Chapter 301: Ma Jinsong Regrets It Endlessly!
Men understand men best.
Seeing the look in Ma Jinsong’s eyes as he looked at Yuan Mengqi and what he had just said.
Jiang Tao knew this old guy definitely had bad intentions towards Yuan Mengqi.
However, he wasn’t so petty as to be jealous of Yuan Mengqi.
From her understanding of Yuan Mengqi, even if Yuan Mengqi were blind, she wouldn’t fall for the man in front of him.
He also had absolute confidence in the relationship between Yuan Mengqi and himself.
Yuan Mengqi’s favorability towards him had always remained at 100 points.
Their relationship was stronger than gold, and Yuan Mengqi naturally wouldn’t have any second thoughts about him.
However, the way the surname Ma looked at him, with a condescending air of not taking him seriously, still annoyed Jiang Tao a little.
He never liked to cause trouble, but when trouble found him, he was never afraid of it.
Since the surname Ma annoyed him, he naturally wouldn’t give the other party a good look.
Gold Medal Instructor, Silver Medal Instructor, in Jiang Tao’s eyes, they were all worth nothing.
“Are you done with your nonsense? You can leave if you’re finished.”
“Waffling on and on, it’s very impolite to disturb someone’s meal. At your age, you don’t even understand this basic courtesy?”
Jiang Tao looked at Ma Jinsong with disdain, giving him the boot without the slightest hesitation.
“You!”
Upon hearing Jiang Tao’s words, Ma Jinsong was instantly infuriated.
He was a significant figure in the education and training industry, having interacted with many senior executives from China’s top 500 companies.
Among his students were many Big Shots whose net worth was in the tens or hundreds of millions.
No matter where he attended events or conferences, both the organizers and attendees would treat him with courtesy.
Old Ma was also a respectable person in the Capital City; others had to consider his mood to invite him to dinner.
When had anyone ever berated and dismissed him like Jiang Tao?
“You young man have no manners! I came over to say hello to Xiao Yuan, what business is it of yours!”
Ma Jinsong’s expression shifted, and his gaze towards Jiang Tao held a hint of anger.
“Teacher Ma, please respect yourself. Brother Tao is my man.”
Seeing Jiang Tao and Ma Jinsong openly confronting each other, Yuan Mengqi naturally stood by Jiang Tao without hesitation.
Even her address to Ma Jinsong became more distant.
Ma Jinsong hadn’t expected Yuan Mengqi to so decisively side with Jiang Tao and confront him together, his expression shifting even more dramatically.
“Heh, fine, fine, fine. I’m the extra one here. Xiao Yuan, you guys eat slowly. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
After getting nowhere, Ma Jinsong turned and walked back to his dining area, his face flushed with anger.
“Brother Tao, I’m sorry, Teacher Ma…”
Yuan Mengqi, ignoring Ma Jinsong, looked at Jiang Tao with an apologetic expression, wanting to explain something.
“It’s okay, Qiqi. The annoying passerby is gone, let’s continue. Don’t let him ruin our good mood tonight.”
Jiang Tao interrupted Yuan Mengqi before she could finish her sentence; there was no need for explanations between them.
Hearing Jiang Tao’s words and seeing his trusting gaze, Yuan Mengqi felt a surge of emotion within her.
Her affection for Jiang Tao grew even more.
…
In an area not far from where Jiang Tao and Yuan Mengqi were dining.
Ma Jinsong, after being rebuffed by Yuan Mengqi, sat down at his seat with an indignant expression.
The people dining with him stopped their conversation upon seeing Ma Jinsong’s expression.
One of them looked at Ma Jinsong and teased with a smile:
“What’s wrong, Director Ma? Did you get into an argument on your way to the restroom?”
Daring to tease Ma Jinsong when he was angry clearly indicated that this person’s status was above Ma Jinsong’s.
A middle-aged man, around forty years old, with an air of administrative authority, also asked with concern:
“Yes, Director Ma, we’re all here to have a good time tonight. Why are you angry?”
“It’s a minor issue. I was just greeting a student over there and encountered a young man with no manners.”
Ma Jinsong didn’t want to discuss matters related to Jiang Tao anymore, waving his hand and saying:
“Forget it, forget it. Let’s not talk about unpleasant things. General Manager Du is our honored guest today, don’t affect his mood.”
“General Manager Du, I’ll toast you again. Thank you for your trust in Dongneng and your support for my work.”
Ma Jinsong said this as he poured a full glass of wine for himself, respectfully toasting Du Taiming.
“Heh, it’s nothing, it’s nothing. Director Ma, you’re too kind. We’ll have many more opportunities to cooperate in the future.”
Du Taiming smiled, also picked up his wine glass, and drank it all. In his heart, he was secretly comparing it with the Jade Nectar that Jiang Tao had previously given him.
There was no comparison, absolutely no comparison!
The wine being drunk at the table today was the ’07 Vintage Reserve Moutai, which cost over 5,000 yuan a bottle.
But compared to the Jade Nectar Jiang Tao gave him, there was no comparison at all; the taste was vastly inferior!
“I need to ask Xiao Jiang for some more another day. I’ve gotten used to his wine; other wines don’t even taste like wine anymore.”
Du Taiming was also famously fond of drinking and had tasted countless wines.
However, a wine of such high quality and excellent taste as Jade Nectar was rare in his life.
The group chatted and laughed, and the atmosphere quickly returned to normal.
“Oh, Director Ma, what’s wrong now?”
While chatting, Du Taiming noticed Ma Jinsong suddenly fall silent, his gaze fixed on a spot behind him, his expression becoming unpredictable.
Everyone followed Ma Jinsong’s gaze and saw a tall, quite handsome man walking towards them.
“Jiang Tao?”
Du Taiming recognized his granddaughter’s godfather at a glance, and his face lit up with joy.
He had just been wondering how to get some more fine wine from Jiang Tao, and the man himself appeared.
“Xiao Jiang, what have you been busy with lately? It’s been a while since you visited us to see Nannan.”
Du Taiming stood up, smiling, and waved to Jiang Tao, who was walking towards their direction.
Although he was also smiling, everyone felt that Du Taiming’s smile towards Jiang Tao was clearly more sincere.
Everyone at the table was an experienced socialite; they could discern the closeness from the smile and tone of voice.
The others didn’t think much of Du Taiming’s attitude towards Jiang Tao.
But Ma Jinsong’s heart pounded!
After all, he had had some unpleasantness with Jiang Tao just now.
The more courteous Du Taiming was towards Jiang Tao, the more unfavorable the situation became for him!
“Hahaha, General Manager Du, long time no see. You’re getting younger and more energetic since becoming a grandpa.”
Jiang Tao walked up to Du Taiming and stood still, greeting him with a hearty laugh.
Regarding his goddaughter’s grandfather, the Du Taiming, General Manager Du, before him.
Although Jiang Tao hadn’t interacted with him many times, they got along quite well.
Despite being decades apart in age, with Du Taiming being two years older than Jiang Tao’s father, Jiang Wen, they got along very harmoniously.
They had a bit of a friendship of “forgetting age.”
When Du Taiming previously hosted Jiang Tao’s family, he gifted two Green Water Ghosts and a stored value card worth over 500,000 yuan to Jiang Xue.
To thank Jiang Tao for saving his beloved granddaughter, he also gifted Jiang Tao a Mercedes-Benz G-Class worth millions.
Jiang Tao had certainly benefited quite a lot from Du Taiming.
Therefore, after receiving the 【Jade Nectar Bottle】, he also mailed some to him.
He also sent him several 【Insomnia Terminator】 pillows.
As the saying goes, reciprocity is a matter of courtesy.
Through their back-and-forth interactions, they became much more familiar and were now considered good friends.
“Hahaha, I, this old man, waited decades for a granddaughter, and you, this kid, got lucky and became her godfather!”
Du Taiming pointed at Jiang Tao and teased. When he spoke of his granddaughter, his heart almost melted.
“Come, come, Xiao Jiang, let me introduce you to some friends. These are all old friends I’ve known for many years.”
“This is Chen Haipeng, General Manager Chen of Qingsong Technology. This is Liu Fang, General Manager Liu of Jinhuang Investment…”
“This is my granddaughter’s godfather, Jiang Tao, General Manager Jiang.”
When introducing Jiang Tao, Du Taiming gave him a lot of face, bestowing upon him the title of “General Manager.”
Although his current assets were, in Du Taiming’s opinion, just small-scale operations.
However, supporting a young man he favored in front of others was also a means of social etiquette.
“Hello, General Manager Jiang, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Hello, General Manager Chen, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“General Manager Jiang, you are indeed young and promising. When I was your age, I had only recently graduated and was still a greenhorn.”
Chen Haipeng and Liu Fang, seeing Du Taiming’s attitude towards Jiang Tao, raised their assessment of him and greeted him very courteously.
Jiang Tao was also very polite to both of them; making more friends was not a bad thing for him.
Perhaps there would be an opportunity for cooperation in the future.
“This is…”
“Heh, Director Ma of Dongneng Education, we just met.”
When Du Taiming was about to introduce Ma Jinsong, Jiang Tao interrupted him with a smile.
While this move appeared impolite on the surface, everyone present could see that he wasn’t targeting Du Taiming but Ma Jinsong.
“We just met?”
Hearing Jiang Tao’s words, Du Taiming instantly recalled Ma Jinsong’s indignant expression when he returned earlier.
As an experienced veteran in handling affairs, Du Taiming instantly understood what had happened.
Clearly, there had been some unpleasantness between Jiang Tao and Ma Jinsong earlier.
“Ahem, hello, General Manager Jiang, it’s a pleasure to meet you. We had a small misunderstanding just now.”
“We could say we got acquainted through conflict, heh, heh…”
Ma Jinsong chuckled dryly, finding his own way out of the situation, his face devoid of the arrogance he had shown towards Jiang Tao earlier.
He had initially thought Jiang Tao and Du Taiming were just acquaintances, or perhaps had a slightly better relationship.
But upon hearing that Du Taiming’s granddaughter was Jiang Tao’s goddaughter and that their families were in-laws!
A Boss at Du Taiming’s level was not someone a mentor from a training institution like him dared to offend.
When they were in a good mood, they would be polite to you, give you face, and dine with you.
If you upset them, they could cut off your livelihood and drastically reduce your income in minutes.
Ma Jinsong was unsure how good Du Taiming’s relationship with Jiang Tao was, and he began to sweat profusely.
Seeing the attitude of this Gold Medal Instructor towards him change by 180 degrees.
Jiang Tao knew that Ma Jinsong was lowering himself and making overtures primarily because of Du Taiming.
Without Du Taiming’s connection, this Director Ma wouldn’t have even glanced at him.
At this moment, Jiang Tao deeply felt the status boost that identity and power provided.
If he had the same extensive network and net worth of tens of billions as Du Taiming.
In front of him, a mere mentor from a training institution would have no capital for arrogance; they would only be fawning over him.
“General Manager Du, you all continue. I urgently need to go to the restroom, please excuse me for a moment.”
Jiang Tao, giving Ma Jinsong no face at all, completely ignored him, bid farewell to Du Taiming, and turned towards the restroom.
Du Taiming looked at Jiang Tao’s retreating back, deep in thought, and made some new decisions.
He had no intention of playing peacemaker between Jiang Tao and Ma Jinsong or mediating their conflict.
Ma Jinsong was not an important figure in his eyes.
Without Ma Jinsong, there were Zhang Jinsong and Liu Jinsong.
At Dongneng Education, there were thirty to forty Gold Medal Instructors like Ma Jinsong.
Clearly, his importance in Du Taiming’s mind far less than Jiang Tao’s.
“I’ve eaten most of my meal. I’ll take my leave now to go home and hug my granddaughter. You all enjoy your meal.”
Du Taiming withdrew his gaze from Jiang Tao, said with a smile, picked up the clutch bag on the table, and left.
“Du, General Manager Du…”
Seeing Du Taiming about to leave, Ma Jinsong’s face showed anxiety, and he kept signaling to Chen Haipeng and Liu Fang for help.
Chen Haipeng and Liu Fang were also extremely astute; they completely ignored Ma Jinsong’s pleading glances.
“General Manager Du, I’ll see you out!”
Seeing his teammates “refuse to help,” Ma Jinsong prepared to chase after Du Taiming.
The main purpose of today’s dinner was to discuss the training plan for middle management and above at Wanxiang Hui for the next five years.
According to the estimation from Dongneng Education’s calculation department, the total value of this plan was around 20 million yuan!
Ma Jinsong had been very confident about securing this business, feeling it was a sure thing.
But he hadn’t expected such a hitch today!
At this moment, Ma Jinsong wished he could slap himself hard.
He was truly too idle!
Why did he provoke that surname Jiang for no reason?
Not only did he gain no benefits, but he also messed up the important task assigned to him by the Vice President!
If a business worth over 20 million yuan was ruined by him…
Ma Jinsong couldn’t imagine what punishment he would receive from the company!
“General Manager Du, regarding this company’s middle management training plan…”
Ma Jinsong, shamelessly catching up to Du Taiming, asked tentatively.
“Xiao Ma, my daughter is in charge of company matters now. I’ll discuss this with her.”
Du Taiming’s perfunctory tone was obvious, and Ma Jinsong’s heart sank.
He knew that Du Taiming was using his daughter as a shield.
Anyone with some understanding of Wanxiang Hui knew this.
Although General Manager Du seemed to have stepped back to a secondary role and become a hands-off manager.
He still made the final decisions on some of the company’s important projects.
His daughter was currently the nominal general manager, but she didn’t hold much real power.
Seeing a business worth over 20 million yuan about to fall through, Ma Jinsong regretted it immensely!
“General Manager Du, we have already cooperated for the first five years, and our cooperation has always been very pleasant during this period.”
“For the next five years, our cooperation will surely be even more harmonious.”
Ma Jinsong naturally wouldn’t give up easily, sticking to Du Taiming like a persistent patch, still making a final effort.
“Alright, Xiao Ma, I’ll discuss this with my daughter when I get back. This is where I’ll see you off. You can go back.”
Du Taiming reached the elevator lobby and waved his hand impatiently at Ma Jinsong, signaling him to leave.
“Okay, okay, General Manager Du. I’ll await your good news.”
Ma Jinsong also knew the principle of knowing when to stop; too much was as bad as too little.
Seeing Du Taiming’s impatience, he didn’t dare to pester him further for results.
Ding~
The elevator doors opened.
Du Taiming and several others who were also waiting for the elevator stepped into the elevator together.
“I’m so idle! Why is this mouth so cheap!!”
Watching the elevator carrying his God of Wealth descend, Ma Jinsong slapped himself hard.
“How am I going to explain this to Manager Tian!”
Ma Jinsong truly hadn’t expected that a casual greeting would lead to such a huge disaster!
