Chapter 986: A Worrisome Load on the Mind
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
President Niu also heard the news that Wei Dekang and Zheng Laoliu were both killed due to the explosion in the morning. Although he also suspected Bao Sanli was the one who did it, he still couldn’t believe it.
After all, the jewel company’s fire and the time when Wei Dekang and Zheng Laoliu were killed were basically consecutive. At that time, Bao Sanli was busy working on the jewelry company’s side. Although he left for a while, President Niu did not notice it.
Moreover, President Niu did not believe that Bao Sanli could react so quickly and go to Wei Dekang’s headquarters to kill the two of them. Therefore, the reason why the two were dead was due to the two’s twisted relations.h.i.+p.
President Niu touched his *ss and exclaimed about the danger within.Fortunately, I wasn’t too close with this pervert, Wei Dekang. Otherwise, wouldn’t I also become the target of his “hunting”? Not only that, I would probably be killed, right?
Thinking of this, President Niu felt a chill creep onto him. However, because Wei Dekang had died, President Niu didn’t need to be worried. Although Bao Sanli offended Wei Dekang, Wei Dekang wasn’t a pa.s.sive person. He could use the name, Bao Sanli, to intimidate others, but he had to guard against Wei Dekang’s petty tricks. It was better off right now. Wei Dekang’s death ended everything.
Early in the morning, in addition to inquiring about the news, Bao Sanli rushed to the jewelry company with Hou Zhenhan. Seeing the brand-new company, Bao Sanli nodded with satisfaction and patted President Niu’s shoulder. “President Niu, you are a great friend!”
President Niu listened to Bao Sanli’s compliment and grinned immediately. He was delighted deep down in his heart. Probably, when this news got spread out this morning, those bosses who owed him money would rush over to repay their debts like cowards.
“I will have President Hou to pay you for the project. How much is it?” said Bao Sanli with a smile. Hou Zhenhan was in charge of the company finances, so if Bao Sanli needed to use money, he had to go to Hou Zhenhan.
In a company, controlling the money was equivalent to controlling the core of the company. Bao Sanli also understood Yang Ming’s intentions. Bao Sanli managed the human resources while Hou Zhenhan managed the money. With that, the two could balance each other.
“No need. It doesn’t cost much.” President Niu didn’t care about this money. The cost to have debt collectors to acquire the debt owed was much more than this, and not all the debts were collected. “President Bao, you don’t need to be too courteous with me.”
“This is a different matter. The speed of this repair was really unexpected,” said Bao Sanli. “Friends are friends, but the accounts need to be clear.”
President Niu nodded. He liked Bao Sanli’s forthright personality. Although this project didn’t cost much, he sincerely did not want to collect on it. However, he was afraid that Bao Sanli would be used to it in the future. If he didn’t pay for it every time, he would suffer a loss. Hence, he continued, “Well, since President Bao wants to pay for it, then I will not be courteous. Including the materials and overtime pay for the brothers, President Bao just needs to give me one hundred and fifty thousand yuan. I won’t earn more money from you.”
“Alright, I will give you a two hundred thousand check in a while.” Hou Zhenhan said after hearing it, “President Niu, you were with us for the entire night already. You can’t just not take a single penny. Fifty thousand yuan is for your hard work.”
Hou Zhenhan also checked the quality of the project. Usually, one hundred fifty thousand yuan was simply the cost price. They had worked overnight for it. He couldn’t treat them badly. Hou Zhenhan wasn’t a person who would bully others using his own power. If he bullied others just because of this small amount of money, Yang Ming wouldn’t spare Hou Zhenhan if he found out about it.
Indeed, Bao Sanli and Hou Zhenhan had the biggest security company in Song Jiang. In terms of strength, no one was their opponent, but the purpose wasn’t to deal with these ordinary people. For those fellows who preyed on the weak and feared the strong, Hou Zhenhan wouldn’t be soft-hearted.
“Thank you, President Hou!” President Niu quickly thanked him. The one hundred fifty thousand yuan just now was indeed the cost price. The budget was relatively tight. Now it wasn’t bad that he got two hundred thousand yuan.
However, this was only a small amount of money in President Niu’s tens of millions in net worth, which was nothing compared to the tens of millions in debts outside.
“President Niu, you have finished up most of the things here. Take the brothers back to rest. Here is the two hundred thousand check.” Hou Zhenhan signed a two hundred thousand check with the checkbook that he carried around and gave it to President Niu.
“Okay. President Hou, President Bao, I will go first. If there is anything, call me directly,” said President Niu quickly.
What President Niu expected was indeed true. The news on the business floor was the fastest because businessmen must have a keen sense of smell to gain insight into every business opportunity.
The news about President Niu having a good connection with Bao Sanli and Hou Zhenhan had spread out quickly. Of course, it happened because President Niu deliberately asked someone to arrange for it. However, President Niu did not expect it to come so fast!
Shortly after returning to the office, President Niu was calculating the material cost of yesterday’s project. The secretary knocked on the door and came in. “President Niu, President Chen of Hongxi Real Estate is here. He wants to see you…”
“President Chen? What does President Chen want? Isn’t the person he wanted to see the least, me!?” President Niu said, “Let him come in…”
President Chen owed President Niu three million yuan in project costs, and it was delayed more than half a year. In the process, President Niu had urged him numerous times. President Chen said that he had no money, but President Niu watched him drive his Mercedes-Benz into various entertainment venues. Although President Niu knew that President Chen wanted to drag the debt out, he couldn’t help it. The current rule of the world was that the one who owed money was the boss [1]!
Moreover, President Chen’s little nephew was said to be part of the Building Quality a.s.sessment, which could also manage President Niu. Hence, President Niu couldn’t pressure him too much. Even though a few hundred thousand yuan were paid intermittently, more than two million yuan hadn’t been returned. It has already been half a year, yet there was no news. However, President Niu didn’t expect President Chen to take the initiative and approach him.
The reason why President Niu was puzzled was that the news that he had made a good connection with Bao Sanli and Hou Zhenhan had just spread out. No one should know yet, so he didn’t think that President Chen came because he heard the news. His purpose at this moment should not be paying off his debts.
It was not long before a knock came from the door of the office. “President Niu, President Chen has come.”
“Please, come in!” said President Niu.
The door of the office was pushed open. President Chen of Hongxi Real Estate came in with a smile. “Brother Niu, I haven’t seen you for a long time. Your younger brother really missed you!”
President Niu was shocked instantly, Is this President Chen drunk? Usually, he couldn’t wait to avoid me. How could he think of me? Could it be that there is something bad that this fellow wants to play a trick on me?
However, those who owed money were the boss. President Niu quickly stood up and greeted welcomingly, “President Chen, welcome!”
” Aiya , Brother Niu, aren’t you smacking my face?” When President Chen saw President Niu personally greeting him, he said in fear and trepidation, “Brother Niu, sit down; sit down.”
The secretary went to serve the tea. President Niu and President Chen sat side by side on the sofa. President Chen smiled and said, “President Niu, this time, I have something good to share with my brother!”
“What’s the good news? Thank you for thinking of me!” said President Niu indifferently.
“It is like this. There is a big project. It is a project in the contracted city. Although the profit is not much, the project is big! I can’t do it alone. So, I just looked for you, President Niu!” said President Chen with a smile.
President Niu thought in his heart! There it is finally! I knew that nothing good is from this kid coming over! Such government projects can really make money, but the money earned isn’t for me but the contractor, Presiden Chen. When President Chen denies that he had received the project funds, then wouldn’t I have done it for nothing?
” Hehe , thank you, President Chen, for your kindness. My company is small, so I don’t have enough capital. I can’t partic.i.p.ate in this big project!” said President Niu, troubled. “Also, the previous project, President Chen…”
” Oh , Brother Niu, you see, my memory is good. I’m here to pay you back!” As President Chen spoke, he quickly opened the briefcase and took out a written check from it and handed it to President Niu. “Brother Niu, this is three million yuan – the funds for the project last time that I always forgot. I hope that Brother Niu didn’t mind it…”
“Three million yuan?” President Niu was surprised. Didn’t he already return part of it? The remainder should be more than two million four hundred thousand yuan, right?
“This is the case. Although I have returned part of it before, I have been in arrears for so long. Even if I put the money in the bank, there is interest. What I have repaid you before can be considered as interest!” said President Chen quickly.
President Niu frowned, What happened to President Chen? Did he oversleep? Not only did he return my money, but also gave me interest? No way. There must be something wrong! President Niu suddenly thought that President Chen probably wanted to give a small profit to him and scam more money from him again. Thinking of this, President Niu suddenly found it very plausible!
President Chen came here to discuss the problem of contracting projects. President Niu still understood the strength of Hongxi Real Estate. Although it wasn’t as big as Dekang Real Estate, the ability to contract a project was still there. How was it unable to handle it?
There is definitely something wrong here! President Niu frowned. President Chen wouldn’t be so kind. Never mind that he returned the project funds, but he also introduced me to another project.
” Hehe , thank you, President Chen.” President Niu accepted the check without being courteous. No matter what, the money needs to be taken first. As for the project? Go to h.e.l.l. “However, our company’s scale is small. We still can’t handle a big project.”
“President Niu, if the funds are really tight, then it doesn’t matter. Anyway, I will prepay a part of the project fund. I will calculate Brother Niu’s portion first, then my portion will be a bit less. My company still can pay in advance!” President Chen said with a smile.
Is there such a good thing? President Niu was shocked instantly. What is going on here? He said in disbelief, “President Chen, is what you said true? No kidding?”
“President Niu, what is your ident.i.ty now? Who dares to make fun of you?!” President Chen shook his head quickly. “Brother Bao considered you as brother already. Your time to soar is just around the corner! At that time, don’t forget about your brother!”
President Niu listened to Chen’s words and suddenly became stunned. It turned out that President Chen received this news before he came! President Niu couldn’t help but have a bitter smile secretly. Bao Sanli’s fame is unusually big. President Chen is afraid that I will get revenge on him when I become powerful in the future, so he rushed in to hint his kind intention this early morning!
However, President Niu said very modestly, “I’m only a business friend with President Bao!”
President Chen thought to himself, Of course, I know that you are just friends in the business world. Can you really be a brother in the underworld? However, who knows what kind of luck you have? President Bao actually finds you to be a friend with loyalty and support you!
“President Niu, you are too modest,” said President Chen with a smile. “If there is no problem, this matter is settled. To be honest, my brother, I don’t have much confidence in contracting such a big project. Some people may get jealous at that time and come to stir up trouble. However, with you Brother Niu, Brother Bao’s friend, these petty characters will not dare to stir up trouble easily!”
President Niu heard President Chen mention Bao Sanli, and he understood why President Chen was so polite. President Chen did not have any conspiracies but merely showed a good intention to him. However, the excuse later on was also a reason. If Bao Sanli partic.i.p.ated in the project, who would dare to make trouble? However, it was also necessary for Bao Sanli to join, so he said, “President Chen, I heard that Brother Bao also wants to set up a real estate development company. How about we let him partic.i.p.ate in this project so that he can try it out?”
“That’s a good thing!” President Chen was still worried that he couldn’t build the connection. If President Niu could bring Bao Sanli in, then wasn’t President Chen a friend of Brother Bao as well? Thinking of this, President Chen became excited. It was wise to come here this time. “Then I’ll need to trouble Brother Niu for this matter. With Brother Bao’s partic.i.p.ation, we’re going to get the job done. There should be no compet.i.tion with us.”
As the two were talking, there was a knock on the office door. President Niu smiled at President Chen apologetically and said, “Please, come in.”
The person who came in was President Niu’s secretary. After the secretary put down the tea for the two, she said, “President Niu, President Zhang of Xinhui Construction is downstairs. He said that he wants to see you…”
This time, President Niu didn’t think there was anything strange about it. President Zhang also owed him more than two million yuan. So far, he had not returned the money yet. He probably came to pay back the money.
“Let him wait a little while.” President Niu smiled and waved. With President Chen being the pretext, President Niu also had a good grasp of the situation. He began to be pretentious. It has been so long, and it’s finally my turn to be proud. In the past, President Niu went to beg for money, but he didn’t get anything back. Now, these people took the initiative to send money in line.
President Chen also knew President Zhang. He knew that President Zhang also owed Presiden Niu money. He was amused deep down in his heart. Probably, he rushed here to repay back the money! However, they were all the same, like the pot calling the kettle black [2]!
However, President Chen was very fortunate. He was well informed. It seemed that he was the first to arrive, so he managed to speak to President Niu a lot. President Niu wouldn’t have time for those who were queueing behind!
“President Niu, I will not keep you from welcoming your guest. I’ll need to trouble President Niu to put more attention to this matter!” President Chen referred to the matter of Bao Sanli.
“Do not worry, President Chen. Leave it to me.” President Niu also knew that Bao Sanli wanted to set up a real estate development company, but Bao Sanli wasn’t familiar with how things worked, so he could just sell this favor at the moment.
After President Chen left, sure enough, those who came afterward, President Zhang, President Liu, President Yu, and President Xie, had all come to pay the money and build a connection on the way. However, President Niu was bothered with entertaining them, so he brushed them off with a few words.
These people looked at President Chen, who left President Niu’s office full of suns.h.i.+ne, and they couldn’t help but admire him. They hated how they were not the first one.
…
Yang Ming gave a general look over at the situation of the jewelry company and left a.s.sured with Bao Sanli and the others. Lin Zhiyun and Zhao Sisi also went to the company and started a new busy day.
Valentine’s Day had pa.s.sed. The sales of the jewelry company had obviously declined. Although there were counters in the major shopping malls, sometimes it wasn’t uncommon for some counters not to sell any goods for a day.
Sitting in the office, Lin Zhiyun frowned. The idea of utilizing Shu Ya for promotion was proposed by Yang Ming. It really made the sales of the jewelry company popular for a while, and also successfully defeated the compet.i.tors.
But now, especially in the off-season, it was even more difficult to increase sales. Lin Zhiyun and Zhao Sisi also had several meetings, but they couldn’t figure out a good way.
“Zhiyun, when I was browsing the web last night, I suddenly had a new inspiration which might improve our sales performance!” Zhao Sisi said with some excitement to Lin Zhiyun.
” Oh ? What inspiration?” asked Lin Zhiyun quickly. The sales performance of the company over these days was also a headache for her.
“Now, isn’t the concept of DIY popular? We have food DIY, computer DIY, and even some household items can be DIY. We can also launch a DIY!” said Zhao Sisi excitedly.
“Our DIY? What do you mean?” Lin Zhiyun asked baffled.
“Our DIY is the DIY wedding ring!” said Zhao Sisi with a smile. “It is also my sudden inspiration. Most of the marriages are now young people after the 80s. Although they are not so maverick as those after the 90s, young people like us don’t like to be the same as others, right? Which young people liked to be like others? Especially a big matter like marriage, the same wedding ring would feel as though there is no new innovation. If our wedding ring can also be DIY-ed, then it can attract a large number of young people. They can choose the size of their own diamonds and the ring shape to their satisfaction. Then, according to their finger size, we will customize a unique wedding ring on the spot. Don’t you think that it will attract a lot of people?”
” Ah !” Lin Zhiyun listened to Zhao Sisi’s idea and couldn’t help but marvel, “Sisi, this idea is perfect. How did you come up with it? Indeed, getting married is a big event in life. Many people only get married once in a lifetime. So, they are willing to spend money on this. Our business is more luxurious in nature, so even if the cost of DIY is higher, it will attract a lot of young men and women who are soon to marry!”
“Yes, I think so too. No matter how you choose the wedding ring, it is made by others.” Zhao Sisi said with a smile, “With that, it is equivalent to DIY according to the customer’s intention. Moreover, we can follow their wish to engrave the name or date on the inside of the ring to be a permanent commemorative!”
Lin Zhiyun nodded excitedly after listening. “Sisi, you are so powerful. I think this will definitely work! Let’s have a meeting and study it later…”
“It’s great that you also agreed to it. I was afraid that it was just my own whimsy!” It seemed that Zhao Sisi was also thrilled.
After Zhao Sisi finished, she went to prepare. After Lin Zhiyun was excited, she was somewhat down-spirited. She and Zhao Sisi joined the company together with the same positions. They were deputy CEOs and had the same status, whereby they were all college students.
However, troubled by long-standing problems, Zhao Sisi actually thought of a very wonderful solution. Lin Zhiyun could not do anything about it. There was still too much for her to learn. Lin Zhiyun felt that the gap between her and others wasn’t a little bit, but a lot more… She didn’t want herself to be just a display like a vase where she only looked good to put at home. She wanted to help Yang Ming, do something for him, or shoulder something from him.
However, no matter how hard she tried, she felt that she still had a gap with others.
However, this also had a lot to do with the growing environment. It wasn’t that Lin Zhiyun’s qualifications were inferior to others. Zhao Sisi’s father worked in creative advertising. Zhao Sisi was now presently engaged in investment a.n.a.lysis. Under the influence of this environment, Zhao Sisi’s inspiration naturally came faster.
Before going to college, Lin Zhiyun had never been in contact with this before. Besides studying at school, she only did house ch.o.r.es that she could do. She didn’t get involved in business. How long had it been since she entered the company already? How could she catch up with Zhao Sisi at once? Never mind those employees with many years of experience in society!
Lin Zhiyun had neglected all of this. She was just blindly thinking about her own shortcomings, trying hard to supplement herself, learning every day, wanting to catch up with everyone. She didn’t want to be a burden for Yang Ming. Although she knew that Yang Ming’s money was enough for her for a few years, she just didn’t want to be like this…
Sister Lin’s dedication only made her walk into a dead end, but this wasn’t something that Yang Ming could understand…
Zhao Sisi’s proposal quickly won everyone’s praise. In other words, a DIY ring could be said to be a unique idea. This was generally exclusive to the top and rich people. However, Zhao Sisi had made it available to the public. Even if it were more expensive, there would still be many young couples buying it.
After determining the company’s next business policy, the next step was to order equipment that could make rings on the spot and hire some designers. However, due to operational restrictions, those stores couldn’t operate this business in every store. Initially, only the first store could provide such a service.
However, quality goods needed no advertising. Many young men and women who wanted to get married would most probably not give up on a DIY wedding ring just because of taking a few more steps.
Just a little while ago, the company made a lot of money. The funds were sufficient, so they could directly order the equipment. In order to prepare this business, the entire company became busy all of a sudden.