Chapter 207: Personal Arrangements
Andre hosted a ball in his mansion in New York for Xia Fei. Sarah, Charlie, Boateng, Wu Long, and other senior members of Quantum Holdings were also there.
“Master,” called Boateng when he saw Xia Fei exit Vampire with Old Porter; he was so emotional he started tearing up. He did not care that he was a supervisor at Quantum Holdings as he ran over with tears flowing down his face and hugged Old Porter tightly.
Naturally, Old Porter was very touched. He patted Boateng on his shoulder. “Alright, you’ll be made a joke in front of so many people. I’m in one piece, no?”
“Yeah. ” Boateng nodded. “Where have you been, master? I’ve been extremely worried.”
Having shared a strong bond, they naturally had much to say to each other after being separated for a long time. Xia Fei smiled and gave them some s.p.a.ce. He had not told Boateng about him going to Black Abyss to find Old Porter, so he must be holding a bit of resentment for him; thus, it was best if he kept his distance.
Old Porter was also quite close with Sonny’s mother and brother, and with Boateng’s wife and kids there, all happily chatting away like the old acquaintances they were.
Xia Fei greeted everyone enthusiastically, some of whom he did not know as they were new supervisors of the company. As the company grew, hiring more employees was unavoidable. The most important department board was still managed by Andre and the others, whom Xia Fei knew personally.
Xia Fei did not mind using new hires, but the decision-making should still be done by those he trusted; this was something that would never change.
The ball went along successfully, and Old Porter quickly incorporated himself to the small group. It was actually Harris who did not care, hiding in a corner, sipping on some water; sometimes, he would even draw on his computer.
This did not worry Xia Fei as Harris was still a wanted man in the Alliance, so it was good that he was being low-key. One of these days, he would get a research inst.i.tute of his own, as well as a few men under him, which he could use however he wanted to do his experiments and study. Who cared what he did as long as it benefited the company?
Andre’s mansion was ma.s.sive, and after the party each guest was a.s.signed a room by a butler, their food and accomodation taken care of.
Sarah approached Xia Fei with her chest up and pulled the corner of his s.h.i.+rt. Xia Fei turned around and smiled at her.
Sarah was like a completely different person. She wore a black evening gown with alluring makeup, but no matter what, Xia Fei still liked the old Sarah who wore a patched-up work uniform with a mismatched pair of leather boots; she seemed more herself that way compared to how she was now.
“Are you coming to my room later?” Sarah asked plainly.
The ball was just dismissed and everyone was still there. These words had turned many heads. Sarah’s allure and boldness could not help but tickle their imagination.
Xia Fei smiled and replied to Sarah’s enthusiasm, “I still have work tonight.”
Sarah nodded. “Sure, we’ll talk some other time.”
She then boldly walked out of the banquet hall, slightly unsteady on her feet. She was still a little unfamiliar with the concept of high heels.
Wu Long put his arm across Xia Fei’s shoulders and said suspiciously, “Rejecting a beauty is one of the most difficult things in the world; you sure are lucky.”
Xia Fei lit up a cigarette without replying. He could not say whether he liked Sarah or not, but to him, she was more like a friend.
It was getting late, and Xia Fei, Andre and Porter went to the smoking room. Andre was smoking a cigar as per usual, while Xia Fei was still smoking his cheap Hongtashan as usual. Porter, who did not smoke, had a gla.s.s of red wine in his hand. He had nothing but praises for the expensive red wine produced in Bordeaux.
Although Andre was now technically retired, many important decisions were still managed by him. After all, this old man was unmatched in terms of experience and qualifications and was the most suitable to take the incredibly important job.
Andre briefly went over the energy-s.h.i.+eld booster production, and Porter asked in shock, “Energy-s.h.i.+eld booster? What is that?”
Xia Fei handed Old Porter a technical drawing. “This is a brand-new type of s.h.i.+eld—an original product I’ve conceptualized. It can increase s.h.i.+eld recovery by three times without expending any additional energy in the process.”
Porter gave the drawing a quick look. “Incredible. What a great idea. Recycling the energy wasted from the energy-s.h.i.+eld system… How come I’ve never thought of that? If this component actually enters production, it will surely become a revolutionary new product.”
Xia Fei smiled. “Actually, this component is about to enter production; it’s being produced in the #01 factory of Quantum Holdings located in Iowa. If successful, we can produce three hundred energy-s.h.i.+eld boosters every twenty-four hours.
“Currently, the production line is being installed and tested; would you like to take a look tomorrow?”
Old Porter was dubbed as the machine G.o.d. There was n.o.body who would be more familiar to machine parts than him. If the production line could be managed by Old Porter himself, it would most certainly be better.
“Sure. I’d like to see what this energy s.h.i.+eld booster looks like. I’ll come with you tomorrow,” Porter said casually.
Old Porter was still sad because Windchime did not want to go with him to Earth; at least, he could distract himself from his sadness by making himself busy.
“Uncle Porter, we still lack a chief engineer at Quantum Holdings; I’m wondering if you…” began Xia Fei.
Porter let out a heart laugh. “Since I’m already here, just a.s.sign me any position you like; I don’t mind doing anything, so do as you wish.”
Xia Fie laughed. “Heh. Alright, from today today onward, you’re the chief engineer of Quantum Holdings, the first supervisor of the Inst.i.tute of Mechanical Engineering, the chief of technology, and the head director of the board; are you alright with that?”
Xia Fei happily a.s.signed Old Porter four roles in one go. Old Porter furrowed his eyebrows. “Didn’t you say that I’ll be an engineer? Why am I a director now, too?”
“You’re a capable man, after all. If not for fear of overworking you, I’d have a.s.signed a few more departments for you to manage.”
Xia Fei was slinging praises one after another. Old Porter could not stay still for long, anyway, so as long as he could use everything in his power and do some work, he did not mind at all if he got tired from working. If Xia Fei really did not a.s.sign him a casual task until he grew old, Old Porter might just be unhappy because of it.
“This time, I’ve also hired a genetic specialist, Harris. The one who doesn’t mix in too well back at the ball. He has a special ident.i.ty, so it’s best if news about him doesn’t get out.” Xia Fei quickly changed the topic and talked about Harris.
Andre nodded. “Do you want me to give him an ident.i.ty on Earth?”
“That’s great. Sorry to bother you again.”
“Small things like this aren’t worth a mention. Still, Quantum Holdings doesn’t have a gene department as of yet; how should we a.s.sign that specialist?”
Xia Fei thought for a few moments. “We’ll just create a genetic engineering department if we don’t have one. With the pace our company is growing, genetic-related projects will need to be considered eventually. We can build a research center first, then give Harris a few essential facilities. As for the projects, I’ll talk to him about it later.”
“Not a problem,” said Andre. “Currently, we have a lot of land that’s not being used; we can just build a research center in one of those, though we’ll need to spend a big chunk of funds for the new facilities.”
The production of energy-s.h.i.+eld boosters used almost all the liquid a.s.sets of Quantum Holdings when they built four a.s.sembly plants around the world all at the same time. Currently, the company did not have any extra money to build a gene research center. After all, the equipment that a gene facility required needed to be imported from other planets and would certainly cost a small fortune.
“I’ll figure the money out, but try and build the research center first. It should be in a secluded area; I think the location in Alaska is not bad.”
“Alaska? That place is a freezing desert; would that genetic specialist Harris mind it?”
Xia Fei let out a mysterious smile. “Don’t worry; he won’t mind it at all.”
Harrs was wearing a life bracelet; he would not complain even if he was a.s.signed to Mars, let alone Alaska. Currently, the energy-s.h.i.+eld booster was still the most important matter, and the gene project was just some days away.
“That Harris guy isn’t as simple as he looks, is he? He has a life bracelet on his wrist,” asked Uncle Porter after Andre left.
Xia Fei smiled. “Indeed, have you heard of a gene optimization fluid known as Purple Jade or Amethyst?”
Porter replied after a few seconds of thought, “I think so; didn’t that terrible optimization fluid cause thousands of deaths?”
“Exactly, and Harris is its inventor,” Xia Fei whispered.
Old Porter knitted his eyebrows. “People like that should be ripped apart alive for experimenting on live humans. Why did you bring him here?”
“You don’t have to worry about that, uncle; it’s me who got him to wear the life bracelet. From here onward, he’ll never be out of my control. No matter what, he’s a top genetics scholar. He can continue his research while he’s still alive. If the project bears fruit in the future, it may just absolve him from his sins. We’re being nice to him if anything.”
Because of the incredible respect Xia Fei had for Old Porter, he did not think there was any point in hiding anything from the latter, telling him everything he knew about Harris.
Porter nodded. “Makes sense; since he willingly wore the life bracelet, it means that he’s at least trying to make up for his sins, but you should be careful around people like that.”
“Don’t worry.”
Before he came to Earth, Porter always thought that Xia Fei’s Quantum Holdings was some company that was not even worth a mention, but this energy-s.h.i.+eld booster had fully caught his attention. The two of them chatted for a long time before returning, agreeing to visit Xia Fei’s factory early the next day.