Reborn in 2012, raising a pure-hearted female college student

Chapter 118 A Young Man Knows the Taste of Sorrow

With Chen Sui's matter settled, Chen Che finally remembered that he should ask about Xu Zhen's situation.

After all, he specifically asked me to go and keep things under control, but I was too busy to handle everything and rushed back to stand up for Chen Sui, so I left him to go alone. If we really didn't reach an agreement, I really had no reason to blame him.

As soon as the call connected, Chen Che asked kindly, "Senior, how did your talks go?"

Xu Zhen's tone was a little tired, but he couldn't hide his excitement: "It's done, junior."

"Awesome, senior! I knew you could do it even without me," Chen Che exclaimed sincerely, and this was not a fake compliment.

"You must be tired. Shall I drive over to pick you up?" Chen Che asked.

"No need, I'll go back by myself. But are you free tonight? I estimate I won't get to school until a little late. How about we grab a bite at a barbecue place on the commercial street near the school gate?" Xu Zhen suggested.

"Sure, around what time? I'll go and reserve a spot for you."

"Nine o'clock, that's about right."

"it is good."

When it was almost time, Chen Che first went to the barbecue restaurant and ordered some grilled pork belly, grilled chicken wings, grilled eggplant, and the like. Then he ordered two bottles of Snow Beer. Drinking too much beer can easily cause bloating, and Brave the World beer has the mildest flavor, making it the most palatable for Chen Che.

A short while later, under the light of the barbecue restaurant entrance, a boy with an honest face, slightly tired eyes but undeniable shrewdness walked over with steady steps.

While most other graduates were still figuring out their thesis topics with their advisors, Xu Zhen had already started negotiating collaborations with distributors at all levels. In just that short time, Xu Zhen quickly grew into a capable leader who could handle things on his own.

Chen Che said "Thank you for your hard work" again. Xu Zhen didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down, picked up a beer bottle, and chugged half of it. Then he picked up a string of fried pork belly and started eating it without any regard for his manners. His ravenous eating left his mouth covered in oil, which made Chen Che hungry, even though he had eaten quite a lot for dinner.

"Senior, you haven't had dinner yet?" Chen Che asked with a smile.

"Damn, don't even mention it," Xu Zhen said, having eaten a skewer of grilled meat to fill his stomach and feeling much better. Only then did he begin to grumble incessantly.

"This is the first time I've ever met a boss who just sits there and talks during mealtime. I told him I'd treat him to a meal and he wasn't willing to talk, but it wasn't that he was unwilling to talk. He might not be hungry, but I am."

Upon hearing this, Chen Che chuckled and replied, "It means you've been dealing with more and more people, and you'll encounter all sorts of people."

"And you said you reached an agreement, what exactly is the situation?"

Xu Zhen didn't rush to answer. Instead, she picked up a spoon and scooped out a piece of roasted eggplant to eat.

Cut the purple eggplant in half lengthwise, lay it flat on the grill, top it with minced garlic and seafood soy sauce, and grill it over charcoal. The moisture and aroma will come out, making it an absolute must-order at any barbecue stall.

After finishing his meal, Xu Zhen took another sip of beer before speaking, "It went very smoothly, incredibly smoothly. I never expected that after I introduced our model to them, they would show such great interest. Next, we discussed all sorts of details, and in the end, they really appreciated our concept and felt that we could definitely make it work. So, we finalized the deal."

Chen Che nodded and smiled: "Look at you, you were so hesitant before you went, but you had a great chat, didn't you? Senior, you're quite a capable person in society now."

Chen Che offered a few more words of praise, and then outlined the next plan. Thanks to Xu Zhen's efforts, the channels for various fast-moving consumer goods had been fully opened up. The next step was to expand the market and open up the market of the School of Auditing, which was not far from the School of Engineering.

Even though the engineering college has basically completed its market development, it is still just a small institution in Nanjing. Entrepreneurs are always on the road, always moved to tears.

Listening to Chen Che's grand plans, Xu Zhen suddenly exclaimed, "Junior, I never imagined that in just a few short months since I met you, I have changed so much."

"That's normal. A person's growth happens in an instant," Chen Che agreed.

"Yeah, I went to the hospital to see my sister a couple of days ago, sigh." Xu Zhen suddenly changed the subject.

"Uh, what's wrong with your sister? It shouldn't be anything serious, right?" Chen Che's heart skipped a beat when Xu Zhen mentioned the hospital. Many people don't pay attention to minor pains, thinking they can just tough it out. But by the time they can't take it anymore and go to the hospital, it has become a serious illness.

"Actually, it's nothing serious. It's just that after working for so many years, the work pressure is high, and I've accumulated health problems. My body has always been in a sub-healthy state, and in the end, I couldn't hold on and fell ill," Xu Zhen explained.

"Oh, that's alright, it's a blessing in disguise. Take good care of yourself, health is the most important thing, and work is for making a living," Chen Che comforted him.

"Yes, but she's made up her mind. Once she recovers, she'll resign and go back to our hometown. Over the years, she hasn't made a name for herself in the city, nor has she accumulated any capital to stay there."

"That's how most people are, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Xu Zhen sighed, then chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Junior, do you think if I had followed the usual path of graduating and starting a job, I would have ended up with the same kind of life? Is it a life where you can see the end from the beginning, or one where you can't see the end from the beginning?"

Seeing his sudden dejection, Chen Che didn't know how to respond, even though he had just finished talking to a distributor and seemed very confident.

Suddenly, Xu Zhen asked, "Junior, have you read the popular novel 'Battle Through the Heavens'?"

"Ah, I've seen it." Chen Che nodded. As the pioneering work of the "useless man annulment" genre, it is a representative work that established Tudou's status as one of the top five masters in the Central Plains. Who hasn't been ignited by the protagonist's line, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't underestimate a young man's potential"?

"Then guess which part I like the most?" Xu Zhen asked.

"Which scene...?" Chen Che recalled the exciting and thrilling parts of the book for a while.

"Did Xiao Yan return to the Jia Ma Empire and rally troops to attack the Yunlan Sect?"

Fighting isn't just about violence; it's also about human relationships and social interactions. You need a powerful Douhuang (Battle Emperor) to protect you, otherwise, recklessly charging in headfirst will just be a fool's errand.

Xu Zhen shook his head.

"I was caught red-handed learning alien techniques at the Wind and Thunder Pavilion, thanks to Elder Yao's good brother, Venerable Feng, who protected me to the death."

To have made friends like this is a life well-lived.

"Was that the Fallen Heart Flame raging, and Xiao Yan and Queen Medusa getting into some lewd stuff?"

It's quite exciting in some ways.

Xu Zhen shook his head.

"Then there's nothing I can do. I can't guess it." Chen Che spread his hands.

"Hehe," Xu Zhen chuckled and said, "Actually, it has nothing to do with the protagonist. It's about the story of the Xiao family ancestor he encountered in the Tomb of the Gods."

"Back then, in order to seize the opportunity to advance to Dou Di, he did not hesitate to consume all of the Xiao family's bloodline. He was a peak Dou Sheng and a half-step Dou Di, but in the end he still failed, and the Xiao family declined as a result."

"Junior, what's the point of us ordinary people scheming and plotting? Shouldn't we just go all in, build a career, and do whatever it takes? Either make a fortune for our family or our clan, and strive to make a name for ourselves in the family tree."

Before Chen Che could speak, Xu Zhen sighed dejectedly again: "But without the legacy of our parents, how far can our lives go?"

What followed was a long silence.

"Senior, are you done?" Chen Che suddenly snapped his fingers and asked.

"Um."

"Come here," Chen Che stood by the roadside and beckoned to Xu Zhen, pointing into the distance, "Look what's over there?"

Xu Zhen looked around and saw that the night was deep, but he could still vaguely see the silhouette of a distant mountain.

"Isn't that Laoshan Mountain behind the school?"

"Hmm, have you been there?" Chen Che asked.

Xu Zhen shook his head. Although it was very close, he had never been there before. He felt that climbing mountains was meaningless.

"Let's go take a look when we have time. Many people enjoy the feeling of conquering high mountains, and I quite like it too, because I really like a certain saying."

"No one supports my lofty ambitions; I will tread the snow to the mountain peak myself," Chen Che recited slowly.