Chapter 2105: Gifts

The call was dialed, and the other party answered after just two rings.

"Hello, this is the Huo residence. Who are you looking for, please?"

The person who answered was a woman speaking Cantonese. Zhou Andong could only understand "hello"; he could only grasp the general meaning of the rest.

"Hello, my name is Zhou Andong, I'm from the mainland. Is Elder Huo at home?"

As soon as the other party heard Mandarin, she immediately switched to it, and she spoke it very well.

"Please wait a moment!"

Footsteps came through the receiver, moving further and further away until they finally faded away.

Elder Huo had close ties with the mainland; whether it was his family or his servants, they were certainly very cordial toward those who spoke Mandarin.

Moreover, the phone number on the business card Elder Huo had given him personally could not possibly be something just anyone could obtain.

Soon, footsteps came through the receiver, getting closer and closer, followed by Elder Huo's laughter.

"Andong, when did you arrive in Xiangjiang?" Elder Huo asked with a very concerned tone.

"I got off the plane a little after three this afternoon," Zhou Andong said, full of apology. "Grandpa Huo, I hope I'm not disturbing your rest by calling so late."

"What are you talking about? How could this be a disturbance?" Elder Huo said happily. "I'm just delighted that you thought to call and greet this old man after arriving in Xiangjiang!"

Zhou Andong said with a smile, "If I didn't call you after arriving in Xiangjiang, my grandfather would certainly not forgive me once I returned to Beijing."

"Hahahaha..."

Elder Huo couldn't help but laugh heartily. "How long do you plan to stay this time? Before you leave Xiangjiang, you must come to the house for a visit."

Zhou Andong replied, "I'm returning to Beijing the day after tomorrow."

Today was July 2nd, and there were only a few days left until that heavy rainstorm in Jiangzhou.

That rain had fallen continuously for several days; his memory of it was very profound, especially the early morning of July 14th, the day Chen Wenqi sacrificed himself.

Not just him, but every member of the older generation in Jiangzhou who had experienced that flood would never be able to forget everything that happened that day.

"Is it that urgent?" Elder Huo said. "Then let's make it two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. We'll have a family dinner at home in the evening."

"Alright!" Zhou Andong agreed. "I will be there promptly at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon."

Then, the old man and the young man chatted for a while longer before hanging up the phone.

…………………………

The Huo family!

Elder Huo put down the phone and picked up the newspaper beside him to flip through it, a smile remaining on his face.

"Dad, what's making you so happy?"

The eldest Huo son and his wife, Zhu Mingming, had returned, followed by their three children.

The eldest was fifteen or sixteen, the youngest was five or six, and there was one in the middle about ten years old.

"Grandpa!"

The youngest one, seeing Elder Huo, cheered and ran over.

Elder Huo put down the newspaper and happily lifted his grandson onto his lap.

"Grandpa!"

"Grandpa!"

The other two called out respectfully and then sat obediently to one side.

This fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth was the future husband of the diving queen.

He had gone to study in the UK at age eleven; he was in Xiangjiang at this time either on vacation or because he had returned for some business.

"There will be an honored guest coming tomorrow. You should all come back at noon as well."

The eldest Huo son sat down and pulled his youngest son over. "Who is it?"

Elder Huo said with a smile, "You haven't met him, but you must have heard of him."

The eldest Huo son's curiosity was instantly piqued by Elder Huo. The people his father would call an honored guest could be counted on one hand; he had met every one of them. Who was this person he hadn't met?

"Who haven't I met?"

"You'll know when you see him tomorrow." Elder Huo didn't say, keeping him in suspense.

The eldest Huo son said helplessly, "You have to tell me who it is so I can prepare."

"No need to prepare, just come back," Elder Huo waved his hand. "He is an honored guest, but he is also your junior."

The eldest Huo son's eyes widened. As the eldest son of the Huo family, he was already gradually taking over the family business. It wasn't that he could remain calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, but there were truly few things that could surprise him this much.

Everyone before him was a junior, yet this person was an honored guest in his father's words—how could he not be surprised? There were so many young talents in Xiangjiang, including the juniors of the major families and even future successors; in his father's words, they were only evaluated as "not bad."

Now, a junior had become an honored guest in his father's words.

Who exactly was it? What was his background?

More importantly, he had only heard of him but never met him, which made him even more curious.

But he didn't ask again, because he knew that since the old man wouldn't say, asking would be useless.

July 3, 1994, the 25th day of the fifth lunar month, Sunday!

After Zhou Andong finished breakfast, he began to ponder what kind of gift to bring.

It wouldn't look good to visit an elder for the first time without bringing something.

But what to bring really gave him a headache; the main thing was, what did the Huo family not have?

Moreover, when visiting the Huo family, it wouldn't be good if the gift was too light or too heavy.

After thinking it over, he decided to bring two cases of the special supply Yugong liquor.

This was produced by his own factory; it didn't cost money, the sentiment was sufficient, and it was just right.

Having decided, Zhou Andong picked up the phone and called Wu Hongda, who was the agent for Yugong liquor and Jiang Xiaobai.

"Hello, this is Hongyun Liquor Company."

A very pleasant female voice came through the receiver, but she was still speaking Cantonese, and he could still only grasp the general meaning.

"Hello!" Zhou Andong said. "I am Zhou Andong, Chairman of the mainland's Yugong Group. Please let Mr. Wu Hongda take the call."

"Mr. Zhou, please wait a moment, I will transfer you now!"

The other party's tone changed immediately, sounding very respectful, and she switched to Mandarin. Although it wasn't perfect, there was no problem understanding it.

"Mr. Zhou!" Soon, Wu Hongda's somewhat excited voice came through the receiver. "When did you arrive in Xiangjiang?"

"I arrived yesterday afternoon," Zhou Andong asked. "Prepare two cases of special supply Yugong liquor for me. I'll come to your company to pick them up in an hour."

"Alright!" Wu Hongda agreed, then continued, "You caused such a big stir when you last came to Xiangjiang, and we didn't even meet. I'll make arrangements for noon today and call Wang Jinfu as well; you cannot refuse."

"No problem," Zhou Andong said. "But it has to be early; I have to visit an elder at two o'clock in the afternoon."

"Ten-thirty!" Wu Hongda said with a smile. "I'll make sure you can leave by twelve-thirty."

"Then I'll go over a bit later," Zhou Andong glanced at the time. "I'll go straight to the restaurant; you bring the liquor, just give me the restaurant address."

"Yung Kee Restaurant!" Wu Hongda didn't even have to think. "Any Hong Konger you ask will know the address."

"Then that's settled!"

Zhou Andong put down the phone. Seeing it was still early, he called out to Wang Wentian and the others, left the hotel, and began to stroll around. ===== CHAPTER 2106 =====