Chapter 34

The minivan stopped at the gate, Zhou Andong jumped out first, followed by Jiang Yuyue, Yao Army, Wu Xianping, and two employees.

“Clap, clap, clap…”

Yao Army clapped his hands: “Everyone come get your wall calendar—one each. Then head to the station, take the train or the bus, figure it out yourselves.”

A young man held up his calendar and asked: “Big Jun, when we come back, do we have to return the calendar to the factory?”

Zhou Andong said: “No need to return it—it’s your New Year’s benefit.”

Hearing this, everyone was thrilled. A wall calendar wasn’t cheap; judging by the quality in their hands, they’d never get one for less than thirty or forty yuan on the market.

Over two hundred people walked off happily with their calendars. Zhou Andong said: “Yuyue, I’ll give you one to give as a gift.”

Jiang Yuyue grumbled: “I knew you called me over for no good reason.”

Zhou Andong patted Jiang Yuyue’s shoulder: “If you handle this perfectly, I won’t let you down.”

Jiang Yuyue curled his lips, about to say something, but seeing Gu Bing and Yao Army beside him, he swallowed his words for reasons he couldn’t explain.

“Hmph, who cares.”

Zhou Andong grinned and said to Gu Bing: “Boss, here’s twelve hundred calendars to win people over.”

“Win people over?” Gu Bing didn’t understand. “Who?”

“Sigh!” Zhou Andong sighed. “Working under a boss with your level of IQ, I’ll lose twenty years off my life.”

Gu Bing gritted his teeth: “With you around, I lose my youth.”

“Look, look—I told you, and you still won’t admit it,” Zhou Andong said. “Every company gives out New Year’s goods—rice, flour, soybean oil, pork, canned food, fish. Our factory used to too, but the past few years have been bad, so all benefits were canceled. At the workers’ meeting, don’t say anything yet—just hand out the calendars. You, the invisible secretary, will leave a mark in every worker’s heart. They might not thank you deeply, but their impression of you will improve drastically. Meanwhile, they’ll grow resentful toward Gao Qingkui and Zhang Deyou, the old bastards who cut their benefits.”

Though calendars weren’t as practical as rice or flour, in this era, hanging one on the wall was still a mark of prestige.

Gu Bing felt a pang of awe—Zhou Andong was truly cunning and deceitful, scheming endlessly, always carving a pit for Gao Qingkui and Zhang Deyou while advancing his own interests.

Suddenly, Gu Bing had a thought: if Zhou Andong sat in his position, there’d be an epic battle—and would those two old bastards be the ones crushed underfoot?

But the current situation wasn’t bad either. Though this bastard Zhou Andong was a jerk with a sharp tongue, he was on his side. He was growing more and more eager for the final outcome.

Zhou Andong said: “You’ll have to personally deliver the remaining calendars to every government office.”

Gu Bing said: “There are so many offices—these calendars won’t be enough.”

Zhou Andong said: “There are four thousand more—binding finishes the day after tomorrow.”

Gu Bing nodded, glanced at his watch: “Wu Boss, come to my office and settle up.”

Wu Xianping, who had had no chance to speak until now, bowed and thanked repeatedly: “Thank you, Secretary Gu! Thank you!”

In this era, every business made money, but dealing with government offices and enterprises—no matter the time—was always hard: do the work, and getting paid without connections was truly difficult.

Watching Gu Bing and Wu Xianping leave, Zhou Andong had his men unload the calendars into the warehouse, kept only one, then drove the minivan out of the factory himself.

“Go eat first?”

Jiang Yuyue said weakly: “It’s almost nine. We’ve been running around all morning—do you want me to starve to death?”

Zhou Andong chuckled, picked a random place, and he, Jiang Yuyue, Yao Army, and the two employees filled their stomachs.

“Where to now?” Zhou Andong asked Jiang Yuyue.

Jiang Yuyue snapped: “How should I know where to go?”

Zhou Andong said: “Deliver them to every major bank boss you know.”

Jiang Yuyue said: “Then let’s start with the Construction Bank.”

While they delivered calendars to banks, Gu Bing was also leading his team to distribute them to government offices.

In the provincial capital, compared to Jiangzhou, Fengjing’s snowfall was heavier—snowflakes fell in thick clumps.

At Aimin Store, the owner swept the snow from his doorway with a broom, placed two cardboard boxes as stepping pads, then went inside.

With New Year approaching, his business improved daily, so his mood was excellent. He tossed the broom into the corner of the counter and spotted the Jiangzhou Distillery promotional calendar on the wall—over a dozen had sold, only one remained, leaving him with a faint sense of regret.

He sold each calendar for eighteen yuan, making thirteen yuan profit—but it was too little. If that brat could bring him more, wouldn’t he earn even more?

He stepped behind the counter, took down a bottle of Jiangzhou Yugong Wine from the shelf, found a cloth, and carefully wiped it. Lately, people had asked about this wine, but he priced it at 160 yuan—scaring them all away. After all, though cheaper than Maotai, it was still outrageously expensive.

But in his mind, this was imperial wine—selling it for 260 yuan wasn’t too much; selling it for 160 was being honest.

“Boss, do you have Jiangzhou Yugong Wine? The one on this calendar?”

The owner looked up and smiled—a man in his thirties held up a calendar.

“There it is!” The owner set the bottle on the counter.

“Yes, that’s it—I finally found it!” The young man beamed. “How much?”

The owner said: “160 yuan.”

The young man paused: “So expensive?”

The owner said: “Since you have the calendar, you know this is imperial wine.”

The young man nodded, gritted his teeth: “Fine, 160 it is—I’ll take it.”

The owner’s eyes crinkled into slits: “You’ve got good taste, young man. You won’t find this wine anywhere else—and I only have one bottle.”

As the young man reached into his pocket for money, he froze: “You only have one?”

The owner blinked: “Yeah, just one.”

“Ah…”

“One won’t do—I need two. You don’t give a gift as a single bottle.” The young man waved dismissively, disappointed. “I’ll check other shops.”

He’d thought he’d make a hundred yuan—too eager to celebrate. The owner was frustrated. But to his surprise, not long after, a middle-aged couple came in, asking for Jiangzhou Yugong Wine because they needed two bottles for a gift—and left when they found he had only one.