Chapter 692: Report to Secretary Wu

Qian Director can share the burden on Li Jia. That way Li Jia can have a proper rest.

Indeed, this woman is very capable.

I have already seen the dark circles under Li Jia's eyes.

Ding Li suggested having Xiao Feng come over to help with the finances.

But after much deliberation I did not let Xiao Feng come; when Xiao Feng arrives, Qi He Kuang becomes empty,

and there is no one to support it.

Moreover, regarding the Huaihai Ancient City matter, I was originally just helping and don't want to get too involved.

I feel that for the financial side, it's best to have people from the Huaihai City Cultural Tourism Bureau come over.

Everyone will feel at ease about the accounts.

My main intention is to show Zhuang Shi,

I, Zhao Jianqiang, have no selfish motives; the accounting will all use yours.

Thinking of this, I proactively contacted Secretary Wu,

Secretary Wu's phone connected quickly,

"Hello Mr. Zhao, what can I do for you? Please speak."

"Hello Secretary Wu, I would like to report to you on the work of these past days," I said.

"Mr. Zhao, there's really no need to report; I've heard it. You've made the Ancient City lively and colorful. Visitor numbers have increased considerably, and everyone is talking about the Ancient City. That shows you have done an excellent job," Secretary Wu said over the phone.

I smiled and said, "Secretary Wu, to be honest, only if we lease out all the shops in the Ancient City can I claim any achievement.

We are still far from doing a good job.

I want to report two matters to you and hope for your support."

"Speak, any matter within my ability, I will fully support you."

"The first matter: we lack an accountant here; I would like to have an accountant from the Huaihai City Cultural Tourism Bureau come to help us," I said.

"That? No need for the Cultural Tourism Bureau's accountant; the municipal finance department has a dedicated accounting team. When the time comes, I will send people to assist you. Rest assured," Secretary Wu said.

"Great, thank you for your support, Secretary Wu. There's another matter: the year-end is approaching quickly.

I want to organize a big prize-drawing event in the Ancient City to usher in the New Year.

However, the shops here sell only tourism products, which differ from New Year goods.

I would like Secretary Wu to contact the major malls of Huaihai City and have them set up sales inside the Huaihai Ancient City.

to enrich the content of our event,

and also let the people of Huaihai enjoy a joyful New Year.

so they can purchase all New Year goods in one stop. However, I have no contacts with these malls.

Even if I step forward, I cannot persuade them,

so I can only ask Secretary Wu for help: to bring the major malls of Huaihai City into the Ancient City.

and at the same time boost the image of our Ancient City."

After Secretary Wu heard me finish,

she couldn't help but exclaim "Good" over the phone,

"Mr. Zhao, your planning of such an event is wonderful; the Ancient City should be run like this.

Alas, the previous managers of the Ancient City only had nonsense in their heads, relying solely on ticket sales for profit.

How much money can be made from selling tickets?

If this event succeeds, the Ancient City's influence will grow, and the shops inside will be easy to lease.

I support you, Mr. Zhao,

so this afternoon I will report to Zhuang Shi,

and have him reach out to the major malls of Huaihai City,

believing these malls will move into the Ancient City,

to drive the Ancient City's sales."

"Alright, I don't need to say thank you.

I just want to say I've caused Secretary Wu trouble. I will do my utmost to accomplish this and raise the Ancient City's reputation a notch," I said.

After Secretary Wu hung up,

I quickly contacted Shi Yong and asked him to come over.

Because once the major malls arrive, we need to place them appropriately.

The main thoroughfares have all been taken by shops. The remaining spots in the Ancient City, Shi Yong knows well; I asked him to take me there for a look.

Shi Yong led me to several locations,

all of which are relatively remote.

I am not very satisfied with these places.

Shi Yong, however, said to me, "Brother, I think that when these malls come, they're just assisting; we aren't paying them. What places we give them is up to us."

I shook my head,

"Shi Yong, regarding this matter, here's what I think.

If they sell well here this time, they might lease a shop and open a branch."

"Brother, the heads of these major malls are well-known figures.

The more we go out of our way to please them, the less they appreciate it; it's better just to give them a corner here.

Let them fuss as they wish.

In this way, we also show respect to the shop owners who actually spend money."

I looked at Shi Yong,

I felt Shi Yong's words made sense.

Yeah, for these people, it was originally all for Zhuang Shi's face.

The more I treated them well, the more aloof they became.

Thus, in the Ancient City only these places were given to them; if they were willing to cooperate, they cooperated, if not, it was over.

"Shi Yong, you're right; I feel you're becoming more and more mature now."

Shi Yong smiled,

"Brother, I've always been mature. It's just that I'm no longer the me of yesterday. Yet you are still stuck in yesterday."

Shi Yong could even utter such philosophical words.

This Nurse Xiao Qi really got Shi Yong out.

I gave Shi Yong a thumbs‑up.

"Good, Shi Yong. It shows I'm still stuck in the past; I need to learn from you."

At this moment, Shi Jinhe came over,

"Brother, what are you learning from Shi Yong, his crudeness?"

"Shi Jinhe, you know, you're still stuck in the past, only knowing how to work with a brick‑knife, never looking up at the sky," Shi Yong shouted directly at Shi Jinhe.

Shi Jinhe, after Shi Yong's shout, didn't know why he answered back.

Shi Yong left angrily.

Shi Jinhe took out a cigarette and handed it to me,

"Brother, this Shi Yong is different from before; did something stimulate him?"

I smiled,

"As for Shi Yong not drinking, once he drinks, he immediately reverts to his old self.

Jinghe, how's the study of this mock‑ancient architecture going?"

"It's okay. It's just that the outside is decorated with ancient bricks and tiles, but inside it's still steel‑beam structure, cast concrete," Shi Jinhe shook his head and said.

"So you mean, only building a house entirely with ancient methods counts as mock‑ancient architecture," I said, lighting a cigarette.

"That's not necessarily so; I have an idea, we could construct a set of buildings to illustrate the differences between ancient and modern architecture to everyone.

One set using ancient rammed‑earth structure, another set using pure timber mortise‑and‑tenon construction.

I once presented this idea to that professor, but he surprisingly didn't know how we used rammed‑earth to build houses in the past.

He only knows modern architecture," Shi Jinhe said, puffing.

"Jinghe, your idea is good, but ancient construction is time‑consuming and labor‑intensive, taking a long time.

Now there are fast methods; who still uses traditional ways to build houses?" I said with a smile.

"Brother, how long do we have to stay here?" Shi Jinhe asked.

"What's wrong, missing home?" I said.

"It's not that I'm missing home; staying with you is home.

I just think,

If we stay long enough, I want to design an ancient house myself.

Much better than this kind of mock‑ancient architecture," Shi Jinhe said, looking up at the sky.

"Jinghe, we're only temporarily helping people. Just learn everything you need to.

In the future, there will be a stage for you to showcase yourself," I said, comforting Shi Jinhe.

"Brother, I understand, then fine, I have nothing else. This Shi Yong says I don't look up at the sky. Actually, I look up at the sky every day.

In his impression, I'm just a person who works holding a brick‑knife.

I also have my own ideas.

Shi Yong, really, you look down on people too much," Shi Jinhe sighed.