855 A Hot Potato
Ji Qingyan pondered for a moment.
âAre they the ones who came to negotiate the payout?â
âI donât know what they were here for, but they were fighting. I think he said he wouldnât sell it no matter how much money they offered.â
âAlright, I understand.â
Ji Qingyan stroked Wang Dongdongâs head. âRemember to tell me if something like this happens again.â
âYes, yes, but you canât tell on me,â Wang Dongdong said. âMy mother said that she wouldnât let us talk about this, so I told you about it secretly.â
âYes, Sister definitely wonât let them know.â
âLetâs go, letâs go.â
Lin Yi called out from the door, âIâll come back tomorrow.â
âLetâs go.â
Ji Qingyan replied, âIâll leave first. Weâll come back tomorrow.â
âYes, yes. Take care, Sister.â
With that, Wang Dongdong grabbed Ji Qingyanâs hand and handed her another piece of candy.
âYou little brat.â
Ji Qingyan returned to Lin Yiâs side with the candy and took a taxi back to the hotel.
During this time, he also received a call from Guo Ningyue. After learning that Lin Yi was here, she prepared to come back the next night.
âI want to tell you something,â said Ji Qingyan when they arrived at the hotel.
âWhat is it?â
âUncle Zhao got into a fight with someone a few days ago.â
âHuh?â Lin Yi frowned, âWho did he fight with? Who told you?â
âDidnât Dongdong call me aside before we left? He secretly told me about this.â
âI think it was those people who came to talk about the demolition. They couldnât get him to agree on the final price, so they took action.â
âThere are cameras in the courtyard. Iâll check tomorrow and see if I can take a screenshot of the video.â Lin Yi said, âF*ck, these people are quite bold.â
Ji Qingyan shook her head. Lin Yiâs bad habit of scolding people was probably not going to change anytime soon.
The next morning, Lin Yi and Ji Qingyan finished their preparations and took a taxi to the Chaoyang Groupâs branch office in Yangcheng.
The companyâs executives were on pins and needles when they saw her.
Previously, when the president came, she would inform them in advance. Now, she had started to just travel incognito.
âPresident Ji, President Lin.â
Seeing Lin Yi and Ji Qingyan, the newly appointed general manager of the branch company, Liu Wenchang greeted them.
âIs there any problem with the companyâs situation during this period of time?â Ji Qingyan asked.
âEverything is going according to plan. The remaining payment for this year is almost done. The situation is very stable.â
Ji Qingyan nodded. âLetâs go. Weâll talk in the meeting room. Bring me the accounts from the finance department.â
âAlright, President Ji. Iâll make the arrangements now.â
After the meeting began, Ji Qingyan checked the companyâs finances as usual. Lin Yi sat at the side and closed his eyes to rest, as if he was an old man.
She flipped through the documents briefly. There were some very fishy accounts in certain sections.
However, Ji Qingyan had no intention of pursuing this matter.
Although Chaoyang Group was not as big as Lingyun Group, it was not small either.
She understood the principle that when the water was clear, there would be no fish.
Sometimes, it was indeed necessary to turn a blind eye.
âIâm here today mainly because I have something else to tell you.â
âThe piece of land east of Hanshui Road is preparing to be turned into a new economic zone. You all know about this, right?â
âI know, I know.â Liu Wenchang nodded.
âDuring the day, Secretary Wu of Yangcheng handed this project to us. The total value of this project is about 2 billion yuan. Itâs the largest project that the branch company has taken over in recent years. When the time comes, the head office will also provide a certain amount of manpower to support it. Manager Liu, organize the manpower here and make preparations. The project should be ready before the Lunar New Year. We should be able to start work after the new year.â
Liu Wenchang and the other executives of the company looked at each other. There was a hint of hesitation in their eyes, but in the end, they still nodded.
âPresident Ji, donât worry. We will definitely do this project well.â
Lin Yi, who had been playing games, looked up.
âShouldnât winning such a big project be something to be happy about? Why are they all showing such solemn expressions?â
Ji Qingyan remained silent. From the moment this project was announced, she had felt that there was something wrong with the expressions of the employees of the branch company.
Now that Lin Yi had helped her ask this aloud, there was no need for her to express her stance.
âNo, no.â Liu Wenchang smiled and said,
âPresident Ji, President Lin, donât worry. Weâll complete this mission successfully.â
âManager Liu, you were transferred here from the head office. Weâve known each other for quite some time. Do you really think I canât see through you?â
âWell â¦â
Liu Wenchang smiled bitterly. âPresident Ji, President Lin, this is indeed a good project, but itâs a little bit of a hot potato. Itâs not easy for our Chaoyang Group to accept it.â
...
âHow is it a hot potato?â
âFifth Master of Yang City has taken a fancy to this project.â Liu Wenchang said.
âMore than a month ago, there was a real estate guidance meeting in Yangcheng. When we went to the meeting, Fifth Master announced to the people present that he wanted to do this project. If we fought over it, there would definitely be conflict between the two sides.â
âWho is this person? Is he very powerful?â
âQuite impressive.â Liu Wenchang nodded and said,
âHis name is Wu Tianfu. Everyone in the underworld calls him Fifth Master. Heâs the number one figure in Yangcheng. He takes all the legal and illegal projects.
âMoreover, we are also handling the ongoing project in Binhai Forest View. He wanted to send his own property management company to handle that, but we did not agree. In short, our relationship is quite tense. If we really snatch the project in the economic new district, it will not be easy to do business in Yangcheng in the future.â
Having been in the real estate industry for many years, Ji Qingyan was very familiar with this scene.
From the beginning to the end, this industry had never been clean.
âWhat do you think we should do about this?â Ji Qingyan asked for Lin Yiâs opinion. âDo you think Wu Zhaoyou is the one behind this? Do you think he wants to use you to get rid of Fifth Master?â
âYou think too much.â
...
âFirst of all, he doesnât have the guts to play such a trick on me.â
âSecondly, with his current status as the head, thereâs no one he doesnât dare to deal with in Yang City.â
âThirdly, he gave me this project because he wanted to get closer to me. At his level, he has long stopped using others to do his dirty work.â
Lin Yi was certain of his guesses.
There was no need to mention the other reasons. Just the fact that Liang Ruoxu was standing behind him ensured that the other party not dare to have any ill intentions toward him.
Hence, her thoughts were a little unnecessary.
âItâs fine as long as thereâs no other reason.â Ji Qingyan continued, âDo you think we should talk to Secretary Wu about this?â
âItâs better not to. Theyâve already given you the two billion yuan project. If you ask them for help upon encountering trouble, itâll look like we canât handle anything,â Lin Yi said.
âIn that case, letâs deal with it ourselves.â