Andu County is located on the bank of Chengjiang River. The county town is also built along the river. It is very small and you can walk from south to north in the blink of an eye.
The county center is just a stone-paved street with traditional wooden shops on both sides, just like those in the Qing Dynasty.
Only a few low concrete houses occasionally appear in the middle, reminding people that this is a modern society.
But at least the county town has electricity.
We also have to thank Lin Sanqi. After his generator sets were shipped here, there is no shortage of electricity in the whole country, but it is hard for the coal workers.
Lin Sanqi and his companions easily found the county guesthouse and showed their credentials.
The staff at the front desk took a look at the letter of introduction, which said Bao'an County Pharmaceutical Factory, and then looked up at the dozen or so men in front of him with some vigilance.
"Comrade, what business does your Bao'an County Pharmaceutical Factory have in Andu County? We don't have any pharmaceutical factories or any precious Chinese herbal medicines in our county."
Lin Sanqi had done his homework beforehand and replied with a smile:
"Why are there no Chinese medicinal herbs? I've heard that Andu County's honeysuckle, artemisia annua, coptis chinensis, and chicken blood vine are quite famous. We are buyers for the pharmaceutical factory, and we search all over the world for medicinal herbs."
The staff nodded in confusion, but the vigilance in his eyes did not diminish at all.
In the past, there were buyers coming to Andu County, but they always came alone or in pairs. After all, Andu County is not a traditional medicinal herb planting base.
In a poor county where people can't even get enough food to eat, where there are very few arable lands and mountains everywhere, where is the land to grow herbs?
The front desk staff were all veterans. When they saw this group of people wearing high-end clothes, the young man in the lead looked relaxed, but the rest of the people gathered around him, with a hint of protection in their hearts.
The purchasing agents from other pharmaceutical companies were all covered in dust and looked haggard, unlike the dozen or so people in front of him who had rosy faces.
There must be something wrong.
Lin Sanqi's words at this time made the staff even more suspicious:
"Comrade, please give us the best rooms in your guesthouse. All single and double rooms are fine, but no dormitories."
The staff thought that there were standards for accommodation for buyers on business trips, and ordinary staff could only be reimbursed for dormitories, and single and double rooms were a violation of financial discipline.
As a result, these more than ten people asked to "go up to the room" as soon as they opened their mouths. Their suitcases were full of money, and the more they looked, the more they looked like enemy spies.
The front desk staff helped Lin Sanqi and the others with the check-in procedures, and then immediately reported to their superiors.
Lin Sanqi walked into the best room in the county guesthouse and felt helpless at first glance.
The room in the guesthouse was shabby, but the white quilt on the bed was a little black, and it was obvious that the sanitary conditions were not up to standard.
Fortunately, he had his own bedding in his space, otherwise he would have been covered with lice after sleeping that night.
"Is everyone ready?"
Wang Jin and the others came out of the room one after another: "We're ready."
"Now that we're ready to go, let's go find a restaurant to eat."
A guesthouse staff member passing by laughed and said:
"Comrade, you don't know that there are no big restaurants in Andu County. There are only a few squeezed noodle shops in the county. If you want to eat, you can only go to the canteen of our guesthouse."
Lin Sanqi didn't care and waved his hand: "Let's go, I'll treat you at noon today."
More than ten people walked into the cafeteria, chatting and laughing, and sat down at two tables. Lin Sanqi called out:
"Comrade, shall we eat?"
The waiter didn't understand what he was saying, so Wang Jin had to translate for him:
"We want two black goats, either roasted or boiled."
The waiter was speechless and said, "No, you have to make a reservation in advance if you want to eat goat meat."
Wang Jin had no choice but to ask Lin Sanqi for help and then said:
"There must be fish in sour soup, right?"
The staff shook their heads and said, "There's no sour soup fish either. Don't you see what time it is?"
Everyone looked at their watches, and the hands showed 2 p.m.
The other staff members observing secretly gasped in shock. These 16 people all had watches? What kind of rich outsiders were they?
That's not right. The person who just ordered the food clearly spoke with an Andu County accent. Why would he be hanging out with outsiders?
Lin Sanqi understood that he had come at the wrong time and it was already past mealtime. Of course, the cafeteria staff looked impatient.
This is the behavior of state-owned restaurants these days, it's not uncommon.
But he believed that there was no goat meat. After all, meat was a precious thing in that era and most people could not afford it, so it was normal for the canteen not to prepare it.
But there is no local specialty like sour soup fish, which is unacceptable in any way.
"Alright, alright, Wang Jin, just let them serve whatever they want. If they want to try the specialties you mentioned, we can find another opportunity later."
Wang Jin blushed, feeling ashamed of the indifference of his fellow townspeople. His boss, who was so rich and also a high-ranking official, was actually harassed by a mere waiter?
After a while, some thin rice noodles were served.
Each of them had a bowl and started eating. When you are hungry, everything tastes good.
Just at this moment, several policemen in white shirts and blue pants walked in. Seeing a group of people slurping noodles, they came over and asked them questions.
"Comrades, excuse me."
The police were also veterans. As soon as they saw the clothes these people wore, the watches on their hands holding chopsticks, and their upright temperament, they knew they were not ordinary people.
So I was quite polite at the beginning.
If they were people dressed slovenly, they would have been pushed down on the table and searched.
Lin Sanqi didn't look up and continued to slurp the noodles. Wang Jin and Li Yujie stood up.
Li Yujie took out several documents from his briefcase:
"Hello, police officer. This is our letter of introduction. We are all buyers for the Baoan County Pharmaceutical Factory in Fushan District."
The police's mind was as clear as a mirror. Just like the previous staff members thought, how could a purchasing agent dress so brightly and beautifully, wearing clothes made of high-end fabrics?
"The letter of introduction is fine, but I'd also like to ask all sixteen of you to show us your work IDs."
Wang Jin was a little dumbfounded. After all, the 10 bodyguards all worked in Hong Kong and did not have mainland work permits. They originally thought that a letter of introduction would be enough.
When they saw that the other party couldn't produce his work ID, several policemen became alert and were about to shout at him.
At this time, Liu Zhanqi, who was slurping noodles, stood up and took out his red book.
"Comrade police officer, this is my work ID."
When several policemen saw it, sweat dropped down their cheeks. This certificate had a wide reach. Even if it was just a small lieutenant, not everyone could afford to offend him.
"So? Do you still want to check the work IDs of our other people?"
Several policemen saluted and said, "Comrades, no need to check. Eat slowly, eat slowly..."
After the police left the cafeteria, they wiped the sweat from their foreheads. The staff of the guesthouse gathered around them:
"Old Sun, what's going on? Who are the people inside? I saw you guys get scared when you pulled out your work ID."
Police Officer Sun waved his hand:
"Don't ask, and don't disturb the people inside. Just try to provide them with whatever they want to eat. Remember, you can't afford to offend the people inside. I'll report this to the county immediately."
When the staff at the guesthouse heard this, they were confused.
The director of the guesthouse was immediately anxious when he heard this: "You guys, hurry up and prepare the sour fish soup. I'll go to the county government cafeteria to get some black goat meat."
After a while, several cafeteria staff came over with pots of hot pot, and instantly the whole cafeteria was filled with fragrance.
Wang Jin was a little surprised and asked, "Didn't you just say there was no mutton or fish? What's this?"
The canteen director flattered:
"Comrades, our waiter was irresponsible just now. I have already severely reprimanded him. These dishes are all freshly made by us. Please try them. I apologize for the poor hospitality. Haha."
Lin Sanqi burst out laughing:
"Okay, sit down and eat. Xiao Liu just showed his work ID. Even if we want to eat dragon meat from the sky, they will satisfy us."
Everyone chuckled, and then stopped being polite and stretched out their chopsticks to the various steaming local dishes.
Sure enough, half an hour later, several county leaders in Zhongshan suits came running over.
The leader, a man in his 50s with gray hair, came in and rushed directly to Lin Sanqi, smiling and asking:
"Hello, comrade. I am Jin Guozhong, the county magistrate of Andu County. May I know your names?"
Lin Sanqi had almost finished his meal, so he stood up and shook hands with County Magistrate Jin.
"Hello, County Magistrate Jin, my name is Lin Sanqi. This is my work ID. Oh, I have several. I'll just pick the two most important ones."
Lin Sanqi's current duties are very diverse, spanning the Party, government, and military, a cross-disciplinary approach. (End of this chapter)
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