SAG -Chapter 84 Preparing to Buy a Car

The day after Qian Zhengkun showed off the Qingxiang Orchid to his friend Zheng Ming, Old Zheng came knocking again.

This time he wasn’t alone—he brought several other friends with him.

At first, no one paid much attention to the orchid.

But then one of the visitors unexpectedly fell asleep in Qian Zhengkun’s house.

This friend had suffered from chronic insomnia for nearly ten years.

Because of his inability to sleep, he frequently suffered from headaches and constant fatigue, eventually forcing him into early retirement.

Over the years, he had tried countless medications and consulted numerous doctors. Nothing had cured him—at best, his symptoms were only slightly relieved.

However, while breathing in the fragrance of the Qingxiang Orchid, he felt an unprecedented sense of calm. Before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep.

He slept for nearly ten straight hours.

When he woke up, he felt extraordinarily refreshed, completely free of the discomfort that had plagued him for years.

After Old Zheng had searched the entire Shanghai market and failed to find another Qingxiang Orchid, he had considered giving his own plant to that friend.

But there were two problems.

First, it had been a gift from Zhang Ran. Passing it on to someone else didn’t feel appropriate.

Second, it was simply too valuable.

His friend refused to accept such an expensive gift, and if Old Zheng tried to sell it instead, it would once again turn Zhang Ran’s thoughtful present into merchandise—something neither Qian Zhengkun nor his wife could bring themselves to do.

That was why Qian Zhengkun wanted to buy another pot from Zhang Ran.

He genuinely wanted to help an old friend.

“Brother Zhang… you really are incredibly generous.”

In the end, that was all Qian Zhengkun could say.

Zhang Ran smiled.

“Flowers and plants like these are mostly expensive because people hype them up. They’re not actually worth that much.”

Qian Zhengkun merely smiled.

He certainly didn’t believe the Qingxiang Orchid was as worthless as Zhang Ran claimed.

Moreover, he knew the orchid had to be extremely rare.

Otherwise, with Old Zheng’s influence and connections, he wouldn’t have failed to uncover even the slightest lead.

“Uncle Zhang, why don’t you take back the Qingxiang Orchid that’s in the apartment Siyan and I rent?”

Qian Li suddenly suggested.

“Knowing that there’s something worth five hundred thousand yuan sitting in the apartment… honestly, it makes me nervous.”

Zhang Siyan nodded as well.

Now that she knew its value, she no longer dared to leave it out in the open so casually.

Before, both she and Qian Li had assumed it was just an ordinary orchid.

They had carelessly left it sitting on the balcony every day.

Thinking about it now…

If it were accidentally knocked over and broken, they’d be heartbroken.

Zhang Ran laughed.

“It’s fine. Just keep it.”

“You’ve both been working so hard lately. The orchid doesn’t do much else, but it can at least help you get a good night’s sleep.”

Hearing that, Zhang Siyan and Qian Li instinctively exchanged glances.

They had indeed found it rather strange.

Recently they’d often worked until the middle of the night.

They expected to wake up exhausted the next morning.

Yet every time they awoke feeling energetic and refreshed, rarely even dreaming while they slept.

With that, the matter was settled.

In a few days, Zhang Ran would deliver another Qingxiang Orchid.

The agreed price was five hundred thousand yuan.

It wasn’t that Zhang Ran intended to make money from the orchids.

If profit had been his goal, five hundred thousand yuan wasn’t nearly enough.

Liu Lu had remained mostly silent throughout the conversation.

But she suddenly realized something about herself.

Five hundred thousand yuan had once been an unimaginable amount of money to her.

In the past, if she owned something worth that much, she’d probably stare at it every single day.

Yet now…

After the initial shock, she found herself calming down remarkably quickly.

That afternoon, Zhang Sicheng returned to work to continue “slacking off.”

At the very least, he wanted perfect attendance.

Besides, during this period he felt he needed to put in a bit of effort.

What if the wealthy second-generation heir buying the company decided to secretly observe the employees over the next few days?

If someone performed poorly and was made an example of, Zhang Sicheng certainly didn’t want to be that unfortunate person.

Liu Lu had already taken half a day’s leave, so she didn’t return to work.

Instead, she went to supervise the renovation of their new home.

The construction was progressing incredibly fast.

Every time she visited, there were major visible changes.

Meanwhile, Qian Li and Zhang Siyan continued working tirelessly.

Their careers had only just begun to take off, so this wasn’t the time to relax.

Zhang Ran, meanwhile, went to see Meng Mingxuan.

“How’s everything progressing?” he asked as he sat in Meng Mingxuan’s boss’s chair.

Meng Mingxuan replied, “It’s basically done. Thirty million yuan should be enough to buy the company. It’ll probably take about another week.”

Zhang Ran nodded.

“And what about the gaming clubs? How are they coming along?”

“They’ve already started preparing. Some have established companies already, and a few have even poached experienced people from the industry.”

Meng Mingxuan had been keeping track of the developments.

“Don’t you want to get involved?”

Zhang Ran asked.

“Don’t underestimate gaming clubs. If they’re run properly, the profits can be substantial.”

Meng Mingxuan shook his head.

“I’ll pass.”

“First, I’m not that interested.”

“Second… I probably won’t have the time to manage one anyway.”

His thinking was now much clearer.

He knew Zhang Ran would only have more and more work for him in the future.

If he wanted to keep up, he needed to keep learning and improving.

A couple of days earlier, his mother had even called him specifically about this.

Although Lin Meizhi hadn’t said it directly, her meaning had been obvious:

If possible, stay with Zhang Ran.

Don’t fall behind halfway.

“Oh, right, Uncle Zhang.”

Meng Mingxuan suddenly remembered something.

“Wang Tao doesn’t want to stay with the company after the acquisition.”

“Especially not as someone’s deputy.”

“For someone who used to own the company, that would be pretty uncomfortable.”

“So after selling it, he plans to take a break for a while.”

Wang Tao was Zhang Sicheng’s current boss.

Zhang Ran replied, “Then tell him this.”

“If he doesn’t accept that condition, the acquisition is off.”

“I doubt anyone else is willing to pay this much for his company anyway.”

Meng Mingxuan nodded.

“That’s right.”

“Our offer isn’t especially high, but there aren’t many buyers interested.”

“Most only want to purchase individual assets from the company rather than buying the whole business like we are.”

“Good.”

“Then tell him exactly that.”

“It’s our final condition.”

“And we only need him to stay for one year.”

“After a year, he’s free to do whatever he wants.”

Meng Mingxuan nodded.

“I understand.”

Suddenly, Zhang Ran asked, “Do you know anyone at a 4S dealership?”

“I’m planning to buy several cars.”

“It’d be best if I could drive them away the same day.”

Meng Mingxuan immediately replied, “That chubby guy Pang Bo—his family owns several 4S dealerships.”

“When are you buying?”

“I’ll give him a call.”

“He can even help arrange the license plates.”

“Three days from now.”

“I’ll buy them three days from now,” Zhang Ran said.

After finishing their discussion, Zhang Ran tidied up a few things before heading off to pick up the two little ones from school.