17: A black pot

The following morning, Jiang Zhonghua drove to Cloud Deer Garden.

He couldn't help but feel nervous when the heavily armed security guards stopped him.

"My name is Jiang Zhonghua, I am the president of Xinghai Biotechnology, and I am here to see Academician Chen Guoyuan."

The security guard nodded slightly.

"Academician Chen gave instructions. Follow me."

The security guard led Jiang Zhonghua to the entrance of Villa No. 1.

"President Jiang, please go in by yourself."

Jiang Zhonghua, carrying his briefcase, rang the doorbell.

Soon, Chen Wanwan opened the door and led Jiang Zhonghua to the study.

Inside the study, Chen Guoyuan raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Zhonghua, his gaze calm and profound, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

"Did you bring the contract?"

Jiang Zhonghua was stunned for a moment, then respectfully handed over the documents.

"Yes, I brought them. Please take a look."

"Regarding the remuneration and equity portion..."

Chen Guoyuan waved his hand, interrupting Jiang Zhonghua's introduction.

He immediately flipped to the crucial clauses concerning technical confidentiality, R&D objectives and responsibilities, and the equity agreement for his granddaughter.

After carefully reviewing them for a moment, he nodded slightly.

"This is acceptable."

Chen Guoyuan picked up the pen and signed his name on the Chief Scientist employment contract.

The entire process was faster than expected; all documents were signed in less than twenty minutes.

Jiang Zhonghua felt a sense of unreality, as if he were merely an errand boy.

Only after confirming that the official press conference would be held next week did Jiang Zhonghua, feeling dizzy, bid farewell to Chen Guoyuan and drive back to the company.

Gripping the steering wheel, he felt lightheaded.

That was it?

Returning to the office building where Xinghai Biotechnology was located, the elevator door had just opened when Jiang Zhonghua saw a figure pacing anxiously in the reception area of his office.

Jiang Zhonghua quickly entered the office.

Lin Dong saw Jiang Zhonghua arrive and immediately jogged forward.

Looking at Lin Dong's dark circles, Jiang Zhonghua felt like laughing; it seemed he, too, had been up all night.

"President Jiang!"

"Well, did you meet Academician Chen?"

Lin Dong's eyes were fixed on the briefcase in Jiang Zhonghua's hand.

Watching Lin Dong's impatient manner, an indescribable sense of accomplishment and control welled up in Jiang Zhonghua's heart.

He didn't answer immediately, walking unhurriedly into the reception room and placing the briefcase on the coffee table.

Under Lin Dong's nearly burning gaze, Jiang Zhonghua leisurely opened the briefcase and took out the two newly signed contracts.

Lin Dong grabbed the contracts and anxiously flipped through them. His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled when he saw the photocopy of Chen Guoyuan's ID card.

"It really is Chen Guoyuan!"

"Xinghai Biology is about to soar into the sky!"

Just then, the receptionist led a middle-aged man, travel-worn but impeccably dressed in a suit, to the entrance of the reception room.

"President Jiang, the Mr. Zhang you scheduled has arrived."

The visitor was Zhang Kaiwen.

Yesterday.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Kaiwen didn't hesitate, taking the earliest flight to arrive in the Magic City.

Zhang Kaiwen's steps abruptly halted.

The contract was already signed?

He jogged forward a few steps, took the contract, and examined it carefully.

Only after a quick review did he finally feel at ease.

Zhang Kaiwen chose to return to the country because he understood Jiang Zhonghua, knowing that his old comrade would not lie about major matters, especially not to an old brother who knew him inside and out.

As for the mess in the US, he simply handed it over to the lawyer he had worked with for many years.

Career elites like Zhang Kaiwen and Lin Dong, who had already reached the pinnacle of their professions, no longer placed much importance on money.

They were all intelligent people. When Jiang Zhonghua mentioned that Chen Guoyuan was coming out of retirement to join Xinghai Biology, they immediately realized that a major project significant enough to attract this scientific heavyweight was about to launch.

And what they valued was this major project.

Naturally, they also valued the many convenient factors brought about by Chen Guoyuan's joining.

Starting from scratch and reaching the peak.

Leaving a name in history has always been a deep-seated desire for all people of the Dragon Kingdom.

And now, such an opportunity lay before them.

The feast had begun; how could they miss the entrance ticket?

"Where is my contract?"

Zhang Kaiwen asked with an eager expression.

Lin Dong reacted... "Hurry up and take out the contracts!"

Jiang Zhonghua quickly retrieved the two executive employment contracts he had prepared earlier from his desk and pushed them toward Lin Dong and Zhang Kaiwen respectively.

"Since everything is confirmed, let's not waste any time."

"Sign it. From now on, we are true comrades."

"Let us sail this Xinghai behemoth together."

Lin Dong practically snatched the pen, signing his name on the contract without even looking at the remuneration or various restrictive clauses, as if the pie that had fallen from the sky would fly away if he delayed for a second.

Zhang Kaiwen appeared much calmer, but he skimmed the contract clauses extremely quickly. After confirming the key provisions were correct, he neatly signed his name as well.

The moment he put down the pen, he felt as if he had completed a major turning point in his life, and the long-dormant passion within him seemed to start boiling again.

"Done!"

Jiang Zhonghua put away the contracts, looking completely refreshed.

"The first priority now is the press conference next Monday."

"Old Gun, this is your area of expertise. I'm handing the entire public opinion battlefront over to you. I want to see a preliminary plan by tomorrow morning."

"Lin Dong, you are responsible for assisting Kaiwen."

"This press conference must succeed; failure is not an option."

"We, Xinghai Biology, must use this opportunity to become instantly famous!"

A sharp glint flashed in Zhang Kaiwen's eyes, and he immediately entered work mode.

"Understood."

"I will immediately organize the channels for domestic mainstream technology media, financial media, influential portals, and think tanks."

"Academician Chen's joining is highly significant. The press release's tone needs to be both solemn and explosive. I will personally handle this aspect..."

Lin Dong nodded repeatedly.

"I will immediately coordinate administration and finance. Any support needed will be provided instantly."

Just as the three men were rolling up their sleeves, ready to start working hard, the special email notification sound on Jiang Zhonghua's computer rang again.

The three men simultaneously paused, their eyes darting towards the computer screen.

"It's an email from the Boss."

Jiang Zhonghua immediately clicked it open.

The body of the text contained only eight characters.

[Initial Project: Implement as soon as possible]

The email subject was concise.

[Project Codename: longevity water]

The enthusiastic atmosphere in the office instantly felt as if it had been doused with a bucket of ice water, becoming somewhat stagnant and strange.

Jiang Zhonghua, Zhang Kaiwen, and Lin Dong stared at each other, their faces filled with the same emotion.

Disbelief and profound suspicion.

"longevity water?"

Lin Dong snatched the mouse and clicked open the attachment.

The very first sentence read: [longevity water: Refreshes the mind and enhances alertness. Long-term consumption can extend lifespan and has significant curative effects on cardiovascular diseases and neurological disorders...]

"Alertness... lifespan extension?"

"Why does this sound exactly like the advertising copy for those $9.90 health supplements sold on TV shopping channels?"

Zhang Kaiwen's brows furrowed tightly into the shape of the Chinese character 'Chuan'.

Having held high positions for many years, he was extremely sensitive to market concepts and product positioning.

In his view, this longevity water was no different from the health supplements currently on the market... "Old Jiang, is our Boss perhaps a little... too wildly imaginative?"

Zhang Kaiwen held back for a long time before managing to utter just that sentence.

He truly could not connect the longevity water project with a figure of Chen Guoyuan's caliber.

Lin Dong nervously leaned on the office desk.

"We just signed Academician Chen, our golden signboard. If the very first project is this, what if..."

All three men harbored their own worries and considerations.

What if this so-called longevity water was just a gimmick, or even something deceptive that couldn't withstand scrutiny?

Once released, the backlash would be catastrophic.

All their previous efforts, and the illustrious reputation Academician Chen had built up over a lifetime, would be ruined in an instant.

The three of them would also become eternal sinners of the Dragon Kingdom.

Jiang Zhonghua's heart sank abruptly, and a fine layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

He felt as if a giant black pot had been placed over his head.

longevity water... judging solely by the name and functional description, it was far too down-to-earth.

This was hardly some high-end, cutting-edge technology project; instead, it sounded exactly like the rhetoric commonly used by street corner scammers.

Jiang Zhonghua, with trembling hands, clicked open the attached compressed file.

Inside were dense experimental data, molecular formulas, process flows, and comparative effectiveness charts... The level of professionalism was extremely high, far exceeding the comprehension of the three men present.

The three men gathered around the computer, falling into a long silence as they looked at the cryptic terminology and curve charts.

Finally, Jiang Zhonghua took a deep breath.

"Since the Boss was able to invite Academician Chen to join, surely he wouldn't destroy his own foundation?"

These words sounded like he was trying to convince the other two.

In reality, Jiang Zhonghua was trying to convince himself.

"We can't understand these things. Let's wait until Academician Chen arrives and have him personally take a look."

Lin Dong's words enlightened the other two.

Since this matter involved Academician Chen, they should first let a professional vet it.

Jiang Zhonghua nodded in agreement.

"But regarding this longevity water project, not a single word is to be leaked until we get Academician Chen's approval."

"The immediate priority is to successfully release the news of Academician Chen's joining."

"Let's first establish the framework for the two subsidiary companies. The real hard battle comes next."

Zhang Kaiwen and Lin Dong exchanged glances, both seeing the same concern in the other's eyes.

But since things had come to this, they were already aboard the Xinghai ship, and besides choosing to trust the mysterious boss behind the scenes, there seemed to be no better option.