Traveling back to 1966, starting by living in a cowshed.

Chapter 82 A Date with Su Wanqing

As the neon lights began to illuminate the night, the Hong Kong skyline was bathed in a dazzling glow. The black sedan parked in front of the Zhonghua Industrial Park office building was known to all the passing employees as Lin Zhou's car. They wondered who he was waiting for there.

Inside the car, Lin Zhou unconsciously stroked the bouquet of vibrant red roses on the passenger seat. A few glistening water droplets clung to the rose petals, which he had specially asked the florist to sprinkle on them, making the red appear even more intense and luscious, like a burning flame, reflecting a burning heat in his eyes.

On the back seat was an exquisite velvet gift box containing a necklace he had spent the entire afternoon choosing—a star-shaped necklace with gemstones set in gold, and a round pearl in the center. He felt that the luster of that pearl was just like the gentle and bright eyes Su Wanqing usually looked at him with.

During this period, Zhonghua handheld game consoles made a name for themselves in the global market. From Southeast Asia to Europe and America, orders poured into Zhonghua's sales department like snowflakes, and the four distributors selected by Lin Zhou made a fortune.

Every day, a steady stream of merchants come to us, wanting to join the ranks of Zhonghua handheld game console distributors. Some are even willing to pay more deposits just for a cooperation spot.

But Lin Zhou waved his hand and refused them all.

"Want to cooperate? Go find those four multinational companies." He sat in his office, speaking to the business representative who had come to negotiate, his tone calm yet unquestionable. "That's the rule I set from the beginning: four agents are enough."

His subordinates were puzzled and asked him privately, "Mr. Lin, if we have more distributors, our products can be distributed more widely, and our profits can increase several times over."

Lin Zhou leaned back in his office chair, twirling a pen between his fingers, a lazy smile playing on his lips: "Don't bite off more than you can chew. All four distributors are carefully selected; they have the channels and the strength. Rather than accepting more distributors and offending those four companies, it's better to let them handle this hot potato. Ideally, they should offend those other companies."

He knew perfectly well that the reason he didn't ask for a deposit or agency fee back then was because of his honesty. Now that Zhonghua handheld game consoles are popular, if he were to be greedy and forget his principles by expanding the number of agents, he would not only alienate the other four companies, but also easily disrupt the market.

Moreover, rather than dealing with all sorts of merchants, he would rather take a break and live a carefree life for a few days.

Of course, hidden within this plan for a "salted fish life" was a major event he had been planning for a long time.

After finishing the follow-up arrangements for the agents, the company's affairs were temporarily back on track, and Lin Zhou's long-held anxiety finally subsided. Leaning back in his office chair, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, a thought suddenly popped into his mind—he should come clean with Su Wanqing and tell her he wanted to date her.

The thought, once it surfaced, grew wildly like a tender sprout breaking through the soil in spring, instantly occupying all his thoughts. And the image that appeared in his mind now was Su Wanqing.

When did it start?

Lin Zhou herself couldn't explain it clearly. Perhaps it was when she first went to Su's Radio Factory to acquire the radio production line that she stood at the factory gate and saw Su Wanqing wearing a clean white dress, sunlight filtering through the leaves and falling on her profile, making her look incredibly gentle.

At that moment, his heart felt as if it had been gently struck by something, sending ripples spreading outwards.

Perhaps it was later that he invited Su Wanqing to work at Zhonghua. Watching her shuttle between the office and the workshop every day, handling the trivial matters of purchasing and production in an orderly manner, and occasionally encountering a problem, the way she frowned and thought seriously made him want to step forward and help her.

Or perhaps it was during countless nights of overtime work, when he stayed in the office processing documents, that he would look up and always see the light still on in the next office, with Su Wanqing's back as she worked at her desk, quiet and warm in the night, making him realize that working overtime wasn't such a boring thing after all.

He was afraid that such a wonderful girl would be snatched away by someone else, so he couldn't wait to recruit her into his company. That way, he could see her every day, watch her smile, watch her work, and watch her shine right under his nose.

Lin Zhou had been holding this thought in for so long that he felt he would go crazy if he didn't say it soon.

Acting on ideas has always been Lin Zhou's style.

He picked up the phone and dialed Su Wanqing: "Manager Su, are you free tonight? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone before Su Wanqing's voice came through: "President Lin, you're free. Is it about the company? I'll be waiting for you in my office."

Upon hearing the reply, Lin Zhou's lips curled into a sly smile, and his fingers unconsciously tapped the corner of the table: "It's not a company matter. Pack your things, I'll come pick you up."

He hung up the phone, picked up the bouquet of red roses and the velvet gift box, and walked briskly out of the office. Then he drove his car to the door and waited.

After a long while, at the entrance of the office building in Zhonghua Park, Lin Zhou saw Su Wanqing already waiting there, so he got out of the car and walked towards her. She had changed into a beige dress, her long hair was loosely tied into a bun, revealing her slender neck, and she wore light makeup, making her look more gentle and charming than usual.

Seeing Lin Zhou approach, she smiled faintly: "Mr. Lin, where are we going?"

Lin Zhou walked up to her and handed her the dozens of red roses he had wrapped, his voice carrying a hint of nervousness he himself didn't realize: "Get in the car first, you'll see when we get there."

At this moment, the office employees passing by all slowed down their pace, eager to see Su Wanqing's choice: whether to accept or refuse the flowers.

Su Wanqing stared, stunned, at the red roses offered to her. The vibrant red roses reflected on her fair cheeks, making her heart beat faster involuntarily. She subconsciously took the bouquet, her fingertips touching the water droplets on the petals. The cool touch made her shiver slightly, and a blush crept onto her cheeks.

Holding the bouquet, she got into Lin Zhou's car. The car was filled with a faint scent of roses, which mingled with the crisp mint scent emanating from Lin Zhou, creating a reassuring atmosphere. Su Wanqing secretly glanced at Lin Zhou as he drove; his profile was sharp and defined, his eyes focused intently on the road ahead, his fingers gripping the steering wheel with distinct knuckles.

She felt a mix of doubt and anticipation, and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Mr. Lin, what's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Lin Zhou turned his head and glanced at her, his smile barely concealed: "You'll see when we get there. I promise you won't be disappointed."

The employees who were left to watch the drama unfolded and dispersed after seeing that the main characters had left, going about their business as usual. However, the gossip about Lin Zhou and Su Wanqing spread like wildfire.