20demayo Chapter 87 Wedding Preparations
Chapter 87 Wedding Preparations
In the last month of 1968, the sea breeze in Hong Kong finally lost some of its heat, carrying a hint of early winter chill, brushing across the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui and also across Lin Zhou's palm as he held his marriage certificate.
His long-term relationship with Su Wanqing is finally coming to a perfect end at the end of this year.
In retrospect, their relationship, from acquaintance to romance, wasn't exactly dramatic, but it was a steady and enduring love. Lin Zhou built Zhonghua from scratch, single-handedly creating the company that is now a rising star in Hong Kong's tech circle, and he was often so busy he barely had time to breathe.
Su Wanqing is the pillar of Zhonghua. From the initial small office to the current vast industrial park, she has been in charge of the rear, managing all matters, big and small, of research and development, production, and administration in an orderly manner. Everyone says that Zhonghua's success today is half due to Lin Zhou's vision and courage, and the other half to Su Wanqing's composure and meticulousness.
The first thing to do after setting the wedding date was to visit the father-in-law. Su's father had been seriously ill a few years ago and underwent treatment for more than a year. Although he had now recovered, he had also lost a lot of energy and was recuperating at home.
Lin Zhou arrived with carefully selected tonics, his attitude unusually respectful. He explained everything from the company's recent situation to his plans after marriage, and finally bowed solemnly: "Uncle, I know that what I am doing now is not good enough, but from now on, I will definitely protect Wanqing and not let her suffer any grievances."
Looking at the spirited yet composed young man before him, and glancing at his daughter standing to the side with a smile playing on her lips, Su's father finally nodded, sighed, and said, "My health is failing me; I'm afraid I can't be of much help with the wedding. You young people should make the decision yourselves."
With these words, the burden of preparing for the wedding fell entirely on Lin Zhou and Su Wanqing's shoulders.
But Su Wanqing simply couldn't spare much time. At that time, a new batch of orders had just started at Zhonghua Industrial Park, the newly ordered handheld game console production line was being debugged, and there were also overseas OEM orders for air fryers that were being pushed forward urgently. She spent every day in the factory office reviewing plans and approving documents, working non-stop from morning to night. Often, when Lin Zhou picked her up at night, he could still see the light on in her office.
"You can handle the wedding arrangements." Su Wanqing rubbed her aching temples, looked up at him, her eyes filled with apology yet also with complete trust. "I trust you."
Lin Zhou looked at the faint dark circles under her eyes and felt extremely distressed. He quickly nodded and said, "Don't worry, leave it to me."
That's what he said, but when it came to actually handling it, Lin Zhou realized he was completely clueless. He was usually very good at managing the company and negotiating partnerships, but weddings were all about formalities and details, and he had absolutely no experience with them. After all, he had never experienced such a big event as getting married in either his past or present life.
After much deliberation, Lin Zhou had no choice but to call his secretary, Ms. Chen, into his office.
Miss Chen had been working with Lin Zhou for a year and was always efficient and meticulous. Hearing this, she remained calm, simply taking out her notebook and asking clearly, "Mr. Lin, are you planning a Chinese or Western-style wedding? Where will the venue be? Approximately how many people will be on the guest list? Also, does Miss Su have any particular preferences?"
Lin Zhou thought for a moment. Su Wanqing usually preferred simple and elegant things. Besides, Western-style weddings were quite popular in Hong Kong these days, so they decided on a Western-style wedding. The venue was the famous St. John's Cathedral in Hong Kong, and the banquet was held at the nearby Peninsula Hotel—the banquet hall there was spacious and grand, and the food was superb, enough to entertain all the guests.
"As for the requirements..." Lin Zhou leaned back in his office chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the table, his eyes full of tenderness, "It doesn't need to be too extravagant, but it must be decent. Most importantly, it must be something Wanqing likes."
Miss Chen wrote everything down and then asked, "What about the guest list? Do you need me to draft a first draft?"
"No need, I'll decide on the list myself," Lin Zhou waved his hand.
This is what he needs to worry about most right now.
He sat at his desk, spread out a sheet of white paper, held a fountain pen in his hand, the nib hovering over the paper, and after a long while, wrote down the first name.
The first to be affected were naturally the senior executives of the Zhonghua Group, several management members of Zhonghua Daily, the director of the printing plant, and Zhao Jianjun and his comrades from the security company.
The managers of the air fryer OEM, the R&D department head who has grown with him all the way, the marketing manager, and the factory manager of the industrial park... these people are the cornerstone of Zhonghua and Lin Zhou's right-hand men. This wedding is impossible without any of them.
Next were representatives from the manufacturers that partnered with Zhonghua. These included suppliers of handheld game console parts, electronic components, casing manufacturers, and air fryer temperature controller manufacturers. Zhonghua's current scale is inseparable from the strong support of these partners, and it is only right and proper to send them an invitation.
Also present were representatives from the distributors of the Zhonghua handheld game console. These distributors have played a crucial role in the popularity of Zhonghua handheld game consoles in Hong Kong and even in Europe, America, Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea. Inviting them together at the wedding was both a way of expressing gratitude and maintaining relationships.
Lin Zhou paused, his pen poised, as he thought of the celebrities and tycoons of Hong Kong. He now held a place in Hong Kong's business world and had dealt with many bigwigs.
For example, there were real estate developers we had worked with before. When we were buying at rock-bottom prices, there was no competition, so we had some contact. Sending an invitation was a way to get closer to them. There were also some senior figures in the newspaper industry.
These people don't usually interact much, but sending invitations to weddings is a necessary courtesy, since they're in the same industry.
Finally, there were some familiar friends, including the Lou family who had come from the mainland with me.
There were also old friends he met when he first came to Hong Kong, including HSBC bank managers Li Huiting and Henry, who had helped him a great deal, as well as business tycoons he later met in the business world. These people were not connected by interests, but only by friendship.
In the end, they decided to invite the bigwigs from the gangs who had grudges against their businesses, as well as a few Chinese detectives from the police station, since they would be dealing with them in the future.
As Lin Zhou wrote, more and more names appeared on the paper, and before he knew it, a whole page was filled.
He put down his pen and looked at the densely written words. Suddenly, he felt that this wedding was not only a happy event for him and Su Wanqing, but also a testament to the journey of the Zhonghua brand.
Secretary Chen was extremely efficient; in just half a month, all the wedding arrangements were perfectly made.
The church is decorated simply yet romantically, with white roses and lilies entwining the columns, and sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows, creating a soft halo.
In the Peninsula Hotel's banquet hall, the tables and chairs were arranged neatly, and each table was decorated with exquisite floral arrangements and paper labels bearing the name "Lin & Su".