Secretary Luo stared at the license plate on the Hummer, and only after the car drove out of everyone's sight did he turn around and say to the people around him, "You all come in, the rest of you stay outside." Entering the hall were several county leaders, followed by Director Zhang and several police officers.
Secretary Luo then shouted at Director Zhang and the others with dark faces, "Are you all blind? You can tell from the license plates that there are some people you shouldn't mess with, and you can't afford to mess with them either. And what kind of attitude do you have? What kind of behavior is this?" Director Zheng...
Luo: "I propose that the station chief be dismissed on the spot, all police officers involved in this matter be suspended from duty pending investigation, and the county leaders bear responsibility and should all write a self-criticism. I will notify the Discipline Inspection Commission to conduct an investigation." Before that, Secretary Luo slowly scanned the crowd, then said to Station Chief Zhang and several police officers, "You all get out!"
After the group of people shakily reached the square outside the gate, Secretary Luo slowly and in a low voice said to the county leaders, "Before this, you have the opportunity and time to make amends, which is to make Zhou Xuan satisfied with the result. If he is satisfied, the people after him will also be satisfied. That is the key point, understand?"
The county leaders all understood that the Zhou Xuan family, who were born and raised in the area, were not worth paying attention to. The key was the person behind him. Although they did not know who he was or what his background was, judging from Secretary Luo's expression and demeanor, this person's identity was enough to bring them down and crush them.
How many officials these days are truly honest and upright? Unless they don't investigate at all, once they decide to investigate you thoroughly, you won't be able to clean up any mess you've made. Officials like Jiao Yulu are extremely rare!
Zhou Xuan was unaware of the license plates on the two Hummers and did not pay attention to them. Wei Haihong had obtained two sets of license plates from the military region, and these were license plates that only high-ranking military officials could obtain.
Upon returning to the entrance of Qianjin Village, the villagers were quite surprised to see that Zhou Xuan had actually brought Zhou Tao back.
They all understood Zhou Xuansheng's situation perfectly well. Qianjin Village was only so big; everyone knew each other inside and out. Village Chief Liu Dagui had always indulged Liu Erwa, and besides, Liu Erwa had colluded with Zhang Yong, the son of Chief Zhang of the town's police station. Now that the police station was involved, how could Zhou...
Village Chief Liu's house faces the main road in the village, and Zhou Xuan's two Hummers were parked about 20 or 30 meters away from his house.
Liu Dagui was leaning against his front door, watching Zhou Xuan and his group. When he saw Zhou Xuan helping Zhou Tao, he was taken aback. Had Zhou Xuan, the eldest son, spent a lot of money? He wouldn't have released them so quickly unless he had bribed Chief Zhang. Besides, his own son and Chief Zhang's son were both at the police station. He knew exactly what they were up to. They were just eyeing the two pretty girls from the Zhou family. Why would they let Zhou Xuan transfer so easily?
Despite his doubts, Liu Dagui chuckled at Zhou Xuan and said, "Xuan boy, you've really struck it rich."
Zhou Xuan glanced sideways at the fat old man, snorted, and said indifferently, "Village Chief Liu, be careful tonight, or a ghost might knock on your door!"
Liu Dagui chuckled again, but said nothing. In his heart, he was thinking about discussing with Director Zhang again, and finding a way to lock up Zhou's eldest son for a couple of days.
Zhou Xuan's words clearly implied that he had done something wrong. If a person has nothing to hide, why should he be afraid of ghosts knocking on his door in the middle of the night?
Upon returning home, Zhou Cangsong saw his son return and immediately grabbed Zhou Tao's hand, trembling. Jin Xiumei and Zhou Ying then embraced Zhou Tao tightly.
Fu Ying sighed softly, then pulled Zhou Ying away, wiped her tears, and comforted her, "Little sister, it's alright, don't cry. Look, your brother is back safe and sound!" Wei Xiaoqing, however, still said angrily, "I think we shouldn't have let them off so easily."
Zhou Cangsong and Jin Xiumei examined Zhou Tao's injuries again. Fortunately, although there were many injuries, none of them were serious enough to break bones; they were all just superficial wounds.
Zhou Xuan woke up Zhao Junjie and **, and they went to the car at the village entrance to pick up all the groceries they had bought. The family then started cooking together again in a lively atmosphere.
The atmosphere gradually improved, and Fu Ying and Wei Xiaoqing happily followed Zhou Ying to gut the fish in the basin, while the old couple Zhou Cangsong killed chickens and ducks.
Seeing that he wasn't involved, Zhou Xuan called ** and Zhao Junjie to a side room. After checking that no one was coming, he whispered, "Boss, Junjie, let me tell you, this time I'm really determined to take my whole family away. My parents didn't agree at first, but now that this happened, it's easier for me to talk to them. Even if they still disagree, I'll say I'll take them to Beijing for a while, and when they get tired of it, I'll send them back. Then, back home..."
Then he stared at Zhao Junjie and said, "Junjie, we need your help with things at home. Find someone to sell all of our houses and land, including Nanzi's, to cut off their supply lines. Then even if they want to get them back, they won't be able to!"
Zhao Junjie glanced at Zhou Xuan, then at **, and asked in surprise, "Boss Zhang, aren't you going to say anything about what Xuan is doing? I don't object to him causing trouble outside. But he can't completely cut off his own escape route. If things go wrong, he won't be able to come back. What will he do then?"
"You don't need to worry about Zhao Lao Er!" he said with a smile. "You don't know, the little bit of money my brother has in the bank is more than the combined wealth of everyone in Qianjin Village. He'll have enough to live on for the rest of his life!"
Zhao Junjie paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Alright, if you decide, I'll take care of it for you. But," he thought for a moment and added, "Boss, after I finish dealing with things at home, can you introduce me to a job in Beijing? Seeing you guys making money, how can I possibly stay calm?"
While she was thinking about what kind of help she could give him, Zhou Xuan readily agreed, "Okay, come over then, and I'll take care of it for you!"
Then he asked **, "Boss, how much capital do you think it would take to open an antique shop in places like Panjiayuan?"
He pondered for a moment. He had thought about it before, but firstly, he lacked funds, and secondly, he didn't have strong connections. In this line of work, some shady deals are unavoidable, and without strong connections, it's easy to suffer losses.
"Opening an antique shop requires a fixed amount of capital. Larger shops can have tens or even hundreds of millions, medium-sized shops need tens of millions, and even the smallest need at least a million. If you don't have enough operating capital, you won't be able to do business. Sometimes, a single transaction worth over a million can keep you from making any money, and naturally, you won't be able to compete with other shops. Moreover, the more capital you have, the more trust your customers will have."
When it comes to the antique shop business, he immediately got the hang of it. After all, he had been in the business for four or five years and was a natural businessman. Over the years, he had become very familiar with the ways of the antique shop. When Zhou Xuan asked him, he started talking without thinking.
"Of course, having sufficient funds is one thing, but another equally indispensable condition is connections! Without strong connections, your business will be squeezed out and swallowed up by competitors!"
Volume One: The First Signs of a Budding Lotus, Chapter Eighty: Legends and Reality
The two chuckled and said to **, "Boss, let's get the designs done. Anyway, the two of us, one a tattoo artist and the other a master, are in the tattoo business. I'll initially invest 20 million. You'll be responsible for finding shops, opening stores, and hiring people. If you don't have enough money, come to me. You provide the manpower, and I'll provide the money. We'll split the shares 50/50. How does that sound?"
Zhou Xuan had been thinking about opening an antique shop for the past few days. With his special ability, he figured he wouldn't suffer any losses in such a big business matter. Moreover, he could even find some bargains and experience the true taste of the antique world. He didn't care how much money he made, just enough to support his family and cover their expenses. This way, he would still have a stable income if he ever ran out of money.
Moreover, this would also solve the employment problem for his younger siblings and Zhao Lao Er. They could be put to work as assistants, managing the warehouse and accounts. After all, it's easier to talk to family members, and the store doesn't need to be large-scale.
He was taken aback for a moment; Zhou Xuan's words touched him. His brother's words were clearly supportive. No matter how well he managed it, he couldn't possibly own half the shares, could he? However, he really wanted to open a shop, because he had the money. With Hong Ge's background, what couldn't he do? Even for large orders, his brother had hundreds of millions in the bank; he wasn't worried about money. And if things got really bad, if he asked, would Hong Ge refuse to help?
Seeing that he was pondering, Zhou Xuan chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Boss, don't think about it anymore, it's settled then. After Junjie finishes dealing with things at home, he can go and help out!"
Zhao Junjie chuckled. It seems there's really nothing to worry about; these two guys are doing quite well!
At lunchtime, the main room was packed. Zhou Cangsong brought out a large pot of rice wine. This kind of wine was produced by a local workshop. It didn't have the added spices found in famous wines, but the taste was what the locals liked. It was also cheap and had a strong aftertaste.
The wine was served in small bowls, the kind used for serving rice, not cups. Since they didn't need to drive, Achang and Ade didn't hold back, going bowl after bowl. This is where their drinking capacities became apparent; Zhou Cangsong, despite his limited capacity, ended up getting Achang drunk, and ** and Zhao Junjie, needless to say, rolled off the table like pigs.
Only Zhou Xuan, whose alcohol tolerance was already low, didn't drink much, and Achang and Ade surprisingly didn't force him to drink.
After the meal, of the men who had been drinking, only Achang and Ade were still able to walk, while the others collapsed.
In the countryside, people's rooms are larger and more spacious than those in the city, so there are naturally more beds. After Zhou Ying and her daughter Jin Xiumei prepared the beds in the room, Zhou Xuan and Achang and Ade helped Zhao Jie lie down on the bed. Achang and Ade shared a bed.
For the past few days, Zhou Ying had been keeping Fu Ying company. Now that there are more people, they have to squeeze in. Fu Ying and Wei Xiaoqing share a bed, while Zhou Ying made a makeshift bed on the floor to share a room with them.
Zhou Xuan shared a bed with his younger brother Zhou Tao, while his wife Liu Yufang went back to her own room to sleep. She had originally intended to take him back as well, but he was too heavy, so she simply ignored it and carried her son back herself.
Zhou Xuan had drunk a little alcohol and felt a bit dizzy, while his younger brother Zhou Tao, who was injured, did not drink.
The two brothers returned to their room, and only then did Zhou Tao calm down and have time to ask Zhou Xuan some questions. He sat down on the bed with Zhou Xuan and asked, "Brother, a few months ago you called and said you were working in the south, but suddenly we lost contact with you. We called several of your friends who work in the south, and they all said they didn't know where you were. Your family is very worried, but they don't know what to do. Brother, what exactly did you do? Also, how did you meet your wife? And you're not together. Why did you leave her all alone?"
Faced with his younger brother's question, Zhou Xuan smiled, patted his shoulder, and said, "Brother, you don't need to worry about anything. Just listen to your brother, come to Beijing with Mom, Dad, and your sister. Our family will live in Beijing from now on. After we get there, I'll invest in opening an antique shop. You and your sister can help out at the shop; she's very experienced in this." "And about your sister-in-law, hehe, yes, your sister-in-law!"
"But," Zhou Tao asked hesitantly, "Brother, why did you bring another girlfriend back? What about my sister-in-law? Brother, I think this sister-in-law is really great. Not only is she beautiful, but she also has a kind heart!"
“It’s good that your family likes her!” Zhou Xuan said with a smile. “Xiao Qing isn’t my girlfriend. She’s a friend’s niece. She came along to visit me when I came back to pick you up.”