled his seatbelt.
Ma Jing pointed through the windshield at a Mercedes-Benz CLS up ahead. "Do you know what kind of car that is?" she asked Chen Xiao.
Chen Xiao glanced at his car but didn't answer. 'How could I not know my own car?'
Ma Jing continued, "That's a CLS. It's a direct import, a purebred Mercedes-Benz. The cheapest one costs nearly 500,000 yuan. Not like mine—this one is just an entry-level model. And Manager Yuan's car? That's just next-level flexing!"
Hearing her go on about cars made Chen Xiao feel a bit awkward, so he could only say, "You're so young, driving a C-Class is already excellent. A lot of white-collar workers are still driving Volkswagens. Of course, if you just think of it as a tool to get around, it doesn't really matter what you drive. The era of judging people by their cars is long over!"
"You're so open-minded, Brother Chen Xiao!" Ma Jing decided to drop the subject. 'If I say any more, I'll hurt his pride,' she thought. 'After all, he doesn't even have a car, and here I am complaining that a Mercedes C-Class is just an entry-level model. What a humble-brag!'
"Right, let's go. This car is comfortable, high-end, impressive, and classy!"
A little pleased by his praise, Ma Jing smiled and said, "Brother Chen Xiao, with all the chatter, I forgot... is Drive 'R' or 'D'?"
Chen Xiao, who had just started to recline his seat, shot straight up at her words. "Uh, Ma Jing, on second thought, maybe we should take my car!"
"Take your car? What car?" It took Ma Jing a moment to process. As far as she knew, Chen Xiao didn't own a car.
"That one, right over there!" Chen Xiao said, pointing at the Mercedes-Benz CLS.
Ma Jing giggled. "Brother Chen Xiao, you're kidding me... No... no way. Seriously?"
As she spoke, Chen Xiao pressed a button on his key fob, and the daytime running lights on the car opposite them lit up.
"Let's go!" Chen Xiao got out of the car first. 'That's terrifying,' he thought. 'She can't tell Drive from Reverse? How is she allowed on the road?' Then he thought of Bai Lu, who was apparently the same way. The crazy part was that she also drove a white Mercedes-Benz C-Class. 'Sigh, that car must sell really well. I feel like I see them everywhere!'
Once inside Chen Xiao's Mercedes-Benz CLS, Ma Jing looked all around, touching the dashboard here and the console there, before finally saying, "Brother Chen Xiao, so it turns out you're the biggest sandbagger at the company!"
"It's nothing special. Just a car to get around in, an entry-level model."
"You're even better at the humble-brag than I am!"
The car glided smoothly into the underground parking garage of Yunfeng Building. Chen Xiao told Ma Jing to wait for him at the 22nd-floor reception desk while he went to the property management office to pick up the title deed. He didn't plan on bringing her along; he didn't like to be ostentatious.
The property management office was on the first floor. After Chen Xiao introduced himself, the receptionist immediately notified the property manager, who came right over. The manager was smiling so broadly that the wrinkles by his eyes bunched together. He bowed slightly and offered both hands to shake Chen Xiao's.
"Hello, President Chen!"
He sized Chen Xiao up. 'Good heavens,' he thought, 'not even 25 years old, and he paid in full for an office space of over 1,000 square meters worth nearly 30 million yuan. What kind of family does this kid come from!'
"Manager Liao." Chen Xiao shook his hand politely. The manager handed Chen Xiao the prepared documents and said, "President Chen, President Li from Central Inspection heard you were coming and is waiting for you nearby. Would you be free to meet with him?"
'Of course I have to meet him,' Chen Xiao thought. The annual rent was over two million yuan. The 22nd floor had a usable area of 1,180 square meters, with rent at 150 yuan per square meter, and that didn't even include the property management fees.
The property management fees were paid directly by the tenant to the property managers. Led by Manager Liao, Chen Xiao arrived at the property management company's meeting room.
Inside was a middle-aged man who looked to be almost fifty. He was fair-skinned with a portly, prosperous air about him.
Seeing the two of them enter, he quickly stood up and walked over with a smile.
"Let me make an introduction," Manager Liao said. "This is the general manager of Jiangzhou Zhongjian Equipment Co., Ltd., Mr. Li Guoqiang—President Li! And this is President Chen!"
Li Guoqiang, who was smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, shook hands with Chen Xiao.
"My, my, President Chen, so young and successful!"
"You're too kind. I've just been lucky."
He was telling the truth. 'Without the system, I'd be nothing.'
The men sat down. While Manager Liao took on the task of making tea, Li Guoqiang got down to business with Chen Xiao.
"President Chen, regarding the rent situation, allow me to give you a brief report."
"It's not that we're maliciously withholding rent. Last year, we submitted an application to the previous landlord to do a complete renovation of our offices. This tied up a significant amount of our capital. Since the previous landlord was a good friend, he allowed us to temporarily fall behind on payments."
Chen Xiao nodded in understanding. 'I just don't know how the system managed to transfer the right to this debt to me.'
"President Li, with a business as large as yours, surely you're not short on this bit of rent money?"
"Ah, you don't understand our industry. Our company does general contracting. The cash flow looks enormous, but in reality, we only make a small margin."
"On one hand, competition is fierce, so the procurement prices we negotiate with clients are very low, leaving us with razor-thin profit margins. On the other hand, we can't delay our payments to the various suppliers."
"So even though our annual operating cash flow is huge, our net profit is actually less than five million yuan. And our renovation alone cost over three million!"
Chen Xiao asked him directly how he planned to resolve the issue now.
"Starting with this quarter's rent payment, we will pay six months' worth of rent each time. That's equivalent to paying off one quarter of the arrears every quarter. We'll have it all paid off within a year."
"President Li, if that money were invested elsewhere, it would generate a significant amount of interest over a year."
"President Chen, I know that. That's why I'm asking for your help!" Li Guoqiang's tone was almost pleading. Chen Xiao figured that a one-time payment would probably break their capital chain.
Chen Xiao knew it too. Companies like theirs essentially acted as middlemen, relying on connections to earn a commission. They looked glamorous on the surface, but they definitely didn't earn as much as the suppliers who actually owned the technology.
"I'll have to consider it. I'm not very familiar with your company's operational status or your ability to repay the debt."
By saying this, he was actually showing he was open to negotiation. Otherwise, he would have rejected the proposal outright.
Li Guoqiang was deeply grateful. "Thank you so much, President Chen, for giving us a helping hand!"
Chen Xiao said nothing more. Remaining noncommittal gave him room to maneuver.
"President Chen, please come up to my office for a bit? You must grace me with your presence for lunch!"
Ma Jing was still waiting on the 22nd floor, so Chen Xiao went upstairs with Li Guoqiang. The property manager was savvy enough not to tag along.
Once they arrived upstairs, Chen Xiao introduced Ma Jing to Li Guoqiang as his colleague.
Li Guoqiang was momentarily confused, unsure which company she was a colleague from, but he remained extremely polite. He complimented Ma Jing on her beauty and praised her for her good judgment, saying that anyone who could be President Chen's colleague must be extraordinarily capable.
When Ma Jing heard Chen Xiao introduce the man as the general manager of Zhongjian Equipment Co., Ltd., she was inwardly astonished. She never would have dreamed that Chen Xiao was so low-key.