Chapter 125: The Great Man

"What? You say Zhou Ming is unwilling to participate in the construction of the securities market?"

In the office of the mayor of Nanjiang, Chen Yunfei was speaking respectfully on the phone. Upon hearing this question from the other end, he hurriedly replied, "Yes, Yang Lao, Zhou Ming said he lacks confidence. He is afraid that as both the rule-maker and the participant, he might deliberately leave loopholes for himself to exploit and make a fortune through those loopholes."

At this moment, if there were others present, they would certainly be shocked. It was clear from Chen Yunfei's words that the person on the other end of the line was Yang Dingguo, the chief architect of the reform and opening-up and the real leader of the country.

In Chen Yunfei's office, there were always two phones, one for regular calls and the other a central hotline. Yang Dingguo was calling through this central line.

After hearing Chen Yunfei's words, Yang Lao was silent for a while before he laughed and said, "This young comrade Zhou Ming, to make such a decision at such a young age is not simple!"

Chen Yunfei raised his eyebrows. From his understanding of Yang Lao, this kind of evaluation was already very rare. However, despite its rarity, Chen Yunfei felt Zhou Ming deserved this praise. After all, many people can say things like "if not participating, then not making rules" but how many can actually do it? Who wouldn't want to be a deity with the power to manipulate the market at will, especially in the securities market?

Chen Yunfei had just held a meeting with the inspection team returning from Port City. He was shocked to hear that the trading volume of the securities market in Port City was tens of billions in just four hours. Although he understood that Port City was different from Nanjiang, he believed that once the securities market was established here, a daily trading volume of tens of millions should be possible. And what about a month or a year?

If Zhou Ming really left loopholes for himself in such a huge trading volume, the consequences would be unimaginable.

With such a massive financial temptation, no one could resist. Even Chen Yunfei himself might not be able to do so upon introspection, but Zhou Ming had actually managed to refuse the invitation. Chen Yunfei could only imagine the determination needed for that.

In Chen Yunfei's view, even if Yang Lao gave Zhou Ming a higher evaluation, it would be justified!

"Comrade Yunfei, I see that this young comrade Zhou Ming is a treasure given to our country by heaven. He is absolutely indispensable for our current reform and opening-up, especially for the construction of the securities market! Although he said he won't make the rules, I don't think he is the type who remains indifferent to worldly matters. He is a very enthusiastic comrade who wishes for the strength of our country. Therefore, I believe that in the construction of the securities market, he will certainly have something to say. Any opinions he provides, your municipal government must pay attention to, understand?"

Chen Yunfei nodded quickly in agreement, and Yang Lao continued, "Furthermore, Comrade Yunfei, since this young comrade Zhou Ming is so important to the development of our country, you must take good care of him in Nanjiang. Ensure his safety and, if possible, provide him with certain conveniences. I will also call Comrade Lu Xiong about this."

Yang Lao's words left Chen Yunfei stunned. While he could understand Yang Lao's previous praise of Zhou Ming, these final remarks made him deeply alarmed because they elevated Zhou Ming from a talented individual to the level of a national treasure.

If an ordinary person had said this, Chen Yunfei might have thought it was an excessive admiration. But since it was Yang Lao—who led the country to open a new economic door and would be remembered in history—his words could not be taken lightly.

Chen Yunfei hoped Yang Lao would speak more about it, but Yang Lao soon hung up the phone. In the room in Zhongnanhai where Chen Yunfei could not see, Yang Lao leaned back in his chair and smiled, "Comrade Yunfei, you must not understand why I made such a fuss over this young comrade Zhou Ming. He may not seem worthy of such attention now, but I always have a premonition that he is not what we see. He is different from anyone else. His future is beyond our imagination. Perhaps one day, he will grow to a level we cannot comprehend."

...

Chen Yunfei did not know Yang Lao's further evaluation. If he had, he might have had a sleepless night. Even Chen Yunfei did not know, let alone Zhou Ming.

At this time, Zhou Ming had just finished a meeting with the inspection team and was leaving the city government. At the door, Zhang Heng bowed to Zhou Ming and said, "Advisor Zhou, thank you very much!"

Zhou Ming could tell that Zhang Heng's words were sincere. Just in the recent meeting, when Mayor Chen Yunfei asked about the securities market construction, Zhou Ming had already recommended him to Mayor Chen.

With the fall of his leader Qiao Weijiang, this was undoubtedly Zhang Heng's only opportunity for a comeback. Although Zhou Ming's recommendation might not lead to immediate results, Zhou Ming had already done what he promised, which was enough for Zhang Heng. Therefore, Zhang Heng was immensely grateful to Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming smiled and said to Zhang Heng, "There's no need to be so formal with me; I'm even younger than you! And we're not from the East, so no need to be so polite."

Hearing this, Zhang Heng scratched his head awkwardly, "But I don't know how else to thank you, Advisor Zhou."

"Don't know how to thank me? Doing your job well is the best thanks. You should remember my speech at Hong Kong University the other day. I don't want our securities market to repeat the mistakes of Wall Street. So, if you have the chance to be involved in the construction or regulation of the securities market in the future, just do your job diligently," Zhou Ming said.

Zhang Heng straightened up and said, "Rest assured, Advisor Zhou. I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Zhou Ming nodded and patted him on the shoulder to encourage him. Then he left with Luo Han, and they took the car arranged by the city government.

After getting into the car, Luo Han said to Zhou Ming, "Advisor Zhou, you are truly remarkable. You are born to be a leader. In Port City, you won over all the students at Hong Kong University with your charisma. Now that you're back in Nanjiang, Zhang Heng is so grateful to you!"

Zhou Ming replied, "I've only done what I should. Actually, Deputy General Luo, you are the same. As long as we all do our jobs well and don't think too much about various distractions, there won't be any problems."

Luo Han nodded. He understood what Zhou Ming meant. Some things are simple to explain but hard to implement. It's a simple principle—everyone knows to follow traffic rules and that corruption is illegal, but how many can actually do it? Great people are not just those who do extraordinary things, but those who not only understand but also live by the principles that everyone knows.

The car sped on, first taking Zhou Ming to the front of his nightclub on East Gate Commercial Street. Zhou Ming got out of the car, and Luo Han said, "I wish the grand opening of your nightclub great success!"

Zhou Ming thanked him and then walked into the two-story building.

The nightclub had been under renovation for a while. Compared to when Zhou Ming left, it had taken shape. At least, when Zhou Ming walked in, the major areas like walls and ceilings were completed, and the floors were tiled. The bar counter had also been assembled, and a few workers were doing detailed painting.

"Boss Zhou, why did you come in? It's very dirty here!"

Suddenly, a crisp voice came from behind. Zhou Ming turned to see a few people in renovation company uniforms, wearing safety helmets with paint stains on their clothes and faces, walking toward him.

Zhou Ming was momentarily stunned but noticed that the leader, though wearing loose clothing, could not hide her outstanding figure. He asked her, "Are you Kong Xiaolin?"

The person, a bit embarrassed, smiled and said, "Boss Zhou, I didn't know you were coming and didn't have time to change clothes. I'm sorry for the mess."

"How did you get like this? You didn't do the renovation yourself, did you?" Zhou Ming asked.

One of the people nearby answered, "Yes, Boss Zhou. Manager Kong is so proactive. She supervises very carefully and does the work herself if she is not satisfied with the results."

Zhou Ming then turned to another person who seemed to be equally competent as Kong Xiaolin and asked, "Are you Manager Rao?"

Manager Rao, a bit embarrassed, took off his helmet and said, "Boss Zhou, that's me."

"Oh my, Kong Xiaolin, you are indeed too enthusiastic," Zhou Ming sighed.

"I just want to finish quickly and not delay the progress of your nightclub," Kong Xiaolin said softly.

Zhou Ming said, "Manager Kong, you don't need to explain. I'm not blaming you; I'm just concerned about you. Since you are so enthusiastic, the renovation must be going very well, right?"

Hearing this, Kong Xiaolin happily raised her head and proudly said, "Boss Zhou, the renovation is halfway done. The work on the areas that needed redoing is complete. Next, we'll focus on detailed painting. My plan is to finish the first floor's dance hall and bar first so that it can open, and then we'll

 work on the KTV on the second floor."

"Manager Kong, your plan is very good. It makes reasonable use of resources!" Zhou Ming praised.

Kong Xiaolin then looked a bit troubled and said, "Boss Zhou, it's not that there is no other way, but the dance hall at Shenzhou Company is opening the day after tomorrow. Boss Du is so anxious about it that he's been coming here every day to push the renovation progress."

This news surprised Zhou Ming, "Is that so?"