Chapter 941: Zhou Andong

Wu Hongkang organized his thoughts: “In the afternoon, Zhou Andong came to me.”

“Zhou Andong?” Qin Haimin asked: “The Zhou Andong from Yugong Group?”

“Yes!” Wu Hongkang nodded: “He told me domestic white sugar is in short supply...”

Before he could finish, Qin Haimin waved his hand to cut him off: “I know why he came to you.”

As head of the Light Industry Bureau, no one understood better than him the inflation and material shortages across the country.

He wasn’t the first to learn the content of Jian Lao’s conversation with Zhou Andong, but he was one of the few leaders privy to the details.

(Correction: Hongxing Distillery was approved for establishment by the National Light Industry Bureau—last chapter’s mention of the municipal bureau was incorrect.)

At this time, the Light Industry Bureau held immense power: besides formulating industry regulations, rules, systems, and standards and overseeing industry management, it also handled project initiation, review, and approval, issued production or allocation plans, and approved companies.

It managed construction and operations, conducted qualification reviews, inspected product quality, appraised scientific achievements, trained personnel, and guided industrial policies, economic regulation, production operations, investment and financing, technological advancement, military support, and workplace safety.

Most importantly, it handled other tasks assigned by the State Council and the State Economic and Trade Commission.

These “other tasks” included foreign trade and material procurement.

This time, the overseas purchase of raw sugar was assisted by the Light Industry Bureau, and the fifty million U.S. dollars Jian Lao gave to Zhou Andong came from the bureau itself.

So, before Wu Hongkang even finished speaking, Qin Haimin already knew what was going on.

“Are you and Zhou Andong that close? He thinks of you for something like this?”

Wu Hongkang said: “We’re partners, and for him, this is just a small favor. If I were in his position, I’d do the same—help a friend and earn a big favor. Why not?”

Qin Haimin nodded, thinking for a moment: “You don’t know yet—the higher-ups decided to allocate fifty million U.S. dollars for Zhou Andong to handle.”

Wu Hongkang froze, then jumped to his feet excitedly: “So the higher-ups have high hopes for Zhou Andong’s mission?”

“Yes!” Qin Haimin waved him back down: “Let me tell you—the fifty million comes from the Light Industry Bureau.”

“What?” Wu Hongkang grew anxious: “The bureau is putting up fifty million U.S. dollars?”

“Don’t rush,” Qin Haimin smiled. “The Light Industry Bureau provides the money, and if it loses, the bureau absorbs the loss. But if it makes a profit, the money will be distributed—the bureau won’t keep much.”

Wu Hongkang’s eyes lit up: “You mean...”

Qin Haimin said: “I’ll give you another twenty million U.S. dollars. You go to Xiangjiang with Zhou Andong yourself. If you profit, the distillery and the bureau split it evenly. If you lose, your distillery bears the loss. Of course, you can’t provide foreign exchange—you can cover the shortfall in RMB.”

Wu Hongkang stood up again, gritting his teeth: “No problem!”

“Good!” Qin Haimin smiled. “You’ve got real guts.”

………………

At the first bar, Jian Qiu checked the time: “It’s almost seven. Why hasn’t Xiao Fan come back?”

Zhou Andong stood up: “Forget it. Let’s go home.”

Jian Qiu was also worried about the child: “Alright. If he comes back and doesn’t find us, he’ll know we left.”

Zhou Andong and Jian Qiu left the bar, assuming Wu Chao and Jian Mingfan had left together—but the car was still parked there, and Wu Chao was squatting beside it, smoking.

“Didn’t Xiao Fan ask you to go get barbecue with him?”

“Nope!” Wu Chao tossed his cigarette butt. “When he came out, I asked where he was going. He said this place was boring and he was going to hang out with classmates.”

Zhou Andong slapped his forehead and bent to get in the car: “Didn’t expect the kid to be this unreliable.”

Jian Qiu ground her teeth: “We waited this long—I’ll make him pay.”

Back at Yard Six, they heard Su Su’s giggles as soon as they got out of the car.

Inside, they saw Su Su, her tiny legs wobbling, chasing a battery-powered toy car.

Gu Minglan bent over, arms outstretched, guarding her: “Grandma said slow down, don’t fall.”

Gu Minglan adored Su Su. Sometimes, seeing others walk their grandchildren, she felt nothing but envy.

Now that she’d finally become a grandmother, she was truly delighted—especially with Su Su, who was so adorable. Not just Gu Minglan—even Zhao Ping hadn’t left yet.

“Su Su!” Jian Qiu crouched and clapped her hands: “Come to Mommy.”

Su Su looked at Jian Qiu, then at the toy car stuck against the flowerbed, buzzing but motionless. After a moment’s hesitation, she toddled toward her mother.

Jian Qiu scooped her up and kissed her cheek hard: “Did you miss Mommy?”

The little girl blinked her big eyes, not understanding, but instinctively called out: “Mommy!”

Gu Minglan took Su Su and declared firmly: “You two go home. Su Su sleeps with me tonight.”

Jian Qiu said: “She seems fine now, but I’m afraid she’ll wake up looking for me or Grandma—and bring a few diapers.”

“No problem!” The old man came out: “We’ve got plenty of bedding—change it when she wets it.”

Zhao Ping said: “I’ll stay here tonight too. If she cries in the middle of the night, I can help soothe her.”

Jian Qiu helplessly looked at Zhou Andong: “What do you think?”

Zhou Andong smiled bitterly—his mother-in-law was his nemesis. She’d just given him a decent look—he dared say anything?

“Alright, try it. If it doesn’t work, call us and we’ll come pick her up.”

“Fine!” Gu Minglan waved her hand. “Su Su, want to sleep with Grandma tonight?”

“Yes!” The little girl had no idea she’d already been sold out by her parents.

The old man waved Zhou Andong over and turned into the house.

Zhou Andong followed him in. The old man sat on the sofa: “Guo Tangwang replied—he’ll arrive in Xiangjiang on the 31st, two days from now.”

Though Zhou Andong had expected this, he still sighed: “Looks like I won’t be able to attend my sister’s enrollment ceremony.”

The old man patted Zhou Andong’s shoulder: “Missing your sister’s ceremony is a regret, but national matters come first.”

Zhou Andong smiled: “I was just saying.”

………………

At the same time, An Congwen was in Zhao Qi’s office at the Academy of Fine Arts; Gu Zengquan was there too.

Both Zhao Qi and Gu Zengquan looked stunned.

“You’re saying Zhou Andong is donating twenty million U.S. dollars to the Academy of Fine Arts?”

“Yes!” An Congwen nodded firmly: “You don’t understand Zhou Andong. If you did, you’d know how deeply he supports our country’s education.

Yugong Group has its own Hope Project charity foundation—every bottle of Jiang Xiaobai or Binghongcha sold contributes ten fen to this fund.

Though the foundation is young, I know that so far, after evaluation by its team, nine Hope Primary Schools are already under construction nationwide.”