Chapter 649 - 429: Light at the End of the Tunnel (Part 2)

There was nothing to be done.

The corners of Jiangg Ning’s mouth stiffened.

"Let’s take a look at the contract President Xia drafted first, then."

"Alright," Lawyer Gu replied, equally resigned.

They both could already predict that the terms of the contract wouldn’t be favorable.

Every businessman is a shark.

Who in business isn’t out for their own profit?

Before taking the contract, Jiangg Ning could only pray that President Xia’s demands weren’t too outrageous. If the terms were even more severe than the price President Qi had offered, then they would have no choice but to leave empty-handed.

RUSTLE.

Jiangg Ning flipped open the contract, its pages dense with text, and began to review it seriously with Lawyer Gu.

The first few pages contained standard, restrictive clauses. It wasn’t until Article 8 of Section 2 that the main topic of price was introduced.

But as Jiangg Ning read on, her brow suddenly furrowed and her expression grew intense.

The price on the contract was completely beyond her expectations!

Behind the wide desk, Xia Ming sipped her tea and reviewed other files on her laptop, quietly waiting for the two to finish reading.

Jiangg Ning glanced up at the calm and composed Xia Ming. When she lowered her head again, her heart was pounding with an excitement she couldn’t suppress.

The contract clearly stated that Youxia Company would acquire the Meiruxue Building property, including all its facilities, for the price of 450 million.

Effective immediately upon signing.

From that point on, the Meiruxue Building would belong to Youxia Company. Legally, the complete transfer would serve as the necessary proof for the real estate company to register as a Type-II entity.

And the penalty for breach of contract was no different from a typical one, set at a hundred-fold termination fee.

This price was a full double of what President Qi had offered!

When Jiangg Ning had first arrived, she had only dared to hope she could sell the building at market value. She never expected Youxia Company to give her such a wonderful surprise. This price wasn’t just enough to settle the lawsuit with her investors; there would even be some left over to distribute among the shareholders. In an instant, the pressure of her debts had been drastically reduced. How could she not be overjoyed?

After she finished reading the entire contract.

Jiangg Ning’s heart still raced. The good news had left her head spinning, and for a moment, she couldn’t think straight.

However, Lawyer Gu was even quicker to react.

Just seconds after finishing the contract, she tucked the one she had drafted back into her briefcase and discreetly deleted the file from her laptop.

Only after doing all this did she relax and exchange a glance with Jiangg Ning.

"The price President Xia has offered is certainly fair... but what exactly does ’all facilities’ encompass?"

"Naturally, it includes your office equipment and the fees paid to the government in recent years. Once the contract is signed, you’ll need to come with me to handle the paperwork. So? Are you satisfied with the price?"

Xia Ming crossed her arms, rocking back in her executive chair with a slight smile.

She knew the Jiangg Family couldn’t possibly refuse. She was acting on instructions from her superiors, and the price she offered was purely a favor.

But Youxia Company wasn’t taking a loss. In a year, once the plans for the new development zone were finalized, she could flip the property and earn dozens of times her investment.

"Thank you for your sincerity, President Xia. To be honest, this price is very close to our own estimate. This way, we won’t have to waste time haggling."

"As long as Miss Jiangg is satisfied. Let’s sign the contract as soon as possible so we can arrange the handover," she said, walking over with a pen in hand.

"Of course, that would be great."

Jiangg Ning felt like she’d been struck dizzy by this sudden wave of good fortune.

Just last night, she had only managed to get a little over an hour of sleep, consumed by worry. Every time drowsiness began to claim her, she would jolt awake, picturing her mother suffering in prison, or the employees at her company, holding up banners and screaming for their money.

And then she would startle awake from her daze.

All that followed were endless sighs.

But that wasn’t even the worst of it.

Last night, the thought of her younger sister’s impending return—and having to explain the current situation to her—had given Jiangg Ning an even worse headache.

She was a strong person and believed that solutions always outnumber problems, but faced with such a hopeless situation, she had been at a complete loss.

Last night, to put it simply, she had been in despair.

At this moment, in the office.

The instant she signed all four copies of the contract.

Jiangg Ning could practically hear her heart hammering—THUMP-THUMP. She fought to keep her expression neutral, clenching her fists, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

The pressure she had been under these past few days had been immense.

Now, she finally had a chance to breathe.

How could Jiangg Ning not want to cry tears of joy?

...

"I’ll have my secretary see you out. We’ll finalize the payment for the building in person within three days. I’ll see you at the bank."

"There’s no need. Our car is just downstairs, and we have other things to attend to."

"Very well."

"Thank you so much, President Xia. It was a pleasure reaching an agreement with Youxia Company."

After leaving Youxia Company, Jiangg Ning and Lawyer Gu waited until they were downstairs, with no one else around.

They could no longer contain their joy and embraced each other tightly. Jiangg Ning’s eyes were red, but her smile was absolutely radiant.

"I never imagined... I truly never imagined they would offer such a high price. I’m so, so happy. This takes care of the money we owe the investors. We finally don’t have to worry anymore..."

As Lawyer Gu felt Jiangg Ning’s embrace, she was genuinely happy for her from the bottom of her heart.

They had been classmates for years and had even been roommates for a time while studying abroad. Their sisterly bond was deep.

When she heard Jiangg Ning was in trouble, Lawyer Gu had dropped all of her current cases and rushed to help.

But after learning the details, her prognosis had not been optimistic. Watching Jiangg Ning worry these past few days had made her heart ache for her friend.

Now, things had finally turned around.

"Ningning, you’re a lucky person. I knew we could overcome this crisis. I’m so happy for you."

"A light at the end of the tunnel... Who knew life could change so drastically, so fast? I feel like my heart can’t even take it," Jiangg Ning said, wiping a tear from her eye and smiling through her tears. "We have to celebrate tonight. It’s perfect timing, with Yaoyao coming home. I can finally face her and tell her the good news."

"Yes, let’s celebrate tonight!"

"But before that, we’re going to be busy today. First, let’s go to the company and tell the employees to stop moving things out. I’ll make sure they get their money within a month. We need to get a list together... Oh, right! I’ll call the old finance department staff now and have them come to the office. They have the records for all the back pay that needs to be settled."

"Okay, I’ll post it in the group chat. I’ll share the good news with everyone and tell them to meet us at the office."

Once in the car, they rushed straight to the Meiruxue Company headquarters in the suburbs.

Now that she’d signed the contract with Youxia Real Estate, all the facilities inside the building belonged to them. She had to hurry over and stop the employees from destroying company property out of anger and resentment.

As she headed to the company once more, Jiangg Ning’s mindset was completely different.

She was now filled with energy, the fire of hope rekindled in her eyes.

...

Little did Jiangg Ning know that this miraculous turnaround was purely the result of Chen Yuan’s exhaustive efforts behind the scenes.

He had called in a massive favor, not even hesitating to use the Jiangs’ name to get in touch with the leadership in Mingzhu City.

That was the only way this impossible situation had been turned around.

Perhaps Chen Yuan had already foreseen this outcome when he left Mingzhu City, which was why he had acted with such confidence.

But a favor, once accepted, must eventually be repaid.

It remained to be seen how the Jiangs’ headquarters, or Jiang Zhengfeng himself, would react upon learning what he had done.

Going all out for someone completely unrelated to the Jiangs was not a wise move in the eyes of those in power.

To say nothing of the fact that, regardless of his intentions, he had now involved himself with the Jiang Sub-Branch in Mingzhu City. A man of his stature, a Northern Director, secretly forming alliances with disparate interest groups within the Jiangs—

—that was an accusation that would one day be leveled against him.

Meanwhile, in Youxia Company’s office.

"By swooping in and taking this deal, we’ve probably made President Qi furious. What will you do if he comes looking for you?" the secretary asked quietly.

"’Looking for me?’ If he insists on asking, I’ll just tell him it was an order from leadership. If he has a problem with it, he can take it up with them."

Xia Ming shook her head at her secretary.

She knew the full story behind the Meiruxue Company affair. But no one could have guessed that the eldest young lady of the Jiangg Family had a backer that President Qi absolutely could not afford to cross.

It would be for the best if he just swallowed his pride and let it go.

If he decided to charge head-on into this, the consequences would be far worse than just having to swallow a bitter pill in silence.