Chapter 5 — How Is This Like Finding a Spouse?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Gu Pengzhan's enthusiasm left Wei Zhao both flattered and ill at ease. It was the first time he had ever met such a warm employer. True, he had been hired by this man to carry out some mission, but why did the chairman of a Fortune 500 listed company have to treat him like this? It was enough to make anyone wonder—it felt more like a meeting between equals than anything else.
"Mr. Lin! I know, perhaps asking you to lower yourself to do these things puts you out..." Gu Pengzhan hesitated, then said.
Hearing Gu Pengzhan's words grow more and more extravagant, even Wei Zhao, a man with a face as thick as leather, felt a bit embarrassed. He hurriedly said, "It's no lowering... At home I weave straw sandals and earn only a few hundred yuan a month. The old man says this task is enough to keep me fed for a lifetime..."
Wei Zhao thought to himself: this employer is very decent. He invites me to work for him and still speaks so politely—not like some people who, once they hand over your pay, start criticizing and complaining.
"What? Weaving straw sandals?" Gu Pengzhan was taken aback and looked carefully at Wei Zhao. He hadn't mistaken the man, had he? But what on earth was he talking about? Did Old Master Lin really set him to weaving straw sandals every day to earn a few hundred yuan? Gu Pengzhan was speechless. From his own old man, he had faintly heard of some of Wei Zhao's deeds; that hostage rescue in Africa alone must have netted no less than a hundred million U.S. dollars in reward money. And this man said he wove straw sandals for a living?
"That's right. A pair of straw sandals sells for four yuan. Weave three or five pairs a day, and that's a few hundred a month." Wei Zhao nodded. He himself vaguely felt that something was off; the old man didn't exactly seem like someone short of cash.
Gu Pengzhan could hardly meddle in the man's private affairs. Hearing Wei Zhao's words, he could only shake his head helplessly and say, "From now on, your salary will be thirty thousand yuan a month. That money will cover your school fees and daily expenses. Of course, anything you spend on my daughter can be reimbursed separately by asking Li Fu."
"Thirty thousand? Didn't the old man say a few thousand?" Wei Zhao was stunned. You've got to be kidding—such a high salary? If he had known, there would have been no need to bring any money with him, and no need to watch that pained, money-grubbing look on the old man's face. He remembered the scene when he had begged that forty-nine thousand yuan out of the old man. "Wait, Mr. Gu, what did you just say? School? Tuition and fees? And money spent on your daughter? What does that mean? I'm a little confused..."
Wei Zhao was deeply puzzled. What exactly did Gu Pengzhan mean? Hadn't he been brought here to carry out a mission?
"Oh? What, Old Master Lin didn't tell you before? Come this way, and we'll discuss the details upstairs." Gu Pengzhan smiled slightly and made an inviting gesture, walking shoulder to shoulder with Wei Zhao toward the elevator.
After all, Gu Pengzhan was now his employer, and the salary he had been offered was not low. Though the man's words were somewhat baffling, Wei Zhao had come across plenty of strange and unusual missions over the years.
So, as he walked along with Gu Pengzhan, Wei Zhao deliberately slowed his steps to keep himself behind the other man; but Gu Pengzhan was clearly trying to keep pace with him.
Wei Zhao naturally noticed this and felt a little surprised. Why did Gu Pengzhan seem so warmly disposed toward him? The oddness of it made him want to ask, but he held his tongue. After all, it was their first meeting, and they were not familiar with each other; some things were better left unsaid. In time, it would naturally all come out.