Chapter 78: Repairing the Plank Road
Qu Mei's eyes were vague and always following Hu Jiao's figure, which Hu Jiao could clearly feel.
When the banquet was going on, Hu Jiao no longer needed to flatter others deliberately when drinking. He just needed to drink in moderation.
It was almost time, and the county party committee office had prepared an entertainment program. Hu Jiao didn't want to participate, but Qu Mei was there, and he wanted to know how the women who had fled overseas had survived all these years.
So he raised the wine and said, "I would like to thank you three again on behalf of the Sanmei County Party Committee and the government. We are 100% sincere and look forward to cooperating with you to contribute to the economic development of Sanmei County, to help the people of Sanmei get rid of poverty and become rich, and to wish you a pleasant cooperation. "
The banquet ended here. Under the arrangement of Tao Shilin, director of the county party committee office, the group went to Xiaozhao's dance hall. The Propaganda Department gathered famous beauties, handsome men and talented people from various units.
The main reason is that the three companies have strong capital, which has played a huge role in promoting Sanmei's investment promotion work. Hu Jiao has never thought of driving away those who come to invest. Although their goal is to maximize profits, businessmen will not do anything without benefits. It would be best if they can strive for the local area as much as possible. In comparison, those with more favorable conditions will definitely be given priority.
This is the main point Hu Jiao expressed tonight.
Everyone who comes is a guest, and we should welcome them all. However, we must fully consider the conditions and not ask for too much. If we only want to make money but not invest, there will be no such thing as a good thing.
Liu Yuan was still as calm as ever. During the confrontation at noon, he seemed to have not produced any plan at all. He chatted and laughed with Cheng Anping and others, appearing to be having a great time.
Hu Jiao was the first to enter the dance floor. The music started at the right time and several beauties came forward. They first invited the entourage of the investment group. The main characters needed to adapt and slowly relax their minds before they could have fun.
There was someone singing on the stage . Tao Shilin got the news from somewhere and knew that the secretary had a good singing voice. When it came to the third song, he personally went up to preside over the show, "Now, let's give Secretary Hu Jiao a warm round of applause and invite him to sing a song!"
After that, he led the applause, and the whole audience responded. It seemed extremely enthusiastic for a moment. Hu Jiao stood up, nodded to everyone, and walked up to take over Tao Shilin's microphone. "Our Director Tao forced me to come on stage to make a fool of myself. There is nothing I can do. Everyone here is a distinguished guest. I will throw out a brick and sing a song for everyone. Um, the song is called "Bressenon"..."
Tao Shilin indicated that this song had accompaniment, Hu Jiao nodded, and the music started, a sad melody, the sadness of parting, the melodious and soothing music slowly flowed. As the prelude ended, Hu Jiao half closed his eyes and began to sing affectionately. This was an English song, telling of the feeling of parting, the train, the stars, the longing, and the melancholy voice.
Qu Mei lowered her head and her tears slid into the glass of red wine.
Among all the people present, she was the only one who understood the meaning of the song, and she also heard the deep nostalgia and sadness in Hu Jiao's singing.
Yes, there was no blame or complaint, only a faint, sad longing. Hu Jiao's first night bloomed on her body.
Countless nights, when she woke up in the middle of the night, she could see the star-like eyes under the thick eyebrows, which narrowed into crescents when she smiled, with a hint of cynicism at the corners of her mouth and a bookish innocence. What a charming smile it was.
How could he still be as frivolous as he was in the past?
He has become the county party secretary, holding the power of a county. He thought he would never see her again in this life, but unexpectedly, as fate would have it, he met her again here.
When the song was finished, there was thunderous applause. No one expected that the county party secretary's singing voice was so great. His English pronunciation was standard and if you didn't listen carefully, it was exactly the same as the original singer.
A few brave ones shouted, "One more song!"
Hu Jiao waved his hand and handed the microphone to the host. Qu Mei raised her head, her eyes had returned to normal, and the rippling water made people feel as if they were intoxicated.
A new song started. Qu Mei stood up and walked towards Hu Jiao. "Secretary Hu, I want to ask you to dance."
Hu Jiao did not refuse and took the initiative to extend his hand, and the two of them slid briskly into the dance floor.
Qu Mei's entourage looked at each other in bewilderment. What was going on? This was the first time they saw Qu Mei take the initiative to dance with someone!
The chairman of the board of directors had never been invited before, but I didn’t expect Mr. Qu to take the initiative this time!
Hu Jiao put his arm around Hongmei's waist and looked into her eyes. His dark pupils flickered with anticipation and timidity.
Hu Jiao leaned close to her ear and exhaled warm air gently, "You are a wanted criminal, you are so brave! How dare you show up in front of me?"
Qu Mei bit her lips with her silver teeth, exhaling like orchids, "When you see Sister Swan, why don't you behave yourself?"
"How have you been these years?"
"It's hard to explain in a few words! I'll tell you in detail when I have a chance. Are you married?"
Hu Jiao nodded, "My son is almost three years old."
Qu Mei's expression darkened, and Hu Jiao asked, "You're not married yet?"
Qu Mei shook her head, "No time, no suitable partner."
Hu Jiao really didn't expect Hongmei to be single, which made him even more unable to imagine how a single weak woman could develop into a tycoon with only 8 million yuan in capital? It was said that Nanhai Real Estate had assets of nearly 10 billion yuan.
"How much shares do you have in the South China Sea?"
Qu Mei smiled slyly, "Guess?"
Hu Jiao shook his head. How much could the eight million back then be compared to the tens of billions?
"I'm not asking you to borrow money, and it's a secret!"
Seeing Hu Jiao's true character, Qu Mei couldn't help but smile, "I'm the third largest shareholder, with 20% of the shares, not bad, right?"
Hu Jiao took a deep breath, "That's nearly 2 billion?"
Qu Mei raised her willow-like eyebrows slightly, "Of course. 2.8 billion to be exact!"
" Tsk tsk , you are indeed a rich woman with a lot of money. No wonder you can't find a suitable partner. You deserve it."
Qu Mei didn't take it as an offense, "Don't look down on me. You... don't blame me?"
Hu Jiao shook his head gently. "I never blamed you. I didn't even ask why you took the money away."
Qu Mei sighed, "Thank you, since you don't want to ask, I don't want to talk about the sad things in the past. In fact, not much of this money really belongs to me. After I went overseas, I had to work as a nanny in an old overseas Chinese's home because of the language barrier. Haha, I took care of the old overseas Chinese for five years and did nothing. After he died, he gave me all his inheritance."
"No children or other heirs?"
"Of course there are, dozens of them, but in five years, these people have never really cared about him. Everyone is plotting to take his property."
"Even so, it won't be that easy for you to get the inheritance smoothly."
Qu Meirou's eyes suddenly flashed with coldness. "I found a society that was willing to pay a huge amount of money, and hired the most famous lawyer. I used the eight million as a basis and won all the lawsuits. Then I liquidated and sold all the inheritance, applied for immigration to the UK, and then went to Hong Kong to meet the current boss of Nanhai."
So that's how it is. Although it sounds easy to say, Hu Jiao can imagine the process. A weak woman got a huge inheritance, won in the end, and was able to escape unscathed. The dangerous experience was not something that ordinary people could endure.
"You changed your surname to Qu, maybe to express your gratitude to that old overseas Chinese?"
Qu Mei nodded, "This is also the name the old man gave me when I first met him. Some old overseas Chinese still keep the tradition, and most of their servants have to change their surnames. My original name was Qu Hongmei, but it's not easy to pronounce, so I just changed it to Qu Mei."
Hu Jiao saw the pain in her eyes and didn't want to bring up the sad things again. "This song is almost over. Tell me the truth, aren't you afraid of getting caught when you come back?"
Qu Mei calmly let go of her hand and whispered, "I am now a British citizen. I have my origins and records. Who can prove that I am the Hong Mei of the past? You?"
"Fingerprints, blood type, DNA, these are all evidence."
Qu Mei looked at Hu Jiao, and the two had already walked back to their seats. "Secretary Hu is a great dancer. It's a pleasure to work with you!"
After that, both the host and the guests had a great time, the music ended, and everyone left.
Qu Mei took advantage of the time when no one was paying attention and quietly walked to Hu Jiao's side. "Do you know why I came back?"
Hu Jiao looked at her but didn't answer. Qu Mei stared into his eyes without moving. "Because, this is where I am concerned about you! It contains my most beautiful memories!"
After Hu Jiao returned to the dormitory, Hongmei's tearful eyes when she left him lingered in his mind for a long time. Two crystal tears hung at the corners of his eyes, about to fall, as if they were about to flow into his chest.
In the palm of his hand was Qu Mei’s cell phone number.
Hu Jiao stared blankly at the string of numbers, as if he wanted to see deep into their hearts.
That night many years ago, Hongmei made him a real man. For Hu Jiao, it was a dream, a beautiful, confusing, indulgent and wanton dream.
So, Hongmei is his dream lover, truly and truly.
Today, Qu Mei still has the shadow of Hong Mei, especially the eyes before leaving and the deep attachment in them.
Hu Jiao felt a little bitter in his heart. They had been separated for so many years. Not to mention that they did not have a deep understanding of each other before, with his current status and family background, it was impossible for him to renew his relationship with Qu Mei.
If it was just a chance encounter and then they went their separate ways, Hu Jiao might not resist.
Unfortunately, Qu Mei came to renew her past relationship and relive old dreams.
Hu Jiao is not sure whether Qu Mei's feelings are pure? What if he is not the county party secretary?
Then I thought, with a fortune of more than 2 billion, would it be necessary for him to use honey traps on a county party secretary?
He secretly mocked his own suspicion, but was also secretly annoyed by his youthful frivolity.
Hongmei was the first object of his lust after he woke up, and the feeling was very complicated.
It’s very late at night.
Hu Jiao suddenly felt extremely lonely. Loneliness surged like a tide, making him feel suffocated. He was powerless to resist and exhausted all over. He just wanted to let his thoughts run wild and travel far away in the empty darkness of the night.
What ideals, careers, love, partners; throw them all to the end of the night. I am the only one in this world. As long as thoughts exist, I am still here. If thoughts disappear, I am also dead. But does anyone know how confused and scared I am at this moment?
Is Qu Mei still waiting for his call?
Hu Jiao smiled bitterly. Why did you think of this? Since you want to know, why not make the answer public?
I dialed the number and after two rings, the call was connected. The slight panting sound was particularly clear in the receiver.
"It's me, Hu Jiao."
"I knew you would call me. I believed you would call me. I prayed to all the gods and Buddhas!"
Hu Jiao was silent. The phone was filled with the sound of electricity. After nearly a minute, Hu Jiao slowly said, "Qu Mei, welcome back."
The sobbing sound was low and lingering. Hongmei had already understood from Hu Jiao's address that her concern and her memories would never come back.
"Hu Jiao, do you know? I don't hate you at all right now. I just feel sorry for myself. In life, there are gains and losses. Maybe I will be alone for the rest of my life because I have already gained too much. Thank you for your honesty!"
Hu Jiao hummed, "The past is just life experience. You are now like a blooming flower, radiant and charming. Enjoy your life. When fate arrives, you will have your own lover and start a real, fulfilling life."
"Can you come...stay with me tonight?"
Hu Jiao's breathing was a little disordered, but he finally insisted, "No. Close your eyes. We can still be infinitely intoxicated in the memories. I don't want to open my eyes and be torn apart by reality."
Qu Mei hung up the phone and put herself in his shoes. She certainly understood what Hu Jiao meant. Just like she was no longer the waitress, he was no longer the deputy section-level cadre. They both had their own paths, and from now on, there could be no more collisions. Even if it was unavoidable, they had to be extremely cautious and watch out for each other.
The next morning, Liu Yuan brought his nephew to Hu Jiao's office early.
"Secretary Hu, I know you don't have much time. Can I give you half an hour to report the latest plan for Beitou?"
Hu Jiao nodded.
This time Liu Yuan didn't beat around the bush. He knew that with the intervention of the other two families, things would definitely not go as he had expected.
The acquisition of Sanmei Mining had to be abandoned, and the focus turned to the discovered mining areas. Liu Yuankai offered the government mining subsidies, development procedures, land occupation, etc. as investment, and held 20% of the shares.
Hu Jiao said frankly, "Mr. Liu is very sincere, and I personally thank him for that! I would like to add that you will be responsible for the construction of the road to the site. If Mr. Liu has no objection, we can basically achieve preliminary cooperation."
Liu Yuan thought about it seriously for a while. He had communicated with his superiors last night. His superiors specifically instructed that he could not act as a middleman in Sanmei this time. He had to make Sanmei mineral development the first industrial investment in Beitou.
Liu Yuan thought about it and realized that the access road was only a dozen kilometers long, which was within the acceptable range. "No problem, we will pay for the road construction, but I hope the county party committee and government will coordinate the related construction work. In terms of mineral mining, our Beitou's sincerity is enough, right? As for real estate, I wonder what Secretary Hu's requirements are?"
Hu Jiao shook his head decisively. "Boss Liu, we can't give you exclusive control of real estate! The specific planning has not been completed yet, but I can clearly explain the general division. There will be five high-end villa areas along the South Lake. If Boss Liu is willing, I will call the other two companies and you can come up with a plan together. I personally prefer joint cooperation, including the golf club, water entertainment center, and five-star resort hotel. These projects are all open to cooperation."
Liu Yuan pursed his lips and said, "Secretary Hu, let's put it this way. Of the five high-end villa areas, we only want one. As for golf and other projects, Beitou is willing to withdraw. But can you give us the industrial zone project alone?"
Hu Jiao gritted his teeth. This was a difficult problem. The industrial zone would be the top priority for Sanmei's future economic development. If the entire project was handed over to Beitou, any company that moved into the industrial zone would face Beitou's interference.
Of course, Liu Yuan's performance today was quite sincere, which was what made Hu Jiao feel embarrassed.
Hu Jiao is not without a solution. If the industrial zone is handed over to Beitou and they interfere too much, they can always find another place to set up a high-tech development zone and make the industrial zone independent.
"Mr. Liu, the infrastructure can be handed over to Beitou, but the project cannot. This is the highlight of Sanmei's future development. It must be in the hands of the county party committee and government. If you are optimistic about the development of Sanmei, how about I set aside another area and build a high-tech development zone, and let Beitou be fully responsible for it?"
Liu Yuan's eyes fell on the county map on Hu Jiao's desk, where the main future projects had been preliminarily marked out.
The terrain of Sanmei is high in the south and low in the north, forming a trapezoidal shape. The terrain near the south lake is half-moon-shaped, which will be the future villa development area. Hu Jiao has already written the titles "Half-Moon Lake Villa Area" and "Sanmei Golf Course".
In the highway company that connects Nanhu to Changshun Province, in the middle of the trapezoid, there is a small place called Guchang. Hu Jiao circled the "Guchang Industrial Development Zone" with a pen. Diagonally opposite Guchang, about ten kilometers away, there is a valley entrance. As long as a secondary asphalt road is built from here to connect to the highway, its future value will be greatly improved.
Apart from these two places, there is no flat and sufficient land along the highway.
Hu Jiao pointed to the valley entrance and said, "This place might be the second Silicon Valley. What do you think, Mr. Liu?"
Liu Yuan stared at this place, the mouth of the valley, which was in the shape of a pot and surrounded by mountains on all sides. The mountains were planted with wild Sanmei large-leaf tea. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Sanmei large-leaf tea was designated as a tribute, and 500 kilograms of it were presented to the imperial palace every year.
It was this place called Gukou that was the site of the Great Leap Forward and the Great Steel Production Campaign, which resulted in all the tea trees on the mountain being cut down.
At this point, Sanmei large-leaf tea became history. After the reform and opening up, Sanmei County organized several expert surveys, but as a result, several varieties were changed and the original tribute tea could no longer be grown.
The unique large-leaf tea of Sanmei can only be grown on the mountains around the entrance of the valley, but Liu Yuan obtained the seeds of Sanmei large-leaf tea from Southeast Asia.
Before liberation, several Sanmei tea merchants fled to Southeast Asia and took away a few tea seedlings, which they slowly cultivated, but the number was always small and they were kept relatively secret.
It was not until the last time we organized a group to visit Southeast Asia to explore business opportunities that we accidentally obtained tea seeds from the local tour guide, who was the descendant of the Sanmei tea merchant.
Since Beitou plans to engage in industry, Liu Yuan is confident that by restoring the traditional brand of Sanmei Gongcha, it will surely become a hit and hype up Sanmei large-leaf tea to the level of Dahongpao. After all, it is unique to Gukou.
Surrounded by mountains, the climate is suitable. The middle of the mountain is shrouded in clouds and mist all year round. Large-leaf tea trees grow in the middle of the mountain. The humidity and the warm wind blowing from the plains in the valley create the unique taste of large-leaf tea.
This is his real intention for investing in Sanmei this time. It can be said that if the cultivation of Sanmei tribute tea can be restored, the profits contained therein will definitely be a super return.
Every time he thought of this, Liu Yuan would feel extremely excited. As a tea ceremony expert himself, he always regretted not being able to taste Sanmei Big Leaf. Over the years, he has basically tasted all kinds of good and famous teas, but Sanmei Big Leaf Tea has become his swan song.
Now everything is slowly being realized according to his idea. Looking at Hu Jiao pointing at the valley entrance, in his heart, this place will surely become a gold mine, and its value will not be less than the so-called high-tech industry.
Liu Yuan nodded and pointed to the villa area again. "Then... can we set up another area? I know Secretary Hu is in a difficult position. If I want one of the five areas, the two families will split it equally. In this way, we can squeeze out another one-third for mineral development. Shouldn't that be enough to show my sincerity?"
What else does Hu Jiao have to say?
Everyone held Liu Yuan's hands tightly, feeling complicated. Who could tell?
