Chapter 2706

Tang Lin glanced at Zhou Andong, muttering something under his breath. Then, with a sudden shift of his body, he raised both hands without warning and grabbed Qiao Kuan's hair, rubbing it vigorously.

"I... damn it!" Qiao Kuan exclaimed in shock, shoving Tang Lin away and hastily pulling out a small mirror from his pocket. Seeing his messy hair, he shouted angrily: "Tang Lin, you wait for me—I won't let this go."

Watching Qiao Kuan pull out a small comb from his pocket and begin to tidy his messy hair, Tang Lin inexplicably felt at ease: "Qiao Damei, you'd better not go looking for trouble for no reason, or I'll cut off every single hair on your head."

After fixing his hair, Qiao Kuan put the small mirror and comb back into his pocket, sneered, and said: "I dare to touch my hair—I won't share the same sky with you."

Zhou Andong let out a long sigh, wondering why he was constantly surrounded by such troublesome idiots, and had no idea which deity he had offended to deserve such punishment.

Wrong—there was still one who, though also an idiot, made things very easy for him. That was Pu Dashaó, who had been tilling the black soil of Heilongjiang Province, truly laboring without complaint, never causing him trouble—absolutely a good comrade worth cultivating.

Just as Zhou Andong and the two others entered the restaurant for breakfast, Jingzhou Provincial Office in Jingcheng, Zhou Guodong had just finished washing up after waking up, when the telephone on the coffee table rang. It was not easy for him to come to Jingcheng—he had spent the entire day at the Ministry of Finance, and in the evening contacted an old classmate who was a professor at Peking University, they drank until the early hours, so he woke up a bit late.

"Ding ling—"

The telephone kept ringing. Zhou Guodong, who was in the middle of getting dressed, turned and walked to the coffee table, bent down, and picked up the receiver: "Who is it?"

From the receiver came the voice of Peng Han, the secretary of the Qiong Provincial Committee: "Guodong, it's me!"

"Secretary!" Zhou Guodong walked around the coffee table and sat on the sofa: "Is this about signing the contract?"

Peng Han asked: "How did the talks with Zhou Andong go?"

"Already signed, signed the night before last." Zhou Guodong smiled: "I've been running around the Ministry of Finance these past two days, coming back late at night, so I haven't had a chance to report to you yet."

"Signed?" Peng Han's voice suddenly rose: "You signed it that quickly?"

Zhou Guodong said with a smile: "Zhou Andong is very easy to talk to, the talks went smoothly, and the total transaction amount is fifty-five billion US dollars."

"Fifty-five billion?" Peng Han burst into laughter: "Comrade Guodong, our bottom line was fifty billion—I never expected you to sell it for fifty-five billion. When you return, I'll treat you to a celebration."

Zhou Guodong said with deep emotion: "Secretary, I told you—you might not believe it. What I wanted was fifty billion; the extra five billion was Zhou Andong's own initiative, added on the spot."

Peng Han was stunned for a moment, then said, somewhat disbelieving: "He added five hundred million US dollars for himself?"

"Yes!" Zhou Guodong's tone carried a hint of admiration: "He said he couldn't take advantage of the country, so he voluntarily added five hundred million. Only then did I truly understand why Zhou Andong has achieved so much at such a young age. His breadth of vision and courage are unmatched among today's youth—I've never seen such an outstanding young person."

"Exactly," Peng Han replied after a moment of silence, then sighed: "Young people with Zhou Andong's vision are truly rare—I've never seen one either." Then he asked: "So, Zhou Andong doesn't want those over one million electrical appliances?"

Zhou Guodong hesitated before saying: "Secretary, I didn't discuss the electrical appliances with Zhou Andong."

Peng Han asked, puzzled: "Why not?"

Zhou Guodong said solemnly: "The smuggled vehicles were bundled and sold to Zhou Andong. If we also sold the confiscated smuggled electrical appliances to him, someone would be dissatisfied."

"Dissatisfied?" Peng Han snorted coldly: "Good—let whoever is dissatisfied, as long as he can settle in US dollars, I'll sell everything to him. If he can't come up with the money and still drags his feet, I won't let him off."

Zhou Guodong gave a wry smile: "Secretary, are you really insisting on selling those smuggled electrical appliances to Zhou Andong?"

"Yes!" Peng Han said firmly: "Zhou Andong can pay us in US dollars—no one else can. As for that saying: whoever is dissatisfied, let him come up with US dollars."

"Alright!" Zhou Guodong said, though he harbored some reservations—though he was the head of a province, he couldn't ignore the voices below. Since the secretary had spoken so decisively, his concerns naturally vanished: "Zhou Andong is currently attending an important meeting; he has no time during the day, so I'll go see him tonight."

Peng Han said: "Once it's settled, call me right away."

"Then it's settled!" Zhou Guodong hung up the phone, sat there in thought for a while, then stood up and walked out.

The secretary was already waiting outside: "Boss, do you still need to go to the Ministry of Finance today?"

Zhou Guodong nodded: "I'll go to the Ministry of Finance myself—you go to Jinwan Hotel and find Manager Qiao, tell her I want to meet Zhou Andong tomorrow night."

"Understood!" The secretary nodded and followed Zhou Guodong toward the elevator.

…………………………

Jinwan Hotel Restaurant!

Zhou Andong was eating breakfast slowly and calmly, while Ye Zhen, dressed in a black women's suit, held a tray and clicked over in high heels. Zhou Andong looked up at her—this woman truly had a great figure, those long legs wrapped in trousers were truly tempting.

Ye Zhen felt Zhou Andong's gaze, unconsciously lowered her eyes to her own legs, the corner of her mouth twitching into a smile—but it flashed and vanished, unnoticed by anyone.

"I'm sitting here—do you mind?" Ye Zhen looked at Zhou Andong, her tone no different than usual.

Zhou Andong joked: "Having such a beautiful woman as Ye Four Elder Sister sitting beside me, I could easily eat two more steamed buns—how could I possibly disagree?"

The corner of Ye Zhen's mouth twitched again, imperceptibly, as she sat beside Zhou Andong, then glanced at Tang Lin, and shifted her gaze to Qiao Kuan.

"Qiao Laosan, when did you start hanging out with Zhou Andong?"

Qiao Kuan grinned: "True Sister, we haven't seen each other in over half a year—I didn't expect your figure to get even better. Still no boyfriend? Why don't we pair up?"

Ye Zhen narrowed her eyes, a smile appearing on her face: "Qiao Laosan, what did you just call me?"

Seeing Ye Zhen smiling and squinting, Qiao Kuan involuntarily shivered, immediately dropping his playful expression: "Aunt Four!"

Zhou Andong blinked—Ye Zhen was the daughter of Ye Puwan, making her generation indeed senior. Qiao Zong had called her sister without restraint; if Ye Zhen gave him a beating, he wouldn't dare go home crying, or else Old Master Qiao would also give him a beating.

But this situation had happened twice before—Zhang Zuo had called Ye Zhen Four Elder Sister, and she had gotten angry; now Qiao Kuan calling her "True Sister" also made her angry. And in the Jian family, he should also call her "aunt." Yet when he called her "sister," this woman seemed to have no reaction at all?