"These two guys don't look right to me," the fat man said, frowning as he looked down from the elevator. He couldn't help but think of the bodyguard next to his grandfather; that man was a first-rate fighter. These three men gave him a similar feeling—very dangerous.
Zhang Guodong was somewhat surprised by the fat man's ability to sense danger. These three people were indeed very dangerous to ordinary people.
"They are not ordinary people, they are certainly extraordinary!" Zhang Guodong said solemnly. In his heart, however, he was thinking, "These three are actually low-level plant cultivators! The one carrying the box is a level five plant cultivator, and the other two are level four."
But Zhang Guodong was quite surprised to see him here.
Given Earth's extremely scarce spiritual energy, even if someone took an Earthling as a disciple, it wouldn't be possible for them to improve their cultivation so quickly. Keep in mind, Zhang Guodong's cultivation increased dramatically thanks to the Peach Blossom Spring Space—three thousand times the amount of spiritual energy! Surely that's impossible to find on Earth, right?
Of course, there are other ways to gather abundant spiritual energy or life force. For example, by stimulating a large number of crystals under the influence of a spirit-gathering array, the cultivator can directly absorb them and quickly improve their cultivation level in a short period of time. However, this consumes and wastes a significant amount of crystals.
If these three Lu were to improve their cultivation using this method, they would need to spend at least three thousand low-grade crystals! This amount is not insignificant for cultivating low-level plant cultivators.
"You know?" the fat man asked in surprise. It seemed Zhang Guodong knew the other party's background? This surprised the fat man somewhat about his understanding of Zhang Guodong.
Zhang Guodong didn't deny it, nodded, and said, "We'll talk about it later, we've arrived!"
The elevator doors opened, and a sexy waitress in a cheongsam, showing off her legs, was already waiting: "Welcome!"
"What kind of person is this Secretary Wang that made the three of us wait so long?" Inside the private room, Chen Hongxiao checked the time and said with some displeasure. "Old Chu, is Secretary Wang not going to cancel his visit?"
Chu Xiaoming's eyes flashed, and he smiled slightly, saying, "Don't worry, perhaps something has held him up. This Secretary Wang is a good person. Since he promised, he'll definitely come."
"That's good. Old Chu, is Secretary Wang really only twenty-six or twenty-seven years old? A deputy-division-level leader?" Chen Hongxiao said.
"They must have a powerful background, right?" Li Zhimin guessed.
The two looked at Chu Xiaoming, but he neither shook his head nor nodded; he simply smiled slightly and said, "He is the district chief's former secretary."
“No wonder,” Chen Hongxiao shook his head and said, “But even if the district chief and former secretary district secretary would agree? Too young, too young!”
Hearing this, Chu Xiaoming was also a little confused.
Could this young Wang have some other background? But then he remembered the difficult process of the Standing Committee's appointment, and he dismissed the idea. The fat man almost failed to pass the appointment process for that township head; it was a very close call!
"Knock knock knock!" Someone knocked on the door of the private room.
"You're here?"
Upon opening the door, they found not a young man, but a middle-aged man, whom Chen Hongxiao and Li Zhimin did not recognize. The middle-aged man's face lit up with a smile as soon as he saw Chu Xiaoming: "I thought I had mistaken you for someone else! It's Minister Chu! I've only come to offer a toast; please feel free to make yourself at home, Minister Chu!"
There was only tea on the table, no wine. But the visitor didn't seem to care. His tone was humble, with a hint of obsequiousness. (Note: The last sentence appears to be an unrelated fragment and has been omitted from the translation.)
"Oh, it's Old Xing. Shall I have a seat?" Chu Xiaoming didn't even get up, just smiled slightly and nodded. This showed the demeanor of a superior.
Xing Jun, the latter, who was a deputy director of the district transportation bureau, had no dissatisfaction with Chu Xiaoming's attitude; on the contrary, he felt it was very suitable.
"Minister Chu, I was having drinks with some friends just now, and I didn't dare to disturb you. I'll be leaving now, but please do me the honor of treating me to this meal!" Xing Jun wasn't stupid. Seeing Chu Xiaoming's posture, it seemed he was waiting for someone, so he naturally couldn't be so tactless as to sit down.
He was just thinking to himself. The person making Minister Chu wait must be a city-level leader, right? Unfortunately, for a deputy bureau chief like him, city-level leaders were too far removed from his reach.
Of course, he overlooked the fact that if Chu Xiaoming was waiting for city-level leaders, he wouldn't be waiting in the private room; he would have gone downstairs to the hotel entrance long ago.
"It's Secretary Wang!" Xing Jun had only just come out when he saw three young men heading towards Minister Chu's private room. One of them looked somewhat familiar. Suddenly, he remembered.
Wang Kang, while serving as Luo Jianhui's secretary, had extensive dealings with the heads of various departments and bureaus. Xing Jun, of course, had met him. He was also somewhat envious of the fat man's rapid promotion.
Township party secretaries and township heads hold all the power, and their positions are higher and more powerful than one's own! Having someone backing you makes being an official so easy.
Could it be that Minister Chu is waiting for Secretary Wang? That's too far-fetched! Could it be that Secretary Wang has some other background? Otherwise, why would he make Chu Xiaoming wait? Let's go. Chu Xiaoming waiting for Wang Kang in the private room seems to really fit the scenario that Wang Kang has a powerful background.
This is a huge discovery!
As soon as the fat man arrived in the private room, he immediately apologized to Chu Xiaoming: "Minister Chu, I'm so sorry, there was a car accident on the way, which blocked the road. I'm late!"
Chu Xiaoming asked with concern, "Oh? Is everything alright?"
The fat man immediately recounted the incident, and Chu Xiaoming said seriously, "These dump trucks really need to be properly regulated!"
That's true. However, the traffic police force in the district is extremely weak because there are several traffic police brigades in the city, and the tasks and powers of the traffic police are all in the hands of the city traffic police brigade. The district can't manage it even if it wants to.
After speaking, Chu Xiaoming looked at Zhang Guodong. He smiled slightly and said, "This must be Zhang Guodong, right? Come, Secretary Wang, please have a seat!"
There's no place for Xiao Liu here, so after he made a brief appearance, he set up a tea room in a corner... Wow, this hotel is quite well-equipped.
"Let me introduce you. This is General Manager Chen Hongxiao, and this is General Manager Li Zhimin. Both General Manager Chen and General Manager Li are private entrepreneurs, mainly engaged in fruit and vegetable processing. These two are Comrade Wang Kang, the Party Secretary and Mayor of Zhangba Township. This is his classmate Zhang Guodong, who is also the owner of Green Treasure Pavilion." Chu Xiaoming acted as the introducer, introducing them to each other.
"I've long admired Secretary Wang's name. I've heard that a very capable young secretary has emerged in the district, but it's a pity I've never had the chance to visit him!" Chen Hongxiao said, shaking hands with the fat man.
"President Chen, you flatter me too much. I've been walking on thin ice, trembling with fear. It's all thanks to the organization's trust!" the fat man said with a smile.
“Old Chen is right. Secretary Wang is too modest. His future is absolutely limitless! I hope to have more exchanges with Secretary Wang in the future.” A hint of surprise flashed in Li Zhimin’s eyes. This young Secretary Wang was very calm and did not show any joy at the flattery.
"Definitely, definitely. We also hope that President Chen and President Li can invest in Zhangba Township. Zhangba Township may not have much else, but it does have a good investment environment. Our township is preparing to submit a report to the district to build a green township, and the investment for this project is not small." The fat man dropped a bombshell.
This caught the eye of Chen Hongxiao and Li Zhimin. Government policy directions and development plans always imply business opportunities. The profit-driven nature of businessmen remains unchanged. Therefore, this gimmick was very tempting to them.
"Please sit down!" Chu Xiaoming said, slightly surprised.
After exchanging pleasantries and compliments, Chen Hongxiao took it upon himself to have the waiters serve wine and dishes, and finally everyone was present.
After entering, Zhang Guodong shook hands with the other person briefly and then released the hand, not wanting to say a single word. When the other person mentioned Green Treasure Pavilion, Zhang Guodong knew that today's events were roughly as he had guessed.
The fruit and vegetable processing industry could also be linked to Green Treasure House. However, Green Treasure House is no longer open. These people are quite resourceful; they actually managed to find it.
"Zhangba Township is doing a very good job now. I've heard Secretary Lin and District Chief Luo mention it many times. The environment in Zhangba Township has changed dramatically. The integration of township enterprises is also progressing well, and the morale of the cadres has improved significantly. It seems that the organization's decision to appoint you was appropriate. Neither economic construction nor spiritual civilization construction has been neglected! However, if the township economy is to improve and develop, this alone is not enough. We must attract investment, and this aspect of work must also be emphasized!" Chu Xiaoming spoke in an official tone, but he basically hit the nail on the head regarding the fat man's next stage of government work: attracting investment.
The fat man was a smart man and understood the meaning behind Chu Xiaoming's words. He quickly and solemnly stated, "Minister Chu, our township's focus at this stage is attracting investment, but we still need the leadership's support in this regard."
"You little Wang, you've learned to take advantage of people!" Chu Xiaoming laughed immediately. He was quite satisfied with the fat man's ability to read the room; he seemed much more pleasing to the eye than before.
"You've asked the wrong person about investment promotion. You should ask wealthy business owners like Mr. Chen and Mr. Li!"
After some polite conversation, Chen Hongxiao and Li Zhimin expressed their intention to invest three million yuan to establish a semi-finished vegetable and fruit processing plant. However, when the specifics were discussed, they evaded the question, seemingly unwilling to commit until they saw tangible results.
"Mr. Zhang, I heard that you used to run a Green Treasure Pavilion, and business was booming. It's such a pity that you're not opening it now!" Chen Hongxiao noticed that Zhang Guodong was eating his food, seemingly oblivious to everyone else. Finally, he couldn't help but bring up today's topic.
After he said that, everyone else quieted down.
Zhang Guodong calmly put down his chopsticks, surprised, and said, "I didn't expect Mr. Chen to know about my shop?"
"Business is tough. We can't do big business, but small business is hard to do. Green Treasure Pavilion was open for a while, but we couldn't solve the problem of supplying goods, so we eventually closed down," Zhang Guodong said with a regretful expression.
The fat man couldn't help but twitch his face twice. The supply of goods was hard to secure? That was blatant lying; the supply to Jiahao Hotel was still as usual. He knew Zhang Guodong was probably playing a trick on him.
I couldn't help but feel a little worried. Chu Xiaoming was also there; if I couldn't save face, I would offend people for no reason.
"Excuse me, what do you mean by 'difficult to resolve'?" Li Zhimin interjected. That's exactly what they came for. Mainly to inquire about the source of the goods! [This website's address has been changed to: [website address - likely a placeholder for a URL]]
"The supplier has disappeared! That bastard! He swindled me out of 200,000 yuan and ran away!" Zhang Guodong cursed. Chu Xiaoming frowned. He was somewhat displeased; what kind of person was this?
"Run away with the money?" Everyone stared at each other in disbelief. It seemed too incredible, and they were very skeptical of the veracity of the claim.
“Mr. Zhang, isn’t that a bit much? Sacrificing a big business for a small amount of money?” Chen Hongxiao frowned and said.
“Who says otherwise? Later we found out that this bastard was a fugitive, someone who caused death. He had no choice but to run!” Zhang Guodong nodded vigorously, swearing profusely. “I know what President Chen and President Li mean. Do you two think I'd rather not make money? To be honest, I made a few hundred thousand in the green vegetable business over those few months. It's a pity, if I had a source of goods, I could have made even more!”
"However, there's a slight improvement in the green business plan," Zhang Guodong said with a modest smile, revealing a little secret that sparked much speculation.
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