In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 478 Sincere Invitation
"Yes, if those two were even remotely useful, we wouldn't be in such a passive position this time." Ding Nian knew that Old Xu and Han Gang would definitely not continue working at the company, so he simply shifted all the blame onto them.

"Is that what you think?" Zeng Guangzhi glanced at Ding Nian.

Ding Nian gave an awkward smile and quickly changed the subject: "Brother, I'm thinking, why don't we take these two in? They're both quite skilled. If any unexpected situations like today happen again, they'll definitely be able to solve the problem much more easily."

Zeng Guangzhi paused for a moment, a hint of hesitation in his eyes.

On one hand, he was considering how much salary to offer the other party, and on the other hand, he was wondering if these two people had already been hired by the Eighth Bureau, or if they had any connection with General Manager Chang.

"Let's sound him out again over dinner," Zeng Guangzhi finally decided, deciding to find out more first.

Inside the private room of the restaurant, everyone took their seats one by one.

After the food and drinks were served, Ding began to liven up the atmosphere, while Zeng Guangzhi apologized to Chang Bin and Manager Li while inquiring about the situation of Yu Dawei and Lao Ji.

"So, you two are planning to open a repair shop in your hometown of Youcheng this time, right?" Zeng Guangzhi raised his glass and clinked it with Yu Dawei's.

"I do have that plan." Yu Dawei took a sip of his wine, then changed the subject, his tone tinged with regret. "It's just that I haven't been home for many years, and I don't know how my hometown has changed. Besides, the cost of starting a factory must be quite high."

Upon hearing this, the thought that had just surfaced in Zeng Guangzhi's eyes vanished instantly, and he subconsciously exchanged a glance with Ding Nian.

Ding Nian also sensed that there was a real chance to take down these two, so he couldn't help but speak up to advise them: "Master Ji, you may not know this, but opening a repair shop in the oil city these days is not so easy."

“My brother Zeng’s younger brother runs a repair shop in the oil city. Business is barely surviving, and the cost of running the shop is extremely high.”

"Just the investment in various maintenance equipment and manpower alone would easily cost at least 50,000 to 60,000 yuan a month. This doesn't even include the factory rent and other miscellaneous daily expenses."

"This...sigh." Yu Dawei held his wine glass with a worried expression, but inwardly he was sneering.

Do you really think he's never been to Zeng Lichun's repair shop? A repair shop with a storefront of less than 70 square meters, with four or five apprentices working there, and they still have the nerve to call it a factory?

However, what the other party said was exactly what Yu Dawei wanted to hear. He then took a sip of his drink and turned to look at Chang Bin: "If that really doesn't work, then we can only ask President Chang to accept us, uncle and nephew."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Guangzhi and his companion felt their hearts leap into their throats once again.

Goodness, it seems that President Chang's hiring of these two wasn't just a simple matter of them coming here to get their cars repaired; he probably had the intention of testing them.

"Don't even think about it!" Chang Bin waved his hand. "Back when the equipment factories in various places were still around, if you two had said you wanted to join the Eighth Bureau, I would have welcomed you with open arms. After all, the skills of the two masters are evident to all."

"But it's really not possible now. The company has changed its direction and is no longer hiring repairmen." After Chang Bin finished speaking, he clinked glasses with Yu Dawei apologetically.

Zeng Guangzhi and Ding Nian exchanged another glance, both knowing that this was definitely an opportunity.

Out of consideration for his elder brother's status, Ding Nian volunteered, raised his glass, and toasted Yu Dawei and Lao Ji: "Masters, things have changed a lot in Northeast China. It may take some time to get used to the northern environment."

"Otherwise, you could come to our company as a technical consultant during this period. On the one hand, you can learn about the repair market in Northeast China, and on the other hand, you can earn some substantial compensation."

"Oh?" Yu Dawei hesitated for a moment, then got up and had a drink with Lao Ji first, before looking at Zeng Guangzhi.

"If you two masters can come to our Hecheng, we'll offer you a salary of six thousand!" Zeng Guangzhi waved his hand. "Not only that, you won't need to do any work on a regular basis. You can only step in when the factory's masters can't handle some mechanical problems."

Upon hearing this, Yu Dawei hesitated again: "This... I'm unfamiliar with Hecheng..."

“It’s alright. I’ll take care of your food and lodging when we get to Hecheng.” Zeng Guangzhi said, then looked at Chang Bin and said, “President Chang, as you can see, the skills of our company’s repairmen are indeed average. If we can bring these two Master Jis into the company, our cooperation with the Eighth Bureau will definitely be more pleasant in the future.”

"I guarantee that something like today will never happen again."

Chang Bin glanced at Zeng Guangzhi, thought for a moment, and still said something nice for Zeng Guangzhi: "If the two masters don't have any specific plans in the near future, why not go to Hecheng with Boss Zeng and the others? After all, the market in the north is quite different from that in Beijing."

Ultimately, after much persuasion, Yu Dawei, along with his "second uncle," agreed to become a technical consultant for Guangzhi Equipment Repair Company.

However, the salary of 6,000 yuan has increased to 6,500 yuan, and it is now paid in advance; otherwise, Yu Dawei would not have accepted the job.

Zeng Guangzhi saw that the two men were indeed talented, and with General Manager Chang vouching for them, he readily agreed.

What follows is Zeng Guangzhi's compensation for the losses suffered by the Eighth Bureau.

In addition to the written compensation stipulated in the previous cooperation agreement, Zeng Guangzhi also prepared different local specialties for Chang Bin and Supervisor Li. Of course, he was too embarrassed to say this in front of everyone, so after the meal, Zeng Guangzhi took care of Chang Bin, and Ding Nian took care of Supervisor Li.

After weighing various interests, this matter has finally come to an end.

That evening, Zeng Guangzhi arranged the best hotel rooms in the county for the leader and the two mentors.

He lay in bed with a furrowed brow, tossing and turning, unable to sleep due to his restlessness.

In the end, Zeng Guangzhi got up, left the room, knocked on Ding Nian's door next door, and went inside.

"Big brother? Why aren't you sleeping so late?" Ding Nian, wearing a red sweater and trousers, stared at his older brother as he walked into the house with a puzzled look on his face.

"Sigh, I don't know." Zeng Guangzhi found a chair and sat down, his brows furrowed. "I didn't feel anything before, but when I got back to the hotel and thought about it more carefully, I felt like something was off."

"What's not quite right? We went through a lot of trouble tonight to serve these guys well. Just with Chang Bin, we gave away almost half a month's profit from our company." Ding Nian sat on the edge of the bed, somewhat speechless. "Today's matter turned out to be a close call. It went so smoothly."

“Yes.” Zeng Guangzhi’s eyes flashed, and he gently patted the armrest next to the chair with his right hand. “It just went too smoothly.”

Ding Nian sat there, even more bewildered.

“Since I started the company, everything has been fraught with difficulties. But this time, although it was incredibly difficult at the beginning, it went more and more smoothly as it went on. Especially after we accepted the two Master Jis, even President Chang’s attitude towards me seemed to have changed.” Zeng Guangzhi unconsciously rubbed his hands together, just like the way people rub their hands in winter.

He never forgot how, one winter, a colleague who went out to work with him tricked him so badly that he almost died in the mountains during the winter.

Finally, he crawled out of the doomed Black Bear Mountain Range, step by step, bit by bit.

It was from that time that he understood something: nothing and no one is so simple; you have to think about things in a more complex and profound way.

“Brother, you’re being paranoid again.” Ding Nian couldn’t help but defend himself when he saw his brother’s expression. “Ji Youwei and Ji Youde, uncle and nephew, both came back from Beijing. And President Chang also said at the dinner table that they were introduced by one of his very good brothers.”

"So you see that President Chang was very polite to those two mentors. He must have been happy to see his friend's friend find a job after being unemployed."

Seeing that his elder brother still had a furrowed brow, Ding Nian explained again, "Think about why President Chang's attitude towards us changed so much later. Isn't it because money can make the devil turn the millstone?"

"With the amount of money we gave him, he probably wouldn't earn that much in a year in that position. Do you think he wouldn't be polite to us?"

“This…” Zeng Guangzhi had some ideas in his mind, but Ding Nian’s persuasion scattered them all, and even his thoughts gradually moved in the direction that Ding Nian was thinking.

For a fleeting moment, I almost untied Zeng Guangzhi's knot in his heart.

“No.” Zeng Guangzhi slapped the armrest next to the chair for the second time, looking at Ding Nian. “Brother, drive to the scene again now.”

"Huh?" Ding Nian was confused. "Why go again? Hasn't everything already been resolved?"

“Go! I have to go again, otherwise I won’t feel at ease.” Zeng Guangzhi turned his head to look through the crack in the door, pondered for a while, and then said, “Before you go, find a store that’s still open, buy some fruits and vegetables, buy several boxes, and then deliver them to the gatekeeper.”

"Finally, ask all the security guards on night shift again to see if any strangers have come to the site in the middle of the night recently."

Zeng Guangzhi's eyes suddenly narrowed to slits: "Ask Supervisor Li and General Manager Chang again if those two leaders went to the site in the middle of the night."

Ding Nian gave a wry smile: "Brother, is it really necessary?"

“As for,” Zeng Guangzhi looked at Ding Nian, “if this whole thing was a scheme orchestrated by the leaders of the Eighth Bureau, then we don’t need to play along with them anymore. We can even use the local specialties we have tonight to put them in their place.”

"Of course, it's very possible that I'm wrong, but I really don't feel at ease if I don't ask me again."

"Okay! Big brother, I'll go right away. You should get some rest." Seeing his brother's resolute attitude, Ding Nian didn't say anything more.

"No need, I'll wait for you to come back here. Hurry up and go."

Ding Nian then put on his clothes, drove his Mercedes-Benz, and left the hotel.

(End of this chapter)