Chapter 739 - 494: Chen Yuan and Jiang Yao’s Intimacy Maxed Out

A few days passed in a flash.

Time flew by.

After spending a few days in Kyoto, Mr. Chen and Liu He booked a flight for that morning and left first. Their leave from the university was over, and they both had to get back to teach their students.

Chen Yuan took them to the airport.

Before leaving, Liu He reminded him again and again to put more effort into his relationship with the two sisters and to get the marriage settled quickly. Since she wouldn’t be around to supervise, it was all up to Chen Yuan to make it happen.

To put it bluntly, after going through the engagement photos, the family banquet with its exchange of gifts, and setting a rough date for the formal proposal, the two sisters were like a hot pot. You had to keep the fire going; otherwise, once the stove went cold, you wouldn’t be cooking anything at all.

Chen Yuan readily agreed to everything.

At the family banquet, everyone had gotten along wonderfully. The family’s attitude toward the two sisters was excellent. Since it was their first formal meeting, it was inevitable that there would be greeting gifts and many verbal promises.

There were so many details that it all seemed incredibly complex to Chen Yuan now as he recalled it.

No wonder when they had landed in Mingzhu City a few days prior, Liu He had insisted on going into the city the next day. She claimed she was going "grocery shopping," but she had actually melted down a piece of heirloom gold jewelry to have two Gold-Inlaid Jade bracelets made. They weren’t cheap.

As for Jiang Zhengfeng, there was even less to say. With a family of their status, giving too little would invite ridicule from their future in-laws. After all, if you weren’t generous with the first meeting gift, when would you show your sincerity?

He gave them two black cards for use within the country. Any expense at a place that accepted credit cards would be fully covered, and each card had a stored value of over five million yuan. They were a type of consumer card issued by Huaxia Bank many years ago. Then, he also gave them the high-priced jewelry he had recently won at the Liu Family’s auction—two sets of those as well.

This set of greeting gifts was enough to make the two sisters see stars; they didn’t dare accept them at first.

Ningning waved her hands, trying to refuse. First, she felt the gifts were too valuable to accept. Second, she knew these elders were already treating her with immense kindness by giving her the chance to back out. They had promised not to force her if, at any point before the wedding, she decided she didn’t want to marry him. They had truly shown the utmost benevolence. If she accepted these gifts now, it would be even more awkward to return them later if she changed her mind.

But Liu He urged her to take them, saying they could discuss any concerns privately later. Only then did Jiangg Ning reluctantly accept.

Afterward, Jiang Zhengfeng asked the two sisters about their career plans and promised to provide support and assistance for whatever path Jiangg Yao wanted to pursue in the future. They would all be family soon, after all. Chen Yuan was his only son, so he would certainly not be stingy with the resources he could provide.

The two sisters were flattered and amazed. They had initially thought Jiang Zhengfeng would be a very stern person, but they felt no pressure interacting with him. Of course, compared to Liu He, they obviously felt closer to her, because even Chen Yuan wasn’t particularly close to Jiang Zhengfeng.

After that quick one-two punch, the two sisters had become Chen Yuan’s bona fide fiancées, just waiting for an auspicious day to be chosen for the formal proposal.

After seeing Liu He off, Chen Yuan didn’t stay in Kyoto much longer either. He was leaving that afternoon, returning to Mingzhu City with the two sisters.

Because—Jiangg Ruxue was about to be released from prison.

...

「Three o’clock in the afternoon.」

In half an hour, Jiang Zhengfeng was scheduled to board an international flight for an inspection trip abroad.

Yet, with only that half-hour remaining, he was still in the study, arguing with Chen Yuan.

Even the two sisters in the main hall could hear the sounds of the dispute coming from the fourth-floor study, and they were too intimidated to speak loudly.

「Inside the study.」

"Why are you suddenly telling me to stay in Mingzhu City to study? The people in Linzhou are waiting for me to come back—they’ve been waiting for days! Pei Youwen, Mo Nana, and Ji Hai can’t handle those veteran leaders. You know I have to hold video conferences every single night, and each meeting is a mess. We’ve finally reached the handover point, and now you want me to go on an ’inspection’ in Mingzhu City for three months to a year? What about Linzhou? Am I just supposed to abandon it?"

"Put your other important matters on hold. The northern region needs to change. It needs to learn from the central region’s reform philosophies. They’re ahead of you in every aspect. How can you understand if you don’t go learn and see for yourself?"

"First, the situations in the north and the center are completely different. The central region is developed, while the north is vast. The center has concentrated capital and centralized power, making it easy to manage. But in the north, even though I’m the top leader, I have no direct authority. I have to consult with those regional directors on everything, and their solutions won’t necessarily work for us! It’s like comparing apples and oranges. Second, because of the whole job roster issue, there are still people holding back their opinions, just waiting to give me a hard time at the next headquarters meeting. I need to use this time to connect with the grassroots level. We need a foundation of trust before we can reform together, right? But instead, you’re shipping me off to the central region to ’learn.’ What will my subordinates think? That I just parachute in and parachute out? Am I some kind of paratrooper?"

"What’s all this nonsense about paratroopers? I’m talking about serious business with you."

"I *am* talking about serious business."

Neither side would back down.

Chen Yuan truly didn’t understand what Jiang Zhengfeng was thinking. He was terrified of handling his job too frivolously, of disappointing the people who trusted him—people like Ji Hai, Pei Youwen, and Mo Nana... even Jiang Zhengfeng himself, and the previous general director of the northern region, Gao Dengfeng.

He didn’t want them to think his shoulders were too young and slender to bear such a heavy responsibility.

That was why he had been studying so hard, trying his best to keep up. For the better part of a year, he had dedicated almost all his time to this work.

Yet Jiang Zhengfeng’s current decision made him feel like it was all a joke.

’Three months to a year...’

Mingzhu City wasn’t his battlefield. His heart was set on Lanjing and Linzhou.