Village Chief Lai puffed on his pipe, paying no attention to the gifts Qiao Li was carrying.
"I'm sorry, you're very sincere, but I've already made a promise to someone else. In business, you have to be honest, don't you think?"
Being rejected was expected, but Qiao Li didn't feel regretful.
There's still a long way to go here. If we get along well with the village chief, we can avoid a lot of trouble in the future.
He glanced at Jiang Zao, and the two got up to leave. As they passed the main room, Jiang Zao inadvertently caught sight of a poster.
It's Zheng Xiao.
She paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and then went back.
"Village Chief Lai, do you have a daughter?" Jiang Zao asked.
This wasn't a secret, Village Chief Lai nodded. "What's wrong?"
Jiang Zao then asked, "Is your daughter a fan of Zheng Xiao?"
Mentioning this, Village Chief Lai got angry. "Oh dear, I don't know what's so great about that white-haired girl. She's completely infatuated with my daughter, saying she wants to go to a music academy and become a singer. You know, with her tone-deafness, she's only good at singing our local folk songs. How can she become a star?"
Although Chief Lai's every word was full of complaints and disdain, Jiang Zao could still tell from his words that he doted on his daughter.
She wanted to take a gamble.
"Village Chief Lai, what if I told you I could let your daughter meet Zheng Xiao?"
Village Chief Lai, who had been hunched over, sat up straight instantly. "Really?"
Jiang Zao took out her phone and showed many photos of her and Zheng Xiao together.
“Zheng Xiao is my best friend,” Jiang Zao said, the pride in her tone also being noticed by the shrewd Village Chief Lai.
Village Chief Lai took a couple more puffs of his cigarette and said, "I've already promised to give Team A to someone else, and one can't go back on their word. But Team B can be assigned to you, with about 100 people in total. What kind of treatment can you offer them?"
Sure enough, the village chief had a trick up his sleeve.
Qiao Li, who was outside the door, hurriedly came in again and discussed the workers' wages and benefits with Village Chief Lai. Only then was the matter completely settled.
After leaving Village Chief Lai's house, Qiao Li excitedly made a phone call to Zheng Xiao.
The phone rang for a long time before the other party answered.
Qiao Li: "Xiao'er, I'll treat you to a big meal when I get back!"
Zheng Xiao: "Get lost! Don't you dare disturb your grandma's nap!"
Beep beep beep...
The call was disconnected.
But this did not affect Qiao Li's good mood.
On the way back, I hummed a song while driving, my smile almost reaching my ears.
"Jiang Zao, collaborating with you was definitely the best decision I ever made." Back at the guesthouse, Qiao Li put his hand on Jiang Zao's shoulder, his tone extremely serious.
For no apparent reason, a chill ran from my heels straight to the top of my head, as if I were being stared at by something terrifying.
Qiao Li turned around and looked around.
There was nothing there.
Achoo!
Jiang Zao was very accommodating and took a step back. "I think you have a cold. Go find some cold medicine first, and then have the cook make you a bowl of ginger soup."
Since it was still early, Jiang Zao decided to take another look around the jade mine.
"I'll join you too... Achoo!" Qiao Li was freezing cold, his face burning red.
Jiang Zao advised him, "You should rest well. I know the way myself."
After saying that, she left on her own.
The roads near the jade mine were really difficult to walk on, with deep and shallow paths. Even though Jiang Zao was very careful, she almost fell several times.
She began to consider the possibility of building the road.
As he was thinking, his footing gave way, and he fell into the mine pit beside him.
At the critical moment, a pair of strong hands caught her, pulled her back, and held her tightly in their arms.
"You scared me to death." A familiar voice, a familiar scent, a familiar embrace.
For some reason, Jiang Zao wasn't surprised.
After a long pause, he finally asked, "What are you doing here?"
Fu Yanci released Jiang Zao, helped her adjust her trench coat, and then took off his scarf and tied it around her neck.
"I heard from Qiao Li that business here is pretty good, so I'd like to give it a try." He didn't hide it from Jiang Zao.
Jiang Zao quickly realized, "Did Village Chief Lai's A Brigade get it to you?"
“Hmm.” Fu Yanci nodded. “I arrived half an hour earlier than you guys. Qiao Li was right, this place is truly 'gold' everywhere.”
Jade is much more valuable than gold.
Jiang Zao asked him with a smile, "Are you going to challenge us to a duel?"
Fu Yanci did not deny it: "More and more people will come here to mine, and I will definitely not be your only competitor."
Jiang Zao also agrees with this point.
“But the Fu family has no experience in this business…” As she spoke, Jiang Zao suddenly thought of something, “You want to bid for that office building in the north of the city, is it also for the purpose of doing jade mining business?”
As expected of his wife, she's so smart!
"Mm." Fu Yanci tried his best to maintain the composure expected of a domineering CEO in front of Jiang Zao.
Jiang started trying to get information out of him, "How many traps have you fallen into?"
Fu Yanci answered subconsciously, "Three."
Then he frowned slightly, as if he had just realized his habit of answering every question Jiang Zao asked.
Jiang Zao smiled faintly: "Jade mines aren't a business where whoever has the most money makes money. If you can get good quality jade, have you started construction over there?"
Fu Yanci took off his gloves and put them on Jiang Zao's hands.
“We’re competitors now. You’re so openly asking for information, shouldn’t you give me some reward? Zaozao.” He looked at Jiang Zao with a smile.
Jiang Zao blinked, looking innocent and naive. "Asking for information? Did I? I thought I was just concerned about my husband who suddenly 'ran away from home'."
Fu Yanci was overjoyed.
His wife said he was her husband!
"Don't worry, your husband will never 'run away from home'."
Wherever you are, I will be there.
Unfortunately, he doesn't dare say that now.
He knew Jiang Zao's personality too well; confessing his feelings too early would only push her further away.
He must proceed slowly and methodically.
Boiling a frog in lukewarm water.
Jiang Zao: "Of course, we signed a contract."
Fu Yanci: "..."
See? He knew it would be like this!
However, his wife always remembered their contract.
His wife was indeed thinking about him all the time.
Qiao Li, that peacock-like woman, would never catch his wife's eye.
Absolutely impossible!
"Would it be convenient for me to visit your jade mine?" Jiang Zao asked casually.
Since they are now competitors, there are certain things they should avoid discussing.
However, Fu Yanci agreed without hesitation: "Okay."
His wife really cares about him; she even wanted to visit his mine to check it out, probably because she was afraid he'd be scammed.
Jiang was somewhat surprised.
Why did you agree so readily?
In return, he will surely want to visit their jade mine, so how should she refuse?
Jiang Zao had been thinking about this question the whole way.
She didn't even notice that Fu Yanci had been holding her hand the whole time.
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