121: Chapter 121 The Interesting Zhang Jing

"A new storm has appeared—"

"How can one stop moving forward—"

The next day, although Su Ye naturally woke up at 7 AM due to his biological clock, after sending a background check request to Attorney Shi Jun at Zongheng, he lazed in bed until noon before getting up to take a shower.

According to what Attorney Shi Jun said, even though Zongheng's relationship network and influence were immense, completing a background check would still take about a week. After all, public information (industrial and commercial changes, judgment documents, administrative penalties, etc.) could be compiled within 48 hours via the law firm's internal database.

As for non-public information (such as bank statements, supplier/client interviews, etc.), relying on the law firm's brand endorsement, the partners were highly cooperative, and verification could be completed in 3-5 days.

This required the team to work in 24-hour shifts, focusing on verifying the group's core risk points (such as hidden related-party transactions, nominee shareholding, and major litigation risks).

Su Ye didn't care; Su Ye could afford to wait.

It was just the right amount of time to try and sort out the CEO for the Family Office. After all, Su Ye's Family Office was currently just an empty shell. Whether it was registration, finding an office location, or bringing elite talent into the family team, all of this took time.

If he didn't get the Family Office sorted out soon, who knew how long it would take to find time to deal with it when he went after the Qin Family later.

Thinking of this, Su Ye opened his phone and looked at the WeChat business card Yu Chen had pushed to him. It was a handsome man in his forties, wearing a high-end tailored suit and rimless glasses; one look and you could tell he had the distinct aura of a business elite.

Su Ye muttered to himself:

"Pete Zhang? Let me see how impressive you are."

He clicked to add him as a friend. Less than three minutes later, the request was accepted, and immediately after, a long paragraph of text was sent over.

"Chairman Su, hello, I am Zhang Jing, English name Pete. I am currently at Guangyao International Consulting, responsible for executive searches in the South China region of Daxia. I just saw your friend request. Chairman Yu already spoke to me this morning. You want to set up your own Family Office. I think this is a wise move. Leave professional matters to professionals. You only need to control the direction like the captain of a large ship. Those below labor with their strength, those in the middle labor with their wisdom, and those above labor with people. This is an eternal truth."

"Below is my contact information and office address. If it is convenient for you, Chairman Su, could you leave your contact information, or let me know when you have time so I can visit you and understand your needs?"

Su Ye felt this reply was very interesting. It seemed like just a greeting, but the long-windedness didn't make one annoyed, and it conveniently mentioned the need for a meeting and a phone call.

Looking at the time, it was already 12:30 PM. Su Ye replied with his contact information on WeChat and set the time and place for 2:00 PM at the Black Swan Coffee Shop downstairs in his residential complex.

Su Ye arrived at the Black Swan Coffee Shop at 1:30 PM. Since it was only half an hour from the appointed time after eating, there was no need to go back and wait; it was better to just sit in the coffee shop.

Su Ye originally thought he had arrived early, but when he saw a middle-aged man in a booth by the window who looked very similar to Zhang Jing's WeChat avatar, tapping his fingertips against his laptop screen, Su Ye knew someone had arrived even earlier than him.

The sunlight swept slantwise across the dark brown rims of his glasses, refracting tiny spots of light. His hair was meticulously trimmed, his sideburns were clean without a trace of discoloration, and he was wearing a charcoal gray slim-fit suit. His tie was a low-saturation navy blue, tied in a standard four-in-hand knot, with the tightness perfectly positioned just above the first button of his shirt. One look and you could tell he was a person who was rigorous with himself and his work, and who pursued efficiency.

Su Ye's lips curled into a smile as he walked toward the booth. Inadvertently, he saw the computer screen was showing some kind of report in a string of German:

"Director Zhang?"

The sound of typing stopped abruptly. Zhang Jing stood up calmly and extended his right hand, his etiquette impeccable.

"Hello, Chairman Su. I am the head of the South China region for Guangyao Headhunting, Zhang Jing. Very pleased to meet you."

Su Ye smiled, extended his hand to shake his, and said:

"I hope I didn't disturb you."

Zhang Jing glanced down at his laptop, then extended his left hand to gently close it:

"For my clients, no matter what time it is, as long as there is a need, it is never a disturbance."

Su Ye chuckled twice:

"Director Zhang certainly knows how to speak."

Zhang Jing shrugged with a helpless expression:

"No choice, you have to love the work you do."

After the two sat down, Zhang Jing continued:

"I took a look at the menu when I arrived. Their pour-over and cold brew have a good reputation. Do you have a preference for coffee? Do you like rich Italian style, or something lighter and lightly roasted?"

Su Ye knew that Zhang Jing was probing his preferences to help him order coffee. A desire to tease him arose in his heart, so he said:

"Either is fine. You decide."

Zhang Jing raised his eyebrows, then flipped open the menu on the side and tapped his fingertips on two of the items:

"Then shall we try their signature Yirgacheffe pour-over? It's a light roast with a hint of citrus. Or perhaps an Ice Bock Latte? It's creamier. It's a bit hot today, so something iced might be more comfortable—which would you choose?"

Zhang Jing provided a specific "choose one of two" option, which made him appear decisive while also handing the final decision-making power to Su Ye.

Zhang Jing's reaction was something Su Ye hadn't anticipated. According to his expectations, Zhang Jing might have ordered one casually or made a recommendation; he hadn't expected him to give a closed-ended question directly. It seemed he often used such little techniques.

This was a small trick used in both life and work. Human thinking is always linear; if you give an open-ended question, many answers often pop into one's mind, but if you give a multiple-choice question, then they will only think about those two choices.

"Let's go with the Ice Bock Latte."

Zhang Jing closed the menu and raised his right hand to call the waiter:

"One Yirgacheffe pour-over and one Ice Bock Latte, please. Could you serve them in ceramic cups? Thank you."

Su Ye didn't know why he was suddenly very interested in this Zhang Jing; he felt that this Zhang Jing was a very interesting person.

While waiting, Zhang Jing pushed the small snack plate on the table toward Su Ye's side and said with a smile:

"The owner of Black Swan has opened quite a few shops and comes from a supply chain background. The beans are all sourced directly from Ethiopian estates. It's just that he likes to travel around and doesn't want to spend too much time on work. According to him, he has already earned enough money in this lifetime for his next life, so he wants to use the remaining time to make up for his younger self."

As he spoke, he looked at Su Ye with a smile, very relaxed:

"On the 7th of last month, I just finished helping him set up a mid-sized Family Office. I saw his WeChat Moments update last night; he should be in the Glénan Islands, south of the Finistère department in the Brittany region right now."

Speaking with each other didn't feel like discussing business at all; instead, it was like two old friends chatting. Moreover, Zhang Jing didn't deliberately try to control the atmosphere of the entire conversation. From this, it could be seen that he was a person who was a person who could control himself very well.

As far as Su Ye knew, many executives and bosses were the more assertive type, having a very strong desire for control in any place, hoping that the subsequent rhythm would be controlled by themselves. But to say that Zhang Jing wasn't assertive would be impossible; if he weren't assertive, he wouldn't have reached his current position.