Manager He, whose full name was He Yongjing, after his meeting with Fang Ye that afternoon, flew to Linhuai with the temporarily assembled project team that evening.
The next day, he stayed in the hotel to handle work. He instructed his subordinates to gather information about the basic situation of Qingtong Street, hoping to obtain a list of property owners and their contact details.
Before this, he needed to figure out how to acquire the old houses at the lowest possible price.
The noise couldn’t be too loud, to avoid the homeowners teaming up and driving up the price.
But it couldn’t be too quiet either. Without some show of authority, no one would take him seriously.
Before he could figure out the specifics of what to do, the people he had sent out returned.
Earlier than he expected.
He Yongjing frowned. “Is everything taken care of?”
“Manager He, the situation might be different from what we anticipated…”
“What do you mean?” He Yongjing’s eyelids twitched, and a bad premonition surged in his heart.
“The old houses on Qingtong Street have already been sold!”
Actually, this news wasn’t hard to find out. A few calls to some of the homeowners, and they would tell him everything.
One house being sold was fine, but when all ten homeowners said their houses were sold, that was a big problem.
“Find out who did this! Who dares to intercept Lou’s plans?”
The results came in quickly.
It didn’t even require much investigation because the other party hadn’t intended to hide it.
As Jiang Fuyue had put it, “If we don’t tell them, how are we supposed to continue the negotiations?”
Yi Hansheng: “…”
Ling Qingzhou: “…”
“Yufeng Real Estate?” He Yongjing looked at the investigation results, his brain quickly processing the information, but there was no record of this company in his memory.
“Have you heard of them?” He turned to ask his subordinates.
Everyone shook their heads.
“It can’t be a new company, right…”
It turned out to be a company so new that it couldn’t be newer.
He Yongjing said, “Set up a meeting with the person in charge of this company. I want to see who this person really is!”
Soon, his subordinates reported: “The meeting is set, tomorrow at noon, at Xilun Restaurant.”
He Yongjing sneered, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes.
He had thought the other party was some big shot, but now, it seemed, they were nothing special.
The next day, He Yongjing arrived at the dinner in a suit.
The other party was a man in his thirties or forties, sporting a beer belly, and looking like a typical nouveau riche.
He Yongjing’s contempt grew even stronger. He felt confident he had the upper hand in their verbal exchange and thought he had the situation in control.
He became less polite and bluntly said, “Let’s be straightforward. No need for pleasantries. How much are you planning to sell the old houses on Qingtong Street for?”
The other man smiled, preparing to respond.
He Yongjing couldn’t help but remind him, “You should know that by me asking this, I represent the Lou family. And you must understand what the Lou family means in the real estate industry.”
“Yes, I understand,” the man nodded, still smiling with an expression that seemed kindly, “But no matter how powerful the Lou family is, to buy something, you still have to pay, right?”
He Yongjing’s smile tightened slightly.
The man continued, “The entire street of old houses, including the shops on the ground floor, all for a bundled price of 2 billion.”
“What?!” He Yongjing could hardly believe his ears.
“2 billion,” the man said calmly. “Not a penny less.”
“You… you’re extorting us!”
“Well, I’ve already presented the price. You can go back and check with your boss. As for me, I’ll report back on my work. No need for further discussion, we each have our own agenda.”
“Wait… What do you mean ‘report back’?” He Yongjing was stunned. “Aren’t you the boss of Yufeng Real Estate?”
“Hah?” The man’s tone was exaggerated. “How could I be the boss? Do you think, with your position and status, that the CEO of Yufeng would personally arrange a meal just to meet with you?”
He Yongjing’s face turned alternately pale and flushed red.
“What kind of teapot suits what kind of lid? You must be dreaming. The real question is, do you even match up?”
“…”
By the end of the meal, He Yongjing was almost so furious he was about to spit blood.
Before arriving, he had been so confident, full of himself, and thought the other party’s CEO was shallow and unworthy of his attention.
The result…?
It turned out that the other party hadn’t regarded him at all and had simply sent a subordinate to deliver the message. He had taken himself seriously, thinking he was in control, but in reality, he had just been made a fool.
“Chief He, I’ve delivered the message. 2 billion, and I’m sure you can’t make the decision yourself, so it’s better to check with the person who can. Thanks for the meal, I’ll take my leave now.”
With that, the man stood up and walked out.
Leaving the restaurant and getting into the car, the man pulled out his phone. “President Yi, everything was done as you said. The other side even thought I was the boss. When they realized I was just passing along the message, the look on their face was priceless.”
“Really? And the message got through?”
“Got through! Got through! 2 billion, not a penny less. I’ve got it all memorized!”
On the other end, Yi Hansheng was shocked, his voice rising: “How much?!”
“2, two billion. What’s wrong? That’s the price on the email I received, didn’t you know?”
“Ah? Hahaha…” After a moment of forced laughter, Yi Hansheng straightened his tone. “Of course I know! How could I not know about something I asked you to handle? I know it all!”
Yeah, right!
He had sent the email, but the contents were from Jiang Fuyue.
Yi Hansheng hadn’t even read it before forwarding it.
2 billion!
After the call ended, Yi Hansheng gave Jiang Fuyue, who was calmly drinking tea at the desk, a thumbs up. “When it comes to being impressive, you’re the real deal.”
Jiang Fuyue slowly raised her eyes…
