Chapter 89

In the city of Yundong, the headquarters of Juncheng Group.

Journalists and news media from all over the country have gathered at the venue.

Today is the signing ceremony for the cooperation agreement between Juncheng Group and Singapore, which is the largest in Asia and the second-largest in the world, and is at the forefront of global advanced water treatment projects.

The Yundong municipal government has attached great importance to this project, with the city's leadership personally coordinating various aspects, finally ensuring the successful completion of the negotiations.

Juncheng Group has once again become the focus of public attention.

Even the chairman of the board, Zhu Guoxu, who rarely appears in public, does not show off, and rarely gives interviews to journalists, will personally attend the signing ceremony.

There have always been many stories, both reliable and unreliable, circulating about Zhu Guoxu.

Some say he single-handedly built this empire, while others claim he is ruthless and climbed to his current position by stepping on his former boss.

However, regardless of what is said, Zhu Guoxu never defends himself. Even when the largest media outlets in the country repeatedly tried to interview him to clear his name, he politely declined.

There is a saying about Zhu Guoxu that circulates among the company's top executives:

"If I spend an hour explaining and defending myself, I could use that hour to open a new market. Compared to making money, I don't care much about my reputation..."

This is Zhu Guoxu's attitude.

It is precisely because of this that the signing ceremony has attracted even more attention from the media.

After all, it's not easy to get an interview with Zhu Guoxu on a regular basis.

In addition to the top executives of Juncheng Group, the Yundong municipal leadership and the president of Singapore's L&K Group, Li Bicheng, also led a high-level negotiation delegation to attend the ceremony.

Following tradition, the municipal leadership spoke first, followed by representatives from Singapore and Juncheng Group.

When Zhu Guoxu and Li Bicheng signed their names on the contract, the venue erupted in applause.

Next came the question-and-answer session, which the journalists were most interested in.

"Before I open the floor to questions from our esteemed media friends, I have a small gift for our Singaporean friends," Zhu Guoxu said unexpectedly.

He then took a beautifully packaged box from his assistant: "President Li, I hope you will like this gift."

Li Bicheng smiled and took the box, then opened it in front of everyone.

It was not an expensive watch or a valuable antique.

It was just two stones.

But Li Bicheng showed a clear interest.

"I have never seen such beautiful stones before," Li Bicheng said enthusiastically, showing the stones to all the journalists. "To me, they are truly beautiful, as if someone painted the patterns on them thousands of years ago. The perfect lines and lifelike images seem to be alive... Mr. Zhu Guoxu, I must say this is the most memorable gift I have ever received."

There was a stir among the journalists.

What kind of stones could Zhu Guoxu consider such a valuable gift? What kind of stones could arouse such interest from Li Bicheng?

"These stones come from Fairy Peach Village in Zhunan Town, Yundong City," Zhu Guoxu said calmly. "They are called Fairy Stones and are not very well-known, but in my opinion, they have very high collection value, not inferior to the famous Rain Flower Stones or any other stones. This is one of the main reasons I chose to give them as a gift to our Singaporean friends. Fairy Stones, a name full of grace and elegance, and I hope they will bring good luck to our cooperation."

In an offhand manner, Zhu Guoxu had already used this important occasion to promote Fairy Stones to the media from both China and abroad.

This was the opportunity Zhu Guoxu had mentioned to Lei Huanxi.

He did not deliberately create the opportunity but had a clear plan in mind, knowing when and where to maximize the promotion of Fairy Stones.

A few hours later, all the media outlets covering the event would feature:

"Juncheng Group gifts Fairy Stones to Singaporean partners."

His goal was achieved.

"Thank you very much. I like the name Fairy Stones," Li Bicheng solemnly accepted the gift, which was not expensive but very meaningful.

"Alright, now the floor is open for questions from the media."

After a few routine questions, a journalist suddenly asked, "Mr. Zhu Guoxu, I am a reporter for the Yundong Daily. I heard that your daughter was in danger when she fell into the sea at Haishan and was miraculously saved. Could you tell us what happened?"

"Of course," Zhu Guoxu said calmly. "My son and daughter were indeed in danger during the Haishan incident. Fortunately, no one was injured, which is a miracle in a maritime disaster. More fortunately, my daughter was saved despite the slim chances of survival, and all of this is thanks to one person... Although he is very reluctant to reveal his name to the media, I cannot help but say, thank you, Mr. Lei Huanxi."

Then, he bowed deeply to the camera.

It was from this day that Lei Huanxi's name first appeared on the front pages of major media outlets.

"Of course, there are heroes and cowards," Zhu Guoxu suddenly changed the subject. "As far as I know, there was a coward on Haishan 102, who fought with a feverish child for a blanket and demanded 30,000 yuan to transfer it... During the escape, he arbitrarily deprived women and children of their chances of survival... I am very sorry, I should not have said this here... Let's end this topic here."

He was an extremely clever man.

His first step in avenging the near-death of his daughter had begun.

And it was in such a solemn setting.

He did not reveal who this person was, but the powerful media would soon uncover it.

Sure enough, his words immediately caused a stir at the media event.

What was supposed to be an interview about the water treatment project had taken a different turn.

However, Zhu Guoxu refused to answer any more questions on this topic.

Several municipal leaders exchanged glances, their faces showing displeasure. Who had done such a thing to make Zhu Guoxu so angry?

Otherwise, with Zhu Guoxu's calm and low-key nature, he would never have mentioned it in front of the national media.

The press conference lasted less than an hour, somewhat bizarre and unexpected.

The journalists would have plenty of material to write about.

"Make sure the Fairy Stones I gave to Singapore appear on the important pages," Zhu Guoxu instructed after leaving the venue. "Find someone to write a few articles about domestic odd stones, including soft advertisements for Fairy Stones, but not too obvious... Find some influential media outlets to interview Li Bicheng, and have him talk about the Fairy Stones..."

He had already planned everything in his mind.

"Understood," the assistant noted. "The movie we are sponsoring is currently in production. We can also arrange for an advertisement for Fairy Stones."

"Is it directed by Director Zhang?" Zhu Guoxu said as he walked. "Tell Director Zhang that we are willing to increase our investment. I remember there was a scene where the protagonists hid in a village and were chased by assassins? Change it to Fairy Peach Village, yes, call it Fairy Peach Village, and add a scene where the protagonists encounter danger on Fairy Mountain and defeat the assassins with Fairy Stones..."

"Understood. Mr. Zhu, I have some news about Pang Shiqiang, whom you asked me to investigate. He indeed runs two trading companies and a glycerol ester of rosin production plant. He has some money, with total assets of about a few million. He is currently negotiating a large deal, but has cash flow issues and is applying for a mortgage loan from the bank..."

"Have you found out who the partner is?"

"Yes, I have."

"Tell the CEO of the partner company that I want to meet him to discuss a big deal."

"Understood, I will do it immediately."

Zhu Guoxu suddenly stopped. He saw his son, Zhu Jinyan, who had come to the signing ceremony with him, sitting in a corner playing with his phone.

He frowned. "Jinyan."

"What is it, Dad?" Zhu Jinyan stood up, but his fingers did not leave the phone.

"Coming to such an important occasion is for learning, not for playing with your phone," Zhu Guoxu said, somewhat dissatisfied. "You're not a child anymore, and you're almost fully recovered. Don't just think about playing all day. In the future, you will join the group."

Zhu Jinyan reluctantly put away his phone. "I understand."

Zhu Guoxu felt a bit helpless. If only his son and daughter could switch places. "I heard you're going to stay in Fairy Peach Village for a while?"

"Yes, Dad," Zhu Jinyan became excited. "My sister said it's very beautiful there."

"What is the most beautiful scenery there?" Zhu Guoxu suddenly asked.

Zhu Jinyan was taken aback. "I haven't been there yet."

Zhu Guoxu sighed. "Jinyan, I know you haven't been there, but let me tell you, the most beautiful scenery there is a person, Lei Huanxi. He has no money, no power, and no background, but he has already raised 300,000 yuan, and Fairy Mountain now belongs to him. How did he raise this money in such a short time? What does he plan to do next? What position does he intend to take in future negotiations? Do you know any of this?"

Zhu Jinyan shook his head in confusion.

"Jinyan, you're growing up. Think more about business," Zhu Guoxu patted his son's shoulder. "He might become your brother-in-law, or he might become your business rival. Regardless of what he becomes in the future, you need to know his strengths and weaknesses, understand?"

It was too complicated. Zhu Jinyan really felt that it was too complicated.

...

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