Chapter Twelve: The Former Leader from a Past Life

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Zhou Ziyang hoped to earn his first pot of gold through labor services. At present, only two paths lay before him.

The first was to act merely as an intermediary, introducing Li Dongfeng and his group to legitimate labor companies.

In that case, Zhou Ziyang could at best receive a referral fee.

Moreover, considering their own profits, intermediary companies would inevitably squeeze Li Dongfeng’s group’s earnings, ultimately paying them no more than fourteen or fifteen yuan per hour.

The main reason Zhou Ziyang wanted to run a labor service company was to seize the opportunity as it arose. Since Li Dongfeng had a need, Zhou thought to lend a hand. If it meant exploiting laborers through layers of middlemen, he would rather abandon the venture altogether.

Thus, the only real option for Zhou Ziyang was to establish direct contact with factories, which required having his own company.

After all, the bosses also needed to mitigate risks.

Fortunately, in his previous life Zhou Ziyang had been involved in corporate services—from project implementation to factory construction and recruitment—and had participated in every aspect. Naturally, he was familiar with the ins and outs.

For a company of Zhou Ziyang’s scale, all that was needed was to set up a shell company and outsource accounting for 3,000 yuan a month. With that, Zhou Ziyang could effortlessly transform into a big boss.

Though Li Dongfeng was still on a train heading south, lost in his youthful dreams, Zhou Ziyang had already begun preparing to weep bitterly for him upon his return.

In Chinese class, the homeroom teacher stood at the front, analyzing classical poetry.

Coincidentally, the poem under discussion was Yue Fei’s “Man Jiang Hong.”

“Do not idle away your youth until your hair turns white in vain regrets!”

Zhou Ziyang found these words meaningful. Having been reborn, staying in the classroom was a waste of time!

So as soon as the Chinese class ended, Zhou Ziyang went to the office to ask for leave, claiming stomach discomfort and a desire to go out for a walk.

Zhou Ziyang had always been a good student in school. Besides, with the college entrance exam approaching, even if he wanted to slack off, the teachers wouldn’t bother him.

In the last few months of high school, whether one was a good or bad student, the homeroom teacher’s attitude tended to be gentle.

Those who wished to learn didn’t need teaching; those who didn’t, there was no time to teach.

Zhou Ziyang successfully obtained leave and headed straight to the Administration for Industry and Commerce to register his business license.

It was 2015, and business licenses still required registration at the Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Two years later, urban investment buildings sprouted everywhere, emphasizing one-stop services with the motto “Get it done immediately!”

Submit materials today, get everything completed tomorrow!

Of course, this was easier said than done.

In reality, aside from creating a few more jobs, nothing much had changed.

At the service window was a young woman fresh out of university, caught by Zhou Ziyang sneaking snacks.

“Hello, I’m here to apply for a business license.”

“Oh, okay.” Startled, the girl hurriedly stuffed the snacks into her mouth and handed Zhou the form.

Zhou Ziyang couldn’t help but smile at the scene.

This young woman would become his future deputy section chief; when Zhou first started working, he had been under her supervision.

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At that time, Zhou Ziyang’s job was to assist enterprises in handling administration materials.

The “Immediate Processing” working group had already been established.

But efficiency was still somewhat lacking.

For example, if an application form had a misspelled word or a lowercase letter mistakenly capitalized, the entire application got sent back for revision.

It was hard enough for businesses to come to the service hall once; if unsuccessful today, they had to return tomorrow.

Repeatedly, over and over, what should be a simple certificate could take a week to process.

Zhou Ziyang’s most vivid memory was helping May Square establish a heating pipeline.

The company needed to build a 320-meter heating pipeline along a certain road to May Square.

On the application form, it was written as “extending from XX Road to May.”

But the section chief thought “extending” was incorrect—it should be “along XX Road.”

The company argued that their wording was not wrong; “extending from XX Road to May” was a plausible interpretation.

Yet the section chief insisted it was unacceptable.

Thus, the application was stalled for a week until the company reluctantly revised it.

Zhou Ziyang found this job genuinely amusing—sitting in an office with air conditioning, nitpicking over a few misplaced words.

Outside, companies thought this department was full of experts.

Little did they know, once the companies left, Zhou and his colleagues were frantically searching Baidu themselves.

After years of nitpicking, they hadn’t learned much else, but filling out an application form became second nature.

Zhou Ziyang handed the completed form to the “old leader,” whose job was to review applications for errors.

She stared with large, sparkling eyes for a long time, stunned.

There were no mistakes?!

Usually, businesses never submitted flawless forms.

Only she knew the form’s format intimately—the little circles, details.

For example, the date must be filled at the beginning; the name at the end.

These were often forgotten.

Yet this young man had completed it perfectly.

“You’re only eighteen?”

Zhang Miao recognized the name on the form and was surprised. Eighteen and starting a company? Registered capital of 20,000? Quite wealthy.

“Yeah!”

Zhou Ziyang smiled.

Zhang Miao lowered her head and continued reviewing the materials.

Zhou had prepared everything.

But knowing the “old leader’s” habits, it was already four o’clock—she wouldn’t expedite the process, probably just scrolling on her phone until quitting time. She also worked part-time as a yoga instructor in the evenings.

Zhou spoke up: “Sister Miao, how’s Aunt Sun doing?”

“Huh?” Zhang Miao was momentarily confused, not understanding what Zhou meant.

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Zhou Ziyang looked puzzled: “Wait? Aren’t you Aunt Sun’s daughter?”

“My mom’s surname is Sun…”

“Yes, Aunt Sun works at the Land and Resources Bureau. My dad said you’re now at the Administration for Industry and Commerce front desk, so I should come directly to you.” Zhou looked similarly puzzled, feeling as if he’d come to the wrong person.

“No, your father is…” Zhang Miao, experienced as a receptionist, knew that although Zhou was young, being able to name his mother’s workplace meant he was no nobody. She cautiously inquired.

Zhou explained his father worked at the Procuratorate and that his family had a longstanding good relationship with Zhang Miao’s family.

He added that since he was starting a business, his father told him to come find her directly.

“And said you were just assigned here.”

Zhou spoke so clearly that even if Zhang Miao had no recollection of him, she could only respond politely.

Looking over Zhou’s perfectly completed form again, she was genuinely pleased. After all, no one wanted to waste time on work.

Smiling, she said, “I see why your form was so well done—someone must have guided you!”

“Definitely. Now it’s up to you, Sister Miao.”

Zhou was young and handsome; his smile was infectious.

Zhang Miao liked handsome guys, and just because of his smile, she said, “Alright, I’ll work overtime for you.”

“You can just come by tomorrow morning to collect it. Hmm, add me on WeChat first—I’ll tell you if any other materials are needed, so you don’t have to make multiple trips.”

“Okay.”

They added each other on WeChat, sealing a good connection. If Zhou didn’t make it, he would probably end up following his father’s path.

In seven years, they might meet again under very different circumstances, filled with nostalgia.

That evening, Zhang Miao went home and certainly mentioned this to her mother.

She said a young man came by and mentioned her name.

“I thought it was another blind date you set up for me!”

She showed her mother Zhou’s application.

Her mother was speechless: “He’s only eighteen—impossible!”

“I told you! I said I wanted a young handsome guy, and you gave me an eighteen-year-old. I was like, how can you be so good to me!” Zhang Miao pouted.

Her mother looked at Zhou’s documents a while longer.

“I don’t know this kid.”

“He said his dad is Zhou Guowei, who works at the Procuratorate.”

“Oh, the old Zhou family’s kid.”

Her mother then studied Zhou’s photo more closely.

“Hasn’t it been long? He’s grown up so much.”

Zhang Miao was curious: “You know him?”

Actually, Zhou’s parents’ affairs were common gossip in their small county.

But for now, Zhang Miao’s mother didn’t share that with her.

She just handed the documents back to her daughter.

“This counts as your little brother. He says it’s urgent, so help him out, okay?”

“How is he my little brother? You set me up on blind dates all the time! He’s so handsome—you don’t want to introduce him to me?”

Zhang Miao was only twenty-four, raised in a warm family, retaining a playful, cute side.

“Get out! You’re two years older; you could have given birth to him!”

“Hmph!” Zhang Miao pouted in response.