The two of them took their seats on the sofa in the suite’s living room.
Xu Shishi accepted the tea handed to her by her assistant and thanked her before getting straight to the point. “General Manager Yang, what do you think about Qi Tianhu’s dinner invitation tonight?”
Yang Xin looked slightly surprised. “He invited you too?”
Xu Shishi nodded. “I’m in charge of logistics, after all. We’re going to build several large logistics warehouses in BS Province, and one of them will be in the Jingchuan area. All the transport routes will have to pass through Jinchuan, so it’s hardly strange that he came looking for me.”
Yang Xin nodded as well. They both knew exactly what Qi Tianhu was plotting.
The Wanlonghui Group’s investment projects in BS Province—from Wanlong Plaza and the logistics hub to the agricultural-products processing base they planned to invest in later—would all require massive quantities of construction materials and transportation services.
And the Qiwei Group’s main businesses were construction materials, sand and gravel, concrete, and transportation—all fields related to construction.
Put simply, Qi Tianhu had invited them to dinner because he wanted to tear off a piece of the Wanlonghui Group’s profits.
“So how do you plan to deal with him, Ms. Xu?” Yang Xin asked.
Xu Shishi thought for a moment before replying, “The bidding standards for the Wanlonghui Group were announced long ago. If a company doesn’t meet the requirements, then it doesn’t meet them. That’s an objective fact, not something we’re doing to target him deliberately. Last year, the Qiwei Group was publicly reprimanded for substandard construction materials. Their transport fleet also has serious safety hazards. These are fundamental problems that can’t be ignored. We can’t compromise and gamble with the safety and reputation of so many projects.”
“Besides, General Manager Yang, you know how seriously The Young Lady takes construction safety and quality. Who would dare relax the requirements?”
Yang Xin nodded. “So you mean we should refuse to work with him.”
“There’s no better choice,” Xu Shishi said. “Even if we agreed to cooperate with him, who knows what Qi Tianhu might do later, given his temperament? He could cut corners, raise prices arbitrarily, or even use our supply chain as leverage to force us into making concessions. If the Wanlonghui Group wants to gain a firm foothold in BS Province and smoothly push forward with the projects that follow, then Qi Tianhu—the obstacle in our way—has to be dealt with.”
She paused, then raised one finger. “So simply refusing him isn’t enough. We need to find a way to make him die!”
By “die,” she didn’t mean physically. What she meant was that it would be best to have Qi Tianhu sent to prison.
Yang Xin couldn’t help taking another look at her after hearing that.
No wonder she was the iron lady Brother Ma had recruited at The Young Lady’s request. She was ruthless.
She wanted to take someone down right from the start.
Perhaps only someone this decisive and merciless could hold steady in the position of president.
In some respects, business warfare could be far filthier than fighting with real weapons. A president who wasn’t ruthless enough couldn’t keep people in line, much less crush the competition.
Xu Shishi clearly understood that principle very well.
“All right. I’ll arrange it, then,” Yang Xin said.
After all, aside from being a company president, he also held another identity: he was a core member of the Wanlonghui. It would certainly be more convenient for him than for Xu Shishi to handle matters like this.
…
The afternoon symposium came to an end.
At half past six that evening, a black Mercedes stopped outside Jinchuan Pavilion, the city’s most famous private club.
This was not a place one could enter simply by having money. Membership was required, and the admission standards were extremely high.
Yang Xin and Xu Shishi got out of the car with two assistants. Qi Tianhu’s secretary had been waiting outside for quite some time. The moment he saw them step out, he hurried over with an ingratiating smile.
“General Manager Yang, Ms. Xu, our chairman has already prepared a modest dinner in Private Room One of the Heaven Class. Please allow me to show you the way.”
Yang Xin and Xu Shishi nodded at the same time.
“Thank you for leading us.”
Jinchuan Pavilion was located halfway up a mountain on the outskirts of Jinchuan City. It was Qi Tianhu’s private property, built against the mountains and beside the water. The décor was luxurious, and the security was extremely tight.
Inside Heaven Class Private Room One, sandalwood incense drifted through the air.
Qi Tianhu had arrived long ago and was seated at the head of the table. Dressed in a traditional Chinese tunic suit, he idly rolled two walnuts in his hand, looking completely at ease.
Sitting beside him was his son, Qi Licheng. With his conspicuous dyed-blond hair, he lazily swirled a glass of red wine, his eyes filled with malice.
When Yang Xin and Xu Shishi entered, Qi Tianhu rose and greeted them with a false smile, extending his hand.
“General Manager Yang, Ms. Xu, I’ve long heard of you! Now that I’ve finally met you, I see that you truly are young and capable!”
Yang Xin and Xu Shishi gave him polite smiles.
“Mr. Qi, you’re too kind. Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“Not at all, not at all. We only just arrived ourselves.”
Qi Tianhu smiled and invited them to sit down, then introduced the son beside him. “This is my son, Qi Licheng. He’s not much good for anything, but I brought him along today to broaden his horizons.”
Qi Licheng rose lazily and nodded at them, which counted as his greeting.
Yang Xin and Xu Shishi nodded back.
Once everyone was seated, Qi Tianhu instructed the servers to bring out the dishes.
The food had been ordered in advance, and every dish was one of Jinchuan Pavilion’s signature specialties: wild soft-shelled turtle, steamed mandarin fish, braised stone frogs, stir-fried venison, and more. The table was soon covered with dishes, and the ingredients alone had probably cost tens of thousands of yuan.
Qi Tianhu personally poured wine for Yang Xin and Xu Shishi before raising his glass.
“General Manager Yang, Ms. Xu, welcome to Jinchuan City. I’ll drink to that first!”
He downed the entire glass, then turned it upside down to show that it was empty.
Yang Xin and Xu Shishi also finished their drinks.
After three rounds of wine and several courses of food, the polite small talk finally came to an end. Only then did Qi Tianhu bring up the real reason he had invited them.
“General Manager Yang, Ms. Xu, let’s speak frankly. The Wanlonghui Group’s investment in Jinchuan is a good thing, and I, Qi Tianhu, welcome it with both hands raised.”
“But Jinchuan has its own rules.”
“All the construction materials, sand and gravel, and concrete for Wanlong Plaza and the logistics warehouse center—as well as every other supporting service required for the projects—must be supplied exclusively by the Qiwei Group. The transport fleet for the logistics warehouses must also use my people. As for security and cleaning at the shopping mall, I’ll arrange those as well.”
“These are all my conditions. In short, we should all make money together. As long as the two of you agree, I guarantee that you’ll have a smooth ride in Jinchuan. No one will dare cause you trouble.”
Yang Xin and Xu Shishi exchanged a glance, the same thought flashing through both their minds.
The tiger had finally bared its fangs.
It sounded like cooperation, but in reality, it was nothing more than naked extortion through monopoly.
They had already looked into the matter. The Qi family’s construction-materials supplies were usually priced thirty percent above market value, while their transport fleet took another thirty percent cut. They also liked to secretly plant idle relatives and hangers-on in companies, paying them for doing nothing. This was the Qi father-and-son duo’s usual method of controlling property developers over the years.
They devoured people without leaving so much as a bone behind. They had driven countless legitimate companies out of business and caused many investments to lose every penny.
Seeing that the two remained silent, Qi Licheng let out a cold laugh.
“You’re both smart people. You should understand the influence our Qi family wields in this area. I can say this without exaggeration: in Jinchuan, my Qi family is the law.”
“Last year, an out-of-town developer refused to show proper respect. Their construction site was surrounded for three months. In the end, they slunk away without earning a single cent and even lost tens of millions more.”
“I assume the Wanlonghui Group doesn’t want to suffer the same fate, does it?”
At that, Yang Xin helplessly spread his hands. “Is your esteemed son threatening us? To be honest, it’s been a long time since anyone threatened me with such sincerity. I have to admit, it feels rather refreshing.”
Qi Licheng slammed his wineglass onto the table. “I’m making myself perfectly clear. In Jinchuan, if you refuse to play by the rules, don’t even think about doing business here! And you’d better watch out for your people, too...”
“Licheng! Is that any way to speak to guests I invited?!” Qi Tianhu cut in. His tone was stern, but it was obvious he was only putting on a show.
He then turned back to Yang Xin and Xu Shishi and said apologetically, “General Manager Yang, Ms. Xu, I’m sorry about this. My son has been spoiled rotten by me. Please don’t take it to heart. I know your Wanlonghui Group is a major enterprise and doesn’t care much about the small businesses here in Jinchuan. But as the saying goes, harmony brings prosperity in business, and having more friends means having more options.”
“I’ve also heard that your group has invested at least several billion yuan in the cities around Jinchuan. If a minor disagreement were to affect your business, the losses could be severe—perhaps even enough to damage your financial stability or drive you into bankruptcy. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Xu Shishi suddenly laughed. Her cool, alluring eyes turned toward Qi Tianhu, filled with sarcasm.
“Chairman Qi, do you know how much revenue our group made last year?”
Qi Tianhu said nothing.
Xu Shishi held up one hand. “More than fifty billion yuan!”
The moment that figure was announced, the pupils of the Qi father-and-son duo contracted slightly. Clearly, they were stunned.
Fifty billion yuan!
What kind of figure was that?
Qi Tianhu had spent nearly twenty years building his empire in Jinchuan, commanding influence in both the legitimate and underworld spheres. Even his entire fortune amounted to no more than three or four billion yuan.
And their annual revenue alone was dozens of times his total net worth. Their strength was indeed formidable.
“Our Wanlonghui Group has invested several billion yuan in Jinchuan, but to us, that amount is merely a drop in the bucket. It would be quite difficult to bankrupt us—unless you can tear a massive hole in the sky itself.” Xu Shishi deliberately allowed a hint of arrogance into her voice, as though she were mocking these two provincial bumpkins who had never seen the wider world.
“Mr. Qi, it’s 2009 now, not the era of your youth, when you could seize territory with your fists.”
“And don’t assume that we’re some powerful outsider deliberately refusing to work with you.”
“The construction materials supplied by your Tiger Might Group have failed three quality inspections. The sand and gravel contain twice the permitted amount of mud, creating serious safety hazards. Several companies in your transport fleet don’t even have operating licenses, and overloading and exceeding weight limits are routine. Last year alone, there were more than thirty traffic accidents, three of them fatal—all covered up with money. Am I wrong?”
“Then there’s the practice of forcing people into positions and paying them for doing nothing, suspected commercial bribery, forced transactions, and manipulating market prices. Any one of those charges would be enough to warrant an official investigation.”
With just a few sentences, Xu Shishi exposed all the dirty secrets of Tiger Might Group. Clearly, she had investigated them thoroughly in advance.
“I’m not saying this to threaten you. I only want to make our Wanlonghui Group’s position clear. We don’t want trouble with you, but you’d be wise not to provoke us either.”
Qi Tianhu’s expression darkened at a visible speed.
It seemed this woman had no intention of letting them share in the profits. In that case, there was no reason for him to show them any courtesy. In Jinchuan, he had never been afraid of anyone.
Ignoring his gloomy expression, Xu Shishi continued.
“Our Wanlonghui Group has only four words as its standard for cooperation: compliance and mutual benefit.”
“We don’t use substandard construction materials. We don’t work with shady transport fleets. And we don’t accept one-sided, coercive contracts.”
“Jinchuan’s market is open and inclusive. We invest based on our strength and operate in accordance with the law. We don’t need to answer to anyone, much less bow our heads to criminal gangs.”
“If Mr. Qi truly wants to work with us, then follow the proper public-bidding process, and we’ll welcome the opportunity. But if you’re planning to use those old-school gangster tactics to force us into buying or selling against our will, then, if I may be frank...”
She paused, then said, “You’re not qualified.”
