Chapter 989: Zhou Andong, a Man of Eight Dou of Talent

Cao Li nodded and turned to leave; Jian Qiu asked, “What did they want with you?”

Zhou Andong whispered, “After the leader finished speaking, representatives from the three regions took the stage to speak—I represented the mainland.”

Jian Qiu looked equally surprised: “Why only tell you now?”

Zhou Andong nodded toward Jian Zhengrong on stage: “I bet it’s your fourth uncle—he saw me idle and decided to give me something to do.”

Jian Qiu worriedly said, “If this segment was planned from the start, why notify you only now? Clearly someone was assigned before, and now they’ve switched to you—that’s bound to offend someone.”

“Don’t worry!” Zhou Andong gripped Jian Qiu’s hand. “If someone was already assigned, they wouldn’t have been replaced. The fact they replaced them means the original person ran into trouble.”

Although the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan attendees weren’t top-tier tycoons like the Four Great Families, Zhou Andong only knew one person: Zhuo Qihua.

But that only proves how narrow his knowledge is—there are countless billionaires worldwide, yet only a handful regularly appear in the media.

Take Zhuo Qihua—he’d never have crossed Zhou Andong’s radar if he hadn’t publicly declared himself a foreign lackey.

And this forum’s scale is so high that provincial and municipal leaders have come, plus twenty or thirty reporters from provincial TV stations and newspapers in the back.

Speaking on behalf of domestic entrepreneurs here isn’t just about face—it brings countless benefits.

Beyond increasing exposure and personal fame, it greatly impacts the brand of the company behind you.

Most importantly, standing up to speak means official trust and recognition; from now on, in Guangdong, no matter what you do, everything will be twice as easy.

In truth, Zhou Andong knew perfectly well: among private enterprises in China today, he was unquestionably number one.

In the future, those famous tycoons, right now standing before him, would have to bow and respectfully call him Zhou Dong.

But at this moment, no matter how large or powerful a private enterprise was,

no matter how strong Zhou Andong’s abilities or how great his reputation, in some leaders’ fixed thinking, state-owned and central enterprises were the real sons and grandsons.

In such a setting, the speaker representing domestic entrepreneurs could never be Zhou Andong.

Look at those seated in the middle—besides the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan tycoons, there were three CEOs from state-owned and central enterprises.

In status or connections, none could compare to him, yet he was the one who ended up speaking.

This could only mean Jian Zhengrong had pulled strings—and pulled them hard.

He now owed this man a favor, and a heavy one at that.

Jian Qiu squeezed Zhou Andong’s hand back: “You have zero preparation—can you even do it?”

Zhou Andong puffed out his chest and slapped it: “Your man has eight dou of talent and five carts of learning—do you think I need to prepare to give a speech?”

Jian Qiu nodded seriously: “I believe my husband has no problem at all.”

Zhou Andong’s vanity was satisfied: “I wonder who’s representing Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.”

Jian Qiu tilted her head and glanced: “Two came from Macau—you know them?”

Zhou Andong shook his head: “Among them, I only know Zhuo Qihua.”

Jian Qiu smiled and whispered, “That woman is the eldest daughter of the Gambling King, born to his second wife.”

Zhou Andong realized: “Then she must be Macau’s representative.”

Jian Qiu nodded: “As for Hong Kong, I think it’s Zhuo Qihua—he’s a famous philanthropist and the wealthiest here. And the Taiwan representative? Definitely Third Grandpa.”

Zhou Andong asked, “Why are you so sure?”

Jian Qiu said, “Jinwan Group is no small player—it invested here years ago. Even if a larger Taiwanese company showed up today, the speaker would still be Third Grandpa.

Not to mention, for patriotic enterprises like Jinwan Group, we must return the favor—we can’t let them feel unappreciated. More importantly, letting Third Grandpa speak:

It’s not just about representing Taiwanese enterprises—it’s using his mouth to introduce China’s investment environment. That carries far more credibility for foreign companies.”

“Makes sense!” Zhou Andong nodded with a smile.

At that moment, the leaders sat down, and a beautiful provincial TV host stepped forward to introduce each official.

After the introductions, everyone except Provincial Chief He Jingyuan left the stage and took their reserved seats up front.

“On behalf of Guangdong, I welcome entrepreneurs from across the three regions.”

He Jingyuan tapped the microphone and smiled before speaking.

“Since reform and opening began in 1978, as one of the first provinces to open up, we’ve faced immense pressure and complex domestic and international conditions. Our enterprises and market entities have always struggled to grow in an unstable environment.

But we’ve held firm in our confidence, pressed forward under heavy burdens, and genuinely pursued higher-quality, more efficient, fairer, more sustainable, and safer development.

The progress of these past years has been visible to all. Every new step Guangdong has taken, every new achievement, owes itself to enterprises taking root and growing, and to the hard work of entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs are the vital backbone of economic development—without them, there would be no growth of market entities, no Guangdong economy today.

Yet compared to advanced international business environments, we still have clear shortcomings—that’s our next focus: we must fully build an efficient, convenient administrative environment.

With service efficiency as our goal, we must make what’s visible, tangible, perceptible, and beneficial our top priority, embedding it into service for market entities—enterprise experience must be our first experience.

No matter how good a policy is, if enterprises don’t know about it or can’t feel it, it’s useless. We must involve market entities and the public in oversight to improve our quality, efficiency, and convenience…”

Listening to He Jingyuan’s speech, Zhou Andong couldn’t help but marvel.

No wonder he became the leader in economic development—he already understood the importance of service at this stage.

Just look at Jiangzhou: if not for his reminder, if decentralization and improved service hadn’t happened, investment and recruitment would’ve taken a huge hit—and more.

He Jingyuan’s speech wasn’t long—just ten minutes or so—then he handed the mic to Vice Chief Lu Qing.

He Jingyuan had said everything; Lu Qing spoke briefly, with no wasted words.

Then Jian Zhengrong and several other municipal leaders briefly introduced their respective regions’ environments and policies.

They knew the people seated below had no patience for their empty talk.

Then the beautiful host stepped forward: “Next, please welcome Zhuo Qihua, renowned Hong Kong entrepreneur and philanthropist, to the stage.”