Chapter 127 A Happy Morning

"Uh... I couldn’t put this up myself. I had to get a professional to do it," Li Yan said, a bit embarrassed.

"Neither of the gifts is actually from you!" Wen Qianyi, though slightly disappointed, was still quite happy. "Oh well, at least you’re honest. You didn’t stand there claiming it was your doing."

She planned to cut the strings off the balloons and bring them all inside, letting them float around the house, bumping into them from time to time. Seeing those smiley faces and birthday wishes would make her happy anytime. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Alright, I’ve received the gifts. I can go back to bed and sleep for a while longer. Once I confirm the time to invite you for a meal, I’ll call you first."

"Promise me you won’t keep me waiting until I’m starving," Wen Qianyi joked with a playful tone.

"Got it. Happy Birthday!"

Li Yan could only say this, as he still didn’t know what Zhang Yurong had planned for today and couldn’t confirm the timing. After delivering Wen Qianyi’s birthday wishes and gifts, he felt at ease calling Li Jie back.

"You’re finally awake? Have you seen the news?" Li Jie, quite unlike her usual cool style, seemed rather excited and thrilled as soon as the call connected.

"What news? You’re so excited; has Si Country decided to invade Yun Country?" Li Yan joked.

At some bus stations in City S, there were mobile newspaper sellers who always got on the buses heading to the city, suburbs, and intercity areas, selling newspapers to the passengers. They often carried a loudspeaker playing recorded sales pitches, often citing news buzzwords like ’Si Country don’t perish, Yun Country people are doomed...’ The international news people cared about most could probably be about the two rival nations, Si Country and Beihai Country.

Li Jie was speechless, "What does this have to do with Si Country? This is last night’s news!"

"Oh, is this year’s Christmas another peak breaking point for girls? Looks like in a few months, there’ll be another peak period of abortions..."

"Can you be serious, please!" Li Jie couldn’t help but shout.

"Okay, okay, tell me," Li Yan suppressed his laughter.

"Do you remember the antique auction event we took on? It was really robbed last night! The First Security Company, who took over from us, was completely taken down. Many were hit with tranquilizer darts, injuring their bodies and eyes. The antiques and relics were all stolen, and that hotel also suffered several explosions, leaving the scene in panic!"

Li Yan noticed she was getting more excited as she talked, feeling a bit awkward, "I mean... this is a tragedy for them, right? Why do you sound so delighted? Are you gloating?"

"Why would I gloat? I’m just relieved! If it wasn’t for your reminder and insistence at the time, allowing Zhao Chengyao to take over this task, we would have been the ones harmed this time! I don’t know how the First Security Company will handle this, but if it were us facing such a setback, it would definitely dampen everyone’s enthusiasm for reform. The current management team wouldn’t be trusted. At best, we’d return to the way things were before, and we might even get severely hit by compensation issues... Thank you!" Avoiding this disaster left Li Jie somewhat terrified.

Li Yan chuckled: "Do we still need to say thank you? Aren’t I the company consultant? I at least have to give some advice! Manager Zhao is probably also relieved but worried you’ll question his work competence. You shouldn’t blame him; you should encourage him. This was an accident, unrelated to him, and he did it for the company’s benefit."

"Got it! I won’t reveal your information; I’ll just pretend we got lucky and attribute it to your foresight!" When Li Yan had spoken so seriously before, she thought he must have had some inside information. Now that the incident really happened, it further verified her guess; she wouldn’t believe it was just luck, indicating she’d keep the secret.

Li Yan cleared his throat: "This consultant has another issue to remind you of..."

"What?"

"You just said you ’don’t know how the First Security Company will handle it,’ which is a problem! Currently, we’re still far from the scale of the First Security Company, but our goal is to reach that level, or even surpass it. Besides, this time there was an element of luck; with so many tasks, I can’t possibly foresee everything. So now you should be aware of their movements and see how they handle crises!"

Li Jie solemnly promised: "I understand; although we weren’t caught this time, it’s uncertain in the future. We can learn from others’ experiences and avoid detours! I’ll follow up on this."

"Besides learning from others’ experiences and avoiding detours, isn’t it a good time to expand while their reputation is in crisis?" Li Yan suggested again.

Li Jie immediately caught on: "Are you suggesting... stealing their clients?"

"Not stealing, just using the opportunity... competing. Let Zhao Chengyao deal with it! He might have been a bit discouraged recently; now he should regain his fighting spirit. But since he initially took on, then transferred, the task, he still needs to be cautious about emotional retaliation from the First Security Company."

"Understood." Li Jie sighed again, "When I used to run the company, I basically relied on my identity and force to keep everyone in line, making them follow orders. All my experience came from my father. If it weren’t for your support, I wouldn’t even dare or know how to take the step forward."