Qiao Dehao's fall had caused a great tremor in Hanzhou, especially when it implicated many issues. It had become the topic of the folks in Hanzhou. As for Xu Jiangang's underground research facility, information about it was sealed to avoid public panic. Thus, people only knew about the explosion in the villa but nothing more about it.
While the weather was getting colder, the water level in the canals have also started to drop. As a third-tired province, Hanzhou wasn't especially huge. With the pedestrians on the streets decreasing and girls wearing more clothes, the beautiful scenery had disappeared.
A team of five came to the Jianghuai Hospital for inspection. Although it was nominally said to check on the software in the Jianghuai Hospital, it's actually to conduct an evaluation on two core staff members in the hospital, to see if they were capable enough to undertake a new post. This sort of evaluation usually was just a walkthrough procedure, since it had already been determined even before the evaluation. Then the team returned to Qiongjin, and approval for Wang Hong to assume the post of Jianghuai Hospital's President and Su Tao as the Vice-President.
"Achoo! Achoo!" Rubbing his nose, Su Tao sneezed, which seemed a little lacking in manners as he awkwardly smiled towards Vera. "Is there someone thinking about me or someone talking behind my back?"
Raising her lips, Vera shrugged. "There must be someone talking behind your back. You've done so many bad things, so you surely have a lot of enemies!"
Su Tao shrugged as he took the cup of coffee from Vera and sighed, "So I'm only this much in your heart."
Vera acknowledged, "Yeah, isn't there a Chinese proverb? Women love the bad guys."
Although Vera was joking, there were dark clouds hovering by her brows so Su Tao placed the cup down and asked, "You don't seem happy, what's the matter?"
Su Tao did not let the matter rest, so he smiled. "Remember, I'm your doctor. Before you fully recover from your disease, I have the responsibility to understand your thoughts."
Glancing at Su Tao, Vera sighed, "You're just over-sensitive. It's really nothing."
Holding onto his chin, Su Tao probed, "Is it related to your trip back?"
Vera tapped on her ample lips and sourly looked at him. "Stop bothering me, I don't want to talk about it!"
"That fiancé of yours made you unhappy?" Su Tao pressed in harder.
Vera briefly paused before the finally stretched her hands out. "Alright, you've guessed correctly! That bastard simply left me speechless! He actually hired a few gunmen to announce untrue information."
Su Tao continued to probe, "About your wedding?"
Vera nodded her head. "Right, that fellow is too irresponsible. He said that we're going to get married March next year."
After a brief silence, Su Tao said, "Looks like the other party seems very anxious. I'm afraid he might force the marriage."
Rolling her eyes, Vera replied, "He still doesn't dare to do that. But it was an idea given to him by my father!"
Su Tao instantly understood why Vera was so helpless. Her father was the one that would want the wedding to happen. After a brief consideration, he smiled. "If your mood isn't good, then let me tell you a joke!"
Vera blinked in expectation before she asked, "The distinguishing dirty jokes of China?"
Instantly, black lines covered Su Tao's head. "Doesn't Russia have any dirty jokes?"
With a smile, Vera replied, "Russians are very passionate. They would speak what's in their hearts, even vulgarities. Unlike China, where people like to bite words. Hmm, to describe with a word to describe the people in China would be outwardly cold but passionate inside."
Su Tao awkwardly smiled, since dirty jokes were, indeed, the culture in China here. In Western countries, they would also use sex as humor, but China's humor stands out the most. This was also related to the oppressive atmosphere in society. With an earnest expression, Su Tao started to speak, "There's a couple acting intimately in the park, and the woman told her man that her teeth hurt. The man proceeded to kiss her and asked if it was still hurting, which she replied, 'Not anymore.' A while later, the woman suddenly told the man that her neck hurts. The man then kissed her neck, and it no longer hurts. When an old lady saw that, she couldn't help saying how miraculous the man's mouth was and asked if it could treat hemorrhoids."
Vera couldn't help dismissing it and said, "How vulgar!"
Thickening his face, Su Tao smiled as he explained, "It's called being down-to-earth!"
Supporting her chin, Vera blinked as she smiled. "Another one, but it must be meaningful!"
Su Tao felt the atmosphere was a little weird for him to be telling dirty jokes to a foreign chick, so he brewed up the emotions before saying, "Two cobs of corn got married. When the male corn woke up the next morning, he discovered popcorn lying beside him. Out of curiosity, he asked about the whereabouts of his wife. 'You burst me up with a shot, and now, you're pretending not to know me? Hmph!' the popcorn then shyly replied."
Vera couldn't hold back and laughed out, "You're so bad! But your treatment works, my mood got better now."
People say that music and poems weren't differentiated by countries, but Su Tao felt that jokes were also a piece of knowledge. Despite the drastic difference in culture between China and the Western countries, there's a market as long as it can make someone laugh.
Stretching her body, Vera paced about in the room before she softly said, "The Old Street's project is starting soon, and if it goes as expected, we will have the largest filming village in Huainan, Three Flavour Hall packaged as the highlight."
Su Tao nodded his head and smiled, "Package? Sounds interesting."
Pursing her lips, Vera smiled. "You need to provide some sources, which I will arrange for a team to draw up a trademark strategy."
Su Tao smiled. "So I'm just riding along with the opportunity?"
Vera rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're pretty lucky."
A professionally designed trademark strategy could easily go up to millions for a 5-A Marketing Company. Vera was just doing the trademark strategy design conveniently while reforming the Old Street. That's the same as gifting Su Tao a few hundred million, which Su Tao could see the intangible benefits in it.
Sweet music playing, quiet environment, and exquisite porcelain, shiny spoons, and a lovely cake on the table with the coffee fragrance drifting in the air. Su Tao realised that he had fallen a little and started to like such European-style mood.
Vera has already moved her venture capital company to the same building as the Three Flavour International, with a café built in the office. In the beginning, Yan Jing and Vera would often bump heads with conflicts between them. But after serious consideration, they had hired a management team. Ordinary matters were left to the management team, and pressing issues would be decided through the board meeting.
"There's something that I need you to take a look at." Vera took out a document and passed it to Su Tao with a grave expression.
Taking a look at it, Su Tao's brows were knitted. "There are counterfeits of our products out in the market so quickly?"
Vera nodded her head. "I have investigated into this matter. Those counterfeit products couldn't even reach the effect of ours. They seized the opportunity to sell them with the hope of making up the numbers!"
Counterfeit was a distinguishing feature of China. When a product becomes hot-selling, there would be a massive batch of counterfeits. It's just that Su Tao never expected it to occur so quickly. From Vera's expression, he could tell that they've suffered a serious loss.
Knitting his brows, Su Tao said, "We'll make an example out of someone. We'll find a target to stop them for infringement to warn others."
Vera soon figured out Su Tao's intention, so she nodded her head with a smile. "That's right, I will inform the legal team later to send the lawyer's letter to the few biggest companies. If there's a need, we will even take legal actions against them!"
Su Tao nodded his head with a smile. "We might even be able to use this to advertise our products as well!"
Vera was briefly stunned. Su Tao was smart. She sighed at his concept of seizing the opportunity to market and said, "You're a qualified businessman."
In an unknown and concealed clubhouse in Yunhai, Hans had buried his head low with rage written on his face with smoke rising from his cigar. He tossed the cigar towards the ashtray before taking a glass of wine on the desk and gulped it down.
Sitting before him was a blonde chick that's roughly in her thirties. She had lipstick applied to her ample lips, with charming and bright eyes. She wore a leader jacket that looked glossy, along with black stockings that wrapped around her slender legs, while her slim waist outlined perfect curves.
"That stupid Xu Jiangang is too crazy and caused such a big problem!" Hans said unhappily with his brows furrowed.
Rangure replied, "China is a sleeping lioness, to begin with, and there will always be a day that she wakes up from her slumber. Since the Cambell Pharmaceutical Company has been exposed, then there's no need to persist with it. We will withdraw our resources as planned."
Hans gritted his teeth as he raged, "I would have been promoted in just another month! With this happening, it's all gone now, and I will absolutely not forgive anyone that ruins my dream!"
Knowing Hans' thoughts, Rangure reminded, "Hans, remember your identity. Not only are you an executive of the Neuer International Cooperation, but you're also a seed that the organization has planted in China! Now that you have been exposed, I do not wish for there to be any more losses."
Hans crushed the ice cube in the glass with his teeth and replied, "Rangure, this is my personal matter, and I will not use any resources from the organization. Furthermore, I will be thorough in my preparations!"
Finishing his words, Hans suddenly took the fruit knife on the plate and stabbed it into a photo, a photo of the Police's Bella, Jiang Qinghan!