Me! A high-ranking official!

Time ticked by, and the agonizing wait of over an hour gradually wore down his patience. Around 4:30, the sound of engines suddenly came from outside the guesthouse gate, and two black sedans drove into the compound one after the other. His eyes narrowed; one of the cars clearly bore the license plate of the Provincial Party Committee! His spirits lifted instantly, and he sat up straight, his gaze fixed on the two cars as they entered the underground parking garage. Judging from the situation and the timing, he guessed that his high-ranking mother-in-law had returned from her official business.

However, after sitting in the car for another ten minutes, Zhou Qingyan's WeChat message popped up again.

This time, there were only five cold words: "Go back first."

Looking at the words on the screen, his anger flared up instantly, and his brows furrowed immediately.

What kind of nonsense is this?! Leaving someone standing in the scorching sun for an entire afternoon without even showing their face, and then dismissing them with just a few words? I'm merely a nominal son-in-law helping your Zhou family cover up their lies out of a sense of duty, not a real son-in-law you can order around and manipulate at will!

Even a clay figure has some earthy spirit. He sneered, too lazy to even reply to the message, and directly shifted into reverse, turned the steering wheel sharply, and sped away from the municipal party committee guesthouse.

He sped back to the county and, before the end of the workday, successfully handed over the land transfer documents he had brought to the county's Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau.

After leaving the bureau, seeing that it was already past 5 p.m., and there was no way to get any official business done back in the village, he was filled with a nameless anger. So he took out his phone and called Liu Tao, asking him to come out for a couple of drinks.

The location was the same barbecue stall that the two of them frequented.

He ordered his food and waited for almost half an hour before Liu Tao rushed over, sweating profusely. She pulled out a chair, sat down opposite him with a grin, grabbed a large gulp of herbal tea, and exclaimed, "Jianguo, weren't you supposed to be working in the countryside? How come you have time to come back to the county town today!"

He handed over a skewer of freshly grilled mutton, smiled, and said, "Being stationed in the village doesn't mean you're welded to the village. I'm going back to the county today to submit some materials, and I happen to have some free time. It's been a while since we've seen each other, so I thought I'd get you together."

"That's great!" Liu Tao wiped his mouth happily and reported to his supervisor with beaming eyes, "Jianguo, the hard decoration of the supermarket is almost finished. These past few days, we've been doing the final cleaning and finishing touches. I've checked out the shelves and freezers, and we've hired thirty employees according to regulations. We've contacted all the suppliers, and as soon as the decoration is completed, the goods can be delivered immediately! I was just thinking of discussing with you in the next couple of days about setting a date for the opening!"

Hearing about the progress, he smiled and said, "I trust you to handle things. As for the specific opening date, you can decide! I'm a complete novice in business, so I'll just listen to you."

Liu Tao leaned closer excitedly: "Here's my plan: let's aim for a grand opening on July 1st! That's about 12 or 13 days, which will coincide with the students' summer vacation, a peak season for consumption in our county. We can take advantage of the opening to hold a few big promotional events and make a name for ourselves right away! What do you think?"

"Great, this is a good date, let's set it for July 1st!" He made the decision without hesitation.

Liu Tao nodded repeatedly, his excitement subsiding slightly, and his expression becoming somewhat serious: "Jianguo, there's something else important I need to discuss with you."

Seeing his serious expression, he was a little puzzled: "What's the matter? Why are you so serious?"

Liu Tao lowered his voice and said earnestly, "Jianguo, I've been thinking about it. Our supermarket is quite large, and what we need right now is a trustworthy accountant. I don't have any reliable acquaintances in this field. Could you help me find one?"

Upon hearing this, he immediately understood. The supermarket had cost millions of dollars to build. From site selection to decoration to hiring, Liu Tao had been running around doing all the legwork. But all those millions of dollars came from his own pocket!

Even close brothers should keep clear accounts. Liu Tao was worried that unclear accounts over time would cause estrangement between the brothers, so he took the initiative to ask him to send an imperial envoy to supervise the supermarket's finances.

He felt a warmth in his heart, smiled, and patted Liu Tao on the shoulder: "Taozi, I know what you mean, but let's forget about asking the finance department. Trust those you employ, don't employ those you don't trust. I trust you!"

"That won't do!" Liu Tao quickly waved his hand, his attitude extremely firm: "Whether you trust me or not is one thing, but the rules of doing business are another. Even close brothers keep clear accounts! You should send someone to manage the accounts, so the records are clear and I won't have to chase after you with the ledger every day to report!"

He waved his hand, interrupting him: "Just go for it! I'll set the tone for you: if the supermarket loses money in the end, it's mine; but if it makes a profit, you provide the manpower and I'll provide the capital, and we'll split the profits 50/50!"

"Absolutely not!" Liu Tao shook his head repeatedly as if his tail had been stepped on. "How can this be! You've put in all those millions by yourself. I only came up with an idea and did some errands. Why should I split it with you? I've already planned it out. I'll be in full charge of the business, and we'll split the profits 30/70, me 30% and you 70%! That's already giving you a huge advantage!"

He gave a wry smile, just about to refuse the suggestion, when suddenly the phone on the table emitted a long "buzz".

He subconsciously looked down and saw an urgent push notification from a provincial government news account that he paid special attention to. When his eyes swept over the bold headline, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

The screen displayed the following headline: "Breaking News! Mayor of Beicang City, Linjiang Province, Suffers Serious Car Accident on His Way Back from Inspection Tour of Dujiang City!"

Upon seeing the words "Mayor of Beicang City" and "Dujiang City," the image of the provincial party committee license plate car he had seen that afternoon in front of the municipal party committee guesthouse flashed through his mind, and his face instantly turned extremely ugly.

He abruptly threw the lamb skewers in his hand onto the plate and stood up abruptly.

Liu Tao was startled by his sudden and violent reaction, and looked at him in surprise: "Jianguo, what's wrong? What happened? You look so pale?"

He grabbed the car keys from the table and strode towards his car without looking back: "Taozi, I have something extremely urgent. I can't eat today, I have to go right now! We'll contact each other later!"