Chapter 571: Standoff
When Secretary Zhou and the security captain opened the door, they saw four people standing at the entrance. The hotel manager, who was leading the group, was about to knock again when he saw the door open. He took a step back and said with a smile, "Excuse me for disturbing you. Mr. Zhou, do you have a moment? We have a guest visiting."
Secretary Zhou smiled and said, "The boss and young lady are having lunch. It might take a while. What do you think?"
Wang Conglei dared not make the decision on his own, so he turned to look at the county secretary.
The county party secretary gestured, "Is there a meeting room here? Let's go to the meeting room and wait for Mr. Zhou."
Secretary Zhou nodded: "That's fine. The conference room is right next door. You can all wait there for a moment. Manager Wang, please help entertain us for a while!"
The four people entered the hotel conference room.
After taking their seats, the Party Secretary couldn't help but ask Wang Conglei a few questions.
"Manager Wang, do you know exactly what Mr. Zhou is here for?"
Wang Conglei shook his head: "I also received a call from the boss, who told me to only serve Mr. Zhou and his group after they check in. As for anything else, I don't know."
The person next to him frowned: "Secretary, could they just be here for fun?"
The secretary shook his head: "If they're just here for fun, it shouldn't be such a big commotion."
Wang Conglei nodded: "I don't think so either. Real rich people go out to play in a low-key manner, hoping that others will not know about them. But Mr. Zhou's entourage, with more than a dozen SUVs and at least two bodyguards in each car, is definitely not for fun."
"So you've come here to buy medicinal herbs? After all, the medicinal herbs from Dabai Mountain are quite famous."
After considering for a moment, the secretary nodded: "What County Chief Zhang said makes sense. They may really be here to buy medicinal herbs. The Bai family has some valuable medicinal herbs, so they are also here to buy medicine. That's why we arranged for bodyguards to accompany them, just in case."
The group of people sat quietly in the conference room, each lost in their own thoughts.
In the suite, after finishing her meal, Gu Yin rinsed her mouth and looked at Zhou Wansheng, who was already prepared: "Grandpa, should I go with you?"
Zhou Wansheng nodded: "Let's go together."
So the group went outside.
Secretary Zhou knocked on the conference room door, and it opened quickly.
Seeing that it was them, Wang Conglei smiled and stepped aside: "Mr. Zhou has arrived, please come in!"
Zhou Wansheng nodded and went inside.
The Party Secretary stood up first, extended his hand with a smile, and said, "Hello, Mr. Zhou, welcome to An County! I am Wang Ze'an, the County Party Secretary!"
Zhou Wansheng nodded upon hearing this, and smiled as he extended his hand: "Zhou Wansheng."
Then County Chief Zhang extended his hand: "I am Zhang Yi, the County Chief of An County!"
"I am Bai Mengshan, Minister of the Armed Forces Department of Anxian County. Welcome, Mr. Zhou, to Anxian County!"
After shaking hands with everyone, Zhou Wansheng pointed to Gu Yin beside him and said, "This is my granddaughter. She came along to play."
Gu Yin greeted the three of them with a smile.
After taking their seats, County Chief Wang looked at Zhou Wansheng and said with a smile, "We came here mainly because we received feedback that several helicopters came to An County this morning, and we were worried that there might be some kind of event. As you know, we are just a remote small county, and we don't usually have such a big commotion, so everyone was a little nervous. We didn't expect it to be Mr. Zhou who came. By the way, Mr. Zhou, is there any event you're here for?"
Zhou Wansheng smiled and said, "I'm very sorry, I really did come here on business, so I was a bit high-profile. I won't hide it, and I will need your local government's help in the future."
Secretary Wang and the other two exchanged glances, taking the situation very seriously.
"Bai Shao, the person in charge of the Bai family on your side, has given me all the usage rights to Dabai Mountain. The main reason for coming here this time is to inform the Bai family and the surrounding herb farmers, and to inspect Dabai Mountain to see how it will be developed in the future. This matter is quite important to the people of An County, which is why I came here in such a high-profile manner. I also hope that your government will support our actions in the future. Otherwise, I am afraid that the Bai family's collateral branches and the herb farmers will cause trouble and lead to armed conflict, which would be bad."
This is truly a bolt from the blue! 80% of Anxian County's GDP comes from Dabai Mountain! Now that Dabai Mountain has been leased out, no one knows what will happen in the future. Moreover, most of the people around Anxian County are medicinal herb farmers. Once Dabai Mountain is monopolized by one person, what will happen to those medicinal herb farmers?
"This is impossible! Our Bai family has not received any such news! Moreover, this is a matter for the entire Bai family. How could Bai Shao make such a decision on her own? This is absolutely impossible!" Minister Bai's brows furrowed, his face filled with dissatisfaction and distrust!
Zhou Wansheng waved his hand.
Secretary Zhou handed the contract to Minister Bai.
Minister Bai's face grew increasingly dark as he looked at the contract! It was a legitimate contract and already in effect!
Secretary Zhou explained, "Dabai Mountain has always belonged to the direct line of the Bai family. After Old Master Bai passed away, it was originally to be inherited by his son, but Mr. Bai was in poor health and unable to manage it. Old Master Bai left a notarized will, and Dabai Mountain was to be inherited by Bai Shao, the direct granddaughter of the Bai family! Bai Shao is an adult and can handle Dabai Mountain with full authority. Our transaction is fair, just and voluntary."
After speaking, Secretary Zhou retreated.
Minister Bai knew from birth that Dabai Mountain belonged to the Bai family, but he never expected it to belong to the direct line!
Minister Bai looked at Zhou Wansheng: "May I ask Bai Shao why she did that?"
Zhou Wansheng raised his eyebrows: "Your Bai family has a 500-year-old ginseng. Minister Bai should know about this, right?"
Minister Bai nodded: "I am aware of this matter."
Zhou Wansheng nodded and continued, "According to Bai Shao, after the death of Old Master Bai, your Bai family put forward a new patriarch. This patriarch not only failed to lead the Bai family to greater heights, but also squandered almost all of the Bai family's treasures. Even that ginseng was auctioned off because he lost it gambling. Are you aware of this?"
Minister Bai looked terrible; he really didn't know about this!
"I'll make a call and ask."
After saying that, he immediately took out his phone and made a call. Gu Yin didn't know what was said on the other end, but she could see that his expression was getting worse and worse!
After hanging up the phone, Minister Bai covered his eyes, sighed, and looked at Zhou Wansheng: "Where did Bai Shao go? I want to ask her in person."
Zhou Wansheng tapped his finger on the table. Secretary Zhou took out his phone, made a call, explained the reason to the other party after the call was connected, and then handed the phone to Minister Bai.
Minister Bai remained silent; it was Bai Shao who did all the talking.
Five minutes later, the call ended, and Secretary Zhou put his phone away.
Minister Bai looked at Zhou Wansheng: "Bai Shao said that you spent more than 600 million yuan to bid for that ginseng, and then she exchanged the Great White Mountain for 30 years of usage rights with you?"
Zhou Wansheng nodded with a smile: "Including the handling fees, it's about 700 million."
Secretary Wang and County Head Zhang gasped. So much money! They're incredibly wealthy!
Minister Bai had thought a lot, but at this moment he could only ask a basic question: "Mr. Zhou, what are your plans for Dabai Mountain? The herb farmers of Dabai Mountain have made a living by growing medicinal herbs all their lives. Once they lose this livelihood, I think the consequences may not be good. It will be very difficult for you to develop or do other things there."
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