readease Chapter 591 - 213: "Escort" Li Yuan, Xia Zhijin’s Shortcomings_2
Chapter 591 - 213: "Escort" Li Yuan, Xia Zhijin’s Shortcomings_2
I’m thinking too far ahead. Never mind, I’ll deal with it after I meet Bai Weixi...
Empress Dowager Xia returned to the elevator with a heavy heart, her mind far from calm. Having spent most of the day with Xia Zhijin, she had gained a much deeper understanding of the girl and her pitiful background. I’m so worried. If that rascal’s situation is exposed, I’m afraid this poor girl might do something foolish. Putting myself in her shoes, I just can’t bear to imagine that scenario...
「...」
Li Yuan was driving while discussing the new business incubator with Xia Zhijin.
"Zhijin, the operations base at the school will be ready for use by Monday. The installation should be mostly finished by this afternoon. You can visit often when you’re bored..."
Xia Zhijin nodded and asked, "Then, should I still go to the company office at Longyu Building?"
"Of course you have to! You’re the boss’s wife, after all. How can we pay everyone if you don’t show up?" Li Yuan teased with a laugh.
"I’ve hired some students from our university to work part-time at the incubator. You’ll need to handle their salaries, too. At the end of each month, Lin Yuwei will give you the attendance records, and you can pay them according to a daily wage."
Hearing Li Yuan add more responsibilities to her plate, Xia Zhijin nodded seriously.
"I’ll do my best!"
Li Yuan smiled. "Don’t feel any pressure. Your studies should still be your priority. Just think of this as getting familiar with the company in your spare time, a way to pass the time."
"The company isn’t profitable yet, so the finances are pretty simple—it’s all money going out and none coming in. Once we’re on the right track, I’ll hire a professional finance person and get you an assistant."
"Oh, I’ll do whatever you say," Xia Zhijin answered obediently, glancing at Li Yuan.
Seeing her response, Li Yuan smiled again and added, "By the way, my roommates—Liu Jia, Wu Hao, and Xu Ziqiang—are also working part-time for us. When you do their payroll, pay them a little more. They’re classmates and roommates, so we should help them out where we can."
Xia Zhijin looked surprised. She hadn’t expected Li Yuan’s roommates to be working at the company too.
"So, what should their pay rate be?"
Li Yuan chuckled. "For the other part-time students, I was thinking about 1,000 yuan a month. If they do a good job, we can give them a small bonus at the end of the year."
"As for Liu Jia and the other two, let’s start them at 1,500 a month and see how they perform. The company is still small and unprofitable, but we’ll gradually get on the right track. Eventually, we’ll need to set up a finance department, HR, marketing, R&D, and so on..."
"Oh, I understand!" Xia Zhijin replied with a smile. Whenever Li Yuan told her about his future plans for the company, she felt overjoyed. Even though there was a lot she didn’t understand, it was still wonderful to hear.
This means he has me in his heart, and in his plans for the future...
Li Yuan habitually placed his right hand on Xia Zhijin’s thigh and brought up another topic.
"Zhijin, how did you get along with my mom this morning? Did she give you a hard time?"
Xia Zhijin’s cheeks flushed red as she hurriedly shook her head. "Auntie was very kind and gentle to me. She asked a lot of questions, and we chatted about our families. She even said that when she has time, she wants to visit Grandma and Ning in Shancheng..."
Listening to her account, Li Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, though he felt it was only to be expected. With Xia Zhijin’s personality, he couldn’t imagine his mother having any complaints about her.
Even I would have trouble finding a single flaw in her. If I really had to name one... maybe there is just one, and it’s a bit embarrassing to mention. When we ’play cards,’ her voice is a little quiet. Does that even count as a flaw? I wonder... that can’t be a flaw...
Soon, the car entered the university campus. Li Yuan first took Xia Zhijin to the operations base in the research building for a quick look, then dropped her off at her dorm.
「...」
Outside the women’s dormitory, Li Yuan sat in his car and pulled out his phone. Looking at the message from Bai Weixi, he grumbled to himself.
Why does it feel like I’m some kind of paid escort, constantly making the rounds? First, I accompanied Zhong Tingyue, then Xia Zhijin, and now I have to go see Bai Weixi. Sigh, what a tough life. This must be the happy problem of having too many girlfriends.
If any other guy at school knew what he was thinking, they’d probably die of envy.
Li Yuan picked up his phone and dialed Bai Weixi’s number.
The call had barely rung for a few seconds before she picked up.
"You finally called! I thought you’d forgotten all about me."
Bai Weixi’s voice was full of anticipation, yet tinged with dissatisfaction. She had messaged Li Yuan that morning, but he had used being busy with the company as an excuse not to see her. Now, it was already almost two in the afternoon.
"How could I do that!" Li Yuan said with an awkward laugh. "Bai, where are you now? I’ll come and pick you up."
Bai Weixi giggled. "I’m at the house over by Emerald Mansion. Yuchen came over to hang out last night, so I didn’t go back to the school dorm."
"Should I come find you there, or wait for you to come back to campus?"
Hearing that Wang Yuchen was with Bai Weixi, a mischievous smile played on Li Yuan’s face.
He wondered how this ’senior green tea’ attribute Little Chili would react after finding out he was juggling multiple women...
In any case, she certainly won’t have anything good to say about me.