Chapter 656: A Chance Encounter at a Banquet
Chapter 656: A Chance Encounter at a Banquet
At noon, Jiang Xia invited the leadership team from the factory to a banquet at Fulou Manor.
A large round table accommodated twenty people in total.
The heads and team leaders from each department were all invited.
Jiang Xia stood up, raised her glass, and toasted everyone, "To a successful collaboration in the future!"
Zhao Cheng Lei would pick her up later in the afternoon, so she didn’t need to drive. She had taken Jiang Dong’s car that morning, which was already parked at Jiang Father’s workplace, and he would drive it home after work.
Everyone stood up, raised their glasses, and returned the toast.
Jiang Xia wasn’t usually a talkative person, but when she hosted a gathering, everyone felt welcome and at ease.
The meal was a delightful experience for all.
As they were leaving, a few people walked out of the adjacent private room, including Mai Nian Shan, the developer of the seafood market, Mr. Zheng, and Li Zhi Hua.
Mai Nian Shan greeted Jiang Xia with a smile, "Miss Jiang, Factory Manager Tan."
Mr. Zheng and Li Zhi Hua also greeted her.
Hearing Mai Nian Shan address the factory manager, Jiang Xia guessed that he was the Hong Kong businessman interested in acquiring the clothing factory. She smiled and greeted them back.
The factory manager then said, "Xia, this Mr. Mai is the one who wanted to take over the clothing factory."
Mai Nian Shan smiled, "It was my father who saw its potential."
Jiang Xia replied, "It seems that my grandfather and I have similar investment instincts."
Mai Nian Shan’s expression stiffened for a moment but quickly returned to normal. He smiled, "No wonder my father felt an instant connection with Miss Jiang."
Jiang Xia noticed his expression change but didn’t understand what she had said wrong. She didn’t dwell on it and simply said, "Please convey my regards to Grandpa Jiang. We should be going now."
Mai Nian Shan nodded.
Jiang Xia then greeted Mr. Zheng and Li Zhi Hua again before leaving with the factory manager, deputy manager, and others.
As they walked out of Fulou Manor, Zhao Cheng Lei’s car was already parked outside.
Seeing Jiang Xia open the car door, Zhao Cheng Lei got out to greet the factory manager.
The factory manager and his colleagues had met Zhao Cheng Lei before and greeted him with a smile before tactfully leaving.
Mai Nian Shan and his group also came out, and there was another round of pleasantries.
After the greetings, Zhao Cheng Lei and Jiang Xia walked together to the jeep.
Jiang Xia asked him, "Did you arrive a while ago? Did you eat? Why didn’t you come in?"
This was her event, so Zhao Cheng Lei didn’t want to intrude.
"Just got here, already ate. I had dinner with Dad in the canteen."
In reality, he had arrived about ten minutes earlier but didn’t want her to wait, so he came early.
Zhao Cheng Lei opened the car door, as usual, one hand on the roof and the other supporting her, protecting her as she got in. He noticed a faint scent of alcohol on her and asked, "Did you drink?"
"I toasted everyone. Is the smell strong?"
She had to breastfeed, so she didn’t drink much, but toasting everyone was necessary.
Jiang Xia subconsciously sniffed herself, reminding herself to change clothes before holding the children when she got home.
"Not strong", Zhao Cheng Lei said, fastening her seatbelt before gently closing the door. He walked around to the driver’s seat and started the car.
The jeep quickly passed Mai Nian Shan’s sedan.
Mai Nian Shan watched the departing jeep, pinching the bridge of his nose.
He had been surprised that his adoptive father would be interested in such a small clothing factory.
Most likely, he wanted to buy it for Jiang Xia.
It was reasonable to establish some assets for his biological son and granddaughter on the mainland.
After all, his father had spent his entire life searching for his wife and children.
But…
Not long ago, Lawyer Zhang returned from abroad, and his father rushed back to Hong Kong to meet with him, seemingly with the intention of revising his will.
*
The jeep drove smoothly, and as they passed the cinema, Jiang Xia saw Dr. Ruan waving at their car from the side.
"Dr. Ruan is waving, pull over and stop for a moment."
Zhao Cheng Lei saw her too, and the car slowly pulled over, stopping in front of Ruan Tang.
Ruan Tang recognized the license plate of this Jeep and knew it belonged to Jiang Xia, so she waved on purpose.
There were two other women with Ruan Tang, and Jiang Xia recognized them as nurses from the hospital. One of the nurses had even helped deliver Jiang Xia’s children.
Jiang Xia rolled down the window and smiled, greeting them.
Zhao Cheng Lei also nodded at them.
Ruan Tang smiled and asked, "Are you planning to head back to Cunli Village now, or do you have other business to attend to?"
"No other business. We’re heading back to the village now."
"We want to go tide pooling. Can we do it today or tomorrow?"
Ruan Tang had previously asked Zhou Chengsen about the best times for tide pooling.
Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Actually, you can go tide pooling every day, because there’s a high tide and a low tide every day. However, during the spring tide, the water recedes further, and you can find more things. On regular days, there’s not as much to find."
Jiang Xia thought about the lunar calendar for today but couldn’t remember. She turned to Zhao Cheng Lei and asked, "Is there a spring tide these next few days?"
"Yes, today is the first day of the lunar month."
Jiang Xia said, "You want to go tide pooling? Get in the car!"
Jiang Xia then called out to the two nurses, "Nurse Li, Nurse Su, get in the car too!"
Ruan Tang laughed, "We’re both off these next few days, and we planned to go tide pooling at your place. We won’t be shy about it!"
The two nurses also said, "Thank you for the trouble."
"Trouble? Get in the car! I was the one who troubled you when I gave birth!"
Ruan Tang opened the car door and let the two nurses get in first, then she got in last.
In the car, the two nurses asked about the triplets and mentioned that many children had been getting sick due to the changing seasons, reminding them to be careful.
They chatted about children all the way.
Zhao Cheng Lei focused on driving and didn’t say a word.
When they arrived in Zhenshang, Ruan Tang said, "Let’s get out here. We’ll find a hotel to stay in first."
Jiang Xia replied, "We have plenty of guest rooms at home. No need to stay in a hotel. The third floor is only occupied by my two nieces and my second aunt. You can stay in one of the guest rooms there."
The first floor was already full.
The three of them declined, "No, that would be too much trouble."
Jiang Xia insisted, "It’s no trouble at all. The tide might even go out in the middle of the night. What time is the tide going out tomorrow?"
She asked Zhao Cheng Lei.
Zhao Cheng Lei thought about the tide levels he had seen during his morning run and said, "Tomorrow, the tide should go out around four or five in the morning and again around four or five in the evening."
The three of them were silent.
Neither time was very convenient for them. They had to get back to the city in the afternoon, as they had to work the next day!
If they went tide pooling in the afternoon, there wouldn’t be any buses back to the city.
Jiang Xia suggested, "Then stay at our place tonight, and we can go tide pooling in the middle of the night. I haven’t tried midnight tide pooling in a long time."
Ruan Tang thought about it and said, "We’ll stay one night then."
They were a bit scared about three women walking to the beach in Cunli Village in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar town.
When they got back to Cunli, it was only three in the afternoon. Zhao Cheng Lei intentionally drove past the beach to check if the tide had started to go out.
Jiang Xia said, "We can still go to the beach today even if the tide hasn’t gone out."
Ruan Tang looked at the beach and was a bit disappointed, "It doesn’t seem like the tide has gone out yet."
Jiang Xia replied, "It should be around five or six. Let’s have dinner early today and go play after dinner."
At 5:35 PM, Zhou Chengsen came home from work and saw his daughter excitedly pulling Ruan Tang’s hand and running out.
He was taken aback.
(End of Chapter)
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