"Jiang Cheng!"
Director Leng jumped up from his chair in excitement.
Jiang Cheng walked in with a smile and warmly shook hands with Director Leng.
"Director Leng, I only came up after being notified."
In other words, you knew I was coming.
Director Leng displayed no embarrassment at being caught, instead looking perfectly justified.
"Nonsense! You’re here, I must give you the treatment you deserve!"
"I tell you, only you deserve this level of excitement from me."
Jiang Cheng’s eyes squinted with laughter. After releasing the handshake, she said, "Looks like Director Leng hasn’t been idle all these years; you’ve become quite the expert in the art of Machiavellian strategies."
"Of course, ever since I met you, I realized the world isn’t just about fighting; there are plenty of big fish outside waiting to be fooled."
The two laughed heartily, and Director Leng invited Jiang Cheng to sit on the sofa and personally poured her tea.
Jiang Cheng was perfectly at ease.
After taking a few sips of tea, Jiang Cheng noticed Director Leng looking at her eagerly and put down her teacup.
"How much do you need?"
"Too much!"
Director Leng shamelessly asked, "I want to build an aircraft carrier."
Jiang Cheng: "....."
That’s quite a bit indeed.
Seeing Jiang Cheng silent, Director Leng frankly said, "I don’t expect you to cover it all; just a token contribution will do."
"Rest assured, we won’t take your money for nothing; the treatment you deserve will be given."
Jiang Cheng smiled and nodded.
"I can’t do it on my own, but... have you forgotten my skills? Fleecing the sheep is something I’m good at."
Director Leng’s eyes lit up immediately.
"I haven’t forgotten, just worried you might be too embarrassed."
After all, back then, we had nothing. Now, with status and dignity, can you still unabashedly fleece the sheep?
Jiang Cheng put on a stern face.
"Director Leng, who are you underestimating?"
"Besides, fleecing sheep when you’re broke is one thing; doing it with status and money is another."
Director Leng listened with eyes glinting, nodding repeatedly, and expressed that if needed, just say the word.
After chatting with Director Leng, Jiang Cheng left and headed home.
"Mom!"
Zhuang Zhuang ran towards Jiang Cheng, who caught him in her arms.
"Did you miss me?"
"Mom... let me tell you something..."
Zhuang Zhuang whispered mysteriously in Jiang Cheng’s ear, "Mom, I want to go poop."
Jiang Cheng felt her heart open with a smile.
Though accustomed to it by now, each of Zhuang Zhuang’s bathroom trips remained a secret—one only she was privy to.
When Jiang Cheng was home, the task of wiping fell to her, and sometimes Zhuang Zhuang would even leave his ’creation’ just for her to see.
One time, Grandma Shen flushed it away, sending Zhuang Zhuang into a wailing fit.
Of course, when Jiang Cheng wasn’t home, second-ranking Shen Que sufficed.
Jiang Cheng, holding Zhuang Zhuang, whispered back, "Okay, you go ahead."
Content, Zhuang Zhuang dashed to the bathroom, calling out just before closing the door, "Mom, wait for me outside."
"Alright!"
Jiang Cheng could only agree, having no other choice.
Once Zhuang Zhuang was in the bathroom, Shen Que emerged from where he had been hiding by the door, exchanging a glance with Jiang Cheng before handing her a special little stool.
Initially, it was Shen Que who had been tasked with waiting outside, but with Jiang Cheng’s return, Shen Que found himself quickly dismissed.
Jiang Cheng took the stool and sat outside, resigned to her duty.
Meanwhile, Shen Que had to keep a good distance, pretending to be oblivious to Zhuang Zhuang’s bathroom activities.
The world of children can be quite challenging to understand at times.
With Zhuang Zhuang’s call of "Mom, I’m done," Jiang Cheng got up to tend to the little young master.
Once done, Zhuang Zhuang cheerfully ran off to play with Shen Que, leaving mom behind without a care.
Jiang Cheng shook her head, laughing quietly as she headed into the study to call Sun Aiguo, asking him to arrange a meeting for the next day.
Sun Aiguo acknowledged, assuring that everyone would be informed.
After hanging up, Jiang Cheng leaned back in her chair, contemplating how best to ’fleece the sheep’ this time.
Before she knew it, it was time for Grandma Shen to call her for dinner.
The family of four gathered around to eat, with Zhuang Zhuang feeding himself.
Jiang Cheng and Shen Que pampered Zhuang Zhuang but never spoiled him.
For aside from being lively and mischievous, Zhuang Zhuang excelled in everything else—especially eating, which Li Chunxiang had envied for so long.
Because Li Chunxiang’s chubby son was a picky eater.
In Li Chunxiang’s words, he disliked vegetables, meat, seafood, picked at his fruits, refused milk, and wouldn’t touch eggs, subsisting mostly on small amounts of plain rice daily.
A boy who weighed over eight pounds at birth had grown skinny and tall.
Li Chunxiang, eager to encourage her son to eat, sent him to stay with Jiang Cheng for a couple of days, hoping he might catch Zhuang Zhuang’s good appetite, but instead, he grew thinner.
Not because he hated food, but because Zhuang Zhuang loved food and ended up eating all his meals.
So, Li Chunxiang had to take her son back home.
After dinner, Zhuang Zhuang went out with Grandma Shen to play with other kids.
Kids from neighboring homes often gathered in the hutong to romp around, returning home dirtied and tired out.
Inside, Shen Que pulled Jiang Cheng down beside him, resting her head on his lap, gently rubbing her head.
"Overthinking again?"
"Not really, just a bit of thinking, not too much."
Jiang Cheng adjusted herself to a comfortable position, poking Shen Que’s side, she asked, "President Shen... care to donate some?"
Shen Que stayed silent, merely lowering his head and nodding towards his lap, hinting noticeably.
Jiang Cheng quickly understood, wrapping her arms around Shen Que’s neck and planting a kiss.
"Well, President Shen, will you donate?"
"I could... but perhaps this isn’t quite enough?"
Shen Que raised an eyebrow, while Jiang Cheng chuckled quietly, pulling down his collar to whisper in his ear, "You can have it your way, President Shen, any objections?"
"If that’s the case, it’s not impossible."
Shen Que held Jiang Cheng’s waist, deepening the kiss a bit further.
They didn’t dare go too far; after some light teasing, they quickly resumed their roles as proper "parents."
Zhuang Zhuang returned after nearly two hours of play.
As always, he was covered in dust, with sweat streaks making his face resemble a little cat.
Shen Que took Zhuang Zhuang to bathe, and the two had lots of fun.
After cleaning up, Zhuang Zhuang donned pajamas as Jiang Cheng read him a bedtime story, lulling him to sleep.
Once Zhuang Zhuang was asleep, Jiang Cheng quietly slipped out into another bedroom.
At the age of six, Zhuang Zhuang officially began sleeping in his own bed; with Jiang Cheng there to put him to sleep, he typically slept through the night.
The next morning, Jiang Cheng donned her professional attire and set off for work.
The meeting at the company was already well-prepared, with Jiang Cheng running it efficiently and concluding neatly.
Afterward, only Li Chunxiang followed Jiang Cheng back to her office with a sour look.
As soon as Jiang Cheng sat down, Li Chunxiang asked familiarly, "How much do you need?"