Chapter 40: The Royal Wharf Nightclub

It had been ten days or half a month since the boss had last shown his face, so when Chen Bo’s car pulled up outside the Royal Pier Nightclub, someone had already hurried off to report to Lan Juanjuan.

Lan Juanjuan was now the floor manager of Royal Pier Nightclub. Clad in a tight knit dress that revealed every curve of her perfect figure, she stood at the entrance and respectfully came to greet them. When her gaze brushed past Li Tianer, she showed no surprise at all; she only inclined her head slightly and smiled, her expression impossibly haughty and refined.

The once-down-and-out girl who had begged her for pity and favor now dared to put on airs before her. Li Tianer simply pretended not to know her.

Thinking back to the two of them scheming together over that so-called beauty trap for the performance, it was nothing but a joke.

“Once everyone’s here, take them to the meeting and the training session. I’m entrusting this entirely to you, so there’s no need to come ask my opinion.”

Chen Bo waved a hand, his other hand never letting go of Li Tianer’s.

“Understood.”

Lan Juanjuan lowered her voice and withdrew. The way she backed away and then turned to leave was just like a palace maid from some ancient imperial court.

It really was worthy of being called the Royal Pier.

The nightclub’s decor was as lavish and ornate as a royal palace, every bit as decadent and grand as its name suggested. Walking in with Chen Bo on her arm, Li Tianer felt as though she were strolling leisurely through a palace garden. Along the way, employees stopped to bow and greet them, each one younger, prettier, and more delicate than the last.

Li Tianer had been to countless upscale places, but this was the first time she had encountered something with such an upstart air.

At this time, nightclubs had only just begun to rise across the country. Dongling City still consisted mostly of small-scale singing and dance halls. Since Chen Bo was going to do it, he meant to do it best and most high-end; his business thinking was not wrong. Li Tianer offered no opinion either way, though she could not help feeling a little wary, since all his employees were young women, a whole cluster of pretty little songbirds.

“My office is basically just for show. I come by now and then to receive clients. Most of the time I’ll still be out running around, so you don’t need to worry that these girls will try to work their feminine charms on me. Besides you, there isn’t another beauty in my eyes.”

Seeing through her thoughts, Chen Bo chuckled and gave her a reassuring answer.

“I don’t care whether they’re beautiful or ugly. Just remember your responsibilities.”

Having her thoughts guessed by a man, Li Tianer naturally refused to admit it. What made her even more curious, however, was Chen Bo’s partner. No one knew better than she did how much Chen Bo actually had. To open a nightclub like this, the renovation alone would likely cost two or three million. Chen Bo had only put in the one hundred thousand she had given him. That probably would not even be enough to pay a hundred beautiful employees their uniforms for one season, let alone four.

“Let me make this clear first: the staff uniforms here must be custom-made at our garment factory. Half paid in advance, the rest upon delivery.”

“You never miss a chance to do business, do you?” Chen Bo laughed. “No problem. My partner is a mine owner with plenty of capital. If money can solve it, then it’s not a problem at all. I met him when I was still a technician. The businesses he invests in are all big operations; the bank turnover alone is in the millions.”

“You’re making it so lavish. Who in Dongling City can even afford to consume here? The common people have only just started to have a little money to spare. Aren’t you moving too fast?”

“Don’t worry about that. We had accountants run the numbers. As long as it’s managed properly, it’ll recoup its costs very quickly. A place like this isn’t for ordinary people anyway. Before long, we’ll attract a steady stream of VIP clients. Since we’re talking about staff uniforms, you can go ahead and design a prototype based on this style first. I’ll have the girls try them on later and see whether they fit. Let’s agree on this first: business is business, personal favors are personal favors. If the work isn’t right, I won’t place the order.”

Chen Bo burst out laughing.

“Deal.”

Li Tianer reached out and took the large hand he offered. After they let go, they exchanged another smile.

“Is your partner working here too?”

“Where would he find the time to manage this place? He only looks at the accounts. I’m the legal representative here. I actually think this line of business is pretty interesting. I went over to the metropolis to take a look and get a feel for it, and I think once this place opens, it’ll set off a sensation in Dongling City immediately. Even the wealthy bosses from neighboring cities will probably come here to spend money. What I want is to make a thunderous debut!”

When Chen Bo had been running the mining company, he had still been forced to bow to others. Now, seeing his spirits so high, Li Tianer could not bring herself to dampen them.

If it were a proper nightclub, the industry’s boom would only last three to five years at most. The future belonged to technology. Only by staying ahead of the times could one remain invincible.

But everything required accumulation. In life, what people most often needed was their first pot of gold. And how many people had the same good fortune as she did, to be born already possessing everything?

Realizing that everything she had came from her family, Li Tianer threw herself into work with even greater energy and enthusiasm.

Strictly speaking, the garment factory had not been a business she had built from nothing either. Yet setting aside the foundation Chen Bo had laid for her, the factory’s performance had also been rising steadily under her management. In just over half a year, wages and benefits had been adjusted twice, and the workers’ pay was already far ahead of other units in Dongling City by more than a little.

The workers all took pride in being employed by the Dongling Garment Factory, and among young men with decent prospects looking for a girlfriend, girls from the Dongling Garment Factory were the first choice.

Chen Bo said he did not need to go to the nightclub often, but as long as he was not away on business, he still had to sit in the office and oversee things. The nightclub’s business hours ran from seven in the evening until seven the next morning.

Chen Bo had become an owl that slept by day and roamed by night, and Li Tianer had not shared a bed with him for a long time. Every day when she left for work, Chen Bo was just finishing his bath and getting into bed to sleep.

She rested a hand on the belly that had grown rounder by another size, then picked up the desk calendar and stared at the red-circled due date.

She had discussed it with the doctor and wanted to schedule a pain-free cesarean section in advance. The doctor had looked at her with great surprise.

“You’re not giving birth for the first time, so being afraid of pain is rather strange. Your physical condition is excellent. A C-section takes a toll on your vitality. Unless there’s dystocia, we doctors won’t casually perform one. Babies born through natural labor are smarter, and the mother’s body recovers faster too. You’ll be able to resume marital relations very soon.”

The female doctor was only in her thirties, and her voice carried all the way out through the open door of the consultation room. In the corridor outside, many men were sitting there accompanying their wives or girlfriends to the doctor. Hearing the words about marital relations, they all wore knowing smiles.

When Li Tianer walked past them, her face burned.

She was unmarried, never pregnant, still untouched in body, yet she was about to experience all the feelings of a married woman who had already gone through pregnancy and childbirth, and on top of that endure the embarrassment of being watched by others.

The mere thought of, beneath the glare of the lights and amid labor pains, feeling her womb emptied by force made Li Tianer shudder.

The childbirth scenes she had seen in films had left too deep an imprint on her senses. Every time she saw the red-circled date on the calendar, her scalp would tingle.

She only hoped the doctor had misjudged the date. It did not matter whether the due date came earlier or later, so why did it have to fall on Valentine’s Day?

If every Valentine’s Day from now on had to remind her of the pain of giving birth in another time and space, then even the romance of Valentine’s Day would turn painful.

“President Li, a gentleman is here to see you. He says he’d like to discuss business. This is his card. He’s the head of a gardening company in a neighboring city.”

The newly hired office clerk knocked and reported, breaking Li Tianer’s train of thought. She set down the calendar and straightened the white ruffled turtleneck sweater under her wool vest dress.

The clerk placed an embossed business card printed in both Chinese and English in front of Li Tianer.

If it were a client placing an order, there would be no need for the boss to come personally to negotiate. And if it were the other side, the garment factory’s suppliers were all fabric, accessories, and garment component manufacturers, which had nothing to do with a gardening company.

But since the man had already come, there was no harm in seeing him.

Li Tianer lowered her head to look at the design proofs just printed for the factory by the printing house, when the corner of her eye caught a tall figure pressing in close. Almost at the same moment, she heard the clerk say, “President Li, President An is here.”