One of Our Own

"Why? You never said that before." Chen Hai immediately asked. After all, Chen Qin had often urged him to join the company before, so why was she against it now?

"It's not suitable." Chen Qin didn't explain much.

"Damn, I'm your brother! What's unsuitable about joining my own family's company?!" Chen Hai retorted, sounding somewhat indignant.

Chen Qin slammed her chopsticks on the table, her cold gaze falling on Chen Hai.

"Who the hell are you cursing at?!"

"Alright, alright, let's not argue during the meal..." Seeing this, Ye Shuang quickly tried to soothe Chen Qin's temper. Chen Hai's voice also softened. "I..."

At that moment, Zhou Min, who was sitting nearby, spoke up with a smile. "Ah Hai just lacks experience right now. If his own family helps him out more, he'll grow up fast. He just needs someone to give him a hand."

Chen Qin looked at Zhou Min and sneered. "Shut up. What gives you the right to say these things?"

Zhou Min looked a bit embarrassed but still smiled. "I'm just thinking of Ah Hai's best interests. With such a large business, it's only reassuring to have family manage it."

"With Ah Shuang here, we don't need this guy, Chen Hai." Chen Qin said bluntly, not sparing Chen Hai any face at all.

Chen Hai now looked at Ye Shuang, seeming somewhat helpless.

"But Ye Shuang isn't family, after all." As soon as Zhou Min said this, she suddenly noticed that everyone present, including Chen Hai, had their eyes on her, their gazes even seeming a bit odd.

Zhou Min was taken aback. Was there something wrong with what she just said?

"Xiao Shuang is our family. He's like a son to me." Chen's Father spoke up calmly then, apparently displeased with her previous remark, though he didn't make a big deal of it.

"Zhou Min, you don't understand the situation, but don't say such things again." Chen's Mother also said.

Even Chen Hai told Zhou Min, "Ye Shuang is my brother, my real brother. Don't say things like that in the future."

Zhou Min was stunned for a few seconds. She couldn't understand why the Chen family would be so protective of Ye Shuang. Wasn't he just Chen Qin's boyfriend?

But Zhou Min was quick-witted. She immediately smiled brightly and said to Ye Shuang, "Sorry about that, I misspoke. Let me punish myself with a drink. Please don't mind it."

Saying this, she picked up the cup of tea beside her and drank from it.

Because it was hot tea, even though it had been sitting for a while, this gulp made Zhou Min's face flush red, and she immediately started coughing violently.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Chen Hai hurriedly grabbed some tissues. "Y-you, drink slowly! Ye Shuang wouldn't really blame you."

With this little commotion, no one paid attention to what Zhou Min had said earlier anymore. Even Chen's Mother got up to check on Zhou Min's condition. After all, she was carrying Chen Hai's child; something happening would be terrible.

"I'm sorry..."

"Alright, have some cool water. Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No, no, it's all my fault."

Ye Shuang watched this scene. He first reached out and touched the teacup in front of him. Feeling the scalding temperature, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how ruthless this woman was to herself.

To be honest, with the tea at that temperature, a normal person wouldn't gulp it down in one go. Clearly, Zhou Min had done it on purpose.

She could pull off the "hardship ploy" so effortlessly, no wonder she had Chen Hai wrapped around her finger like that.

However, she somewhat underestimated everyone present. Of course, excluding Bai Yuyou, who was focused on eating in a daze, everyone else here was shrewd. Chen's Father and Chen Qin naturally saw through Zhou Min's intention at a glance.

"That little trick might work on Chen Hai, but for Uncle Chen and the others... they're only tolerating it for the sake of your child." Ye Shuang thought calmly as he drank his soup, not forgetting to put some food in Bai Yuyou's bowl.

"Since Ah Hai has the intention, joining the company is indeed a good thing."

At this point, Chen's Father also spoke.

Hearing this, Chen Qin seemed somewhat dissatisfied. "Daddy!"

"Ah Hai has grown up. It's time for him to take on more responsibility." Chen's Father said slowly.

In fact, he had always hoped Chen Hai could enter the company to temper himself. Relying on Chen Qin alone was simply too exhausting. Although Ye Shuang was helping now, they were still short-handed. Otherwise, Chen Qin wouldn't still have to keep traveling abroad for business now.

"I'll work hard!" Chen Hai was overjoyed when he heard the old man agree.

Zhou Min, sitting beside him, also smiled, seeming very pleased with this outcome.

"Here's the plan then. Ah Hai, you start from the bottom, at the grassroots level. Get to know the company properly from the ground up." Chen's Father's words left Chen Hai dumbfounded again, and even Zhou Min was taken aback.

Grassroots level?

"Ye Shuang joined as a vice president right away. Why do I have to start at the bottom? I was at least a small team leader at my previous bank." Chen Hai said.

Am I even your biological son?

"Ye Shuang has the capability to handle his position. If you parachute in, you'll be like a headless shrimp, flailing around without even knowing what you're doing." Chen's Father said. "That kind of situation will only hinder the group's progress."

Chen Hai fell silent, seeming rather displeased.

Ye Shuang saw the situation clearly from the side. Chen's Father's intention was obvious: he wanted Chen Hai to start from the bottom. This way, he could better understand the situation within their own group and discover its problems from a different perspective.

Chen Qin observing from the top, Chen Hai observing from the bottom—it was actually a win-win cooperation.

As for promotions, there would definitely be no problem. No matter what, Chen Hai was the Chen family's only son. Chen's Father probably planned to temper his character for a few years before steadily helping him climb up.

But Chen's Father, being the one involved, failed to see one thing clearly: Chen Hai's own feelings. Chen's Father built his business step by step, steadily, but Chen Hai was different. He was, after all, the old chairman's son. Starting from the bottom like this would naturally make him feel psychologically unbalanced.

Especially when his own brother was a parachuted-in executive.

But in this situation, it wasn't convenient for Ye Shuang to interject. This was a clash of thinking between the older and younger generations. His input would only make things more complicated.

Better to explain Uncle Chen's thinking to Chen Hai afterwards.

"I must be adopted. I'm not eating anymore!" Chen Hai seemed to throw a bit of a tantrum, got up, and went back to his room.

Seeing this, Zhou Min had no choice but to say, "Uncle Chen, I'll go talk to Ah Hai first. But no matter what, starting at the grassroots... would you consider changing your mind?"

Saying this, Zhou Min followed him, one hand resting on her large belly.

Chen's Mother seemed to want to go check on Chen Hai but was stopped by Chen's Father. "Don't."

"You father and son, both as stubborn as mules." Chen's Mother, seeing the nice family dinner turn out like this, seemed a bit unhappy. "Even if you don't give him a high position, giving Ah Hai some leisurely post would be fine."

"You don't understand. That kind of tempering is useless. What's the point of him slacking off somewhere else?"

Chen's Mother didn't say more, just looked at Ye Shuang and the others, urging them to eat more.

"How much longer are we going to keep that Zhou Min around?" Chen Qin also frowned at this point. "I'm telling you, in a little while, Chen Hai is definitely going to stir up trouble again."

Marrying an unworthy wife brings misfortune for three generations.

This Zhou Min is simply a walking disaster!