Chapter 247: Let Me Teach You How

In the evening, Zhou Ming, Tang Ran, and Du Peng arrived at their nightclub. It was still the same two-story building, and the name "Nanjing Nightclub" shone brightly under the neon lights. A parking lot had been set up at the entrance, filled with many high-end cars.

Upon entering the private room, the nightclub's general manager, Kong Xiaolin, was waiting there. Seeing Kong Xiaolin, Tang Ran was surprised and said, "Sister Xiaolin, you look so beautiful today!"

Tang Ran rushed over to Kong Xiaolin. Indeed, as Tang Ran said, Kong Xiaolin was dressed in a shirt and a slim skirt, paired with stockings and high heels, making her long legs look even more elegant. Her hair was styled up, and her face was lightly made up with subtle lipstick and eyeshadow, adding a great deal of charm. Kong Xiaolin was already very beautiful, but today she was even more captivating.

Zhou Ming instinctively touched his nose. Since Tang Ran was living locally in Nanjing and hadn't been anywhere else during the Spring Festival, she should be familiar with Kong Xiaolin. However, Kong Xiaolin wasn't usually so dressed up. Zhou Ming thought about their previous encounters and flirtations, especially in front of Tang Ran, and felt a bit uneasy.

"Manager Kong, it's been a while. Your efforts in maintaining the popularity of the nightclub are truly commendable!" Zhou Ming said.

Kong Xiaolin responded with a hint of melancholy, "Thank you, but instead of praise, it would be better if you could manage things here more. You haven't come to check in for so long. If something happened and I wasn't around, you wouldn't even know."

"How could that be? Manager Kong is the backbone of the nightclub, so of course, I'm concerned about what happens here," Zhou Ming said somewhat awkwardly, sensing that Kong Xiaolin's words were more about her feelings than the nightclub itself.

While Tang Ran, who was naturally innocent and didn't sense any ulterior motive, might not feel it, Zhou Ming couldn't ignore it. However, Kong Xiaolin, being a mature woman, could control her emotions well and knew Zhou Ming's relationship with Tang Ran, making it clear that there was no chance for anything to happen between them.

Kong Xiaolin's complaints were brief, and she soon shifted the conversation. She asked Zhou Ming, "Mr. Zhou, I heard from Mr. Du that you came to Nanjing to help with investment promotion for your hometown? How is it going now?"

Before Zhou Ming could answer, Du Peng interjected, "Manager Kong, you wouldn't believe it, but he's encountered quite a unique situation. He came here with their county committee secretary. If you were the county committee secretary working with Mr. Zhou on investment promotion, what would you do?"

Kong Xiaolin thought for a moment and replied, "Of course, I would use Mr. Zhou's connections in Nanjing to attract as many investments as possible."

"Exactly! That's what I would do too, but this county committee secretary seems overly confident. He's left Mr. Zhou aside and is doing everything himself," Du Peng said.

Hearing this, Kong Xiaolin was taken aback and asked, "How could he do that? Did Mr. Zhou offend him or something? Is he causing trouble for Mr. Zhou?"

Zhou Ming shrugged, "Not really. He's just a bit overconfident. He'll face some difficulties in Nanjing soon enough. It's nothing serious."

Kong Xiaolin nodded thoughtfully, "What kind of person is this? If he causes trouble for you after going back, you might as well stay in Nanjing. He's just a county committee secretary; his power isn't that significant."

Zhou Ming smiled, "Don't worry, even if I go back, he wouldn't dare to make things difficult for me."

Kong Xiaolin remained skeptical but was reassured by Zhou Ming's confidence.

Zhou Ming stretched and said, "If he doesn't cause trouble, that's fine with me. I can enjoy my time in Nanjing a bit more."

Du Peng agreed, "Absolutely. Zhou Ming, you'd make more money just fiddling with the stock market than doing investment promotion. If necessary, we can invest our own money. For someone like you, a few million is small change."

"Go to hell. I'm not interested in using my own money to appease those bureaucrats," Zhou Ming laughed and scolded.

Finally, Zhou Ming said, "But I'm worried that my leisure time might be cut short!"

His concern wasn't unfounded. On the third day, while Zhou Ming was out shopping with Tang Ran, his pager went off. It was a message from Secretary Gu's assistant, Xiao Zhang. Zhou Ming and Tang Ran hurried back to the South Lake Hotel, where they found Xiao Zhang anxiously pacing outside.

Zhou Ming parked the car and walked over. Xiao Zhang immediately ran up, grabbing Zhou Ming's hand and saying, "Mr. Zhou, we've finally been waiting for you!"

Seeing Xiao Zhang's desperate tone, Zhou Ming was puzzled, "What happened?"

Xiao Zhang's expression was awkward as he explained, "Our leader almost got beaten up."

"Secretary Gu almost got beaten up? What's the situation?" Zhou Ming asked again.

"I'm not sure either. Earlier, when I went with the leader to visit an investment company, we didn't expect Nanjing people to be so uncivilized. They didn't follow any rules. I mentioned we were here for investment promotion, but they still called security to chase us away. If I hadn't protected the leader in time, he might have really been beaten by the security guards," Xiao Zhang complained.

Zhou Ming raised an eyebrow. Xiao Zhang's account seemed exaggerated, but he guessed it was likely due to Secretary Gu's overconfidence causing the problem.

Zhou Ming wasn't interested in Secretary Gu's predicament, but as the investment promotion director of Linyang, Secretary Gu's situation required his attention. So, he nodded and said, "I understand. Is Secretary Gu in his room now? Take me up to see him."

Xiao Zhang agreed and led Zhou Ming upstairs. Upon opening Secretary Gu's door, they found Gu smoking in the room. He glanced up and said, "You're here," before returning to his silence.

From Gu's reaction, Zhou Ming could tell that Xiao Zhang might not have acted on his own but had received Gu's instructions. However, Gu, as the county committee secretary, couldn't admit his mistakes, so Xiao Zhang had to take the blame. This was a typical tactic in bureaucratic circles.

From Xiao Zhang, Zhou Ming had learned that the issue stemmed from an argument with a company's security guard due to a lack of appointment. Gu had been upset because of repeated setbacks in their investment promotion attempts, leading to his frustration spilling over.

Zhou Ming wasn't interested in delving into Gu's inner struggles. He sat down opposite Gu and said, "Secretary Gu, investment promotion is a gradual process. You can't rush it."

Gu shook his head and said, "I'm not impatient. I just didn't expect the people in Nanjing to be so difficult and disrespectful."

Zhou Ming found this amusing. Respect for leaders? Whether you're a small county committee secretary or a high-ranking official, local authorities won't show much deference. Officials need to adapt to the local context, even if they are central leaders.

"Secretary Gu, this might be a misunderstanding. Nanjing is different from Linyang. Many companies have their own rules. High-level companies often require appointments, and they will generally keep out those without prior notice," Zhou Ming said.

"Shouldn't leaders have some special treatment? Isn't this still the party's territory?" Gu responded angrily.

"Secretary Gu, there's no need to politicize this. It's not about whether it's the party's territory," Zhou Ming replied.

"Let's not dwell on this. Let's focus on the main goal of our visit—investment promotion. What do you think?" Zhou Ming suggested.

Gu, realizing the importance of their mission, calmed down. As someone who had become a county committee secretary, he wasn't a fool and understood the importance of their goal.

"Alright, but now that the companies are so uncooperative, how should we proceed with investment promotion?" Gu asked.

"Secretary Gu, the issue is that you're unfamiliar with the local units. I know the business owners here. Let me handle this. I'll arrange meetings with a few bosses for you. How does that sound?" Zhou Ming offered.

"Don't we need to visit them directly? You can arrange meetings just like that?" Gu asked.

Zhou Ming nodded, "Yes, arranging meetings directly is more effective than showing up unannounced."

Gu agreed, "Alright, I'll see how you handle it."