325: Chapter 325 Independent Directors

Zhu Suosuo walked over and greeted Ye Jinyan, "Mr. Ye~"

Ye Jinyan nodded with a smile in response.

Zhu Suosuo turned back and smiled at Chen Cheng, "Teacher Chen."

A smile played on the corners of Chen Cheng's mouth as he teased Zhu Suosuo, "Aren't you in sales? How do you sell houses while sitting in the office?"

Behind Chen Cheng and Ye Jinyan stood a long line of executives from Jingyan and Zhencheng. Being watched by so many people, Zhu Suosuo nervously picked at her fingers.

"I just started, so I'm still learning, just learning."

Chen Cheng smiled, "Then study hard, and don't embarrass your teacher."

Zhu Suosuo's eyes widened; this teacher was not that teacher.

Her fair face instantly flushed with red, and she nodded, "Okay~"

Having achieved his goal, Chen Cheng smiled at Ye Jinyan, "Mr. Ye, let's go check the bids."

He had greeted Zhu Suosuo just to let Ye Jinyan know that she was his person, and that the old guy shouldn't get any ideas.

It was also to let everyone at Jingyan—be it the executives or Zhu Suosuo's colleagues—know that Zhu Suosuo had someone backing her.

Don't even think about bullying my person.

Although Chen Cheng was a scumbag, he had no limits when it came to protecting his own.

"Right~" Ye Jinyan nodded, "Chairman Chen, please this way."

Ye Jinyan personally led the group into the conference room.

Meanwhile, Zhu Suosuo was stunned as she looked at the two 'Manager Yangs' in the middle of the group, blinking twice to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

It took her a long while to recover, and she looked at Aiper, Zhou Qing, and the others in disbelief.

Both of them saw the confusion in her eyes. Aiper, with her wavy hair, glanced at the tour group that had already walked away, then turned back and whispered to her, "The one walking in the back is the real Manager Yang."

"The one in front is the former director of the Audit Department at Shenmao Bank. I heard he resigned recently."

"The outside world is still guessing where he went, but now it seems he went to..." Aiper said, lifting her chin ambiguously towards Zhu Suosuo, "...your Teacher Chen's company."

Zhu Suosuo wasn't interested in any director or resignation; she just clicked her tongue, "They look too much alike; I can't even tell them apart."

Zhu Suosuo carefully looked left and right, then whispered, "Are they twins?"

Aiper shook her head, "Manager Yang said they didn't know each other at all originally. They only met because someone said they looked alike."

...

While Zhu Suosuo was still gossiping, the executives from Zhencheng and the engineering management team from Jingyan were reviewing the bids in the conference room.

The bid presentation was actually taking place in the large conference room, with an expert committee evaluating the bids on-site.

Cameras were set up in that conference room to monitor the situation, and Jingyan's engineering management team was responsible for explaining the pros and cons of each proposal to the people from Zhencheng.

Meanwhile, Chen Cheng was invited by Ye Jinyan into his own office.

He sat by the sofa, watching the bid evaluation while chatting.

Chen Cheng paused, stunned as he watched Zhang Anren, who was currently presenting a bid on the surveillance video.

His appearance here truly caught Chen Cheng off guard.

However, it wasn't too surprising; he heard from Jiang Nansun that Zhang Anren had been rushing to complete bids recently.

"Chairman Chen, your coffee."

Chen Cheng turned back and nodded with a smile at the chubby Fan Jingang, "Thank you, Secretary Fan."

"You're too kind."

Fan Jingang replied and slowly exited the office.

Chen Cheng picked up the coffee and watched the TV screen, not in a hurry to speak.

Ye Jinyan had personally gone downstairs and led the tour.

It was a bit too enthusiastic. Logically, a real estate giant in his position shouldn't extend such warm hospitality to a private equity firm like Chen Cheng's.

When things are abnormal, there must be something fishy.

He was waiting for Ye Jinyan to speak.

Ye Jinyan, with a gentle expression, sized up Chen Cheng, who was holding his coffee, and slowly asked, "Chairman Chen, what do you think of our Jingyan?"

Chen Cheng blinked; he knew it was coming.

Chen Cheng's mouth curved slightly, and he nodded, "Jingyan is a real estate giant, and you, Mr. Ye, are a veteran in the business world; how could I possibly judge?"

"However, after this tour, the morale of Jingyan's employees is quite good."

"I imagine Jingyan's performance must be good, and you haven't treated your employees poorly. Everyone's face is beaming with smiles, and also..."

"How should I put it? Drive," Chen Cheng nodded, "Yes, drive."

Chen Cheng wasn't necessarily an expert at corporate flattery, but he knew how to be substantive and hit Ye Jinyan's sweet spot.

What else could better indicate whether a company is good or not?

The morale of the employees says it all.

If employees are full of drive and cheerful, it means there's a bright future, profits are good, and compensation is reasonable.

If a company is lifeless, with no sound in the office during work hours, then even if it's not going under immediately, it's already half-buried in the ground.

And sure enough, Ye Jinyan couldn't help but grin widely.

Wearing a brilliant smile, he waved his hand, "Chairman Chen, you flatter me. We in real estate just earn some hard-earned money. With the good national policies in recent years, Jingyan just happened to be a pig caught in the updraft."

"Now that we've flown high, I'm also afraid of a hard fall."

Ye Jinyan humbled himself for a bit, then changed the subject to praise Zhencheng, "The future belongs to young people like you, Chairman Chen."

"You understand economics, finance, and investment, and you also have deep research into cutting-edge technology."

"And for someone as young as Chairman Chen to have such achievements, your future is beyond what an old man like me can fathom."

"Hahahaha~"

Chen Cheng's mouth curved slightly; it seemed this old fox, Ye Jinyan, had specifically investigated him.

Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow and laughed loudly, "Mr. Ye, you're too kind."

His expression changed, and he said calmly, "Mr. Ye, shall we get straight to the point?"

"If there's something on your mind, feel free to say it. We can seek common ground while reserving differences and progress together."

Ye Jinyan reined in his smile, his expression turning serious. To reach this position at this age, he was certainly not someone easy to deal with.

Ye Jinyan took a sip of tea, a faint smile on his lips, "Chairman Chen, are you interested in becoming an independent director at Jingyan and providing us with some guidance?"

Chen Cheng immediately frowned. Dragging me into this crappy real estate pit?

Chen Cheng smiled, "Mr. Ye, you overestimate me. With a group as large as Jingyan, what work could I possibly guide?"

Ye Jinyan wasn't in a hurry and smiled, "Ever since I met you on the golf course last time, I've gone back and studied Zhencheng's investments."

"I have to say, 'breathtaking' is the only word to describe them."

"Every single investment has shown multi-fold growth, and there hasn't even been a single quarter with negative growth."

"I was wondering, what is the reason behind this?"

Ye Jinyan looked at Chen Cheng, an expression of admiration on his face, "Later, I understood. Zhencheng has a captain with a keen sense of smell who knows when the wind will come and which sea area has the most catch."

"That's why you can always return to port with a full catch before the storm hits."

Chen Cheng's mouth curved slightly; being buttered up like this was quite pleasant.

He smiled, "Mr. Ye, how would a captain fishing on the high seas guide other ships?"