Everything was going according to plan and Lu Fan suddenly found himself with nothing on his schedule.
I mean, he was busy, but there was nothing left for him to do. At this point, he could comfortably assign his work to someone else and everything would be done perfectly.
And it just so happened that he had the world's best secretary right by his side. Xu Ling'er had somehow found herself handling more and more of Lu Fan's work and it just… felt natural.
Lu Fan did not actively ask Xu Ling'er to do this, but it just happened.
It just started with things like simple reminders here and there. Xu Ling'er was very good at this. Most of the things that Lu Fan said he would do, he would easily forget especially if they were trivial and of no consequence. Xu Ling'er just became his sentient to do list, that never allowed him to ignore his commitments no matter how trivial.
It was somewhat annoying at the beginning, but Lu Fan started to notice some things.
Something like getting to work on time made other workers strive to do the same. There were hardly any late arrivals despite of how lax his regulations were.
The more he met this seemingly small commitments or made some minor effort to respect the SOP, he could see the work environment improving. And he understood this somewhat.
He had felt the dissatisfaction workers would feel working for an uncaring or even worse, a dumb boss.
Being an accountant, he had met bosses who would take money from the business to do with as they wished, but they would give him hell once the statements and reports were out. Why take money if you don't want it showing up as personal drawings? These situations were even worse when dealing with second-generation brats. Forget it…
Xu Ling'er started doing small things like these, and in no time, she was arranging his desk, shifting through his schedules, planning his calendar, and even coming earlier with his coffee. It reached a point where Lu Fan had to have Li Lin add the girl to the payroll.
The things she did were worth a salary.
It was just that the girl was too stubborn. It took Lu Fan quite a while to convince her to take the minimum wage.
2000 yuan was pocket change to the girl, but the smile she wore when she received it made Lu Fan a little dazed. This girl was very rich at this point, but her cute and happy smile even made Lu Fan want to pay her more. A pity that doing that would take more hours to try and convince her.
It was better to take her along when he traded and let her shadow him.
With his current ability, he could carry a whole financial institution to make money. Trading had become more of a game.
His [Investor] tag had started gaining a green shine and it wouldn't be long before it became a green talent.
Lu Fan was excited to see what more he could get with the advancement of the talent. The current him was qualified to trade with Buffet at the same level. He was curious as to what changes would happen when he advanced.
That aside, today he made time to visit his mother at the hotpot joint.
He had hardly spent much time there since the opening of META and would only have Xu Ling'er deliver food to his mother.
He still tried to cook for the lady no matter how busy he might be.
The hotpot joint had turned into a high-end dining establishment.
The exterior had not changed much except that the advertisements that used to occupy much of the wall space were gone and only an exquisite sign board was left.
The walls were redone and the high-quality paint job made the house front look more proper. The clean white paint made the place look clean and fit well with the other wood fittings.
This view alone would already set a high standard for customers.
With a bell chime, Lu Fan entered from the front door for the first time in a long while.
"Welcome. Do you have a reservation, sir?"
Lu Fan looked at the beauty that had welcomed him and could not help but look at her again.
Her beauty was… popular, but that was not what drew his attention. The uniform she was wearing, a fine blend of black and red, made her look professional.
Just looking at her made him feel like this place must have high-quality food and services.
It was a branding thing. Just the color selection would subconsciously make a big difference.
The white color of the walls outside with classic wooden fittings made one feel like this place was high-class.
The melodious chime and the immediate reception made customers feel like the place paid particular attention to customers, making them feel special.
The black leather shoes and black professional pants the waiter wore made one feel like the people here meant business. Still, the red immediately made one feel festive and gave an anticipatory lure to the heat and spiciness of hotpot.
It was all the capitalist's psychology.
Lu Fan could not help but give a thumbs-up to Li Lin.
These changes were mostly her doing and Chen Lu did not have any objection. They were all good changes and Li Lin used them to get close to Chen Lu.
She had always been guarded against her and was even more enthusiastic about matchmaking him and Xu Ling'er. Li Lin just used this approach to gain her approval.
Even though Chen Lu had explicitly told him that she was on Xu Ling'er's side, at least she was not as aggressive as she was the first time. At least she did not show it.
An Xing'er was also another factor. She was just too beautiful and dazzling. Li Lin was a beauty, but she was the cute kind that looked obedient. A next-door neighbor you'd treat like a little sister.
Xu Ling'er had too many social flaws that marked her growing poor. There were no blemishes to her appearance, but her simple posture was a minus. But that had been changing lately the more she did her secretary work.
An Xing'er on the other hand was a hands down heavenly beauty. Loss the round nerdy glasses and tie her hair up, and every creature would be mesmerized.
It was to the point that Chen Lu had even changed her rhythm and started telling Lu Fan about ancient emperors who had multiple wives. Her objective was obvious but Lu Fan could only pretend that she was just passionate about history.