Chapter 84 Teahouse "Heaven is blind."

Chapter 84 Teahouse "Heaven is blind."

The private room in the teahouse is located by the window.

Sunlight leaps through the clouds, and the sounds of people bustle about.

While listening to the long-winded speech of the man across the tea table, the base manager glanced sideways at a screen on the right side of the private room.

He didn't know much about embroidery.

This screen, which is over two meters tall, is a rare double-sided embroidery. The front depicts pine branches covered in snow, while the back shows fishing lights on a spring night.

As the light and shadow subtly shifted, the snow-covered pine forest also appeared in varying shades, suggesting it was extremely expensive.

But the base manager had no interest in appreciating the screen; his entire focus was on the person sitting behind it.

"These are our terms." The man slammed the contract on the table, confidently stating, "An investment of 20 million per year in exchange for you gradually removing Maze from HT."

Base Manager: "..."

He rarely broke free from his restlessness and looked the other person in the eye.

This person is Yang Tingyu's secretary, surnamed Gong.

They contacted their major shareholder as early as last week, hoping to gain control of the board of directors through investment.

The base manager received an email from the major shareholder on Friday afternoon, asking him to discuss the matter in detail and to bring Maze along to observe the proceedings.

The original time was scheduled for the weekend, but they had a training session that was delayed by two days, so the time was changed to this morning.

He brought Maze to sit in on the meeting and listened to Secretary Gong's eloquent speech, which outlined his plan to first sideline Maze, then smear her, and finally remove her from HT.

He keeps saying that our General Manager Yang said...

The base manager already knew Yang Tingyu's name before he arrived.

Why?

Because Yang Tingyu's company, Weiluo Jewelry, openly smeared Ye Hantao online!

This is Maze's sister, and naturally, she's also the sister of the entire HT base!

The third wife of the Yang family has already had someone issue an official apology to Tao Tao, yet her son Yang Tingyu is still plotting against Maze.

Pooh!

The base manager spat at him with a fierce look.

"I'll keep the contract for now," the base manager said, covering it with his hand with a forced smile. "I'll contact you again after I get permission from the boss."

Secretary Gong believed that the so-called request for instructions was just a formality.

He acknowledged that Maze's achievements in esports are unparalleled, even surpassing those of the currently popular Flash.

However, Maze retired six years ago and never accepts endorsements, so the economic benefits he can bring to HT in a year are definitely less than 20 million.

HT is no longer the small base it once was; now the management team has expanded and the team members have matured.

Even without coach Maze, HT can still achieve outstanding results in international competitions.

Before he arrived, he heard General Manager Yang wondering why HT hadn't discarded him after using him.

The door to the private room opened and closed again.

The base manager had just stood up when he met Maze's gaze as Maze emerged from behind the screen.

“Maze, don’t listen to his nonsense! The major shareholder doesn’t even care about a mere 20 million.”

The base manager brought a new teacup to refill the teacup, saying, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought you here to sit in on the proceedings."

He and Maze have been with HT all along.

In the year Maze retired, the HT base acquired a major foreign shareholder.

This shareholder only provides the money and doesn't manage the operations; therefore, Maze has always been the de facto owner of the HT base.

Of course, the base manager felt a little uneasy when he said these words.

In the first half of the year, there was a decision that would affect the team's future development. Unexpectedly, Maze and several members of the management team sided with each other and voted in favor.

The next day, the major shareholder sent a rejection email.

Several members of the management team later lamented that the major shareholder hadn't given Maze any face at all.

Only HT's entire management team knew about this. Team members like Flash always regarded Maze as the big boss of the base, so they had an exceptional sense of belonging to the base.

The base manager is very worried that the major shareholder is really after the 20 million.

A few days ago, a member of the management team complained that Maze's annual salary plus bonuses, which was nearly nine figures, was too much, and that the benefits Maze brought to the base did not reach that amount.

The base manager could only laugh after hearing that.

These management teams have been living comfortably for too long. Looking at the players in the entire HT base, including the first and second youth training teams, more than 80% of them stayed because of Maze.

Zhou Mingsheng remained noncommittal, glancing down at the paused recording on his phone screen, his handsome face showing no emotional fluctuation.

“Let’s go,” he said.

As the base manager watched Maze head towards the door, he quickly picked up the remaining half of his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

After putting down his cup, he saw the untouched tea that had been poured for Maze on the table, so he picked it up and drank it all.

This is top-grade aged Pu'er tea, priced at 19,888 per pot.

Secretary Gong said he was hosting a dinner party and that they would decide on the location. After he asked Maze, Maze decided to hold the dinner at this teahouse.

As I stepped out of the private room, the sound of storytelling drifted up from the lobby on the first floor.

The base manager suddenly had a strange feeling, as if he had stumbled into an ancient teahouse.

Zhou Mingsheng didn't hear the manager's inner thoughts.

This teahouse was a gift from his father to Tao Tao for her sixth birthday.

That year, Tao Tao was watching TV at home when she happened to see the emperor and his ministers traveling incognito and listening to storytelling in a teahouse. They were so engrossed in the storytelling that Tao Tao started telling them stories at home for a week, declaring that she planned to become a storyteller in a teahouse in the future.

His father bought the teahouse intending to give it to Tao Tao after she recovered, but he waited for more than ten years and still couldn't sell it.

Suddenly, Zhou Mingsheng noticed that the phone he was holding vibrated.

He unlocked his phone and saw a message from Tao Tao.

[Peach: (image.jpg)]

[Peach: Big brother, does your base still have internal strife? (Soybean question mark.jpg)(Soybean question mark.jpg)(Soybean question mark.jpg)]

Zhou Mingsheng's gaze lingered on the words "If you come to beg me" for a long time, his usually clear and dark eyes darkening.

The base manager finished the whole pot of tea, caught up with Maze, and was immediately flattered to see that he was still waiting for him.

“Maze, you—” He suddenly saw Maze’s expression and instinctively fell silent.

That was a coldness and ferocity he had never seen before, even when his teammates made serious mistakes during the game. It was an oppressive feeling, like a storm brewing, that made it hard for him to breathe.

Zhou Mingsheng closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again and typed: [Just a parasite, don't worry about him. I just sent a screenshot to the boss so he can teach him a lesson.]

After sending the message, he switched back to another account.

Whether it's the Yang family or Wei Luo, they can now have someone else in charge.

Upon investigation, he discovered that someone was secretly acquiring Yang's scattered shares.

Zhou Mingsheng intuitively felt that it was Cheng Zhao's doing.

Ye Hantao received her older brother's reply and her heart, which had been pounding, finally settled down.

"Classmates, this is our class fund for today." Ye Hantao put her phone back in her bag and took out ten envelopes. "Each group has 50,000 yuan, which is 25,000 yuan per person. We'll use it to buy raw stones later."

As Ye Hantao spoke, she handed out envelopes to the other groups.

Along with the envelopes, the program team also distributed a stone identification manual, which they used to select stones.

Cheng Zhao took the envelope from her hand, raised his eyebrows slightly, and glanced at Gu Fanghao, who was sitting by the window.

"Are teams formed independently or by drawing lots?"

"By drawing lots."

Upon hearing this answer, Cheng Zhao looked away.

Jin Shiyue and He Qiang's expressions also softened slightly, and the same thought flashed through their minds: she still had a chance to be in the same group as Tao Tao/Junior Sister.

Then, Gu Fanghao suddenly felt that the car's air conditioning had returned to normal.

[Cheng Zhao, keep the question simple!]

[Cheng Zhao: Are you going to be grouped with Gu Fanghao again?]

[I've never seen Ye Hantao like sitting with Gu Fanghao before (doge.jpg)]

[Hahaha, is it to separate Gu Fanghao and Ren Lang?]

[The haters really don't need to idolize Ren Lang. If Ye Hantao wants to break into the fashion world, Jin Shiyue can help her.]

Last night, Jin Shiyue even brought several magazines for Ye Hantao to choose from.

Yes! Jin Shiyue also asked Ye Hantao which of the five major magazines she wanted to be featured in last time, hahaha.

Do you think the five major magazines are like radishes in a field that anyone can get their hands on?

I believe Ren Lang used Aurelia's name to get Ye Hantao on the cover of five major magazines; as for Jin Shiyue, a double appearance is also possible.

As soon as this comment appeared, all the viewers in the live stream heard Jin Shiyue ask, "Tao Tao, have you finished choosing the magazines I asked you to pick?"

Chen Xiaofeng raised his head. "What magazine?"

Jin Shiyue found him unusually agreeable. Since someone was talking to her, it was a good opportunity for Ren Lang to hear about the resources she was providing for Tao Tao, so that Ren Lang wouldn't actually think that Tao Tao was the kind of naive fool who could be fooled by empty promises.

Ye Hantao replied, "I remember there was a book called 'VNANTAGE' and a book called 'LUXE'..."

Last night she carefully flipped through the first book, but couldn't remember the specific names of the remaining four.

“《LUXE AFFAIR》, we usually call it LUX,” Jin Shiyue explained. “The remaining three are 《CHR》, 《GRD》, and 《VOGUE》.”

She just read the abbreviation, too lazy to say the full name.

Jin Shiyue said casually, "I've already spoken to their director. If you want to shoot, Tao Tao, you can get a solo cover."

Ren Lang: "?!!"

He suddenly looked up at Jin Shiyue sitting in the front seat, his eyes filled with horror.

In the past, he intentionally severed ties between Kim Shi-wol and the fashion industry's higher-ups, while indulging Kim Shi-wol's arrogant nature, coldly watching as Kim Shi-wol offended wave after wave of people.

How could Kim Si-wol possibly have such a relationship with those directors?!

[Single-person ban?]

[Is Jin Shiyue that good? He managed to get Ye Hantao on the solo cover?]

I underestimated Kintoki...

My impression of Kim Si-wol was that she was a runway clown, a tough-looking woman, and a notorious latecomer; I thought the fashion world hated her.

[She shouldn't be disliked. Four years ago, Kim Si-wol had an accident and spent almost two months in the hospital. After she was discharged, VNANTAGE magazine shot a cover for her with an absolutely stellar lineup.]

[Kim Si-wol just doesn't like to show off. Last year, I ran into her having dinner with the director of Vogue while on a business trip in the US, so seeing the online criticism about her being rejected by Vogue seems really funny.]

Many of the fans in the live stream are knowledgeable about the fashion industry.

The five major fashion magazines mentioned by Kim Si-wol hold a prominent position in the fashion industry, with VNANTAGE being considered the pinnacle of the fashion world.

The cover models are all public figures with international influence and achievements, and those who make it onto the cover are all endorsed by top luxury brands.

Even though some cover artists in the last two years haven't been very convincing in terms of their abilities and have been completely pushed up by capital, their popularity is still something that Ye Hantao can't catch up to right now.

Moreover, being pushed by capital and being pushed by Jin Shiyue are two different concepts.

Jin Shiyue is just a famous model, no matter how outstanding she is. How could she have connections to get Ye Hantao on a magazine cover?

The worst part is that Ye Hantao doesn't appreciate it at all!

"I don't really want to be in any of these publications." Ye Hantao lowered her head while looking at the stone identification manual, trying not to let the camera capture the guilt on her face. "If I really wanted to be in them, it would be easy, Sister Shiyue, you don't need to worry."

Jin Shiyue frowned.

This was clearly Ye Hantao's excuse for not wanting her to waste her favor.

[Disease progression: 26.5%]

I've figured it out: Ye Hantao has the personality of someone who can boast about having a million dollars when they only have a hundred.

[Be bold, that's a claim of 100 million.]

I admit that Maze and Zhou Shumiao are both top figures in their respective fields, but they don't have much influence on the fashion industry, do they?

[Quite a few big-shot investors are looking to Zhou Shumiao to help them recuperate.]

Zhou Shumiao really wanted to speak up for Ye Hantao. Was Ye Hantao really an ordinary person before coming to the show?

Zhou Yi held the tablet and said, "Tao Tao, you don't need your aunt to ask, I can do it myself."

He also wanted to live an honest life like his aunt and Mingsheng.

He wanted to openly and blatantly support Tao Tao using a large account.

What are the top five fashion magazines? Tao Tao really loves shooting covers. He can even create another fashion magazine for Tao Tao, and publish whatever style Tao Tao likes in it.

“It’s not impossible,” Zhou Yi suddenly sat up.

Behind him are the floor-to-ceiling windows of the presidential suite, overlooking the street scene of Yuncheng.

Zhou Yi leaned back on the sofa like he had no bones, sent an email, and instructed his assistant to begin preparations for launching a fashion magazine.

He has no shortage of resources, connections, and funds; in fact, he is quite wealthy.

Tao Tao is getting healthier and healthier, so this gift will be perfect for her 20th birthday next year.

He even came up with the title for the journal.

—YHT.

By the time the bus arrived at the market, the dark clouds in the sky had completely dissipated.

The sun was high in the sky.

Ye Hantao looked out the car window and didn't see any stalls selling stone materials, but there were quite a few shops repairing mobile phones and cameras.

"This time, the grouping will be done by drawing numbers." Ye Hantao shook the balls in the box. "The numbers 1-5 will each have two identical numbers. The two people who draw the same number will form a group."

Cheng Zhao reached out and drew a ball first.

"Number 1".

Ye Hantao then had others draw lots, paying close attention to which number Gu Fanghao drew and who he was grouped with.

Gu Fanghao: "I'm number 5!"

"What a coincidence?" Ren Lang spread out the ball in his hand. "I'm also number 5."

Ye Hantao: "..."

The stalls selling stone materials were concentrated at the back of the market, and the market was packed with people.

As soon as you approach, all the stall owners turn their eyes to you.

Ye Hantao seemed to read the words "fat sheep to be slaughtered" in their eyes.

At the stall, piles of stones in various colors, including bluish-gray and off-white, were displayed, with prices varying.

Not far away, a group of people were watching the stone being cut, and the air was filled with the raw smell of stone powder.

The stones displayed outside are mostly very cheap.

There are crushed stones costing tens of yuan per kilogram, and whole stones costing hundreds of yuan per kilogram.

Ye Hantao suddenly stopped in front of a shop.

This shop has several large stones, with the one in the very center priced at 600,000.

The surface wrinkles of the stone resemble elephant skin, and in the stone identification manual provided by the program team, this is Moxi Sha's "elephant skin".

The manual says it has a high probability of yielding high-end jadeite such as glass-type and icy-type jadeite.

When Ye Hantao looked through the pictures in the manual, she felt that the elephant skin stone looked somewhat like the stones piled up in the corner of her grandmother's yard.

Now that we see the actual product, it looks even more like it.

At this moment, Ye Hantao noticed Gu Fanghao and Ren Lang walking over from the other side of the street.

As the two approached, the electronic voice gradually became clearer.

[Current gratitude level: 11%]

[Current gratitude level: 13%]

Gu Fanghao looked at Ren Lang with eyes full of admiration.

Ye Hantao murmured, "Was there really no behind-the-scenes manipulation in this draw?"

How come, once or twice, Ren Lang can be grouped with whomever he is bound to?

Teammate Cheng Zhao: "?"

He suddenly spoke up, "Of course not."

As a sponsor of the show, he had a million ways to get the show to manipulate the process and put him and Tao Tao in the same group, but he didn't choose to do so.

It wasn't that he wanted to test how strong his connection with Tao Tao was, but rather that he was worried that Tao Tao might find out and get angry with him one day.

Cheng Zhao was in a great mood the whole way when he suddenly heard Tao Tao questioning the behind-the-scenes manipulation of the lottery.

"We were destined to be drawn together."

Ye Hantao tilted her head. "I was in the same group as Ren Lang yesterday."

Cheng Zhao remained expressionless. "Heaven is blind."

-----------------------

Author's note: God: Pretty arrogant, huh? [rainbow fart] No lottery tomorrow?

--Randomly dropping red envelopes--