Chapter 99: Damn it, I don’t believe there’s no substitute!

Li He was startled by his own thoughts.

If that were the case, everything would be ruined.

But he quickly shook his head. Impossible. When he'd issued the procurement suspension notice, he'd reviewed the supplier's information; nowhere did it state that the other party was the supplier of the premium oysters and prawns.

Otherwise, he wasn’t a fool—he would have reported it to Young Master Sen long ago.

“Zheng San, check the supplier's details immediately,” Li He ordered, his tone now tinged with impatience.

Zheng San’s voice came right back, “Manager Li, I can’t access the relevant information. There are no notes. In fact, the procurement suspension notice seems like something the dismissed warehouse manager deliberately showed us. The truth is, the partnership with the supplier has indeed been suspended.”

Li He's head buzzed.

If that Chu Lin was the supplier of the oysters and prawns, why was there no annotation?

That woman Cai Yao always thought herself clever, making endless reforms, yet couldn’t even complete the supplier information?

Zheng San’s voice sounded again, “Manager Li, it seems our Zhizhen purposely left the details vague. After all, these oysters and prawns are Zhizhen’s trump card. To guard against commercial espionage, any precaution helps.”

“So, it makes sense not to specify supplier information. Normally, as long as the general manager, procurement manager, and warehouse manager are aware, there’s no issue.”

Li He suddenly realized, but was left utterly dumbfounded.

Cai Yao, the general manager, had been removed by the chairman. The procurement manager Han was ousted by Young Master Sen. The warehouse manager had been fired at Li He’s urging.

So, there was no one left who knew or could warn them.

This...

“Now that such a problem has arisen, it must be some fool who didn’t understand the situation and made a huge mistake,” Zheng San continued, clearly unaware that the fool he referred to was the very person he was speaking to.

Li He was completely undone by those words.

Zheng San went on, “Manager Li, Zhizhen has made a fatal error. This is your chance to make a name for yourself. Investigate who caused this mess, save the day, and Young Master Sen will surely value you even more.”

Li He could only open his mouth, utterly speechless.

Meanwhile, Zheng San looked at the procurement suspension notice displayed on his screen, a sly smile curling on his lips. He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

The call connected.

He spoke, “President Cheng, Zhizhen’s idiot young master and lady are fighting for power and actually kicked out the most important supplier, actively terminated the partnership. Now, the exclusive supply is gone; this is your opportunity. By the way, don't forget to transfer the money.”

Zhizhen General Manager’s Office.

Cai Sen stared at the stunned Li He and frowned, “Why are you spacing out? Find out what’s going on! Tell them to send the oysters and prawns immediately.”

Li He heard this and gave a face more miserable than crying. “Young Master Sen, we’re finished. That Chu Lin is the premium oyster and prawn supplier. We actually sent a notice suspending cooperation with him.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Cai Sen’s eyes widened in shock.

He knew full well that the oysters and prawns were now Zhizhen’s most crucial asset, but how could that Chu Lin be the supplier? Wasn’t he just a pretty boy? Didn’t he get the seafood into Zhizhen through Cai Yao?

“I’m not making this up, it’s true,” Li He said awkwardly. “That’s why the oysters and prawns haven’t been delivered.”

Cai Sen was now completely at a loss.

Suddenly, he realized he’d misunderstood. It wasn’t that Chu Lin slept with Cai Yao and thereby supplied seafood to Zhizhen; it was because Cai Yao slept with Chu Lin that she could obtain the seafood.

Damn.

That woman always thought she was so clever, but in the end, it was through such sordid means she got the seafood.

Her so-called ability was nothing—she was pretty, and that was all.

He remembered now: at the time, Cai Yao had told him to apologize to President Chu. If he was just her kept man, why call him President Chu in such a situation?

He hadn’t noticed that detail at all, and she’d called him President Chu so formally—clearly, he was her paid companion.

Who could have guessed Cai Yao would sleep with him right in her own home?

“What do we do now?” Cai Sen asked, panic rising.

He knew full well that if his father learned of this, he’d kill him. He might have just become general manager, only to be removed immediately.

Li He replied awkwardly, “Young Master Sen, the only option now is to call the other party, apologize, and say it was a misunderstanding!”

“Yes, yes! Give me the phone!” Cai Sen nodded hurriedly. They had to persuade him to resume supply to Zhizhen.

At Fenghua Hotel, the investment conference had reached its climax: interviews by Min City TV reporters, speeches by company representatives.

Chen Feng, earnest before the camera, introduced the blue-ringed jellyfish and launched into a speech about social responsibility, recounting how he met the chairman on a certain afternoon, was won over by his wisdom and charisma, and together they started Linfeng Aquatic, and so on.

“Is his story true?” Cai Yao was curious. After all, she’d only met President Chu a few times and already earned his favor—Chen Feng was indeed lucky.

According to her analysis, Linfeng Aquatic would soon outpace the company run by Chen Feng’s father.

“Half true, half fiction,” Chu Lin replied with a smile.

“What parts are true?” Cai Yao asked.

“The wise and charismatic chairman—that part is true,” Chu Lin said smugly.

Cai Yao was speechless.

Just then.

Chu Lin’s phone vibrated—a strange number. He answered, puzzled, only to hear a foolish voice, “Hello, President Chu, this is Cai Sen. There was a little misunderstanding this morning. You’re my sister’s boyfriend, and our Zhizhen’s son-in-law, so I hope you won’t hold a grudge and will continue supplying us.”

“Sorry, you’ve dialed the wrong number,” Chu Lin replied playfully, and hung up.

What an idiot.

It wasn’t surprising that the other party called to beg, but it was odd they’d only just realized he was the oyster and prawn supplier. This reaction speed—how could he be Zhizhen’s general manager?

Clearly, being born into the right family was a real advantage.

Putting down his phone, Chu Lin couldn’t help but say to Cai Yao, “Someone foolish should be calling you soon.”

“???” Cai Yao.

Zhizhen General Manager’s Office. Cai Sen stared at the disconnected call, furious. “Damn, dialed the wrong damn number, and he hung up—what a show-off!”

Frustrated, he grew even more anxious.

This meant the other party wanted nothing to do with him.

He tried calling again but found he was blocked. Clearly, he’d been blacklisted.

What now?

Cai Sen immediately thought of Cai Yao, hurriedly found her number, and dialed.

At the conference, Cai Yao saw the incoming call from Cai Sen and instantly understood what Chu Lin had meant about a fool calling her.

She guessed Cai Sen had just learned that President Chu was the oyster and prawn supplier, though his reaction speed was astonishingly slow—useless was useless.

She decided to answer, if only to enjoy witnessing Cai Sen’s flustered fury.

As soon as the call connected, Cai Sen, face dark and stormy, spat, “Cai Yao, you bitch, you plotted against me, making Chu Lin refuse to supply Zhizhen!”

“I’ll give you a chance—come back to Zhizhen as deputy general manager, but you need to handle Chu Lin and make him supply us.”

Cai Yao was at a loss for words—where did he get such audacity?

Truly, her father’s favoritism always cleaned up after him, leaving him without even basic common sense.

Yet he remained as arrogant as ever toward her.

She replied coldly, “Cai Sen, you overestimate me. I don’t have the authority to make President Chu do anything.”

Cai Sen grew angrier, “Cai Yao, do you take me for a fool? You already gave yourself to him—don’t tell me you can’t handle him. If you can’t, just let him sleep with you a couple more times!”

Cai Yao was utterly speechless, and retorted, “Sorry, you’ve dialed the wrong number.”

She hung up and instantly blocked him.

What nonsense.

On the other side, Cai Sen, now blocked by Cai Yao, threw his phone to the floor in rage. Luckily, the Huawi brand was sturdy—the protective film cracked, but the phone itself was unharmed.

...

Linfeng Aquatic’s investment conference was a resounding success.

All 100,000-plus blue-ringed jellyfish were purchased in bulk, along with more than 10,000 simple breeding jars.

This meant Linfeng Aquatic would be receiving over 12 million in revenue.

Bear in mind, the original company investment of 18 million had only spent not even 2 million; now, their cash flow would soon reach more than 28 million.

From here, the largest upcoming expenses were just the gradual arrival of breeding equipment and normal operating costs.

Even with just this, Linfeng Aquatic was stronger than those so-called companies valued at several hundred million.

So, at the banquet, Chen Feng was in high spirits, ordering extra dishes and giving every employee a celebratory red envelope.

After the meal, Chu Lin’s little sister clung to his arm, “Brother, I haven’t visited your breeding facility yet. Take me to see it, please?”

Her two female roommates had already returned to campus.

“Let’s go then!” Chu Lin had no reason to refuse his sister’s request.

“Sister-in-law, come with us!” Chu Ling turned to Cai Yao, inviting her warmly.

She was savvy enough about social etiquette, and besides, she still hadn’t figured out how Cai Yao’s chest got so big—getting closer was a must.

Cai Yao was mortified by Chu Ling’s teasing. She and President Chu really weren’t in that kind of relationship, but after being called “sister-in-law” for so long, she no longer knew how to explain. She could only cast a helpless glance at Chu Lin.

“Let’s all go have a look,” Chu Lin said with a smile. “My sister is here too—she’s a lawyer. We can start preliminary talks about the restaurant investment and have her draft a contract later.”

“Mm,” Cai Yao nodded. After all, her main task now was to get the restaurant up and running.

While they discussed the new restaurant, the atmosphere in Zhizhen General Manager’s Office grew ever more tense.

“What now, Young Master Sen?” Li He asked nervously. “Should we report to the chairman and have him step in? Cai Yao would surely yield then.”

“No! Absolutely not!” Cai Sen shook his head urgently. “If Dad finds out, he’ll kill me, and let Cai Yao return as general manager.”

Li He pressed, “Young Master Sen, what should we do then?”

Cai Sen thought frantically for a long time before coming up with what he thought was a brilliant idea, “We keep it from Dad and look for new sources. Raise the price if we have to—I refuse to believe only Chu Lin can supply oysters and prawns. It’s not like they’re rare seafood.”

With that, he barked at Li He, “Go find them—now!”

“Yes, yes, I’ll go right away!” Li He hurried out of the office.

(End of chapter)