At 11 o'clock, the group arrived at the temporary command center. As soon as the business car stopped, Zhou Kai came out to greet them with a big smile on his face. The headquarters building was finally completed ahead of schedule, and the weather was sunny and perfect for the topping-out ceremony. How could Zhou Kai not be happy?

"Old Zhou, why are you so dark and thin?"

Yang Huajin took two quick steps, grasped Zhou Kai's hands, and felt a pang of heartache looking at Zhou Kai's dark and thin appearance.

Zhou Kai laughed heartily, "What do you mean by being dark and thin? I'm just working on construction sites every day, getting all sunburned. As for being a little thinner, isn't that better? I'm in much better spirits than before. Labor is the best way to toughen a person up!"

Yang Huajin gripped Zhou Kai's hands tightly, speechless. He hadn't expected the bookish Zhou Kai to now resemble a migrant worker; the strength in his handshake was noticeably greater than before.

Fang Yang and Chen Chen came up from behind, and seeing the two shaking hands and exchanging heartfelt words, they couldn't help but smile. Chen Chen stepped forward to greet Zhou Kai, "Old Zhou, I heard you're having so much fun fishing for big catches here that you don't want to leave. From today onwards, I'll stay here with you. How about we have a competition?"

Zhou Kai laughed and scolded, "You idiot, all you ever think about is this. Don't you ever go and see your headquarters? It's all renovated now and is just waiting for you to make your mark."

Chen Chen laughed and said, "No matter how busy I am with work, I can't neglect fishing, otherwise where will I get the energy to work?"

Zhou Kai waved his hand and pointed at Chen Chen twice, then said to Fang Yang, who was smiling beside him, "Xiao Yang, you've come at the right time. The weather has been fine these past two days, perfect for the topping-out ceremony. And the 6th is also an auspicious day. It's truly a blessing from heaven."

"Uncle Zhou, you've worked so hard these past few days, you didn't even get a break on New Year's Day. I'm afraid Auntie will start to complain about me."

Zhou Kai waved his hand, "It's nothing. They even came to spend the New Year's holiday with me. They were very satisfied with this place. I even took them to see the house here. They were very excited. It's much more spacious than the small house in Shanghai."

Fang Yang exclaimed in surprise, "Are all the villas here finished?"

"It's all built, but it's still very damp right now, so we can't start decorating. It will take several months to dry, and we won't be able to start decorating until at least April next year."

Zhou Kai led the group into the hotel, and the four of them went straight to Fang Yang's private room on the rooftop. The accompanying driver and two technicians were arranged by the logistics department staff.

After Zhou Kai took out his room card and opened the door, he handed the card to Fang Yang. "Now that most of the large construction vehicles have left the site, the focus of the project is on the installation of indoor water and electricity. After this snowfall, it's too cold outside, and we're afraid that it will cause frozen ground. So the construction of the canteen and the school has been temporarily suspended and will resume next spring. I don't think it will have much of an impact, so I agreed."

Fang Yang nodded. The weather is too cold now. If workers work outside, their limbs are stiff, and working at heights can easily lead to danger. It would be a safer solution to centralize water and electricity supply for the headquarters and employee dormitories.

Zhou Kai had obviously turned on the heating beforehand, so the whole room was warm as soon as they entered. Although the weather was sunny, the north wind was still biting outside. As soon as they entered, everyone took off their coats to keep warm and sat around the coffee table.

Seeing that the tea set had just been cleaned, Fang Yang pressed the button to start boiling water. The good thing about setting up the temporary command post in the hotel was that the rooms were cleaned every day, so he didn't have to worry about it too much.

"If we're talking about topping out, is it something you can do yourself, or are there any events or activities involved? Are there any things I should be aware of?"

Fang Yangren isn't at West Lake and isn't very clear about the arrangements here, so it's still necessary to confirm with Zhou Kai to avoid making a fool of oneself later.

"What's confirmed now is that the general manager of the construction company's headquarters will be coming, and Secretary Ouyang of Xihu will also be in attendance, along with leaders from various government departments. It's going to be quite a big event, and you'll need to give a speech on stage, so you'll need to prepare a speech."

The water was gurgling as Zhou Kai picked up the kettle to wash a large pile of cups, while Fang Yang brought over the tea leaves. After Zhou Kai washed the cups, Fang Yang put the tea leaves into the teapot, took the kettle from Zhou Kai, and started brewing tea.

"They've really gone all out this time. I bet there are even reporters there. Are they expecting us to be in charge of providing Chinese food?"

In the past, Ouyang Ming was always in charge of receiving guests, but this time is a little different, which is why Fang Yang asked this question. Government work is quite serious, and the schedule is full, so this needs to be confirmed in advance.

"Secretary Ouyang's secretary has already spoken to us about this. He said that Secretary Ouyang's schedule is a bit tight and he can only stay here for a maximum of one hour, so we don't need to make any arrangements. Also, the construction company said that the general manager from headquarters will be coming over, and they will arrange lunch for him."

Fang Yang frowned and said, "We are the client, so we should be the ones to arrange this banquet. It's a bit unreasonable for the construction company to arrange it, isn't it?"

Zhou Kai laughed and said, "That's what I said too. What's the big deal about having a meal? So I rejected it. The construction company hasn't given me a reply yet, but I think they should be able to give me a formal reply this afternoon. Besides, I've already booked the banquet, just in case they cause any trouble later."

Chen Chen said, "Perhaps it's to thank our company for giving us such a large project, and for not delaying payment at all. There aren't many high-quality projects like this!"

Fang Yang shook his head, "There's no need for that. We're just following the contract. There's no need for this. Besides, what's the big deal about a meal? We'll still treat them. This is the final banquet, not some other kind of banquet. We should still be mindful of the proper etiquette!"

Fang Yang didn't want to take advantage of this small thing. It was just a meal. If you take advantage of someone, it won't be good if they make demands later and you refuse. Things that can be solved with money should be solved with money.

Zhou Kai nodded in agreement, "That's what I think too. It's possible that the other party is just being polite. We can't take it seriously. They are a well-known construction company. Do they not even know this basic etiquette? If we believe them, we'll make a fool of ourselves and both of us will feel bad."

Chen Chen patted Zhou Kai on the shoulder, "I didn't expect you, you bookworm, to think of these things now. You've improved! Your wife will be very surprised when we get back."

Zhou Kai rolled his eyes at Chen Chen. "You're so troublesome. The things you say make people want to punch you. I wonder if you can even win a fight."

Yang Huajin and Fang Yang chuckled. The two hadn't seen each other for almost a year, and they started bickering as soon as they met. It was only because they had a good relationship that they greeted each other in such a unique way.