Gu Qingqing didn't know how much time had passed when she got up to stretch, only to find herself sitting side-by-side with Boss Tan.
Looking at Tan Jincheng, who was still working diligently, Gu Qingqing was startled:
"Huh? When did I sit over here?"
It seemed that after asking questions several times, the computer kept moving, and she found it a bit troublesome, so she moved the computer over.
Gu Qingqing observed Tan Jincheng's profile.
They say a man is most charming when he's serious, and Boss Tan certainly fit that description now.
Regardless of gender, first impressions are actually very important.
Tan Jincheng looked good, and his demeanor was on the steady side, though this might not be that important in the business world.
But for a student like Gu Qingqing, Tan Jincheng's external conditions were relatively easier to gain trust and favor.
Seemingly sensing Gu Qingqing's gaze, Tan Jincheng turned his head and looked at Gu Qingqing, saying,
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Ah, no, no, just resting for a bit, sat for too long."
Gu Qingqing, caught red-handed, lowered her head shyly.
It seemed like it had been quite a while.
Tan Jincheng looked around; there were already quite a few people in Starbucks.
Checking the time, it was already past 11 AM.
"Then let's go have lunch first. We'll continue working after eating. We'll have to work a bit harder today, this is quite urgent."
Today was already the 26th.
These designs had to be finalized before the end of this month.
The Spring Canton Fair is held annually from April 15th to May 5th, divided into heavy industry and light industry.
Light industry categories would be a bit later, but exhibition setup still needed to be done in advance.
Therefore, the workload in March was quite heavy.
Not only exhibition materials needed to be prepared, but also an order from James.
James was currently Jinpeng Trade's most stable client.
Every month, Jinpeng Trade would receive an order, with some fluctuations in quantity.
This year, due to the Spring Festival holiday in February, this March order included February's, so the task was very heavy.
Since returning on the eighth day of the lunar new year, Tan Jincheng's focus had mainly been on this matter.
Most garment workers in small factories wouldn't return until after the Lantern Festival.
Zhang Haiping was also extremely anxious, trying every means, promising full reimbursement of round-trip travel expenses for old workers who reported for duty on or before the tenth day of the lunar new year, to be paid in the same month.
Additionally, for every skilled worker an old employee introduced to the factory, a reward of 300 yuan would be given to the referrer after three months of work, and 600 yuan after half a year.
Under the incentive of travel expense reimbursement and rewards, Zhang Haiping's factory achieved a 70% operating rate on the tenth day of the lunar new year.
This 70% operating rate was nearly double the full capacity of last year.
No other reason, during the time Tan Jincheng went home, Zhang Haiping had been acquiring second-hand flatbed sewing machines everywhere to expand production capacity.
Apart from resting for four days during the New Year, Zhang Haiping was either buying flatbed sewing machines or on his way to buy them.
At its current scale, if fully staffed and operating at full capacity, Zhang Haiping's garment factory could produce up to 200,000 pieces of autumn/winter clothing per month, and even more for spring or summer wear.
The reason Zhang Haiping dared to expand production capacity on such a large scale wasn't solely due to Tan Jincheng's persuasion.
Having been in the industry for many years, he could also sense market opportunities.
During gatherings with peers over the New Year, Zhang Haiping could feel that everyone's businesses were doing well this year.
Many of his peers also expressed plans to expand production capacity.
Since the industry had developed to this point, expanding capacity was imperative.
It was better to do it big all at once within one's capabilities, to avoid future piecemeal additions and unnecessary troubles.
Originally, Tan Jincheng planned to invest with Zhang Haiping to rebuild a factory.
Since Zhang Haiping had the courage and determination to tackle it directly, it saved Tan Jincheng some trouble, as Zhang Haiping had an advantage over Tan Jincheng in terms of loans.
The restaurant for lunch was recommended by Gu Qingqing.
The area near the university town had plenty of good food, and it lived up to its reputation.
A plate of stir-fried prawns, a plate of crab roe tofu, a plate of sweet and sour pork loin, and a plate of fresh bean curd sheets in chicken broth; the portions were just right, and the taste was good.
Everything was stir-fried fresh; besides being a bit slow to serve, there were no other issues.
"How is it, good taste, right? Next time if Boss Tan comes again, I'll take you to another one, that one tastes pretty good too, I've been there a few times with my classmates."
"Alright, but next time don't secretly pay the bill. It makes me look like I'm freeloading."
Tan Jincheng laughed.
This girl was quite interesting.
As soon as the dishes were ordered, she secretly paid the bill during a restroom break, saying that since she recommended it, she should pay.
University students are really naive, they don't even know about business meals.
Gu Qingqing covered her mouth and chuckled:
"Okay, then let's agree: you pay for one meal, I pay for one meal."
"Alright, as you wish. So, you'll cover today's expenses; how about I cover it next time I come?"
"Okay, it's settled then. So, this afternoon, no coffee, how about milk tea?"
Gu Qingqing blinked and looked at Tan Jincheng.
Today's translation work was relatively more technical, so the day's wage was 300 yuan.
The morning coffee could be said to be returning a favor, but if she bought coffee again in the afternoon, factoring in lunch, she would have worked for free today!
Tan Jincheng glanced at Gu Qingqing:
"No problem, milk tea it is. I haven't had milk tea before."
Quite an interesting girl, with her own principles and a bit of cleverness.
"No way? Boss Tan hasn't had milk tea?"
Gu Qingqing said with some surprise.
"No, let's go."
Indeed, he hadn't had milk tea in this life, so it wasn't a lie.
"Then Boss Tan must try it, it's very delicious."
A 5 yuan milk tea might not be incredibly delicious, but walking into Starbucks grandly with a cup of milk tea, setting up a computer, and assuming a working posture was still quite conspicuous.
"How about we change places? These people staring at us makes me quite uncomfortable." Gu Qingqing whispered, sitting next to Tan Jincheng.
"Change to where? The air conditioning here is perfectly fine. It's nothing, they'll look for a moment and then turn away. The staff won't kick us out, let's just work here and try to finish early."
"Oh, okay."
Gu Qingqing said helplessly.
Tan Jincheng glanced at her, not speaking; her skin was still a bit thin, unlike his own.
However, once the formal work began, Gu Qingqing no longer cared about these things.
Boss Tan was right; instead of focusing on these, it was better to finish the work early.
During the work, the two occasionally conversed in low voices.
Gu Qingqing didn't even notice that compared to the morning when she felt a bit shy finding herself sitting side-by-side, Gu Qingqing in the afternoon was much more natural.
It wasn't until nearly six o'clock that Gu Qingqing completed the work assigned by Tan Jincheng.
It was her first formal translation, and she was still a bit rusty.
When Tan Jincheng said "OK," Gu Qingqing let out a long sigh of relief.
Earning these 300 yuan was quite difficult.
Moreover, after a day of interaction, what surprised her most was Tan Jincheng's English proficiency.
How could someone who said they hadn't attended university have such a high level of English, especially such fluent spoken English?
"Does this Boss Tan have some kind of story?"
Gu Qingqing couldn't help but ponder to herself.
(End of this chapter)
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