99: Chapter 99 Tiandu Company

Cao Xiao finished his shower in a few minutes and changed into a moon-white Mao suit. When he came out, he saw that He Yueyou was already fully dressed, wearing a simple, classical Huaxia-style long dress and a shawl. Combined with her graceful figure and her delicate, soft face, she looked exactly like a fairy who had just stepped out of a painting. After what had just happened, Cao Xiao felt that he had no self-control left in front of He Yueyou.

“Let's go!” He Yueyou said with a beaming smile.

“Uh, okay! Wait, this umbrella is also for you, take it with you.” Cao Xiao said, somewhat dazed.

“Is this also made of that material? Are these hanging beads blue amber? Is the pendant chicken blood stone? This golden phoenix is so beautiful! Is it gold-plated?” He Yueyou looked at the antique-styled umbrella, picking up a blue bead from the edge of the canopy with her fingers to examine it. She held the pendant on the handle up against the light, then opened the umbrella and stroked the phoenix that circled the tip as if in flight.

“Yes, it was specially made for you, one of a kind. I'm glad you like it,” Cao Xiao said happily.

“Then let's go!” He Yueyou closed the umbrella, gave Cao Xiao a charming look, stepped forward, and took his arm, speaking softly.

When the two went downstairs, they saw Duan Hong and the other three in black Mao suits and sunglasses, each with a black umbrella on their back and bulging arms. They stood straight and orderly in the living room. He Yueyou looked at their attire with a strange expression. It wasn't just He Yueyou who felt odd; even Cao Xiao felt that having the bodyguards wear the things he had made in such a uniform way was a bit flashy, but he didn't say anything.

Two cars were parked in the villa's garage: a white BMW X7 and a black Cadillac Escalade, which He Yueyou's parents had bought for use here. Duan Hong acted as their driver in the BMW X7, while Niu Zhen, Cheng Xiaodao, and Li Quanshuo followed behind in the Escalade.

Arriving at the Victoria Harbour shopping center and parking the car, Duan Hong and the other three fanned out to follow at a distance. Seeing the dazzling array of goods, the two were enthusiastically preparing for a shopping spree, but they had severely underestimated He Yueyou's beauty. Not to mention the head-turning rate—both men and women were drawn to her. Men looked at her beauty, while women focused on her unique attire. It wouldn't have mattered if they were just looking, but some people followed them with their eyes fixed. Cao Xiao looked at the crowd behind them, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. It wasn't just a few or a dozen people, but over a hundred, both men and women, some even couples holding hands. Had South Africa legalized polygamy? Moreover, the numbers were still increasing. Being watched by so many people made them feel uneasy. He Yueyou was also very nervous; how could they buy anything? If this continued, who knew how much of a commotion it would cause? They didn't want their photos appearing in tomorrow's news.

Cao Xiao thought his moon-white outfit today gave him a lot of presence, so why was everyone's gaze focused on He Yueyou while they ignored him completely? Frustrated, he beckoned to Duan Hong and the others nearby. The four cool-looking men cleared a path, guarding Cao Xiao and He Yueyou as they headed for the parking lot. The crowd followed them all the way. To Cao Xiao's despair, when they drove onto the road, about a dozen cars actually followed them. He really wanted to get out and ask those people: Is one look not enough? Are you all that bored?

He didn't dare drive back to the villa; if he did, that villa would be unusable. He couldn't drive them away either, as people were just looking and hadn't done anything excessive. He could only drive around aimlessly until, an hour later, he finally lost the last following car. Today, they had truly experienced the simple enthusiasm of the people of Cape Town and enjoyed celebrity treatment.

After a whole morning of tossing about, they were starving. Cao Xiao bought a veil and a sun hat for He Yueyou and let her wear sunglasses before he dared to let her out of the car. Looking at He Yueyou's resentful eyes, Cao Xiao felt deeply guilty.

Cape Town is the birthplace of South African cuisine. For a long time, it has been deeply influenced by Eastern, Western, and African food cultures, forming its own unique culinary style. There are various local delicacies as well as delicious, exquisite, and exotic dishes fused from all over the world.

After over a hundred years of creative wildlife management, South Africa can provide tourists with unique wild game delicacies. Famous ones include crocodile steaks, ostrich stew, eland, and springbok meat dishes. The two oceans meet here, providing rich nutrients for marine life in the Cape of Good Hope waters. The clear water makes the seafood healthier and more delicious; abalone, lobster, kingklip, prawns, and various shellfish can be eaten fresh from the catch.

Today, they came to a nice local specialty restaurant and ordered the Karoo lamb saddle as the main course. Karoo lambs feed on herbs and shrubs, resulting in delicate meat with an inviting color and none of the usual gaminess of mutton. Instead, the meat has a unique fragrance, as if it carries the breath of the African savannah. They ordered a large platter filled with sweet chili prawns, fresh fish, and grilled calamari brushed with lemon garlic sauce, paired with a glass of refreshing white wine. This unique Cape Town-style lunch was so delicious they almost bit their tongues.

The white BMW stopped at the entrance of a modern six-story office building. Even before they got out, someone approached to open the car doors for them. The branch manager, Zhou Zhengkun, had already been waiting at the entrance with the company's management for a long time. Seeing the white BMW stop, Zhou Zhengkun stepped forward to open the door for them. Fortunately, Cao Xiao, who was about to open the door himself, was quick-eyed and nimble, otherwise he would have slammed the door right into Zhou Zhengkun.

“Welcome, Chairman He and Mr. Cao, to the branch for inspection and guidance.” Once Cao Xiao and He Yueyou stepped out and stood firm, Zhou Zhengkun led the management team in a warm welcome.

Cao Xiao frowned slightly. Zhou Zhengkun was perhaps a bit too enthusiastic, bordering on sycophancy. He didn't like these formal displays. But on second thought, this was normal; the workplace was like this. If Zhou Zhengkun hadn't been enthusiastic today, Cao Xiao might have thought the man didn't take him seriously.

“Chairman He, Mr. Cao, let me introduce you. This is Vice General Manager Xiao Du, Chief Construction Engineer Li Jun, Chief Mechanical and Electrical Engineer Wu Lin, Finance Director Liu Chaoda, Security Director Ren Zehang...”

Zhou Zhengkun introduced the management team to Cao Xiao and He Yueyou. Cao Xiao shook hands and greeted each of them, while He Yueyou simply stood her ground and gave a slight nod as a greeting. Afterward, the group went to a small conference room on the sixth floor. After some pleasantries, they got down to business.

“Our Hongdu Group Africa Branch...”

“Wait!” Just as Zhou Zhengkun was about to report on the company's situation, Cao Xiao interrupted him. “From now on, the company is renamed Tiandu Company and is no longer affiliated with Hongdu Group. This has been approved by the group headquarters. In the future, company decisions will be made by Director He Yueyou and myself; there is no need to consult Hongdu headquarters. For now, it's just a name change; other things will remain unchanged for the time being. Manager Zhou, please continue.”

A company name change was no small matter. Zhou Zhengkun looked at He Yueyou in surprise and doubt. Only after He Yueyou nodded did he continue: “Tiandu Company has a total of eight first-tier subsidiaries and fifteen offices across various African countries. Our main businesses include highway construction, engineering construction, mechanical equipment sales, industrial raw material processing, building material processing, timber and furniture processing, and mineral trade. We have over 12,000 formal employees, including 865 Huaxia technical and management staff. Last year's turnover was 4.3 billion huaxia currency, with a net profit of 690 million. This year...”

Listening to all this gave Cao Xiao a headache. Tiandu Company was called a company, but it was actually no worse than some group corporations; its business operations were many and varied. Fortunately, he didn't need to handle management matters personally. He only needed to grasp the general direction and make decisions, and more importantly, use people well—putting the right people in the right positions to keep the company running efficiently.

After the small meeting ended, Zhou Zhengkun took Cao Xiao and He Yueyou to the office specially prepared for them. Then, he had the management report their work one by one. Cao Xiao discussed and handled matters requiring their decision with He Yueyou. After a whole afternoon, he couldn't take it anymore, so he had a talk with Zhou Zhengkun and delegated the decision-making power for non-essential matters to him.