Chapter 1569 Visiting Orchidia Germany (Part I)
Chapter 1569 Visiting Orchidia Germany (Part I)
At the other end of the table, Alona Bauer sat with his brother, Alric Bauer. The siblings hadn't seen each other for a long time. Although Alona would sometimes fly to China to celebrate some special occasions with Iris and her family, she wasn't able to stay for too long before flying back to Germany again to continue setting up Orchidia's first European base there.
Similarly, Alric was extremely busy developing new products and improving Orchidia's current product formulations. As a result, the Bauer siblings hadn't spent that much time together.
"How does it feel to be back home?" Alona asked his brother.
Alric shrugged. "Good."
She chuckled. "Many of our old customers have been asking me when my 'mad scientist' brother will return. I told them that if they attend and support Orchidia Germany's launch, they'll be able to see you again."
He nodded. "Orchidia is no longer just a beauty and skincare company. We also offer other products under the company's different brands. Don't just focus on advertising the products that I developed. Make sure that the customers also know the company's different brands such as Orchidia Mommy and Orchidia Baby."
"Of course! I'm not such a selfish person. I'm the one in charge of Orchidia Germany, so I sure as hell will make sure that it succeeds."
He nodded again. "Make sure to always remember where we came from, how we got here, and especially who's the one who allowed us to have our successful careers in the first place."
"You don't have to tell me that. I'm always grateful to Xiulan and Orchidia. Don't worry, Alric. You know me. I'm not the type of person to betray people's trust."
"Just making sure. Orchidia is growing at a fast rate. There's a lot of room for error. I can't help much in running the company, so I'm doing my best to develop the best products that I can. Xiulan is excellent but she's only one person. I hope that you can be as dependable as CFO Long Jinjing and COO Chen Fei when it comes to helping Xiulan run the company. Also, don't forget that I own shares in the company. As long as Orchidia succeeds, we'll also succeed."
"Wow, Alric. You've become much more talkative. I'm so proud of you!"
He gave his sister a cold stare. "I'm serious."
Alona laughed but still stopped teasing his brother. "Okay, I get it. Don't worry. I won't mess it up. I'll make sure that Orchidia Germany succeeds under my watch."
It was only after she said this that Alric looked satisfied. He continued eating and returned to his previous taciturn self, only nodding now and then at his sister's chattiness.
Unbeknownst to them, Iris heard their entire conversation due to her excellent hearing despite sitting at the other end of the table. She smiled in satisfaction. The Bauer siblings had been one of the best investments she made for Orchidia. There was no doubt about it.
Alric was the type of person who would do his utmost best as long as he had the right environment to continue with his experiments. This was why she always advised Long Jinjing to grant Alric more budget. As long as the man was happy, he would do his best to create more amazing products for the company.
After lunch, everyone returned to their hotel.
Huang Yuyan felt a little too excited and wanted to drag Iris to go shopping immediately.
Iris didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Mom, please rest first. We can go shopping tomorrow."
Her mother-in-law looked like she was about to continue persuading Iris.
Jin Liwei stepped forward. "Mom, go rest. If you get sick because you didn't rest, you won't be able to go shopping much less attend your daughter-in-law's company launch in a few days."
Huang Yuyan pouted like a little girl but still obeyed her son but not before muttering under her breath, "You're just like your dad. So rigid." Then she smiled at her daughter-in-law, "Xiulan, my dear, let's go to the hotel spa after shopping tomorrow. Half a day flying in a plane has dried out my skin so badly!"
"Okay, Mom. I'll make a reservation at the hotel spa for tomorrow."
Her mother-in-law smiled at Iris before hugging the twins.
Finally, Jin Liwei released a sigh of relief after his mother left. Iris was amused at his actions.
"Mom is just as lively as Brother Chonglin," she said. "Don't be too strict on her. It's good that she looks and acts younger than her age. Keeps her young."
He shook his head but there was a smile on his face. He knew his own mother. Huang Yuyan was a wonderful mother, but she could be quite selfish sometimes. Despite this, he was still thankful that his mother wasn't as bad as Wei Lan.
Perhaps Huang Yuyan's biggest fault was insisting on the engagement between Jin Chonglin and Fan Luo back then. That had been a huge disaster.
Fortunately, Huang Yuyan had already learned from her mistake and didn't interfere with Jin Chonglin's relationships anymore.
"Mama." Little Mochi hugged Iris' leg, interrupting them.
"Ma." Little Matcha hugged her other leg.
"Hm? What's wrong, my sweethearts?" Iris couldn't carry the two of them anymore at the same time so she just rubbed their fluffy heads.
"They're acting fussy," Jin Liwei said. "Time for a nap."
This time, Little Mochi didn't throw a tantrum when his daddy carried him. He rested her head on his daddy's wide shoulder, looking drowsy but still wanting to be coaxed.
Iris carried their other son.
Little Matcha looked pleased that his mommy was the one carrying him. Unlike his brother, he fell asleep as soon as he rested his head on his mommy's shoulder.
Iris placed Little Matcha on the crib bed before helping her husband coax their other son to sleep. Soon, Little Mochi also fell asleep as well.
"They're growing so fast," Iris couldn't help but comment as she looked at their twins with a loving gaze.
"En."
"I don't want them to grow too fast, Liwei."
He pulled her into a hug. "We can't do anything about that, love. What we can do is to do our best to be present as much as we can."
She sighed. "I know. I'm just panicking a little. It feels like yesterday when I gave birth to our sons. Now I can't even carry them both at the same time."
He could only hug her more tightly and kiss her forehead to comfort her. He understood what his wife was feeling because he also felt it. However, unlike her, he didn't want their kids to remain small forever. Well, sometimes he did.
More often than not, he even wished for their twins to grow up faster so that he could enjoy an uninterrupted two-person world with his beloved wife again.
Was that too much to wish for?
Iris didn't know that her husband was praying for a completely different wish from her. She sighed once again, lamenting at how fast time flew by.
At the same time, she also marvelled at how amazing it felt to watch Little Mochi and Little Matcha grow up and develop their own distinct personalities.
She bent down and kissed each of her son's cheeks.
Good thing that Little Mochi didn't wake up. The fussy baby continued sleeping, even smiling as if he knew that his mommy just kissed him.
###
Early the next morning, Iris, Dom, Chen Fei and Alric Bauer followed Alona Buaer to Orchidia Germany's office.
They stood outside the building. It looked like every other office building in the area, but to Iris, it looked the best.
She touched the large, concrete Orchidia logo in front of the gate.
It was sleek and simple, yet elegant at the same time.
Perfect.
"Boss! Stand in front of the logo. I'll take a picture of you!" Dom waved his phone.
Iris had no reason to say no. She posed in front of the large Orchidia logo. After a few shots, Chen Fei and the Bauer siblings also joined.
Then Dom asked a bodyguard disguised as a passerby to take photos of all of them.
After their short photoshoot, Alona led everyone inside the building. The interior had a completely different atmosphere compared to the Orchidia headquarters office.
This German base had a more minimalist style.
Iris looked around. Although she wouldn't have chosen an interior design like this, for some reason, it fit the place perfectly.
They were welcomed by the other employees. Alona introduced all the key people to her.
The employees consisted of a wide range of nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. They came from all over Europe, proving Alona's claim that she hired from all over the continent.
"Everyone, thank you for the warm welcome," Iris said. "Please don't feel pressured about my presence here today. Continue doing what you need to do. I know that time is tight, but I hope that we can make our upcoming launch a success. I have high expectations for Orchidia Germany, and I hope that you can all help me achieve my goals for the company. If you do, I'll make sure to give everyone a nice bonus."
All the employees cheered.
"We'll work hard, Chairman!"
"Bonus, here we come!"
"How come our chairwoman is so beautiful? How come? How come?!!!"
Iris heard a lot of the employees' little conversations with her excellent hearing. It was like walking in a United Nations forum. She could hear different languages being spoken at the same time. This made her feel excited as a polyglot.
Then Orchidia Germany's employees learned that their Chairwoman could speak all their languages. Some even wanted to test her by speaking their original native tongue from their original countries before immigrating, but to their surprise, Iris could still perfectly converse with them.