Looking at the man and woman standing at the door, Chen Cheng was also momentarily stunned.

After a moment's thought, he went to the courtyard to open the gate himself.

Opening the door, he looked at the two of them with a smile. "Oh, it's you two?"

Standing right there at the courtyard gate were actually Yu Tu and Xia Qing.

Under Chen Cheng's suggestive gaze, Yu Tu felt a bit embarrassed.

Xia Qing wasn't as shy; she tugged on Yu Tu's sleeve, and only then did he snap out of it.

The two of them cleared their throats, aligned their expressions, and shouted in unison:

"Chairman Chen, Happy New Year! May you be prosperous!"

The way the two of them cupped their hands in a New Year's greeting made Chen Cheng chuckle.

He smiled and cupped his hands in return. "Same to you, same to you."

"You two can stop calling me 'Chairman Chen' this and 'Chairman Chen' that. Just call me by my name."

The two were stunned for a moment before Xia Qing reacted quickly. "Alright then, we'll listen to our old classmate."

Chen Cheng smiled to himself. It seemed that in terms of social graces, Xia Qing was still more adept than a STEM guy like Yu Tu.

He beckoned them. "Please, come in quickly. It's quite cold outside."

After speaking, he reached out to take the gifts they were carrying and teased with a smile:

"I like it when you guys bring gifts like this."

Chen Cheng didn't ask how they found this place.

Yixing wasn't large, and since these two had the bond of being former classmates with Chen Cheng, it really wasn't hard to find his home.

Not calling ahead to confirm if he was home showed they had a bit of an ulterior motive.

With smiles on their faces, the two followed Chen Cheng into the courtyard.

As they walked, Chen Cheng teased:

"With you two like this, is good news on the horizon?"

Yu Tu smiled sheepishly and glanced at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing nodded before speaking up:

"We don't have those plans for the time being. We're just taking it as it goes."

Chen Cheng chuckled. "I'm not trying to rush you into marriage."

The two laughed, and Xia Qing took up the conversation. "Old classmate, this courtyard of yours is truly beautiful."

"My dad renovated our house in the countryside two years ago with this kind of New Chinese style, but it just doesn't have this vibe."

Chen Cheng smiled. "A house needs people living in it to have 'vibe.'"

"Mine is the same. Once people leave in a few days, it'll become cold and lonely."

The three of them chatted casually as they entered the living room.

Zhu Zhe had just poured tea for the two when the doorbell rang again. She glanced at the monitor, saw someone she didn't recognize, and looked at Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng walked to the monitor, took a look, and pressed the unlock button. "It's the chef."

"I'll go," Zhu Zhe said, turning to leave the living room.

Chen Cheng teased the two with a smile. "You've come at the right time. Let's have lunch together."

Xia Qing laughed. "Then Yu Tu and I won't stand on ceremony."

Chen Cheng gave a good-natured laugh. "As if I could be short of a meal?"

After some pleasantries, Xia Qing proactively said she wanted to look around the courtyard.

Chen Cheng could tell that Yu Tu had business to discuss, so he mentioned that some friends were playing mahjong in the activity room at the back and she could go chat with them.

Xia Qing nodded. "Okay~ I'll tour my old classmate's courtyard first and come back to say hello in a bit."

As soon as Xia Qing left the living room, Chen Cheng smiled and asked Yu Tu, "Alright, what is it? Making a special trip all the way here."

Based on his initial understanding of Yu Tu, the man wouldn't come to disturb a big boss like him for no reason.

Yu Tu smiled and cleared his throat. "Ahem—"

"There's a project I'd like you to take a look at."

Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow and smiled. "What kind of project has you so nervous?"

"An embodied intelligence company called Shuyu Robotics."

As he spoke, he handed the documents he brought to Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng took them and his eyes immediately lit up.

Well now, by sending Yu Tu to Jinchen, he really did catch a future unicorn.

While looking through the documents, he asked, "How much do they want to raise?"

"They want to raise 15 million for the next stage of technical verification—"

"And the valuation?"

"150 million, giving up 10%."

Chen Cheng's eyes widened. Angel investing really was the way to go.

Getting a 10% stake in a future unicorn for only 15 million—of course, it would be diluted by future financing rounds, but it was still a lot.

If he held onto it without exiting until the IPO, earning 50 to 100 times the investment would be quite easy.

Chen Cheng thought for a moment. "It's a good project; we can invest."

"However, we need to negotiate the percentage."

Yu Tu smacked his lips. "What do you think is appropriate?"

Chen Cheng frowned; this matter was a bit tricky to handle.

If he asked for too much, they would know for sure he wanted to invest; if he asked for too little, Chen Cheng wouldn't be satisfied.

"How about this: use that USD fund to give 4 million dollars for 15%."

"You handle the specifics of the negotiation. The bottom line is the 15 million RMB for 10% that you just mentioned."

"But of course, still use those US dollars."

Jinchen also had funds from other investors, but only that USD fund belonged to Zhencheng Hong Kong, which was Chen Cheng's own money.

After speaking, he added another point, "Regardless, secure a right of first refusal for future rounds."

A smile had already spread across Yu Tu's face. "Alright, I'll go to Bincheng after the New Year to talk with the founder."

Chen Cheng smiled. "How did you come across this project?"

Reporting directly to him without going through General Manager meant it clearly wasn't a company-sourced project.

"Ahem—" Yu Tu coughed, looking a bit embarrassed. "Actually, this project belongs to Xia Qing."

"However, it didn't pass her firm's committee."

Chen Cheng understood immediately; so this project was Xia Qing's 'letter of introduction.'

He smiled. "Does Xia Qing want to come to Shanghai?"

Yu Tu nodded. "Yes, we discussed it, and Xia Qing finally decided she would be the one to move here."

Chen Cheng nodded. "That's good. Many couples end up breaking up because of long distance."

Changing the subject, he called out toward the living room door:

"Xia Qing—"

"Yes—?"

Sure enough, as soon as Chen Cheng called, Xia Qing responded immediately from outside.

Xia Qing walked quickly back to her previous seat.

Chen Cheng smiled. "If you want to come to Jinchen, that's fine too."

"If you're willing, you can try the Consumer Goods Department."

Xia Qing nodded immediately without even asking about the compensation. "Of course I'm willing."

It was good to have connections in high places; if she went to Jinchen now, it would be almost like being the Emperor's imperial envoy.

In the future, it meant having Chen Cheng, who had the final say in the Zhencheng System, as her backer.

Chen Cheng nodded and conveniently dangled a carrot for Xia Qing. "The Consumer Goods Department will likely have a new director in the future."

Xia Qing's eyes instantly lit up, and she immediately expressed her determination. "Chairman Chen, don't worry, I promise I won't let you down."

The corners of Chen Cheng's mouth curled up. He didn't say anything more but beckoned them. "Lunch will probably be a while. Want to play some mahjong?"

The two naturally followed Boss Chen's lead and agreed with a smile.

The three of them stood up and went to the activity room in the back.

Xia Qing dared to use a project that failed her firm's investment committee to gamble on her future.

She was confident enough and decisive enough.

Her vision was also quite good.

As for the issue of a couple not being suitable for the same company, Chen Cheng hadn't considered it at all.

Mainly, the Director of the Consumer Goods Department, Su Min, was a slippery slacker who had a tiny bit of ability but was very greasy.

Chen Cheng had wanted to replace him when he acquired Jinchen, but held back for the sake of personnel stability.

He hadn't moved against him because, after all, he hadn't made any major mistakes.

However, his actual ability could not keep up with Chen Cheng's requirements.

In the few months since Zhao Hui went to Jinchen, aside from bringing Tao Wuji along, he hadn't participated in personnel matters.

But as Gao Yue vacated the position of HR Director,

Part of Jinchen's personnel power would eventually return to Zhao Hui's hands.

By Chen Cheng's estimation, Zhao Hui would move against Su Min sooner or later.

Now that he had placed Xia Qing in there, it would be up to her to see if she had the skill to compete for it.

The Consumer Goods Department also had Meng Yanchen, who was just there to kill time at Jinchen.

It would likely be quite exciting.

Unfortunately, Chen Cheng didn't have the time to watch all that.