Siheyuan: a better life

Chapter 824 Wu Aiguo’s confidence!

After leaving the Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Kou originally wanted to go to the State Council to report to Mr. Ji on the affairs of the Red Star Trading Company. However, considering Mr. Yan's reasons, Mr. Kou finally gave up this idea and chose to return to the Ministry of Industry first to observe how the situation develops.

The jeep drove along Donghuamen Street towards the Ministry of Industry.

Mr. Kou sat in the passenger seat with a heavy heart, looking out the window at the scenery that was constantly receding.

"Xiao Chen! Stop the car by the roadside quickly. I need to go to the Trade Bureau." When Mr. Kou saw the gate of the Trade Bureau in the distance, he seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly shouted to the driver.

When the driver heard Mr. Kou's instructions, he immediately stepped on the brakes, slowed down the car, and then moved towards the sidewalk on the side of the road.

After checking the work permit, the jeep slowly drove into the courtyard of the Trade Bureau.

Mr. Kou opened the car door and said to his secretary and driver, "You two wait here for me. I'll be back soon."

"Hello, boss!"

"Hello, Mr. Kou!"

Soon, President Kou came to the second floor. The cadres in the Trade Department who knew President Kou were surprised to see him coming and greeted him politely.

When Mr. Kou saw the cadre who greeted him, he greeted him warmly.

Soon, Mr. Kou arrived at the door of Wu Aiguo's office. He saw Wu Aiguo sitting in the office in a daze, so he knocked on the door and asked Wu Aiguo with a smile, "Aiguo! What are you thinking about? Why are you thinking so hard?"

Ever since he learned about what Li Jianshe had done in Hong Kong, Wu Aiguo had been thinking in his heart how to use this incident to deal a heavy blow to the You family. As he was thinking about it, he became distracted.

The knock on the door brought Wu Aiguo back to reality from his deep thoughts. When he saw Mr. Kou walking into the office from outside, he showed a surprised expression on his face. He quickly stood up from his desk and asked curiously, "Mr. Kou! How come you have time to come to my place today?"

When Mr. Kou heard what Wu Aiguo said, he thought of the reason why he came to see Wu Aiguo, and said to him with a smile: "Aiguo! It's mainly because I haven't seen you for a while. I just happened to pass by the Trade Department today, so I just came in to see you."

"Mr. Kou! Please come this way!" When Wu Aiguo heard what Mr. Kou said, he hurriedly invited Mr. Kou to take a seat. Then he walked to the cabinet, took out a box of tea from the cabinet, and personally made a cup of tea for Mr. Kou.

Wu Aiguo placed the water cup in front of Mr. Kou, looked at him meaningfully while he was sitting on the sofa, and asked him with a smile, "Mr. Kou! You are a very busy man. You unexpectedly came to me today. If I am not mistaken, you should be here for the Red Star Trading Company, right?"

When Mr. Kou heard Wu Aiguo's accurate description of his purpose, he was also surprised and asked Wu Aiguo curiously, "Aiguo! How do you know why I came? Did you know that Red Star Trading Company asked domestic manufacturers to reduce prices?"

When Wu Aiguo heard President Kou's question and saw his surprised expression, he did not answer President Kou's question immediately. Instead, he stood up from the sofa, walked quickly to the office door, instinctively glanced at the corridor outside the office, and casually closed the office door.

After closing the office door, Wu Aiguo sat back on the sofa and whispered to Mr. Kou: "Mr. Kou! Not only do I know that Red Star Trading Company asked domestic manufacturers to lower their prices, I also know the inside story of Red Star Trading Company asking domestic manufacturers to lower their prices."

When he was in the Ministry of Commerce, Vice President Zhao responded to CEO Yan's questions by using the excuse that the competition was fierce and they had to lower prices. However, CEO Kou did not believe what he said. Instead, he thought that Li Jianshe did it on purpose for political achievements.

Now after hearing Wu Aiguo's answer and seeing how serious Wu Aiguo was, Mr. Kou immediately realized that this matter was far from as simple as he had imagined.

With this thought in mind, Mr. Kou asked Wu Aiguo in a serious tone, "Aiguo! How did you know that Red Star Trading Company asked domestic manufacturers to reduce prices? In addition, you said there was an inside story about this matter. What is going on?"

When Wu Aiguo heard Mr. Kou's question, he thought of the You family's plan to target him, Wu Aiguo, and whispered to Mr. Kou: "Mr. Kou! I believe you are familiar with the identity of Li Jianshe, the new general manager of Red Star Trading Company?" When Mr. Kou heard Wu Aiguo's question, he thought of Li Jianshe's background and answered without thinking: "Li Jianshe was the deputy general manager of the import and export trading company, and his father-in-law is You Guokai, the deputy director of the State Council."

When Wu Aiguo heard Mr. Kou's answer, he thought of You Changzheng who was transferred to the Trade Department not long ago, and smiled and introduced him to Mr. Kou: "Mr. Kou! Not long ago, our Trade Department suddenly transferred a deputy director, and then the deputy director of the Second Department of the Organization Department, Comrade You Changzheng, was transferred to our Trade Department as deputy director and concurrently the director of the G-Reform Association. And this Comrade You Changzheng is the grandson of Vice Director You Guokai."

Mr. Kou was a man who had lived through the war years. Being in a high position, he immediately realized after hearing what Wu Aiguo had introduced that these two personnel changes meant that the You family wanted to completely control the big cake of import and export trade.

With this thought in mind, Mr. Kou reminded Wu Aiguo seriously, "Aiguo! So, You Changzheng was transferred to the Trade Department to work for you? So you better be careful!"

The reason why the Trade Department was established is because of Wu Aiguo's own small world. On the surface, Wu Aiguo imported various equipment and technologies from abroad through Wang Zhe. In fact, Wang Zhe was just a fictional character created by Wu Aiguo to endorse Wu Aiguo.

For this reason, Wu Aiguo is absolutely confident in his position in the Trade Department. Even if You Changzheng has a powerful background and wants to replace Wu Aiguo, it would be a very easy thing for him. As long as Wu Aiguo is unwilling, the Trade Department will not be able to purchase any equipment and technology.

Facing Mr. Kou's reminder, Wu Aiguo showed a confident expression on his face, and said to Mr. Kou with a smile: "Mr. Kou! If it weren't for the life-and-death friendship between Wang Zhe and me, would we be able to purchase so many equipment and technologies at such a low price?"

"It is said that the earth will continue to rotate without anyone. I am not bragging. If the Trade Department leaves me, all work will come to a standstill. Not to mention the second-generation boss You Changzheng, even if Vice Director You Guokai comes forward, he will not be able to purchase any equipment and technology from the Wang family."

When Mr. Kou heard Wu Aiguo's bold words, he showed an expression of disbelief on his face, and reminded Wu Aiguo: "Aiguo! Aren't you worried that You Changzheng will use his work opportunity to get to know the Wang family and purchase equipment from the Wang family at a high price?"

When Wu Aiguo heard Mr. Kou's reminder, he thought of the incident not long ago when someone from the Trade Department privately contacted the delivery staff when receiving the goods at the Jingu Port Terminal.

Thinking of this, Wu Aiguo's eyes first showed disdain, and then he felt as if something had suddenly dawned on him. He muttered to himself, "Doesn't the You family want to link up with the Wang family and replace me? If that's the case, why can't I take advantage of their trick and set a trap for the You family?"

With this thought in mind, Wu Aiguo immediately had a way to deal with the You family. He felt as if everything had suddenly become clear. He smiled and said to Mr. Kou, "Mr. Kou! The incident you just mentioned happened a few months ago, but because of my life-long friendship with Wang Zhe, the other party's conspiracy did not come to fruition. The higher-ups already know about this."

Just now, after hearing the news Wu Aiguo told him, President Kou had already guessed that the You family was secretly planning a conspiracy to try to control the import and export trade. Now, after hearing the news Wu Aiguo told him, President Kou was 100% sure of his guess.

After learning that the You family had secretly sent someone to contact the Wang family, Mr. Kou finally understood where Wu Aiguo's confidence came from.

Thinking of the purpose of his visit today, Mr. Kou said to Wu Aiguo, "Aiguo! To be honest, before I came to you, I went to the Ministry of Industry for the Red Star Trading Company. I learned from the Ministry of Industry that the reason why Red Star Trading Company suddenly asked for a price reduction was mainly because the competition was too fierce, so they made this decision. Since you know the reason, then tell me?"

When Wu Aiguo heard Mr. Kou's question, he thought of what Li Jianshe had done in Hong Kong, and smiled as he introduced Mr. Kou: "Mr. Kou! Do you still remember the analysis I did on the problems of import and export trading companies before Red Star Trading Company was established?"

When Wu Aiguo suddenly mentioned the inaction of the management of the import and export trading company, Mr. Kou immediately nodded and replied, "Aiguo! I remember this matter. You told me at the beginning that the reason why the import and export trading company did nothing was mainly because its management completely ignored the national interests for the sake of political achievements, which led to many of our products being sold at low prices."

Wu Aiguo smiled and nodded when he heard Mr. Kou's answer. He then began to introduce to Mr. Kou, "Mr. Kou! There is one thing you may not know. After Li Jianshe went to Hong Kong, he used the excuse of receiving clients to live a life of luxury every day. In just three months, he spent all the reception expenses of Red Star Trading Company for a year."

"What? Patriotism! What did you say? Li Jianshe spent 150,000 yuan in just three months? Is this true?"

When Red Star Trading Company was first established, President Kou was one of the people involved in formulating the rules, so he was naturally very clear about the amount of reception expenses of Red Star Trading Company.

When Mr. Kou learned that Li Jianshe had spent more than 100,000 yuan in just three months, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face, and he quickly confirmed the news with Wu Aiguo.

Wu Aiguo heard Mr. Kou's question and saw his shocked expression. He nodded affirmatively and replied, "This is absolutely true. If the money was really used to entertain clients, then it was spent. The problem is that apart from occasionally entertaining clients, Li Jianshe usually uses entertaining clients as an excuse to go in and out of nightclubs in Hong Kong all day long, living a life of luxury and debauchery."

(End of this chapter)