Chapter 2552

Zhou Andong and Liu Zhanyong chatted about some things regarding the project, and unknowingly, more than half an hour had passed.

"Alright, it's getting late, I should go back too."

As Zhou Andong spoke, he picked up the empty bowl he had placed on the ground beside him, handed it to Liu Zhanyong, then leaned on his knees with both hands and slowly stood up: "While you are rushing the progress here, you must absolutely not sacrifice quality.

You know the current situation; inflation is very serious, and both construction materials and labor costs are rising. If you think about fooling me because of this reason, that is absolutely not okay; when the time comes, don't blame me for turning hostile, I won't give anyone face."

Zhou Andong's tone was very serious, and the "not giving anyone face" he spoke of did not refer to Liu Zhanyong, but to Comrade Old An who had introduced Liu Zhanyong to him in the first place.

Then, Zhou Andong changed the subject and said again: "However, you don't need to worry too much; no matter how the contract between us was signed, I definitely won't let you work in vain, and even less will I let you suffer a loss."

The inflation of 1994 can be said to be the most serious and highest in history. The national retail price index for commodities rose by as much as 27.1%, and the consumer price index for residents rose by as much as 24.1%.

The reasons for this inflation were relatively complex, among which the People's Bank of China issuing a large amount of base currency and increasing the annual loan scale between September and November of last year were among the main factors.

In addition, the panic buying of grain and gold nationwide at the end of last year also had a relatively large impact on inflation. The unification of foreign exchange rates and the depreciation of the RMB caused the prices of imported goods to rise sharply, further pushing up price levels.

In fact, inflation had already begun to appear at the end of 1992, but the inflation growth in the first three quarters of 1993 was relatively mild. However, after a large amount of base currency was issued in September, the growth rate of inflation suddenly accelerated and entered the fast lane.

Especially by the end of 1993, prices began to rise sharply, and the prices of many livelihood products had far exceeded the average consumption level of the common people, bringing relatively large pressure to people's lives.

Facing this situation, Zhou Andong had been considering for the past two days raising wages for the frontline employees of the Yugong Group to alleviate the impact of rising prices on their lives.

Liu Zhanyong immediately expressed his stance: "Chairman Zhou, please rest assured, no matter how prices rise, I will absolutely not sacrifice quality to earn conscience-less money."

Just when the contract was signed, prices were already skyrocketing, but Liu Zhanyong also didn't expect it to rise so terrifyingly. However, he really didn't worry about losing money, because he knew Zhou Andong was a very righteous person and would absolutely not be short of his little bit of hard-earned money.

In addition, Liu Zhanyong even hoped to lose a little bit by working for Zhou Andong this time. The reason for such a thought was not that he didn't value money, but because he had his own little calculations in his heart, hoping to undertake some engineering projects at Yuxi Real Estate.

After all, like his current small-scale tinkering, at best it was just making a living. Only by cooperating with real estate enterprises, even if it was just obtaining some basic engineering projects, would it be enough for him to earn a fortune.

But the problem was, with his kind of makeshift team and no connections, even for basic engineering projects that didn't require technology, he couldn't get them. Therefore, he thought that working for Zhou Andong this time and ultimately leading to a loss might not necessarily be a bad thing for him.

Zhou Andong turned to leave, and then suddenly pulled back the leg he had already stepped out, turned back around, and said: "How about this, you go find the person in charge of the Yuxi Real Estate Beijing Branch tomorrow afternoon, and have them hand over the landscaping project for the Qiudongfang Mainland Branch Headquarters and the Chaoyang High-end Residential Community to you."

Liu Zhanyong was stunned when he heard this. He was just thinking about this matter in his heart, and Zhou Andong gave it to him. He simply couldn't believe his ears, feeling like he was dreaming, so beautiful that it was a bit unreal.

He even suspected whether he was hallucinating, so he secretly pinched his thigh. A sharp pain came, and only then did he realize this wasn't a dream, but something that was truly happening.

The excitement in his heart surged like a tide, and Liu Zhanyong could no longer suppress his emotions. He held Zhou Andong's hand tightly, shaking it non-stop, his gratitude overflowing: "Thank you, Chairman Zhou, for your cultivation; please rest assured, I definitely won't lose face for you!"

Zhou Andong looked at Liu Zhanyong with a smile, very satisfied with his performance, then gently patted Liu Zhanyong's shoulder and comforted him: "Even if I don't trust you, I will trust Uncle An. The person he introduced to me, the character definitely won't be bad."

After saying that, Zhou Andong turned to leave, but Liu Zhanyong still held his hand tightly, unwilling to let go. Seeing this, Zhou Andong said with a smile: "Alright, go get busy, I'm leaving."

Watching Zhou Andong's departing back, Liu Zhanyong waved his clenched fist fiercely in the air, feeling his body filled with strength.

Su Su, who was feeding the fish in the second-entry courtyard, saw her father return, excitedly threw the fish food in her hand, and like a happy little bird, flew straight toward Zhou Andong.

"Daddy!" Su Su shouted while opening her arms.

"Run slowly!" Seeing this, Zhou Andong hurriedly squatted down, and Su Su, like a little cannonball, slammed into his arms.

Only a "thump" was heard, and Zhou Andong, caught off guard, sat on the ground on his butt, his body also falling backward due to inertia.

"Giggle giggle..."

Su Su, however, was completely unaware of her own power; she lay in her father's arms, laughing non-stop happily, her silver-bell-like laughter echoing in the courtyard.

Zhou Andong raised his hand, gently patted Su Su's little butt, and pretended to be angry: "Su Su, you knocked Daddy down, and you still dare to laugh?"

"Giggle giggle..." Su Su not only didn't stop laughing, but laughed even harder; she kept twisting her little body in Zhou Andong's arms and said coquettishly: "Daddy hit Su Su, you're a big bad guy!"

At this time, Old Four put the fish food in her hand on the ground, then walked over, bent down, and picked Su Su up from Zhou Andong's arms.

"Big Brother, Old Aunt called a while ago, saying she had something to find you for. After you return, give her a call back."

"I know!" Zhou Andong smiled and gently pinched Su Su's pink, tender little face, feeling that soft touch as if it could be pinched to produce water. Then, he kissed Su Su's little face again, and only then did he walk away satisfied.

Zhou Andong arrived at the third-entry courtyard. Through the window, he saw Zhou Anqin and the others still busy, so he didn't go in to disturb them, but turned and entered the reception hall.

Zhou Andong walked to the sofa and sat down, his body completely relaxed as if he had no bones. He checked the time, estimating that at this time, Old Aunt was most likely still at the agency point.

So, Zhou Andong grabbed the phone and dialed the agency point's number. The phone only rang twice before it was quickly answered, and immediately Zhou Xiurong's voice came through: "Hello, this is the Yugong Liquor Industry General Agency, may I ask what you need?"

Zhou Andong leaned lazily on the sofa, a hint of fatigue revealing itself in his voice: "Old Aunt, it's me!"

"You're off work!" Zhou Xiurong's voice immediately rose quite a bit, clearly carrying joy in her tone: "Duan Xu is getting married, I want to buy him a car, but I don't understand cars, so I thought I'd ask for your opinion."