“The cold-faced president is the company president, Hu Yuanyuan. That I know. But who are the black Rakshasa and the miser?”
Li Feng couldn’t help but think that this Yu Xiangdong was quite interesting, giving Hu Yuanyuan such a nickname. The title of cold-faced president suited her perfectly.
“The black Rakshasa is the HR manager, Huangfu Wei. Li Feng, you need to be careful working under her. If you fall into her hands, you’ll be lucky to escape with just a scratch,” Yu Xiangdong said with a hint of fear. “I heard several people in HR resigned because they couldn’t handle the black Rakshasa. More importantly, she runs HR. Offend her, and you’re done in this company.”
Huangfu Wei, Li Feng noted the name in his mind.
“As for the miser, that’s Fang Xiao from the finance department. He’s notorious for being stingy and manages the finances. If you want to get your salary each month, you can’t afford to offend him. He could find any excuse to dock your pay, and you’d have nowhere to cry.”
As Yu Xiangdong spoke, employees started coming out of the lift. Li Feng spotted Xu Qing. Today, she wore a white blouse with a uniform skirt and black high heels, her figure elegant and stunningly beautiful.
“Li Feng, what are you looking at?” Yu Xiangdong followed Li Feng’s gaze and saw Xu Qing stepping out of the lift. He gave a thumbs-up, saying, “Brother, you’ve got good taste, spotting Assistant Xu right away.”
Yu Xiangdong’s tone was as if he were picking girls at the Imperial Pavilion. If he hadn’t deliberately lowered his voice, Li Feng might have thought they were actually there.
“Xu the Imperial Guard?” Li Feng looked at Yu Xiangdong, puzzled.
“The cold-faced president’s personal guard,” Yu Xiangdong said, patting Li Feng’s shoulder before standing up. “Brother, it’s almost time. Get to work. Working at Xiangfeng Investment Company isn’t easy. You can’t afford to be careless and lose this job.”
Li Feng followed Yu Xiangdong out of the lounge. Seeing Xu Qing had arrived, he didn’t want to waste time there.
Yu Xiangdong waved to Li Feng and headed toward the investment department. If it weren’t almost work time, he would have loved to chat more with Li Feng. But now was work time, so they’d have to talk another day.
After a few steps, Yu Xiangdong suddenly remembered he hadn’t asked for Li Feng’s phone number. Without it, how could they stay in touch? He stopped and turned to look at Li Feng, only to be shocked.
Li Feng wasn’t heading to HR but toward Xu Qing. This guy was fearless! Even if he wanted to pursue Xu the Imperial Guard, did he have to do it now?
Sigh, ignoring the wisdom of elders leads to trouble. Li Feng was in for it today.
“Assistant Xu.”
Li Feng reached the president’s office door, where Xu Qing, as the president’s assistant, worked.
“Mr. Li?!”
Xu Qing was organising documents needed for the day when she heard someone call her. Looking up, she saw Li Feng and quickly stood.
Others might not know Li Feng’s role in the company, but she did, especially after seeing him complete the new intelligent chip development in just ten minutes. She held no disrespect for him. Besides, Li Feng was her boss.
“Assistant Xu, I’m going to the factory. Since President Hu isn’t here, come with me.” Li Feng approached Xu Qing because few in the company knew his identity. If he went to the factory alone, security might throw him out. With Hu Yuanyuan absent, Xu Qing’s status as the president’s assistant could help avoid trouble.
“Of course, Mr. Li, please wait a moment.” Xu Qing didn’t ask why. She felt Li Feng had a reason for choosing her. Thinking of what he did in the lab last time, she felt a spark of anticipation. Was he developing some new technology today?
Moreover, her woman’s intuition told her Li Feng wasn’t simple and might have an unclear relationship with President Hu.
Xu Qing worked efficiently, finishing her tasks in under five minutes. She smiled at Li Feng, “Mr. Li, I’m ready.”
Li Feng nodded and headed to the lift, with Xu Qing following closely.
“Who’s that guy? Someone from our company?”
“No way, has anyone seen him before?”
“Could he be pursuing Assistant Xu? Why else would she leave with him?”
“No way. Has anyone seen Assistant Xu handle personal matters during work hours?”
“Then who is he?”
“Didn’t you hear Assistant Xu call him Mr. Li? He must be a company client.”
As Li Feng and Xu Qing entered the lift, the entire fifty-third floor buzzed with discussion. Li Feng’s sudden appearance was striking, and given Xu Qing’s behaviour, he clearly had status. Everyone was curious about who he was.
Especially Yu Xiangdong, who thought Li Feng was from HR, was stunned to realise he’d misjudged. Like the others, he was eager to know Li Feng’s identity.
Mr. Li, a company client?
“He’s the company vice president, Li Feng,” said a woman in a black business suit. Seeing her, everyone fell silent, as she was Huangfu Wei from HR, the black Rakshasa.
It took a while for people to react.
Vice president? Second only to the president? Since when did the company have a vice president?
Yu Xiangdong’s face turned ashen.
“I’m such an idiot, saying I’d look after the vice president in the company.”
Li Feng, unaware of the employees’ reactions, left with Xu Qing for the factory in the suburbs. On the way, he explained his purpose to Xu Qing, who was amazed at his capabilities and admired him even more.
The factory manager knew Xu Qing, so with her there, they didn’t interfere, though they doubted Li Feng’s abilities due to his youth. Out of respect for Xu Qing, they said nothing.
Li Feng didn’t care what others thought. With Xu Qing’s lead, he reached the factory and spent most of the day upgrading dozens of machines.
“Mr. Li, all done?” Xu Qing asked.
“Yes, all usable machines in the factory have been upgraded, but there are too few. For producing intelligent chips, it’s far from enough. Assistant Xu, tell President Hu we need to find a way to add more equipment, or we won’t be ready when the product launches,” Li Feng said, wiping sweat with a towel.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Li. I’ll inform President Hu.”
Xu Qing nodded, not doubting Li Feng’s words. She thought of Apple in the US, where new product launches required factories working overtime, yet demand still outstripped supply. Their company’s intelligent chip technology was no less advanced, and to capture the market, production couldn’t falter. The current equipment was far from sufficient.
“Assistant Xu, you head back to the company. I have other matters to attend to,” Li Feng said.
Xu Qing nodded without saying much. In her eyes, though Li Feng was the vice president, he was more like a researcher, likely spending time in a lab. He must be off to do research now.
But she didn’t know that Li Feng didn’t need to do research, as his body housed a soul from centuries in the future.
Wenjun Pavilion Pharmacy was Tianhai City’s largest traditional Chinese medicine store. After parting with Xu Qing, Li Feng went there.
Entering Wenjun Pavilion Pharmacy, the scene wasn’t what he imagined. The dozens of square metres of the hall had only an old man dozing at the counter, making Li Feng wonder if he’d come to the wrong place.
Was this really Tianhai City’s largest Chinese medicine store? It seemed less impressive than an ordinary one. But since he was here, Li Feng didn’t want to leave immediately. He asked the old man, “Boss, do you have ginseng here?”
“Ginseng, young friend? What kind of ginseng do you want?” The old man rubbed his eyes and glanced at Li Feng.
“Thousand-year ginseng,” Li Feng replied. For his previous medicinal baths, he used several hundred-year-old ginsengs, but their effects were minimal for him now. To advance his physical training, he needed thousand-year ginseng.
As he spoke, Li Feng felt hesitant. In his previous life, technology had advanced to the cosmic era, with several life-bearing planets discovered in the galaxy, abundant with medicinal materials. Thousand-year ginseng wasn’t rare then. But now, with humanity still confined to Earth, and after years of exploitation, thousand-year ginseng was a rare treasure on this planet.
Moreover, thousand-year ginseng was just one of the common herbs needed for his next training phase. Besides it, there were several others. If even thousand-year ginseng was hard to find, the others would be even tougher.
Li Feng realised his biggest problem wasn’t money but finding these herbs.
“Thousand-year ginseng, young friend? Are you sure you want thousand-year ginseng?” The old man looked at Li Feng, a glint flashing in his eyes.
