Chapter 65 of 100

Chapter 65: All Gone!

12 min read2,996 words

For such distorted rumors, Zhu Daodong was not bothered to refute them. What was there to refute? Let the facts speak for themselves! By tomorrow, when he delivers the wine to the county town, everything will be clear.

On Monday morning, the main leaders of the township held a meeting, and as the secretary, Zhu Daodong also attended, tasked with taking meeting minutes. After the meeting, he would organize the minutes and distribute them to the attendees.

After the meeting, Chen Shuli called Zhu Daodong to his office alone, "Daodong, how is the sale of Shumu Ridge wine going?"

Chen Shuli, although in the county town yesterday, had also heard the rumors. Several people had specifically called to report that Zhu Daodong was having difficulties. This made him somewhat anxious. Now, Shumu Ridge wine had a subtle connection to him. If Zhu Daodong couldn't sell any wine, it would be embarrassing for him as the township party secretary. Although Zhu Daodong had confidently assured him, there was no smoke without fire. Yesterday, those people described Zhu Daodong's failures in the county town vividly, as if he had hit walls everywhere and accomplished nothing.

"Secretary, have you heard the rumors too?" Zhu Daodong smiled. Now, he had 10,000 yuan in his pocket, ready to announce the resolution of the Shumu Ridge wine issue at any time.

"Rumors? I hope they are just rumors. Daodong, many people are now eager to see you fail, and seeing you fail is also seeing me fail, as I failed to judge people correctly. Therefore, you must do well in selling Shumu Ridge wine and not let others talk behind your back," Chen Shuli said earnestly.

"Secretary, in fact, all the Shumu Ridge wine has been bought by a hotel in the county town," Zhu Daodong smiled.

"Really?" Chen Shuli was both surprised and delighted, looking at Zhu Daodong with surprise, doubt, and admiration.

"I have the money with me and will go to the finance office to deposit it later," Zhu Daodong knew that Chen Shuli was concerned about him. Of course, this matter was also related to him, but ultimately, it was Zhu Daodong's responsibility. Even if he failed, the impact on Chen Shuli would be minimal.

"Good, good, don't do anything else today. Focus on getting this done," Chen Shuli laughed loudly when he saw the stack of cash, now completely at ease. He then recalled what Zhu Daodong had said about selling all the wine. "You said all the wine was bought by one hotel?"

"Yes, the owner of Xiangshan Villa in the county town, Xu Jun, found our Shumu Ridge wine to be very well-packaged and of high quality. Moreover, he particularly valued the fact that there are only about 500 boxes of Shumu Ridge wine. By buying them all at once, the wine becomes the exclusive supply for Xiangshan Villa," Zhu Daodong had not expected Xu Jun to buy all the wine. Initially, he thought Xu Jun buying 100 to 200 boxes would be great, but after hearing Xu Jun's analysis, Zhu Daodong felt that if he had the money and such a villa, he would also buy all the wine at once.

In the township chief's office, after the meeting, Yuan Ping returned to his office, and Deputy Township Chief Li Jin followed in, "Chief, have you heard? Zhu Daodong is having trouble selling the wine. It seems this guy is only good at teaching and writing."

"Who told you that? Last Friday, the packaging and labels of Shumu Ridge wine were changed according to his requirements. It's only been two days, and you're already making conclusions. That's a bit too hasty," Yuan Ping said calmly. Although he was not in the township yesterday, he had heard many rumors, and there were always people who would pass such information to him. However, with nearly 20 days left until the deadline, Yuan Ping would not mock or ridicule Zhu Daodong. At most, he would feel a bit pleased. After hearing the news yesterday, his mood improved, and he even had a couple of drinks to celebrate.

"Now the whole township is talking about it. Zhu Daodong, the bookworm, isn't cut out for sales. Chief, once Zhu Daodong is dismissed, the position of the enterprise office director will be vacant..." Li Jin spoke with disdain. He had been feeling quite frustrated lately. Originally, he could summon Zhu Daodong at will, but after being rebuked by Wang Bo, he lost face.

"Do you have someone in mind?" Yuan Ping glanced at Li Jin with a playful look.

"Not exactly, Chief, the enterprise office is a government department, and the director should be someone you trust," Li Jin smiled flatteringly.

"It's too early to talk about this. Let's see how things go," Yuan Ping had been thinking about who should take over Zhu Daodong's position since yesterday. If Zhu Daodong was dismissed, Chen Shuli would not appoint his own people to the position, as that would be against the rules. The enterprise office was a relatively quiet department, managing only one wine factory, but even a quiet position had its benefits. The director was a step up from a regular official, so he couldn't just appoint anyone.

After Li Jin left, Yuan Ping called Liu Wei, "Lao Liu, has Zhu Daodong contacted you in the past two days?"

"No, Chief, is there any instruction?" Liu Wei smiled, as Yuan Ping had started calling him "Lao Liu" instead of "Liu Factory Manager" recently, which made him feel more at ease. "Liu Factory Manager" sounded distant, while "Lao Liu" felt more intimate.

"Nothing much, just asking casually," Yuan Ping hung up the phone.

What did Chief Yuan mean? Liu Wei slowly hung up the phone. Although Chief Yuan only said two sentences, the first one was the most important: "Has Zhu Daodong contacted you in the past two days?" Chief Yuan was trying to verify the rumors! Liu Wei quickly came to this conclusion.

The township party committee had already decided that Zhu Daodong would be fully responsible for selling Shumu Ridge wine. Therefore, Yuan Ping could not give any direct instructions on this matter and could not get accurate information from Zhu Daodong. However, he could directly ask Zhu Daodong and monitor the situation at the wine factory. Any movement would be reported to Chief Yuan immediately, as it was clear that he valued this matter.

Liu Wei was about to go to the township government to find Zhu Daodong when he saw a Dongfeng extended truck driving into the factory and stopping at the gate. A person jumped out of the passenger seat, and Liu Wei immediately recognized him as Zhu Daodong, the director of the enterprise office.

"Director Zhu, are you here to load the wine?" Liu Wei understood Zhu Daodong's intentions at a glance. He was surprised, as there were rumors yesterday that Zhu Daodong was having difficulties. How could he be here to load the wine today? Was he doing this on purpose? Yes, it must be. By taking the wine away from the factory, the rumors about the wine not selling would be debunked. What a clever plan. He didn't expect such a mild-mannered person like Zhu Daodong to come up with this idea.

"Exactly, I'll need your help, Factory Manager Liu, to arrange some people to load the truck," Zhu Daodong smiled.

"No problem, Director Zhu's business is my business. How much wine are you taking this time?" Liu Wei asked with a smile, but inwardly he was extremely disdainful. Young people these days always resort to underhanded tactics and schemes.

"There should be 534 boxes left in the factory. I'll take them all!" Zhu Daodong said calmly.

"All of them?" Although Zhu Daodong said it casually, to Liu Wei, it was like a thunderclap. This Director Zhu was really something. To avoid gossip, he came up with such a plan, but wasn't it a bit over the top?

Regardless, the wine was now under Zhu Daodong's full control, and Liu Wei had to cooperate. Even if Zhu Daodong was acting recklessly, he could only call a few workers to load the wine.

What Liu Wei didn't know was that 500 of the 534 boxes had already been sold, and the money had been paid. The remaining 34 boxes, Zhu Daodong didn't plan to sell; he intended to keep them for himself to enjoy slowly!

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