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Assistant Xiao Zhao hung up the phone and went to Suning's office, where he relayed Director Hou's words verbatim.

After hearing this, Su Ning didn't even raise an eyebrow, and simply said, "I understand, tell him to wait."

Xiao Zhao was taken aback: "Are you just going to wait like this? Don't you need to call back and explain?"

Su Ning said, "No need. Explaining to him a thousand times now is not as good as showing him a real car later. Before the prototype is released, everything you say is meaningless."

"Wouldn't that mean we'd lose the land in Huangdao?"

"It's alright! Our future business strategy will still focus on the domestic market. Exporting cars is not easy, so the reactions from Qingdao and Dalian will not affect us."

"Understood!"

Suning did not call Director Hou back, nor did it send anyone to Qingdao to explain the situation, nor did it have its team work overtime to draft any letter of commitment to appease the other party.

Instead, he put the matters in Qingdao aside for the time being and continued to pursue loan applications and oversee design work in Beijing, spending most of his time on construction sites in Shunyi, Beijing.

The Shunyi Gigafactory is the most important piece in the hands of China's automotive industry.

Only when the Qinglong sedan, Zhuque urban SUV, and Baihu rugged SUV are launched can everyone's concerns be dispelled.

Communication with Beijing Bank did not encounter much resistance.

After all, Tianchao Auto is a related company of Mingju Real Estate. Mingju Real Estate's reputation in Beijing's financial circles has been built up over several years of cooperation, and it has always repaid on time and never defaulted.

When bankers look at the Tianchao Auto project, they look not only at the prospects of the automotive industry itself, but also at the endorsement of Suning.

Of course, this is a different story for Qingdao. Since the commercial vehicle plan isn't too urgent, they can let it drag on as long as they want.

If the Chinese automakers seem too eager, it makes them look more like scammers.

At the loan approval meeting, General Manager Zheng, who was in charge of credit business, said only one sentence to the other committee members who had doubts: "So far, none of the projects that General Manager Su has put forward have resulted in bad debts. I am willing to trust him one more time."

"Building cars is not like building or buying houses; it requires a high level of technology."

"This is indeed a problem, but Mingju Real Estate has a considerable number of projects under construction and land reserves, so our bank has almost no risk."

……

The loan was approved quickly and smoothly.

With the funding secured, construction of the Shunyi Gigafactory officially commenced.

The project was handled by Mingju Real Estate's own construction team, which had worked extensively on several projects from Jingcheng No. 1 to Jingcheng No. 3, and there were no hiccups at any stage of the process, from laying the foundation to the main structure being topped out.

Piling machines on the construction site clanged and banged around the clock, dump trucks and concrete mixers lined up to enter, and steel beams were hoisted up one by one, with the main frame of the factory building growing upwards at a visible speed.

Suning gave its engineering department a strict order: the main structure of the factory building must be completed by the end of the year.

The engineering department initially felt that the project schedule was too tight.

The engineering manager took the construction schedule to Su Ning and said, "President Su, with this construction schedule, it's a bit tight to finish the building by the end of the year according to the normal construction pace. Should we postpone it for a month or two?"

Suning personally visited the construction site, looked at the work area, and checked the schedule. "Don't forget," he said, "you guys were building residential buildings before, thirty-something stories high, and it took you over a year to finish. This is a one-story steel structure factory building. The space spans a lot, but the floor height is only one story, so there's no big deal about the progress. Focus your efforts on speeding it up, prepare enough materials in advance, and have the work teams work in three shifts, so the machines never stop. I'll add more manpower for you, but the construction period can't be changed."

The engineering department went back and rescheduled the project, and found that it was indeed feasible.

Although they didn't understand why Suning was in such a hurry, they had no reason to refuse, since Suning was offering real money.

……

However, just as the Shunyi super factory was rising from the ground, another project within Beijing's Second Ring Road was quietly completed.

As winter turned to spring, the renovation project, after more than half a year of reconstruction, was officially completed and accepted.

Feng Tieyou's work passed inspection according to the standards set by Suning.

The original courtyard layout has been completely preserved, with blue bricks and gray tiles, corridors and screen walls still retaining the flavor of old Beijing, but all the internal facilities have been replaced.

With underfloor heating, central air conditioning, private bathrooms, and an intelligent guest room control system, each guest room is uniquely designed. Some retain the structure of the old beams and are converted into duplex suites, while others have a sunken tea table carved out by the window.

The old locust tree in the courtyard has been preserved, and a small bronze plaque hangs on its trunk with the words "Winter goes and spring comes" engraved on it.

On the day of its official opening, Suning did not cut the ribbon or hold any grand opening ceremony.

He simply asked his assistant, Xiao Zhao, to arrange one thing—to hang up the old "Winter Goes, Spring Comes" sign on the most conspicuous wall in the hotel lobby.

The signboard was taken from the old storefront that had been demolished. The paint was peeling, and the corners still bore the dents left by Feng Tieyou and his gang back then. It looked out of place next to the brand-new renovations around it.

Xiao Zhao asked at the time, "President Su, this old signboard doesn't match the overall decoration style. Should we make a new one with an aged look?"

Suning said, "Just hang it there, and don't let anyone touch it. This is the path we took from winter to spring."

……

Although Suning didn't make a big fuss about it, news of its opening in the spring still came to the newspapers.

The opening news made it onto the pages of several newspapers, with headlines such as "Another Top-Tier Courtyard Hotel Opens in Beijing".

At the No. 3 sales office in Beijing, Zhuangzhuang saw this news in the newspaper during lunch.

I read the newspaper several times, turning it over and over to look at the small photo printed on it.

The photo still shows the outline of that gate, but the paint has been replaced with new paint. The steps where Xiao Dongbei used to squat when he repaired the electric kettle have been replaced with a platform paved with bluestone slabs, and a clump of bamboo has been planted next to it.

For some reason, Zhuangzhuang suddenly became excited, feeling as if "winter has passed and spring has come" was a rebirth.

That very evening, Zhuangzhuang called Xu Shengli.

After the call connected, before Zhuangzhuang could even mention the newspaper, Xu Shengli spoke first, "Zhuangzhuang, I know what you're going to say. Winter is over and spring is here, right?"

Zhuangzhuang asked, "How did you know?"

Xu Shengli said, "Cao Ye told me about it this morning. He made a special detour to take a look when he passed by there. He said the uniforms worn by the waiters in the lobby were more expensive than our monthly rent back then. He walked in wearing that tattered jacket stained with paint, and the waiter even poured him a cup of tea. The attitude was quite good."

Zhuangzhuang held the microphone and remained silent for a moment before asking, "Do you think we'll ever be able to recapture that feeling we had back then?"

Xu Shengli was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone, then said in a low voice, "It feels like it's in my heart."

"You're right! I'll never forget those days as a struggling artist in Beijing," Zhuangzhuang said with equal emotion. Then, Xu Shengli brought up another hot topic, "I heard your boss is busy building cars lately?"

"You've heard about it too?"

"Such a big thing has made the front page, how could I not know?"

"Victory, I'm just a real estate agent. I really don't understand the big things that happen at the top of the company."

"Do you think your boss can successfully build a car?"

"I don't know! But seeing how big he's doing, he must be cooperating with those big car companies."

"Makes sense."

After hanging up the phone, Zhuangzhuang sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the newspaper again. Looking at the familiar door in the photo, her mind was filled with memories of when she first came to Beijing.

While Xiao Dongbei was fixing the electric kettle, she sat next to her looking for a job in the newspaper. Shen Ranran leaned against the counter and discussed with her about applying for a saleswoman position. Tao Liangliang was playing the saxophone in the lobby, and Cao Ye was setting up a small stool in the corridor and revising his drawing under the lobby light.

These images, superimposed on the exquisite high-end hotel in the newspaper, left Zhuangzhuang unable to describe her own feelings.

……

Two days later, Xu Shengli gathered the remaining people together.

It was still at Tao Liangliang's restaurant, at the same big round table in the back, with Old Tao still cooking in the kitchen and Tao's mother serving the dishes outside.

Soon everyone arrived... Zhuangzhuang, Cao Ye, Guo Zongbao, Xiao Dongbei, Tao Liangliang, and Shen Ranran was on set and couldn't make it back.

Old Tao brought out the dishes one by one: braised pork, stir-fried potatoes, green peppers, and eggplant, smashed cucumber, peanuts, and a bowl of pickled cabbage and pork belly.

Tao's mother placed the beer bottles on the table and said, "Drink as much as you want today, there's more in the kitchen if you're not full."

"Thank you auntie."

"You're welcome! Just call me if you need more food."

"okay!"

After the drinks were poured, everyone looked at each other and spoke much less than usual.

Xiao Dongbei picked up his glass, took a sip, put it down, stared at the beer foam in the glass for a long time, and suddenly said, "Yesterday when I was carrying bricks at the construction site, I was thinking, were those the happiest days of our lives when we lived through the changing seasons?"

"..." The table fell silent for a moment.

Cao Ye put down his chopsticks and leaned back in his chair. "You know what, I've been getting distracted a lot while I'm painting these past few days. I keep thinking about the corridor of our courtyard house. I used to set up my easel and paint in the corridor because the lights there were brighter."

Guo Zongbao laughed from the side: "That's right! We all call you Old Evil Cao, because we really feel that you're a pretty eccentric person."

Cao Ye said, "You guys are the ones who give out random nicknames! And you have the nerve to say that?"

Zhuangzhuang was amused by them, but her eyes reddened after she finished laughing.

She picked up her glass and took a sip of beer. "When I first came to Beijing, I didn't know anything. I didn't even dare to go inside the sales office. It was Shen Ranran who pulled me in. She told our team leader Zhang that we were all willing to learn and that we would definitely work hard to learn how to sell houses in the future."

Xiao Dongbei said, "Ranran is really feisty! How is she doing on set?"

Zhuangzhuang said, "It's great. She called me yesterday and said she got another role, the fourth female lead, with more than ten scenes. She asked me to tell you all that she'll treat you to dinner after she finishes filming."

Tao Liangliang, who had been mostly silent, suddenly spoke up: "Why do you think President Su insisted on hanging that old signboard in the lobby of the 'Winter Turns to Spring' restaurant?"

"..." Everyone fell silent again.

Guo Zongbao thought for a moment, "Maybe he also felt that period was quite special."

Xiao Dongbei said, "Does such a big boss care about the feelings of us little people?"

Cao Ye picked up his glass, looking at the golden beer inside. "If he didn't care, he wouldn't have kept that sign. I heard it's called corporate culture, telling every guest about the past and present of winter and spring."

Zhuangzhuang asked, "Corporate culture?"

Cao Ye said, "Yes! It's definitely part of the company culture."

Xu Shengli remained silent, slowly sipping his wine.

At this moment, he put down his cup. "We've all come from winter to spring, and now we're all going our separate ways. I'm doing odd jobs on the film set, Zhuangzhuang is selling houses in a real estate office, Zongbao is repairing washing machines, Xiao Dongbei is carrying bricks on a construction site, Liangliang is running a restaurant with his family, and Ranran has become a big star. It may sound like none of us are doing very well, but none of us have fallen apart in Beijing."

Xiao Dongbei picked up his cup: "Just for what you said, let's have a toast."

Let's have a drink!

Everyone raised their glasses, clinked them together, and beer splashed onto the peanuts.

Zhuangzhuang finished her drink, put down her glass, and asked, "Do you think we'll ever break up again?"

Cao Ye said, "We won't break up. We're all in Beijing; one phone call is all it takes to get a table full. Uncle Tao's braised pork is plentiful, so why would we break up?"

Old Tao was just coming out of the kitchen with a plate of freshly stir-fried shredded pork with garlic sprouts when he heard this. He put the plate on the table and said, "That's right, we won't close down. As long as my restaurant is still open, you can come anytime. Just tell me what you want to eat."

Tao's mother, wiping the counter beside her, added with a smile, "That's right, I consider you all like my own son and daughter. Liangliang has a quirky personality, and you're the only friends he has in Beijing. That makes me feel at ease."

Tao Liangliang's ears turned red, a rare sight for him. He lowered his head and ate his rice without saying a word.

Looking at the group of people at the table, Zhuangzhuang suddenly felt a weight lift from her chest. "Then it's settled. No matter who's doing well or not, we have to have this meal every year. Anyone who doesn't come is a coward."

Little Northeast slammed his fist on the table: "Fine! Anyone who doesn't come is a coward!"

Guo Zongbao raised his hand: "I'll be the first to sign up."

Cao Ye said, "I'm second. Xu Shengli, what about you?"

Xu Shengli picked up his glass, looked at the people at the table, and a rare smile appeared on his lips: "I'm the third one."

Tao Liangliang looked up from his rice bowl and said in a low but serious voice, "I'm the fourth one."

Old Tao stood to the side, his apron still stained with oil, and laughed: "You kids, you turn a meal into a pep rally. Alright, alright, eat your food, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

...(End of this chapter)