Chapter 1889

Zhou Andong snorted: "Even if you think with your butt, Kong Xingzhong wouldn't do anything clean."

"That's right." Tang Lin said in agreement: "He dares to use any means against future culture—just think how bold he is. And such a greedy person—how could he possibly be clean?"

"Kong Xingzhong is too greedy; his corrupt money might not be less than Zhang Jingkuan's."

Zhou Andong leaned lazily against the chair back, smiling with narrowed eyes as he spoke.

"When he goes to the execution ground, I'll definitely bring two bottles of wine to see him off."

Tang Lin followed with a hehe laugh: "Besides the Jin family, the other few behind Zhongbao seem to have no reaction at all."

"They are." Zhou Andong paused, then continued: "They're probably thinking of ways to stop me from taking a seat at the table."

Tang Lin blinked: "Do they still have cards to play?"

Zhou Andong stretched out his finger, scratching his head bit by bit.

"The card game isn't over yet—who knows?"

Tang Lin said worriedly: "We've already shown our hand, but we don't know what cards they still hold—this is very disadvantageous for us."

"There's nothing we can do." Zhou Andong sighed: "When the troops come, we block; when the water comes, we earth it over—take it step by step."

Tang Lin fell silent: "How's the negotiation with the little devils going?"

"Little devils!" Zhou Andong narrowed his eyes: "What else can they do? Sky-high pricing. If they accept, we sell Yu Zhou Technology to them; if not, and they still won't leave, we'll just keep arguing with them."

"Tang Lin!" A faint shout came from the receiver—Nie Wen's voice.

"Here!" Tang Lin shouted: "Alright, I'm done chatting with you—I need to go home with Nie Wen. Our wedding date is set; we need to discuss the banquet arrangements."

"Finally set." Zhou Andong asked: "Which day?"

Tang Lin said: "September 20th, the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month—Mid-Autumn Festival."

Zhou Andong laughed: "About ten or so days before mine—perfect. You finish your wedding, I'll finish mine."

"Tang Lin!" Nie Wen's shout came again from the receiver.

"Alright, alright, I'm done chatting." Tang Lin hung up the phone.

Zhou Andong picked up the phone, thought for a moment, and called Wu Huilin's office.

It's already off work—today's negotiations should have ended; Wu Huilin will definitely be back in the office.

Sure enough, after just a few rings, Wu Huilin answered.

"This is Yu Gong Group, I'm Wu Huilin—who is this?"

"Zhou Andong!" Zhou Andong said: "President Wu, telecom has now launched a caller ID feature—no matter who calls, you can see the other party's number.

Have someone contact telecom to activate this caller ID function—so we don't have to ask 'who's calling?' every time."

Wu Huilin laughed: "The report has already been submitted below—I just haven't had time to approve it, and we still need to replace all the phones with models that have caller ID.

Moreover, these phones are currently only available from telecom and are quite expensive—one such phone costs over a thousand. I'm considering having Yu Zhou Technology develop one like this; the future market shouldn't be small."

"That can be done." Zhou Andong said: "This kind of phone has little technical content—mainly it's about design. As long as it looks good, it will surely capture a market.

Besides, our walkie-talkies are now very popular, wireless technology is mature—we can develop a cordless phone."

"Hello, Xiao Li?"

Zhou Andong's ear immediately rang with the demonic ad for Bu Bu Gao cordless phones.

"Cordless phone?" Wu Huilin said thoughtfully: "This idea isn't bad—maybe it has good prospects."

"Prospects definitely exist." Zhou Andong said: "In the future, phones will surely enter every household—the phone market won't be small."

Wu Huilin believes there is a market for phones, but she remains cautious about how big it could be.

After all, private phone installation in China is still too expensive—ordinary families simply can't afford it.

"You called me—do you want to know the progress of today's negotiations with Sony?"

"Exactly!" Zhou Andong reached for the ashtray on the desk, lit a cigarette: "How is it? Did the little devils get angry and embarrassed?"

"No!" Wu Huilin's tone full of confusion: "We've held firm on twenty billion US dollars, refusing to budge—they keep negotiating with us, appearing very patient, not at all rushed."

"The little devils are investigating Yu Zhou Technology." Zhou Andong's voice full of regret: "If DVD technology and standards were in Yu Zhou Technology's hands, they might really fork over twenty billion to buy it."

Wu Huilin laughed: "How I hear it, your tone sounds so regretful."

"It really is regrettable." Zhou Andong took a drag: "That's twenty billion US dollars—doesn't it move you?"

"Of course I'm moved." Wu Huilin said honestly: "But I know you well—DVD technology and standards aren't about money; they're about national dignity and technological competition between nations. So don't say twenty billion—even if it were forty billion, you wouldn't sell."

"Exactly!" Zhou Andong said softly: "DVD technology and standards relate to national dignity and international technological competition—they cannot be sold."

Saying that, Zhou Andong sighed: "Alright, you go ahead and get busy—I'm a bit hungry, I need to fill my stomach."

After hanging up, Zhou Andong didn't leave immediately but sat in the chair, eyes closed, puffing on a cigarette intermittently.

"I already have a vague idea of what cards those behind Zhongbao are holding."

"Bang bang bang……"

The office door was knocked on heavily.

Zhou Andong opened his eyes: "Come in!"

The office door was pushed open, and Yao Jun walked in.

"Let's go, let's go drink."

Zhou Andong said unhappily: "Haven't you had enough to drink these past two days?"

"San'er called me saying let's get together."

Yao Jun walked over, rudely picked up the cigarette on the desk, and lit it.

"He's been away on business trips for months—we haven't seen each other in ages."

"San'er's back?" Zhou Andong stood up: "Let's go, let's go—I've been missing him."

……………………

Since Diya Packaging teamed up with the Jiangzhou Yugong Group and began implementing a follow-the-leader strategy, Chen Weimin has been running all over the country.

Whether it's Jiang Xiaobai or Xuri Sheng, whether it's purchasing, building a bottling plant themselves, or contract manufacturing, Chen Weimin must personally go to the site to inspect and set up the factory.

One could say that over the past year, Chen Weimin has been so busy his feet never touched the ground; even when he returns, he doesn't stay more than two days, and besides, Zhou Andong has also been away from Jiangzhou all this time, making meetings difficult.

Yao Jun drove the car and arrived at the sandpot snack shop not far from the old winery, which they often visit.

Zhou Andong got out of the car and saw a brand-new Crown already parked beside them.

Yao Jun locked the car and said with a smile: "This is San'er's car; last month I had him help me pick it up."

Zhou Andong patted the front hood of the Crown, a smile appearing on his face: in this life, two good brothers can both live well, and he is genuinely happy from the bottom of his heart.

"What are you standing here for?" Chen Weimin saw them arrive and came out of the small shop.

Zhou Andong sized up Chen Weimin: "You're so busy running all over the country—how come you haven't lost weight? Instead, you've gotten fatter."

"How could I not gain weight?" Chen Weimin gave a wry smile: "No matter where I go, local government departments always entertain us; since we're investing locally, we can't avoid going, and once we're there, it's all eating and drinking—we can't escape even if we wanted to."

"Come on, come on, come on!" Yao Jun pulled the two of them: "I'm hungry; let's talk while we eat—don't just stand at the door."

"Boss!" Chen Weimin shouted: "Serve the dishes—add extra pork belly to the hotpot vegetables."

"Got it!"

The boss brought out a steaming hotpot of sour cabbage, still bubbling and gurgling in the kitchen.

"Oh my!" Yao Jun looked at the thick layer of pork belly in the hotpot and teased: "Boss, did you get married? You're in a good mood, giving us so much pork belly."

The boss is in his forties, a well-known old bachelor in the area. By rights, this guy isn't ugly, has skills, and runs a small shop—finding a wife should be no problem—but for some unknown reason, he's remained a bachelor for most of his life.

"What's the point of getting married?" the boss chuckled: "Once you make money, you have to spend it on her; later, if you have kids, it's even more of a burden. Being single, free and easy, making money and spending it yourself—how great is that?"

Chen Weimin gave a thumbs-up: "Boss, I really admire your carefree personality."

"Anyway, I've lived my whole life just for myself." The boss took out cigarettes and lit them for Zhou Andong and the three others: "You go ahead and eat first—the pork intestine hotpot, three-delicacy hotpot, and little chicken hotpot are ready; I'll bring them up."

The boss turned and went into the kitchen, then brought up the three hotpots.

Zhou Andong picked up a piece of pork intestine with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth: "I say, boss, this portion is much larger than before."

"That's right," the boss said, bringing over another bottle of Yongchuang Tianya: "You're all big bosses now, yet you still come here to eat my hotpot—that shows you respect me, so I must serve larger portions."

With a bang, the boss used his chopsticks to open the beer: "Three bosses, I toast you—thank you for still coming to eat at my place."

In one gulp, the boss downed an entire bottle of wine: "Eat slowly; call me if you need anything."

"No problem!" Zhou Andong replied, then asked Chen Weimin: "San'er, are we still leaving?"

"Pretty much arranged." Chen Weimin shook his head: "Not leaving for now—just rest properly for a while."

Yao Jun spat out the chicken bone in his mouth: "If anything comes up, let that old guy Wu Xianping handle it."

The three brothers, long unseen, drank, ate, and chatted, as if they had returned to three years ago.

……………………

Jingcheng!

Inside a three-story red-brick building, in the ancient-style decorated living room, a group of people sat.

Liu Wei, Quan Xin, and the other three directors of Zhongbao, Chen Xuhao, Feng Zhen, and Yao Yao were among them.

Besides these few people, apart from the Liu, Quan, Chen, Feng, and Yao families, there were also elders of the Jin family present.

"Everyone!" Liu Hanhai, also known as Liu Wei's fourth uncle, glanced at the others: "Zhongbao's listing has been blocked; the top leadership is already dissatisfied with us and plans to reshuffle.

And to ensure the listing, we must talk to Zhou Andong; once he sits at the table, one of us will be eliminated—I think none of us wants to be the one kicked out."

Feng Zhen's elder brother, Feng Qing, had a cigar in his mouth, one hand playing with a large gold ingot on the other hand.

"Stop the nonsense—just say what you think. If your idea works, then act quickly; our time is already running out.

If it doesn't work, hurry up and discuss—three clumsy craftsmen can match a Zhuge Liang; with so many of us, can't we find a way to break through?"

The others also turned their gaze to Liu Hanhai; although they said nothing, their meaning was already clear: speak up, let it out—don't be a mother's son selling secrets, wasting time.

Liu Hanhai spoke with full confidence: "Zhou Andong used underhanded tactics to scheme against us, blocking Zhongbao's listing—but you haven't forgotten that the Jiangzhou Yugong Group's subsidiary, Xuri Sheng, is also seeking listing in Xiangjiang."