Chapter 159: Birthday

Although Zheng Qian did not plan to pursue the matter, he really should consider his own security issues.

As his net worth continued to rise, the impact he caused to his competitors would only grow larger.

Cutting off someone's financial path is akin to killing their parents.

Big shots at the level of Jack Ma or Pony Ma all have national-level bodyguards by their sides.

After returning to Jiangshan International, Zheng Qian thought about it carefully; he actually should hire a few bodyguards as well.

This time it was an accident, but next time it might really be knives or gunshots.

Now is a critical period of confrontation between the Qianhe Group and the Qijinyi Alliance. Zheng Qian needs a bodyguard team to escort him. Once his influence expands in the future, no one will dare to easily make a move against him.

"By the way, Shuangshuang, what was the name of that guy you KO'd last time? I heard he was from the provincial Chinese Kickboxing team, right?" Zheng Qian recalled one of Jin Lu's former suitors.

"Are you talking about Duan Qiran?"

"Yes, yes, yes, Duan Qiran. Where is he now?"

"I sent him to Long Lake to be a coach. Why are you suddenly asking about him?"

Zheng Qian explained his thoughts.

"This... will this work?"

Jin Lu was a bit worried. Since they were hiring bodyguards, a professional team would be better.

Duan Qiran originally had some minor conflicts with Zheng Qian; what if he gets bribed to turn against him?

However, having said that, Duan Qiran's skills were indeed quite good. If she hadn't gone all out for the sake of Zheng Qian's face a while ago, she might not have been able to KO Duan Qiran.

"It's fine, it'll be him. We'll go to the gym tomorrow and tell him. I haven't worked out in a long time anyway."

Zheng Qian lay on the bed like nothing had happened, sprawled out in a "big" shape, not looking at all like someone who had just been in a car accident.

"Come, come, come, let me show you a photo."

"What photo?"

Jin Lu pulled up a photo of the accident scene from her phone. Zheng Qian's Mercedes, which originally had such a long wheelbase, had been caved in by nearly half by the truck.

"The traffic police said that if it had been ten centimeters closer, it would have hit the cockpit, and both of your legs would have been ruined."

"Oh~" After Zheng Qian saw the photos of the scene, he immediately passed out.

...

Early the next morning, Zheng Qian was woken up by a phone call from an unknown number.

Zheng Qian hesitated for a moment, but eventually pressed the answer button.

"Hello, I'm sorry to bother you. May I ask if you are Mr. Zheng, Zheng Qian?"

The voice on the other end was a sweet and tender female voice. Zheng Qian thought it must be a scammer who had obtained his personal information.

In this era of big data, everyone's information is likely to be leaked.

"I don't buy insurance, I don't do wealth management, I don't look at stocks, I don't need to upgrade my degree, I don't upgrade plans, I'm not looking for a marriage partner or dating. May I ask what else you have to say?"

"..."

There was a silence of thirty seconds on the phone.

"Mr. Zheng, I am from the Administrative Office of Yebei University. Is it inconvenient for you to take the call right now?" The other party had already guessed that Zheng Qian took her for a scammer, but still politely asked.

The Political and Educational Office of Yebei University?

Zheng Qian quickly apologized: "Oh, oh, that's me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just thought it was a scam call. Is there something you need?"

"It's like this, Mr. Zheng. There is an alumni association event in three days. We checked and found that you are now the Chairman of the Qianhe Group. Would you have time to come over and give a speech?"

Hearing this, Zheng Qian was finally able to confirm that the other party was not a scammer.

Yebei University indeed had this tradition. Although Yebei University was not a Double First-Class university, it was still one of the top key universities in the province and had produced many outstanding alumni.

When Zheng Qian had just enrolled, he had attended one such lecture. It was an inspirational speech given by a financial tycoon, encouraging the juniors at his alma mater to forge ahead and study hard.

In addition to inviting outstanding alumni, the school would also contact some seniors who had graduated long ago to come over. After the speech, they would hold a fundraising event. Those outstanding alumni would take the lead in donating to the school's construction fund, and other invited alumni would also donate quite a bit of money.

This money was all used for the development and construction of the school's environment, such as investing in laboratories, reading rooms, dormitories, school cafeterias, teaching buildings, and so on.

This was a unique campus tradition of Yebei University. One wouldn't dare say its faculty level was top-tier, but in terms of environment and equipment, it was definitely at an advanced domestic level.

The predecessors plant the trees, and the descendants enjoy the shade. Zheng Qian agreed and decided to participate in the event.

"Alright, Mr. Zheng. Thank you for taking my call."

"Then I won't disturb you any further. We'll see you then!"

After hanging up and eating a simple breakfast, Zheng Qian did not go to the company but followed Jin Lu to the gym.

This gym was located in the most prime area of Long Lake, on the middle floor of a commercial building. It was a full two thousand square meters, luxuriously decorated, and all the equipment was imported and state-of-the-art.

Bathrooms, VIP rooms, leisure areas, entertainment areas—it had everything. How should one put it?

Come to think of it, this was the first time Zheng Qian had come here since putting up the money for its construction.

As soon as Uncle Hou saw that it was Zheng Qian, he immediately put down what he was doing and stepped forward to welcome him.

"President Zheng! You're here?"

"Yeah, just came to take a look and get a workout in."

"Uncle Hou, you don't need to be so polite. Just call me Xiao Qian."

Under Uncle Hou's guidance, Zheng Qian looked around.

"Uncle Hou, you've put in the effort. You've really managed this place well," Zheng Qian praised with a smile.

"Not at all, not at all. Shuangshuang put a lot of thought into this gym; she deserves the most credit." Uncle Hou wouldn't dare steal Jin Lu's credit and quickly explained.

"Uncle Hou, you're being modest. I only offered a few small suggestions; you deserve the most credit," Jin Lu laughed.

Uncle Hou then introduced the business situation. Since the gym opened, customers signing up for memberships had been pouring in. In just over a month, they already had several hundred members, which was already a very impressive achievement.

"Alright, I'm at ease leaving it for Uncle Hou to manage."

"But I'm not here to check the accounts today. Duan Qiran is here, right? Call him over for me." Zheng Qian waved his hand, and Uncle Hou trotted all the way to bring Duan Qiran to Zheng Qian.

"Zheng... Brother Qian, hello! Sister Jin, hello!" Duan Qiran greeted Zheng Qian and Jin Lu with a grin.

Zheng Qian told Duan Qiran about hiring bodyguards.

"Weren't you on the provincial Chinese Kickboxing team before? You should know a lot of capable people, right?"

After hearing this, Duan Qiran asked: "Brother Qian, how many people do you need?"

"How many people do you know? Call them all over to be my bodyguards for a month. One hundred thousand per person. As the security captain, I'll pay you three hundred thousand. Are you in?"

Duan Qiran had had a conflict with Zheng Qian last time. Although he tried his best to make up for it afterward, he felt there was still an indelible rift between him and Zheng Qian.

Just for one month's work, he was being offered three hundred thousand. This was practically giving him money!

Hearing this, Duan Qiran's eyes lit up, and he agreed readily: "I'll do it! Of course I'll do it!"

Immediately after, Jin Lu told him about Zheng Qian's car accident.

"Since you've agreed, do a good job. Don't slack off, understand?"

Duan Qiran suddenly realized; no wonder Zheng Qian wanted to hire bodyguards, someone had hired a hitman!

He patted his chest and guaranteed: "Sister Jin, don't worry, I will definitely protect Brother Qian well! For Brother Qian, I'll go through fire and water, and even take a bullet for him!"

"Alright, stop spouting nonsense. Go and contact your group of people. I'll arrange for someone to cover your work here." After Jin Lu said this, she let Duan Qiran go ahead and make the contacts.

She didn't think the price Zheng Qian offered was high. If he didn't offer such a high price, why would people risk their lives for him?

Moreover, she felt one month was still a bit short; the other party might just make a comeback.

Under Jin Lu's guidance, Zheng Qian began a high-intensity workout.

Two hours later, Zheng Qian finally finished all his sets.

"You're amazing!" Jin Lu planted a kiss on Zheng Qian's face. "Go take a shower; I'll go mix you some protein powder to replenish."

Zheng Qian rinsed off the sweat, changed into clean clothes, and was handed two energy bars by Uncle Hou. He sat on the sofa and started munching on them.

"Xiao Qian, you sit here for a while. I have to go out and take care of something; that shipment our gym ordered is arriving."

"Yeah, no problem, go ahead."

Not long after Uncle Hou left, a group of people pushed open the door and walked into the VIP room.

This group of people were in their twenties, three men and two women, dressed in name brands, looking spirited and full of youthful energy.

"Is Boss Hou here?"

"Zheng Qian?"

Zheng Qian: ???

"Why are you here, kid? Haha! It must have been three or four years since we last met!" A man with a buzz cut and glasses walked up to Zheng Qian and gave his chest a hard thump.

This man was named Shi Yuzhu, Zheng Qian's classmate. During college, they had been bunkmates in the same dorm and were also best friends.

"What a coincidence! To run into you guys here." Zheng Qian laughed and thumped him back.

After graduating from college, everyone went their separate ways. It had indeed been three or four years since they had met.

Although Shi Yuzhu was his best friend, both were usually quite busy, so they only kept in touch via phone.

Shi Yuzhu came from a middle-class family and always believed in the principle that more friends mean more paths. In college, he was a social butterfly, getting along well with everyone, but his relationship with Zheng Qian was tighter than with most.

"We're going to celebrate Lu Shanshan's birthday today. Jinghui said a new gym opened here, and he knows the boss. Since a few of us were thinking of getting memberships, we just stopped by while we were in the area."

Birthday celebration?