provincial capital.

The top floor of a high-end hotel.

This floor was entirely booked by Xu Yilong and used as a base for his investment company.

In the suite.

Xu Yillong sat on the sofa, eating a bowl of instant noodles seriously.

At this time, a tall man in fancy clothes, about the same age as Xu Yillong, slowly walked towards him.

Before the man even came up to him, he teased, "Hey, why is Mr. Xu eating instant noodles?"

Xu Yilong knew it was his good friend Qu Xiuwen when he heard the voice. He looked up and rolled his eyes at him, then said with a smile, "Are you tired of eating lobsters and abalone? Why don't you eat something more down-to-earth?"

Qu Xiuwen slowly sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and smiled as he watched Xu Yilong slowly eat noodles. He said, "Have you heard? The Shannan project has officially been approved. The county has established a project command center and will soon conduct bidding for each section. Should we set off for Shannan?"

He is Xu Yilong's good friend in Beijing. He has the same status as Xu Yilong, and is also the child of a ministerial leader in Yanjing. He doesn't like being an official, so he follows Xu Yilong to do business. Whenever his minister father criticizes him for not doing his job properly, he will laugh and joke that he may not be able to surpass me even if he messes around for a lifetime, so he might as well change his track and maybe he can push our Qu family to another peak.

After hearing this, his father would usually shake his head and smile helplessly, sighing as he looked at his disappointing son, then slowly walk away with his hands behind his back.

In general, his and Xu Yilong's situations at home are similar. The difference is that Xu Yilong is married with children, while Qu Xiuwen is a non-marriageist. He changes women one after another around him and has no fixed partner. He usually goes to a city, sees a woman he likes, and immediately uses his money to win her over in one day, and then leaves in style.

Xu Yilong bit off the noodles in his mouth, took out a tissue to wipe his mouth, and said seriously to Qu Xiuwen, "This is already a public matter, how could I not know? How can I do business without first-hand information! I have already discussed it with Secretary Wang, and his attitude is clear. He supports me to do the Shannan project. You see, with Secretary Wang's support, this project is in our pocket, and we don't have to worry about running away! By the way, let me ask you, is the funding in place?"

Qu Xiuwen said, "Four billion has been gradually received, and it will be all here within a week. Since you said you are well-informed, let me ask you, do you know how many rich young men in Yanjing are also eyeing this project?"

Xu Yilong was stunned for a moment. He had been looking at Hanjiang River instead of Yanjing, so he didn't know who Qu Xiuwen was referring to. But in order to maintain his authority as the boss of the company, he pretended to know everything. He smiled and asked Qu Xiuwen again, "Okay, you have made progress. Let me test you. Do you know who they are?"

Qu Xiuwen had absolute trust in Xu Yilong. Seeing Xu Yilong's calmness, he didn't realize that Xu Yilong was pretending to know. So he smiled and said, "Hey, I heard that Zhai Yuhan and his gang are also eyeing this project. I don't understand why he wants to compete with us when there are so many projects in the country? Isn't he deliberately making things difficult for us?"

Zhai Yuhan?

That playboy who is also the child of a ministerial-level leader?

Damn, why did he get involved in this mess?

If he were to interfere, it would be a very tricky matter and the bidding might even be affected.

Xu Yilong looked a little serious. After a moment's silence, he said, "Find out who he sent to do this. Zhai Yuhan is not one of us. If we start a dispute openly, I'm afraid we will have to fight with them!"

Fight?

Hearing this, Qu Xiuwen's expression also became serious.

I'm not afraid of a fight, but I'm afraid that they will fight to the point of being too fierce and let others take advantage, which would be a waste of time!

Qu Xiuwen sighed and said, "If it really doesn't work, just give him some benefits and persuade him to withdraw. If we fight, it will be disadvantageous to everyone and make those people in Beijing laugh at us."

Xu Yilong strongly disagreed with Qu Xiuwen's words. Zhai Yuhan's sudden appearance made him realize that this project was not simple.

He frowned and thought hard for a moment, then asked, "Xiu Wen, don't you feel something is wrong?"

Qu Xiuwen asked doubtfully, "What's wrong?"

Xu Yilong said slowly, "Zhai Yuhan's approach is different from ours. He is engaged in highly profitable businesses and can be said to be unscrupulous for money. But it is obvious that the Shannan project does not conform to his business principles. Why did he fight for this project?"

Qu Xiuwen hesitated for a moment, nodded as if he understood, and said, "Brother Long, are you saying that this project has a deeper path?"

Xu Yilong also couldn't understand it, and slowly shook his head and said, "I still don't understand it at the moment. But I believe in my intuition, Zhai Yuhan's purpose is definitely not as simple as doing engineering!"

Qu Xiuwen thought deeply, nodded, and said nothing more.

Xu Yilong went on to analyze, "Look, first of all, the fact that this project was suddenly settled in Shannan is very questionable. There are so many tourism renovation projects across the country, and some places even have cultural heritage that is several levels higher than Shannan. Why did the top leaders of Yanjing only approve Shannan County to implement this project and give up cultural renovation projects in other regions?"

"Moreover, it is fully funded by the central government! Hanjiang didn't spend a penny. Judging from the current trend, this 10 billion is just the initial investment. There may be another 10 billion in fiscal investment in the future... I can't figure it out, and I am getting more and more confused. Could it be that Hanjiang has an expert who can directly hear the ears of the emperor and directly persuade the top leaders to approve this project?"

Qu Xiuwen nodded silently. He was also confused. It was obvious that Shannan, a national-level poverty-stricken county, was not worthy of such huge financial support from Yanjing.

There is only one explanation now, that is, there is an expert in Hanjiang who can communicate directly with the senior officials in Yanjing.

As the rulers, Wang Jin and Zhao Yuehui would definitely not report this matter to the Yanjing high-level officials for a project that would never be approved. So apart from the two top leaders of Hanjiang, who else has this ability?

Thinking of this, the two looked at each other and suddenly felt that the Han River was unfathomable, which made them gasp and feel creepy.

Qu Xiuwen suddenly thought of something and said, "In other words, Zhai Yuhan and his team are not seeing the superficial value of the ancient city renovation project?"

Xu Yilong nodded and said, "I think so too. It is very likely that he wants to use some means to renovate the ancient city and take it completely into his own pocket... and make it his own cultural tourism project."

Qu Xiuwen shook his head in disbelief and said, "It's impossible. This is a government-funded project. Who can snatch shares from the government?"

Xu Yilong was also puzzled, but at the moment the most urgent task was to get the ancient city project, and he didn't have time to think about it too much.

He stood up and said decisively, "The man surnamed Zhai has already taken action. We can't let him seize the initiative. Let's set off now and go to Shannan!"

Qu Xiuwen nodded and agreed, "Okay, I'll make arrangements right away. What if we have a head-on conflict with them? Do you have a plan?"

Xu Yilong smiled and said confidently, "What else can I do?"

"Hit him!"