The video conference went smoothly this time, and after the satisfied foreign participants left, Yao Wang was the only one remaining on the screen.
"President Li is truly outstanding, with exceptional negotiation skills," Yao Wang realized for the first time how impressive Li Yicheng was. He had initially thought of him as an inexperienced young man, but now he had a newfound respect.
"Wherever did you learn to negotiate, President Yao?"
"Well, this round of cooperation has gone quite well. I plan to return to China in a couple of days to finish the remaining work and visit the old man." Yao Wang stretched and sighed, "Ah, I didn't realize I'd been abroad for more than half a year."
"President Yao, you've been working tirelessly for Huamao. When you return, I'll be here to welcome you and help you settle in," Li Yicheng genuinely appreciated Yao Wang; talents like him were rare, and he understood the value of such individuals.
"Thank you in advance, President Li. See you back in China."
After ending the video conference, it wasn't long before Lin Tianran arrived.
Li Yicheng noticed he was drenched in sweat, holding two large plastic bags outside his office door, peering inside hesitantly but not daring to come in.
"Why are you all sweaty?" After ushering him inside, Li Yicheng quickly searched for some tissue paper. With that much sweat, he could easily catch a cold if not dried off promptly.
"I, I rushed to the market right after work to buy groceries." Lin Tianran gratefully took the tissue paper from Li Yicheng and glanced at the wall clock. It was already past midnight, and he started to panic. "I need to start cooking."
"Don't hurry, take a rest first. I'm not hungry yet." Li Yicheng was both amused and exasperated; his Tiantian was always so diligent. Didn't he ever get tired?
"But, the crabs I bought, if I don't prepare them soon, they'll die." Lin Tianran pointed to one of the plastic bags, and sure enough, it contained several large crabs, their claws still moving and producing bubbles.
"Wow, I'm so lucky today. Seafood, too!" Li Yicheng was as delighted as a spoiled child, his eyes crinkling with joy.
In reality, Lin Tianran rarely bought crabs to eat. They were expensive, and the meat yield wasn't high, so it couldn't really fill him up. How could he afford to indulge in such luxury?
But today was to show gratitude to President Li, so he didn't consider it expensive at all. With his current salary, buying a few crabs posed no problem.
"I'll get started in the kitchen then." After saying this, Lin Tianran felt relieved, and he rushed into the kitchen to start his busy cooking.
"In that case, I'll be eagerly waiting to eat." Li Yicheng watched Lin Tianran's bustling figure in the kitchen, feeling as warm as if he had a little sun inside him.
When Lin Tianran presented the fragrant crabs, Li Yicheng had just taken a bottle of 80-year-old wine from the wine cabinet.
"This smells amazing, Xiaotian, you're amazing!" Li Yicheng's stomach grumbled at the scent, and he realized it was almost 1 o'clock.
"I still have a few dishes; I'll bring them out right away." Lin Tianran felt embarrassed. He was clumsy in his actions, and even slower at cooking than others. Fortunately, he hadn't blown up Li Yicheng's kitchen, but it was left in quite a mess.
"Here, I've chosen a bottle of wine from 1980; it goes perfectly with the crabs!" Li Yicheng took two tall wine glasses and came over-enthusiastically.
"But, President Li, I don't know how to drink." Lin Tianran saw Li Yicheng pouring two glasses of wine and hastily waved his hand.
"This is grape wine, sweet and easy to drink, just like juice. Give it a try."
"Alright then." Seeing Li Yicheng's enthusiasm, Lin Tianran didn't want to refuse, so he picked up the wine glass and took a small sip. He found the wine to be sweet and slightly bitter, not as unpleasant as he had imagined.
"Before drinking, like this, give it a little swirl." Li Yicheng picked up his own wine glass and elegantly swirled it a few times.
"Like this?" Lin Tianran followed suit, mimicking his posture, then took another sip. "It seems the taste has changed!"
"Exactly!" Li Yicheng, seeing Lin Tianran's delight, took a few sips himself.
The two of them began to eat their meal while enjoying the rich grape wine. Lin Tianran had prepared simple dishes: steamed crabs, tofu fish soup, and shredded pork with green peppers. They both savored the food, especially Li Yicheng. Although he had grown up eating delicacies, nothing could compare to the dishes cooked by his Tiantian.
"Wait, why is your hand all red?" Li Yicheng suddenly noticed that Lin Tianran's right hand and fingers had turned red, almost matching the color of the crabs.
"Um, I accidentally burned it just now." Lin Tianran quickly hid the fingers he was using to peel the crabs. He hadn't expected Li Yicheng's eyes to be so sharp, catching every detail.
"Does it hurt? Are there blisters?" Li Yicheng was incredibly anxious and wished he had a magnifying glass to examine Lin Tianran closely. "Show me?"
"It's okay, really." To reassure Li Yicheng, Lin Tianran added, "I've had worse injuries while working in the workshop before, many times worse than this. It's really nothing."
"What? You've had injuries in the workshop before?" Li Yicheng's reaction was even stronger than Lin Tianran had anticipated. He seemed to want to rush Lin Tianran to the hospital immediately for a thorough check-up.
"Well, accidents do happen in the workshop." Lin Tianran didn't understand Li Yicheng's reaction and felt like he was saying everything wrong at the moment. He decided not to say anything more and picked up his wine glass to start drinking. His soup seemed a bit too salty, and he was quite thirsty, so he needed to quench his thirst.
After a few glasses of wine, Lin Tianran's face was already flushed, and his gaze was no longer focused. He felt relaxed and less nervous. "The crabs are delicious, so delicious!"
"Although the crabs are delicious, they have a cold nature, so you shouldn't eat too many at once," Li Yicheng said, laughing, as he served some other dishes into Lin Tianran's bowl.
"President Li, why are you so good to me?" Lin Tianran suddenly stared at Li Yicheng and asked, "I'm just a small security guard, and I'm disabled. I have no family, no friends, no education, and I don't understand anything. Why are you so good to me?"
"You're drunk, Xiaotian." Li Yicheng patted his head.
"I'm not drunk." Lin Tianran blinked his eyes, "I have to work in the afternoon!"
"You can rest here in the afternoon. You're reeking of alcohol; how can you work?" Li Yicheng teased him.
Unexpectedly, this remark startled Lin Tianran. He shivered and said, "No, I can't! If I don't work, I won't have a salary, and without a salary, I won't have food to eat. I'll starve!"
Li Yicheng looked at him, his eyes filled with guilt and heartache, and sighed, "Tiantian, you must have suffered a lot over these years."
"But it's okay, I'm back now, and your good days are here."
"President Li?" Manager Fang walked in with medicine.
"Shh!" Li Yicheng gestured to the sleeping Lin Tianran on the sofa.
"What happened?" Manager Fang immediately smelled the alcohol on Lin Tianran and noticed how deep his sleep was.
"He's drunk, let him sleep," Li Yicheng took the burn ointment, "Give him a paid half-day leave this afternoon."
"Alright." Manager Fang was unfazed once again, and he looked at the messy dining table, touching his nose. "Um, by the way, should I call someone to wash the dishes?"
"Sure." Li Yicheng was very satisfied with Manager Fang's thoughtfulness. "Oh, and one more thing."
"What is it?" Manager Fang stopped.
"In your HR department, find a suitable time to inspect the safety of our workshop operations more thoroughly and write me a detailed report. Also, for this year's health checkup benefits, include all the employees in the workshop, not just the administrative staff in the office building. Make it a real benefit for everyone. When you're done, give me a budget."
"Everyone?" Manager Fang thought he misheard. There were at least a few hundred employees in the workshop, and the health checkup prices at big hospitals were not cheap.
"That's right," Li Yicheng nodded.
"I-I understand," Manager Fang had to support his almost-dropping jaw and pretended to leave calmly.
"Tiantian, I'm going to apply the ointment for you now," Li Yicheng walked over with the medicine kit, excitedly.
Having successfully wrapped up the international cooperation project and enjoyed the meal personally prepared by Lin Tianran, Li Yicheng was in an exceptionally good mood today!
Oh my, Tian Tian's sleeping face is so adorable, and his cheeks are rosy. Li Yicheng couldn't resist taking a couple of sneaky pictures. He could use them under the covers later~
Lin Tianran slept until after 5 o'clock, his head heavy and still slightly intoxicated. As he sat up, the blanket covering him slid onto the carpet.
"What time is it?" He didn't have a watch, but he could somehow intuitively sense how late it was. Oh no, could he still keep his job?
"Are you awake?" Li Yicheng lifted his head from the computer. "It's almost 5:30 now."
"What?!" Lin Tianran estimated it was only around 3 or 4 o'clock, so he was quite surprised. This was bad; was he still going to have his job?
"Here, drink this." Li Yicheng brought over a cup of creamy milk from the microwave. "Island Breeze exclusive."
"No, I need to hurry to work!" Lin Tianran didn't even pay attention to the milk. He quickly picked up the fallen blanket and reached for his shoes.
"Work? It's already past working hours. Don't worry; I spoke to Manager Fang. Today, you'll be in the CEO's office helping me with some paperwork. He won't mark you absent," Li Yicheng said indulgently and handed over the milk again.
"But... this..." Lin Tianran felt utterly embarrassed. He initially cooked the meal as a way to thank President Li for his help, but it turned out he ate more crabs than his benefactor. That was bad enough, but then he also indulged in Li Yicheng's wine and ended up sleeping half the day in his office.
Lin Tianran wished he could find a crack to hide in.
However, why didn't President Li seem angry at all? It was as if all of this were entirely acceptable to him.
He hurriedly drank the milk and then fled the scene like a small animal on the run.
Support me a milktea if you like my translation:
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/mirori
Paypal: mymy26198@gmail.com