Summer #31

Don't Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏) by Ding Mo (丁墨)

Chapter 31

The emotional turbulence caused by the dubious interaction last night is still disturbing Mu Hanxia when Lin Mochen calls her into the office early in the morning.

In the bright daylight, she isn’t really afraid that he may do something. So she walks in with a serious face, “Jason, what’s the matter?”

“Near the Qing Yu square, there’s a Qing Yu Entrepreneur’s Coffee House. You can frequent there these days.”

Mu Hanxia is surprised. “Entrepreneur’s Coffee House?”

Lin Mochen replies, “Yes. You know that the company is negotiating venture capital investment. It’s surely better to have as many channels as possible to find quality investment. Qing Yu Entrepreneur’s Coffee House is very famous in the business circle. Many business start-ups go there to seek investment. There are also many angel investors and government officials in there.”

Mu Hanxia: “You want me to look for investment there?”

Lin Mochen picks up the coffee and takes a sip. “With your eloquence, how can you find the investment I need? But Feng Chen is entering the real estate market. It would help if you go there to get familiar with the business circle of Lin City and make yourself known.”

Mu Hanxia: “...Oh.”

Lin Mochen looks up at her. “Qing Yu Entrepreneur’s Coffee House is quite far. I will drive you there tomorrow.”

Mu Hanxia means to say no, but he has already picked up the document and buried himself in it. She bites her lips and walks out.

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The next day, Lin Mochen does wait outside the hotel in his car to send Mu Hanxia to the coffee house.

It’s already deep into winter. Even though it doesn’t snow in Lin City, the air is humid and cold as if it will penetrate into one’s bones. Mu Hanxia sees him when she comes out. There’s the black Cayenne with its window rolled down. He is sitting there in a relaxed manner. But with his sun-glasses on, there’s some coolness in his air. It’s the image of an ideal husband in most women’s dreams.

Mu Hanxia pauses a little at the sight. Then she walks over, pulls the door open, and gets into the front passenger seat. She says smilingly, “Jason, you are the boss. Waiting for me like this, you make yourself look like a chauffeur.”

Lin Mochen starts the car and replies, “I be your chauffeur, why isn’t that OK?”

Mu Hanxia feels her heart string vibrate at the words. After all, there’s some vague suppressed thoughts hidden in her heart. The words make her thoughts tangled up for a moment, but she quickly collects herself and tells herself “illusion, illusion, all illusions.” Those dubious temptations are all her illusions, and she tries to believe that Lin Mochen has simply been behaving erratically lately.

She turns to look out the window and acts as if she has nothing to do with what he says. Lin Mochen glances at the side of her face, which is slightly blushed but still quiet, and doesn’t know how to handle the situation. He has never done anything like courting girls. In the past, wherever he went, there were always many girls who chased after him. And he wouldn’t even give a glance at them. But now she’s shunning him. It must be because he was too conceited and too ruthless early on. Now he’s the victim of his own evil deeds in the past. He decides that he can only do it slowly to gradually enclose her into his net.

“Open the drawer, there’s breakfast in it.” he says.

Mu Hanxia is surprised. She pulls the drawer open in front of her and sees the two sandwiches inside.

“Eat.” He says flatly.

“Oh, thanks.” Mu Hanxia unwraps one and eats it up. Then she unwraps the other and passes it to him when they wait for the traffic light. He grabs it with one hand, gives it a couple of bites, and gives it back to her when the car starts. At the next traffic light, she passes it to him again. They repeat this several times, and in his heart, Lin Mochen actually feels some unfamiliar but sweet warmth flowing. He looks at the stream of vehicles in front of him and smiles.

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Even though Lin Mochen is oddly intimate to her these days, he still drops her alone at the unfamiliar place after they arrive and drives away without the slightest hesitation.

Mu Hanxia surveys this place up and down. This is a relatively quiet corner of the Qing Yu Square. There are a few big London plane trees in front of the store. The storefront is painted deep blue, with a straightforward sign―Qing Yu Enterpreneur’s Coffee House. A few figures can be vaguely seen inside the store, all in business suits.

Mu Hanxia takes a deep breath, pushes the door open and walks in. These days, she no longer has the young immature look as before. She wears a simple and elegant business suit, the long hair bundled up behind the head and an expensive handbag in her hand. So when she walks in, nobody pays any special attention to her. The waiter behind the bar greets her with a smile.

She walks over and the waiter asks with a smile, “Anything to drink?” She glances at the menu. The house coffee is only 10 yuan. At this location with such a furnishing, this price is really inexpensive. It makes her feel friendly to this place, and she orders a cup of coffee.

The waiter asks while preparing the coffee, “Your first time here?”

“Yes.”

“You come with projects or capital?”

Mu Hanxia is a little stunned. So the polite young man is not just a regular waiter. She answers, “I come with projects.”

The young man smiles. “OK. In a moment our boss will come downstairs. You can chat with her. Maybe she can introduce you to opportunities. See? Those people sitting there are also here to talk about their projects. Good luck to you.”

“Thank you.”

Mu Hanxia sits down in a corner and sips the coffee slowly. Coming here as instructed by Lin Mochen really opens her eyes, she feels. Interesting. She already likes the task.

In a moment, a woman, followed by a few young men, comes downstairs. The waiter behind the bar winks at Mu Hanxia. Mu Hanxia is astonished to find that the boss of the coffee house is atcually a woman. Those people talk in their low voices as they walk toward the door. Mu Hanxia’s eyes follow them as the woman sees them to the door. She turns back to see Mu Hanxia. Mu Hanxia also looks at her smilingly. When she is near enough, Mu Hanxia speaks up: “How are you, Sis Xu?”

Sis Xu is no other than the owner of this coffee house. The waiter told her just now that everybody calls her this way.

Xu Shao’an eyes the young girl up and down and smiles. She sits down in front of her.

Mu Hanxia also eyes her up and down. Fairly speaking, this is a lady with a very elegant appearance. Although she’s already in her thirties, the face still looks delicate. And her eyes are so clear that they seem to be able to penetrate one’s mind. She wears a light make-up, the outfit is decent and comfortable, giving an impression of being gentle and easy-going. In front of such a mature and seasoned person, Mu Hanxia actually feels a little nervous. She reaches out her hand and says, “I am Mu Hanxia.”

“Mu Hanxia...” Xu Shao’an murmurs her name as they shake hands with hints of smile in her eyes, “The right hand of Lin Mochen, boss of the fast-developing Feng Chen?”

Mu Hanxia is shocked. She didn’t expect her to know an unimportant figure like herself. “Ah, yes. You actually heard about me?” Her bright eyes are staring at her.

Xu Shao’an can’t hold back her smiles. “Lin Mochen is so well-know in Lin City. Naturally many people also know you. Manager Mu, how can I help you here at the coffee house?”

Mu Hanxia hastily replies, “Just call me Xiao Mu, or Summer.”

“OK, Summer.” Her tone is extremely gentle.

Originally Mu Hanxia didn’t plan to expose her own identity at the very beginning. She planned to observe a little and even explore a little first. After all, like what Xue Shao’an says, Feng Chen is too famous now and might attract unnecessary trouble. If from the very beginning she announces herself as someone who is looking for investment, who knows what kind of people will approach? But she never imagined that the one here can recognize her so easily. As she also has a very good impression of her, she just speaks candidly, “Sis Xu, Feng Chen is currently seeking further development. So my boss sent me here to see if there is any good investor who would work with Feng Chen. Of course, he also wants me to represent Feng Chen and get familiar with the business insiders of Lin City. But this is my first time here and I honestly don’t know where to start from.”

Xu Shao’an nods. “It’s good that your boss thinks this way. Lin City has its own business circle and its own business atmosphere, as well as a culture that has been nurtured for a few hundred years. The relationship between many enterprises are very complicated. Since you are in here, it certainly helps you to grow more smoothly if you blend in better and know more. Then the others won’t find fault with you so easily either.”

These words are said with implications, which makes Mu hanxia realize that the coffee house owner in front of her is really an infinitely resourceful lady. She must also have some powerful background to be able to run such a coffee house in Lin City. So she nods, “Yes, these words are well said. I will let my boss know when I go back.”

Xu Shao’an is amused at her response and says, “OK, now you can just stay in your seat or walk around. In that room back there, you can find lots of materials from other entrepreneur teams and their projects. They are all very interesting. We don’t have any event today, but each week we have theme forums or corner activities. The entrepreneurs can introduce their projects in details. Some investors, especially angel investors will attend. Sometimes government officials will visit here in disguise, as they give a lot of attention to entrepreneurs. But of course, whether you can move them or not is solely up to you. You can prepare some materials when you go back. Next time we hold an event, I can send someone to notify you. Does that sound good?”

Of course, Mu Hanxia says, “Yes.”

Thus Xu Shao’an goes straight back upstairs. And Mu Hanxia stays at the coffee house for most of the day. Although she doesn’t have any material gains, she gets to learn the entrepreneur ideas of many people and their progress. She also talks to a few young people. It makes her feel as if a new window is opened for her and beyond the window there is a world full of flower buds quietly waiting for their time.

At dusk, she steps out of the coffee house in the setting sun, with a brand new kind of free and joyful spirit. Early on in Jiang Cheng when she worked at the supermarket she was forced to enter the fierce business battlefield. Later she went with Lin Mochen to fight for business development in different cities. The business atmosphere surrounding her has always been fighting and battling, for profit only. It was the same with everyone, no matter it was Meng Gang, Lin Mochen, or herself.

But today, she got in touch with a brand new business culture. This is a completely ideal business atmosphere and, unbelievably, it actually exists. There are people who don’t seek rewards, don’t calculate or fight for profit, they just provide an open platform for entrepreneurs to showcase themselves and for investors to find projects that appeal them―a real platform that helps entrepreneurs grow.

She thinks that her view was too narrow and her mind too shallow before, like the frog that looks at the sky from the bottom of the well. Maybe the really broad-minded and courageous people who are successful in business world have more sense of social responsibility?

Then she thinks of Lin Mochen. Is he such a person? Remembering what he often says―”Where the greatest profit is, that’s where I’m going.” and ”There’s enormous profit in apparel industry, why don’t I grab it?”―it is hard for Mu Hanxia to associate him with sense of social responsibility. But then it’s him who decides that she should come to the coffee house to broaden her view. So Mu Hanxia chooses to believe that he actually has deeper thoughts, unfathomably deep.

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Rong Yue Group was established in 1983 by old Mr. Zhang Bizheng. After over 30 year, the current boss is the second son of Zhang Bizheng, Zhang Yifang. Whereas, the eldest son Zhang Yiru and the third son Zhang Yilin both are only in charge of a small non-main-stream company within the group and are less active in the business circle of Lin City.

The major businesses of Rong Yue are real estates, apparel and household products with a total of over 10 billion yuan of sales each year. It’s the leading enterprise in the city who’s also the biggest tax payer. Real estates is the group’s most important part. Many times outside real estate companies attempted to take over some market from Rong Yue. But under the leadship of Zhang Yifang, none ever succeeded.

Zhang Yifang is 42 now. But because he got married relatively late, his son is only three years old. Based on appearance, he is a slim but energetic and quick-acting person. He likes to wear casual outfits rather than business suits. He also loves extreme sports very much. He has climbed the Everest, participated in car racing, and done bungee jumping. Whenever he has a vacation, he probably will go hiking somewhere with a group of young travelers. He loves to drink the strongest Vodka or the mellowest Maotai[1]. But when he is working, he is very amiable, speaking with people in a very gentle manner that makes one feels like bathing in pleasant breeze. Besides, he maintains himself in a very good shape and makes himself look like barely over 30 years old. He separates his family and work clearly. His wife, the daughter of the owner of another famous enterprise, seldom shows up in the company. So in the corporate, many female employees have some erotic thoughts about him, hoping to get involved with him physically or spiritually, fake or for real. However, even though he is rumored to have some one-night stand relations with some famous TV hostess or less famous movie stars, it’s always a friendly relation with a peaceful parting, and he never stops for any woman.

[1: In case the readers don’t know the name, Maotai is the brand name of the best alcohol in China].

The news that Lin Mochen has bought a real estate company and is preparing to enter the real estate industry is not a secret. Besides, his Feng Chen has made the sales of Rong Yue’s Apparel Business Division suffer greatly during the last few months. Naturally the corporate Strategy Department and Marketing Department have assigned people to follow their moves closely.

As a result, no more than a few days after Lin Mochen made the move, a detailed report has arrived at Rong Yue’s headquarter.

After reading the report, Rao Wei, the general manager of Real Estate Business Division, thinks that Feng Chen should not be taken lightly although it is small. So he immediately asks to see Zhang Yifang.

“Chief Zhang, Lin Mochen is really a swagger. He is daring enough to challenge us. Next month, the government will have several new lots out for bidding. He is very likely to join.”

The winter in 2008 is also the severe winter for real estate industry nationwide and the government has fewer lots posted for bidding. Except super powerful enterprise such as Rong Yue, there are few enterprises that are bold enough to compete for land.

Right then and there, Zhang Yifang sits behind his office desk, puffing on a strong cigar, and smiles, “This young fellow is quite interesting. Let him come. The market is only fun when there’s competition.”