Chapter 185 - 185: Fuxing
Early the next morning, Zhou Chao got out of bed and changed his clothes before leaving the room. Lin Wu and the others had been waiting in the hotel lobby for a while.
“Good morning, boss!” Zhou Chao looked at the energetic appearance of his companions and nodded in response.
“Lin Wu, have you found the right place?” Zhou Chao directed his gaze towards Lin Wu.
“Boss, I’ve already found it. It’s the Fengtian International Auto City.”
“Let’s go then!” Instead of taking a taxi this time, they had two Mercedes-Benz vehicles arranged by Guan Yue to take them to the auto city.
Zhou Chao and Lin Wu shared one car, while Li Wei and Wang Lan were in the other. This arrangement was intentional, as Zhou Chao hoped they would have an opportunity for productive communication.
Since the auto city was quite far from their hotel, it took them about an hour to reach their destination.
“You three can go in. I’ll wait here,” Zhou Chao’s decision left the others puzzled, and they stared at him with confusion.
“What are you looking at me for? Do you expect me to do everything? What’s the point of having you here then? Lin Wu, you handle the payment in the company’s name. As for what car to buy, figure it out yourselves!” Zhou Chao casually handed his black bank card to Lin Wu and closed the car window.
“Let’s go!” Lin Wu said to the other two.
Li Wei and Wang Lan exchanged glances and understood that this was a test from Zhou Chao. They quickly began brainstorming about what car would be suitable.
As they walked towards the auto city, Zhou Chao watched them with a smile but soon disappeared from their view.
The three of them didn’t rush to look at cars; instead, they found a place to sit down and began discussing their options.
Li Wei glanced at the others and spoke, “So, what kind of car do you think would be suitable?”
“I think a BMW would be a decent choice,” Wang Lan hesitated in her response.
“I believe an Audi might be better; many government officials use it,” Li Wei suggested that they should go for an Audi.
They were in the middle of this discussion when Lin Wu couldn’t hold back anymore.
“I must say, you two, can’t you consider the bigger picture? Sometimes, those not directly involved can see things more clearly!” Lin Wu’s words left both of them even more perplexed.
“You should understand the purpose of our visit. The boss brought you here to purchase cars to showcase our strength, to demonstrate that our group has the capacity to invest here and boost the local economy. What’s the sense in each of you buying an Audi or BMW separately?”
Lin Wu’s words suddenly awakened them. Indeed, if they couldn’t convey a sense of strength and capability, it would be challenging to gain people’s trust, let alone lead economic development in the region.
“Alright, let’s go straight to Rolls-Royce then! We’ve been discussing for over ten minutes!” Lin Wu made the decision.
The three of them went directly to the Rolls-Royce 4S dealership.
Their pace was swift; they checked out the cars, made their choice, and completed the paperwork in about two hours. Zhou Chao received a text message on his phone, and he nodded in satisfaction.
Shortly afterward, two Rolls-Royces and a Mercedes-Benz pulled out of the dealership. Zhou Chao, seeing this, got out of his car.
“Driver, thank you! You can head back now,” Zhou Chao thanked the driver and then watched as the cars parked in front of him.
Zhou Chao looked at the Rolls-Royce Phantom, a Ghost, and a Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 and nodded in satisfaction.
Everyone exited their respective cars and gathered in front of Zhou Chao, awaiting his instructions.
“Not bad! Let’s go directly to Fuxing.” Lin Wu quickly opened the rear door of the Phantom, Zhou Chao got in, Lin Wu took the driver’s seat, Li Wei drove the Ghost, and Wang Lan was behind the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz.
The convoy left the auto city and headed towards Fuxing.
Fuxing wasn’t too far from Fengtian, and after driving for about two and a half hours, nearly three hours, they arrived in Fuxing around 2:00 PM. Zhou Chao’s stomach was growling with hunger.
“Let’s find a restaurant to grab a bite to eat before heading to our accommodations.” Lin Wu drove for another ten minutes or so in the city center, and the hungry group found a large commercial complex and a Chinese restaurant.
“We’re stuffed!” They had devoured seven or eight dishes, leaving only empty plates.
“Boss, what’s the arrangement for the afternoon?” Zhou Chao glanced at Lin Wu, who was speaking, and pondered for a moment.
“In the afternoon, Lin Wu and I will find a hotel to check in,” Zhou Chao began, then turned his gaze towards the other two.
“This afternoon, the two of you will head to the city government compound to set up an appointment for tomorrow. When you go there, make it clear that you’re representing our steel mill under the group’s banner. Li Wei, since you know this area well, you’ll take the lead this afternoon, and Wang Lan will assist you.”
“Understood, boss.” Li Wei and Wang Lan nodded in response to Zhou Chao’s gaze.
“It’s getting late; get moving,” Li Wei led Wang Lan out of the restaurant, while Lin Wu went to settle the bill.
“Lin Wu, take a quick drive around the area and scout it out.” Zhou Chao initially intended to head to the hotel first, but then reconsidered. He realized there was no rush and decided to explore the city’s appearance first.
Lin Wu drove through the city, and Zhou Chao gazed out of the window, observing the pedestrians and traffic on the streets. They remained silent for a long time.
“All right, let’s go to the hotel now.” After about an hour of driving around, Zhou Chao finally withdrew his gaze and turned to Lin Wu.
“Okay, boss.” Lin Wu had already found a suitable hotel while driving around and headed straight for it.
“Jinjiang Hotel!” They arrived at the hotel’s parking lot in no time, and Lin Wu sent the location to Li Wei and Wang Lan before following Zhou Chao inside.
They had booked four rooms, and Lin Wu waited with Zhou Chao in his room for Li Wei and Wang Lan to return.
“Boss, this city doesn’t seem very developed, from what 1 can see,” Lin Wu cautiously spoke as he observed Zhou Chao, who was resting on the sofa with his eyes closed.
“Okay, 1 understand.” Lin Wu replied sensibly, closing his mouth.
*Knock, knock, knock.* Lin Wu heard a knocking on the door and hurried over to open it. In walked Li Wei and Wang Lan.
“Boss, we’re back!” Zhou Chao, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and looked at the two of them.
“Tell me, what’s the situation?” Zhou Chao could tell from their cheerful demeanor that things must have progressed positively.
“Boss, I’ve already scheduled a meeting with their assistant. Tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock, the secretary will be available, so we can go directly then.”
“Alright, I got it. You’ve worked hard. Go rest for now, recharge your energy. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.” Upon hearing this, Lin Wu and the others returned to their respective rooms to rest.
Zhou Chao watched them leave, then headed to the bathroom to take a bath and relieve the fatigue of the day.
However, he ended up falling asleep in the bathtub.. If it hadn’t been for Lin Wu coming to remind him to have dinner, he might have spent the night in the bathtub!