Chapter 2779: Shen Mingsheng's Sister-in-law

"Zhou Anning!" Hu Huiyun, the homeroom teacher of Class 2, Grade 2 at Dengshikou Primary School, walked into the classroom holding a Chinese textbook, smiling as she stood on the podium.

"Here!" Zhou Anning stood up and shouted loudly.

Hu Huiyun smiled and said: "The school will hold a cultural evening for National Day, and each class must perform a program. As class monitor, you need to take the lead in participating."

Zhou Anning blinked her big eyes: "Teacher, my older brother is getting married on National Day, so I have to return to Jiangzhou to attend his wedding."

"Zhou Dong is getting... wasn't he already married?" Hu Huiyun was genuinely surprised. Two days ago, Zhou Anning had still been brought to school by her sister-in-law, and her words came out half-formed before she realized they sounded awkward, so she quickly corrected herself.

Zhou Anning immediately replied: "My older brother and sister-in-law only got their marriage certificate, but they haven't held a wedding banquet."

These past few days, every time she returned home, she could hear her parents and sister-in-law discussing the wedding, so much so that her ears were practically calloused from listening—she knew every detail inside out.

Hu Huiyun understood, and was relieved she hadn't blurted out the word "divorce." Otherwise, if Zhou Anning mentioned it at home, she, as a teacher, would lose face completely.

"Oh, I see." Hu Huiyun nodded, but if Zhou Anning couldn't participate in the performance, who else in Class 2 could take her place?

Hu Huiyun looked down at the rows of innocent young faces and couldn't help but rub her temples: "These little rascals—some are timid, but others are bold. Letting them join the performance will surely get them to sign up eagerly, but whether they'll perform well depends entirely on whether heaven smiles upon them."

Zhou Anning said helplessly: "Teacher, I can't participate, and my sister-in-law also said I need to take two days off at the end of the month."

"Alright!" Hu Huiyun could only think of another solution: "Sit down, let's begin class."

At this moment, Zhou Andong had already arrived at the factory, just as he had expected—Shen Mingsheng was already waiting. Moreover, there were two others with him: one man and one woman. The man was an old acquaintance—Quan Xin, one of the shareholders of Zhongbao. The woman was Shen Mingsheng's sister-in-law, named Quan Hui!

"Mr. Zhou!" At the door of Dong Tang Wenjuan's office, seeing Zhou Andong arrive, Shen Mingsheng greeted him from afar: "It's been a while since we last met—I've really missed you."

Zhou Andong smiled and said: "Indeed, in May, Jiangzhou suffered a major flood, we met once, and then we haven't seen each other since—about three or four months."

Shen Mingsheng shook Zhou Andong's hand and said: "Let's find a place to have a drink tonight."

"Sure!" Zhou Andong nodded.

"Hello, Mr. Zhou!" Quan Hui extended her hand: "My name is Quan Hui, and Shen Mingsheng is my brother-in-law."

Quan Hui is ordinary-looking, but she has an excellent figure and a powerful presence, giving off a strong aura of dominance. However, to conquer such a woman, one needs skill and ability—otherwise, one might end up hurting oneself.

Zhou Andong politely shook Quan Hui's hand: "I've long admired your reputation, Ms. Quan. Without you, Shen Mingsheng's import automobile trade couldn't have captured seven percent of the domestic market in just one year."

Zhou Andong's words were completely sincere. When he investigated Shen Mingsheng, Quan Hui's name had already entered his field of vision. Shen Mingsheng is indeed capable, but without Quan Hui's assistance, such rapid development would have been impossible.

Quan Hui smiled faintly: "Mr. Zhou, you're overpraising me. Shen Mingsheng's company was founded single-handedly by my brother-in-law—I'm just an employee. As for you, Mr. Zhou, you are my idol—I wouldn't lie about that.

Whenever I have time, I go to study and reflect on your marketing cases. After learning that my brother-in-law was collaborating with you, I immediately wanted to find a way to connect with you through him, so I could get to know you and have the chance to learn from you."

"I can vouch for that." Shen Mingsheng laughed and said: "Whenever Quan Hui sees me—or even calls me—she always asks where you are and when she can meet you."

"Also!" Quan Xin eagerly raised his hand to speak: "Mr. Zhou, my younger sister's office still has your poster up."

Zhou Andong blinked: "My poster?"

"Yes!" Quan Xin nodded vigorously: "It's the poster I made for myself as an endorsement."

"How come you're everywhere?" Quan Hui grew a bit anxious, slapped Quan Xin on the head with her palm, her face flushing—though no one noticed.

Quan Xin, seeing stars from the blow, suddenly flared up: "I didn't even say anything..."

"You're still talking?" Quan Hui glared, raising her hand to strike again.

Quan Xin immediately shut his mouth, stumbled backward a step, then muttered something under his breath.

"Ah!" Zhou Andong laughed: "Let's not stand here talking—let's go to the office."

Everyone entered the office, and Dong Tang Wenjuan poured tea for everyone: "Mr. Shen, please have some tea."

"Thank you!" Shen Mingsheng received the teacup with both hands, bowed slightly in thanks—he dared not act presumptuously toward Zhou Andong's secretary.

"You're welcome, this is just my job." Dong Tang Wenjuan smiled faintly—such situations were routine for her; even the mayor's secretary would be polite when meeting her.

"Tang Wenjuan!" Zhou Andong instructed: "Go upstairs and call Mr. Zhou to come to my office for a moment."

"Okay!" Dong Tang Wenjuan withdrew and slowly closed the door.

Zhou Andong turned to Quan Xin: "Director Quan, has Zhongbao encountered any issues? And how is the IPO preparation going?"

"No problems." Quan Xin replied quickly: "Right now, we're mainly focused on the IPO, with support from an overseas trust bank—everything is proceeding smoothly, and we expect to list in August next year."

"Good!" Zhou Andong nodded, then elaborated: "Regarding the smuggled vehicles, I'll explain the details and our cooperation plan: my two sisters will establish a company to collaborate with your Shen Mingsheng Company in retail, with profits split fifty-fifty."

"Profit split is fine." Quan Hui asked: "What price are you offering us?"

Zhou Andong tapped his fingers lightly on the sofa armrest, paused for a while, then looked at Quan Hui: "Director Quan, I'd like to know—what is the current import tariff rate?"

Quan Hui answered without hesitation: "In April this year, the central government issued a policy adjusting import tariffs on automobiles: for vehicles under 3.0 liters, the rate was reduced from 180% to 110%; for those over 3.0 liters, from 220% to 150%."

Zhou Andong nodded: "We'll pay you based on the import price for the vehicles. But this batch of smuggled cars—Qiong Province will provide them with proper documentation. So, the import tax will be saved. In other words, selling one car yields the profit of one car; for vehicles over 3.0 liters, you can earn the profit of one and a half cars."

"This profit is enormous—I'm holding a hot potato, and you're holding an even hotter one. Therefore, I want eighty percent of the tariff-related profit. Later, I will take out fifty percent and donate it to silence some people."

Even if Zhou Andong only takes thirty percent, adding it to the profit from selling the vehicles outright, the total profit would still be at least one hundred percent. That is, he spent fifty-five billion USD on this batch of smuggled cars, yet he could still earn fifty-five billion USD—and this is the most conservative estimate.

Of course, if he weren't settling in USD, Qiong Province wouldn't sell to him at such a low price. At the time, he had already considered the profit from tariff exemptions. He didn't add more money because he wanted to donate part of it to the Beidou and space station research institutions. After all, his previous donation of one billion USD was too small—far from enough.

Zhou Andong looked at Shen Mingsheng and Quan Hui: "The remaining twenty percent of tariff profit, plus the profit from wholesale vehicle sales, you and my sisters will split fifty-fifty."

"No problem!" Quan Hui agreed without hesitation: "Even with a fifty-fifty split, our company could earn tens of billions, even up to hundreds of billions."