Chapter 125: Offering Heavy Incentives to Seek Cooperation

After exchanging contact information with Chen Muxue, Angela and the man in the baseball cap left with profuse thanks.

Cheng Hui then took Chen Muxue to the conference room, and before long they had finalized the details of the agency agreement.

While Chen Muxue and her assistant stayed behind to complete the contract and paperwork, Cheng Hui suddenly turned to Su Zheng.

“Brother Zheng, may I ask you something? Please don’t be offended.”

“Go ahead.” Su Zheng nodded slightly.

“Were you... were you really unemployed before, as the outside world claimed? I mean, living off your wife...” Cheng Hui asked, his voice thick with doubt.

Su Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then grinned. “What do you think?”

“I don’t think so. Definitely not!”

Cheng Hui shook his head firmly. His eyes shone as he stared at Su Zheng, as though he were trying with all his might to see through him.

He had noticed it the last time they appraised jade. There was something extraordinary about Su Zheng’s bearing. Even though Cheng Hui was the eldest son of the Cheng family, he still felt a head shorter whenever he stood before Su Zheng.

“Then what kind of person do you think I am?” Su Zheng asked curiously.

“You seem like...”

“The contract is ready, Young Master Cheng!”

Chen Muxue suddenly entered from outside, smiling brightly. “The first batch will be delivered on the agreed date. I look forward to a pleasant partnership!”

“Haha... Then I’ll be counting on you, Sister-in-law, to take good care of things from now on!” Cheng Hui swallowed the words he had been about to say and turned to Chen Muxue with a smile.

By the time everything was settled, it was nearly noon. Cheng Hui invited Su Zheng and Chen Muxue to lunch at the hotel next door, which belonged to his family.

Once the food and liquor had been served, Cheng Hui immediately picked up a bottle of spirits and took three large glasses, each capable of holding roughly a hundred grams. He filled them to the brim, lifted the first toward Su Zheng with great respect, and drained it in one gulp. Then he raised the second, saluted him just as solemnly, and emptied that one as well. The third followed in the same fashion.

Su Zheng and Chen Muxue were left bewildered by his sudden display, neither knowing what he meant.

“Brother Zheng, these three glasses are my toast to you.” Cheng Hui wiped his mouth and looked at Su Zheng expectantly. “Consider it another apology for my rudeness last time. There’s also something else I’d like to ask of you. I hope you can give your younger brother a hand.”

“Oh? What could I possibly help with?” Su Zheng smiled and pretended not to understand, though he had already guessed Cheng Hui’s intentions.

“I want you to come work at the Cheng family’s jewelry and jade business!” Cheng Hui grew visibly excited. “You handle the jade appraisals, and I’ll manage the operations. With the two of us working together, the company’s development will surely soar. Before long, we might even catch up with or surpass Longfengyuan Jewelry. Then we’ll become the number-one jewelry and jade business in Jiangnan!”

Surpass Longfengyuan Jewelry?

Su Zheng could not help feeling both amused and helpless. After a moment’s thought, he finally said, “I’ll think about it.”

Su Zheng later learned that the largest shareholder of Longfengyuan Jewelry was actually the Li family of Qingyang. It was one of the businesses managed by Li Yanze.

His relationship with Li Yanze was fairly good. Since Cheng Hui wanted him to help overtake Longfengyuan, Su Zheng could not help hesitating.

He had no desire to become involved in the rivalry between Qingyang’s two great families.

“Brother, there’s no time to waste!” Anxiety appeared on Cheng Hui’s face. “The Li family seems to be shifting its focus overseas, and they aren’t paying as much attention to Longfengyuan Jewelry as before. This is the perfect opportunity for us to catch up. Don’t worry—I certainly won’t treat you unfairly. Besides your salary and benefits, I’ll give you five percent of the company’s shares. If the company performs well, I can increase your stake later!”

Chen Muxue was instantly stunned. She was quite shocked. Although Cheng Jewelry and Jade was slightly inferior to Longfengyuan, its market value was still well over a billion. Five percent of the shares alone would yield tens of millions in dividends.

What was more, as the company’s market value grew, that five percent would increase geometrically. By then, the annual income could be measured in hundreds of millions.

Cheng Hui had casually offered such an astonishing package that she felt as though she were dreaming.

She had assumed Su Zheng would accept immediately, but instead he slowly shook his head.

“Let’s talk about it later. I need to think it over.”

“Brother Zheng, do you think five percent is too little? Then eight percent!” Cheng Hui clenched his teeth and added another three percent.

“Brother Cheng, actually—”

“Ten percent!”

Cheng Hui’s eyes reddened, and his hands began to tremble slightly.

Clearly, giving away so many shares pained him terribly. If his father found out that he had casually handed such a large stake to a man of unknown background, he might well beat him to death on the spot.

But Cheng Hui was willing to trust Su Zheng. He was willing to place a reckless wager on him.

“Heh, you—”

“Brother, this is the most I can offer!” Cheng Hui’s voice trembled with excitement. “If you’re still not satisfied, I’ll go back and beg my father for more!”

“You’ve misunderstood. It isn’t about the money.” Su Zheng sighed, still hesitant. “I have my own considerations. Let me think it over first. We’ll get in touch afterward.”

Cheng Hui was just about to speak when his phone suddenly rang. He gave Su Zheng an apologetic glance, excused himself, and went outside to answer it.

“Ow!”

Su Zheng suddenly felt a foot come down hard on his. His constitution was exceptionally strong, but even he could not withstand an attack from a high heel. The blow actually hurt.

“Su Zheng, has something gone wrong with your brain?” Chen Muxue hissed angrily, keeping her voice low. “Why would you turn down such a wonderful opportunity? Even if you’re unwilling to accept the shares, you could have agreed for now and worked your way up gradually. I truly cannot understand why you refused!”

Su Zheng was speechless. It was not solely because of the Li family. More importantly, he saw no need to tie himself to a single company. That would only place countless restrictions on him.

Although Cheng Hui would not impose fixed working hours or control how he did his job, Su Zheng simply disliked making money that way.

Besides, Muxue’s cosmetics company had only just begun. He would much rather devote his energy to helping her build it into a powerful, successful business.

“There are plenty of ways to make money. I have my own reasons. Don’t be angry,” Su Zheng said. Seeing that Chen Muxue was genuinely upset, he could only offer a brief explanation, planning to tell her his thoughts in detail later.

“Do whatever you want. I can’t be bothered to care!” Chen Muxue’s face was cold as frost. She turned away and ignored him, her ample chest rising and falling with agitation—a clear sign that she did not mean what she said.

In truth, she was not merely coveting those shares. More than anything, she wanted Su Zheng to have a stable and respectable job. Whatever the circumstances, he was her husband, and she truly did not want him to remain a laughingstock in the eyes of others.