As the two were tidying up the chessboard, Ma Yun's housekeeper entered the study with two middle-aged men in tow.
Ma Yun quickly stood up to welcome their arrival, and Zhou Chao noticed that he was not unfamiliar with the two men. He had seen them online before, but in person, they appeared different—less imposing and more amiable. They exuded an approachable vibe that made people naturally want to get closer.
"Zhou, come over. Let me introduce you. This is Fu Xin, Old Guo, and Yuan Tong, Old Yu. You can just call them uncles."
"Old Guo, Old Yu, this is Zhou Chao, the individual shareholder who recently joined Ali. Don't be fooled by his young age; he wields considerable power." Ma Yun introduced Zhou Chao to the two men while pulling him over.
Old Guo and Old Yu approached Zhou Chao, and without being overly pretentious, he simply shook hands with them and exchanged greetings.
Then, Ma Yun took the three of them to the tea room. Once seated, Ma Yun spoke with an air of mystery, "Today, I have something good to show you." He took out the Da Hong Pao tea that Zhou Chao had gifted him earlier.
In Ma Yun's hands, the tea set was skillfully handled, and in no time, the tea leaves were steeped to perfection. Ma Yun poured a little tea into each person's cup using a snifter cup and then lifted his own cup to smell the aroma.
Instantly, the fragrance of the tea filled the entire tea room, and both Guo and Yu were immersed in the delightful scent of the tea.
"This is Da Hong Pao! Ma, the quality of this Da Hong Pao is excellent," Old Guo exclaimed as he smelled the tea with its floral aroma.
"It's the top-grade Da Hong Pao plucked from those six trees. Of course, it smells good. I'm just borrowing a bit to share with you. It's thanks to Zhou Chao."
"Mother Tree Da Hong Pao!" Old Guo and Old Yu exclaimed simultaneously. This was something money alone couldn't buy; it required connections. After all, the annual yield of those six trees was less than a pound, and once divided, there would be almost nothing left. Therefore, Zhou Chao's status in Old Guo and Old Yu's hearts soared when they learned he had obtained the Mother Tree Da Hong Pao.
The four of them began to enjoy the tea and chat casually. With Ma Yun's high emotional intelligence present, their conversation was incredibly pleasant. As they chatted, Zhou Chao's relationship with them became more harmonious. He addressed Ma Yun as "Uncle Ma," and Old Guo and Old Yu as "Uncle Guo" and "Uncle Yu," respectively. The titles felt more intimate.
After finishing their tea, it was nearly noon. As the host, Ma Yun had already arranged a table full of delicious food.
After a satisfying meal, Ma Yun suggested engaging in some entertainment. They had played Chinese chess with Zhou Chao in the morning and he had been losing. Now, he wanted to regain some ground by proposing another game in the afternoon.
Old Guo and Old Yu proposed playing mahjong. As Zhejiang natives, mahjong was deeply ingrained in their culture, and almost every household had a mahjong room.
"Shall we play the Chengdu mahjong? Zhou Chao, as a Fog City resident, you should be good at it," Ma Yun said to Zhou Chao.
Before Zhou Chao could respond, Old Guo chimed in, "Zhou Chao plays Sichuan mahjong. He might not be familiar with Chengdu mahjong. How about we play Sichuan mahjong, as you suggested?"
Ma Yun nodded in agreement, "You're right. We shouldn't trick him. Let's play Sichuan mahjong as you suggested, Zhou Chao. How about that?"
Zhou Chao knew these three were seasoned mahjong players, but he wasn't afraid. After all, he was a man with the skills of the Gambling God. He replied, "Sure, let's play Sichuan mahjong then."
In Sichuan mahjong, players must discard one suit to create flower tiles, and they can call for a tile to form a Kong, but they have to pay for it.
The four of them took their seats.
"Eight of Bamboos. Zhou Chao, play confidently. Don't worry; these uncles won't bully you," Ma Yun, being the banker, said to Zhou Chao after dealing the tiles.
"Kong! Uncle Ma, you're going to pay for this one," Zhou Chao took the Eight of Bamboos from the table and smiled at Ma Yun.
"You remember that, young man."
As they played mahjong, the four chatted about various topics, from national policies to their respective companies' businesses, and even personal matters. With Ma Yun's exceptional emotional intelligence, the atmosphere was lively and enjoyable. Regarding business matters, Zhou Chao absorbed a wealth of knowledge from their conversation. After all, they were all industry leaders, and even the slightest mention provided valuable insights for him to learn from.
The atmosphere was lively, and the conversation covered various topics, ensuring there was never a dull moment.
The four of them played mahjong throughout the afternoon. Ma Yun and the others had more losses than wins, especially Old Yu, who lost several hands embarrassingly and ended up drinking half a pot of tea as punishment. Ma Yun's mahjong skills were indeed impressive, and his ability to read people's expressions allowed him to come out with a slight win. Old Guo performed slightly better than Old Yu but still lost several big hands.
The biggest winner was Zhou Chao, and he had already blossomed like a flower with a bright smile on his face. The three others were thoroughly beaten by him.
As the afternoon mahjong session came to an end, they relaxed on the garden recliners, enjoying the breeze and sipping tea.
Ma Yun, with a playful gleam in his eyes, teasingly said to Zhou Chao, "Zhou, in the future, don't come here if you have nothing to do. Just stand by and watch when we have entertainment. You're not allowed to participate anymore." The others chimed in agreement.
Zhou Chao looked helpless, gazing at them, "I didn't force you to play with me. You were the ones who wanted to play with me, and now you say I'm not allowed. You old folks are really wicked."
Hearing Zhou Chao's complaint, Ma Yun and the others burst into laughter. They continued chatting for a while before taking their leave. Before departing, they exchanged contact information with Zhou Chao and mentioned that they should meet up again for tea and a chat in the future.
"Zhou Chao, do you have any plans for the near future? Why don't you stay here for a few more days and discuss chess skills with me?" Ma Yun suggested.
Zhou Chao shook his head, "I already have plans for the coming days, but if you come to Fog City, we can go fishing together in the sea."
"That sounds good. By the way, the company is planning to appoint you to a position. You can visit the company whenever you have time. There are so many young ladies there. If you happen to like any of them, I can play the matchmaker.".
Zhou Chao smiled wryly, "Uncle Ma, you can decide. If I have the opportunity, I'll visit the company. As for a girlfriend, let's talk about it later. I'm still young, no need to rush."
Ma Yun didn't say anything more. They continued drinking tea and chatting about personal matters.
As the time approached, Zhou Chao bid farewell and left. Ma Yun didn't try to persuade him to stay for dinner and also got up to see him off at the door.
Looking at Lin Wu sitting in the car, Zhou Chao suddenly realized that Lin had been waiting outside the whole time, and he wondered if he had eaten.
"Lin Wu, you've been in the car the whole time. Have you had dinner?"
"Mr. Zhou, I've already eaten. The butler called me to have dinner earlier."
Zhou Chao couldn't help but sigh. There were indeed many things he needed to pay attention to. He got in the car, and they returned to the hotel.