Then, covering her mouth, she said in a very low voice, "The customer said the price doesn't matter. Come over and talk to him. You can ask for a higher price!"
Zhou Xuan, with her icy aura, had exceptionally sharp hearing. She spoke very softly, but Zhou Xuan heard her clearly without missing a single word. She smiled and said, "Miss, I'll sit over there and wait for a while."
There was a sofa and a small table on the right side of the lobby for guests to sit and rest. Zhou Xuan sat down on the sofa, picked up a newspaper from the small table, and started reading. He probably sat there for about ten minutes. Before he noticed, the receptionist brought over another girl dressed in jeans and a jacket.
The girl was short, and at first glance, one might mistake her for a young woman. However, Zhou Xuan immediately realized that although her attire was somewhat masculine, she was undeniably a girl with a petite figure and a pretty face. Judging from her simple clothing and expression, this girl was definitely a shrewd one.
The receptionist girl approached and then said, "Hello, sir!"
Zhou Xuan put down his newspaper and glanced at the two women. Pointing to the sofa opposite him, he said, "Hello, please sit down and let's talk."
The receptionist shook her head, pushed the short girl to sit down on the sofa, and then smiled at Zhou Xuan, saying, "Sir, I've brought her to you. She's very familiar with the jade market, a beauty, and a college student, hehe, so the price is also the highest. You can discuss the price yourselves. I'm at work now, so I'll head over first!"
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Okay. Please go ahead!" After she left, he turned to the girl on the opposite sofa and said, "Hehe, I'm sure your friend told you my conditions. I'm here in Tengchong to do raw material business, and I'm not familiar with the market. So I'd like to hire an experienced guide."
The girl nodded. "She mentioned it on the phone. As for the raw jade market, most locals in Tengchong know about it because Tengchong is the largest jade and jewelry market in the country. Merchants and customers come here specifically for raw jade. I'm a local from Tengchong County, and my second uncle is a wholesaler of raw jade. He frequently travels to and from Myanmar, and I've helped him out during holidays. I'm fairly familiar with raw jade."
Zhou Xuan was pleased to hear this. He was pleased with the girl's words and felt a good impression of her; at least she wasn't exaggerating her abilities. Zhou Xuan liked that.
"Okay, what kind of compensation do you need?" Zhou Xuan was satisfied, so he asked about the price directly, because when hiring someone, this is the question that the person being hired cares about most.
The girl hesitated for a moment before saying, "Our fees as private guides are actually higher than those of guides from regular travel agencies. But those in the know understand that tour guides from agencies usually take their clients to shops they have connections with, and they get a commission. We, working independently, don't take our clients to those places. So, the higher fee is worthwhile."
Zhou Xuan, of course, understood the tricks of the travel agency. They were constantly coming up with new ones. Of course, he wasn't there for sightseeing; the tour guide he hired was just a figurehead, more like an assistant, so it was understandable that he was charged a higher price.
Zhou Xuan smiled, nodded, and gestured for the girl to continue.
"Generally speaking, tour guides like us earn between 200 and 600 yuan a day. The pay is calculated on a daily basis, meaning that we are paid on the same day we finish. If there are special itineraries or jobs, the price will be higher!"
Volume 1, Chapter 150: It's said that enemies always meet.
Zhou Xuan knew that the price was about the same as what the little girl had said, "The market price in other places is not much different."
He smiled and took out a stack of hundred-yuan bills from his pocket. The bills still had the bank's hand-sealed paper strips on them, indicating that it was a full ten thousand yuan, and the seals hadn't been removed.
Zhou Xuan pushed ten thousand yuan onto the table in front of the girl and smiled, saying, "How about this then? You meet my requirements. If you don't object, here's ten thousand yuan as my payment. I'm a businessman, not a tourist. So your job is different from a real tour guide. I'll give you one thousand yuan a day. If you work for ten days or more, I'll make up the difference. If you work less than ten days, the extra money will be your bonus. You don't need to return it to me. Is this acceptable?"
The girl was stunned, remaining speechless for a long while. She'd met generous people before, but never one like Zhou Xuan. He paid her before she even did the work! Wasn't he afraid she'd run off with the money and refuse to work for him anymore? And this price was much higher than the highest tour guide rate in the area. Ten thousand yuan for ten days. No refund if she didn't complete ten days; meaning even if she finished in two or three days, she'd still get the same amount. Where could she find such a good deal?
She wondered if this person was after her because she was pretty and wanted to do something else. But after secretly glancing at Zhou Xuan, her direct feeling told her otherwise. Although Zhou Xuan smiled and didn't say anything, waiting for her answer, she could sense that this person didn't have any ulterior motives. But who knows what really happened? Isn't it said that you can know a person's face but not their heart?
Even though the money was right in front of her, the girl hesitated for a long time before asking, "Aren't you afraid that I'll take the money and leave without coming back? What will you do then?"
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "In business, integrity is paramount. I'm not a tycoon, but ten thousand yuan is nothing to me. Besides, even if you take it, what can you do with ten thousand yuan? Maybe just for a moment's pleasure. Also, I want to say that if the business goes well, I will give you another reward. Furthermore…"
Zhou Xuan noticed the girl's confusion, smiled, and said, "Besides, what you're doing is only during the day. You're taking us to the jadeite rough market. I hope we can buy what we need. You can go back around four or five in the afternoon. If we need it again the next day, you can come back."
The girl was stunned for a long time, trying to figure out what unusual or strange intentions Zhou Xuan might have. After thinking for a moment, she happily put the money into her bag and then said, "Sir, would you like to write a contract?"
Zhou Xuan waved his hand and said, "No need to make it so complicated. Um, if you agree, when can we start?"
The girl smiled and said, "Now is fine. By the way, sir, my surname is Zhong, and my given name is Zhong Qin!"
"Zhongqing?" Zhou Xuan murmured. It was somewhat amusing; the name was indeed interesting.
Zhong Qin then said, "Sir, I know what you're thinking. My name is Qin, the Qin of qin, qi, shu, hua (music, chess, calligraphy, and painting). It's not the Qing of qing (emotion)!"
Zhou Xuan smiled and nodded. "Hehe. I understand. Don't call me 'sir' either. My surname is Zhou and my given name is Xuan. You can call me Brother Zhou or Brother Zhou, it's more convenient for me. Calling me 'sir' all the time sounds awkward."
Zhong Qin lifted her bag onto her lap and placed it on her lap. Nodding, she said, "Okay, Brother Zhou, go and get ready. I'll wait for you here!"
Zhou Xuan gave her a slight nod, then got up and went to the front desk. The receptionist smiled and said, "Sir, have you finished your discussion?" "Yes, I have. Hehe. Thank you. I'll treat you to dinner when you're free after get off work!" Zhou Xuan said casually, preparing to go upstairs to call Zhao Lao Er down. However, he still needed to see if Zheng Bing's car had arrived yet. If it hadn't, he would simply rent a few cars. He didn't care about this small amount of money. As long as he had a source of goods, he wouldn't have to worry about making money or finding jade.
The receptionist then said, "Great! I knew it! The people I recommend are all capable. Look over there. Before you, there are two Japanese guests who were also tour guides I recommended!"
Seeing the receptionist's excited expression, Zhou Xuan looked in the direction she was pointing. In another corner of the lobby, two handsome men were chatting happily with a girl.
Because of the distance, Zhou Xuan hadn't noticed that area. But when he glanced over now, his heart skipped a beat!
Zhou Xuan knew both of them. One was Fujimoto Aya, and the other was Ito Kinji. Both could be considered his arch-enemies. He had met Fujimoto Aya later at the home of New York tycoon Lawrence, but Zhou Xuan had dealt him the same blow as Ito Kinji: a $30 million gold Buddha statue. He wondered what would become of Fujimoto Aya afterward.
Fujimoto and Ito Kinji were chatting with their hired tour guide when they inadvertently glanced over. Fujimoto's eyes first met Zhou Xuan's, and he immediately froze for a moment. Then, Ito Kinji's gaze also swept over and met Zhou Xuan's, and he paused, his expression changing slightly.
Zhou Xuan's heart sank. These two guys, I don't know how they managed to... I saw them on the island. That little fake golden Buddha statue was what they used to deceive Lawrence. "They used it to convert the animals into their own and deceived the two of them." He got revenge for this. He thought he would never see these two again in his life, but today he met them again by chance. What are these two doing in Tengchong? Are they just tourists?
Fujimoto and Ito Kinji, however, appeared clearly shocked, their expressions shifting unpredictably.
Fujimoto had made a desperate gamble in New York. But he lost. The golden Buddha statue, after being shipped back to Japan, inexplicably turned into wood. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered to be the very same Buddha statue they had made to deceive Lawrence. Fujimoto was completely dumbfounded at that point!
Regardless of how the statue was switched, the only one left in their possession was the fake one. Fujimoto and Ito Kinji racked their brains trying to figure out where the switch could have happened. In their imagination, the golden Buddha statue must have been switched at some point, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't recall where the mistake occurred.
In retrospect, the Asura Buddha statue was the one they used to deceive Lawrence. Could it be that Lawrence had already seen through the deception and then set up a trap to deceive them in return?
Fujimoto couldn't understand why the golden Buddha statue had been inspected by them and carried away by their own hands. Until boarding the ship, none of Xiao Zhouxuan or Lawrence had ever touched it; it remained under their control the entire time. Even after boarding, they kept watch over it. They even took turns urinating and defecating on the ship; if there were any problems, it was only the two of them who had to deal with them.
R had also investigated Ito Kinji, but in reality, he couldn't have tampered with anything and couldn't figure out where he went wrong. After returning to Japan, Fujimoto was arrested by Sumitomo Bank. Fortunately, his family had close ties with the upper echelons of the Sumitomo Group, and after the Fujimoto family transferred assets to pay off his debts, the trouble was resolved. However, Fujimoto also lost the trust of his family and was left powerless and penniless.
The same was true for Ito Tsuiji; even Yuriko, who usually relied on and trusted him, had left him. He was practically abandoned by everyone, all because of the complete failure of his trip to America, though he couldn't understand it. But Zhou Xuan was undoubtedly a thorn in his side.
In Japan, Fujimoto and Ito Kinji have no chance of a comeback, so after discussing it, they turned their attention to China.
Fujimoto, a highly educated and experienced business executive, operates under the guise of investment, swindling people in several cities across China. His schemes are repeatedly thwarted, and his victims are often local officials. When things go wrong, he tries to cover it up for the sake of his career, resorting to various excuses and fabricated explanations to cover up the problems. This allows Fujimoto and Ito Kinji to remain at large, continuing their scams in different locations.
Another reason they were able to stay safe was that the amount involved in each case never exceeded two million, which was within the officials' ability to cover it up.
This time, Fujimoto and Yilu came to Baoshan City to invest. In recent years, Baoshan has seen tremendous growth, attracting countless investors from both China and abroad. The investment promotion department was naturally very pleased with foreign investors like Fujimoto. After a detailed discussion, Fujimoto then turned his attention to Tengchong.
This made the officials of the city's investment promotion bureau even more delighted. Most of the businessmen who came to invest invested in Tengchong, because Tengchong shares a border of over 100 kilometers with Myanmar. Cities and areas along the border typically have greater development potential, and the government also offers preferential policies such as tax breaks.