C23

“David, it’s me, Li Zheng.”

A thud came from the other end of the phone as something heavy hit the ground and a man’s cry of pain resounded, “Oh, Li! My angel, I’m a little surprised. This is Shannon’s number. Oh, my God! I am so honored. Are you here for me?” David’s exaggerated exclamation echoed throughout the communication room through the somewhat leaky telephone receiver.

The corner of Li Zheng’s mouth twitched, even after two lifetimes, he still wasn’t used to David’s way of speaking.

“I’m currently in Xinjie Beating Drum Ridge” Li Zheng looked at Sir Zhao who was standing straight at the side and added: “The police station.”

Don’t look at David’s usual flamboyant and irrelevant appearance, he was actually a thoughtful person, otherwise, how could he be in the middle of  Roche’s hierarchy at a young age.

He immediately comprehended Li Zheng’s meaning and opened his mouth, “Oh~ It’s all my fault, I was busy returning to Switzerland and forgot to account for someone to pick you up. I’ll immediately arrange for someone to come over, I promised Sir Edward to introduce you to him, he admires you.”

The Sir Edward that David spoke of was the Governor of Hong Kong appointed by the Queen of England, who was extremely beloved in Hong Kong.

Sir Zhao was standing right next to the phone, so naturally, he heard it clearly and was in awe. Who the hell was the young man in front of him that he could actually win Sir Edward’s admiration! Sir Zhao couldn’t help but be impressed with Li Zheng.

As for the unknown identity? Stowaway? It didn’t exist! How could a man Sir Edward admired be a stowaway!

Li Zheng didn’t expect David to open his mouth with the banner of the Governor of Hong Kong, he smiled lightly, “My pleasure.”

David thanked him again for the tip he had provided, stating that it had helped him greatly, and Li Zheng smiled and listened until David finished his speech, “David, do you remember what I said to you back then in Qinghe Town? A billion-dollar market. Whatever you decide, I want you to think carefully about it.”

David on the other end of the phone was first stunned, followed by a long silence.

It took about two or three minutes before David smiled and spoke, “Li, you’re a genius. Well, I’ll take your suggestion with a grain of salt.”

Hanging up the phone, David looked at the email sent by his colleague on the bulky desktop display and fell into deep thought. Two minutes before he received the call from Li Zheng, he was dancing with surprise at receiving this email.

The email was from an old friend of David’s, an old friend who worked as an assistant to the president in Roche’s office, and he said in the email that Mr. Robert had the intention of transferring David back to the Swiss headquarters, and when he came back he would probably be the deputy head of some department.

This meant that his three-year-long exile was coming to an end, and he would return to the heart of Roche’s skyscrapers in Switzerland! It was certainly worth rejoicing over.
　　
　　But Li Zheng’s words were like a flea, and the four words “billion market” kept beating in his heart, Oh God, forgive him for being a greedy kid who wanted comfort but refused to give up his ambition.

The phone rang again.

“Hi, Edson, yes, I got the email. What to think? Naturally, I’m happy. No, no, Edson, glad as I am, I think I need to think some more. One week, I’ll get back to you in a week.” David said this to the person on the other end of the phone.

Hanging up the phone, David’s entire body sprawled out on the couch as if out of breath.

“David. Andorio, I think you’re out of your mind!” He said to himself, then hugged the pillow and rolled on the couch.

On the other hand, after Li Zheng and David spoke on the phone, the way Sir Zhao looked at him was completely different.

“Little brother, oh no, Mr. Li, let me push you back to the ward.” Sir Zhao said smilingly.

Li Zheng smiled and thanked him.

David’s work efficiency was good, and the next morning, an old foreign man in a black tuxedo appeared in Li Zheng’s hospital room.

“Hello, Mr. Li. I’m the housekeeper of the Golden Tripod Garden, Carl.” The Golden Tripod Garden was an apartment building that was filled with foreigners, mostly Europeans. Carl was an English butler who served the entire building’s occupants, taking care of small, private matters for them.

“Hello, Carl.”

Li Zheng’s fever had broken yesterday afternoon and he had no luggage, so he stood up and could leave.

David’s apartment was a large seaside flat with a great view, and in Li Zheng’s last life, the market price of the apartment had reached 250,000 a square meter, and David often said that the two things he was most proud of doing in his life were choosing to stay in Asia and successfully opening up the Chinese market, and buying this apartment, which had brought him more value-added income than his salary for twenty years combined.

The first thing Li Zheng did when he settled down was to send out his paper on the “Dannodin Catalyst”. He needed identity and money, and without any surprise, this paper should be able to bring him what he wanted.

Zhou Sitian didn’t know exactly how she came to be these days, a day passed with her eyes open and closed, but her brain seemed to stop thinking, her whole body froze, according to Zhang Bingkun’s words, like a lost soul.

“Sitian ah, you stop it, it’s already clean.” Zhang Bingkun looked at Zhou Sitian who looked dumbfounded but kept looking for something to do, he really felt bad.

Because of Mr Liang’s disappearance, the whole of Xiangjiang was tense. Although Mr. Liang was now found, but according to official sources, the kidnapper was a Vietnamese smuggler. This had caused the Hong Kong police to set off another storm against black boats and smugglers.

Zhang Bingkun’s black boat wouldn’t be able to leave the sea for a while now. And after what happened with Li Zheng, Zhang Bingkun had an idea to wash his hands, these kind of days where he had to hide from the police all the time, he was too tired.

Zhou Sitian silently put down the rag in her hand and looked up squarely at Zhang Bingkun, “Uncle Zhang, I want to go to work.” When she was young, it was Father Li who took care of her, and when he left, it was clear that she was the older sister, but she was always taken care of by Li Zheng. Now that Li Zheng was also gone, Zhou Sitian felt that it was time for her to learn how to face life on her own.
　　
　　This was Xiangjiang, where there were endless possibilities. She hoped that she would one day be able to bring Li Zheng back to Qinghe Town in style and that she would have the ability to turn the tables on her father who carried a stain on his name.

“Work?” Zhang Bingkun’s eyebrows could clip a mosquito, “There is still money at home, you can stay at home, I’ll go out and find a job, Brother Li is gone, I’ll take care of you for him.”

Zhou Sitian shook her head, “Uncle Zhang, let me go, I’ll think less when I’m busy.”

Zhang Bingkun sighed at the words, indeed, it was better to go out than to stay at home and think about things.

“Alright, I’ll talk to the lady boss at the corner of the street, only you don’t have a Xiangjiang ID card, so your salary might be a little lower.”

Zhou Sitian nodded and said thank you.

Zhou Sitian and Zhang Bingkun lived in a small alley in Mongkok, Nine Dragons, which was almost a colony of illegal immigrants, many of them had arrived in Hong Kong 80 years ago, so they managed to get their Hong Kong residence permit. Others, like Zhou Sitian, who came 80 years later, were not so lucky.

Because they had to hide from the police, they often couldn’t find a formal job and had to work odd jobs to get by, which paid less than the people in Hong Kong, and the smugglers lived a life at the bottom of the ladder in Hong Kong.

“Boss lady, I’m counting on you for this junior, she has suffered and can work.” At dinner, Zhang Bingkun brought Zhou Sitian to Hutchison.

Hutchison’s boss’s wife was also sent by him to Xiangjiang, the boss wife was lucky enough to get a Xiangjiang residence permit and also married a Xiangjiang man, and now opened a teahouse and had a prosperous life.

The woman, who was also known as Qiao Qiao, came out from behind the counter and walked around Zhou Sitian, “What a pretty girl, she looks like a star on TV. With this face, I have to be nice to her too.” Qiao Qiao said smilingly.

“Sitian is it, go to the back and change your work clothes. It’s just busy at night, 600 a month, no problem.”

Six hundred, Zhou Sitian was shocked by this number, then nodded her head. So, did she have a nice face? In Qinghe Town, no one would praise a girl’s beauty so directly.

Zhou Sitian’s facial features were not as beautiful as those of traditional Jiangnan women. She looked very atmospheric, just like those Asian supermodels in later generations, and her smile was very charming.

Because of Zhou Sitian’s presence, Hutchison’s business was much better, Sister Qiao’s mouth was smiling to the sky, a week later, she raised Zhou Sitian’s salary to 800, the rate of a waiter with a residence permit in Hong Kong.

“With Li Wenhui gone, what about the contract you have on hand?” At the table by the window, two men under forty were talking.
　　
　　”What to do? What can I do! They have Duke Li’s backing, what can I do.” The man in glasses spoke up after a few glasses of wine.

“Ever since Hong Kong’s Sister Xu Linglong married into the rich family, one by one, these jokers want to push to the side of the rich and powerful, they don’t even act anymore, Li Wenhui is the same, Mr. Li doesn’t even want to give her a name, so she’s on her own to catch up, what a shame.”

“Alright, don’t complain. At least they’re giving you enough money for the breach of contract. Think about how to save it, if you let ATV off the hook this time, the next contract won’t be our turn.”

The man with glasses slapped the table, “It’s not like there’s only one Li Wenhui in this Hong Kong, there are many beautiful women, I don’t believe I can’t do without her.” Because of the excitement, the wine glass fell to the ground, instantly shattering into pieces.

Zhou Sitian took a rag over.

“Sir, watch your feet, I’ll clean it up.”

The man with glasses nodded, his eyes brightened as he glanced over at Zhou Sitian, he crouched down and quickly cleaned up the shards of the wine glass.

“Miss, may I ask if you’re interested in becoming a star?”