Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 115: Chapter 112 Turnaround

“These years I’ve also come into contact with quite a few business celebrities, and my son is a businessman himself. Businessmen are inherently profit-driven; they never do losing deals.”

Perplexity filled Su Zhenhua’s eyes: “If it’s not for profit, then Guanlan Villa becomes a public welfare project. Zhou Guosheng has been a businessman all his life, how could he do such thankless work? It’s really strange.”

Director Zhang’s heart tightened: “Secretary, isn’t there a problem with this? Could it be that Zhou Guosheng deliberately dug a trap for us?”

“That should not be the case,” Su Zhenhua shook his head, “Attracting investments is not something that only our place is doing. If the Zhou Family is digging a hole for us, they would be blatantly opposing the S City government. Unless he’s not afraid of getting backstabed, he wouldn’t do such a foolish act.”

Director Zhang thought about it and it made sense. He glanced at the development proposal for Guanlan Villa and hesitated: “Then what should we do?”

Su Zhenhua was silent for a moment, then smiled: “What can we do? Meet force with force, and sandbags to handle the flood. If the investment of twenty billion could enter S City, it would certainly stir up some waves. As for the matter of Guanlan Villa, although the plan was drafted in a hurry, you can see that the Zhou Family has put a lot of sincerity into it.”

...

Director Zhang was taken aback: “You mean, there’s nothing wrong with this proposal?”

Su Zhenhua shook his head: “I’m not sure about that yet, but regardless of whether there’s a problem, we must continue with it. If they’re just seeking a good reputation to boost their enterprise, we wouldn’t mind helping them out a bit; but if they want to use our government departments as a stepping stone, we won’t let them take advantage of us for nothing.”

“No matter what, this proposal is a turning point for us. If handled well, we might just be able to secure this project! Now, the ones who should be worried are not us, but those old guys in Jiangzhou. They certainly wouldn’t expect the Zhou Family to play their cards so unorthodoxly. This move must have caught them off guard!” Su Zhenhua said with a bit of schadenfreude.

Director Zhang nodded: “As always, you see things clearly, Secretary. So are we agreeing to this?”

Su Zhenhua tapped the tabletop with his finger and said: “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Jiangzhou is still trying to persuade the consortium’s people. They won’t let go of a twenty billion project so easily. Moreover, Zhou Guosheng is an old campaigner on the commercial battlefield, quite astute. It wouldn’t be surprising if Jiangzhou received a similar proposal to ours. This matter isn’t settled until the dust has settled. Let’s first meet with the people from the consortium when they arrive in S City tomorrow.”

In a luxurious suite on the twenty-fourth floor of the Huangjiang Hotel, Zhou Guosheng, with his white hair and mustache, sat on the sofa by the window, caressing a rosewood cane, gazing silently out the window.

If Huo Sining were here, she would certainly recognize him as the elderly gentleman who ate crabs in her store during the day.

Zhou Guosheng’s daughter, Zhou Meiting, and her assistant were organizing documents. Noticing her father lost in thought, she grew concerned and came over to check on him.

“Dad, are you feeling unwell?” Zhou Meiting sat down next to her father and asked softly.

Hearing her, Zhou Guosheng came back to his senses and smiled, shaking his head: “Was the proposal sent to the Bureau of Commerce and Investment?”

Zhou Meiting nodded, but she was somewhat puzzled: “Today, you snuck off to S City with Jiajia without telling us, which really frightened me. Did you go somewhere during the day? We had agreed to settle the pharmaceutical factory matter in Jiangzhou, so why the sudden change of heart? Have you truly decided to invest in S City? Jiangzhou has much better conditions than S City in every aspect…”

“Do you think my proposal isn’t good?” Zhou Guosheng looked up at his daughter with a profound gaze.

Zhou Meiting said: “I just think that after all, we are not a charitable organization. Any investment project should prioritize the interests of the group. These are the principles you’ve taught us siblings over the years, yet now you’re the first to cast this principle aside. If the government were to undertake the Guanlan Villa project, it would be a significant public welfare undertaking. But for our group to do it seems a bit like overstepping.”

Zhou Guosheng remained silent for a while, then sighed deeply: “You’re right. I’ve been battling in the business world for so many years without bringing emotions into play, but this time is different. If you really need a reason, then consider it fulfilling an old wish of mine.”

With the conversation reaching this point, if Zhou Meiting were to continue persuading him, it would seem as if she was unable to read the room. Although she didn’t show any displeasure on her face, she secretly thought that she must confront Jiajia to find out what she did with their father during the day, which resulted in him changing his mind upon returning.

After Zhou Meiting finished organizing the documents, her phone suddenly rang out of nowhere. Upon seeing the caller ID, she was startled, glanced at Zhou Guosheng, and hesitated before answering.

“Dad, Director Zhang from the Bureau of Commerce and Investment just called to say that Secretary Su is hosting a family banquet tomorrow night and wants to invite you for a casual meal. What do you think?” Zhou Meiting asked.

Zhou Guosheng nodded: “Since it’s a family banquet, we shouldn’t make a big fuss. Have Xiao Liu prepare some gifts, and tomorrow I will meet this well-known Secretary Su.”

Upon learning that Zhou Guosheng had accepted the invitation, Su Zhenhua quickly relayed the news to Huang Hongying.

After hearing the situation, Huang Hongying was taken aback.

She was to host a banquet in her own home to invite the group chairman from Hong Kong to dinner? This was too sudden, with just one day’s time, where would she find enough ingredients?

Huang Hongying felt overwhelmed, grumbling to herself that Old Su was really something—how could he think of hosting guests at home? Wouldn’t it be okay to just go to a grand hotel? Besides, since these people were big bosses, wouldn’t hosting them at home seem too casual? If there were any slip-ups, wouldn’t it jeopardize the whole deal?

Possibly guessing what his wife was thinking, Su Zhenhua explained with a smile: “Although I have never met Mr. Zhou, I’ve heard that he is a remarkable person who doesn’t fancy fancy things and should be down-to-earth. You don’t need to be nervous; it’s just inviting him over for a casual meal.”

Though Su Zhenhua tried to comfort her, Huang Hongying couldn’t be so nonchalant. With the matter settled, she couldn’t decline, so she had to brace herself and accept the task.

Huang Hongying was no fool; she immediately began to press Su Zhenhua for specific details about Zhou Guosheng, and after learning that he was about the same age as her own father and had once lived in S City for seven or eight years, she began to feel somewhat reassured.