Chapter 601: Boarded a Pirate Ship

Qian Youyu took Guo Wei and blocked me at the gate of the Letters and Visits Bureau.

My phone was turned off all night, and when I opened it this morning, there were countless messages from Guo Wei. I didn't even look at them and pressed the delete key.

To tell the truth, I don't like Guo Wei's arrogant posture. It was hard to find directions and separate, who knew that thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, in this palm-sized place of Hengyue City, we met again unexpectedly.

Qian Youyu looked at me dejectedly, and Guo Wei scolded him angrily on the side.

There are many people coming and going at the gate of the Letters and Visits Bureau, a place where fish and dragons are mixed. I don't want to talk here, and I don't want to talk in the office, so I simply sat in the car and said, "Wait and talk, let's go."

Guo Wei drove his own car. Qian Youyu originally wanted to get in my car, but was scolded by Guo Wei, "Get into my car!"

Qian Youyu smiled embarrassedly, lowered his head, and made a submissive little daughter-in-law look. I looked at him like this and wanted to laugh. Qian Youyu is a person who is

Back when they were in Suxi Township, the two of them didn't get along. Guo Wei looked down on Qian Youyu for being a nouveau riche, and Qian Youyu looked down on Guo Wei for being an official out of touch with the common people. Whenever the two met, they would act as if the other didn't exist.

I have nowhere else to go but Xinlinyin.

The three of us entered the elevator one after another and arrived at the teahouse, but because we had come too early, they weren't open for business yet.

Guo Wei started complaining again, whining about how I had picked such a place, how could there be tea to drink so early, whether I knew how to find a place, and whether I could appreciate the simple pleasures of life.

I didn't argue with him. The three of us went back downstairs to the lobby and saw some guests already checking out. I said to Qian Youyu, "Let's just get a room."

Qian Youyu trotted off to get a room, while Guo Wei and I stood by a piano in the lobby. I asked him, "Director Guo, how about a song?"

Guo Wei wanted to decline, but I pressed him into a chair without giving him a choice, lifted the piano lid, and said, "Let Old Qian, this country bumpkin, know what art is."

Guo Wei smiled, interlaced his hands, and played a series of notes with a clatter.

Guo Wei had a fine pair of hands; his ten fingers were like a woman's delicate jade fingers, and he looked like someone cut out for the arts.

He tested the sound, looked up, and asked me, "What do you want to hear?"

I thought for a moment and said, "Let's have 'Souvenirs d'Enfance'."

He nodded and smiled. As soon as his fingers touched the keys, music like a flowing spring instantly filled the entire lobby. It was undeniable that Guo Wei had a certain level of accomplishment in piano performance; just from his expression and his focused demeanor, one could tell he wasn't just a simple amateur.

I had known Guo Wei could play the piano back when we were in Suxi Township.

Everyone has something they are most proud of, and what Guo Wei was most proud of was his ability to play the piano—and play it beautifully, to the point where people couldn't tell the difference between him and a professional pianist.

No matter how bad a person's mood is, as long as they can find something that suits their taste, their bad mood will immediately improve.

Everyone has a desire to perform, and everyone hopes to be recognized by others. And what earns the most recognition is precisely what others think is the most impossible.

Guo Wei playing the piano was the most impossible thing. Yet, he could perform this "impossible" feat in a way that made people admire him completely.

When the song ended, I clapped and laughed, "High standard! The lingering sound echoes in the rafters!"

My applause drew applause from others in the lobby, and even the lady at the service desk put down her busy work and looked over, clapping enthusiastically.

Guo Wei closed the piano lid and said, "I've embarrassed myself, truly embarrassed myself!"

Just then, Qian Youyu came back after getting the room, and the three of us walked into the elevator again, heading straight for the eighteenth floor.

Guo Wei was in a rush to find me for no other reason than that Qian Youyu had registered a company and was asking him for five hundred mu of land, claiming that I had said so and that he, Guo Wei, had promised me.

I looked at Qian Youyu, bewildered. When had I ever told him that?

Guo Wei pulled a bank card from his pocket and threw it on the bed, saying, "Chen Feng, are you two colluding to mess with me?"

I was still bewildered, looking at the bank card and then at Qian Youyu.

Qian Youyu laughed, picked up the bank card from the bed, and stuffed it into Guo Wei's pocket. "Director Guo, there are no outsiders here. We're all old acquaintances, so I won't hide it from you—Bureau Chief Chen never told me that. I was lying to you."

"What kind of trick are you trying to pull?" Guo Wei stared at Qian Youyu and asked viciously.

"What kind of trick could I pull? Let's all get rich together." Qian Youyu found a cup, filled it with tap water, gulped it down, and then rubbed his chin. "This water is terrible; it tastes like lye."

Guo Wei had just performed a piano solo in the lobby, so his mood wasn't at its absolute worst at that moment. My letting Guo Wei play the piano earlier was precisely because I had gauged his state of mind.

Sometimes a good idea is worth more than an army. Sometimes a clever trick can, like a woman's small hand, smooth out the most irritable parts of a person's heart like an iron.

Guo Wei saw Qian Youyu stuffing the bank card back into his pocket and turned red in the face. "Old Qian, I was doing this for Chen Feng's sake before. Today, in front of Chen Feng, let's lay everything out on the table."

Qian Youyu nodded hurriedly. "Fine, fine, Director Guo, you give the orders."

Guo Wei held the bank card and asked him, "You tell me, did Chen Feng give me this card, or not?"

Qian Youyu paused for a moment, shook his head, and said, "This is from our company."

"Why would your company give it to me?"

"Because Director Guo, you are a shareholder of the company, and this is your dividend."

Guo Wei sneered, "How many days has your shell company been open? How much money can it make? Besides, it's not the end of the year yet, what dividends are you paying?"

I understood a few things from their conversation. Qian Youyu must have put a significant amount of money into the bank card he gave Guo Wei. Qian Youyu wasn't a stingy person; he was always generous, especially when he needed to get things done or ask for favors. Qian Youyu understood the story of "you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child."

Qian Youyu didn't care at all about Guo Wei's interrogation. He took out cigarettes and handed one to each of us. "Director Guo, to tell you the truth, before I came to the Industrial Park to buy land, I had already negotiated the selling price with someone else. We're just flipping it this time, and we'll grow bigger and stronger in the future. This little bit of money is nothing!"

I asked in surprise, "Old Qian, you've already bought the land?"

Qian Youyu returned to his grinning demeanor and said, "With Director Guo's help, it's done."

"Done my ass!" Guo Wei scolded. "You greedy bastard, you want to eat up five hundred mu in one go. How much land do I have in total? If you do this, how am I supposed to answer to my superiors?"

Qian Youyu laughed, "The superiors hired you as Director, isn't it to give you land to sell? What industrial park? What kind of industry can we run in Hengyue City? Look at the past—the glorious Metallurgical Plant, the Diesel Engine Plant—they were all famous nationwide, and didn't they all go belly-up? Now you mark off a plot of land and fence in a park, and you really think factories will come?"

I felt uncomfortable hearing this and shouted, "Old Qian, what nonsense are you spouting? Can government planning be wrong?"

Qian Youyu, scolded by me, immediately dropped his "dead pig doesn't fear boiling water" attitude. He looked at me pleadingly and said, "Bureau Chief Chen, you know my character. Back when you moved the Suxi Town government, you didn't have a cent, and wasn't it me, Qian Youyu, who covered it all in one go?"

I laughed, "I should thank you for that. How about this, Old Qian, I'll go to Suxi and suggest we build a statue of you in the Central Square, how about that?"

Qian Youyu laughed sheepishly, "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" Guo Wei didn't miss the chance to press him.

Qian Youyu looked at Guo Wei, then at me, and said earnestly, "Bureau Chief Chen, Director Guo, tell me the truth, am I an outsider?"

I shook my head and said nothing. Guo Wei said with a dark face, "Depends on how you act."

Qian Youyu clapped his hands together. "I, Old Qian, am speaking from the heart. You two leaders are the leaders I respect the most. I've seen countless officials in my life, but if there's anyone I truly consider a brother, besides you two, there won't be a third."

Guo Wei immediately refused, "Many thanks! I dare not climb so high!"

Qian Youyu was a bit unhappy and muttered, "I know I'm climbing high, but Director Guo, just remember how I, Old Qian, supported you with all my might when you moved the new government. You should know I'm not the type to burn bridges."

He suddenly pulled open his clothes and patted his chest. "How about I cut myself open and show you?"

Guo Wei said, between laughter and tears, "I didn't mean anything else, just take this bank card back for now."

Qian Youyu giving money to Guo Wei behind my back was something I had expected. If he wants to get rich in Guo Wei's Industrial Park, he has to feed Guo Wei first.

Of course, Qian Youyu wasn't here to run a factory. Any planning in the Industrial Park had nothing to do with him, and he wouldn't have any interest in it either. Back when I wanted to start a mineral water plant in Suxi, Qian Youyu ran across half of China, but the plant ended up dying, which also killed his desire to run a factory.

What Qian Youyu had his eye on was the land he mentioned. What is land? Land is a bank! Who would dare look down on someone holding five hundred mu of land?

But the land in the Industrial Park was all in Guo Wei's hands; without his nod, even a god couldn't move half an inch.

Hengyue City's massive construction of a development zone was just following the trend. Every place in the country was building development zones; even small counties wouldn't give up such an opportunity, so how could the dignified Hengyue City fall behind others?

Hengyue City's first development zone was where I live now. It was originally approved to be a High-Tech Development Zone, and that was the name on the project, but after a few years, let alone high-tech, not even a small factory without technology came.

After many meetings and discussions, the Hengyue Municipal Committee decided that since they had started it, they had to finish it. Helpless, they simply moved all the Municipal Committee and Municipal Government agencies into the development zone.

Once the administrative agencies moved over, they naturally needed supporting facilities, so real estate moved in. After a few years like this, they had forcibly turned a High-Tech Development Zone into an administrative center with attached residential quarters. It cannot be denied that the most beautiful commercial buildings in Hengyue City are concentrated in the development zone.

The Industrial Park in Guo Wei's hands was the result after the High-Tech Development Zone fell through.

Without high-tech, industry still had to develop. An old saying goes: "Without industry, there is no wealth; without agriculture, there is no stability." In a society, industry and agriculture must advance together for society to be stable. Otherwise, if either side stands up first, it will definitely be a cripple.

There is a lot to say about the stories of development zones and industrial parks. But because the Municipal Committee Secretary Chen and my cousin-in-law He Zhi are involved here, I will stop at this point.

Guo Wei wanted Qian Youyu to take back the bank card, but Qian Youyu firmly refused. He said that if it belonged to Guo Wei, he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully if he kept it.

Qian Youyu said he was a man used to being honest, and no matter how poor he was, he wouldn't be greedy for things that belonged to others.

I wanted to laugh. No one understands Qian Youyu better than I do. He is like a donkey that must be stroked in the direction of its fur; if you stroke it the wrong way, it will definitely explode.

To put it bluntly, he is just a fake city dweller who bought a household registration.

I also know that Qian Youyu has burdens in his heart. He is from Yuetang Village and now doesn't have half an inch of land under his feet; under my coercion and inducement, he came to Suxi Town to live as a guest resident. He doesn't care about himself, but the key is that there are nearly a hundred people in Yuetang Village who depend on him for everything. Without Qian Youyu, these people would be like dogs with their spines pulled out, never able to stand up straight again.

Qian Youyu only has to keep making money and then use the money he earns on the development of Suxi Town, turning Suxi Town into a small town where life is worry-free, so that he, Qian Youyu, can close his eyes and sleep peacefully.

It is because I know Qian Youyu's painstaking efforts so well that I went to my aunt to borrow money. If I don't help Qian Youyu, who will?

Qian Youyu saw that Guo Wei was determined to return the bank card, so he simply took another card out of his bag and handed it to me. "Forget it, there's no need for me to be secretive. This share is yours."

He winked at me, blinking his eyes, and I understood his meaning immediately.

Only if I take it will Guo Wei take it.

So I took it and asked, "Old Qian, how much is my share?"

Qian Youyu laughed, "The same as Director Guo's. This is our first dividend. Once the land is sold, there will be a bigger one later."

I smiled, took the card, and carefully put it into my pocket.

Guo Wei watched my actions in surprise, and only when Qian Youyu took the bank card from his hand and stuffed it back into his pocket did he let out a long sigh and say, "Does this count as me getting on your pirate ship?"