Chapter 458: Tattling, Right?

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Sis, why haven’t you slept yet at this hour?” The caller was Cai Yilong, the lady boss of Tang Ren, the company where Brother Hu worked.

A lazy voice came from the other end of the phone, “Lao Hu, you’ve done such a big thing; how can 1 sleep?”

“Is it because Xiaoqi told you something? That little girl doesn’t even know the whole story and just reports things to you.”

Sitting in the passenger seat, Xiaoqi was feeling a bit uneasy and leaned to the side, inadvertently making a small noise. She quickly turned her head to look out the window when she saw Brother Hu’s eyes on her.

“Xiaoqi did nothing wrong. Aren’t you even considering what it means to become a public advocate for this charity? You know it’s a complicated matter, and how can you handle it on your own? You should have discussed it with me. Luckily, this matter hasn’t been made public yet; I’ll step in and help you decline it when the time comes.”

Brother Hu, sensing that Cai Yilong wanted to reject this offer for him, hurriedly said, “Please, Sis, don’t do that!”

Hearing Brother Hu’s excited tone, Cai Yilong knew there must be something she didn’t know. She then asked, “Tell me, what’s going on? Why did you agree so readily?”

Brother Hu didn’t hide anything and explained the whole story, including the formation of the charity foundation by Zhou Chao and others and the respective contributions they made.

“You just said that Sicong, Qin Fen, and the others are all calling this guy ‘Young Master Zhou,’ and they are contributing a total of 10 billion to establish a charity foundation. You’ve even become a director in it. My goodness, Brother Hu, you have quite the luck. Count me in; I want to step in it too.” Cai Yilong was astonished and sat up on her bed, not caring about the exposed whiteness of her sheets.

Hearing Cai Yilong’s excited voice, a faint smile appeared on Brother Hu’s face, and he said softly, “Stay calm, Sis Yilong. This isn’t like your usual style. Your temperament… why are you so easily surprised?”

“Can I not be surprised? Just with the people you know, any one of them could make you stable as a rock in the entertainment industry. Not to mention this upcoming charity foundation; 1 believe it won’t be long before you become a hot commodity in the entertainment world.”

Hearing Cai Yilong’s words, Brother Hu didn’t show much happiness on his face. He fell into deep thought.

“Lao Hu, are you listening?” Seeing that Brother Hu remained silent, Cai Yilong softly called out.

Coming back to reality, Brother Hu thought for a moment before saying, “Yilong, maybe I’ll disappoint you. This foundation is purely dedicated to charity work, and there won’t be any ulterior motives involved. Besides, the people involved in this project take charity very seriously, and they won’t tolerate any shady dealings.”

As a breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry, Brother Hu knew that Cai Yilong might not understand the depth of his convictions. He simply wanted to be a good advocate for the cause, helping more people, and the fame and fortune that might come with it were like passing clouds. Although Zhou Chao didn’t explicitly say these things, Brother Hu believed that Zhou Chao shared a similar perspective.

Cai Yilong understood what Brother Hu meant and realized that for some big players, the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry were just a joke.

“I get it now. You can manage this matter directly. If you need any help, just call me. Also, regarding the movie, you should head to the set as soon as possible!”

“Got it, Sis Yilong. 1’11 go to the set tomorrow.”

“Well, you should go to bed early. Your matters have kept me up late.”

“My apologies. I’ll treat you to dinner sometime.”

“Haha, that’ll do.”

After hanging up the phone, Brother Hu felt relieved. In this industry, sometimes he had no choice, but luckily this time, Zhou Chao and the others were there to help him. Otherwise, he would have gotten entangled in some troubles.

“Phew!” Taking a deep breath, Brother Hu felt much more refreshed.

“Bro, I’m sorry!” Xiaoqi said pitifully.

Brother Hu gently shook his head in response to Xiaoqi’s apology and then turned his gaze to the lights outside the car window. The late-night lights still shone brightly.

The next morning, in the early hours, Zhou Chao was still playing chess with Zhou Gong when Lin Wu’s knocking interrupted his sleep.

“You said Lin Chen has something for me?” Zhou Chao, half asleep, sat up on the bed and asked.

“Yeah, he’s downstairs now, holding a document bag.”

“I see. You can go down first; I’ll come down after freshening up.” Zhou Chao guessed that Lin Chen had something important to report.

“Got it, boss!”

As Lin Wu went downstairs, Zhou Chao got out of bed and walked straight to the bathroom.

In less than ten minutes, he had changed his clothes and came downstairs. He saw Lin Chen still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, slumped on the sofa, fast asleep.

Seeing Zhou Chao coming downstairs, Lin Wu was about to wake Lin Chen, but Zhou Chao stopped him. He walked over to Lin Wu and whispered, “Let him rest a bit. It looks like he didn’t go home last night. Ask the property management to bring some food, maybe some congee.”

Lin Wu nodded and quietly left to arrange for breakfast. Fortunately, the living room was far from the entrance, and Lin Wu’s comings and goings didn’t disturb Lin Chen’s sleep.

Watching Lin Chen sleeping soundly, Zhou Chao let out a sigh and sat quietly on a nearby sofa. He picked up a document bag that was placed on the table and started looking through it.

The bag contained the development directions and detailed plans that Zhou Chao had formulated during the meeting.

“Could it be that Lin Chen and the others worked late into the night on this?” Zhou Chao glanced at the peacefully slumbering Ling Chen with a hint of surprise, then lowered his head and continued reading.

The directory, types, categories, and individual items were all neatly organized. Zhou Chao seemed to read through them remarkably swiftly, and in no time, he had finished reviewing all the documents in his hand. After going through these proposals, Zhou Chao was quite satisfied, except for a few that required some modifications. The rest could be implemented according to this plan he held in his hand.

Just as Zhou Chao was putting the documents back into the bag, the bag made a slight noise, and Lin Chen woke up abruptly. Zhou Chao could see that Lin Chen’s eyes were still a bit red from staying up late.

Taking in his surroundings, Lin Chen quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, boss. I just dozed off.”

After speaking, he also gave his own cheeks a light pat to wake himself up a bit.

Zhou Chao replied, “I’ve reviewed the documents. Your team did an excellent job with the plans. There are just a few adjustments needed.”

“Boss, what needs to be changed? I’ll go back to the office and make the modifications.”

“No rush for the changes. What you need right now is some rest. Get a good nap, and after that, you can have breakfast. You seem to have pulled an all-nighter again last night.”

Ling Chen nodded and said, “This is crucial for the future development of the group; we must formulate it as soon as possible. Any delay could lead to unforeseen complications.”

“Absolutely,” Zhou Chao replied with a satisfied look at Ling Chen. He knew he had made the right choice in selecting him from the beginning.

“Boss, you mentioned some changes that need to be made. Can you tell me what they are?”

“Charity and public welfare projects!”

Lin Chen was a bit surprised by Zhou Chao’s response. He knew that Zhou Chao had a strong interest in charitable projects. When they were formulating the plans last night, Zhou Chao had even increased the annual charity funding from 500 million to 1.5 billion yuan. This amount was among the highest in the country. Did he want to reduce it now?

“Boss, do you mean… reducing the increased funding?” Lin Chen asked with a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

Hearing Lin Chen’s words, Zhou Chao was taken aback. When had he ever said that he wanted to reduce the funding for charity projects? He looked at Lin Chen’s puzzled expression and explained, “Who said I wanted to reduce the funding? It’s because of some changes.”

“Changes? Is someone targeting us, Boss?” Lin Chen furrowed his brow.

“You’re overthinking it. No one is targeting us. It’s just that last night, when I was having dinner with Si Cong and others, each of them contributed 2 billion yuan, and together with my 4 billion, they established a private charitable foundation. 1 plan to have this foundation affiliated with our company. So, all the plans you initially formulated need to be adjusted. Also, there might be some changes in the scope of outreach.”

“Boss, please go on. I’ll take notes!” Lin Chen took out a pen from his pocket.

Although Zhou Chao was a bit surprised that Lin Chen had a pen on him, he didn’t dwell on it. After all, everyone had their quirks.

“Rural revitalization will be our primary focus, with an emphasis on culture. We will increase efforts in culture, education, healthcare, and ecological support, making it possible for children in remote areas to afford education and medical care. We aim to help local residents find sustainable paths to prosperity, which will be the primary goal of our charity work from now on!” “Boss, if we go with this plan, our initial investment will be several times what it is now, and we won’t see results in the short term. Moreover, talent in various fields will become extremely scarce, and in the short term, we can only promote it in certain targeted areas.”

“You raise a valid point,” Zhou Chao said, leaning back on the sofa with his legs crossed, tapping his knee lightly with his fingers.

After a while, Zhou Chao continued, “We should strengthen our cooperation with major normal universities. We provide the funding, and they provide the manpower. We can gather willing individuals to contribute to remote mountain areas. Their compensation should be on par with the highest local salaries, with additional benefits added each year. We need to tailor the specifics to the local conditions, but one thing is clear: we can’t let those who go to support these areas down. We must set a specific term; I don’t want anyone taking advantage of the situation.”

“Boss, you can count on me for that,” Lin Chen replied, already well-prepared in this regard, understanding Zhou Chao’s intentions.

“That’s about it. Work out the finer details and implement it as soon as possible. Also, regarding the foundation, i’ll have Si Cong and the others get in touch with you as soon as possible to establish the foundation.”

“Understood, Boss!” At this moment, Lin Chen’s eyes, which had been red from lack of sleep, were filled with enthusiasm.

Just then, the door opened, and Lin Wu walked in carrying a large bag of breakfast.

“Let’s eat first. Afterward, get a good night’s sleep,” Zhou Chao suggested..