Chapter 135: Poaching the Team

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To be fair, the two men were capable enough—they had actually managed to obtain news about Nievanov.

There were rumors that Nievanov would be meeting privately with Zheng Hejin, the deputy mayor of Shenzhen.

This meeting was not related to official business. Zheng Hejin had once studied in the Soviet Union, and during that period, Nievanov had been the president of his university. In a sense, Zheng Hejin had been Nievanov’s student.

That day, Chen Nianhua and He Zhijun spent a long time discussing matters at the electronics factory. At last, they found an intermediary.

He was also an official in the municipal government, and they hoped to use him to gain access to Nievanov.

As they talked, the subject eventually turned to their children.

Chen Nianhua drew a deep breath. “Old brother, I’ve really spoiled my daughter.”

“Tell our nephew to be a little more patient with her. Sooner or later, that girl will understand how he feels.”

At that, He Zhijun was equally troubled. He sighed. “My boy has plenty of problems too.”

“You’re two years older than Nini, so you should give her some leeway. Yet you had to make such a scene at the factory, turning everything upside down. You show no manly spirit at all.”

Chen Nianhua burst out laughing. “You can’t put it that way. I think Kai is an outstanding young man. Didn’t those subscription certificates make us look at him in a whole new light?”

He Kai had made several million from the subscription certificates this time, which was precisely why both older men admired him so greatly.

As a result, Chen Nianhua felt even more pressure to discipline his daughter.

Although He Zhijun cursed his son with his lips, in his heart he still believed that his son was the best. With a hypocritical, bitter smile, he said, “It was nothing but luck.”

“Ahua, what do you think? This time, when we go to meet Nievanov, why don’t we take the two of them along?”

“First, it will broaden their horizons. Second, it may help them let bygones be bygones. Young people are always prone to squabbling over pride. Once they set that pride aside, anything can be resolved.”

Nianhua’s face lit up. “I think that would work. After all, everything we’ve spent our whole lives building will belong to them eventually.”

The two men immediately went to the offices of their younger companions and told them about the plan.

He Kai naturally had no objections. Why had he been confronting Chen Nini so fiercely in the first place?

He had simply wanted to force her to yield.

Chen Nini, however, looked deeply troubled when she heard the news.

How could Chen Nianhua know that, in his daughter’s heart, this had nothing to do with a quarrel over pride?

She genuinely hated He Kai from the depths of her heart and looked down on him as well.

A grown man without even the slightest breadth of spirit—what kind of man was he?

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But she was afraid that Chen Nianhua would lose his temper, so she did not express her position on the spot.

She merely said, “Dad, I have something to take care of. I’m going out for a while.”

With that, the young woman rose and walked out.

Seeing that his daughter was still so resistant, Chen Nianhua was instantly enraged. “You girl, how can you—”

“Forget it, Ahua. Take it slowly. Don’t force her.” He Zhijun advised him from the side in an apparently kindly tone.

But Chen Nianhua failed to notice the vicious glint that flashed in He Zhijun’s eyes as he watched Chen Nini’s retreating figure.

He was a man extremely skilled at scheming.

If Chen Nini found herself another boyfriend, he would immediately begin helping his son seize control of the factory.

Compared with him, Chen Nianhua was a hundred thousand miles behind when it came to cunning.

…

Chen Nini really did have something to do.

More than an hour after leaving, she was sitting in a restaurant in Huanggang with Chai Jin.

The two ordered their food. Chai Jin looked at her with a smile. “Miss Chen, you seem to be in a rather poor mood.”

Chen Nini suddenly drew a deep breath, and much of her usual icy elegance faded away.

“I really don’t understand. We’ve already reached this point, so why are they still trying to bring us together?”

“Wasn’t my attitude clear enough?”

Chai Jin rinsed the tableware with tea and smiled. “Tell me what happened.”

Chen Nini then recounted everything that had just happened at the electronics factory.

When she finished, she stamped her foot in frustration. “Just looking at him makes me sick, and they want me to marry him? I’d have to be insane.”

“I’m practically sick with irritation. I don’t even want to step inside the electronics factory anymore.”

Her emotions erupted completely. Unable to control herself, she began rambling at Chai Jin from across the table.

Chai Jin maintained his smile throughout. After a long while, he said, “I’ve heard about Nievanov recently as well. Apparently, there are many people hoping to meet him.”

“He is a figure of enormous importance in the Soviet Union. Being able to meet him would be an honor.”

“But with so many people seeking an audience, are your father and his friend really so confident that Nievanov will agree to receive them?”

Chen Nini puffed out her cheeks. “Dad said that the person he found in the municipal government is one of the deputy mayor’s most trusted assistants.”

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“Nievanov and the deputy mayor are holding a private banquet. My father and the others obtained an invitation through that connection.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Chai Jin fell into thought.

He knew about the banquet. It was a private gathering hosted by Nievanov.

A notice had also been sent to him through Yu Pengfei, asking him to attend.

Strictly speaking, Chai Jin was supposed to be the principal guest. The purpose was to discuss the two sides’ next stage of cooperation.

As for the deputy mayor, he was probably little more than an incidental guest.

Chai Jin did not comment on the matter. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Let’s not talk about Nievanov for now. Let’s discuss the mobile phones.”

With that, he took a newspaper from beside him.

It was an economic newspaper from Tianjing.

In a tiny corner, it carried a brief report:

“Conflict Erupts Between Motorola’s Third Technical Team and the Brand Owner…”

Chai Jin tapped the article with his finger. “Hongchang Electronics has been producing Motorola mobile phones under its own label for some time. Do you know about this internal dispute?”

Chen Nini was still worked up over the matter concerning He Kai.

She took the paper, glanced at it, and said without paying much attention, “I know about it.”

“The third technical team is led by a Chinese-American. After Motorola established its factory in Tianjing in February, he came over and formed a research and development team.”

“That team made a major contribution, solving many problems that had long seemed impossible to resolve within the industry.”

“But the usual attitude in foreign companies is white supremacy. In the end, their achievements were submitted to headquarters under the name of the first technical team.”

“The outcome is obvious. That was how the conflict erupted.”

“Why are you concerned about this?”

Chai Jin smiled at her. “Tell me, if my boss wanted to recruit the entire team, how much would it cost? And could you help him establish contact with them?”

Chen Nini froze.

Then she suddenly remembered why Chai Jin had asked her to meet him.

She opened her mouth. “You want to recruit the whole team?”