Chapter 413: Chapter 333 “Kidnapping” the Shen Family

Inside the restaurant, Shen Minglang was utterly dumbfounded.

He felt a tingling sensation on his scalp and even wondered if he had misheard.

Was his cousin inviting me to join in on the wildly popular “Youu Tea”?

His heartbeat began to subtly quicken, his entire demeanor becoming increasingly excited.

“Join in and become the milk tea overlord?” Shen Minglang’s emotions were wholly stirred up.

Just the four words “milk tea overlord” made his head spin.

For someone so eager to prove themselves to the world, the allure of those words was simply too great.

What could be more validating than becoming the leader of an entire industry?

He knew the difficulty involved, but the target itself sounded so domineering, so passionately thrilling!

Shen Qingning glanced at Cheng Zhu, then at Shen Minglang.

Knowing her brother well, she realized, “He’s getting hooked.”

Sure enough, Shen Minglang picked up the glass of wine in front of him and downed it in one gulp.

After that, he poured himself a little more and drank it down again.

After two drinks, he looked at Cheng Zhu with the last of his rationale, smiling and saying, “Cousin, you’re pulling my leg, right?”

The “Youu Tea” project was booming, its momentum unstoppable, essentially a success already.

It’s already a success, and he’s offering me to join in and take a slice of the pie?

What kind of bond is this!

When there’s a great project, reaching out to a brother before launch to get involved was already quite the gesture.

Not to mention when the project is already a success!

If Shen Minglang encountered this in the past, his first thought with his smarts might have been, “There’s a catch!”

Boss Shen has always lost money on his own skill, not often tricked by others.

“But my cousin wouldn’t deceive me regarding money.” He was very sure of that.

Cheng Zhu looked at him, smiled gently, picked up his wineglass for a toast, and said, “Of course I’m serious, it’s no joke.”

He had a rough idea of the Shen family’s strength.

They were one of his best options for partnership.

Some resources he currently couldn’t secure, the Shen family could.

This would also be beneficial for future financing.

Moreover, he trusted Shen Minglang’s character.

What was my cousin Shen Minglang like?

He had loyalty, brains, methods, and vision!

He was someone who valued relationships deeply.

As for his business acumen, Cheng Zhu didn’t care.

Brains? Didn’t Ningning have them?

Within the younger generation of the Shen family, there was no need for two strategists.

Moreover, the milk tea shop was still in its incubation period.

It might look booming, but it was just one store after all.

In Mr. Shen’s eyes, it was a very profitable milk tea shop, but nonetheless just a milk tea shop.

The younger generation’s project–let him play with it if he wants.

But what Cheng Zhu wanted was for Mr. Shen to see it as a small project.

Get the Shen family on board first.

And once that big ship started moving and picked up speed, it wouldn’t be so easy to get off!

Jumping off would be like leaping into the sea!

Shen Minglang, straightforward as he was, directly asked, “Cousin, why do you suddenly want me to get involved?”

Hmm, could it be that he saw some sort of brilliance in me?

Hearing this, Cheng Zhu deliberately looked at Shen Qingning first, locking eyes with her for a few seconds.

Then, he leisurely refocused on Shen Minglang.

“Because we are friends, and I trust you a lot, cousin,” Cheng Zhu said.

This statement definitely encouraged Shen Minglang, but he quickly followed up with another question, “Then cousin, why didn’t you consider Jiang Wanzhou?”

Cheng Zhu: Damn! Are you comparing yourself with Jiang Wanzhou?

You want me to say you’re better than him?

“Cough, it’s because when we work together our stars clash. Fortune-tellers have said so.” Cheng Zhu replied.

This reply actually caused Shen Minglang to burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, are you serious, cousin?”

“Serious. We went fortune-telling for fun once, and the fortune-teller, upon seeing our zodiacs, suggested we shouldn’t collaborate professionally,” Cheng Zhu replied with earnest.

“Wanzhou didn’t believe it at first, so he went to a master himself and got the same response,” Cheng Zhu said, recounting the truth.

Events from his past life also indirectly confirmed this.

Him and Jiang Wanzhou, splendid when separate, but a hindrance when together.

Together a mess, apart the stars in the sky.

“That guy has too much negative energy, it undermines me!” he thought to himself.

Many Chinese businessmen are somewhat superstitious, but when it comes down to it, they all believe in–man’s will prevails over heaven!

Cheng Zhu later concluded that he and Jiang Wanzhou mostly just weren’t compatible in terms of personality, not suited for partnership.

Shen Qingning, however, had taken notice, “Fortune-telling?”

For some reason, typically rational her was suddenly intrigued to try it.

As for what she wanted to divine, need we say more?

“Cousin, then what exactly would our collaboration entail?” Shen Minglang asked.

“I’ll write it down in detail and send it to you later,” Cheng Zhu felt they couldn’t hash out the specifics today; that was for later negotiations.

The intent behind today’s get-together was only to communicate the outline of the idea.

After speaking, he deliberately excused himself to give the siblings time to discuss, claiming he needed to use the restroom.

“Ningning, what do you think Cheng Zhu truly has in mind?” Shen Minglang asked.

His words said one thing, but his expression was already brimming with excitement.

Shen Qingning saw it and knew he had made up his mind, and was eager to proceed!

He knew deep down his sister was smarter, with a better head for business, so he habitually sought her counsel.

“I’m not sure,” Shen Qingning replied.

Her own mind was in turmoil, partly because Cheng Zhu had inexplicably caught her gaze earlier, seeming to signal something covertly.

But at that moment, Shen Qingning feared she might be reading too much into it.

Yes, she was afraid… of overthinking it.

“Ningning, but our cousin certainly wouldn’t harbor any ill intentions, right?” Shen Minglang said with a smile.

“Business is business, so there probably aren’t any,” Shen Qingning replied.

“That’s good enough for me, I was thinking the same,” his smile grew even brighter.

…

…

Cheng Zhu purposely lingered longer in the restroom, pausing for a while at the washbasin, checking his phone.

“The siblings must have finished talking by now,” he thought.

In actuality, Shen Minglang’s role after joining had already been decided by Cheng Zhu.

He would be tasked with liaising with raw material suppliers.

At present, Youu Tea was just one store.

But when shops began to open nationwide, a well-oiled supply chain would be essential.

Also, the current rollout of new products was limited, with just a few innovative items, with the rest acting as upgrades to existing market versions.

But gradually, more and more new products would emerge.

High-end trendy milk teas have a downside–complex ingredients.

Even a single store might have over a dozen fruit teas, using a variety of fruits.

That could become quite a headache.

Unlike other milk tea 2.0 shops that might carry milk, tea residue, tapioca pearls, coconut jelly, etc.

Not even considering a few years ahead, but just in 2015, Youu Tea’s raw materials alone were estimated to be dozens, many of which couldn’t be stored for long and had to remain fresh.

Hence, Cheng Zhu needed a well-established supply chain and robust suppliers.

And the liaison with these suppliers became critically important.

This person had to command respect from suppliers and demonstrate his own strength.

At the same time, this role could be quite lucrative, extremely so.

Usually, bosses would delegate supply chain negotiations to two types of people.

The first kind: someone completely trusted, someone who wouldn’t get too greedy.

The second kind: someone willing to be allowed a little graft, someone who was allowed to take a bit extra.

Young Master Shen, wealthy as he was and with his personality, was the perfect candidate for the first type.

Shen Minglang seemed naturally cut out for the job.

“And Shen Minglang naturally loves traveling all over the place,” Cheng Zhu thought.

Just like half a month ago, he had thrown a yacht party in Sanya.

He had even privately messaged Cheng Zhu: “Cousin, it was amazing! You’re single now, so your big cousin will take you for some fun next time!”

“Who knows if my uncle will still want to bring me along in the future?” Cheng Zhu thought.

Of course, Cheng Zhu didn’t think Shen Minglang possessed top-notch negotiation skills and eloquence.

But that didn’t matter.

The Shen family certainly had such people.

Returning to their table at the restaurant, Cheng Zhu glanced at the siblings.

Shen Qingning remained as she always was, colder today than usual, like a block of ice, seemingly chilling the temperature around her.

Shen Minglang, on the other hand, was visibly more passionate than before.

The plan to open a high-end coffee shop in Star City was completely forgotten.

Joking aside, he was about to become a member of the wildly popular internet sensation, Youu Tea!

With this status boost, even flirting would become easier, believe it or not?

And this was exactly how Cheng Zhu wanted it.

The lease on the store near the west gate was ending next year, he would go and meet Manager Wu, who was responsible for leasing, and finalise the deal for that spot within the next few days!

This dinner meeting was meant to kill three birds with one stone.

The first bird, bringing the Shen family into partnership.

The second bird, securing the store in Star City.

And as for the third bird…

“Cousin, cheers!” Cheng Zhu began urging Shen Minglang to drink more at the dinner table.

Shen Minglang was in high spirits today; how could he not drink with gusto?

And Cheng Zhu’s intent was simple–it was to get him drunk.

Then, create a private moment for him and Shen Qingning.

…