The Official Ladder: I ascend to the pinnacle of power, wielding the power of life and death.

Jiang Yiming met his gaze without flinching: "Director Luo, you've misunderstood. I'm neither threatening you nor asking you for anything."

"To be honest, even if some people want to buy more than a thousand shares, they can't do so without the approval of the enterprise reform team. I came to see Director Luo to offer him a perk. If you don't want it, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"You've got some nerve, offering me freebies?"

Luo Yan sneered, "You think you can turn a loss into a profit in just two months? You're overestimating yourself."

"If you don't believe me, you should at least believe Secretary Ma, right?"

Jiang Yiming countered with a question.

After a moment of silence, Luo Yan said, "Okay, I'll trust you this time. I'll buy 20,000 shares."

Next, Jiang Yiming approached Zhao Zhenlin, Chen Wei, Sun Yujun, and others, asking them to invest in the company under the names of their family members.

After all, it doesn't matter who buys it or not.

If they get involved, his reform efforts will be boosted, and the reform process will be smoother.

Later, when they made money, these people would remember his kindness.

The officialdom is a process of constantly building connections. You never know when someone might lend you a hand, and even the most difficult things will pass quickly.

Of course, some of these people were skeptical, but Jiang Yiming did not try to persuade them further.

They were given the opportunity; if they couldn't seize it, so be it.

After trying to persuade everyone, Jiang Yiming found his fifth brother, Jiang Yongchen.

"Fifth Brother, wanna pull off a big heist?"

"Sixth Brother, you must never do anything illegal!"

Jiang Yongchen said, "If you need money, tell Fifth Brother, and Fifth Brother will find a way to raise the money for you."

"Ahem, Fifth Brother, what are you thinking about?"

Jiang Yiming said, "You've heard that Yusha Winery is undergoing reforms recently, right?"

"I heard that Wang Weifa also settled my wages."

Jiang Yongchen laughed and said, "I was just saying I'd find time to pay you back the money I owe you."

"Don't rush to pay me back. I came to find you because I have something more important to tell you."

Jiang Yiming gave a general overview of the reform plan for Yusha Winery and asked, "Do you think there's any future for Yusha Winery if we proceed this way?"

"Of course it's worth it!"

Jiang Yongchen said, "I previously said that Yusha Winery might go bankrupt, and you said it wouldn't. I didn't expect you to already have this idea and put it into action!"

“Yusha Winery is seeking investment. Take my advice, this is an opportunity. Buy as much as you can and strive to become one of the top five shareholders.”

Jiang Yiming said, "I will recommend you for a management position in the company and help you make Yusha Winery a success."

"I'll listen to you. I'll go back and come find you right away."

Jiang Yongchen was overjoyed and rode his motorcycle home.

Jiang Yiming figured he had searched all the places he needed to and planned to return to Yusha Town to see how much money he had raised in total.

Just then, he received a call from Du Hongyuan.

"Brother Jiang, I'm back in Xinping County again. Do you have time to meet me?"

"I happen to be in the county town. Where are you? Shall we go back to the teahouse we visited last time?"

"Okay, see you later."

Jiang Yiming was relatively close to the teahouse. Just as he arrived, a Mercedes-Benz stopped in front of the shop, attracting a lot of attention.

"Brother Jiang, it's been a while since I've seen you. I've missed you terribly."

Du Hongyuan, carrying a brown leather bag and sporting a slicked-back hairstyle, strode quickly toward Jiang Yiming.

Jiang Yiming shook hands with him and said with a smile, "Welcome to Xinping County anytime."

"As long as you, this great deity, are in Xinping, I will definitely come here often."

After they sat down, Du Hongyuan praised, "The Yusha wine you had someone bring you last time was very good. Five people had a case of wine, and we still weren't satisfied. I was thinking of buying some at the market, but it's strange that they don't sell it there."

"Oh, the winery has been struggling financially lately and has been shut down for a while."

"How could a business with such high-quality wine go out of business?"

Du Hongyuan looked surprised, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "Recently, many excellent companies have indeed gone out of business and are on the verge of bankruptcy. Brother Jiang, could you find a way to get me a few more cases? It doesn't matter if it costs a little more. In case they go bankrupt, I won't be able to drink it anymore."

"Don't worry, Mr. Du. Yusha Winery is undergoing enterprise reform and will soon be supplying in large quantities."

Jiang Yiming had a sudden inspiration and said with a smile, "By the way, Yusha Winery is currently seeking investment. Are you interested?"

"What is the specific situation?"

Du Hongyuan was also very interested, but with his wealth reaching this level, he naturally had more to consider.

Jiang Yiming explained the enterprise reform plan of Yusha Winery and its current situation.

"It sounds good, but can these policies be implemented?"

"I am the head of the enterprise reform team, and these policies will definitely be implemented."

Jiang Yiming said with certainty.

"Brother Jiang, you are amazing. You can write books and you understand economics. You are truly remarkable."

Du Hongyuan thought for a moment and said, "How about this, I'll stay a few more days this time and meet with the relevant management. If we get along well, I'll buy 100,000 shares."

"After all, my energy is limited and I cannot personally participate in the company's management. If these managers are capable, I am willing to invest money in them."

“Very welcome.”

Jiang Yiming said, "However, we only have 400,000 shares, and we may not be able to give you 100,000 shares."

"Okay, we'll see how it goes. If it's less than 50,000 shares, I won't participate."

Du Hongyuan didn't insist. For him, less than 50,000 shares was too little investment, and he was too lazy to participate.

"I almost forgot to get to the point."

Du Hongyuan smiled and said, "The first book has already been published, and the market feedback has been excellent. I came to you to commission a second book. I also hope you can help promote it on Tianya Forum. Of course, I won't let you work for free; here's a promotional agreement. See if it's suitable?"

Jiang Yiming accepted the agreement, which stated that the annual advertising fee would be 100,000 yuan and the contract term would be three years.

He knew that with his current number of fans, it was impossible for him to get such a high advertising fee.

But Du Hongyuan has a very long-term vision. He is optimistic about the future development of the Internet, as well as the future potential of Tianya Forum and the ability of Jiang Yiming's book to attract fans.

"no problem."

Jiang Yiming signed his name without hesitation.

Promotion is a win-win situation; the better the book sells, the higher the copyright fee.

"I left the book in my dorm. You're going to talk to the management of Yusha Winery, right? You can go and get it."

"no problem."

Du Hongyuan was very generous and directly transferred 100,000 yuan to Jiang Yiming for advertising expenses.

Afterwards, Jiang Yiming returned to Yusha Winery in Du Hongyuan's Mercedes-Benz.

After Wang Weifa settled Du Hongyuan in, he held a meeting with Wang Weifa and a few others to discuss the current status of fundraising.

"One hundred and sixty-three employees chose to buy shares, totaling 710,000. Mayor Chen and Mayor Liu each counted the intended investments from their relatives and friends, totaling 510,000. The five of us calculated that our relatives and friends could raise about 670,000, plus our investment of 720,000, for a total of 2.6 million, leaving a shortfall of 1.4 million."

Everyone looked at Jiang Yiming with expectant faces.