Chapter 65: Happy Cooperation

Without looking at Vice President Zhang, Long Luozhou kept his gaze fixed on the scenery outside the window. "Jiang Jian is merely a despicable person. Since I promised President Xu that I would award the project to Jianxia, I naturally will not go back on my word. However, he also needs to understand that Long'an's projects are not so easily obtained."

Standing nearby, Vice President Zhang understood the situation instantly. He let out a silent sigh inwardly, as this was the first time he had ever witnessed Long Luozhou acting so emotionally driven.

As expected, because it involved President Xu of Zhaohui, he now had to pay for their dinner out of his own pocket and put on a smiling face for them. It was utterly exasperating.

That evening, Vice President Zhang's Maybach parked right at the entrance of the hotel where Zhao Xinze and I were staying. Vice President Zhang sat in the front passenger seat, and the driver stepped out to open the doors for Zhao Xinze and me.

A restaurant named after the city itself was enough to speak volumes about its high-end status. Zhao Xinze and I followed behind Vice President Zhang, wearing polite, fabricated smiles on our faces.

Upon entering the private dining room and taking our seats, Vice President Zhang named the first dish before passing the menu over to Zhao Xinze and me.

"Please feel free to order whatever President Jiang and President Zhao would like to eat. There is no need to stand on ceremony with me."

"How could we possibly impose on Vice President Zhang to foot such a heavy bill?"

Despite saying this, Zhao Xinze chose to ignore the unspoken rules of the dining table out of a desire to vent his frustration. Completely disregarding the "budget-capped dish" ordered by Vice President Zhang, he ordered whatever was most expensive and rare.

I gave him a subtle nudge under the table, signaling with my eyes for him to show some restraint, before he finally handed the menu over to me.

After selecting a side dish that was significantly cheaper than the rest of the items, I passed the menu back to Vice President Zhang.

"We've finished ordering. Does Vice President Zhang have anything else he'd like to add?"

Between the two of us, Zhao Xinze and I had ordered a total of nine dishes, most of which were time-consuming and expensive heavy courses. Vice President Zhang's face turned practically green.

Laughing awkwardly, Vice President Zhang said, "That should be enough food. We just need a bottle of wine. What would the two of you like to drink?"

Seeing Zhao Xinze open his mouth to speak, I quickly cut in. "We'll defer to our host. Vice President Zhang can just order whatever is appropriate."

If I hadn't stopped him, Zhao Xinze probably would have ordered top-tier Moutai. We couldn't let him run wild like that, considering we hadn't secured the Long'an project yet.

Vice President Zhang let out a sigh of relief. After confirming the menu with the waiter, he began exchanging polite pleasantries with us.

They were nothing more than meaningless surface-level remarks—a mutual commercial praise society.

"Vice President Zhang, when exactly can the contract be finalized? We need to arrange our production schedule accordingly."

"Rest assured, President Jiang. The contract will be finalized in two days at the most. I will personally contact the two of you then. I must trouble President Jiang and President Zhao to stay a few more days in Rongcheng."

"Since Vice President Zhang has given your word, of course we trust you. After all, Long'an hails from the Long Group and is an industry leader. You certainly wouldn't deliberately make things difficult for us just because Jianxia is a small company, right?"

Vice President Zhang's gaze flickered for a split second before he chuckled awkwardly. "Naturally not. And I also believe that Jianxia is a trustworthy business partner."

Everyone at the dinner table harbored their own hidden agendas, and no one truly focused on eating or drinking, leaving several dishes completely untouched by the end of the meal.

"It would be a shame to waste this food. Shall I have someone pack it into boxes for the two of you to take back?"

Carrying several take-out boxes, Zhao Xinze and I returned to our hotel room.

"I'm starving. While the food is still warm, pull up a chair and eat with me."

Zhao Xinze pulled out a chair and took the take-out boxes out one by one, arranging them on the table. "What a waste it would be to let such wonderful food go to waste."

"You really had the nerve to order all that. Weren't you afraid of offending Vice President Zhang?"

Looking entirely unconcerned, Zhao Xinze replied, "What is there to be afraid of? Sure, we're a small company, but that doesn't mean we're someone's playthings to be messed with at will. This project will make a decent profit, but letting someone ride roughshod over us is completely out of the question."

"We're running a legitimate business here, not begging for scraps. Why should we pander to them?"

I nodded in agreement. "You're right."

After the dinner party concluded, Vice President Zhang photographed the receipt, sent it to Long Luozhou, and placed a call to him.

"President Long, you'll need to reimburse me for this expense."

"I saw the bill. You all ate quite well."

Long Luozhou's tone revealed neither joy nor anger. Annoyed, Vice President Zhang retorted, "Isn't this because you instructed Li Xu to give them a hard time? They took it out on me by intentionally ordering all the most expensive items."

"Hah, they certainly hold a grudge."

"President Jiang is relatively easy to deal with, but that President Zhao..."

"Zhao Xinze has a background—his family is in politics, so he's not someone to mess with casually. I'll arrange for someone to send some gifts to the Zhao family later to smooth things over. The only person I am targeting is Jiang Jian."

"Not to speak out of turn, President Long, but have you still not let go of President Xu after all these years?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. "Zhang Zhi, you're talking too much."

Internally rolling his eyes, Vice President Zhang wisely chose not to pursue the topic further.

Zhao Xinze and I stayed at the hotel for another day, purchasing cured meats for Elder Xu, Ye Wanyin, and Zhao Xinze's father, and having the store box and ship them out.

Upon receiving a call from Vice President Zhang informing us that the contract was finalized, we were picked up and taken to the company to sign it.

This time, without all the previous detours, we were led directly to Vice President Zhang's office, where his assistant handed two documents to Zhao Xinze and me.

After carefully reviewing every single clause and confirming there were no issues, Zhao Xinze and I signed our names and stamped our corporate seals on the documents.

Vice President Zhang stood up and extended his hand toward us. "President Jiang, President Zhao, happy cooperation."

"Vice President Zhang, happy cooperation."

With the contract signed, Vice President Zhang had his assistant escort us out. At the main entrance, we saw an impeccably dressed man in a tailored suit walking toward us with an extraordinary bearing. The assistant respectfully greeted him.

"Good day, President Long."

Long Luozhou gave a slight nod, then looked at Zhao Xinze and me without speaking first.

So this was the boss of Long'an. Taking the initiative, Zhao Xinze extended his hand to Long Luozhou. "Hello, President Long. I am Zhao Xinze from Jianxia."

Long Luozhou shook his hand. "Ah, President Zhao. Hello. Please convey my regards to your father."

I then politely extended my hand as well. "Hello, President Long. I am Jiang Jian from Jianxia."

However, Long Luozhou did not shake my hand. Instead, he simply looked me up and down before giving a slight nod. "I have some acquaintance with President Xu, and I have heard a thing or two about President Jiang."

"I hope this cooperation between Long'an and Jianxia will not let me down. I have matters to attend to, so I won't see the two of you out."

With that, Long Luozhou turned and walked away. The hand I had left hanging in the air slowly retracted and clenched into a tight fist. There had been unmistakable disdain and mockery in Long Luozhou's eyes when he spoke just now.

Were everyone in Xu Zhixia's circle such arrogant snobs who looked down on others?

As we left Long'an, Zhao Xinze leaned over to me and asked, "Do you have some kind of old grudge with Long'an's president? Why did it feel like he really loathes you?"

"How would I know? He's the young master of the Long Group; there's no way I could have crossed paths with him before. Judging by his attitude, his relationship with Xu Zhixia is probably much deeper than just 'some acquaintance'."

"You mean he made things difficult for us just to vent on Xu Zhixia's behalf?"

"That possibility can't be ruled out. Anyway, we've already secured the project. Such trivial, painless annoyances aren't worth dwelling on."