Chapter 92

Every Friday evening, Lu Zheng would visit the elderly Mr. Huang. He chose either Thursday or Friday each week because on Saturdays and Sundays, Mr. Huang's children would come home to spend time with him, and Lu Zheng didn't want to intrude on their family time.

Lu Zheng made it a point to visit several old comrades at the Guwei Committee each week. A few days ago, he even brought over a dozen baskets of Qinglong peaches to the Guwei Committee, inviting the old cadres to taste them. Of course, all the staff members received a share, officially as a benefit from Changming Company, but in reality, it was Lu Zheng who paid out of his own pocket.

Each time Lu Zheng visited Mr. Huang, the old man was very happy and sometimes even shared a few drinks with him. However, today, Mr. Huang seemed in low spirits. When Lu Zheng entered the room, he was gloomily playing a game of chess by himself.

"Oh, Zhengzi is here." Seeing Lu Zheng, Mr. Huang didn't seem very energetic, pushing the chessboard aside with a sigh.

"Mr. Huang, what's wrong?" Lu Zheng sat down across from the coffee table.

"Nothing." Mr. Huang waved his hand and said, "Isn't it hard being the party secretary of a joint venture controlled by foreigners?"

Lu Zheng nodded slightly.

The site for Changming Company was chosen in the southern suburbs of Wushan, about thirty kilometers away. Construction had already begun, with the land being leveled and the factory being built. The Germans were very efficient, and they had already set up a temporary experimental area, recruiting a large number of workers for simulation training. Recruitment from universities across the country was also underway, and some highly paid American and German Chinese engineers had already arrived in Wushan. They were the first batch of technical personnel, starting the preliminary preparations.

The board of directors of Changming Company appointed Mr. Schroeder as the general manager.

Since the company was still in the preparatory stage, the Communist Party Committee of Changming Company, with Lu Zheng as the sole secretary, had not yet formed any other committee members, which was somewhat at odds with the organizational charter. However, setting up a party committee in a joint venture, especially one controlled by foreigners, was a new thing still in the exploratory stage, so special measures had to be taken.

Mr. Huang was very concerned about the construction of Changming Company and asked many questions. Lu Zheng answered them one by one, but seeing Mr. Huang's tired expression, he decided to leave after about half an hour.

Downstairs, as Lu Zheng was about to open his car door with the key, a figure suddenly darted out from the shadow of the wall, startling him.

Seeing the sly smile on the person's face, Lu Zheng frowned and said, "Sier, are you asking for a beating again?"

Needless to say, the person was Huang Zixuan, also known as Sier.

Huang Zixuan chuckled and said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time. Aren't you happy to see me?"

"There's nothing good, is there?" Lu Zheng looked around. "Didn't you drive here?"

Huang Zixuan chuckled again. "Let's go somewhere in your car. I need to talk to you about something." Saying this, he opened the other side of the car door and got in.

The car slowly drove out of the residential area. Lu Zheng casually asked, "What's wrong with your old man? He seemed in low spirits, gloomy."

Huang Zixuan clicked his tongue. "Zhengzi, you're not being fair! No wonder you didn't scold me and tell me to get lost today. You just wanted to ask me something, didn't you? Damn, I thought you were treating me like a friend!"

Lu Zheng frowned. "Speak or get lost!"

Huang Zixuan seemed to enjoy this treatment from Lu Zheng. He chuckled, looking quite content, as if he felt uncomfortable if Lu Zheng didn't scold him.

"Nothing much, the old man and his mistress are having problems." Huang Zixuan pouted when talking about Mr. Huang.

Lu Zheng nodded slightly. "Where are you going?"

"Where am I going? We should say where we're going together." Huang Zixuan lit a cigarette and said lazily, "To the Jade Bar, to dance. I need to talk to you about something."

Lu Zheng looked at his watch. "I'm not going. If you have something to say, say it now. It's still ten minutes to the bar, enough time for you to talk."

Huang Zixuan, who had gradually understood Lu Zheng's temperament, knew that if he said he wasn't going, he wouldn't go. He sighed. "Nothing much, forget it, I won't say it."

Lu Zheng suddenly turned the car onto a side road, causing several cyclists to quickly move out of the way.

Lu Zheng stopped the car under a dim street lamp. "You've been waiting for a long time, right? You must have something to say. Speak up! I won't go to the dance hall, I have too many things to do today."

Huang Zixuan was taken aback, staring at Lu Zheng for a while. Finally, he thought for a moment and whispered something in Lu Zheng's ear...

...

Pine and cypress trees, towering white poplars, flower beds, and lush lawns. The majestic main office building and several auxiliary buildings stood in the clean and tidy courtyard. This was the Wushan City Planning and Economy Commission compound.

Lu Zheng's office was in Building No. 4, a three-story building where the Foreign Investment Department, Investment Promotion Office, Finance and Banking Department, Audit Department, and the City Assistance Work Leading Group Office, among others, were located. It was almost like an independent investment promotion agency, which could be considered a small "Investment Promotion Bureau."

The Investment Promotion Office also had the sign of the "City Investment Promotion Work Leading Group Office," responsible for the administrative work of the city's investment promotion work group.

The director of the Investment Promotion Office, Chen San Shui, was just 28 years old, a graduate of the 1977 class at Peking University, the first batch of university graduates after the resumption of the college entrance examination.

The resumption of the college entrance examination in 1977, after many years of educational neglect, meant that the exam questions were relatively simple and even open-book, but the competition was extremely fierce, with an admission rate of only 4.9%. This was the lowest admission rate in the history of China's college entrance examination.

Millions of candidates engaged in a life-or-death battle in the exam, with unprecedented competition, thus opening the curtain on the college entrance examination, a narrow bridge over which millions of people had to cross.

The 1977 class of university students was a group that had mostly experienced the hardships of the countryside, a fortunate group that had finally gained the opportunity to change their fate after enduring great hardships, a group that had emerged from the most intense college entrance examination competition, and a group with distinct characteristics after the sifting process.

Chen San Shui was a member of this group, admitted to Peking University with excellent scores in 1977 and graduating in early 1982, entering the Central Committee Office.

However, the rapid change in his fate may have left him disoriented, and his youthful success made him somewhat arrogant. After being promoted to the position of section chief in the Central Committee Office, he soon offended someone and was quickly sent back to his hometown of Wushan.

But his halo as a Peking University graduate, along with his knowledge, insight, and ability, and the fact that Wushan was designated as a coastal open special economic zone, which urgently needed high-quality talent, meant that he did not remain silent for long in Wushan. At the beginning of this year, he was appointed as the director of the Investment Promotion Office of the Planning and Economy Commission (at the section chief level).

Chen San Shui was very arrogant, a common evaluation by the middle-level cadres of the Planning and Economy Commission. His fair and refined appearance made him appear to be overly proud of his talents. Moreover, his experience in the Central Committee Office made him somewhat look down on lower-level cadres, especially those from rural areas, though he might not have been aware of it himself.

Lu Zheng, with only a junior high school diploma, was a grassroots cadre, so perhaps Chen San Shui felt a natural sense of superiority in front of him. In Lu Zheng's office, while discussing investment promotion work with Lu Zheng, he unconsciously crossed his legs, making him look more like Lu Zheng's superior.

Chen San Shui was talking about his views on future investment promotion work. Having just made contact with the Hong Kong Hengchang Optical Trade Company and possibly securing a $75,000 investment from them, Chen San Shui believed that Hong Kong capital should be the focus of Wushan's investment promotion efforts over the next two years. The Investment Promotion Office should set up an office in Shenzhen to facilitate contact with Hong Kong businessmen and encourage them to invest in Wushan.

"Director Lu, do you agree with what I said?" After a lengthy and data-rich monologue, Chen San Shui finally remembered to ask for Lu Zheng's opinion.

This monologue was not intended to show off but was more of a habit.

Lu Zheng had been listening attentively and now nodded. "Your analysis is good, and setting up an office in Shenzhen is necessary."

Chen San Shui's face showed a restrained smile. The former deputy director in charge of the Investment Promotion Office, Mr. Gao, usually let him do as he pleased after his monologues, even seeming to fear hearing his work reports.

Chen San Shui knew that much of what he said was beyond Mr. Gao's understanding, and once, during a work report, Mr. Gao even fell asleep.

For Lu Zheng to pretend to listen attentively was already quite an effort.

At this moment, Lu Zheng pondered and slowly said, "However, for investment promotion, merely emphasizing the spirit of contract is not enough. Contracts, of course, must be clear and explicit, but this is just a basic condition, a principle that must be followed in international trade."