At the end of the workday, Chen Xiao went to Xu Wu’s office.
Seeing he had his bag and was in a hurry to leave, Xu Wu didn’t ask him to sit down but stood up to speak with him.
"President Xu, from now on, you need to use your influence with the companies you invest in. Have them give all their AI-related business to Dr. Feng’s Robot."
Xu Wu rolled her eyes at him. "Chen Xiao, what kind of spell has Feng Feifei put you under? You’re investing billions just to drum up business for her?"
Chen Xiao just smiled mysteriously. "You don’t get it. You just don’t get it."
’The Chen Family’s logic for making money isn’t something mere mortals can comprehend.’
Of course, Xu Wu didn’t get it, but she still did exactly as he said, nodding. "I’ll do as you’ve instructed."
Then she asked, "What about Zhi Fei Aerospace? Should we look out for them too?"
Chen Xiao thought for a moment. "Let’s have Dr. Feng’s Robot act as the main contractor. I’ll have them pass this order on to Zhi Fei Aerospace."
’Why not earn two commissions? You have to be shrewd in business!’
Xu Wu hummed in agreement and giggled. "It looks like Feng Feifei is still your favorite!"
Chen Xiao just laughed, offering no explanation.
Gao Yue was busy all afternoon, but she finally finished the paperwork and got everything stamped.
Looking at the fruits of her busy day, she snapped a picture and posted it to her Moments with the quote: "A time will come to ride the wind and cleave the waves; I’ll hoist my cloud-white sail to cross the sea."
A bunch of people liked it, Li Xiao among them.
Li Xiao knew that Gao Yue’s boss, Ding Yong, had been racking his brain trying to find investors for the Hongmeng Intelligent Selection Car project.
They had even asked her own boss to send their business plan to Liu Hongsheng, but Hongsheng Capital still hadn’t replied.
But judging by Gao Yue’s post, the Hongmeng Intelligent Selection project was already a go. ’Where did they get the funding?’
Li Xiao mused, ’My boss hasn’t even managed to secure fifty million in financing from Hongsheng Capital yet. Where on earth did they get three hundred million?’
With that, she quickly gave her a call.
"Ah Yue, did you sort out the financing?"
Gao Yue said happily, "Yes, Xiao Xiao! The Hongmeng Intelligent Selection project is about to kick off. You should congratulate me! I think I’m about to switch careers!"
Li Xiao said sourly, "Switching from selling houses to selling cars. Is that really something to be so happy about?"
Gao Yue laughed. "Houses aren’t selling right now, but we can’t keep these cars in stock. Plus, my boss gave me a raise—an extra 10,000 a month!"
Feeling the sting, Li Xiao huffed, "So when are you treating me to dinner? You should invite Miss Xu, too. You can flaunt your success in front of her for a change!"
Gao Yue was instantly deflated. She had just been showing off to Li Xiao, but being asked to flaunt in front of Xu Wu? She felt she’d never get a chance to do that in her entire life.
They weren’t in the same league anymore. Xu Wu might not be a top dog herself, but with billions in capital at her fingertips, plenty of top dogs had to treat her with the utmost respect.
Take Ding Yong, for example. He had practically knelt in gratitude. It was a lifesaver!
"Treating you to dinner is no problem. We’re all friends here, it’s not about feeling superior. I just wanted to share the good news so we could all celebrate together!"
’Hmph. You might be happy, but I’m certainly not,’ she thought. Remembering the real reason for her call, she quickly asked, "Ah Yue, how did you solve your funding problem?"
Gao Yue smiled mysteriously. "We switched to a different asset management firm. They’re much more efficient than Hongsheng. They see a project they like and they invest, no hemming and hawing."
Li Xiao asked urgently, "Which one? Do you think you could ask President Ding to make an introduction for our boss, too? We’ve been stalled by Hongsheng for almost a month!"
"This R&D funding keeps getting delayed, and it’s going to affect our order fulfillment for next year!"
Gao Yue said, "Don’t even bother your boss with it. You just get the materials ready, and I’ll take you there myself tomorrow."
"You’ll take me?" Li Xiao wondered if she was dreaming. ’Are you kidding me? With our positions, who would even talk to us?’
"Just trust me and do what I say. I promise, as long as your project is solid, the funding won’t be an issue."
Li Xiao hung up, still skeptical. It was all too strange; she’d never heard of anyone securing financing like this.
But with no better options, she decided to treat it as a long shot worth taking. She arranged to meet Gao Yue the next morning.
The lights were still burning bright late into the night at the Wansheng Group’s Jiangzhou regional headquarters.
With a stony expression, Peng Yu listened to his subordinates report on their communications with various brand partners. The news was not good.
Given a choice between Ganglong and Wansheng, they had abandoned Wansheng without hesitation.
"Did you tell them? If they won’t support our other locations, then Jiangzhou Wansheng Square will definitely kick them out."
Peng Yu said harshly.
Vice President Li Chun reported, "We’ve told all of them. The brands kept asking us to understand that their hands were tied, saying they hoped to work with us again in the future."
"They said that even if they lose their stores in Jiangzhou Wansheng Square, there’s nothing they can do. But they believe that, for the sake of long-term partnership, the Wansheng Region wouldn’t do something so drastic."
"Bullshit!" Peng Yu slammed his hand on the table with a loud BANG.
"Are they threatening me now? They’re the ones who broke their word, and they want *me* to think about the long term?"
He then turned and asked the operations department about the situation with the Yi Rui store over the past two days.
"They’ve been here every day, taking pictures to collect evidence. We’ve learned they plan to solidify their evidence, demand compensation, and sue us directly if we refuse to pay."
"Good. Good. Good!" Peng Yu let out a furious laugh.
"We only shut them down for a few days! I can’t believe that not only did they refuse to back down, they dared to take it this seriously! These brands have gotten too arrogant. They’ve forgotten that we’re the ones in charge!"
"Operations, let them resume normal business tomorrow. But don’t stop the routine inspections of their management."
The operations department understood what Peng Yu meant. They were in the wrong for closing the store, so they would let it reopen. But they would use "management" as an excuse to constantly cause trouble for them.
The operations manager had no idea how Yi Rui had offended President Peng, but he had no choice but to follow orders.
If the operations department didn’t know how Yi Rui had offended President Peng, the leasing department was even more frustrated. They had no idea how President Peng had offended Ganglong.
After the operations team left, Li Chun said to Peng Yu, "President Peng, this whole thing is very strange. What’s gotten into Huang Guangyuan? Even though he’s successfully forcing the brands to capitulate, it’s still damaging his own reputation."
Peng Yu said bitterly, "I’ve always minded my own business and he’s minded his. I have no idea what he’s trying to pull."
"I called him this afternoon to try and talk things over, but he just said his hands are tied and that it’s an order from corporate."
Li Chun frowned. That complicated things. Huang Guangyuan wasn’t even willing to talk.
Peng Yu continued, "But I called our other regions, and none of them are facing the same problem we are in the Hanjiang Region. It’s obvious his so-called ’order from corporate’ is complete bullshit."
He had another feeling, one he didn’t voice: it seemed an invisible hand was manipulating everything from behind the scenes, a hand with power so immense it could blot out the sun.
"President Peng, I heard a rumor today. They say the property owner is in talks to sell Jiangzhou Wansheng Square and cash out."