Chapter 42 2/2

The youth, who used to be full of sharpness, with luggage on his back, turned around to look at him. The deep eyes were filled with silence, and he managed to force out a pale smile.

“When I’m better, I’ll come to see you.”

Compared to a promise, it seemed more like consolation.

A consolation that might never be fulfilled.

And now, that day has come.

As the senior lay on the comfortable bed, closing his eyes, he thought:

Well, for the sake of Jiang Lu’s face, as long as the company is formal, shining brightly for a few years should be fine.

Sheng Quan was still unaware that the senior had decided to work for her. She was happily reviewing the international promotion plan for “Cultivator.”

Indeed, expecting a drama to become popular everywhere just because of its excellent quality and gain a foothold in the international market was not very likely. At least, to achieve the explosive popularity Sheng Quan envisioned, various well-prepared promotion plans were needed.

Although promotion was a later-stage activity, most movies with aspirations would prepare various plans early, even planting the seeds a year in advance. If everything relied on “coincidence” and “accident,” the investors behind it might not make any money.

Sheng Quan reviewed while making notes. The classes she attended were not in vain; at least, she could clearly feel her progress.

However, words aside, classes still had to continue. After all, even someone like Gu Zhaoyu, the king of procrastination, found time for classes. Although Sheng Quan didn’t want to compete with him in terms of academic performance (mainly because she couldn’t win), the thought of her future vast business empire filled her with ambition.

Just as she was turning her pen and learning while reading, Sheng Quan heard some movement in the corridor. Looking up, she saw Jiang Lu returning from picking someone up.

“Back, Jiang Ge. Smooth journey? How’s the senior’s condition?”

“Very smooth,” Jiang Lu replied. “He’s looking forward to meeting you.”

“That’s good.”

Thinking about having a retired senior as a consultant for her company, Sheng Quan was extremely happy.

This wasn’t just because the senior had a lot of backing; Jiang Lu also recommended him. Could his teaching level be lacking?

Moreover, the senior’s arrival indicated that her planned “recruitment of retired soldiers” program should not encounter any obstacles. Perhaps she could even receive some support from the military.

The bitterness of learning was swept away, and Sheng Quan smiled, calling Jiang Lu to rest.

“Jiang Ge, you’ve worked hard. You should go to sleep early too. Goodnight, have sweet dreams.”

Jiang Lu’s sturdy face softened slightly, and he responded to his employer as usual:

“Goodnight, I wish you sweet dreams.”

***

The first meeting with the senior went very smoothly, perhaps even too smoothly.

Sheng Quan thought the senior might want to “interrogate” her, but he didn’t ask anything. After reviewing various plans and contracts and especially confirming the details of recruiting disabled veterans, he didn’t inquire further.

She suspected that he might have learned about her background through other means.

However, she had nothing to fear from scrutiny.

Under the operation of 006, Sheng Quan’s identity in this world was that of a second-generation inheritor of a huge fortune (006 being the first generation). Because her parents were Chinese, she received a Chinese education from a young age, so she chose to return to China for development.

The country chosen to hold the “inheritance” was carefully selected. Even if someone investigated, they would only find that her visible financial flows were significant. Moreover, she had more than one team employed to make money for her. Each transaction was legal and compliant, and even if the government of that country investigated, they wouldn’t find any issues.

So Sheng Quan was quite confident. Her calm attitude even made the senior look at her with higher regard. During dinner, as they spoke, the tone of their conversation became more friendly.

He talked the most about how formidable Jiang Lu was in the military. Although some information involving secrecy couldn’t be disclosed, he praised Jiang Lu from head to toe in a comprehensive manner.

“At that time, as long as this kid was willing, not to mention other things, based on his merits and the treatment he received, he could have immediately become a public security or judicial officer after retiring. But he didn’t want to; he insisted on leaving.”

“Miss Sheng, don’t be fooled by his current appearance. Back then, Jiang Lu was the cream of the crop; even now, I can’t compare to him.”

Sheng Quan understood. This senior was afraid that she might underestimate Jiang Lu.

Indeed, all parents are the same when it comes to being elders.

She smiled and poured tea for him. “Your words make sense. Jiang Ge looks impressive even now. But you’ve also helped dispel my confusion. I always felt that Jiang Ge’s excellence was a bit overboard.”

The senior immediately perked up, “Exactly, talented people are talented everywhere. Their abilities are inherent and won’t be lost.”

Sheng Quan: “Yeah, that’s why he was the first person I thought of when considering an advisor.”

The two of them praised each other back and forth, making Jiang Lu, who was being praised, stiff and unsure of how to react.

After a meal, Sheng Quan and the senior became more and more compatible in their conversation. He was teased until his ears turned red, and he could only silently drink cup after cup of tea.

The senior, named Qin Guofu, had a somewhat common name for their age group. After the meal, they went to the company and training base that had been selected and arranged.

The company wasn’t large, but it wasn’t small either, mainly serving as a reception for employers with high-quality decoration.

The training base was ridiculously large. This time, Sheng Quan didn’t use her own property, so the location was relatively remote. However, precisely because it was remote, it was more suitable for training.

The company had already recruited a batch of employees, and one of the young employees, who was smiling and introducing everything to them, was among them.

Although it was a new company, the high salary kept her very active and enthusiastic about her work.

“Our company offers courses not only in combat techniques but also in risk control, combat sports, optional foreign language courses, safety deployment, and legal application.”

Qin Guofu listened one by one, and the more he listened, the more he nodded.

Not to mention that this company had a clear retirement plan; just by learning so many professional skills, even if one couldn’t continue in this line of work as they got older, with so many skills, they could still live well.

“Not bad, not bad. Okay, tell me in detail what each of you wants, and I’ll have my old comrades find them. Whatever quantity you need, we’ll get it.”

Although learning so much seemed tough, Qin Guofu didn’t mind at all. On the contrary, he felt it was right.

Others were running a company, not a charity. If everything was simple and he could earn money without doing anything, he wouldn’t even bother to help connect people.

If he was happy at the dinner table just because the conversation was enjoyable, then Qin Guofu was genuinely happy now.

The reemployment of retired soldiers was indeed a problem. These were good men and women, especially strong individuals like Jiang Lu. In the army, they only needed to focus on maintaining their health. However, in a safe society, their skills were nowhere to be used.

As an older-generation military officer, once Qin Guofu truly understood that Sheng Quan was genuinely running this company, his favorability towards this young girl instantly maxed out.

His way of expressing gratitude was: “I’ll talk to my old friends and praise you young people.”

Qin Guofu could guess that when he informed his old friends about this news, they would be overjoyed.

Even Sheng Quan, who had experienced storms and hardships, couldn’t help but tremble with excitement at this moment.

The senior’s old friends—what kind of people could they be?

So, is she really not Mary Sue in this story?

Then, quite Mary Sue-like, Sheng Quan lived a calm and uneventful life for the next few months.

Until “Cultivator” was released.