Billionaire Biker Boy
Chapter 37 - Mahachai
On Wednesday morning, the new employee, dressed in a muted green polo shirt, long jeans, and stylish sneakers, walked out with a backpack slung over his shoulder.
He didn't bring his helmet along because the person picking him up had just messaged to say they'd be driving a small sports car today.
"Why are you driving a car today?" Samut asked as he settled into the car.
Wonchana hesitated for a moment before replying somewhat reluctantly, "I'm heading to the factory."
Samut didn't think much of it since he wasn't aware that, usually, when Wonchana went out for work, he used the company car with a driver. Because they were using a car today, the two of them arrived at the building twenty minutes later than usual.
"P'Win, walk faster, or we'll be late!" Samut urged after they'd finished buying drinks.
"No need to rush. No one would dare scold you," Wonchana replied calmly.
The smaller man glared and pouted after hearing that. "Mr Vice President, you're abusing authority again!"
The vice president chuckled before teasing, "Even the law has exceptions... and you're my exception for everything." The Exception's fair cheeks flushed red. Samut didn't know how to respond, so he huffed and stomped off, swinging the bag of shumai and steamed buns as he headed straight for the elevator...leaving the one who referred to him as the exception to follow behind, carrying two cups and laughing fondly.
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At a corner table in a restaurant not far from the Atcharangkul Building, a young man and woman were having breakfast together. The man was the first to speak.
"I transferred the 20,000 baht I borrowed. Did you get the notification?"
"I saw it. Where did you get the money from?" Nittaya asked, still pondering the new employee's words.
"I took a side job managing accounts for a relative's company. They gave me some pocket money for it."
"So now you've spent money helping that new guy for free, huh?"
"Yeah, think of it as repaying a debt of gratitude," Sirichok replied dismissively.
"Can I ask what kind of gratitude? Because from what I see, he seems to have enough money," Nittaya questioned.
Sirichok sighed theatrically before elaborating, "Back when I was studying there, he helped me out a lot-food, studies, everything. During that time, my family was going through some troubles, and he was the one who took care of me. He treated me to meals, lent me money, and even paid for my trip back to Bangkok. And as I said, he liked me. When he insisted on coming to work here, his family cut him off financially, so he didn't have the money to pay for it."
"But honestly, if you didn't like guys, you should've turned him down from the start. That way, no one would've been uncomfortable," Nittaya commented.
"I didn't think of that. I was too considerate of him. Back then, I wasn't familiar with the local language, and when I met O, who could speak Central Thai, I ended up sticking with him by default. I was like a lone wolf, so I didn't have the heart to reject his kindness," Sirichok admitted.
"I see," Nittaya mused.
Both sides seemed to have valid points. If she wanted to know the truth, she'd have to ask someone in HR if money was involved in hiring the new employee. But she didn't know who Sirichok had contacted, and pressing him further might anger him if his story were true. As for having a boyfriend, how could she confirm it?
Although Sirichok was several years younger than her, he seemed responsible. His efforts to get close to her parents were proof of his sincerity. And if he really liked men, he'd probably have been dating that guy by now. Why would that kid lie to her? Was he upset that Oat didn't want to date him? Or was he trying to cover up his relationship with the vice president to maintain a clean image?
...Whatever, one day, we'll see who lied.
The woman sighed quietly and returned to her meal. Meanwhile, Sirichok, who had used Nittaya's money to buy something he wanted, noticed her mood seemed off. He made a quick decision.
"How about a movie tonight? My treat," he offered. Nittaya looked up and smiled, her irritation seemingly fading. "Sure, the movie I wanted to see is out today."
Sirichok returned her smile brightly.
…….I'll need to seal the deal soon.
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"Is there a company car to the factory every day?" Samut asked Wanna after settling into the company's multipurpose van.
"Not every day, but almost. There are always documents that need to be picked up and delivered. Back when we hadn't moved into this building, we had to go to the factory daily for inspections. But as the company grew and moved here, they separated the procurement and inspection roles to prevent collusion. Inspectors are now stationed at the factory to check incoming goods and send the data to us for documentation and financial processing. Still, we're required to visit at least twice a month for observation," Wanna explained.
"Oh, I see. But if there's already a company car, why did they ask during the interview if I could drive?"
"Probably out of habit. Back then, we had to drive ourselves and claim fuel expenses later. Nowadays, only salespeople still drive their own cars to meet clients and claim fuel costs."
Wanna laughed at his curiosity before asking something that had been on her mind.
“So why did you apply to work here when your family has its own business?"
"Hehe, I... wanted to stick with my friend. Oat is my closest friend. Plus, I wanted to gain some experience. Even though my family tried to stop me," Samut admitted, pouting. “At first, my brother wanted to put me to work in the family business. But no way! If I'd agreed, I'd never have left Hat Yai to experience this kind of civilisation. And I wouldn't have met P'Win either”.
Wanna laughed, and the two continued chatting until the driver exited the expressway onto Rama ll Road, where traffic immediately became congested.
"Why's the traffic so bad?" The Hat Yai native stared out the window in confusion.
"Sigh... Do you know how long this road's been under construction?" Wanna asked.
"No, I don't."
"Let's just say I've seen them working on it since I was born. It's so infamous, they call it the 'Seven Generations Road.' Honestly, I'm not sure what'll happen first, this road being finished or Detective Conan ending."
Samut’s wide eyes grew even rounder in shock,
considering Wanna was over forty years old. “The Tinsulanonda Bridge in Songkhla only took four years to build. Hahaha, but I wasn't born yet when they built it. My mom told me about it," Samut said.
"Sigh, I don't know the real reason why it's never finished. If I'm being optimistic, it's because of the heavy truck traffic and the soft soil in this area, which causes the road to deteriorate quickly, requiring constant repairs and expansions. But if I'm being pessimistic... well, let's just say someone's probably getting some money out of it," Wanna replied.
"That's terrible. It wastes so many resources, and transportation costs keep rising. It's all added expenses," the young logistics heir complained.
By the time they reached Mahachai, the traffic had eased slightly, and when they arrived at the factory, Samut saw several pickup trucks unloading ice-covered fish crates. Workers were bustling about, unloading the fish. Wanna led Samut to put on a protective suit, hairnet, and boots before taking him to observe the process, from unloading the fish, weighing them, and moving them into the factory, to washing and trimming in the pungent-smelling processing area.
"Are all these sardines?" the curious young man asked.
"Not all of them. Honestly, sardines are pretty rare nowadays. Most of these are related species, such as mackerel scad, Indian mackerel, longtail tuna, and bigeye scad. We don't use hard-flesh fish like true mackerels," Wanna explained.
Samut watched the hundreds of workers skillfully trimming the fish with cleavers and asked, "How do you know if a fish is bad?"
"Oh, they can tell just by touch. If they're unsure, they'll sniff it. But most of the time, the bad ones are fish that are too damaged to use. It's rare, so we don't claim it with the supplier-it's just considered waste," Wanna replied.
Samut followed Wanna attentively, observing only the parts relevant to his role. They didn't go through every step of the process, such as canning.
By a little past eleven, the two were preparing to head back to the company. As they walked out to the van waiting for them, a tiny grey sports car—the same one Samut had ridden in that morning-sped into the factory. The smaller man could only stand there, wide-eyed in shock.
...Huh? So, the factory he mentioned is this one?
The driver, the car's owner, stepped out wearing sunglasses, exuding a cool aura. But no one would've guessed how worried Wonchana had been about missing Samut.
Last night, the new employee had suddenly informed him that he'd be visiting the factory this morning. Wonchana had planned to drop him off but had been delayed by a mountain of urgent work for Katewadee, which took over an hour to clear. And the traffic on Rama lI Road was insane. This was the first time in the vice president of Atcharangkul's life that he had technically been slacking off at work.
....No, not slacking. I'm here for work.
"Oh, O, you're not heading back yet?"
Wonchana walked straight over and asked with an innocent look. Samut, still startled by the sudden appearance of his boss—who also happened to be his soon-to-be boyfriend— stammered out, "N-Not yet. I'm about to head back. P'Wi...I mean, Mr Vice President, how did you get here?"
"I drove," the man who had sped over grinned, adding a playful eyebrow raise. "Thought I'd come check on the machinery."
Seeing the employee who held his heart still looking confused, he quickly took charge.
"Here's the deal. Since you haven't passed probation yet, you probably haven't had a proper factory tour, right? I'll give you one myself. And then I'll treat you to lunch around here...You too, Wanna. My treat for both of you."
Wonchana turned to Wanna, Samut’s senior, who met his sharp gaze and swallowed nervously. Considering the sweet dessert feeding photos she'd seen on Facebook last night...
...Aren't I going to be the third wheel?
And with a car that small, if she joined, she'd either die of discomfort or choke on the sweetness and end up needing a diabetes checkup.
...A single woman like me isn't ready to die of diabetes just yet.
"Uh, well, I need to rush back to handle some documents. But O is free. O, you can go with Mr Vice President. I'll let P'Pu know," Wanna said, gently nudging Samut toward their boss, who looked quite pleased.
"Sardina is lucky to have such a diligent and hardworking employee like you. No wonder the company's bonuses increase every year. Thank you very much," Wonchana praised with a smile.
Wanna returned the smile before excusing herself to her car, leaving Samut standing there, utterly baffled.
...What is going on here?
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Wonchana gently guided the still-confused Samut into the office area first. The factory manager came to greet them at once, looking slightly startled since the vice president had never shown up unannounced before.
"Did you receive the circular about the machinery?" Wonchana asked the manager.
Jittree had informed him earlier that morning that the email had been sent to all factory managers the previous evening.
"Yes, I did, sir. I just sent the documents with the truck heading to the company a little while ago," the manager replied.
"Alright, no problem. I'll just take a look around the site," Wonchana said.
Samut once again suited up in standard factory attire and followed his honorary guide, who led him through the production process, explaining every step. This time, the new employee got to see what happened after the fish were trimmed. They were cleaned again, placed into pre-cleaned cans by hand, and then steamed at high heat until fully cooked. The cans were then moved along a conveyor belt to be filled with rich, seasoned sauce by machines, sealed, and sterilised with high heat once more.
After leaving the food production zone, they reached the area where workers were packing canned fish into cardboard boxes. The vice president turned to the manager and asked,
"Any production issues lately? Any signs of trouble with the machinery?"
"None at all, sir. Everything's running smoothly," the manager replied.
"Which company supplied the machinery?" Wonchana asked.
With over ten companies in the group, he couldn't remember which factory used which supplier.
"Thep Amorn Engineering, sir," the manager answered.
"Hmm." Wonchana picked up two cans of fish prepared for shipment, held them up for the manager to see, and said in a firm tone, "
...Deduct these from the batch for random inspection."
...That isn't even a suggestion-it's an order.
But what truly shocked the manager wasn't the command. It was when the vice president handed one of the cans to the small employee standing nearby and spoke in a voice that had softened by 200 per cent.
"A souvenir from your factory tour."
Samut thanked him with a beaming smile, his eyes crinkling with delight, and then blurted out without thinking, "P’Win, do you have an instant noodle factory?"
"No, why?" Wonchana asked, puzzled. The gluttonous one replied sheepishly, "Well... canned fish with instant noodles is super delicious."
That answer made the canned fish factory owner laugh so heartily that everyone around turned to look.
...Mr Vice President's laugh is ridiculously hot!
"Even though I don't have a factory, I can still buy it for you. Though I'd prefer it if you didn't eat too much MSG," Wonchana said.
"Oh, I don't eat it often. Every time I do, my brother scolds me... You two really are cut from the same cloth," Samut scrunched his nose.
Afterwards, the manager led them to the machinery maintenance area. By the time they left the factory and removed their protective gear, Samut was still buzzing with excitement.
"That was so cool! I never knew canned fish was made like that. I always thought they stewed the fish with the sauce until it was tender before canning it," Samut said.
"That method would be much more complicated. This way, the fish becomes tender too, but it's faster and also sterilises it, allowing it to be stored for up to three years," Wonchana explained.
"Does Kingfish do it the same way?" the travel-loving Samut asked, hoping for another factory tour.
"Hmm, not quite. Their process is more complex because they use frozen tuna. It requires thawing, trimming, cooking the whole fish once, trimming again, removing the bones, scraping off the blood, and leaving only the white meat. It's very labour-intensive... How about I take you on a tour there? You'll get a clearer picture."
"Sure! Where is it?" The prospect of free canned tuna thrilled Samut.
"Phetchaburi. If we go, we'll probably need to stay overnight," Wonchana said.
"Can't we do a day trip?" Samut tilted his head.
"We could, but traffic's gotten worse these days. Just driving back and forth takes seven to eight hours, leaving little time to explore. But if we stay overnight, I can take you to Hua Hin. There's so much to see and eat there. Even one night mightn't be enough to see it all," Wonchana added, his tone full of temptation. The tempted one wasn't entirely oblivious this time. Samut had regained his composure.
...Come on, Ocean, be brave. How bad could it be?
The bold Hat Yai native confidently declared, "Overnight's fine! But only after I eat the omakase that costs ten thousand baht first. Deal?"
....Not too bad, just got cheeks a little warm.
That answer made the tempter grin widely.
"If you're okay, then I'm okay," Wonchana replied.