Chapter 901: He Yuzhu Gets Pestered

At the Hillside Villa, A Long handed a bank card to Lin Wanning, his voice unable to suppress his excitement: "Godmother, this is what I got from Ceng Nianci, 5 million Hong Kong Dollars!"

Lin Wanning didn't even look at the card, waved her hand, and smiled, "Silly boy, you only asked her for 5 million Hong Kong Dollars? I heard that woman asked two bosses for several million US dollars."

A Long was stunned, his eyes wide as saucers: "But... but Ceng Nianci said that for this money, she even fell out with her boss!"

"Fell out?" Lin Wanning picked up her teacup, "That Miss Ceng is very shrewd. I reckon she sold the intelligence to at least several organizations. Asking for several million from each would be more like it."

Akong's brain went "buzz," and his whole body felt as if someone had poured a basin of cold water over him.

"Godmother, then this matter of mine... did I do it wrong or right?"

Lin Wanning patted his shoulder, her tone nonchalant, "The more people who fight for that formula, the more we earn. Let them bid among themselves; we just need to watch the show."

Akong scratched his head, nodding as if he understood, yet not quite.

Hangzhou, Lingyin Tea Garden.

The morning sun spilled into the tea garden, the fragrance of tea mixed with the scent of earth, making one feel at ease just by smelling it.

He Yuzhu was sitting at a wooden table eating with a group of children. In front of each person was a bowl of white rice, and in the middle, a large basin of Braised Pork shimmered with oil, the pork skin trembling—just looking at it made one drool.

The children chattered away, stuffing pieces of meat—a mix of fat and lean—into their mouths, their eyes squinting in satisfaction, their cheeks bulging as they chewed, oil still hanging from the corners of their mouths.

"Uncle Dashan, I want another piece!"

"Me too! Me too!"

He Yuzhu smiled and picked meat for them one by one; seeing the children eat so happily, he was happier than anything.

At this moment, Shen Yan led a stranger over.

The man was in his early forties, dressed like a Cadre, with a white shirt tucked into his trousers and polished leather shoes. His pace was steady and unhurried; one could tell at a glance he had been in the system for a long time.

He Yuzhu raised his eyes to look, and he knew what was going on in his heart.

He set down his bowl, wiped his hands, and ushered the two into the adjacent tea room.

The tea room was not large, with bamboo blinds half-rolled, carrying the unique fragrance of the tea garden. A few Longjing leaves that hadn't been collected in time were still scattered on the tea table, the buds a tender green.

Shen Yan spoke first: "Zhuzi, this is Section Chief Jin from the district, who is specifically in charge of the tea garden contracting."

Section Chief Jin hurriedly extended his hand, his smile containing a touch of courtesy and a touch of appraisal: "Mr. He, long admired, long admired."

He Yuzhu shook hands with him, skipping the pleasantries, and went straight to the point: "Section Chief Jin, is there something?"

Section Chief Jin rubbed his hands, as if not knowing how to start, paused, and then said: "Mr. He, it's like this... there is a Hong Kong businessman investing in our province who has taken a fancy to your company's tea garden and wants to acquire it at a high price. What do you think..."

He Yuzhu was not in a hurry; he first poured a cup of tea for both of them and took a sip.

The tea swirled in his mouth, and he suddenly smiled.

"Section Chief Jin, is this the only one looking for you right now?"

Section Chief Jin nodded subconsciously: "Yes, currently it is just this one."

He Yuzhu set down his teacup and said unhurriedly: "Mr. Jin, it's not that I'm rejecting your face, but this matter needs to wait. When there are several parties wanting to buy the tea mountain together, I want to hold an auction. The highest bidder gets it."

Section Chief Jin's expression changed, and he squeezed out a smile: "Mr. He, I won't hide it from you either. I am also doing things for others. That enterprise has a very deep background and involves investment..."

These words were said lightly, but everyone present understood the meaning behind them.

The background is deep, the investment is large; you, a tea seller, don't be unappreciative.

He Yuzhu smiled, his smile light and airy, and said straightforwardly: "If they can offer 500 million US dollars, I will transfer it to them."

"What?" Section Chief Jin's hand trembled, and his teacup fell to the ground with a "clatter," shattering into pieces.

He widened his eyes, his voice changing pitch: "Mr. He, aren't you being a bit excessive?"

"It's not that I'm asking for a high price; it's that this tea mountain is worth this much." He Yuzhu picked up his teacup, took another sip, and didn't even lift his eyelids.

The expression on Section Chief Jin's face was extremely colorful, turning green then white, his lips trembling for a long time, until he finally managed to squeeze out: "Unreasonable!"

He grabbed his briefcase and turned to leave.

Shen Yan saw Section Chief Jin off and returned to the tea room, his face darkening.

He pointed at He Yuzhu, his voice filled with anger: "Zhuzi, you... how do you expect me to talk about you! What good does it do you to offend Section Chief Jin? If the people in this place know you want to sell the management rights of the tea garden for such a high price, they will cause you a lot of trouble! Maybe our relationship of so many years will be ruined!"

He Yuzhu stood up, walked to Shen Yan, patted his shoulder, and said: "If I make money, can I treat them poorly? This money is from those big international financial groups; it would be a waste not to take it."

Shen Yan stomped his feet in anxiety: "It's not that simple! The rhetoric of those Hong Kong businessmen is different from yours. Many people will think—isn't it just a tea garden? It cannot affect the big matter of investment. Perhaps they will sacrifice you!"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu shook his head, the smile at the corner of his mouth gradually turning cold.

"If there really are people with such short-sighted vision, then I won't be polite either."

By the West Lake, in a tea house.

The afternoon sun shone through the carved wooden windows onto the brownish-red tea table, creating dappled light and shadows.

As soon as Section Chief Jin entered the door, he slammed his briefcase onto the table, panting with rage, "That He fellow is really a damn piece of work! Do you know how much that old thing asked for?"

Opposite him, Section Chief Ma slowly picked up his teacup, shook his head, and wore a lukewarm smile on his face.

Section Chief Jin held up five fingers, "Five—hundred—million—US—dollars."

The air was silent for a moment.

In the tea house, there was only the sound of water birds from the lake outside the window, one sound after another, exceptionally clear.

Section Chief Ma set down his teacup, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into an arc.

He smiled.

That smile carried a touch of playfulness and a touch of shrewdness.

"Section Chief Jin, what is this person's background? He has quite the nerve."

"President of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce." Section Chief Jin frowned, picked up his teacup, and gulped down a large mouthful, not even bothering to wipe the tea that flowed down the corner of his mouth.

"Oh?" Section Chief Ma's eyes rolled, and he looked thoughtfully at the lush green tea garden outside the window, "If you ask me, there is something going on here. Boss Jiang... is likely hiding something. He didn't mention a single word about the most important thing."

Section Chief Jin's heart skipped a beat, and the cup in his hand froze: "You mean... this tea garden has a secret?"

Section Chief Ma turned his head, his gaze falling deeply on his face, "A boss who makes appliances suddenly wants to buy a tea garden. A Beijing Chamber of Commerce President personally runs to this kind of place to sit in command. The asking price is 500 million US dollars... if there isn't a ghost in there, then it would truly be a ghost."

Section Chief Jin caught the drift, leaned forward, and said: "Then what should we do?"

Section Chief Ma picked up his teacup, blew slowly at the foam, and said, "Stall."

"Stall?"

"However—" Section Chief Ma put down the cup, "you must go over every day, keep a positive attitude, and lay out our difficulties one by one. Just tell that man surnamed He that if we don't help him resolve the tea garden issue, he can forget about his investment landing here. He is the Chamber of Commerce President, and it wouldn't be bad to build a good relationship with him."

Upon hearing this, Section Chief Jin's eyes lit up with a "swish," and he nodded repeatedly, "Fine, I'll go find him every day. I'll annoy him to death!"

Section Chief Ma smiled, picked up his tea and drank it in one gulp, smacked his lips, and gazed out the window, as if he could already see He Yuzhu in a state of utter distress.

In the days that followed, Section Chief Jin really did treat it like clocking in for work, running over to He Yuzhu's place every day to tell him all about his own difficulties.

And He Yuzhu?

He was neither anxious nor annoyed.

He drank his tea and read his newspaper as usual. Whenever Section Chief Jin talked until his mouth was dry, he would just hand him a cigarette and respond with a chuckle, "You've worked hard, just wait a little longer, wait a little longer."

That tone was as if he were comforting a neighbor who was anxious and frustrated.

Every time Section Chief Jin left the tea garden, he was full of anger, and the smile on his face looked worse than crying.

In his heart, he cursed "old fox" ten thousand times, but the next day, he still had to go over on time.