[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-restarted-life-1992":3,"chapter-my-restarted-life-1992-my-restarted-life-1992-chapter-109":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","My Restarted Life: 1992",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2279659,4460,"Chapter 109: Powerful Negotiation","my-restarted-life-1992-chapter-109",109,"\u003Cp>Upstairs, as soon as the door opened, the sound of running water came from the bathroom—no need to guess, it was An Jing showering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sit in the living room for a bit, I’ll go change clothes,” Jian Qiu said, stepping into her bedroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips, just as he was about to light it—the bathroom door opened, and Zhou Andong turned his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clack—the cigarette fell onto his clothes. There stood An Jing, completely naked, at the bathroom doorway, towel in hand, still mid-motion of drying her hair, eyes wide as she stared at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment of silence, a scream louder than any world-class soprano erupted—An Jing’s face turned instantly crimson, her skin flushed pink, then she slammed the bathroom door shut and shouted in fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhou Andong, what are you doing here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong?” Hearing the scream, Jian Qiu burst out wearing only her underwear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong shrugged, looking innocent. “Your best friend just walked out of the bathroom naked.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I forgot about her habit,” Jian Qiu slapped her forehead, glaring fiercely at Zhou Andong. “You got lucky.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Jing reappeared, now wrapped in a bath towel, her face still flushed—whether from the shower or from being seen naked, it was hard to tell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why didn’t you say anything when you got back?” An Jing took out her anger on Jian Qiu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pfft!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jian Qiu laughed, pinching An Jing’s cheek. “Serves you right. How many times have I told you not to wander around naked? You never listen—now you’ve gotten yourself embarrassed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Jing shot back: “I don’t mind taking the hit, just don’t get jealous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Relax, I’ve got enough grace for that,” Jian Qiu reached again to pinch An Jing’s cheek.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Jing was ready—she dodged aside, her eyes darting over Jian Qiu’s body, then glanced back at Zhou Andong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You ran out in just your underwear? Getting bolder by the day,” An Jing suddenly grabbed Jian Qiu’s chest. “You didn’t come home last night—did you two stay at a hotel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, we stayed at a hotel. You want to? Too bad you don’t have a man to stay with,” Jian Qiu sniffed haughtily, turning elegantly and walking into her bedroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That stung. An Jing clenched her fist, then turned to Zhou Andong, her expression dark. “Zhou Andong, you’ve gotten all the benefits—tell me right now, where did you stay last night? Did you go to a hotel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong felt a bit guilty. Though it wasn’t his fault, as a man, he should be magnanimous, so he answered honestly: “We went back to Tanghezi last night.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Jing didn’t believe him: “Back to Tanghezi? You didn’t do anything?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong rolled his eyes. “My parents and younger siblings were all there—what could we possibly have done?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An Jing looked disappointed, then growled: “Forget what just happened. Understood? Or I’ll gouge out your eyes and step on them like balloons.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She spun around and went to her room, closing the door softly, then lay on the bed, staring fixedly at the ceiling, lost in thought. Her heart suddenly pounded faster, her face burning hotter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?” Jian Qiu came out dressed, didn’t see An Jing, and asked Zhou Andong: “She went back to her room?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong nodded, stood up. “Let’s go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They went downstairs; by the time they reached the distillery, it was past ten. As soon as they entered Gu Bing’s office, Gu Bing shot up from his chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come quickly—Zuo Peiming wants us at city hall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong immediately knew Jinli County had made its decision—expected, but not this fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jian Qiu straightened Zhou Andong’s collar. “Go ahead. I’ll head back to my office—find me when you return.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At city hall, seeing Zhou Andong and Gu Bing arrive, Zuo Peiming put on his coat and walked out: “To Jinli County.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the car, Zuo Peiming said: “Jinli County agreed to all terms—the distillery and land will be sold together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong asked: “What’s the price?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming replied: “Thirteen million eight hundred thousand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong snorted: “A distillery with an annual output of seven hundred tons? Thirteen million eight hundred thousand? How dare they ask that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming said nothing. In his heart, he still wanted to give Jinli County some leeway—but Jiangzhou Distillery’s reform direction was already set. At this point, giving Jinli County even one more yuan would harm the interests of every worker at Jiangzhou Distillery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he said nothing. He left it to Jinli County to negotiate with Zhou Andong—the final price would depend entirely on their skill. But he didn’t believe Jinli County’s team could win. Zhou Andong was too sharp a fox—trying to snatch meat from his mouth was nearly impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zuo Peiming hadn’t brought a secretary. Gu Bing sat in the front passenger seat and turned back to Zhou Andong: “At what price do you plan to buy the county distillery?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong asked: “How much is a small distillery with seven hundred tons annual output worth?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Bing thought for a moment: “Ten thousand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong said: “Too high. Four million is plenty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t forget the land,” Gu Bing said. “The county distillery occupies two hundred and sixty mu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Land’s the least valuable thing,” Zhou Andong laughed. One thing he didn’t say: before the real estate boom and land finance took off, no land was valuable—not even in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the county distillery conference room, Kang Yu, Lian Zhongyu, and several other county officials had already arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about ten minutes, Factory Director Du Xiangchun strode in: “Deputy Mayor Zuo’s car has arrived.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lian Zhongyu and Kang Yu immediately stood and went out to greet him; the others followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing everyone come out to welcome him, Zuo Peiming waved his hand: “No need for pleasantries—let’s get to business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in the conference room, Zhou Andong cut straight to the point: “Since you’ve agreed to all terms, let’s discuss the sale price of the distillery and land.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kang Yu said: “We’ve already told Deputy Mayor Zuo—the price is thirteen million eight hundred thousand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“County Chief Kang, we’re all busy. Don’t waste time on pointless negotiations. Thirteen million eight hundred thousand—do you really think that’s fair?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Andong spoke with force: “Sixty thousand. That’s already a huge premium. If you accept, we keep talking. If not, we’ll walk out and go about our business.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kang Yu frowned. They’d set such a high price hoping to leave room for bargaining—but their bottom line was eight to nine million. They never expected Zhou Andong to slash it down to sixty thousand—and so bluntly.\u003C\u002Fp>",1116,"2026-06-20T01:18:49.036Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6e23bae810b211da5799f9cbc8d7432b0e84042ebd582a35e578bf4e4b9d8299","my-restarted-life-1992-chapter-110","my-restarted-life-1992-chapter-108",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-restarted-life-1992-cover.jpg"]