Chapter 81

Afternoon, Bahrain Resort Hotel.

Dong Zhiqiao was carefully cared for for a day and a night. He enjoyed the happiness of being taken care of by Cui Shanshan so much that he actually stayed in the wheelchair and was reluctant to stand up.

Cui Shanshan hurriedly packed his belongings, complaining non-stop, "We agreed to get up early today to take Sister Guan Guan to the airport. It's all because of you! Sister Guan Guan came all for us, how could we be so heartless!"

Dong Zhiqiao was curled up in a wheelchair with a big smile on his face, as if he had already seen the future of living together with her husband. He was happy to be nagged by her.

"Hurry up and get up! The wheelchair needs to be returned to the hotel. The driver, Brother Liu, and Brother Qin are already waiting downstairs. Hurry up!"

"I was so tired last night...you couldn't get up either! Why are you in such a hurry? My butt still hurts..." Dong Zhiqiao stood up reluctantly from the wheelchair.

At this moment, a pillow was aimed at his head and hit him.

"fraud!"

Dong Zhiqiao laughed and threw himself at her shamelessly: "Hey, Shanshan, are you stupid? Let's give Brother Zheng and your sister Guanguan some space!"

Cui Shanshan was stunned for a moment and pulled away from him a little: "You said that Mr. Zheng was against Sister Guan Guan? Is that true? But didn't he have a girlfriend before?"

Dong Zhiqiao lowered his head, reluctantly wrapping his lips around her ears and neck, panting softly, "Let's break up sooner!"

Cui Shanshan felt a tingling sensation from his breath, and she forced herself to cheer up. "How did you know? Did Xiao Zong Zheng tell you? I was just telling Sister Guan Guan yesterday. What a pity that she and Xiao Zong Zheng are not a couple."

"Needless to say, we're both men... Yesterday I deliberately dragged him into the water, making his eyes red. Whether he can seize the opportunity depends on him."

Cui Shanshan freed her hands and twisted his butt hard, causing him to clutch his buttocks in pain and leap up in anger: "Wow, you're murdering your own husband!"

“Serves you right!”

"Shanshan~ Don't be angry~" Dong Zhiqiao said shamelessly, "Are you so angry with me? Then hit me hard and make me die in pain. Anyway, my whole body and life belong to you, and I am willing to die in your hands!" As he said this, he came up to her again with a giggle.

The night before, at the Goldenrose Bar, she'd seen him fight someone and get hurt. She'd rushed over with two gold-studded camels, recklessly striking him with no restraint, and he'd known: she had him in her heart! Then, in the hospital, she'd seen him tearfully weeping, blaming herself and panicking, and that had given him even more confidence: Shanshan loved him! Knowing this, he'd naturally acted recklessly, aggressively, and shamelessly.

A good woman is afraid of a clingy man. Cui Shanshan couldn't stand it anymore and said sternly, "Dong Zhiqiao, don't push your luck. We should also calm down. Mr. Zheng helped us get a long-term order from Kassim. We need to discuss this with my uncle as soon as possible."

Dong Zhiqiao finally put away his playful smile and said, "Well, don't worry, I won't be careless about this. In fact, I already reported this to my family yesterday. Huagang has been reluctant to buy us out for a while now, and we can't just sit there and wait. If we can really carve out a second path outside, it will certainly be beneficial. My father and your uncle have no objection to this."

Then he suddenly lost confidence: "Oh, they didn't object, maybe they think I won't succeed at all."

After hearing this, Cui Shanshan lowered her head and silently gathered her luggage. She stood up and strode out. Seeing that he hadn't caught up yet, she blurted out, "Dong Zhiqiao, you will definitely succeed, because I will accompany you!"

......

At night, inside an office building in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

In order to cope with the steel anti-dumping investigation that the Saudi Foreign Trade Bureau will launch at the end of the month, several key members of Huagang Middle East Trade Overseas Branch are still working overtime in the office, preparing the relevant materials in full swing.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Zheng from Xicheng Steel has been waiting in the reception room at the door for more than an hour." The secretary walked lightly into the conference room with a cup of coffee and reminded the meeting host, Mr. Li.

Mr. Li checked the time and said, "Oh, how could I have forgotten about him? You should have come and reminded me sooner!"

The secretary felt a little aggrieved: "Just now you were on a conference call with people from a domestic law firm..."

"Oh my! These lawyers back home are even more nervous than we are!" CEO Li quickly gathered up the documents in his hands, gave a few simple instructions to his team, and hurriedly left the meeting room. As he walked, he reminded his secretary, "Go get two more cups of coffee. No sugar, a little bitter is best!"

In the reception room, Zheng Juyong had a stack of paper cups neatly stacked in front of him. He'd already drunk four or five cups of coffee before Mr. Li finally arrived. He didn't dare complain, only feel thankful that Mr. Li was still working.

"Mr. Zheng, I'm sorry, very sorry! I just had a meeting with a domestic legal team. It was originally scheduled to end in 30 minutes, but it dragged on for more than an hour. This has delayed you. I, Li, am really sorry!" Mr. Li looked tired and apologized sincerely.

"Uncle Li, I don't deserve it. I didn't make an appointment in the first place. Besides, you were so busy so late, but you still took the time to see me. I should apologize to you." Zheng Juyong stood up, stretched out his hands, and took the initiative to bend down and shake hands with Mr. Li. His attitude was humble and his words were polite.

Hearing that he wasn't complaining about the wait, and still enthusiastically addressed him as "Uncle Li," Mr. Li's eyes lit up. He took in his handsome appearance and felt a liking for him. He smiled as they shook hands. "Mr. Zheng, you're such a good-looking man! No wonder your father has been so aggressively upgrading his product line back home. With such an outstanding young man like you, your family has a bright future! Please take a seat. You're here today for family matters, right?"

Zheng Juyong took the coffee tray brought in by the secretary and handed one cup to Mr. Li first. He picked up the remaining cup himself, said thank you politely to the secretary, and then sat down.

"Uncle Li, do you know everything?"

"Alas, Mr. Zheng, you've seen how busy we've been here for a long time. How could we have known about domestic events so quickly? It was our CEO Wu who called in the evening to inquire about the progress of our response to the anti-dumping investigation and mentioned the domestic situation. That's when we learned about the huge incident at Xicheng Steel. Mr. Zheng, you can put your mind at ease. CEO Wu is well-respected in the industry. He accepted the invitation from your Jingxi District Government without hesitation and has already taken up his post at the Emergency Command Center. With him taking action, Xicheng Steel will not face any major chaos!"

"Without a word"? Didn't Mr. Wu put forward any conditions? Zheng Juyong had experienced the brunt of society and learned to listen to the hidden meaning. He thought that since Mr. Li had taken the initiative to mention Mr. Wu, it meant that they had already discussed it and must have considered the pros and cons. It was just that Mr. Li's words were clever, making it seem like he was helping someone in need rather than taking advantage of the situation.

But if he remained indifferent to the help, it would be Xicheng Steel's fault. Zheng Juyong said cautiously, "Yes, my family has also told me to thank Mr. Wu and Huagang for their help. The anti-dumping investigation is very difficult, isn't it? I just heard you mention the meeting with the domestic legal team. Didn't it go well? Although Xicheng Steel's business in Saudi Arabia is just getting started, if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know and I will do my best."

"Yes!" The other party said straightforwardly, as if he had been waiting for him to say this.

Mr. Li's impression of the "sensible" young man in front of him was even better. The situation was urgent, and there was no time for wasting time beating around the bush. Since the young man had already accepted the challenge, he got straight to the point: "Mr. Zheng is truly young and promising, and even more reasonable. He got to the point with just one sentence! The anti-dumping investigation concerns the interests of all of our Chinese steel companies in Saudi Arabia, and even the overall business image of our country's enterprises overseas. As a long-established state-owned enterprise, Huagang has an unshirkable responsibility and is determined to win. No matter how hard or busy we are, we will never give in. However, Saudi Arabia's political, commercial, cultural, and religious environment is too unique, and every aspect involved is extremely complex. Most importantly, we are under a huge time pressure. Even a top domestic legal team would be overwhelmed. We urgently need the support of international lawyers. In fact, we have already contacted a candidate we like, but..."

Having said this, Mr. Li stopped.

Zheng Juyong's back instantly broke out in a cold sweat. On the way here, he had thought of ten thousand possibilities, but he had never imagined that the key cause and effect behind this was actually Daniel! He understood everything!

"What conditions did Daniel offer you?" Zheng Juyong unconsciously clenched his fists behind his coffee cup.

Mr. Li's eyes moved slightly. This young man is really a smart man.

"He wants us to hire Manager Guan as his personal contact." Mr. Li took a sip of his bitter coffee and sighed. "Ah! From the beginning until now, he's been indifferent to any of our other offers, insisting on only this one. We asked friends in Dubai to do some research and finally learned about his relationship with Manager Guan, but the problem is they've broken up, and Manager Guan is no longer in the Middle East... Not long ago, word broke that he was helping Kassim with the lawsuit against Nangang. We happened to have some connections with Manager Xu from Nangang, and after much deliberation, we had the opportunity to meet with Manager Guan in Riyadh. Alas, I didn't want to lie to her, so I told her straight about Daniel. Manager Guan reacted strongly, refusing to agree to anything, and since that dinner, he's refused all contact from us... I guess I was too impatient back then. If I had approached her differently to invite her to join Huagang, maybe there might have been a chance."

Zheng Juyong was surprised and asked, "Manager Xu from Nangang?"

Mr. Li did not shy away from the question: "Yes, they have always wanted to sell Nangang, but they have too many non-performing assets. Huagang is currently powerless to solve their problems. Enterprises must first be able to save themselves."

Because of the trouble he had caused, she had come to Saudi Arabia and gotten herself into big trouble. It turned out that he was the culprit... Zheng Juyong drank the cold coffee in one gulp. Oh, so bitter!

Zheng Juyong still held onto a glimmer of hope: "Uncle Li, can it only be, must it be Daniel?"

President Li sighed again. "Ah... only he can pull it off! To be honest, he's more than just a lawyer. The connections and political power behind him far exceed our imaginations. If we can hire him, we'll get twice the result with half the effort. You know our biggest challenge right now is time."

Mr. Li thought he didn't know, but in fact he knew everything.

Back in Xiao Weiyan's office, he had heard about Daniel's "unimaginable" prominence; and the bruises and swellings left on his eyelids were the result of his provocation of Daniel.

Seeing Zheng Juyong's brow furrowed in confusion, President Li suggested, "I can see you're in a dilemma, Mr. Zheng. We've all heard of Manager Guan's exceptional abilities. If we hadn't heard she, like Guan Xiong, had already divested her stake in Xicheng Steel, we at Huagang wouldn't have dared to hold out! Now that she's a free agent, could Mr. Zheng persuade your father to let go? Or perhaps, using your friendship as young people, help us persuade Manager Guan directly? If she can come, we at Huagang are willing to open up a separate high-end Middle Eastern steel business and collaborate with Xicheng Steel, sharing channels. We're all Chinese companies, so we should all make money together! We'll still have Manager Guan handle the liaisons. She'll still be serving Xicheng Steel's export business, just working from a different location... Mr. Wu and I both know how much you value and care about Manager Guan, and we at Huagang are willing to make every effort to hire her!"

In order to win Guan Ying, Huagang did not hesitate to share the sales channels in the Middle East with Xicheng Steel, which shows its sincerity and attention. This is by no means a loss, but just shows that they believe that the commercial value of Guan Ying will far exceed the cost.

As private enterprises, Nangang was not favored even though it paid for it, but Xicheng Steel got the exchange benefits easily because of one person.

Talent is the most valuable thing. Daniel is not the only one who covets Guan Ying.

Keeping Guan Ying was not as easy as he imagined.