Chapter 226: Yao Qiuqiu

"Yes, yes, yes, President Hua, you aren't mistaken. This is indeed President Zheng, the one we are competing against, the Chairman of Qianhe Group."

Xiao Xinhao played his part well. There was a deep, irreconcilable hatred between him and Zheng Qian.

Ever since Zheng Qian had him removed from the company, Xiao Xinhao had held a grudge.

He was not like ordinary people; while others' hatred tended to fade with time, his only deepened, to the point where he wished Zheng Qian would step out the next day and get hit by a car.

Zheng Qian shook his head silently.

He had once trusted Xiao Xinhao so much, turning a blind eye to certain things in the company, and even intending to entrust him with important responsibilities.

Who would have thought—who could have imagined—that Xiao Xinhao would eventually turn traitor, defecting to the enemy, and now, upon meeting, wouldn't even offer a greeting, immediately resorting to cold sarcasm instead.

In Zheng Qian's view, he was no longer Manager Xiao; he was clearly just a lackey for Hua Yunfeng.

Zheng Qian's bottom line was that he could not tolerate betrayal. Even if Xiao Xinhao talked until he was blue in the face, he would never accept him again.

As for Hua Yunfeng, Zheng Qian would never forget what he had done to him.

When the time was right, they would settle both old and new scores together!

Thinking these thoughts, Zheng Qian didn't even acknowledge Hua Yunfeng and his group, simply walking away.

Along the way, he ran into Jiang Yanran, but Zheng Qian only glanced at her without saying a word, taking Song Yaxian to their seats.

Jiang Yanran clearly hadn't expected that Zheng Qian wouldn't even greet her when they met.

She had helped Zheng Qian out of a tight spot the day before yesterday, and this was how he treated her?

That was too disrespectful.

"Who is that person next to him?" Jiang Yanran turned her head and coldly asked the secretary beside her.

"I believe she is President Zheng's secretary."

A secretary?

Jiang Yanran frowned slightly.

This kid was quite the playboy; every one of his secretaries had an elegant temperament and stunning beauty.

They had even had a candlelight dinner together last night; it was hard to say if it was purely a boss-secretary relationship.

"Huh? President Zheng?"

A fair-skinned girl with long legs walked toward him.

Her attire was somewhat familiar to Zheng Qian, and as for her face, it was even more familiar.

Yao Qiuqiu!

The female captain he had met at the Shanghu auction!

She was wearing a white sailor suit accented with gold lace, and as she walked from the entrance to Zheng Qian, countless men were drawn to her.

"What a coincidence..."

Zheng Qian hadn't expected that Yao Qiuqiu would also come to this blind auction, which did surprise him.

At the same time, Zheng Qian calmly glanced at Song Yaxian and realized he was being watched by a strange gaze.

"President Zheng, what brings you to this auction?"

In Yao Qiuqiu's impression, Zheng Qian was just a vice president of a shipyard company with a market value of no more than 100 million. To get into this auction today, didn't one need a net worth of several hundred million?

"Oh, just here to take a look. How about you?"

Zheng Qian had met Yao Qiuqiu once before. For a captain or sailor like her to come to an event like this, it could only mean one thing.

Job hunting.

"Sigh... didn't President Jiang introduce my sisters and me to an acquaintance last time? We only went on two voyages before there were no more, so my sisters and I are unemployed again."

Yao Qiuqiu said with a dejected expression.

Female crew members really weren't in high demand in this industry; whether it was cargo ships or cruise ships, they easily faced discrimination from employers. Finding a legitimate, long-term, stable job was actually a very difficult thing.

Otherwise, Yao Qiuqiu wouldn't have repeatedly shown her face at events related to cruise ships.

It was clear that Yao Qiuqiu and her group of sisters truly loved this line of work.

"Oh, I see. So that's how it is."

Zheng Qian let out a long "oh" and nodded.

Yao Qiuqiu was clearly very interested in Zheng Qian: "President Zheng, are you interested in the Yuese cruise ships?"

As soon as she said it, Yao Qiuqiu regretted it a little.

What a silly question.

Who else here would be like her, coming to look for a job?

"Well, my plan is to take a look first; I might not necessarily win the bid."

Yao Qiuqiu hummed in acknowledgment, greeted Zheng Qian, and then went to the back row.

The venue was huge and could hold thousands of people, but only a few dozen corporate heavyweights with a net worth over 500 million had come to participate in this blind auction.

The back row was for spectators, and given Yao Qiuqiu's status, she could only sit at the very back.

Yao Qiuqiu noticed that there were actually other women in the spectator section, one old and one young.

It was none other than Zhao Ying and Lu Shanshan.

Yao Qiuqiu didn't say much and sat in an even further back row.

Just then, a man wearing a white linen suit walked toward the back row with vigorous strides and a beaming smile on his face.

"Aunt Zhao, Shanshan, why are you sitting here?"

"Come on, I have seats over there; come sit with me."

Zhang Jian gave Zhao Ying a wink; this was exactly the scene he had planned.

In the back row, you were just an irrelevant spectator.

If you were in the front row, your status would be completely different.

Although Zhao Ying was also an entrepreneur, compared to those big shots, the scale of her business was far too small—she could only be considered a fraction of theirs.

By inviting them to the front row, Zhang Jian immediately elevated their status and standing.

"Okay, okay." Zhao Ying was all smiles as she pulled Lu Shanshan up and started walking forward.

Lu Shanshan didn't know what kind of scheme the two were cooking up. She hadn't really wanted to attend this auction in the first place, and before she could even agree, her mother was already pulling her forward, leaving Lu Shanshan with no choice.

Halfway there, Lu Shanshan suddenly spotted a familiar back.

Zheng Qian!

Oh my god!

Why was he here too?

Judging by the expression on Zhang Jian's face, he must have known that Zheng Qian would come to this blind auction, right?

Was that why he had deliberately invited her to come?

Upon seeing Zheng Qian, Lu Shanshan immediately lowered her head to prevent him from seeing her with Zhang Jian and creating any misunderstandings.

Lu Shanshan was actually a bit conflicted inside. Why was she so afraid that Zheng Qian would misunderstand the relationship between her and Zhang Jian?

She couldn't quite figure it out herself.

The seats Zhang Jian had invited her to were in the fourth row, while Zheng Qian was sitting in the sixth row—not directly in front, but to the right.

Even though she wasn't sitting directly with her back to Zheng Qian, if he just cast a slight glance to the side, he would be able to see her.

Lu Shanshan was regretting it to death right now. Why had she come to watch this auction!

Speechless!

Lu Shanshan rummaged through her bag, pulled out a baseball cap, quickly put it on, and sat in the outermost seat.

"Shanshan, why are you sitting so far away?"

"Come over here and sit next to Mom."

Zhao Ying was sitting right next to Zhang Jian, and at this moment, she was separated from Lu Shanshan by at least five or six seats. Anyone who didn't know better might think they were two separate groups who didn't know each other.

"I'd rather not go over there; I'm right in front of an air vent, and I'm a bit sensitive to the cold," Lu Shanshan said, making up a random excuse to brush her off.

"You child..." Zhao Ying was just about to lecture Lu Shanshan when she was interrupted by Zhang Jian.

"It's okay, it's okay, Aunt Zhao. We can sit over there too; the air conditioning is indeed quite strong here," Zhang Jian said with a chuckle.

"Look at how considerate Young Master Zhang is toward you. You're so old now and still so immature. Young Master Zhang, please don't mind her."

"It's fine, it's fine, I won't mind, hahaha."

Zhang Jian and Zhao Ying stood up and sat down beside Lu Shanshan.

The auction was about to begin, and Zhang Jian didn't want to miss this good show.

Hua Yunfeng, in the third row, gave him a confident look.

Upon seeing it, Zhang Jian smiled triumphantly.

After he had clashed with Zheng Qian at the restaurant the day before yesterday, Hua Yunfeng hadn't stood up for him, but afterwards, he had told him some news: he would outbid Zheng Qian at the auction and completely crush his arrogance.

Zhang Jian had come to Jiangnan originally to attend this auction on his father's behalf, so he naturally understood the rules and ins and outs of it.

After hearing Hua Yunfeng's introduction, Zhang Jian realized this was a great opportunity to show off in front of Lu Shanshan and put Zheng Qian in his place.

He couldn't wait to see the expression on Zheng Qian's face when he lost the bid by being outbid.

"Shanshan, isn't that Zheng Qian over there? Aren't you going to go over and say hello?" Zhang Jian said with feigned interest.

"I'd better not..." Lu Shanshan refused.

Zheng Qian clearly hadn't noticed her yet. If she went over there on her own initiative, wouldn't she just be asking for trouble?

Zhang Jian said "Oh."

Immediately after, the auction began.

"Young Master Zhang, the competition at this auction seems very intense, doesn't it? So many big entrepreneurs have come, and I recognize quite a few of them."

Zhao Ying scanned the room and spotted several familiar faces.

Jiang Yanran of Asia Shipping, the Chinese president of Duster Shipping, Zhuo Xiuwen of Tianxia Shipping, Cai Yang of Jingyuan Shipping, and General Manager Sun of Huaxia Shipping.

In the rows in front of her were Hua Yunfeng of Yuehua Shipping and Fan Minxue of Changsong Shipping.

There were also many big shots from the financial and real estate sectors; the vast majority had a net worth exceeding 500 million, and a small portion were close to 500 million.

Many entrepreneurs were eyeing this rich, succulent piece of meat; it looked like the competition today would be extremely intense!

"That's for sure. Yuese Shipping bought three giant cruise ships and went bankrupt before they ever went on a single voyage. They're still brand new, so everyone is eyeing this prize."

"Come to think of it, isn't your father, Lekang, interested?" Zhao Ying asked.

"My dad is interested, but he had a stroke after eating seafood two days ago. His right foot is swollen, and he's physically very incapacitated, so he entrusted me with full authority to come."

"Let me tell you quietly, the budget my dad gave me is..."

"300 million."