Chapter 1042: The Storm Brews

"Since Mr. Zhuo is so insistent, then let's sign it."

Li Ling smiled, a smile with a deeper meaning, but in Zhuo Qihua's eyes, it was a helpless smile after compromising.

Dong Herong hand-wrote two copies of the agreement. Li Ling and Zhuo Qihua signed their names, and then each took a copy and put it away.

Li Ling, who was originally going to leave, didn't leave after signing. "I suddenly remembered, the appointment is tomorrow."

As she spoke, Li Ling picked up her coffee. "I don't know why, but my memory has been particularly poor lately. It seems I need to go to the hospital for a checkup when I have time."

Zhou Anlei curled his lip, his face showing disdain, but in his heart, he was very envious.

They were from the same village, and she was even younger than him. Now look at her: in just over a year, she was already a senior executive at Yuxi Real Estate, capable of deciding on transactions worth hundreds of millions.

And look at himself—what had he done in over a year? Not only was he swindled, but he also had his leg broken and spent over a year as a beggar in Guangzhou. If it weren't for the coincidence of running into Zhou Andong, he didn't know when he would have been able to escape from there.

Zhou Anlei's mind was wandering. Zhuo Qihua and Si Wei looked at each other and smiled slightly in unison. They believed they had manipulated Li Ling, making her give up the idea of continuing to negotiate with Zhou Andong.

Both sides had ulterior motives, yet the atmosphere was quite friendly. After drinking coffee and chatting for a while, they each found excuses to leave.

"Ha!"

Back in the room, Li Ling laughed happily. "This Zhuo Qihua is really not easy to deal with, but I always feel that he is full of hostility toward the Chairman. Buying this land is just to target the Chairman."

Dong Herong nodded. "I have that feeling too."

Li Ling looked at Zhou Anlei. "Zhou Erlei, do you know why?"

Zhou Anlei said with dissatisfaction, "Call me Second Brother."

Li Ling said expressionlessly, "I can call you Zhou Erlei in a friendly way; that's already giving you face."

There wasn't a soul in Tanghezi who didn't know that the families of Zhou Andong and Zhou Anlei were at odds, and Li Ling certainly wouldn't be unaware of it.

To be honest, when she saw Zhou Anlei the day before yesterday, she was indeed very surprised, but this was Zhou Andong's private business.

Curiosity was curiosity, but she only thought about it in her heart. Even seeing that Zhou Anlei had a limp, she didn't ask much.

But regardless of whether the relationship between Zhou Andong and Zhou Anlei had eased, she still didn't think much of Zhou Anlei at all.

A leopard can't change its spots; a dog can't stop eating excrement. Li Ling absolutely didn't believe that Zhou Anlei had suddenly stopped eating excrement.

So, now that the business was finished, it was impossible for her to give Zhou Anlei any good looks.

"I don't know either." Zhou Anlei said, seemingly out of spite, but in reality, he truly didn't know.

Li Ling didn't pay any more attention to him. "Let's go, we're going to eat."

To avoid being discovered by Zhuo Qihua, they weren't planning to have any contact with Zhou Andong today. They would report to Zhou Andong only after signing the formal contract and completing the land use rights transfer procedures.

………………

October 11, 1992, the 26th day of the eighth lunar month, Monday!

At the Guangzhou Garden Hotel, at 10:00 AM, Li Ling and Zhuo Qihua signed the land use rights transfer contract.

The contract stipulated that after signing, a 30% deposit would be prepaid.

After completing the land use rights transfer procedures, the full payment would be delivered within one week.

At the same time, in a conference room at Sun Yat-sen University, it was packed with people.

Gao Zhen signed a cooperation agreement with the university president and the research institute director, promising that 1.5 million in R&D funds would be deposited into the institute's account within one week.

What Zhou Andong didn't know was that a fierce storm targeting him had begun to brew.

Beijing, Beijing Normal University. Because of Jiang Yuyue, most of the students at Beijing Normal University were die-hard fans of Zhou Andong.

"Students, something big has happened."

A scene that felt familiar was once again staged at Beijing Normal University. A male student rushed into a classroom holding a newspaper.

Inside the classroom, dozens of students were quietly studying. Hearing the boy's shout, they all looked up with dissatisfaction.

The boy held up the newspaper. "Has anyone read today's Science News?"

"Hurry up and say it, what happened?" someone shouted impatiently.

"I'll read this article to you."

The boy nodded and began to read, holding the newspaper.

"As a businessman, Zhou Andong has enjoyed the dividends of reform and opening up, yet he shows no gratitude. On important occasions, he spouts nonsense, slanders Western culture, and induces ignorant people to hate and resist the West.

In my view, he is not Chinese; he doesn't even count as a human being. With the help of the powerful Christian culture and persistent spiritual doctrines of the West, everyone lives a sunny and positive life. This represents the highest achievement of civilization since modern times...

I do not deny that we once had a brilliant civilization, but that has already become the past. We need to face the future, introduce Western culture, and make our country a civilized, free, and equal nation like the West.

Not like Zhou Andong, becoming a fly on a garbage heap, a mosquito in a sewage pit, reduced to a herd of animals, reduced to a rogue and scoundrel, polluting civilization and the international community..."

When the boy finished reading, the classroom was silent. It was a long while before someone asked the doubt in their hearts.

"What did Zhou Andong say?"

The boy placed a copy of the Guangzhou Evening News and the Daily News on the desk in front of them. "See for yourselves."

People from the back crowded over. Time passed bit by bit, during which the sounds of slapping tables, stomping feet, and shouting in approval were constant.

The bell for the end of class rang, but no one left the classroom. Those who had finished reading were discussing it, and those who hadn't were still gathered together reading.

"I think Zhou Andong said it very correctly. There is indeed a group of 'hate-the-country' people around us who have been beautifying the West and uglifying ourselves."

"Have you noticed?"

"What?"

"Professor Zhang Wengong from the School of Liberal Arts always sneaks in some private agenda during public lectures. He promotes money-first, beauty-first, and race-first. He always says the moon in America is rounder and the air is sweeter.

I didn't feel anything when I heard it before, and I didn't pay attention to it. Regardless of whether the moon in America is rounder or the air is sweeter, I don't have the chance to go abroad anyway.

But after watching Zhou Andong's speech, I suddenly feel that this matter is very serious. We really need to be vigilant."

"I've also attended Zhang Wengong's class; he really does often say these things. If you ask me, we shouldn't just be vigilant; we should report this matter to the school. We absolutely cannot let such poisonous remarks from Zhang Wengong appear in the classroom again."

"Right, let's report him. Let's go together."

Immediately, more than a dozen students stood up. These were all students who had attended Zhang Wengong's class.

They hadn't felt anything before, but now, seeing Zhou Andong's speech, they had realized something was wrong.

"What are you all going to do?"

A student explained the situation, and others stood up to join them.

"We'll go too. There's strength in numbers."

"Right, right, right, there's strength in numbers. We'll all go."

Most of the entire classroom went, though there were some timid ones who didn't dare to join in the excitement. ===== CHAPTER 1043 =====