Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"Waiter, the bill, please!"

The food on the table was almost finished, and most of the people were quite tipsy. Li Renfa sat dizzily in his chair. Just then, a waiter came in to refill the tea. Chen Zaixing, the only one who was still sober, waved to the waiter and called for the bill.

The waiter approached Chen Zaixing with a smile and said, "Sir, this lady deposited 500 yuan at the counter when she booked the private room. I'll bring the bill up now."

"Okay," Chen Zaixing nodded, leaned back in his chair, a cigarette between his fingers on the table, and watched the waiter leave before turning to the already swaying Li Guohua and saying, "Brother Guohua, do you want to sober up here first?"

"No need, no need," Li Guohua waved his hand dismissively, shouting despite his drunken state, "I'm perfectly sober, this little bit of alcohol... I'm not drunk!"

Seeing Li Guohua like this, Chen Zaixing looked at Sun and Zhao, who hadn't drunk much, and said, "Master Sun, Comrade Zhao, then please help Brother Guohua back to rest. I'll personally take Comrade Mingzhu back later."

Jia Mingzhu nodded to Sun and Zhao and said, "After I settle the bill here, I'll go back with Comrade Chen in a bit. You two help Manager Li back to rest first."

"Alright, Lao Li, come on, let us help you back," Sun and Zhao said, coming over to help the dazed Li Guohua up. But Li Guohua waved his hand and said, "I'm not drunk, I... I can... walk by myself!"

He had just stood up when he stumbled and crawled under the table. Chen Zaixing quickly bent down, and Sun and Zhao, who had come over, pulled Li Guohua out from under the table.

"Zaixing...brother...I drank to my heart's content today. Your alcohol tolerance is amazing," Li Guohua said, swaying back and forth with his arm around Chen Zaixing, giving him a thumbs-up and praising his good drinking capacity.

"Brother, as long as you enjoy your drink, that's fine. Next time, if you come to Tuocheng to find me, I'll treat you to another drink, okay?" Chen Zaixing gave his seat to Comrade Zhao, who had come over, so that the two of them could each support Li Guohua.

"Good, that's great... I love... drinking with someone like you who can hold their liquor... it's so satisfying!"

Watching Li Guohua being helped out of the private room while he kept saying how satisfying it was, Chen Zaixing and Jia Mingzhu exchanged a glance, shook their heads with smiles. At this moment, the waiter came over with the bill and change. Jia Mingzhu took the bill, checked it and made sure it was correct before letting the waiter leave.

As soon as the waiter left, Jia Mingzhu placed the remaining 800 yuan in front of Chen Zaixing after the bill was settled. "Comrade Chen, this is the 1,200 yuan you gave me today. The meal cost 372 yuan, so there's still a little over 800 yuan left."

Chen Zaixing put the cigarette in his mouth and used his free hand to push the money back. "Mingzhu, you don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

Jia Mingzhu nodded with a slight smile, and Chen Zaixing continued, "I'm the kind of person who doesn't take back money once it's given away, so you can keep this money."

"How can I do that, Brother Chen? How can I take your money for nothing?" Jia Mingzhu hurriedly refused, unwilling to reach out and take the money in front of her.

"Mingzhu, as you know, your brother Chen is planning to start a business in Tuocheng. I'm not very familiar with the real estate industry," Chen Zaixing said with a smile, staring into Jia Mingzhu's eyes, making her blush a little. Fortunately, she had drunk quite a bit, so her redness wasn't very noticeable.

"You've been working alongside Brother Guohua for quite some time now, so you must be familiar with this industry. I'm planning to invite you to my company to help me manage things," Chen Zaixing paused, staring at her. "How about it? Interested in coming and helping your brother Chen? Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly!"

After listening, Jia Mingzhu lowered her head and pondered. Before Chen Zaixing arrived, Li Guohua had told Jia Mingzhu about Chen Zaixing's background after the Tuocheng Planning Commission informed them. Chen Zaixing had a cousin named Chen Zaidong, who was worth billions of US dollars. Chen Zaidong owned a Huaxingsheng Supermarket and was planning to open another one in Tuocheng. His older brother was now the boss of a company with an annual output value of over ten million US dollars.

It can be said that Chen Zaixing's family background is very strong. When he said he wanted to develop real estate in Tuocheng, Jia Mingzhu didn't even think about whether it would succeed or whether there would be any funding issues. What Jia Mingzhu was thinking about was whether following Chen Zaixing would be more promising than continuing to run her company in Shenzhen.

Jia Mingzhu quickly figured it out. If she stayed at Shenzhen Development Company, the best she could do was use it as a stepping stone to enter the civil service system in Shenzhen, earn a fixed salary each month, and slowly build up her seniority within the system.

But after joining Chen Zaixing, who had just entered the real estate industry, and becoming one of the company's veterans, she was confident that she could do better than she did within the system. So she nodded firmly, "Brother Chen, I'll go to Tuocheng with you!"

"Okay," Chen Zaixing smiled and pushed the money towards Jia Mingzhu again, placing it next to her hand. He gently patted Jia Mingzhu's hand and said, "Consider this money as your plane ticket to Tuocheng. You should stay with Brother Guohua and continue your studies for now. I will call you after I return to Tuocheng from Hong Kong."

After saying that, Chen Zaixing took out a notebook, wrote down his phone number, and handed it to Jia Mingzhu. "This is my phone number. If you need anything, just call me."

"Okay, Brother Chen," Jia Mingzhu said with a smile, taking the note from Chen Zaixing. Chen Zaixing then stood up and called out to his childhood friend, who was still sitting in a chair, "Afa, you're already this confused after just a few drinks. Can you walk? Do you need me to carry you back to the guesthouse?"

Jia Mingzhu laughed and said, "Renfa, how about I ask the waiter to bring me a hot towel to put on my face? It will make me feel much better."

"No, if he puts a face mask on, he'll definitely throw up when he gets back to the guesthouse if he goes outside and gets chilled," Chen Zaixing said, patting Li Renfa on the shoulder. Li Renfa then slowly got up. "Finished drinking? Let's go!"

Looking at Li Renfa, who had regained his senses but was still walking unsteadily, Jia Mingzhu asked Chen Zaixing, "Brother Chen, is Brother Renfa alright? I hope he doesn't fall down the stairs."

"It's alright, he's my childhood friend, and his alcohol tolerance isn't bad either. This kid just gets confused easily when he drinks. He'll sober up faster than anyone else after walking around for a while," Chen Zaixing picked up his bag and followed Jia Mingzhu out of the private room behind Li Renfa.

They chatted all the way to Jia Mingzhu's dormitory. By then, Li Renfa had sobered up considerably. Back at the guesthouse, as soon as they entered the room, Li Renfa lay back on the bed, muttering repeatedly, "I can't take it anymore, I've drunk too much, I'm not going to shower, I'm too sleepy!"

Chen Zaixing, however, was not sleepy. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked through the notes he had taken that day: Li Guohua's words, the figures in the feasibility report, the details on the construction site, and his upcoming trip to Hong Kong to meet the man named "Li Jiacheng".

He lay down, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing with those questions again: land, policy, money, profit sharing, demolition...