Chapter 2369: Financing (Part 4)

Chu He had a large and eclectic family back on Jeju Island. Moreover, he had come to Guangzhou to promote his plan, so he had no interest in such sensual diversions.

Although the guesthouse provided a power outlet, Chu He hadn't brought his laptop—the device had one day less of life with each use, so a paper notebook proved more reliable. He opened it and silently pondered how to conduct tomorrow's "roadshow" with Zhou Wei, occasionally jotting down key points as they occurred to him.

His target audience for this roadshow wasn't various capital moguls, but a fellow professional. This was a first in his career. Chu He felt somewhat uneasy.

To secure a decisive position in the future stock exchange, financing the Nanyang Company was a game he had to win. Only success was acceptable—failure was not an option.

Before long, someone knocked at the door. It was Manager Gao delivering dinner. Finding the interruption irritating, Chu He instructed him "not to come again unless it's urgent."

After a hasty meal, Chu He continued pacing and rehearsing in the room. Suddenly, another knock came at the door.

"Damn it, what now?" he shouted impatiently. "Come in!"

This time it wasn't Manager Gao but his guard Pu Zhixian, wearing an expression of obvious frustration.

Chu He knew immediately something was wrong. "What happened? Did you see Zhou Wei's secretary? Is the meeting scheduled?"

Pu Zhixian spoke indignantly: "I saw her, but this Secretary Zhou puts on such airs! To see her, you have to take a number—at least twenty or thirty people were waiting outside. I waited almost an hour, and only got in first because I said I was delivering a letter for a Senator."

"That popular, is he?" Chu He wasn't surprised.

"The waiting was one thing, but Chief, you don't know what this Secretary Zhou said. Simply infuriating." Pu Zhixian fumed. "I said I was your guard, here to find Senator Zhou. She said she'd never heard of your name and asked what I wanted with Senator Zhou. I told her you wanted to discuss Nanyang Company matters. The moment she heard that, her expression changed completely. I asked if Senator Zhou had received the telegram you sent. Guess what she said? 'No comment on Senator Zhou's official business.' I asked when Senator Zhou would return—she didn't know. When I asked when an appointment could be arranged, she said it required Senator Zhou's approval, and anyway, Senator Zhou was very busy these days with no time. You didn't see her impatient face, Ah Xi Ba... I had no choice but to leave the proposal summary, telling her this document was for Senator Zhou and very important. She took it and tossed it into the file basket beside her, then dismissed me. Tell me, why is she so arrogant? She's just a..."

Chu He waved his hand, cutting off Xiao Pu's complaints. "Enough, I understand." He thought: So it really is "when one person attains the Dao, his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven." A mere secretary putting on such airs. It wasn't surprising—the moment Zhou Wei's appointment as Nanyang Company General Manager came through, countless people must have started eyeing him, hoping to claim a piece of the pie. Wasn't he one of them?

"In that case, let's wait and see. If there's still no word tomorrow or the day after, I'll go find him personally."

But the wait stretched to three or four days with no word from Zhou Wei's side. Chu He couldn't restrain himself and sent Pu Zhixian to inquire several more times. The answer was always "General Manager Zhou has no time." When asked when he might have time, the standard reply was "No comment on the Chief's official business."

By now, Chu He could sit still no longer. In Lingao, he could simply call Zhou Wei's mobile PHS directly. But Guangzhou lacked such technology, and Zhou Wei had no fixed office here—therefore no office phone. The only way to see him was to show up in person, but with Secretary Zhou as gatekeeper, Chu He had no way through.

After waiting several days, he decided to seek out Zhou Wei himself. Even if Zhou Wei wasn't in the office, the meeting time at least needed to be finalized.

"Must not get angry," Chu He warned himself before setting out. He told Pu Zhixian: "When we go see Secretary Zhou, don't speak. And don't argue with her. Understand?"

"Understood! But this is indulging her too much. Even Senators don't put on bigger airs than she does..."

"A great man knows when to bend and when to stand tall."

A Senator lowering himself to visit a secretary—it was somewhat undignified. But Chu He knew this was no longer unusual in the Senate. For some high-ranking Senators in particular, their secretaries commanded respect that ordinary Senators couldn't afford to ignore. Anyone meeting Hou Wenyong had to politely address him as "Secretary Hou." When Qian Xuanhuang handled matters on Speaker Qian's behalf, the receiving Senators also had to show "enthusiasm."

In the end, we're no longer one family. We just happen to be on the same boat. Whenever Chu He considered this, a certain melancholy crept in.

Still, this was the inevitability of historical development, wasn't it? A temporary lowering of oneself was in service of securing a better position. As the ancients said: "A great man knows when to bend and when to stand tall." For the sake of future positions in the Securities Regulatory Commission and the Stock Exchange, what did a Secretary Zhou matter?

Zhou Wei's temporary office was actually within the Inner World of the Great World. When Chu He arrived, quite a few people were waiting outside for Secretary Zhou's reception. After he revealed his identity, the clerk handling registration immediately ushered him in.

Before he could fully enter, he heard a young woman's crisp voice:

"I cannot reveal General Manager Zhou's work arrangements and schedule—that's the rule." "Even if you're a Senator, it won't work. I cannot violate General Manager Zhou's instructions. Please don't make this difficult for me." "I don't know when he'll be back." "Please register first. When the Chief has time, he'll definitely arrange a meeting." "Just leave the materials here; I'll pass them along."

Chu He frowned. Xiao Pu hadn't exaggerated. Judging by this female secretary's tone, she was a tough one to deal with. He couldn't tell which Senator was inside, but whoever it was couldn't even get a word in. He coughed deliberately to spare the person inside any embarrassment, then waited a moment before entering.

The office was small, containing only a single desk. Behind it sat a young woman with delicate features and remarkably large eyes. Her expression was utterly unlike that of typical female naturalized citizens.

Female naturalized cadres of the Senate came from either humble backgrounds—entering factories and farms after registration, working their way up through hard labor—or from Fangcaodi or the College of Arts and Sciences. Whether "grassroots" or "academy-trained," when facing Senators, their expressions typically showed worship, awe and fear, or perhaps admiration. But this one displayed none of these—only impatience.

"Then I'll come again in a few days." The speaker sounded somewhat dejected. Clearly, this wasn't his first visit.

"Take care, Senator! I'll notify you immediately once General Manager Zhou decides to see you."

Chu He recognized this as essentially meaning "I'll treat you to dinner when I'm free." As the other man turned, Chu He was slightly startled. He knew him—Ren Youzi, another financial professional. A former securities firm employee who had fled with funds after an insider trading scandal was exposed.

Because of such a "glorious history," Cheng Dong hadn't cared for him and had assigned him to the Cheka. The Cheka was the last place financial professionals in the Finance Department wanted to go. But Ren Youzi was unwilling to change careers, so he had muddled along there. Rumor had it he had eventually drifted into some kind of division chief position—then again, nowadays any Senator was automatically a division chief.

"Old Ren!" Chu He called out.

Ren Youzi started. Looking up and seeing Chu He, a complicated expression crossed his face—seeming somewhat embarrassed to be reunited under such circumstances. "Chu He? What are you doing here? Didn't you go to Jeju Island?"

"Just got back," Chu He said. "It's a long story. Why don't you wait for me a bit? After I finish my business, let's grab a drink together."

"Sure, I've got nothing better to do anyway." Ren Youzi waved his hand. "Go ahead!"

After Ren Youzi left, Chu He inquired about his appointment request and whether the relevant summary had been delivered to Zhou Wei.

"General Manager Zhou has no arrangement to meet with you." Secretary Zhou didn't even offer a "please sit." Rolling her eyes, she produced a large notebook and flipped through a few pages. "Until next Monday, General Manager Zhou has no free time."

"Then what about his recent schedule? I'll go find him myself."

An undisguised look of impatience crossed Secretary Zhou's face. She was visibly struggling to compose her expression:

"I'm afraid I cannot reveal General Manager Zhou's work schedule. It's confidential."

"Confidential from Senators too?"

"Those are the rules. Please don't make this difficult for me." Secretary Zhou squeezed out a trace of a smile. "I've registered your appointment request. If General Manager Zhou doesn't schedule it, there's nothing I can do..."

"What about the summary I had my guard deliver? Did Zhou Wei read it?"

"I couldn't say. I deliver all relevant documents to General Manager Zhou daily."

Chu He was about to respond when suddenly Pu Zhixian shouted: "Chief, look!"

Following the direction of his pointing finger, Chu He spotted a covered file basket beside the desk. The lid was half-open. As he leaned closer to look, Secretary Zhou—previously so composed—shot up from her seat as if spring-loaded, lunging to close the lid.

"Stop!" Chu He's shout was louder than he expected—because in that instant, he had glimpsed the corner of a familiar envelope.

This envelope was no different from any standard Senate official document envelope, but it bore distinctive wax seals—drops he had accidentally spilled while sealing it.

He walked over and extracted the envelope. No mistake—it was the memorandum he had written to Zhou Wei. The handwriting on it was unmistakable.

Chu He turned around and asked, his voice forcibly controlled yet faintly trembling: "What exactly is going on here?"

(End of Chapter)