"Accompany you to Spring City? What for?"
Du Fei looked at Gong Chengbin, who was sitting opposite him, with some surprise.
He was supposed to be here today to discuss some cooperation details with Gong Chengbin. Their company, which would jointly produce traditional Chinese medicines, was already in preparation, and many issues required final adjustments.
After discussing business, Gong Chengbin suddenly suggested that Du Fei accompany him to Spring City.
"Ah, I don't want to go either, but the old man insists I go..."
Gong Chengbin then explained the reason why he wanted Du Fei to go with him to Spring City.
It turned out that Gong Chengbin's grandfather was from Spring City but later settled in Rongcheng, married, and had children.
However, before the old man passed away, he had instructed Gong Chengbin's father to bury him back in his hometown, a gesture of returning to one's roots.
Now, it was approaching Gong Chengbin's grandfather's hundredth birthday, and the old man was too frail to travel. Therefore, he wanted Gong Chengbin to go back in his stead.
Gong Chengbin naturally couldn't refuse such a request, so he had to agree.
"This is your family matter, what am I going to do there?"
Du Fei listened and felt that this was Gong Chengbin's personal affair and had nothing to do with him.
However, Gong Chengbin said, "My grandfather's matter will only take half a day. Actually, I heard that Spring City has the largest medicinal materials distribution center in the southwest region, along with many cultivation bases. Once our company officially starts production, we will definitely need a large quantity of medicinal materials. I was thinking of using this opportunity to investigate the market."
Du Fei hadn't expected that Gong Chengbin had done his homework. Besides handling family matters, he also planned to investigate the market for their soon-to-be-established company. With this in mind, Du Fei had nothing more to say.
Since that was the case, Du Fei naturally couldn't refuse.
After all, he had initiated the idea of the joint venture, and now that Gong Chengbin was so dedicated, Du Fei, as the initiator, couldn't back down.
Seeing Du Fei nod in agreement, Gong Chengbin immediately called his assistant and asked him to book two plane tickets for himself and Du Fei, three days later.
...
"Boss, just the four of us are going? Since you and Acheng both said that Hu Po has ulterior motives, aren't we a bit short on people?"
In the waiting lounge of Rongcheng Airport, Zhao Tao looked at Shen Xiong and the other two beside him and couldn't help but ask.
Before Shen Xiong could answer, Sun Cheng, who was reading a book nearby, couldn't help but roll his eyes at him.
"Brother Tao, according to you, should we bring all our subordinates?"
Hearing Sun Cheng's words, which clearly carried a teasing tone, Zhao Tao couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn it! Are you arguing with me?"
His voice suddenly became loud, attracting the attention of other people in the waiting lounge. However, Zhao Tao didn't care about their gazes.
It was Shen Xiong who couldn't stand it anymore and signaled him to quiet down.
Since the boss had spoken, Zhao Tao retracted his glare at Sun Cheng.
"Tao Zi, that Hu Po is a super big shot from Dian Province. Even if we bring all our subordinates, we won't be a match for him. Since that's the case, it's better to appear generous and not let people look down on us, thinking that people from our Yue Province are all cowards."
In fact, Shen Xiong had discussed this issue with Sun Cheng before leaving.
They all knew very well that this so-called invitation from Hu Po was not well-intentioned.
However, since Hu Po had sent out invitations widely and made this matter public, they could only brace themselves and attend.
They would react accordingly to whatever tricks Hu Po had up his sleeve at that time.
As for why only Shen Xiong, Zhao Tao, Sun Cheng, and his top fighter, Jacques, were going, it was a decision made by Shen Xiong and Sun Cheng.
In their opinion, on Hu Po's territory, the number of people they brought wouldn't make a difference. Besides, Hu Po was hosting a banquet. Even if he had ulterior motives, he wouldn't dare to attack anyone in front of so many people, as that would ruin his reputation.
However, they hadn't told Zhao Tao about their discussion because, apart from fighting, Zhao Tao wasn't interested in anything else. Such matters of strategy were beyond his scope.
Zhao Tao sat in the waiting lounge for a while and felt restless.
So, he told Shen Xiong that he was going out for a cigarette.
Shen Xiong instructed him that they would be boarding the plane in about ten minutes and he should return quickly after finishing his smoke.
Zhao Tao nodded and got up to leave the waiting lounge.
Sun Cheng couldn't help but glance at Zhao Tao's retreating back. Shen Xiong saw this and patted his shoulder.
"Don't worry, although Tao Zi isn't as quick-witted as you, he knows what's important and won't cause trouble at a time like this."
Sun Cheng nodded and continued to read his book.
However, before he could read for two minutes, the Zhao Tao who had just left came running back in a flurry.
Zhao Tao's commotion was quite significant, and Shen Xiong frowned slightly.
"Boss! Boss, guess who I saw?"
Before Shen Xiong could scold him, Zhao Tao, with an excited expression, sat down next to Shen Xiong and said excitedly.
"What? Did you see some A-list female celebrity?"
Shen Xiong said somewhat impatiently.
Just after he had spoken to Sun Cheng, Zhao Tao had shown some restraint, but within two minutes, he was eating his words. It was no wonder Shen Xiong was annoyed.
"I saw Du Fei."
To his surprise, Zhao Tao's next sentence made Shen Xiong's eyes widen.
Seeing his boss's surprised expression, Zhao Tao chuckled.
Shen Xiong instinctively turned to look at Sun Cheng, who was also turning his head to look at Shen Xiong at the same moment.
In fact, when Shen Xiong had decided to go to Spring City to attend Hu Po's invitation, he had considered asking Du Fei to accompany him. With a master like Du Fei present, Shen Xiong would have felt much more confident.
However, Du Fei was a martial artist, not a bodyguard that could be hired with money.
Although Du Fei had said that he owed Shen Xiong a favor, Shen Xiong didn't dare to use that favor to ask Du Fei to do anything for him.
The gap in their statuses was too great. If Shen Xiong acted presumptuously, the outcome would certainly not be good.
However, at this moment, upon hearing his subordinate Zhao Tao say that Du Fei was also at the airport, Shen Xiong's thoughts began to stir. Could it be that Du Fei was also going to Spring City?
Thump! Thump!
Shen Xiong's heart began to race as he suddenly felt a surge of luck.
Just then, the door to the waiting lounge was pushed open.
Shen Xiong turned his head and saw Du Fei walking in with two other people.
"You guys wait here, I'm going over to say hello."
Shen Xiong took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and then stood up.