Chapter 2075

At this time, the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse was not yet open to the public, and there were armed police standing guard and patrolling everywhere.

This building was located in the center of the State Guesthouse, north of the central lake of Diaoyutai.

Zhou Andong and Seeing Jian Qiu arrived at 9:30 AM, and the old man's secretary was already waiting at the entrance.

After getting out of the car, Zhou Andong raised his hand and greeted him: "Old Han, long time no see."

Han Haiming didn't give him any face and said: "Didn't we just see each other at Courtyard No. 6 before you returned to Jiangzhou?"

"You really don't know how to chat, and you keep a straight face all day long, as if someone owes you money and won't pay it back."

Zhou Andong looked up and examined Building No. 18. It was a building in the imitation Ming style, looking antique and having quite a bit of ancient charm.

"You're only in your forties now, still very young, so you should have the vitality of a young person. Come on, give your brother a smile, and I'll treat you to a drink tonight."

Han Haiming's mouth twitched: "Every time you go..."

Zhou Andong said with a straight face: "Although you aren't often at Courtyard No. 6, don't you know Zhao Qun?

I invite him to drink with sincerity, but he always acts fake, saying he's on duty and has no time. Can you blame me for that?"

Hearing Zhou Andong's shameless words, Han Haiming's teeth ached with anger: "Every time you say you're inviting him to drink, it's when he's on duty. Why don't you say you're inviting him to drink when he's not on duty?"

"I don't see him when he's not on duty," Zhou Andong said righteously, "How do you expect me to invite him?"

Han Haiming was an educated person; he didn't want to engage with this shameless guy anymore, as it simply lowered his own quality, so he stepped into the main entrance of Building No. 18.

Zhou Andong supported Seeing Jian Qiu as they followed him in. What met their eyes was a pair of arches made of golden nanmu wood. Behind the arches was the central hall, and the dragon lantern on the ceiling of the central hall used gilding craftsmanship.

This gilding process belongs to metalworking; simply put, it involves synthesizing gold and mercury into a gold amalgam, which is then evenly applied to the surface of copperware.

Subsequently, the mercury is evaporated through heating, so the gold in the gold amalgam naturally adheres to the surface of the copperware and will not fall off.

Zhou Andong stood in the central hall, looked up at the chandelier, and smacked his lips: "This thing must be worth quite a lot of money."

Han Haiming took a deep breath, constantly persuading himself in his heart not to lower himself to the level of this guy.

Zhou Andong suddenly leaned closer to Han Haiming: "Old Han, do you know who the guest is?"

Han Haiming shook his head: "Since the Chief didn't tell you, I won't tell you even if you ask. You'll know when you go in."

Zhou Andong curled his lips and checked the time: "The old man told me to come at ten o'clock. There are still twenty minutes left. It's not appropriate to go over too early. Take me around to see this place. After I go back, I can brag about this for two years."

Han Haiming's mouth twitched fiercely again, but since the appointment was for ten o'clock, even if they went over now, they would just be waiting outside and could only report when the time came, so Han Haiming didn't refuse.

"To the left of the central hall is the banquet hall. The furnishings inside are basically cultural relics from the Ming and Qing dynasties."

Han Haiming walked over and pushed open the door. Zhou Andong and Seeing Jian Qiu followed him in. The most eye-catching thing in the banquet hall was a giant painting of a hundred horses.

"This painting is by the master of Chinese painting, Mr. Huang Zhou. He painted over two hundred works for Diaoyutai and the Great Hall of the People."

Zhou Andong wandered around the banquet hall for a circle, and after coming out, he asked Seeing Jian Qiu: "Have you been here before?"

Seeing Jian Qiu nodded with a smile: "I came twice when I was a child, but I haven't been here since I grew up."

Han Haiming walked toward the opposite side, which was the negotiation hall to the right of the central hall. There wasn't much to say about this place. If there was anything, it was that the chairs in the hall were all made of Danish calfskin.

Zhou Andong reached out and gently stroked the heavy table, a surge of emotion rising in his heart. Since the founding of New China, who knows how many intense negotiations and thrilling secret battles had been staged here? He felt as if he could smell the invisible scent of gunpowder.

Then the three of them passed through the central hall and went to the left to the reception hall. To the south of the reception hall was the indoor garden covering an area of over three hundred square meters, which was also the world-famous Four Seasons Hall.

The floor of the entire Four Seasons Hall was covered with plastic lawn, but it wasn't the common, harder material; its softness was comparable to a carpet, and stepping on it gave one a very comfortable feeling.

In the southeast corner of the Four Seasons Hall, there was an exquisite rockery as decoration, while in the southwest corner, there was a pond where flowers and goldfish were kept.

Han Haiming introduced: "This Four Seasons Hall is an important venue for hosting state banquets. Those foreign dignitaries staying here usually host return banquets for our leaders in the Four Seasons Hall."

As he spoke, Han Haiming pointed to the various items displayed in the Four Seasons Hall: "Everything displayed here is a precious cultural relic. For example, that blue-glazed pastel dragon and phoenix jar placed in the middle of the hall was an item used by Emperor Guangxu during his wedding..."

Zhou Andong walked over and touched it with his hand, his expression looking very pious: "I'll also get some imperial aura. When I die, it won't have been a wasted life."

Seeing Jian Qiu burst into laughter: "In this Building No. 18, there are many similar cultural treasures like porcelain and chairs. Some can be called treasures among treasures, and they are basically items used by the royal family during the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty."

Zhou Andong glanced at the ceiling: "The guest rooms are upstairs, right?"

"Yes!" Han Haiming also laughed, then checked the time: "It's about time, let's go over. As for the second floor, I'll take you to visit when there's an opportunity in the future."

"Will there be an opportunity in the future?"

Zhou Andong shook his head with a smile. Will there be an opportunity in the future? He didn't know. Anyway, he knew that being called here by the old man this time to be introduced to an important figure was definitely due to the one billion US dollars he had donated.

Otherwise, even if he were the richest man in the world, if he had no contribution to society or the country, the old man would absolutely not be able to bring himself to let him come here.

Arriving in front of the reception hall door, Han Haiming knocked on the door. The door was pulled open from the inside by a waiter wearing a red shirt and a black skirt that went past her knees.

Han Haiming nodded and walked in, and then the waiter gently closed the door again. Zhou Andong glanced inside; it was a short corridor, and he couldn't see anything.

Soon, Han Haiming came out and said softly: "The Chief wants you to go in."

Zhou Andong nodded, supported Seeing Jian Qiu as they entered the door, and passed through the corridor of only ten-plus meters. The view suddenly opened up, and then his gaze fell on another old man with gray hair wearing a suit who was chatting and laughing with the old man, and his eyes suddenly widened.