Bazafi pushed the woman down onto the bed: "No, you must 'thank' me."
Laughter and cheerful voices filled the Tabutan Oasis. Rows of solar panels gleamed brightly in the sunlight, collecting energy and storing it in multi-cell batteries. A single-soldier aircraft hovered above the oasis, ready to detect any intruders entering the desert. Soldiers scattered throughout the oasis would immediately mobilize, aiming to eliminate the enemy in the desert if possible; otherwise, they would be allowed to enter the oasis and be annihilated one by one.
After Bazafi's special forces, two more bandit groups came, but they were few in number and were easily driven away. It is likely that the other side also felt that there was no hope of controlling Tabtan, so things quieted down for a while, and no more harassing enemies entered the vigilance range. The construction of Tabtan progressed rapidly.
The command center of the Tabtan Oasis has been transformed from a wooden cabin into a reinforced concrete building. After inspecting the large monitoring room, Yang Shiqi entered a giant workshop where Zhao Qiang was busy modifying the last MiG-12 transport helicopter. He had lost a lot of weight during this time. He first increased the number of individual combat aircraft to ten, and then modified the first MiG that was delivered. The second one only had a few unimportant parts left, and he could finally rest.
Yang Shiqi squatted beside Zhao Qiang, watching him install the equipment. She didn't understand any of this, nor did she want to. All she needed to do was lead her troops well. Besides the family pointing her in the right direction, Zhao Qiang was also guiding her. Yang Shiqi felt very lucky. As construction progressed, they were not far from extracting crude oil, and the transportation was already secured. All they had to do was deliver the crude oil to the tankers at the port. Yang Shiqi knew perfectly well how much domestic demand pressure the country would alleviate because of this, which meant that the Yang family's position was becoming even more secure.
Zhao Qiang installed the parts he had on hand. He didn't shy away from Yang Shiqi and directly controlled the energy to modify the remaining parts. Wei also helped. Yang Shiqi rested her head on her hand and didn't say a word. She knew that Zhao Qiang didn't like to be disturbed when he was working.
After modifying the dozen or so parts, Zhao Qiang checked the time on his watch and said to Yang Shiqi, "It's time to rest. Did you need something?"
Yang Shiqi shook her head. "No, I just like watching you work. There's nothing much going on outside now, and I want to stay by your side."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "That won't work. We still need you here to oversee things, and I'm about to return to China. Assassinating Bazafi is no longer realistic, and he has also expressed his willingness to reconcile with us. Since he can hold back the government forces, the central government is even less likely to let us assassinate him. We should profit from their struggle."
Yang Shiqi said, "I don't want to get involved in these backstabbing and scheming things. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."
Zhao Qiang put away the multi-purpose screwdriver and said, "Build Tabtan into an impregnable fortress, so that enemies from the sky and the ground cannot break in. Then safely transport the crude oil to the port. Once everything is running smoothly, you can return home successfully."
Yang Shiqi nodded: "I will. Are you sure you want to leave tomorrow?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Yes, it was summer when we came here, and now it should be autumn rains all over the country. Time flies. Our first oil well should be producing oil soon. Don't forget to tell me the good news when it does."
Yang Shiqi suddenly hugged Zhao Qiang and put her head in his chest. "Zhao Qiang, you've worked so hard these past few days. Without you, I wouldn't know how to deal with the complex environment abroad. Now we've actually carved out a niche for ourselves, and even the local Black people are willing to join our army. This is very important for our localization efforts, and all of this is thanks to you. How can I ever repay you?"
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "I don't need any repayment from you, as long as you can fulfill your wish."
Yang Shiqi suddenly smiled mischievously: "What if a woman has nothing to repay you with but offers herself in return?"
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "I guess I'll have no choice but to accept it reluctantly."
Yang Shiqi pinched Zhao Qiang's chest: "You wish! Aren't you afraid of getting scolded by Xu Xiaoya at home?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Of course I'm scared, but I can't help it, I can't control myself."
Yang Shiqi's hand swept across Zhao Qiang's abdomen. "If you can't control yourself, just cut it off."
Zhao Qiang said, "Aren't you afraid someone will get angry with you if you cut it off?"
Yang Shiqi chuckled: "Of course I'm scared. I'm afraid Reporter Chen will be the first to come after me and fight me to the death."
As if on cue, Chen Xinyu knocked on the door, and Zhao Qiang called out, "Come in."
Chen Xinyu pushed the door open and came in, but Yang Shiqi still refused to let go of Zhao Qiang, which made Chen Xinyu blush. She still thought Yang Shiqi was a man and thought that Zhao Qiang really had homosexual tendencies.
Yang Shiqi said to Chen Xinyu, "Reporter Chen, Zhao Qiang wants you to sleep with us tonight."
Chen Xinyu was startled and looked at Zhao Qiang to ask if it was true. Zhao Qiang smiled ambiguously and asked, "Would you agree?" If Chen Xinyu objected, Zhao Qiang did not intend to bring it up again. If she agreed, it would mean that the exciting event was going to be a big deal and attract a lot of attention.
Chen Xinyu bit her lip: "You...you decide for yourself, I'll do whatever you say."
Yang Shiqi laughed heartily, rolled her eyes at Zhao Qiang, and walked out of the studio. As she passed Chen Xinyu, she suddenly reached out and touched Chen Xinyu's butt. Startled, Chen Xinyu jumped to Zhao Qiang's side, covering her butt with one hand and looking at Zhao Qiang with tears of grievance in her eyes. She looked like a wronged wife who dared not resist.
Zhao Qiang felt a pang of sympathy for her and finally couldn't help but whisper in Chen Xinyu's ear, "Are you angry? You silly girl, haven't you realized that it's not a big deal for Company Commander Yang to touch a woman?"
Chen Xinyu's eyes widened, and her mouth formed an "ah" sound. Zhao Qiang continued, "This is a secret. You can't tell anyone, understand?"
Chen Xinyu hurriedly said, "I know, but she was hugging and cuddling with you..."
Zhao Qiang said very seriously, "This is a work requirement, so please don't ask any more questions."
Chen Xinyu lowered her head: "Yes, I understand."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Did you come to see me for something?"
Chen Xinyu said, "I want to ask if there's anything else you need to pack. We're going back to China tomorrow, and I'm afraid we won't have enough time to pack in the morning."
Zhao Qiang said, "Just bring some gold and diamonds, that's fine. We can skip the rest. People in China don't like local specialties like rat meat."
Chen Xinyu said, "Then I'll go pack. Come over early tonight to rest."
Volume 2 [382] Returning Home
Zhao Qiang returned to China. After being away for more than four months, he finally set foot on the soil of his motherland. At that moment, Zhao Qiang was filled with a myriad of emotions. It was a pity that he was not Chen Xinyu, otherwise he could have written tens of thousands of words and earned several hundred yuan in royalties.
Reporter Chen broke up with Zhao Qiang as soon as she got off the plane. She also had a family and a job, while Zhao Qiang had his woman and career, so they had to separate, no matter how reluctant they were.
When Zhao Qiang arrived at Donghai City Airport after his connecting flight, a row of people were already waiting at the exit. These women frequently attracted the attention of passing men because they were all very beautiful and each had their own unique charm.
Xu Xiaoya, Hu Qian, Luo Wei, and Liu Yiyi. When Zhao Qiang saw them at the exit, he strode over with great strides, almost running, and then hugged Xu Xiaoya tightly in his arms: "Class monitor, I missed you so much."
With tears streaming down her face, Xu Xiaoya said, "Siqiang, you're finally back! I thought you were going to settle down in Africa. Yang the transvestite owes you a huge favor this time, and I'm going to force him to pay it back." At this moment, Xu Xiaoya still didn't know that Yang Shiqi was a woman.
The two embraced tenderly for a moment. Xu Xiaoya released Zhao Qiang, and Zhao Qiang unceremoniously pulled Luo Wei, who was standing next to them, into his arms as well. Luo Wei looked surprised and glanced at Xu Xiaoya worriedly, but seeing that Xu Xiaoya didn't seem to mind, she felt relieved and also put her arms around Zhao Qiang's waist. It was unthinkable for someone to be so presumptuous in front of Xu Xiaoya.
Zhao Qiang said, "Junior Sister Wei, I miss you too."
Luo Wei blushed and said, "I...I missed you too. It's good that you're back. Sister Xiaoya won't have to keep nagging me."
After letting go of Luo Wei, Zhao Qiang, with his back to Xu Xiaoya, made a face at Hu Qian. Hu Qian opened her arms, and Zhao Qiang hugged her back, deliberately squeezing her full breasts hard. "Sister Qian, did you miss me?"
Hu Qian chuckled: "I dare not think about it, I'm afraid Xiaoya will have a problem with it."
Xu Xiaoya chimed in, "You really think I'm a jealous person? You're thinking about him, but it has nothing to do with me. This just shows how outstanding Zhao Qiang is."
Hu Qian hugged Zhao Qiang and said to Xu Xiaoya, "Can I pursue him too?"
Xu Xiaoya said, "Of course you can, that's your freedom. But Zhao Qiang will only like me, Zhao Qiang, don't you think?"
How could Zhao Qiang answer Xu Xiaoya like that in front of Hu Qian? He let go of Hu Qian and turned to hug Liu Yiyi, "Sister Yiyi, I missed you too."
Liu Yiyi blushed and dodged away, leaving Zhao Qiang with only one hand. Helpless, Zhao Qiang could only hold her hand. It seems that not all women allow him to hug her in public.
Liu Yiyi felt uncomfortable when Zhao Qiang touched her hand. She said, "It's good that you're back. I need to report to you on the recent development of Yiyi Clothing."
Zhao Qiang waved his hand: "The squad leader can handle these things. Let's go back and divide the diamonds. These are a specialty of Africa. I just picked them up over there. Everyone gets a share."
When Zhao Qiang assassinated Bazafi's high-ranking generals, he took all the money and valuables within his sight. He figured he might as well take it; he couldn't go on a business trip to Africa empty-handed. Although Zhao Qiang was not short of money now, diamonds were more reliable when they came from the local area. Who knew that those that came to China through normal channels had already been switched several times.
Four BMW 760s, all driven by beautiful young women, aroused the fantasies of countless men along the way. Even Zhao Qiang, sitting in Xu Xiaoya's car, couldn't help but close his eyes and imagine that these four girls, plus Su Su, Yang Shiqi, and Chen Xinyu, were all stunning beauties. If he had a choice, Zhao Qiang didn't know who to pursue. If only he could go back to ancient times, he wouldn't have to hesitate and could just arrange them all and marry them.
Upon returning to Shunfeng Repair Shop, Zhang Lingfeng, Wang Meng, Luo Wanfeng, Wang Yidong, Xu Liming, and others rushed over after hearing the news. After all, they had been away for more than four months and were genuinely concerned about Zhao Qiang.
Zhao Qiang dumped the bag he brought back onto the table and then generously gestured for people to pick: "Pick whatever you want, don't be shy. Take whatever you like, it's all cheap stuff."
Zhang Lingfeng picked up a diamond and examined it closely against the sunlight: "Wait a minute, this is a real diamond, my goodness! It's of good quality. What have you been up to all this time? Did you switch careers and start robbing diamonds?"
Zhao Qiang said, "These are all local specialties. I just bought a few pounds before I left. Let's pick them out quickly and then go have lunch together. This time it's on me, we'll drink until we drop."
It was so easy for Zhao Qiang to get drunk, so he quickly achieved his goal, which made Xu Xiaoya very angry for more than a month. She missed Zhao Qiang so much and wanted to spend some time alone with him in the afternoon. Now it seemed that the only thing she could do was go to bed and hug him to sleep.
It took Zhao Qiang a full week to settle down after returning to China. The peaceful and prosperous environment finally relaxed his tense nerves, and he even felt a little out of place. Thinking that Yang Shiqi was still fighting on the front lines, Zhao Qiang was a little worried. However, considering that Yang Shiqi would eventually grow up and he couldn't stay by her side forever, he suppressed his desire to go back to see her. He would naturally return after Yang Shiqi successfully built the Tabutan oil field and everything was on track.
That morning, when Zhao Qiang opened his eyes, Xu Xiaoya was no longer in his arms. Looking up, he saw her sitting at her desk in her pajamas, looking through documents. Outside the window, there was the sound of drizzling rain. As the saying goes, one autumn rain brings one chill, and this rain would lower the temperature again. Zhao Qiang pulled the blanket tighter and said to Xu Xiaoya, "So early? You should get some sleep."
Xu Xiaoya put down the documents in her hand and went back to bed. Her body was a little cold. Zhao Qiang hugged her tightly from behind, covering her chest with his hands and gently blowing on her back. Xu Xiaoya's body trembled from the tickling. "Don't move, my mother is already up and making breakfast."
Zhao Qiang said, "Why don't we stay at the repair shop and sleep there from now on? It's always inconvenient here."
Xu Xiaoya said reluctantly, "But this is the room where I grew up. I always feel most comfortable and at ease here."
Zhao Qiang had no choice, "But I can't come every night, I'd feel embarrassed even if your parents didn't say anything."
Xu Xiaoya said, "They wish you would come every day. My dad is able to hold onto his position as deputy mayor now thanks to you. If it weren't for your influence, he would have been kicked aside by now."
Zhao Qiang said, "Your father has given birth to a good daughter. I even need your help with my own things."
Xu Xiaoya held Zhao Qiang in her arms. Zhao Qiang's mouth was pressed tightly against Xu Xiaoya's breasts. He even opened his mouth and bit one of them. Xu Xiaoya let out a soft moan and pressed Zhao Qiang's head against her chest with both hands. Her body twitched rhythmically with Zhao Qiang's sucking, as if she was enjoying it.
"...Okay, stop messing with me, or I'll want it again," Xu Xiaoya pleaded. "Actually, I'm not helping you. You're giving me the opportunity to realize my own value. Besides, this is helping you. I'm earning a fortune for our future children."
Zhao Qiang touched Xu Xiaoya's smooth belly: "Pregnant?"
Xu Xiaoya shook her head: "How can it be that accurate? These past few days have been a safe period."
Zhao Qiang pointed to a stack of documents on the table: "Have you been very busy with company matters lately?"
Xu Xiaoya said, "It's not too busy. It's always been like this. Recently, Jiayuan Investment has acquired a lot of companies, and Zhang Lingfeng's business has been shut down for many days because you went to Africa, so there is a bit of a tight budget and some trouble with scheduling. Fortunately, Haifeng Group has already made a large profit, so there is no need to worry too much."
Zhao Qiang said, "Zhang Lingfeng's health product company has resumed sales. Money will be rolling in in just a few days. Spend as much as you want, do whatever you want, don't hold back."
Xu Xiaoya looked up and let out a long sigh: "Qiang, I feel so good being with you, it makes me feel so fulfilled."
Zhao Qiang said, "Me too."
Xu Xiaoya said, "But so many girls like you, I'm so worried, what if one day you leave me?"
Zhao Qiang hesitated for a moment, then said, "As long as you love me, I don't think I'll leave you."
Xu Xiaoya sighed and didn't continue. Zhao Qiang didn't want to talk about this matter anymore either. He pointed to the documents and said, "Give them to me and I'll help you, so you won't say that I'm pushing all the work onto you."
Xu Xiaoya reached out and took the documents from the table. "To tell you the truth, there's something waiting for you to deal with when you get back. It concerns your classmate. Wei has temporarily suppressed this matter after learning his identity. You should take a look."
Zhao Qiang glanced at the documents. Haifeng Group had a branch in Dongyang City, which mainly produced electronic components. Not long ago, it purchased a batch of seafood from its classmate Sun Gang for employee welfare. There was no cash transaction at the time. As a result, after the employees took the seafood home and ate it, most of them felt unwell. The common symptoms were diarrhea, and some people experienced dizziness and vomiting, and had to be hospitalized. The problem is that Sun Gang is demanding that the branch pay the outstanding amount for the seafood, while the branch is demanding that Sun Gang compensate the employees for the losses caused by eating unsanitary seafood. Now the two sides are deadlocked and are threatening to take each other to court.
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "This Sun Gang must have soaked the seafood in some kind of potion."
Xu Xiaoya said, "It's now standard practice in the seafood farming industry to add antibiotics. China produces about 200,000 tons of antibiotics every year, roughly half for humans and half for animals. It's inevitable that problems will arise from eating them. But this incident is indeed quite serious, so we can't pay Sun Gang this money. We originally planned to sue him, but we later learned that he was your classmate in junior high school, so we've been putting this matter on hold until you come back to ask for instructions."
Zhao Qiang said, "I have his phone number, but it's obvious that things can't be resolved over the phone. I'm afraid we'll end up arguing. Anyway, I have nothing else to do, so I'll go back to my hometown to take a look."
Xu Xiaoya said, "That's fine, otherwise it will be difficult for Wei. The branch company has already reported the matter to the head office for a decision. You should say goodbye to Wei before you leave and hear about the progress. The investment company is busy lately, so I won't accompany you back to your hometown. However, I still have some time this morning, so I'll go buy you a gift and give it to your parents and grandfather when you get back."
Zhao Qiang said, "Okay, I will definitely help you sort this out, but you don't need to buy anything. I'll buy it when I get to Hedian. It's troublesome to carry it on the way."
As Xu Xiaoya put on her bra, she said, "It's to help Wei. I've already stepped down from the management of Haifeng Group. Wei is the real owner of Haifeng. Even her father works for her."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "You two are good friends, helping her is the same as helping yourself."
Xu Xiaoya said with a hint of melancholy, "How can they be the same? She is her, and I am me."
Volume 2 [383] Chairman Luo
Why was Xu Xiaoya feeling so melancholy? There was a knot in her heart that she couldn't untie. A shrewd girl like her could naturally see Luo Wei's feelings for Zhao Qiang, but love is a fickle thing. Even her best friend wouldn't share her boyfriend. However, Zhao Qiang was very caring towards Luo Wei. Not only Luo Wei, but the clever Xu Xiaoya could also see that Zhao Qiang was also exceptionally protective of Hu Qian and Liu Yiyi.
If it were just Zhao Qiang who was interested in them, that would be fine. But Hu Qian and Liu Yiyi always agreed without hesitation whenever it came to Zhao Qiang's decision. They even unintentionally revealed in their words that they knew some of Zhao Qiang's secrets, secrets that Xu Xiaoya had never heard Zhao Qiang tell her, which made Xu Xiaoya very depressed.
She wanted to lash out at Zhao Qiang and confront him, but Zhao Qiang was always so accommodating to her, which left her with no reason to lose her temper. She couldn't just make baseless accusations, because she knew that would make her lose Zhao Qiang's favor.