Chapter 163 of "New Urban Farmers" (1o118): Dressing Up for the Party! (First Update)
"Mr. Zhang, more and more government officials are contacting you these days. I'm so ashamed. What should I do?" Liu Neng complained directly after getting through on the phone.
When Zhang Guodong received the call from the old man, he had just finished talking with Li Daolin at the Standing Committee Villa No. 5 and was about to call Liu Neng to finalize the matter when Liu Neng called first.
Zhang Guodong frowned. This old guy couldn't hold up the load at a crucial moment!
"Have all the jade merchants come to your company tomorrow at noon. I will be there tomorrow at noon, but the government officials are exempt. Also, Mayor Li will be there at that time. Just so you know. You can arrange all of this. That's all!" Zhang Guodong said.
"I'll get on with it right away!" Liu Neng said with a sigh of relief.
Zhang Guodong hung up the phone and couldn't help but shake his head. How did this matter escalate to such a huge level? It's unimaginable that simply acquiring jade and slag could cause such a sensation.
Li Daolin looked at Zhang Guodong and chuckled, "These people in these departments are quick on their feet!"
Zhang Guodong retorted, "It's not that we're slow; it's that we overextend ourselves!"
Li Daolin was slightly embarrassed; that's how things are in officialdom—when a good opportunity arises, no one wants to let it slip by. Zhang Guodong, not being an official, naturally spoke without any politeness.
After staying at Villa No. 5 for a while, Zhang Guodong and Zheng took the opportunity to say goodbye.
In the afternoon, they picked up several large sets of wedding photos and returned to Xinyuan Community.
Looking at her own happy smile in the wedding photos, Zheng Le blushed and picked up this and that, admiring them all with obvious delight.
Finally, they chose a large one to hang above the headboard of their bedroom bed.
Hang a few small ones in places like the living room or study.
"Guodong, I'm so happy today!" Zheng Le, barefoot, rushed into Zhang Guodong's arms after hanging up the last wedding photo and said excitedly and emotionally.
"As long as you're happy!" Zhang Guodong said affectionately. "I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you tomorrow and the day after. I have to meet with these businessmen from all over the country. You can go to your sister-in-law's shop and see if there are any clothes you like."
"Okay, you go ahead and do your shopping. I really want to spend all your money!" Zheng Le said playfully.
The money refers to the more than 500,000 yuan in cash on that million-yuan card. Zheng Le didn't say anything, and Zhang Guodong didn't know if it had been used up.
"Go ahead and spend the money if you like, I'm afraid you'll be reluctant. Alternatively, you can also purchase the car online. We'll pick it up as soon as we're done with our business!" Zhang Guodong kissed her forehead and smiled.
He knew that Zheng Le was actually very frugal and not a shopaholic.
Overjoyed, Zheng Le prepared dinner herself, without asking Zhang Guodong for help. She did everything herself – buying groceries, washing vegetables, cooking rice, and stir-frying. However, the food didn't taste as good as hers, and she couldn't quite get the seasoning right. Only one thing she did well: fried eggs.
Zhang Guodong forced himself to eat, sighing inwardly. It seemed the prettier the woman, the worse her cooking was? But it made sense; her job kept her very busy every day. If Zheng's parents took care of all the cooking, how could she possibly lift a finger?
The next day, Zhang Guodong and Zheng Le got up very early. They had called their sister-in-law the night before. Their sister-in-law was very happy. After breakfast, which Zhang Guodong had prepared, Zheng Le was taken to her shop. Perhaps with such a beautiful woman in the shop, business would be much better?
After seeing Zheng Le and Zhang Guodong off, they immediately went to Taoyuan to practice boxing – an essential part of the day.
At 10 a.m., Zhang Guodong took a shower, changed his clothes, and left the residential area.
However, Zhang Guodong went to a beauty salon first to change his clothes. But it seemed that men's beauty salons were hard to find, while women's beauty salons were more common.
Zhang Guodong found a beautician who recommended a professional makeup artist to him. Zhang Guodong's request was to make him look older, ideally with a completely different appearance. The makeup artist, unsurprised, readily agreed to his request.
Zhang Guodong, however, was quite skeptical about whether these makeup artists could actually do it. After all, a complete makeover wouldn't be much easier than simply concealing the true appearance.
As Zhang Guodong walked out of the beauty salon, he remarked that there were all sorts of people there. He was wearing black-framed brown glasses, which were actually flat lenses. The makeup artist had applied color to his face, then created artificial wrinkles around his eyes and frown lines on his forehead, making him look twenty years older in an instant. However, he appeared much more prosperous, with a mustache and even a barely visible mole on his chin.
It's fair to say that unless someone very close to Zhang Guodong observes him up close, no one would recognize him as Zhang Guodong.
And all that makeup can be easily washed off with hot water when you get home, it's very convenient.
"Speaking with a provincial capital accent, the image is completely different!" Zhang Guodong was quite satisfied with the makeup. Although it cost a thousand yuan, it finally solved his problem of his real face.
The meeting was held at Liu Neng's Liu's Foreign Trade Company conference center. Around noon, various groups arrived early, prompting many passersby to wonder: what was the purpose of all these luxury cars gathered here?
Basically, everyone invited by Liu Neng came. There were also some people who arrived unannounced, but Liu Neng turned them all away. Not to mention them, even government officials, Liu Neng refused them all.
The pretext was that Li Fengchang was preparing to meet with these businessmen.
The government officials naturally went to Zhang Guodong, while Mayor Li came for the businessmen. It wasn't really a conflict. However, with Li Daolin's arrival, the officials finally behaved themselves.
They reported to their respective superiors for instructions. However, upon hearing that Mayor Li was planning to meet with those businessmen, the higher-ups rescinded their plans after a moment's thought.
Clearly, so many departments are vying for the same position. If Li Daolin finds out, he'll likely face dire consequences. The fact that Li Daolin rejected the appointment of a district party secretary has already caused quite a stir among many people.
Liu's Foreign Trade Company. The bathhouse is quite large. Although the initial intention of the renovation was to enhance appearances… a secret will come in handy today. Hundreds of people have gathered here, all with female companions. Champagne, red wine, fruit, and desserts are served; it's very lively here.
Liu Neng hurriedly checked the time at the door. Why hadn't Boss Zhang arrived yet? And where was Mayor Li?
I wonder if the two appeared together or one after the other?
"When will Mr. Liu and Mr. Zhang arrive? We can't keep everyone waiting, can we?" a jade merchant from Yunnan asked.
"That's right, even though Mr. Zhang's business is quite large, everyone here is racing against the clock!"
"What kind of person is Mr. Zhang, the boss of Mr. Liu's company? How come I've never heard of him before?"
Which of these jade merchants isn't worth tens of millions? Many are worth hundreds of millions. But this time, in order to find out the use of jade scraps, they all came here by chance.
The businessman's intuition told him that perhaps these jade slags concealed some secret? Or perhaps there really was some technology that could refine jade?
But that seems impossible. The purchase price of jade slag is already over 400 per kilogram. This price is already high. If it is refined further, wouldn't it be more expensive than real jade?
This is clearly unreasonable!
Zhang Guodong's acquaintances appeared in the crowd. Li Ningguang, Li Hongbo, Wei Yunwang, and Zhu Er had also joined in. However, this wasn't their territory; if they were ordinary people, they probably wouldn't even make a dent in the crowd.
The last time Wei Yunliu, Li Hongbo, and Zhu Er lost the "Hundred Herbs Cauldron" worth hundreds of millions of US dollars, they were greatly weakened, and Wei Yunliu was even more furious.
However, he didn't invest his own money last time, only holding a nominal share, so it was alright. But the others weren't so lucky; after this experience, they all withdrew and stopped cooperating with Weiyun.com.
Although they valued Wei Dashao's father's status as a Standing Committee member and deputy mayor, each of them suffered losses exceeding 100 million. They had already exceeded the limits of their potential investment and the damage was severe.
"This boss certainly has some nerve, making so many people wait around," Li Hongbo said sarcastically, listening to the crowd's speculation. "Young Master Wei, did we come here empty-handed?"
“His airs are at least more impressive than yours!” Li Ning said with a sinister smile.
The two don't get along and mostly engage in sarcastic remarks and insults, launching verbal battles whenever they have the chance. This seems quite normal. However, this time, their gathering was primarily led by Wei Yunwang.
"Hmph!" Li Hongbo snorted coldly, glanced at the somewhat impatient Wei Yunwang, and wisely kept quiet.
His cowardly demeanor last time didn't leave a good impression on Young Master Wei, so now it's time to make up for it.
"Li Daolin has arrived!" Wei Yungang said calmly.
The noise from the doorway fell silent.
Upon seeing Li Daolin, Liu Neng immediately strode over to greet him. Those around him all heard, "Welcome, Mayor Li."
"This is Li Daolin, the newly appointed deputy mayor of Chuandu City!"
"Executive Vice Mayor?"
Everyone was astonished when these people went solo. They'd never expected to see an official at the deputy provincial level, let alone the executive vice mayor of the provincial capital in person!
Li Daolin's arrival immediately drew everyone's attention to him.
After exchanging a few words, Liu Neng remembered Zhang Guodong's instructions and immediately went on stage, causing the entire venue to fall silent.
"Please be quiet, everyone. Mayor Li, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and Executive Vice Mayor, has come to see you all. Let's ask Mayor Li to say a few words to us!" Liu Neng said as he stepped onto the stage and took the microphone.
The old man was quite excited; he actually presided over Mayor Li's speech.
The applause was sporadic and not very enthusiastic. But it was still quite good.
No one knew Li Daolin would be coming, so they weren't prepared. However, Li Daolin didn't mind. He had come to beg for alms.
"Hello everyone," Li Daolin said amiably. "Originally, I couldn't refuse to attend such a private gathering, but jade investors from all over the country have gathered here." He continued, "Our municipal party committee and government attach great importance to this. The secretary and mayor entrusted me to meet with you all to see if you've encountered any problems, what opinions or suggestions you have about Sichuan, or what investment projects you're interested in. Sichuan City has put a lot of effort into this, seeking your opinions and suggestions from all over to create a favorable investment environment for investors from various regions."
Below the stage, Xiao Xie, the secretary to the executive vice mayor, directed several staff members to distribute hastily prepared promotional materials to the crowd, introducing the policies of Sichuan and the changing trends in the industry, which included many projects with investment prospects, such as urban renovation and construction.
Li Daolin, as expected of a senior politician, spoke with restraint yet considerable authority, and inadvertently painted a grand blueprint for the future of Chengdu. He casually pointed to many data points, drawing the attention of many people with his words.
Zhang Guodong, standing in the crowd below, looked at the stage and listened to his surroundings, finding it quite interesting.
He could clearly hear and understand the hushed conversations of many people, and he even spotted some "old friends" in the crowd. However, these people did not recognize him at all, as if they were looking at a complete stranger.
Wei Yunwang looked at Li Daolin on the stage. Whether out of jealousy or disdain, he said, "Politicians say one thing and do another. He's just an executive vice mayor, and he's even from the city's Party Committee Standing Committee. The decision-making power lies with the Party Secretary and the Mayor!"
Li Ningguang glanced at him but didn't reply, thinking to himself, "You look down on him? It seems your father is also a member of the Standing Committee and the vice mayor, and he even took Li Daolin's place, right?"
As soon as Li Daolin was transferred, Vice Mayor Wei took over Li Daolin's work and position.
Those who knew the inside story knew that these people were just "acquaintances" from the provincial capital, and they never expected to see Li Daolin here.
Chapter 3600, first update. Second update coming soon!
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