Chapter 388: The Husband Sings, the Wife Follows

Wang Chenning was of course aware of the weight carried by someone of Wang Jiangxing's standing. He knew what they were after and, more importantly, what they needed.

Since Wang Jiangxing had won Zhao Jiefang's favor, Wang Chenning could help him in many ways—as long as Wang Jiangxing knew how to show gratitude and return the favor.

This way, Wang Jiangxing could gain a lot from him, and he, in turn, could gain a lot from Wang Jiangxing.

It was a win-win situation. Why wouldn't he go for it?

As night began to fall, Wang Chenning led the three women down the mountain to attend Wang Jiangxing's banquet.

By the time their group descended, the number of tourists on Gem Mountain had increased massively.

After seeing Wang Chenning's Weibo post, many people had spontaneously decided to climb Gem Mountain. They wanted to see the panoramic view and nightscape of West Lake, and if by some chance they ran into Wang Chenning and his female companions, they might even be able to ask for a photo together.

Flexing with that photo on their social media would definitely earn them countless likes and comments…

Thankfully, the tour guide had the foresight not to lead them down the original path. Instead, she took them along a dimly lit, less-traveled trail.

As they neared the bottom of the mountain, they still ran into quite a few tourists heading up, as well as police officers who had been dispatched to maintain order.

"Looks like the four of us have some serious popularity and influence when we're together!" Wang Chenning said cheerfully to the three women beside him upon seeing the scene. "Should we try to monetize this influence?"

"How do you want to monetize it?" Zhao Xiao'an asked with a smile. "Livestream shopping? Taking on endorsements? Or something else?"

"We can definitely discuss it!" Wang Chenning didn't give a straight answer, just joked, "In the future, when I need someone for an advertisement, Sister Li and Yanxian, you can't refuse. Hiring you two would surely be much more cost-effective than getting those A-list celebrities!"

"No problem!" Li Fuzhen agreed readily. "It'll have to be pro bono, no payment needed!"

Li Yanxian, however, shot Wang Chenning a look. "I'd be happy to, as long as you get me a villa by West Lake!"

"That's too steep a price! I can't afford that!" Wang Chenning quickly waved his hands. "I'll just ask your aunt instead!"

If Li Fuzhen and Zhao Xiao'an hadn't been there, Li Yanxian would have definitely grabbed Wang Chenning by the ear and given him a piece of her mind.

'Why does that old woman Li Fuzhen get a villa, but a youthful beauty like me gets nothing?'

'Does he have some kind of weird fetish?'

'Hmph. I'll interrogate him properly tonight after they've all gone to sleep.'

Joking all the way, Wang Chenning led the three women to the restaurant.

Wang Jiangxing naturally wouldn't leave his key sponsors waiting in the cold. The venue he had chosen for the dinner was the famous five-star Qiantang Grand Hotel.

He had even brought a group of his subordinates and was personally waiting in the hotel lobby to welcome Wang Chenning, Li Fuzhen, Li Yanxian, and Zhao Xiao'an.

After a few simple pleasantries, Wang Jiangxing introduced the other attendees to Wang Chenning's group.

These were no ordinary individuals; they were all key figures in charge of practical affairs.

To describe their importance in a single sentence: they held up nearly eighty percent of the sky over Zhijiang.

Yang Xiaofei's timing was impeccable. She made an elegant entrance just as Wang Jiangxing was introducing these important figures to Wang Chenning's party.

Lingyang Group was ranked within the top two hundred of the Fortune 500, a true behemoth of a corporation with annual profits in the hundreds of billions. As the de facto head of Lingyang Group, Yang Xiaofei's influence and status were considerable.

However, Yang Xiaofei was known for being aloof and icy to everyone. She had her own principles and would never bend the rules for personal relationships. Consequently, securing an investment from Lingyang Group was exceedingly difficult.

In the past, several cities in the Jiangnan region had invited Yang Xiaofei to invest, but she had snubbed them all.

On one occasion, an official from Zhijiang whose rank was only slightly below Wang Jiangxing's was nearly humiliated by her.

The fact that Yang Xiaofei was willing to attend the banquet today, and had clearly expressed an interest in investing in Qiantang, had many people quite excited.

Because Yang Xiaofei was famously aloof and devastatingly beautiful, they all felt a little apprehensive when exchanging greetings with her, not even daring to initiate a handshake.

But what no one expected was that after the pleasantries, Yang Xiaofei would say, "I have great faith in Wang Chenning's judgment. Many of my investment decisions will be based on his recommendations."

Yang Xiaofei's words stunned everyone present.

It seemed that winning over Wang Chenning was the key.

The entire contingent from Zhijiang Province, including Wang Jiangxing, began to see Wang Chenning in a whole new light.

Wang Chenning's two capable subordinates, Lv Qinglan and Wu Jingyi, had also arrived in Qiantang before the banquet began.

They hadn't originally planned on attending the banquet with Wang Chenning, but he had personally invited them to join.

Moreover, when Wang Chenning introduced them, he used a very particular tone.

When introducing Lv Qinglan, Wang Chenning explained that she had originally been one of Yang Xiaofei's assistants, one of her most capable subordinates. Later, seeing that he didn't have many skilled people around him, Yang Xiaofei had sent Lv Qinglan over to help him out.

As for Wu Jingyi, he described her as the favorite granddaughter of Wu Jianyan, a titan in the world of traditional medicine. Having been cultivated with the full resources of the Wu family, Wu Jingyi was exceptional in every regard. He said he admired her abilities and had asked her to temporarily help manage his affairs.

After Wang Chenning's introductions, all the Zhijiang Province officials, including Wang Jiangxing, understood that these two beautiful women were far from ordinary. It was highly likely they would be dealing with them in the future, so no one dared to look down on them.

It also led them to further speculate about the relationship between Wang Chenning and Yang Xiaofei.

Yang Xiaofei was also quite satisfied with Wang Chenning's explanation.

After all, very few people knew the real story behind Lv Qinglan's situation.

The way Wang Chenning put it saved face for himself, for her, and for Lv Qinglan.

When Lv Qinglan went to handle matters on their behalf, she wouldn't be underestimated.

The dinner was lavish, but what Wang Jiangxing and his subordinates most eagerly awaited was the post-dinner discussion about cooperation with Wang Chenning, Yang Xiaofei, and Li Fuzhen. They hoped this group would bring a huge amount of investment to Zhijiang.

As the banquet drew to a close, Wang Chenning skillfully steered the conversation toward matters of mutual cooperation.

He told everyone present that if the quality and quantity of the medicinal herb supplies he required could be guaranteed, he would definitely locate his main pharmaceutical production operations in Qiantang. After all, Qiantang had beautiful mountains, fine water, and a great environment.

Wang Jiangxing immediately jumped in, saying that as long as Wang Chenning decided to invest there, Zhijiang Province would do everything in its power to meet his requirements.

Guaranteeing the quality and quantity of the herb supply was something that absolutely had to be done.

In front of everyone at the dinner table, Wang Chenning turned to Yang Xiaofei and asked in a joking tone, "President Yang, our Lord Wang has given his guarantee. Are you still hesitating?"

Yang Xiaofei, who had been sitting there elegantly sipping her tea, replied nonchalantly, "If you decide to invest here, then I'll invest with you; the amount and scale of the investment will be entirely up to you. Is that acceptable?"

Yang Xiaofei's words, once again, left everyone dumbfounded!

'It's like she'll follow wherever he leads!'