Chapter Twenty-Five New Three Sessions

  It was Friday evening, the day when Lu Zhong regularly visited Old Man Huang.

  Every week, he chooses Thursday or Friday, because on Saturday and Sunday, Huang Lao's children will take the time to return home and reunite with their family, and Lu Zhong doesn't want to be a nuisance on such days.

  Lu Zhong, the boss of Changming Company, would take time out every week to visit his old comrades. The other day, he even brought over a dozen baskets of fresh peaches from Qinglong and invited the retired cadres to have a taste. Of course, ordinary employees also got their share. On the surface, it was said to be a welfare benefit provided by Changming Company, but in fact, Lu Zhong paid for it out of his own pocket.

  Every time Lu Zhong comes to visit Old Huang, Old Huang is very happy and sometimes even drinks a few cups with him. But today, Old Huang seems to be in a bad mood. When Lu Zhong enters the house, he is listlessly playing chess by himself.

  "Oh, Zhēnzi has arrived." Seeing Lù Zhēn, Huáng Lǎo seemed to have lost his spirit as well, listlessly pushing the chessboard away and letting out a sigh.

  "Huang Lao, what's wrong?" Lu Zhong sat down opposite the tea table.

  "It's nothing." Old Huang waved his hand and said, "The party secretary of a joint venture company with foreign investment is not easy to do, right?"

  Lu Zhong nodded slightly.

  The site of Changming Company is located more than 30 kilometers south of Wushan, and has started to break ground, level the land, and build factories. The Germans are very efficient, and have already recruited a large number of workers for simulated training in the temporary experimental area. At the same time, recruitment work has begun at universities across the country, and some Chinese-American and German engineers who were hired with high salaries have arrived in Wushan, marking the start of preliminary preparations by the first batch of technical personnel.

  The Managing Director appointed by the Board of Directors of Chang Ming Company is Mr. Schroeder.

  Because the company is still in preparation, to be strict, except for Lu Zheng, this lone secretary of the Changming Company Committee under the Communist Party of China, no other committee members can be produced, which is somewhat contradictory to the organizational charter. However, setting up a party committee in a joint venture, especially one with foreign majority ownership, is itself a new thing and still being explored, so it can only be handled on a case-by-case basis.

  Huang Lao was very concerned about the construction of Changming Company, asked many questions, and Lu Zhong answered one by one. However, seeing Huang Lao's tired expression, after chatting for more than half an hour, Lu Zhong excused himself and bid farewell.

  Downstairs, when Lu Zhong was unlocking the car door with his key, a person suddenly darted out of the shadows in the corner of the wall, giving Lu Zhong a fright.

  When he saw the sly smile on the newcomer's face, Lu Zhong couldn't help but frown and say: "Fourth, you're in for a beating again, aren't you?"

  It goes without saying that the person who came was Huang Zixuan, also known as Huang Si'er.

  Huang Zixuan chuckled and said: "I've been waiting for you for half a day. Now that I see you, aren't you happy?"

  "Nothing good is going on." Lu Zhong looked around and asked, "Didn't you drive here?"

  Huang Zixuan chuckled: "Get in your car and come with me to a place." As he spoke, he opened the door on the other side and got in.

  The car slowly drove out of the residential compound, and Lu Zhong casually asked: "What's wrong with your old man? He doesn't seem to be in a good mood. He looks depressed."

  "Huang Zixuan snorted twice: "Zhengzi, you're not being honest with me?! No wonder you didn't scold me and tell me to get out today! It turns out you still have something to ask me after all! Damn it, I was so happy for nothing, thinking you really considered me a brother!"

  Lu Zhong frowned and said: "Speak up or get out!"

  Huang Zixuan seems to be enjoying Lu Zhong's scolding, and even smiled twice, looking very pleased, as if he wouldn't feel comfortable if Lu Zhong didn't scold him.

  Nothing major, Old Man Huang and his mistress had a falling out. Mentioning Old Man Huang made Huang Zixuan curl up her lip.

  Lu Zhong nodded slightly and said, "Where are you going?"

  "Where are you going? It should be where we're both going." Huang Zixuan lit a cigarette and said lazily, "Let's go to Feicui, dance, I have something to tell you."

  Lu Zhong glanced at his watch and said, "I'm not going. You have something to say, so go ahead. We still have more than 10 minutes before we reach Feicui, that's enough time for you to speak."

  Huang Zixuan gradually understood Lu Zhong's temper and knew that if he said he wouldn't go, then he definitely wouldn't go. He let out a sigh and said: "It's not a big deal, forget it, I won't say anything."

  Lu Zhong suddenly turned the car into a bike path, and several cyclists hastily avoided it.

  Lu Zhong stopped the car under a dim street lamp and said, "You've been waiting for a long time, right? There must be something going on. Speak up! I won't go to the dance hall, there's too much going on today."

  Huang Zixuan was taken aback and stared at Lu Zhong for a while, then thought for a moment before whispering in his ear...

  ……

  Cypresses and green cedars, white poplars reaching the sky, flower beds and lawns, lush and verdant. The majestic main office building and several auxiliary buildings stand in the clean and tidy courtyard, this is the Wushan City Planning Commission compound.

  Lu Zhong's office is in Building No. 4, a three-story small building where the Foreign Investment Office, Business Promotion Office, Financial and Taxation Office, Inspection Office, Municipal Assistance Work Leading Group Office and others are located, which can be considered as an independent business promotion agency, equivalent to a small "Business Promotion Bureau".

  Simultaneously, it also hangs the sign of "Municipal Investment Promotion and Attraction Work Leading Group Office" and is responsible for the administrative work of the Municipal Investment Promotion and Attraction Work Leading Group.

  Director of the Investment Promotion Office Chen San Shui, only 28 years old, a 1977 graduate of Peking University, also the first batch of university graduates after the restoration of college entrance examination.

  In 77, the college entrance examination was resumed. Because education had been neglected for many years, the questions that year were relatively simple and it was an open-book exam, but the competition was extremely fierce, with an admission rate of 4.9%. This is the lowest admission rate in China's college entrance examination history.

  Millions of candidates are engaged in a fierce battle on the examination field, with unprecedented intensity, thus opening the prelude to the college entrance examination, where thousands of troops and horses cross a single-plank bridge.

  The 77th grade university students are a group of people who have experienced the hardships of going up to the mountains and down to the countryside, they are a lucky group that has finally got the opportunity to change their fate after experiencing hardships, they are a group that has emerged from the most intense college entrance examination competition, they are a group with distinct characteristics after being tempered by the waves.

  Chen San Shui is one of them. He was admitted to Peking University in 1977 with excellent grades and graduated in early 1982, entering the *** Office.

  But perhaps the turn of fate was too rapid, leaving him unable to find his own position. The young man rose to prominence quickly, but inevitably felt ungrounded. Not long after being promoted to director in the *** office, he offended someone and was soon sent back to his hometown in Wushan.

  But with the halo of being a Peking University graduate and his own knowledge, vision and ability, coupled with Wushan being positioned as a coastal open special zone in urgent need of high-quality talent, he did not stay dormant for too long. At the beginning of this year, he was appointed as the Director of the Investment Promotion Office of the Planning Commission (at the deputy departmental level).

  Chen San Shui is very arrogant, this is the general evaluation of middle-level cadres in Ji Jing Wei, his white and clean appearance makes him rely on his talent and look down on others, and in ***'s work experience, he has more or less shown some tendency to look down on lower-level cadres, especially those from rural areas, although he may not even be aware of this himself.

  Lu Zhong is a roughneck with only an elementary school diploma, and he's also a grassroots cadre who rose through the ranks. Perhaps it's because Chen San Shui has a natural sense of superiority in front of Lu Zhong that, in Lu Zhong's office, sitting across from Lu Zhong discussing investment promotion work, he unknowingly crossed his legs, looking more like he was Lu Zhong's superior.

  Chen San Shui, who has just made contact with Hong Kong's Heng Chang Optical Trade Co. and may receive a $750,000 investment from the company, believes that in the next two years, Hong Kong capital should be the focus of Wushan's investment promotion efforts. The Investment Promotion Office should set up an office in Shenzhen to facilitate contact with Hong Kong businessmen and encourage them to invest in Wushan.

  "Director Lu, you think what I said is right or not?" After a long talk mixed with a large amount of economic data analysis, Chen San Shui finally remembered to ask for Lu Zhong's opinion.

  He wasn't trying to show off with all this talk; it was just a habit of his.

  Lu Zhong listened carefully to his words and nodded at this time, saying: "Your analysis is good, it's also necessary to set up an office in Shenzhen."

  Chen San Shui's face revealed a reserved smile. The former deputy director of the business department, who was usually in charge, would often let him take over after he had finished speaking, and even seemed to be afraid of listening to his work report.

  Chen San Shui knew in his heart that many things he said were not understood by Director Gao, and even once, when he was reporting on his work, Director Gao fell asleep.

  Lu Zhong is able to pretend to be very attentive while listening to himself speak, which is already quite an accomplishment.

  At this time, Lu Zhuo was thinking and said slowly: "However, attracting investment requires more than just the contract spirit you emphasized. Contracts are naturally clear and transparent, but this is only a basic condition, a principle that must be followed in international trade."

  Chen San Shui was stunned for a moment, Lu Zhong, did you really understand what I just said?