70: Chapter 70 Su Ye, your chicken feet are showing!

Su Ye did not intend to bring Gu Qingyan to tonight's event; primarily because Su Ye and Chen Ze were not acquainted and this meeting was only happening through Cao Ye's facilitation, so bringing Gu Qingyan along would be inappropriate.

At six-thirty, Su Ye parked his car at the entrance of Zhilan Restaurant and walked into the private room to wait for word from Cao Ye, intending to go out and greet them later.

This was not about lowering his status, but rather standard business etiquette. After all, Su Ye and Chen Ze had no prior connection at this moment; it would be unacceptable for Su Ye to invite someone to dinner and then sit there, arms akimbo, waiting for them to walk into the room.

After instructing the waiter in the private room to prepare the meal according to his previous specifications, Su Ye began to admire the "internet female bodhisattva" inside the room.

As it neared seven o'clock, Cao Ye sent a message saying he had parked the car. Su Ye stood up, put his phone back into his trouser pocket, and walked quickly out of the private room.

Just as he was nearing the main entrance, he saw Cao Ye walking alongside a man with a kind, broad face and a tattoo on his right arm, chatting and laughing about something.

Information regarding Chen Ze flashed through Su Ye's mind. As the eldest son and future successor of Chaoyang Group, his upbringing had coincided exactly with the period of Chaoyang Group's aggressive expansion. He had been sent to Australia for university, a typical returnee with a Master's degree in Finance from the University of Wales.

However, whether it was from staying in Australia too long or witnessing the aggressive growth of Chaoyang Group, he always carried a rugged air about him, though it was undeniable that he truly possessed ability.

Now in his thirties, Chen Ze had a five-year-old daughter. Chen Ze and his wife's marriage was a business arrangement, but they were fond of each other, so their family life was quite harmonious, and he doted on his daughter.

After running through the details of Chen Ze's family and personal circumstances in his mind, Su Ye put on a perfectly measured smile and hurried forward to greet them.

"Chairman Chen, hello, I am Su Ye."

Chen Ze was unpretentious; after sizing Su Ye up, he extended his hand and said with a smile,

"I know you. Old Cao has been running to my office every chance he gets these past two days, praising you to the high heavens."

"He's just afraid I won't host you properly, so he's giving me some backup in advance."

Cao Ye laughed and added, "The Little Boss thinks I've been too annoying these past two days and is picking on me. Heaven is my witness, I was just going to report work to the Little Boss; I had no other ulterior motives."

Chen Ze glanced at Cao Ye and pointed at him, saying, "Report one sentence of work, then mention Su Ye twice, right? Hahahaha."

Chen Ze was unpretentious and had a strong sense of approachability, which made Su Ye breathe a sigh of relief. He was most afraid of the damn system arranging difficult targets for him. If he really encountered someone like that, Su Ye wouldn't care if they were a mission target or not; he would clap back if he needed to. Su Ye would never compromise his own comfort.

"Brother, Chairman Chen, why don't we go into the private room and sit down to talk?"

Chen Ze nodded, "Alright, let's go into the private room to talk. Also, Su Ye, don't call me Chairman Chen; it sounds uncomfortable. It's after-hours now, just call me Chen Ze."

Su Ye certainly wasn't foolish enough to actually address him by his full name, so he replied with a smile, "Alright, Brother Ze."

Once inside the private room, Su Ye took the head seat, Chen Ze sat in the guest seat, with Cao Ye accompanying him, and the waiter began to serve the dishes.

With Chen Ze being approachable, Cao Ye facilitating, and Su Ye being a smooth talker, the three of them toasted each other repeatedly. In less than an hour, they had consumed nearly two bottles of Tianzihu, totaling about two jin.

Chen Ze inadvertently caught sight of the perpetual calendar on Su Ye's wrist, and his heart skipped a beat. Chen Ze was naturally familiar with the Patek Philippe perpetual calendar series—he owned two himself—and he also knew the price of the one on Su Ye's wrist: a list price of 1.04 million, plus a one-to-one purchase requirement. That meant over two million.

He couldn't help but look at Su Ye in a new light. When Cao Ye had spoken to him earlier, Chen Ze had assumed that Su Ye had just opened a company worth a few million, or maybe ten million at most. After all, Su Ye had previously worked within the group and was only in his twenties; even if he had inherited the family business to start his own venture, how much capital could he really have?

In other words, if Su Ye's family really possessed tens of billions in assets, would he have come to him over a bank loan issue?

But now that Chen Ze saw the watch on Su Ye's wrist, his thinking shifted. Could someone who could spend millions on a watch really only be worth ten million?

Chen Ze changed the subject, preparing to probe into Su Ye's background, and asked curiously, "Su Ye, I heard from Old Cao that you used to work in our group?"

Su Ye glanced at Cao Ye, and after Cao Ye gave a slight nod, Su Ye replied, "Ah, I spent half a year at the group before coming out to start a company. Now I've found that the company's capital has some issues. Honestly, I don't know much about this, so I asked Brother Cao to help me arrange a meeting with you. After all, Brother Ze, you've been managing a company for so many years; many problems that seem difficult to me are probably nothing in your eyes."

Chen Ze had made up his mind. He set down his wine glass and asked, "Su Ye, you're Old Cao's younger brother, and I feel like we get along well. If you have anything to ask, just say it; I'll help if I can."

Su Ye didn't dawdle and directly laid out the issue of Future Group's current lack of funds.

If Su Ye hadn't had the backing of the system, he certainly wouldn't have brought it up; after all, such matters counted as trade secrets. If someone with ulterior motives were to make an issue of it, it could cause real trouble. But Su Ye wasn't afraid; it was just a front anyway, and the real solution lay in the system rewards.

After listening to what Su Ye had to say, Chen Ze took a long, deep look at him. He hadn't expected that thick-browed, big-eyed Old Cao had such an impressive younger brother.

Although their industries were different, Chen Ze had heard of Future Technology Group. Setting aside its bright prospects, the incident a while back where Chairman Zhang Hua's wife had run off with a gigolo and absconded with funds had been the talk of the town for many people during their leisure time.

Later, Chen Ze had been curious about who had taken over Future Group; he hadn't expected it to be Su Ye. In the next instant, Chen Ze became convinced that Su Ye was no simple character, because Chen Ze knew that not long ago, quite a few big bosses from tech-sector groups had wanted to acquire Future Technology, including two or three that were on par with Chaoyang Group in terms of scale.

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Ze decided to cut the pleasantries and said straightforwardly, "Little Su, I can call you that, right?"

Su Ye smiled and nodded.

"In your current situation, there are only two ways. The first is to sell a portion of your shares in exchange for a cash injection. After all, when it comes to loans, Future Technology's current valuation is too low; even if I were to intervene, I wouldn't be able to secure enough funds. If you lean towards this option, I can facilitate the connections for you."

"The second way is to find a way to go public. Given Future Technology's current situation, the possibility of listing on a mainstream market is extremely low, though there are still opportunities via specific pathways or regional markets. However, that would be a huge loss, as Future Technology's explosive growth period hasn't even arrived yet. But if you choose this, I can find some channels for you."

Su Ye pretended to ponder Chen Ze's two proposals, then smiled and said, "Forget it, Brother Ze, I'll find a way myself."

Chen Ze took a long, deep look at Su Ye, convinced that Su Ye was no simple character. What kind of method could he possibly have to obtain hundreds of millions or billions in cash flow? You can't hide it anymore, Su Ye; your true colors are starting to show, aren't they?

Meanwhile, a scenario had already formed in his mind: a young master from a wealthy family who had left home in a fit of pique to start a business, only to be forced to return home for help when he encountered difficulties.

Su Ye looked at Chen Ze's "you're hiding so much" gaze: ????