Chapter 364: 364: Out of Tricks

Feng Jun hesitated only briefly before rejecting with a light chuckle.

“Thank you for the offer, but it’s raining, and I’m currently in Baixing Town; it’s not convenient.”

Yu Qingzhu was quite sincere, “I can arrange a car to pick you up and drop you off.”

Feng Jun laughed dryly again, “No need, beautiful lady. As people from the capital would say, if you invite someone to dinner two days in advance, that’s considered inviting, one day in advance is calling, but summoning someone on the same day, that’s dragging them!”

He felt his logic was faultless. Inviting someone to dine out… wasn’t that casual, right? They weren’t that close anyway.

This guy… Yu Qingzhu felt really angry listening to his excuses. Did he not want to come? Why did he need so many reasons? Not only was he conceited but also hypocritical.

So she asked bluntly, “Boss Feng, you promised to settle your dispute with Director Luo. Do you stand by your word?”

“Of course, I stand by it,” Feng Jun answered without hesitation, “But that doesn’t mean I have to dine with him.”

Shifting the topic, are you? Yu Qingzhu’s disdain for him grew internally, “Well then, those documents you took from Director Luo, shouldn’t you return them?”

“What?” Feng Jun was stunned at first, then he laughed—so this was what it was all about.

He considered himself a man of principles, with a place for everything and everything in its place, but by “settling,” he meant not to fuss over the troubles Mr. Luo had caused.

Moreover, the information I wanted to know didn’t come from you, Yu Qingzhu.

Feng Jun had already planned that, even though the issue with Mr. Luo was over, he wouldn’t return the videos and photos he had in his possession. Harmless are those without the intention to harm, yet tigers still harbor thoughts of wounding. Who could ensure that scoundrel wouldn’t go mad again?

In the world of business, having a few more talismans for protection is never a bad idea.

Alright, Director Luo was only a minor annoyance he could ignore, but the fate of Li Liangquan was in his hands.

Feng Jun’s impression of Manager Li wasn’t particularly good, but regardless, the man had risked danger to provide inside information.

As a person, one must be clear about gratitude and grudges; he couldn’t let a minor character become a tool for others’ retribution because of him.

In summary, Feng Jun had no intention of using those items to harm anyone, nor did he have any plan to hand them over.

So he laughed for a while before speaking, “Do you even know what those documents are…?”

“I don’t,” Yu Qingzhu answered briskly, “but if you insist on letting me know, I don’t mind listening.”

So arrogant even when asking for a favor? Feng Jun’s impression of this woman worsened.

“Heh, if I were you, I’d rather not know.”

“So, about tonight…” Yu Qingzhu stopped abruptly because she heard a “beep beep” sound from the receiver.

Her face gradually darkened, and then she gritted her teeth and spat out two words, “Feng Jun!”

After Feng Jun hung up the phone, he inexplicably shivered, then looked around, “Hmm, this rain… feels a bit like a cold snap in spring… When you’re cultivating, be careful not to catch cold from the wind.”

The three who were cultivating with him were currently in a pavilion; although the pavilion wasn’t very large, it provided sufficient shelter from the spring rain.

The next day was the deadline for Si Jifeng to deliver the blueprints. The auditing would take some time, but the project management company had said that a few sections could already start construction.

That afternoon, various vehicles loaded with materials began to enter Luohua Manor, and several construction crews started to settle in.

Another day passed, and the overcast sky began to drizzle again, when Feng Jun received a call from Li Liangquan, “President Feng… There’s an additional twenty million in your account.”

Manager Li was experiencing pain mixed with pleasure; the account he was about to close had unexpectedly received another twenty million. Truly… it was such a surprise.

However, no matter how reluctant he was, he had to inform President Feng of the truth, for there were some clients one must stay on good terms with, even at the cost of losing a job.

Actually, Feng Jun had mobile banking…

He felt rather gloomy himself. Seeing that Sister Hong had transferred him some money again, he remembered that he hadn’t informed her about his issues with the bank.

It wasn’t that he forgot to mention it, but that his very reason for going to the bank was to alleviate the pressure she might be under.

I care about you silently; there’s no need for you to know!

But… why did you transfer money again? Doing this makes it hard for me to close the account, understand?

Unable to vent his frustration, he paced restlessly in the yard, while Wu Ya, thinking he had invented some new game, braved the fine spring rain, circling over his head incessantly.

At the same time, another person was seething with anger, none other than Cao Weihua himself.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Just as Mei Jin had said, he had attended a degree mill; by the time he returned from studying abroad, the conditions in the country had changed. Tang had become a rat crossing the street, and top foreign universities were now concerned about pedigrees.

European pedigreed Ivy League, Harvard and Yale? Sought after by the government; Merrick pedigree, with ties to Massachusetts and Stanford? The corporate world welcomes you.

Degree mill graduate? Go and play wherever you should be playing!

Cao Weihua returned and basically didn’t have a decent foothold, but thankfully his family had some means, and Director Cao arranged for him to go to the Architectural Design Institute. However, if he wanted to work in design, let alone the institute not trusting him, even Director Cao himself didn’t trust him.

So, he cobbled together a small construction crew and started taking on projects himself.

Director Cao had many faults, but he had one good quality: he wasn’t corrupt! He also helped quite a few people, and thanks to some gratitude in return, his family lived neither lavishly above their means nor struggled beneath them.

With the construction crew formed, Cao Weihua didn’t have to invest much, just relying on his old man’s thin favor to pick up some jobs.

Cao Weihua didn’t think that he had taken on a lot of jobs that others couldn’t get; on the contrary, he felt very aggrieved. In the construction system, how lucrative was the department? Why were others feasting on meat while he struggled for a sip of soup?

Director Cao was fifty-seven this year, on the cusp of both promotion and retirement. Theoretically, he still had a shot at advancing, but everyone knew he was pretty much done.

As the old man aged day by day, Cao Weihua became more and more anxious: once you retire, it will be even harder for me to get jobs.

After his tireless persuasion, Director Cao finally loosened up—Lu Xun said, how can one not be a man who pities his son?

He knew his son was a mess, couldn’t gauge the weight of things, so he didn’t let his son take on projects with significant impact.

Luohua Manor wanted to construct a long, upscale wall, and Cao Weihua learned of this himself.

As it was a private project and the clients were outsiders with deep pockets, young Master Cao immediately set his sights on the target.

According to rumors, the manor’s owner mined jade and might have some underworld connections, but Cao Weihua wasn’t scared in the least.

Although he attended a third-rate school abroad, it had broadened his horizons. He firmly agreed with his father’s viewpoint: there were no real triads in Huaxia; once the state machinery cranked up, even the mightiest figures had to kneel.

Especially since Feng Jun had invested a huge sum to buy barren mountains—150 million; owning property and a business, how could he dare to stir up trouble?

He even looked into it: Feng Jun only had a few people by his side, all well-known local folks, and the mining crew wasn’t with him.

So he sent someone to talk with Wang Haifeng, taking a strong stance from the start.

Actually, if Feng Jun had decided to strike back hard at this time, Cao Weihua might have considered retreating.

Unfortunately for him, Feng Jun accepted Gazi’s suggestion—to ignore and carry on with business as usual.

Cao Weihua interpreted this reaction as weakness—if you really had backing, you’d be confronting me head-on.

So, he ramped up his efforts, creating pressure from various angles.

Feng Jun, in retrospect, did strike back, and not without ferocity.

But the reactions of Zhang Hongfei and Ermao were really a letdown, especially Ermao, who not only fled but also injured Zhao Haicheng, costing Cao Weihua a valuable chess piece.

It was impossible for Cao Weihua to have no suspicions about these events, but just then, a bigger pie fell from the sky: someone made contact with the forestry department’s people, hinting that they might also be able to secure the manor.

Feng Jun had bought the land for 150 million, but Cao Weihua believed that offering 5 million was already quite generous on his part.

Of course, he wasn’t certain he could secure the land, but by getting in touch with a few more people, they could split the money later.

With such a goal in mind, why would Cao Weihua consider backing down?

Creating more trouble for Feng Jun through the bank was another direction of pressure. Cao Weihua sought not Director Luo but the bank manager’s assistant.

He did give Director Luo a little sweetener though; Luo’s brother had two excavators, which young Master Cao now had on his own construction site.

He truly didn’t expect Director Luo to drop the ball under these circumstances.

When he found out that Feng Jun had transferred the money away, he was furious enough to want to strangle Director Luo.

Dammit, I’ve never seen someone as useless as you!

But all he could do was furiously berate him over the phone. There was no helping it; his main base was in the construction system, and the banking system was quite independent. He could have a crooked talk with the bank manager’s assistant, but he absolutely couldn’t dictate what they did.

The manor was about to start construction, completely ignoring his threats. Cao Weihua only realized through the city commercial bank affair that the other side wasn’t just enduring silently but had their own ways of counterattacking.

At this point, when he wanted to take action against Feng Jun, he was startled to find that despite employing so many tactics, if the other party was determined to ignore him… they didn’t seem to be of much use?

—So, it turns out, Gazi’s advice really had merit.

Right now, the person Cao Weihua hated the most wasn’t Director Luo, but the mayor of Baixing Town, who also happened to be the only one who could break the impasse at that time.

If there were objections to the land contract, the most suitable one to step in wasn’t the district housing and urban-rural development bureau or the forestry bureau, but the local government.

If the town decided to play tough, they’d be the real local big shots; they could even mobilize the masses.

However, regrettably, from start to finish, the mayor only sent out Zhao Haicheng. After Director Zhao was injured by Ermao, the town basically didn’t cooperate much anymore.

The mayor was young with a promising future ahead; he wouldn’t care too much about this small amount of money. Hitching a ride on a breeze was fine, but when a pawn was injured in the charge, he certainly wouldn’t rush to the front to snatch chestnuts from the fire.

(What the, I just woke up and haven’t even brushed my teeth, and there’s another spike in popularity? Looks like I need to add another chapter.)