Chapter 319 - 319 Whatever President Xu says, do it

In Xu Yang’s office.

Lan Penghua said with a bitter smile, "Mr. Xu, it’s all my fault that I’ve involved you. The bid for the old town district renovation is probably going to be suspended."

Xu Yang said, "Mr. Lan, start from the beginning, what exactly happened?"

Lan Penghua explained, "Here’s the thing, over the years, the land I’ve acquired and the projects I’ve managed have made a lot of money, which has made other real estate developers jealous. They don’t want me to continue growing stronger. I’ve got word that now, other developers are banding together to block my bid for the old town district renovation.

I’m afraid we’re unable to participate in this project."

Xu Yang, puzzled, said, "They bid, we bid, it’s fair competition, what’s that got to do with anything?"

Lan Penghua replied, "This time, they’re not planning on playing fair. They intend to resort to underhanded tactics."

Xu Yang raised an eyebrow, "What kind of tactics? Tell me about it, let me broaden my horizons."

The affairs of the real estate industry were not something he was very clear about.

"They plan to buy off the judges..."

Lan Penghua outlined the situation.

The process for the old town district renovation project goes like this:

First, the city hall publicly announces the news, then it openly invites tenders for the project, followed by companies submitting their bids. Next, a panel of judges reviews the bids and decides on the winning enterprise, and finally, the winning enterprise begins construction.

As it stands, the city hall has already publicized the tender, and next comes corporate bidding.

The judges are experts invited by the city hall from the provincial city, and upon arriving in Jiang City, they are isolated. This is to prevent the companies bidding for the project from buying the experts off.

Xu Yang, still unclear, asked, "If that’s the case, how can they buy off the experts?"

Lan Penghua said, "There’s always a way if there’s a will. According to the information I’ve received, their plan is to intercept the experts’ car en route. After the experts’ car exits the freeway, they’ll stop it and attempt to bribe them."

Xu Yang said, "That must be illegal, right? If discovered, not only the experts will face trouble, but even the enterprises that attempted the bribery could be banned from bidding."

Even though Xu Yang was not well-versed in real estate, he understood the gravity of the situation.

Lan Penghua nodded, "Yes, to block me, they’ve really stopped at nothing. Moreover, the network they’ve formed by banding together is far more powerful than mine. If discovered, they have people to cover for them, so they have no concerns. If we were to try it, we might run into trouble."

This was why Lan Penghua said it was impossible to get involved.

Others could brazenly pursue such acts, but he dared not and could not do the same.

Xu Yang was silent for a moment, then asked, "When do the experts arrive?"

"They’re due to arrive this afternoon," Lan Penghua checked his watch, "Based on the information I have, they might leave the freeway in a little over half an hour. The other real estate developers will send people to intercept the car near the toll station, looking for the experts. Once they find them, we’ll have no chance, after all, experts are human. If offered enough money, they can be bought."

Xu Yang asked, "Have you ever tried buying off experts before?"

Lan Penghua shook his head, "No, I never do such things. If I did, it would leave a stain on my reputation. While I also work on building connections—nothing gets done these days without them—I always stay within legal boundaries. I absolutely do not engage in illegal activities."

Xu Yang nodded, "That’s right, we can’t engage in illegal activities. Otherwise, if things go wrong, one could end up in prison and have their life ruined. There are plenty of opportunities to make money legally now; there’s no need for that sort of thing."

That was his genuine sentiment.

If Lan Penghua was the type to make money by any means necessary, Xu Yang might have to reconsider their partnership.

He would not want to partner with someone who had no bottom line.

Otherwise, if Lan Penghua got into trouble later on, it could also drag him down.

Lan Penghua sighed, "Mr. Xu, I just feel a bit sorry for you. With our capability, bidding for the old town district renovation and securing a few projects to make a good start was completely achievable. Who would’ve thought that other real estate developers would stoop so low, targeting me collectively and even using their connections for illegal actions? I can’t compete with that."

Xu Yang narrowed his eyes, "Are they already sending people to intercept the vehicles now?"

Lan Penghua nodded, "Yes, they’ve already taken action."

Xu Yang said, "Then you send someone over there too."

Lan Penghua was taken aback and looked at Xu Yang with a mix of surprise and uncertainty, "Mr. Xu, what do you mean?"

Could it be that Xu Yang was willing to take a risk and buy off the experts?

```

Didn’t we just say that we can’t do anything illegal?

Xu Yang explained with a smile, "Mr. Lan, don’t look at me like that. I couldn’t possibly do anything illegal. The reason I’m asking you to send someone over is to stop them."

Lan Penghua didn’t understand, "How to stop them? We can’t just say that you want to bribe the experts, so I’m going to report it, right? Even if we report it, it’s no use because they have connections to protect them."

Xu Yang said, "I’ve thought of a way, but it’s going to cost some money. It’s up to you to decide if you’re willing to spend it, Lan Penghua."

Cost money?

Isn’t that still bribing the experts?

Lan Penghua was confused.

"Mr. Lan, if you still want to work on the old city district reconstruction project, trust that I won’t do anything illegal. Just send someone over, and you will understand later on."

Xu Yang didn’t offer further explanation; it wasn’t necessary.

"Alright, I trust you. I’ll send my assistant over."

Lan Penghua immediately took out his phone, dialed his assistant’s number, and instructed the assistant to rush to the area near the highway tollgate entrance.

Half an hour passed quickly.

The assistant called in, "Mr. Lan, I’ve arrived. I see quite a few people stopping cars."

Xu Yang said, "Just keep an eye on them, keep the phone line open. Once they find the expert, you go over. Do exactly as I tell you."

The assistant asked, puzzled, "You mean…"

Lan Penghua immediately said, "This is Mr. Xu. Whatever Mr. Xu says, you do it!"

The assistant was startled; he knew his boss had joined forces with Xu Yang and immediately said, "Understood."

About five minutes passed.

The assistant reported, "A seven-seater business van has been pulled over to the side of the road. It should be the experts’ car."

Xu Yang immediately said, "Go over there, hand your phone to the expert in the car, and tell them we’re another real estate firm."

"Understood," the assistant said and quickly walked over.

At this moment, a phone had already been placed in front of the experts in the car.

The assistant immediately did as Xu Yang had instructed, and handed the phone to the experts in the car.

One of the experts in the car activated the speakerphone on both phones.

"Another person has come. The business competition in Jiangcheng is really fierce, huh?"

"I’ve turned on the speakerphone on both phones so that everyone can talk. I’m curious to hear how you all compete," said one of the experts.

This kind of solicitation, even if they hadn’t experienced it, they had heard of it.

But they didn’t expect the people in Jiangcheng to be so crazy as to stop cars on the road.

To be honest, this was the first time they had encountered something like this.

"Lan Penghua, is that you?" A middle-aged man’s voice sounded.

"Jiang Guohao, it’s me. I’m with Mr. Xu," Lan Penghua spoke up.

He recognized the voice immediately.

The man was Jiang Guohao, the instigator behind the other real estate merchants banding together against him.

This guy used to be Jiangcheng’s number one real estate merchant, but the real estate projects he had been involved in over the past few years weren’t making much money, and he had been surpassed by Penghua, sliding to second place.

Jiang Guohao was not willing to accept this and joined forces with other real estate merchants, intent on keeping Lan Penghua out of the old city district reconstruction project.

This was a big piece of cake, and as long as Lan Penghua was out of the picture, Jiang Guohao could regain his throne as the number one real estate merchant in Jiangcheng.

```