He called Chen Qi first. She had been a project manager at Pingchuan Technology, a woman who got things done with remarkable speed and resolve. If anyone at the company had helped Zhao Pingchuan the most, it was her.
A woman's voice came through the receiver. "Hello, who is this?"
For some reason, Zhao Pingchuan felt a little nervous. "Sister Chen, it's Zhao Pingchuan."
A silence lasting a full ten seconds followed.
Zhao Pingchuan heard her breathing grow heavier and heavier, until she finally roared, "Old Zhao? You're not dead?"
Her words were far from polite, but Zhao Pingchuan smiled. "Yeah, still alive."
"If you weren't dead, why didn't you contact me? Do you know how many times I called you? Nobody could find you after what happened to the company, and knowing that rotten temper of yours, I thought you wouldn't be able to take it..."
As Chen Qi spoke, her voice caught.
Zhao Pingchuan said, "Sorry, Sister Chen. I really wasn't doing well a while back, so I didn't contact any of you."
Chen Qi tried to calm herself and asked directly, "Where are you now?"
"I'm staying at a friend's place," Zhao Pingchuan said.
Chen Qi was suspicious. "You have a friend I don't know?"
At the mention of Ji Ran, Zhao Pingchuan's voice softened without his realizing it. "A new friend. I'll introduce you when there's a chance. Anyway, he saved me."
Given the state Zhao Pingchuan had been in at the time, it was no exaggeration to say Ji Ran had saved his life.
Chen Qi didn't dwell on it. As long as he was all right, that was what mattered. She asked, "So why did you contact me today?"
Zhao Pingchuan took a deep breath. "I want to start another business."
A soft "ah" came from the other end of the line, but the woman quickly said, "I knew it. You wouldn't be beaten so easily, Zhao Pingchuan."
Zhao Pingchuan smiled and asked, "How have you been lately?"
Chen Qi said, "Heh, same as always. I'm working at a cosmetics company now. It's boring."
Zhao Pingchuan hesitated, unsure how to bring it up, but Chen Qi spoke first. "If you're starting a business, you're short on startup capital, right?"
Zhao Pingchuan was taken aback. "Yes."
Chen Qi thought for a moment. "Want to meet and talk this weekend? Let's ask the others to come too."
She meant a few of their former colleagues from Pingchuan Technology. Lin Zhou and Chen Mo both worked in tech, with Lin Zhou handling the backend and Chen Mo the frontend. Before the company went bankrupt, they had all been senior executives.
They were also the very people Zhao Pingchuan had planned to contact.
It would be good to meet and talk together, Zhao Pingchuan thought. Speaking in person would show more sincerity.
That weekend, Zhao Pingchuan went to meet them. He had wanted to bring Ji Ran along, but Ji Ran said, "You old friends haven't seen each other in so long, and you have important business to discuss. I won't intrude. There'll be plenty of chances later."
Zhao Pingchuan thought he had a point and agreed. "All right, then. I'll introduce you to them next time."
Ji Ran smiled as he saw him out. "I hope everything goes smoothly."
Chen Qi had chosen a café for the meeting, and when Zhao Pingchuan called the others, they had all readily agreed to come.
Zhao Pingchuan arrived twenty minutes early, only to find someone already seated.
It was a man around thirty with a buzz cut, wearing a loose, comfortable sports jacket. He was scrolling through his phone, bored out of his mind.
Zhao Pingchuan greeted him from a few yards away. "Lin Zhou."
Lin Zhou looked up and shot to his feet. "President Zhao!"
The two sat down, and Zhao Pingchuan said, "You don't have to call me President Zhao anymore."
Lin Zhou smiled. "Didn't you say on the phone that you were starting a business? You'll be President Zhao again in no time."
Zhao Pingchuan patted him on the shoulder. They hadn't seen each other in six months, but there was little awkwardness between them.
Soon, Chen Qi and Chen Mo arrived as well.
Chen Mo lived up to his name and was a man of very few words, but he was visibly excited to see Zhao Pingchuan.
After exchanging greetings and catching up, Zhao Pingchuan was a little puzzled. Apart from Chen Qi, who had found a regular job, the other two had actually been unemployed and staying at home, only occasionally helping out on a small project or two.
Zhao Pingchuan knew them well. Lin Zhou and Chen Mo were unquestionably elite technical talents, with experience to boot. Even though their last company had gone bankrupt, other companies should have quickly reached out to recruit them.
A possibility occurred to him. "Has someone been deliberately suppressing you?"
Lin Zhou and Chen Mo exchanged a glance but said nothing.
Zhao Pingchuan understood. It could only be Gu Xingye, who had always opposed him.
He sneered. "The mighty young master of the Gu family, and this is how little tolerance he has for others."
Unable to hold back, Lin Zhou said outright, "It's fine. I've just been waiting for the day you made a comeback so I could follow you and make it big. And now the day's come, hasn't it?"
Chen Qi laughed. "You really are optimistic."
Lin Zhou seemed not to have been this happy in a long time. Unconvinced, he asked Chen Mo beside him, "Am I wrong?"
Chen Mo adjusted his glasses and nodded solemnly. "You're right."
Zhao Pingchuan felt a sting in his nose.
He admitted he had hoped to bring these old partners back, but he hadn't expected that, while he was giving up on himself, so many people had remained steadfast in choosing him.
Then they would make it big together.
"All right," Zhao Pingchuan said. "You guys believe in me, so I won't waste words. With your help, we'll definitely succeed."
Chen Qi cut in. "What do you mean, 'you guys'? Don't I count?"
Zhao Pingchuan smiled and corrected himself. "I misspoke. We'll be counting on your full support too, Sister Chen."
Chen Qi gave a soft snort, satisfied at last.
Zhao Pingchuan said, "I won't hide it from you. I have less than 600,000 yuan on hand right now. That's not enough for startup capital, which is why I came to you."
Chen Mo was the first to speak. "I can put in 250,000 yuan, no problem."
Lin Zhou followed. "Then I'll put in 250,000 too."
Chen Qi said, "I have a family to support, so I can't spare that much cash. I'll put in 200,000 yuan."
No one made excuses. Everyone had voluntarily shown their sincerity.
Zhao Pingchuan said, "Thank you, everyone. I can't thank you enough."
That brought the total to 1.3 million yuan, enough startup capital for a small company.
Lin Zhou smiled. "President Zhao, there's no need to thank us. If you hadn't sold your assets to pay everyone's wages, you wouldn't have ended up penniless."
Chen Mo nodded. "That's right, President Zhao. You did right by us, so we can't be stingy either."
Chen Qi said, "Consider this an investment. We're not just giving you the money. We're counting on you to lead us to a big payday."
Zhao Pingchuan smiled. "I know how you all feel, but I still have to thank you for supporting me."
The friends had a meal together after discussing business. Everyone was concerned about what Zhao Pingchuan had been through during that time, and he didn't hide it from them, telling them the whole story.
The three of them clicked their tongues in amazement.
Chen Mo said, "That young man Ji Ran is really kind."
Lin Zhou patted Zhao Pingchuan on the shoulder. "Only our President Zhao has enough charm to make someone he'd never even met treat him so wholeheartedly. Though Ji Ran wasn't wrong about you."
Chen Qi put on the air of an older sister. "That young man has been so good to you. Once you make it big, you can't forget what he did for you."
Zhao Pingchuan laughed. "How could I?"
Chen Qi said, "Bring him along to meet us next time."
Zhao Pingchuan agreed. "I will."
As the meal was drawing to a close, Chen Qi asked Zhao Pingchuan, "How much have you planned so far? Have you thought about things like office space and registering the company?"
Zhao Pingchuan nodded. "I have a few ideas."
Chen Qi said, "Tell me about them in detail when you have time."
Zhao Pingchuan was surprised. He wasn't quite sure what Chen Qi meant. "Sister Chen, are you...?"
Lin Zhou and Chen Mo also looked over, their faces full of shock.