Chapter 40 I'll sell you too
After pressing the intercom on the table, Liu Tieshu's voice came immediately: "What's the matter, County Magistrate?"
"Sister Liu, please order a table of dishes from the guesthouse. Don't order too much, just enough for two people. Oh, and I want a serving of cucumber soup."
When Guilan arrived at the county government, it was already eight o'clock in the evening. Looking at the beautiful and dusty township official, Hu Jiao was busy fetching water and pouring tea for a while.
After cleaning up, when Guilan sat down with a cup of tea, Hu Jiao looked her up and down, "Strange, you didn't get carsick this time?"
Guilan's lips curled up into a mischievous smile, "I'm not carsick. But I was riding in a horse-drawn carriage."
Seeing Hu Jiao's surprised expression, Gui Lan smiled again, "I found that I wasn't really carsick, but I was afraid of the smell of gasoline."
Hu Jiao smiled bitterly. It made sense when he thought about it. The road was not accessible, so people had to walk to many places. It was not easy for a delicate beauty like Guilan to travel for seven or eight hours after receiving his call.
"Sister Lan, it was my negligence. I should have sent a car to pick you up."
Looking at Hu Jiao's apologetic face, Guilan felt happy for no reason. The bumps and fatigue on the road were now worth it.
"When the leader summons you, you must show up in time, even if knives are falling from the sky."
Hu Jiao was caught off guard by Guilan's teasing, but he felt particularly satisfied to see the young county magistrate blushing with laughter.
Hu Jiao had no choice but to lower his head and drink his tea, smiling bitterly, and raised his wrist to pretend to check his watch. But before he could say anything, Gui Lan said coquettishly, "Don't go to the guesthouse to eat. I'll take you to a restaurant. I guarantee you'll like it!"
Hu Jiao thought that although the food had already been ordered, it was for two people, so it would be okay to remove it. He could just let Liu Tieshu say hello.
Besides, she has come here with so much difficulty, and she is a woman, so it’s okay for her to be smooth, right?
When Hu Jiao went out, he deliberately touched his pockets, in case he forgot to bring money, which would be embarrassing. While locking the office, he said to Guilan, "It's agreed that I will treat you today."
Gui rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. She didn't find a suitable comb in the county magistrate's lounge just now, so her hair was casually tied into a ponytail, with a wisp of bangs slanting on her smooth forehead. She was wearing a simple milky white sportswear, which had some dust marks on it, but did not affect her energetic body at all. How could she look like a charming young woman at this moment?
Hu Jiao locked the office and looked at Gui Lan next to him again, "Why do I feel like taking a little sister out on the street?"
Hu Jiao has a slender figure. He wears a light blue short-sleeved shirt, a navy blue suit and shiny black leather shoes. He looks clean and tidy, with long slanted black eyebrows and sparkling eyes under his single eyelids. He exudes an elegant, refreshing and calm temperament.
Guilan couldn't help but be distracted. Hu Jiao had changed and was no longer the same as the impression she had when they first met.
Guilan couldn't tell what the specific difference was, but when she first met Hu Jiao, he was indeed just as Li Changsheng had described him as a "talented man", well-mannered, modest and polite, but there was always a hint of youthful spirit between his brows, which made people clearly sense the sharpness of his youth.
At this moment, Hu Jiao was like a mountain wall. He looked thin and weak, and no longer had his previous sharpness, but he could give people an invisible pressure.
Calm!
Yes, Hu Jiao has become calm and steady, having shed the immaturity and arrogance he had when he was in Tieshu Township.
Therefore, Hu Jiao's comment that she is like a younger sister is a joke, but it is not entirely wrong. Before, Hu Jiao was like a younger brother next door, but now, Hu Jiao has matured.
It's only been a few months since we last met, and you've changed so much. Don't look down on a young man just because he's poor.
"County Magistrate Hu..."
"Stop! Call Hu Jiao."
Guilan smiled sweetly, "Privately? Is Teacher Li recovering well?"
Hu Jiao nodded, thinking of her mother asking her to have a baby early, she couldn't help but feel warm in her heart, "She's almost recovered, she just doesn't want to make noise."
"Then...can I still go back to class?"
Hu Jiao shook his head. "No, there are too many people in school and it's too noisy." Hu Jiao pointed to her head. "Her brain nerves are damaged. When she watches TV at home, she turns the volume down to the lowest setting."
"Teacher Li is such a good person... Well, maybe she can achieve greater results by doing teaching theory work at home."
Hu Jiao nodded, "Do you know my mother?"
Guilan shook her head and said, "I have seen her, but I don't know her. She is my former classmate from Mingjiang County and was once a student of Teacher Li. I lived in the same dormitory with her for three years. Every Teacher's Day I would hear her talk about Teacher Li. I once went to visit her with her."
Hu Jiao smiled bitterly, "Since I started junior high school, my mother has driven me out every Teacher's Day, so we have never had the chance to meet."
Guilan smiled and said, "I have seen you before. You were in high school then. Do you believe it?"
Hu Jiao didn't say anything. He was too passive when meeting Guilan today. They rarely had small talk like this when they worked together before. Moreover, the relationship between the two of them only became really close after they experienced the old Red Army incident.
Guilan continued, "It's still Mingjiang's classmate. Her sister is in the same class as you, and is also in Class 24 of Fenghuang No. 1 High School. Let me tell you another secret. My classmate's sister has always had a crush on you!"
Hu Jiao simply ignored Gui Lan's question and asked, "What's your name?"
Guilan frowned, but the smile in her eyes was obvious. Hu Jiao smiled, "Forget it. I guess I can't remember it even if you tell me. During those years of studying, I can't remember any other people except for three or two people. I was so absorbed in the books of sages."
When Guilan heard him say that, she swallowed the name that was on the tip of her tongue and looked at him angrily, "You told me not to say it."
Without waiting for Hu Jiao to explain, he pointed to a small restaurant not far ahead and said, "We're here."
Hu Jiao narrowed his eyes. "The Fifties", the name is very interesting. After entering the door, the waiters were all dressed in green military uniforms, old-fashioned military caps, Liberation shoes, and military belts around their waists.
The entire restaurant is decorated with wood and divided into small rooms. Inside are rectangular tables, straw stools, and hanging portraits of the Chairman and quotations from the Chairman. The walls are covered with household items from the 1950s and 1960s.
Guilan took the lead. The boss was a plump young woman, wearing a low-slit cheongsam, with no makeup on. She had a round face and looked very peaceful. She greeted Guilan and smiled before she spoke, "Lanlan, you just came back, right?"
It was obvious that the two were good sisters, as they held each other's arms. Guilan leaned over to the other's ear and whispered to introduce Hu Jiao, and then introduced her to Hu Jiao, "This is my good friend, Wu Yulan."
Hu Jiao shook hands lightly with the other party, said nothing, and just nodded.
Wu Yulan led the way to the innermost small room, opened the curtain, and let the two go in first. "Lanlan, is it still the old rules?"
Guilan nodded and looked at Hu Jiao, "Hu Jiao, the signature dish here is not a special dish, but wine. I know you can drink a lot, would you like to try it?"
Hu Jiao nodded and looked at Wu Yulan, "Sorry to bother you, Sister Wu. This is my first visit today. You have the final say. I'm fine with whatever I want."
The grass stool was too low, and after the woman sat down, she could only keep her knees together and lean to one side. If she spread her legs, it would look unladylike. Fortunately, Guilan didn't wear a skirt today. Hu Jiao felt a little regretful.
Wu Yulan smiled and said, "Welcome to bother you, Hu... Jiao. I look forward to having a distinguished guest like you. I wish you could come every day. Please wait a moment. I will make arrangements."
After Wu Yulan lowered the curtain and left, Guilan formally asked, "How much money do you plan to transfer?"
Hu Jiao asked back, "How much can you row?"
"At most, 1.2 million. And the duration cannot exceed one year."
Hu Jiao frowned. He did not intend to hide it from Guilan. In his plan, the ability that Guilan had shown before was worthy of recognition, and she could be considered to be the key person for the next step of work.
"You know the county's finances, and the main thing is many businesses. Alas... we can't drag it on like this any longer."
Guilan refilled the tea and brought it to Hu Jiao. "Tell me about your plan?"
Hu Jiao pursed his lips and looked at Gui Lan seriously, "If I tell you to sell all the loss-making companies, would you... be afraid?"
Guilan looked at him in astonishment. "Sold them all? What am I afraid of?"
Hu Jiao took a sip of tea and raised his eyelids. "I'm going to sell you as well."
Before Guilan could speak, Wu Yulan opened the curtain and came in, "Who wants to sell out our Lanlan?"
Guilan pointed at Hu Jiao and said, "Look, this is our good county chief. In order to get out of poverty and become rich, he actually wants to sell my sister. He is a real number one human trafficker."
Guilan's childish demeanor and Wu Yulan's mature charm instantly added a lot of color to the small private room.
Guilan didn't dare to reveal what Hu Jiao said before, so she could only make jokes to fool people. However, Hu Jiao didn't think so. He tilted his head and looked at Wu Yulan, "Sister Wu, your business is good, right?"
"Make it up."
Guilan understood Hu Jiao's intention and gently pushed Wu Yulan, "What are you afraid of? Do you really think our county chief is a monk? He won't beg for alms from you. Tell the truth!"
Wu Yulan swung her body exaggeratedly, calling out "Yo Yo," "I finally saw your true face. I didn't expect you to betray me so easily! I treated you as my good sister."
The two girls quarreled for a while, and Hu Jiao just watched with a smile on his face. He neither got involved nor felt disgusted. Anyway, it was rare for such a pleasing beauty to show such a relaxed side.
Guilan smiled and said, "Don't be fooled by the fact that her store is not big, but it is profitable, making about 200,000 yuan a year."
Hu Jiao exclaimed in admiration, "Food is the most important thing for people, and it's the catering business that makes money! Have you ever thought about changing your career and expanding your business?"
Wu Yulan looked at Hu Jiao with a smile, "To be honest, I'm a coward. When I first opened this restaurant, I almost lost my life. If it weren't for Lanlan's support, I wouldn't be where I am today."
Guilan laughed, "Don't listen to her. How dare a coward throw away his stable job to join the sea business?"
Hu Jiao looked at her curiously and asked, "What unit did Sister Wu work for?"
"The Economic and Trade Commission, and later she was relegated to the Light Industry Guest House. She was so angry that she simply opened a restaurant."
After Guilan said this, Hu Jiao finally understood. Although she was being bullied, it was not uncommon for cadres to take temporary positions in enterprises. The key point was that the guesthouse Wu Yulan went to was really a mess.
The Light Industry Guesthouse was an enterprise formerly under the Light Industry Bureau. It had four floors and a total of about twenty rooms.
However, there was a serious overstaffing. The guesthouse, which could originally be managed by ten people, was now crammed with more than fifty people.
In addition, the buildings are dilapidated, the facilities are simple, and most of the staff are family members of the various bureaus. They all have some background, so you can imagine their service attitude.
No matter who takes charge, don't expect to enforce orders. Since being a leader is useless, what's the point of being there? Sooner or later, people will find fault with them and kick them out of the revolutionary team.
Hu Jiao nodded. "When you are at the end of your rope, there is always a way out. People are forced to do things, right?"
Guilan didn't wait for her good sister to give in, and hurriedly pulled her and shook her, "Stop talking nonsense, people will only talk to you when they have good things to say."
Wu Yulan looked at her helplessly and nodded, "What instructions does the leader have?"
Hu Jiao waved his hand. "Not really. These are just some preliminary ideas. I plan to dispose of some businesses. I want to hear your opinions, business people?"
Wu Yulan's face suddenly became serious, "How should we deal with this?"
Hu Jiao raised two fingers and said, "Either sell it or form a joint venture. Give policy support, and the government will completely withdraw and never interfere."
Wu Yulan slowly relaxed and smiled again, "Leader, this is just an idea, right?"
Hu Jiao also smiled and nodded, "It's just an idea now."
At this time , the waiters served the dishes one after another. Looking at the earthenware bottle and the small earthenware wine bowl on the table, Hu Jiao became curious. What kind of wine was it?
Wu Yulan filled three glasses with wine. "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Boss. You should have guessed from my fat waist that I'm a greedy person, so I made this rice wine. The alcohol content is not high, only about 20 degrees. Boss, this is your first visit today, I toast to you!"
Pour about one or two ounces of wine into your mouth at once. Drinking from a small earthen bowl makes you feel particularly generous!
Dry, a bowl!
Hu Jiao first took a sip, it had a light sweet taste, the fragrance lingered between teeth, a faint rice aroma swirled along his tongue in his mouth. Hu Jiao knew in his heart that the alcohol content seemed to be not high, so he tilted his head back and drank the whole bowl of wine.
"Good wine, sweet but not greasy, fragrant but not strong, light taste, lingering aftertaste, um, strong! This wine is suitable for all ages. If it is made from pure grain ingredients, it shouldn't make you drunk?"
Guilan smiled and praised, "Don't worry, even if you get drunk tonight, there will be no sequelae when you wake up tomorrow morning."
Hu Jiao watched Wu Yulan pour the wine again, "Why don't you consider expanding the scale of this wine?"
The two women smiled bitterly at each other. Wu Yulan explained, "There's no way to overcome the storage problem. The shelf life of this wine is only ten days. I determine the production volume based on the sales in the store and dare not brew more. Last year, the county ordered 500 kilograms ten days in advance, but later they didn't want it, so I had to throw it all away."
This is probably caused by the low alcohol content and grain impurities. It is estimated that in the brewing process, the rice is fermented and soaked in it, and then the alcohol is extracted using some method.
Hu Jiao picked it up and savored it carefully, "Hmm, there is also a floral scent... What kind of flower is this? Very special, very familiar..."
Looking at the two women in confusion, Guilan pointed at the plump proprietress, and Hu Jiao suddenly realized, "Magnolia. Not bad! Not bad! But why is the wine brewed from rice wine and magnolia light red?"
Wu Yulan stopped Guilan from answering and said, "County Magistrate, this is our business secret."
Hu Jiao smiled and ate his food without responding to what the proprietress said. Guilan looked around and didn't take Wu Yulan's look seriously at all.
The room was filled with a dull mood, and Wu Yulan could only lift her glass to console herself, "One glass for each of yourselves! Can you two stop holding it?"
Hu Jiao smiled, "Let's talk about the previous topic again. Sister Wu, please think carefully. There are dozens of industrial and commercial enterprises in the county, both state-owned and collectively owned, and they all need to undergo... reforms. You can contact your acquaintances and friends. I'll let you know the specific details of how to proceed, and there will be a draft for soliciting opinions later."
Wu Yulan also nodded seriously and agreed to consider it.
Hu Jiao looked at Gui Lan and said, "You should also be mentally prepared."
Guilan looked reluctant, "I finally made it through the tough times, and now you're busy fighting for the fruits of victory?"
Hu Jiao laughed out loud, "Others are trying their best to leave that place, but you are the one doing the same. Anyway, I'm going to say this, and when the time comes, I might sell you out too."
The two women looked at the young county magistrate in surprise. Even the leading cadres were sold out?
Hu Jiao didn't explain. He just smiled and extended his hand to invite the two to eat.
When it was time to pay the bill, Guilan stood aside and watched Hu Jiao and Wu Yulan arguing. One insisted on paying, while the other refused to take the money.
After pushing and shoving, when Hu Jiao looked at Gui Lan fiercely, she took the money from Hu Jiao and handed it to her good sister, "Don't push it, it's yours next time. When he came here today, he repeatedly stated that if you don't take it, I'm afraid he won't come again next time."
On the way back, Hu Jiao couldn't resist Gui Lan's dissuasion and no longer insisted on sending her home, of course he also cared about other people's gossip.
But when they parted, Guilan stared at Hu Jiao and couldn't get a satisfactory answer. It was obvious that she was going to fight with the county magistrate.
Hu Jiao smiled and said, "Nothing. My initial idea is to integrate several profitable enterprises, divide the business scope into several major areas, and form a strong management team. Therefore, you became the first choice."
Guilan pursed her lips tightly and didn't speak for a long time. Hu Jiao was a little surprised, because he thought Guilan would not refuse.
"I am a woman, my husband is an officer, he is away from home for most of the year, and I like performing arts. To put it bluntly, I am already famous in the county. If you represent the organization, then I will obey you unconditionally. If it is just a personal relationship, can you change someone else?"
Hu Jiao nodded, "Okay... Actually, I can't bear to sell you out. Haha, go back and sort out the development plan for the next stage of Tiedui. You should be mentally prepared."
"What are you preparing for?"
Hu Jiao shook his head slightly, looking mysterious, "Take root in the iron tree." After saying that, he didn't care about the other person's expression, waved his hand, and left in style.
