"No, Zhou Weimin, why did you come in like a ghost without making a sound? You scared me."
Zhou Weimin had barely stepped into the room before Sun Zhengguo gave him a lecture.
However, he didn't seem to mind at all, and instead said with a grin.
"Director, I'm just eager to congratulate you! I heard that our institute has been upgraded to the provincial level, and you are now the acting director at the deputy provincial level."
Zhou Weimin's words startled Sun Zhengguo, who was somewhat puzzled.
"Weimin, I just got back not long ago, and I don't think we talked about this. Where did you get this information from?"
"Hehe!" Zhou Weimin chuckled sheepishly. "Director, Director Zhang from the personnel department just called and said you forgot to collect your money from the finance department. He's the one who told me that."
"Oh! By the way, he also told me that when he comes over for lunch, he'll bring you the money."
After Zhou Weimin's reminder, Sun Zhengguo suddenly remembered that there was indeed such a thing.
Now that he knows about this, it means that everyone in the institute knows about it.
Sun Zhengguo decided to go all out and revealed in advance that the institute needed a large number of cadres, so that the people below could be prepared and perform well, and not be caught off guard.
While this cannot guarantee absolute fairness, being prepared is always better than being unprepared.
As expected, Zhou Weimin did not disappoint. Not long after he left, almost everyone in the institute who had room for improvement knew about him.
These people were ecstatic when they heard the news.
Those with connections think about how to build those connections, while those without connections think about how to make a good impression.
In short, everyone is using their own unique abilities, like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea. Whether they succeed in the end depends on their individual fate.
Before long, it was noon. Director Li and Deputy Director Liao, being local strongmen, arrived first. After waiting a while, Director Zhang also rushed over.
"Old Zhang, you're late. You'll have to punish yourself with three drinks later."
When the two factory directors saw that Director Zhang had just arrived, they started to make a fuss.
But Director Zhang was no pushover either, and immediately retaliated.
"You two, stop talking nonsense. The host hasn't spoken yet! What are you two pretending to be so important for? Why don't you let Brother Sun be the judge? If we're talking about distance, I arrived even earlier than you."
"Hahaha!" Seeing Director Zhang's unwillingness to suffer a loss, Sun Zhengguo could only laugh and smooth things over.
"Listen to me, gentlemen. You are all guests today, and no one can be forced to drink. If you all want to drink, I will keep you company for a while. What do you say?"
No sooner had Sun Zhengguo finished speaking than Director Li pursed his lips and said something.
"Has ulterior motives."
Then Deputy Factory Director Liao added another sentence.
"With ill intentions."
Director Zhang, realizing what was happening, also gave his evaluation.
"With ulterior motives."
Seeing the three men pointing their guns at him again, Sun Zhengguo smiled and shook his head.
“I appreciate your kindness. Let’s go to the cafeteria. You’ll soon understand my good intentions.”
"Who's afraid of who?"
After finishing their verbal sparring, the group followed Sun Zhengguo to the cafeteria.
When Sister Zhang from the canteen saw the leaders coming over, she immediately came up to greet them and led them to a small private room.
After everyone sat down, Sun Zhengguo instructed Sister Zhang to serve the dishes.
Today, He Yushui knew that Sun Zhengguo was going to host a banquet for the leaders, so she went to great lengths, using all her skills to prepare a table of Shandong cuisine.
These dishes include braised pork knuckle, sweet and sour pork, braised prawns, crispy chicken, braised beef, stir-fried double crispy pork, and peanuts in aged vinegar, and are served with a soup at the end.
As the dishes were served one by one, Director Li's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Engineer Sun, isn't this level of hospitality a bit too high?"
"Please enjoy your meal. It was a treat, so why would I use public funds to entertain you? I paid for all of this out of my own pocket. I didn't take advantage of the public funds, so no one can say anything about it."
To reassure everyone that they could eat with peace of mind, Sun Zhengguo quickly offered an explanation.
"Brother Sun, no wonder you've risen to such a high position at such a young age. Your awareness is truly remarkable. I must learn from you!" Director Zhang couldn't help but give a thumbs up in praise.
"Hey! You flatter me, let's not talk about that, let's drink."
As he was speaking, Sun Zhengguo was about to take out the wine, but at this moment, Director Li and the others realized that they hadn't come empty-handed; they had also brought wine in their bags!
Factory Director Li took out a bottle of Moutai from his bag, while Deputy Factory Director Liao took out a bottle of Xifeng liquor, both of which looked quite old.
Finally, Director Zhang took out a bottle of Fenjiu liquor from his bag. It was also quite old, and even the cover had peeled off quite a bit.
"Drink mine!" Director Li grabbed his Moutai and prepared to open it.
"Wait a minute." Deputy Factory Director Liao suddenly stopped him. "Old Li, although your Moutai is famous, in terms of taste, it may not be as good as my bottle of Xifeng liquor. Let me tell you, I have been treasuring this bottle of Xifeng liquor for almost thirty years."
Hearing Deputy Factory Director Liao gloating, Director Zhang was displeased again and decided to show him what a "dimensional reduction attack" really was.
"Old Liao, I agree with the first half of what you said, but I disagree with the second half."
"Why?" Deputy Factory Director Liao asked, puzzled.
"Why?" Director Zhang picked up the bottle of Fenjiu liquor and pointed to the rotten label on it.
"See that? You call your thirty-year-old wine a treasure? This bottle of mine is worth at least double, it's over sixty years old."
"So what? Thirty years or sixty years, the difference isn't that big," Deputy Factory Director Liao retorted, unconvinced.
"Yes, yes, yes, a long time doesn't necessarily mean it's good, and it might even go bad. I think you should stop arguing. If you get a stomachache from drinking it, people will laugh at you. Just drink my bottle of Moutai instead!"
Factory Director Li finally got a chance to speak and belittled the two men's wine to the point of being worthless.
"Old Li, you're talking big, aren't you? Since you lack martial ethics, then I'll have to have a serious talk with you..."
"..."
"..."
Seeing the group start arguing again, Sun Zhengguo was speechless.
But as the host, he certainly had to stand up and say a few words.
"Stop, stop, stop, everyone. Let me say a few words. Since you're here, you should follow my lead, right?"
After hearing what Sun Zhengguo said, the others nodded in agreement, indicating that he was right.
"Alright, since we're guests, let's follow the host's lead. I'll arrange the drinks. What do you all think?"
The leaders exchanged glances, nodded, and accepted the suggestion.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Sun Zhengguo moved the wine on the table aside and then took out his homemade wine from the cabinet next to him.
This homemade wine is no simple story. It's not the original recipe from my grandfather, but a secret recipe that Sun Zhengguo bought at a high price later.
With these secret recipes, and after two years of relentless improvement and experimentation at great cost, he finally succeeded, albeit after wasting a lot of medicinal herbs and grains.
This new homemade wine not only has a unique flavor, but also has a long cellar aging process.
Moreover, because some medicinal herbs are added, it can also have a certain health-preserving effect on the body.
Of course, its most commendable aspects are not limited to these.
For example, even someone like Xu Damao could remain in perfect harmony after drinking this wine, or even surpass it, making it far superior to the strong liquor of later generations.
The leaders, unaware of what was going on, were dumbfounded when they saw Sun Zhengguo bring two black ceramic bottles to the table.
What's going on here? Is this what you call good intentions?
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