Chapter 99: Absolutely Not

Young Master Yang took a breath. "No. It's just a construction company, what's the big deal?"

Zhou Qianfan narrowed his eyes, a triumphant smile flashing across his face.

"Then why did you call me? What is it you need me to do?"

Young Master Yang said, "Brother Qianfan, could you step in and convince Zhu Qiyu to hold off on his investment for now? Once Yuelong Group has acquired Li Group, Zhu Qiyu can invest in the better-performing Yuelong Group."

"Wouldn't that be great?"

Zhou Qianfan sneered. 'Young Master Yang really is used to a life of privilege. How could he even come up with something like that?'

"Ah... Young Master Yang, Zhu Qiyu and I are just ordinary friends. I can't order him around."

"Once he's made a decision, not even eight bulls could change his mind."

"However, I must ask you not to get any funny ideas about him. I value my friendships, and I get angry when my friends are harmed."

He was, in no uncertain terms, rejecting Young Master Yang.

Young Master Yang's entire expression stiffened.

He never imagined there would come a day when his influence would fail him.

"Brother Qianfan, what do you mean? My words are useless, is that it?" Young Master Yang's gaze was murderous.

Zhou Qianfan was completely unfazed by Young Master Yang's warning. "Young Master Yang, you must understand that the world doesn't revolve around your will alone. Can we please not mix personal feelings with business matters?"

"The contract has been finalized, and yet you're insistently asking someone to pull their investment. Business isn't a game; you can't just have it your way. If it weren't Young Master Yang on the line, I'd probably think the person I was talking to was a lunatic."

His words couldn't have been more blunt.

"Brother Qianfan, are you really unwilling to let this go? Who doesn't know that all of Zhu Qiyu's money came from you? Without the Zhou Family building him up, there would be no 'genius investor.'"

"Now you're just being unpleasant," Zhou Qianfan said with a slight smile. "The relationship between our two families isn't good, but it isn't bad either. I'd really rather not ruin it. Young Master Yang, please don't force my hand, alright?"

Zhou Qianfan might as well have had the two words "declare war" written on his forehead.

Young Master Yang felt his blood pressure shooting up. 'What kind of outrageous nonsense is this?'

"Zhou Qianfan, you want to talk business? I'll talk business with you! Li Group has assets of 41.2 billion, with an annual revenue growth rate of three percent. Yuelong Group has assets of 98 billion, with an annual revenue growth rate of ten percent."

"One is small and slow, the other is big and fast. From a business perspective, who do you think I would choose!"

Spittle flew from Young Master Yang's mouth.

"People are different. Wu Long is a scoundrel. No matter how much money his group makes, it's all dirty money. My Zhou Family wouldn't deign to touch that kind of money. I hope you're the same."

Young Master Yang said, "Fine, fine, fine! You're so high and mighty! You're incredible!"

Young Master Yang slammed the receiver down, his face beet red. He panted for a while before calming down.

"Zhou Qianfan, you've really got some nerve. You really do!"

"Your pissant Zhou Family, putting on airs like you're some big shot? Is your money so clean? You've done just as much dirty shit as Wu Long!"

Cursing, he dialed Wu Long's number.

"Young Master Yang! Can I order the new gold-plated sign now?"

Wu Long truly found the name "Li Group" to be an eyesore. He was dying to take delivery.

"You can..."

Wu Long immediately started cheering on the other end of the line, only to hear a deafening curse erupt from the receiver:

"You can my ass!"

Wu Long's hand trembled in shock, and the phone slipped down to his chest.

"Young Master Yang, what happened? Why are you so furious?"

Young Master Yang said, "The Zhou Family refuses to back down, and they're not letting go of Li Group."

Wu Long found it extremely strange. He had never heard of the Zhou Family making a move in the construction industry before.

Many people knew that the Zhou Family had a real estate management company.

'Are they no longer satisfied with the income from selling pre-owned properties?'

In any case, the hope of acquiring Li Group was now slimmer than ever.

Young Master Yang paused, then said, "But don't you panic either. Take it slow. With people, if one price doesn't work, you use another. There's always a way to persuade them. Let's talk about it later."

Let's talk about it later.

Wu Long often said this phrase, too. It was synonymous with "I'm not doing this."

Rather than comforting him, Young Master Yang was tactfully telling him to give up.

"Anyway, the Yang Family will have to fight the Zhou Family sooner or later. When that time comes, everything the Zhou Family has will belong to the Yang Family."

Hearing this added sentence, Wu Long's emotions were on a roller coaster.

Young Master Yang wasn't refusing him, but rather setting his sights on the distant future.

"Thank you! Thank you, Young Master Yang!"

After saying that, Wu Long hung up the phone. The attending physician came to do his rounds, took out a penlight to shine in Wu Long's eyes, and then said:

"With injuries this severe, why weren't you sent to the ICU? Are you just staying here waiting to die?"

As soon as the attending physician said this, Wu Long's mouth twitched and he started cursing:

"Get out! Get the hell out of here! There's nothing wrong with me!"

Seeing this, the attending physician could only leave in a hurry.

Young Master Yang's mood was no better than Wu Long's. After slumping on the sofa for a while, he took out his phone and made a call.

"Young Master Yang, what can I do for you?"

"What do you think I'd call you for?" Young Master Yang said contemptuously.

"Okay, I understand. Who's the target?"

"Mu Lin, a member of Li Group's project department. Take care of him, then send me a picture. I'll pay you after I've verified it."

"Done. Don't you worry. When I make a move, it's a guaranteed success!"

With that, Dong Zuo hung up the phone.

Nearing the end of the workday, Mu Lin received a call. A glance at the screen showed it was from Qiao Canhua, who said he wanted to treat him to a meal.

Madam Qiao's health had improved significantly, and Qiao Canhua now had to return to his home base to oversee his work.

So this meal was a token of his gratitude toward Mu Lin.

'What can I do?' Mu Lin thought. He had to accept.

'My relationship with Old Qiao is pretty good, too. I should give him a proper send-off on his last night before he leaves Anhua City.'

Mu Lin called Li Xue to let her know and was surprised to find that Old Qiao had invited her as well.

However, she was busy with company matters and had declined.

Mu Lin didn't understand why Old Qiao would invite Li Xue.

'If this were a business banquet, there'd be no reason to invite a small fry like me.'

He shook his head and didn't give it any more thought.

Mu Lin slowly walked outside, about to look for a taxi.

Suddenly, he felt two pairs of eyes fixed on his back, their gazes sweeping over him again and again.

'Who could that be?'

Mu Lin turned to look, but at first glance, there was no one there.

He slowly walked over and tilted his head.

He saw two people hiding behind a marble pillar. They were familiar faces, the ones he'd seen last time at the Huangshanghuang Hotel.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Mu Lin asked.

"President Li said she was worried about you and told us to protect you!"

'Li Xue? How unexpectedly kind of her. She must be worried I'll face retaliation, so she lent me her two elite bodyguards.'

"Bullshit!"

But he still slapped his thigh. "I'll be grateful if you just stay out of my way!"

"Scram! Go do whatever you want, go find a prostitute for all I care! She's got long hair but not a lot of sense, and you two are just going along with her nonsense?"

「Huangshanghuang Grand Hotel, inside a standard private room.」

Qiao Canhua and his wife both looked extremely well, their faces full of joy.

Sitting beside them were Divine Doctor Zhao and his granddaughter. Huangshang Huang's general manager, Lao Wang, stood to the side, completely respectful.

The atmosphere was very pleasant.

"Brother Mu, over here!" Zhao Ling'Er waved at Mu Lin. Mu Lin readily complied and sat down.

Mu Lin said to Qiao Canhua, "Boss Qiao, you're looking great. Has something good happened?"

Divine Doctor Zhao smiled and said, "I took Madam Qiao's pulse today. The toxins in her body have been completely purged."

"That's certainly good news." To be honest, Mu Lin didn't think it was anything worth mentioning.

'With my treatment and the Beauty Enhancement Pill, if the toxins hadn't been purged, I might as well just go bang my head against a wall.'

Qiao Canhua said, "The results are in for that string of ornaments I sent for appraisal. It's worth over 20 million, several times more than what I paid for it."

'I remember Boss Qiao saying he was going to donate it. Why did he get it appraised?'

'But that's his business.'

'It's no big deal.'

Qiao Canhua said, "Then the National Museum contacted me, so I donated it to them. It was put on a plane an hour ago."

'Oh, so he did end up donating it. A happy ending for everyone. That's nice.'

"Congratulations, Boss Qiao! Not only have you cured your wife's illness, but you've also found a home for a national treasure!"

Mu Lin stood up and toasted Qiao Canhua with his tea.

Qiao Canhua waved his hand and said, "We have wine, but you're toasting with tea? That won't do! Come, come! Serve the dishes, serve the wine!"

The general manager, Lao Wang, quickly walked out and called for the waiters to bring in the dishes.