Chapter 66
The dinner was held in Riyadh not for Guan Ying, but to accommodate Mr. Li, the CEO of Huagang, who was based there. So much so that after the dinner, Mr. Li was eager to keep Guan Ying there so he could arrange a meeting with Daniel.
Thanks to Cui Shanshan who saw Guan Ying's expression, she intervened and said that Guan Ying would be taken away temporarily on the grounds that the workers of Xicheng Steel in Daman Port were waiting for their wages to be settled.
From Riyadh to Dammam Port, the road is more than 400 kilometers, from the high-rise buildings in the city to the yellow sand slopes on the roadside. The road conditions along the way are even rougher and wider than those on the side of the UAE dormitory, and there are not even a few date palm trees.
"Sister Guan, it'll take several hours to get back to our hotel near Dammam. Why don't you get some sleep? I'll call you when we get there." Cui Shanshan stood up and offered the last row to Guan Ying so she could lie down and rest. She then moved to the middle seat with Dong Zhiqiao. Manager Xu, perhaps feeling embarrassed, immediately took the passenger seat next to the driver, staying away from Guan Ying.
Perhaps because everyone was tired and had their own concerns, the car was completely silent.
I don't know how many hours the car drove, but by the time we arrived at the hotel near Dammam Port, it was finally dark. Manager Xu and Dong Zhiqiao yawned profusely, and after getting out of the car in a daze, they couldn't wait to stretch a few times. Cui Shanshan helped Guan Ying get out of the car, walked her through the check-in procedures, and finally took her back to her room.
The hotel was just a two-story earthen building, more like a guesthouse in China, but with the advantage of being close to the port. Guan Ying wasn't picky about the environment and remained silent, letting Cui Shanshan make her arrangements. Once inside the room, she collapsed onto the bed, feigning jet lag.
Cui Shanshan knew it very well, but she was too embarrassed to expose it, so she took care of her chores and left.
It was very quiet outside the door. Guan Ying jumped up from the bed, turned on her cell phone and called Lao Zhao in China.
The phone beeped for a long time before Manager Zhao slowly answered: "Oh, it's Guan Guan, have you arrived yet?"
Guan Ying drew aside the curtains and frowned as she looked at the unfamiliar scene outside the hotel. "I just arrived at the hotel in Port Man. The situation is a bit complicated... Old Zhao, have you been to Yunnan? Have the Qiao family agreed to release the prisoners?"
Manager Zhao said casually, "I just got here too. It's not even daylight here yet. Hey, don't worry about this. I, Old Zhao, can't handle them? What do they call this? This is illegal detention! I've told that agent, Sister Ling, that if she doesn't handle this, I, Old Zhao, will report it to the police station!"
Guan Ying was restless: "No, you can't call the police."
Manager Zhao: "Hey, it's already this late, why don't you call the police?"
Guan Ying rubbed her temples. "Old Zhao, think about it. You helped me find out. My uncle is busy upgrading the steel mill, and he's still secretly arguing with Zheng Juyong. It's normal that he doesn't know about this. But my aunt talks to Zheng Juyong on the phone every week as usual. She still thinks her son is in Saudi Arabia. Isn't that strange?"
Manager Zhao disagreed: "Hey, I was afraid that your Aunt Zheng was overthinking it, so I asked Aunt Lin. Aunt Lin has a bad memory and couldn't tell me when Ju Yong last called home..."
Guan Ying: "Even if Aunt Lin can't remember the date, it's not normal. The house is too peaceful. This means Zheng Juyong must have used some trick to make my aunt think he's still in Saudi Arabia. I'm afraid this is just his own idea... He's always worried about Qiao Qi."
Manager Zhao paused on the other side, then sighed, "Alas, beauty is a disaster. Ju Yong has been completely taken advantage of by her! Well, I'd better go with Sister Ling and talk to them separately."
Guan Ying: "Well... Lao Zhao, if he refuses to go with you, just tell him: Kassim's attorney is Daniel."
Manager Zhao was surprised: "Oh, that's not..."
When Lao Zhao was at the foreign trade company, he was both a mentor and a friend to Guan Ying. The two had worked closely together for many years, and he naturally knew everything about the Middle East. With Lao Zhao's intelligence and wit, he immediately understood Guan Ying's predicament.
Guan Ying was a little embarrassed at this time: "Oh, please stop gossiping, I just found out too!"
Manager Zhao said mischievously, "Hey, that Daniel, why is he suddenly going against us? Is he still not giving up on you? Tsk tsk, it's all because of that beautiful woman!"
Old Zhao had always been a playful old man, never worried about the biggest problems. However, Guan Ying was in no mood for jokes. "Old Zhao, I originally told you to go to the Qiao family and discuss everything with them slowly and carefully. With me here in Saudi Arabia, nothing will go wrong. But now things are not right. I can't handle it anymore. I wish I could hide away. You'd better hurry up! Let Zheng Juyong return to Saudi Arabia as soon as possible. The sooner the better!"
Manager Zhao laughed again: "You kid, you want me to hurry up, but you won't let me call the police. What do you think I am, Old Zhao? Tu Xingsun, dig a tunnel and steal that kid Ju Yong out?"
Guan Ying's eyes lit up: "It's not impossible! Lao Zhao, my Uncle Zhao, my dear uncle~ Besides you, who else can I count on for this matter?"
Manager Zhao: "Okay, okay, for all the foreign liquor you brought me, I'll be Tu Xingsun for you!"
......
Almost at the same time, Manager Xu's uncle also found it difficult to be an uncle.
Cui Shanshan sat in the living room of the hotel suite, legs crossed, staring at him and Dong Zhiqiao, angrily saying, "Uncle, the way you handled this was just not fair! Now it's like, no one is happy with it! Manager Guan would never agree to Mr. Li's request. What does an anti-dumping investigation have to do with people? Not only did we fail to help Mr. Li, but we also offended Manager Guan. How are we supposed to beg him for Kassim's money? Didn't you see Manager Guan's face? He's not stupid. On the way back, he didn't say a word to me! Uncle, you were the one who offended him on the phone first. He came all the way here from Seattle. Didn't I beg for this with great difficulty? You can't just focus on one sheep when you're trying to fleece it. How am I supposed to behave in front of Manager Guan in the future?"
Manager Xu should have been coaxing her in front of his niece, but in front of Dong Zhiqiao, he couldn't afford to appear intimidated by his younger generation, so he blurted out, "What's the matter? Did she give you the cold shoulder, or something? It's normal to be quiet when you're tired from traveling. Besides, when we had that fight with Sabur in Dubai last time, I gave her a lot of concessions! Even when it came to Shenzhen Fenghua, it was us who gave in to Xicheng Steel. Otherwise, how could their fine desulfurization system have been implemented so smoothly? Zhiqiao, don't you think she shouldn't be helping us? Am I being too much?"
Dong Zhiqiao didn't dare to contradict him and responded, "Yeah, the manager wasn't angry when I saw her. She was just jet-lagged. Shanshan, don't overthink it. Our uncle is doing this for the good of the company. It's Mr. Li's fault. How could he be so blunt..."
Manager Xu interrupted him: "Mr. Li is right! If he beats around the bush, that's what's hurting people. That lawyer is targeting Xiao Guan. If she had known earlier, she would have been able to see the situation more clearly! You two are still too naive. Xiao Guan is such a young woman, and she can work in steel foreign trade in the Middle East. How can she be a naive woman? I saw how she dealt with that lawyer named Xiao. Hey, she even bewitched Lawyer Xiao..."
"Uncle! You said this to Manager Guan, aren't you afraid that others will say the same to me in the future?" Cui Shanshan became more and more angry.
Manager Xu: "That's different. Even if I, your uncle, am not by your side, Zhiqiao is always with you. Who would dare to say anything?"
Dong Zhiqiao raised his head and said, "Well, let's see who dares to say anything nonsense!"
Cui Shanshan closed her eyes in anger. It was already difficult for women in this industry, and even her own people looked down on her! As a woman, she naturally stood up for Guan Ying, but she didn't want to argue with them anymore. She stood up, pushed the door open, and walked out, angrily saying, "We were wrong in this matter! Think about it carefully!"
Manager Xu winked, and Dong Zhiqiao hurried out, grabbing her: "Shanshan, don't be angry. Manager Guan hasn't done anything yet, so why are we quarreling?"
Cui Shanshan frowned and turned around to scold, "Dong Zhiqiao, as a man, you don't have any ideas about your family's business! Isn't Nangang owned by your old Dong family? Your father is old, and my uncle is looking forward to cashing out. They are all anxious to sell the factory. What about you? After selling the factory, what will you do in the future? What will you do? Mr. Zheng is only a few years older than you. Think about how he did it in the freight yard back then, and then think about yourself. Can you endure a little hardship? If you had half of his dedication and kept a close eye on the workers loading and unloading, without any problems, then Kassim wouldn't have to hire a third-party quality inspection, and the matter wouldn't have gotten to this point! Dong Zhiqiao, when will you grow up!"
"Shanshan, you..." Dong Zhiqiao was a little at a loss when he heard these words for the first time.
"Enough, Dong Zhiqiao, you have no ambition as a man! If you use your brain and think about why your father wants to sell the factory, you will know where the problem lies. Ask yourself, can your father count on you? If you had any hope, how could your father be willing to sell it?" Cui Shanshan turned around and went back to her room, leaving Dong Zhiqiao standing alone in the dim corridor.
Dong Zhiqiao's mistake at the freight yard wasn't a big one, and he'd been diligently working on his job, but damage was inevitable. It was just that Kassim was "finding a pretext to accuse someone." Neither Manager Xu nor his father blamed him, but he still felt guilty and had been blaming himself for days. Tonight, Cui Shanshan's rebuke had intensified his guilt. He felt like a sinner, a betrayer of his ancestors.
He staggered back to the room, feeling dispirited and unable to sleep.
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