Chapter 554: On the Eve of the Auction (Two Chapters Combined)
Those legs are as thick as her arms! Only the village chief's geese are that big!
The old man nodded: "It's his. He wasn't planning to sell it, but after he heard I bought a goose, he gave us one! Eat up, it's not easy to get a goose from his family! I was originally planning to cook some and have your dad send some to your school, but I didn't expect you to come back, what a coincidence!"
It was indeed not easy. Originally, they were just ordinary geese, but after the old village chief had nothing to do, he took those geese to the river every day, letting them eat fresh grass and play in the water. He would then herd them back at night. After half a month, they would be able to go out and come back on their own. This continued for five years without interruption!
The goose has become very obedient, able to guard the house and forage for food on its own. The villagers wanted to buy it, but the old village chief refused!
Gu Yin picked up the goose leg and asked in confusion, "Then why did the person make you buy it this time?"
The old man smiled helplessly: "This goose's leg was broken by something, and it lost its appetite after that. No matter how Old Li tried to feed it or persuade it, it wouldn't listen and just starved itself. It was about to die, and Li Sen originally wanted to kill it, but Old Li stopped him. But it would be a pity to let it die, so he took it with me. Fortunately, it was still breathing when it arrived in Beijing, otherwise the meat wouldn't taste good!"
They have a custom there: poultry that dies in its cage can't be eaten, nor can poultry that's sick and weak in its cage. They're afraid of getting into trouble if they eat it. Gu Yin thinks that's just superstition! When she was little, if any chickens or ducks died at night, she'd boil water and pluck their feathers the next morning. In the countryside, we only ate meat a few times a month! And the chickens and ducks raised in the countryside were all very big! Losing them would be heartbreaking!
Gu Yin cut the goose leg meat into pieces: "The old village chief will be heartbroken! Let's eat together!"
The old man snorted, "It really hurts, but when I gave him the money, he didn't seem to care at all! He kept saying, 500 for a goose, it's worth it! Let's buy some more to raise, and we'll supply them to our family from now on!"
Gu Yin couldn't help but laugh: "That's fine too! Grandpa and Grandma, you two try it together and see if it's good!"
Gu Yin picked up a piece of meat that looked very tender and started eating!
It gets better and better the more you eat!
"It really is different from the goose meat on the market! It's very fresh and sweet! It's also chewy! The meat is very delicate, rich and delicious! The fresh aroma of the goose and the sauce blend together, I think I could eat three bowls of rice!"
The old lady nodded as she ate, "It really is delicious! The braising sauce your Aunt Zhu gave me before, paired with this, is absolutely delicious! I'll buy two more next time I come! This goose is huge! It weighs 16 jin! We've cooked it all! Let's eat our fill today!"
This is an old goose that can fly; it's quite big indeed!
Half an hour later, the family members returned one after another. The two elders of the Chu family were also called over. The Chu couple were away on a business trip, so they were not called. Li Li's grandmother was also called over by the old lady. When Li Li returned to Beijing after the New Year, he brought her over.
After not seeing Gu Yin for a long time, Grandma Li became so excited that she held onto Gu Yin's hand tightly until Li Li pressed her down to sit down, at which point she finally let go.
There were a lot of people, but luckily the table was big enough, otherwise there really wouldn't have been enough room for everyone.
The goose meat was delicious, and the entire dozen or so pounds were eaten up by everyone!
In the end, Gu Shu and Li Li, the two young men, even ate rice soaked in the soup!
"Having gotten used to eating carefully raised food, a meal of these wild-raised, rough-and-ready dishes really whets the appetite! It's truly excellent! I ate two and a half bowls of rice!" Old Master Chu said with a smile as he sipped his tea.
Grandma Chu nodded with a smile: "I also ate two bowls. Usually, one bowl is enough to fill me up! People still need to be grounded! No matter how precious something is, if it's not grounded, eating too much of it will make your body feel heavy. Eating more of these free-range foods will make you feel different!"
Grandma Gu laughed: "You cultured people always have such pleasant words! I ate three bowls myself! I'm not good at describing it, so I'll just say two words: delicious! Three words: especially delicious! Four words: one more!"
Everyone in the room burst into laughter.
After lunch and a nap, Gu Yin got up and went to the pharmaceutical factory.
After checking each item, Gu Yin signed it and smiled at everyone: "No problem. Apply to your superiors for the release date of this batch of drugs! By the way, which hospitals are we cooperating with?"
The director smiled and said, "These are all military hospitals. This was arranged by the higher-ups. They were afraid the public wouldn't trust them, so they came on their own! But all the hospitals in Beijing have been arranged, and there will be publicity. It just depends on whether anyone volunteers. It's okay if they don't want to right now. We have real-time tracking data from the military. If everything is fine in six months, we can say it's fully available. It's not too late for them to start administering it then. By the way, you can start preparing your paper. Once the data is collected, you can publish it. It will be summer then, which is the peak season for shingles, so it will be ready for patients!"
Gu Yin hadn't expected the help she received from above to be so significant! Although she knew there was nothing wrong with her medicine, outsiders didn't know that!
It would be a lie to say I wasn't moved by such trust!
"Okay, then you all need to do a good job with the follow-up work, and make sure there are no mistakes!"
The director nodded: "Don't worry!" Other laboratories have produced results here before, but none of them have ever received direct government approval! What does this mean? It means that in the eyes of those in power, Comrade Zhou Guyin is a very capable person, and they trust that her work is completely without any problems!
So even though this batch of medicine was ready and he no longer needed to accompany her, he still had to stay with her throughout the entire process because of the trust the country placed in her!
After leaving the pharmaceutical factory, it was already completely dark. Gu Yin checked the time and saw that it was already 9 p.m., so she had no choice but to go straight home.
When she saw Zhou Wansheng at home, she was stunned for a moment, and then exclaimed with delight.
"Grandpa, when did you get back?"
The old man has been busy with national affairs abroad, and even during the Spring Festival he only came back briefly before leaving again! Now that he's back in Beijing during a time that isn't a holiday or Spring Festival, does that mean the matter has been resolved?
Zhou Wansheng was gnawing on a chicken leg when he saw her return. He quickly waved and said, "I just got here too. Your dad made this chicken for me. Come sit down and eat with me!"
No one expected Gu Yin to come back at this time. Grandma Gu asked the aunt to cook two more dishes.
"Your dad called you but you didn't answer, and he didn't reply to your texts either. He thought you were back at school busy with experiments. He didn't expect you to come back at this hour! It's so late, you should at least call home and have someone come pick you up!"
Gu Yin hadn't eaten dinner either, and now she was hungry.
Taking the bowl and chopsticks from Grandma Gu, she smiled and said, "There are cars right outside the pharmaceutical factory. I can just take one directly from here. No need to pick me up. Grandma, wouldn't you like some more?"
Grandma Gu and the others shook their heads: "You and your grandfather eat. You two really are a family. One of you took a taxi back from the airport by yourself without saying a word, and the other came back from the pharmaceutical factory by himself. Luckily, we had some food at home, otherwise you two would have gone hungry tonight!"
Zhou Wansheng tore off a chicken leg for Gu Yin and said with a smile, "I only ate out because I knew there was food at home! What kind of person would I be if I didn't eat at home when I had a home to go to, right, granddaughter?"
Gu Yin nodded: "That's right. Anyway, I know that no matter when I come back, as long as Grandma is there, there will be food to eat! If only Dad and Uncle are there, then we can only eat instant noodles."
Gu Qinglang: "..."
Gu Qingming: "...Mom, let me explain!"
The conflict has been successfully shifted!
Zhou Wansheng and Gu Yin exchanged a glance and chuckled to themselves!
After dinner, Zhou Wansheng called Gu Yin to the study.
"There's an auction in Hai City the day after tomorrow, it's about medicinal herbs. Your new experiment needs some special herbs, right? Would you like to go and take a look? I heard they're some herbs that have been hidden away for a long time. Are you interested?"
This is what it means to have a pillow when you're sleepy!
"Go! We must go! When are we going!"
"I'll head over there tomorrow night. There's a cocktail party there, and I can inquire about what kind of medicinal herbs are being offered. There's been no word out about what's being auctioned this time; it's very mysterious. The people I arranged should have some news back by tomorrow night."
......
The next morning, Gu Yin went back to school first, asked Meng Yu for three days off, and then went back to the lab to work for an afternoon. In the evening, she and Zhou Wansheng boarded a private plane and headed to Haicheng.
After getting off the plane, the two took a car to the hotel.
“We’ll go straight to the Chu’s Hotel to check in. The venue for the cocktail party is also there. That’s good, we don’t have to go any further.” Zhou Wansheng said with a smile, looking out the window.
Gu Yin was also looking out the window when she heard this, and her eyes glazed over for a moment: "Does Uncle Chu also own a hotel here?"
There was no such thing in her past life. The year she passed away, she met Chu Yan in Hai City. After being reborn, she heard from Gu Le that Chu Yan had given up all his businesses in Beijing and, with the help of friends and classmates, rebuilt the Chu family in Hai City. He moved all the remaining businesses from Beijing over there. So, the existence of the Chu Family Hotel at this time must mean that Chu Xiong developed this area.
Zhou Wansheng nodded: "Haicheng was originally Xue family territory. After the Xue family moved to Beijing, they kept fighting with the Chu family for territory, but they still controlled the market in Haicheng. The Chu family had no choice but to give up Haicheng and develop elsewhere. Later, after the Xue family was destroyed, the Chu family swallowed up most of the Xue family's businesses, including Haicheng."
Gu Yin looked at Zhou Wansheng: "Grandpa, if your business is in Haishi, but you are also one of the top companies in Beijing, under what circumstances would you give up your trump card in Haishi?"
Zhou Wansheng raised his eyebrows: "That must be because Beijing's territory is too big. If I don't give up Haicheng, I can't take it all. So I have no choice but to give up Haicheng and take over the entire Beijing market. After all, Beijing is the political center. If I can take it all over, then Haicheng is nothing."
So, in his previous life, Chu Yan was able to develop in Haicheng because the Xue family couldn't swallow up the Chu family if they didn't give up on Haicheng?
Seeing that Gu Yin was thinking, Zhou Wansheng did not disturb her any further.
The car quickly drove into the Chu Family Hotel. Gu Yin looked at the familiar entrance and realized that her guess was right. In her previous life, this hotel belonged to the Xue family and was called Xue Family Garden.
Although the Xue family abandoned Haicheng in their previous life, this hotel was a chain, so it was still there at that time. This hotel was a favorite place for many celebrities to stay when they came to Haicheng. Gu Yin had come here to participate in several events, so she knew about it.
Now that the Xue family is gone, the Chu family has taken over the brand, and the style has been completely changed from the original magnificent style to a calm and elegant style.
As soon as Gu Yin and Zhou Wansheng got out of the car, a man in a suit jogged up to them.
"Hello Mr. Zhou! Hello Ms. Zhou! I am Jin Qiansong, the general manager of Haicheng Chu's Hotel! Welcome to the hotel! The boss has already instructed that I will be in charge of receiving you both upon your arrival! Please come upstairs to rest! This way!" He said, stepping aside and gesturing for the two to walk forward.
As Gu Yin walked, she asked, "Is Uncle Chu over here?"
Jin Qiansong bowed slightly and smiled: "The master is not here; it was the old master who instructed me to do so."
Gu Yin nodded.
The two did not enter through the lobby, but instead used the internal staff entrance, which was less crowded and did not require waiting.
The elevator goes directly to the top floor.
After the elevator doors opened, Jin Qiansong introduced, "This is a suite that our boss reserved for his own family. This entire floor is like this, and people downstairs can't come up, so don't worry about being disturbed. The luggage has been put away. Please rest for a while. If you need anything, just call me. This is our hotel's internal phone number. Press 1, and it'll be me! I'll go downstairs to prepare some food. Mr. and Ms. Zhou, please rest well."
After everyone left, Gu Yin took her luggage to her room and then came out. This apartment was really big, with everything: a home theater, a gym, a swimming pool, and when she opened a door next to it, there were tennis and badminton courts, and a small golf course next to it.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this style is definitely not the Chu family's style. It must be the original Xue family's style. They really know how to enjoy life!"
Gu Yin turned around and saw that Zhou Wansheng had also come out.
"Grandpa, should we have dinner first, or try on our dresses and then go straight to the party?"
Zhou Wansheng sat down on the sofa, pressed the phone button, and asked Jin Qiansong to bring out dinner.
Then he smiled and said, "No rush, no need to go out so soon. Let's eat first. The food at the party is all cold, and it won't be good to be hungry later. I've prepared the dress and everything. I got it from your grandma. It's all in your style, so don't worry!"
After dinner, Zhou Wansheng's phone rang. Gu Yin looked over.
"Come up here." After hanging up the phone, Zhou Wansheng looked at Gu Yin and said, "I had someone check on tomorrow's auction, and they're back."
Gu Yin's eyes lit up.
Ten minutes later, an ordinary-looking man walked out of the elevator and came in.
"Boss! Miss! Here are the documents." After placing the documents on the table, he stepped aside.
Gu Yin sat down next to Zhou Wansheng and started watching with him.
"So it's a medicinal herb selection meeting for the major families. No wonder no news leaked out, no wonder the outside world didn't know," Zhou Wansheng said knowingly after seeing the information.
Looking at the contents, Gu Yin asked in confusion, "What is a medicinal herb base? What is a selection meeting? Is this kind of event privately or officially organized?"
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