Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

"Then this will be easy. President Niu, when the time comes, I want you to pull a few little tricks for me—bring their factory buildings down. The more time it delays them, the better—ideally it should hold up production altogether." Wei Dekang spoke coldly.

"What—bring them down?" President Niu was alarmed. "Boss Wei, what do you mean by that? I'm a bit confused."

"The meaning is plain. I have a score to settle with them, and now I want to hit them where it hurts. President Niu, do you understand?" Wei Dekang explained.

To be continued.

963. A Failed Alliance (Part Two)

Hearing Wei Dekang's words, President Niu calmed down at once. The shantytown project was important, to be sure, but he could not throw away his life for the sake of money.

Going up against Mingyang Heavy Industry was simply a joke. Back when someone had come to him to repair Mingyang Heavy Industry's factory buildings, it had been Bao Lin of Mingyang Entertainment. At the time, Bao Lin had hinted that Mingyang Heavy Industry and Mingyang Entertainment were all one family, and told President Niu to do the job properly and not cut corners—or else he would have hell to pay.

The reason President Niu had taken on this thankless, unprofitable job in the first place was to use it to build a relationship with Bao Lin. Who in Songjiang, doing business there, did not want to get on Bao Lin's good side? One careless move, and the consequences could be endless.

So President Niu treasured the opportunity all the more. He would rather lose money himself than fail to do the job well—all so that Bao Lin would form a good impression of him.

But now Wei Dekang actually wanted to join forces with him against Mingyang Heavy Industry. He was offering handsome profits, but President Niu was no fool. He would never do something so stupid as to earn money he would not live to spend.

Money was not made in a single day. As for Wei Dekang's shantytown development—forget it. This Wei Dekang truly did not know his own limits, daring even to move against Mingyang Heavy Industry.

"Boss Wei, forgive me, but there's nothing I can do about this. You know as well as I do that the thing our construction company values most is its reputation. The moment a shoddy project turns up, who would ever dare hire me to put up a building again?" President Niu declined tactfully.

Hearing this, Wei Dekang was furious. How many times have you cut corners yourself? And now you dare talk to me about reputation?

But angry as he was, he needed President Niu's help, and so he had to soften his tone: "President Niu, how much can you possibly make on that project of yours? Let it go. Develop the shantytown—that alone will bring you over a hundred million in income." It would be a lie to say President Niu was not tempted. But so what if he was? Set beside his life, temptation was worth nothing at all.

Seeing President Niu hesitate, Wei Dekang pressed on: "President Niu, think about it. I've been in real estate for years, and I have just the one construction company under me. In the future, if I steer more business your way, you'll have everything you could want. And if you're still uneasy, we can sign the contract first."

Damn you, dangling all this in front of me to tempt me. I won't be taken in. If you want to die, don't drag me down with you as a cushion. President Niu was seething. I've already refused—what are you still dithering about for? He said impatiently, "Sorry, Boss Wei, I have a meeting to get to. Let's talk another time."

With that, President Niu hung up. He thought: And you want to sign a contract with me? Do you even know who you've offended? You talk about signing—sign what? You think you'll still have a chance to do any projects after this?

The sound of the line being cut came through Wei Dekang's phone, and he was furious. What was the matter with this President Niu? Turning down such a huge slice of cake—had he taken the wrong medicine?

After hanging up on Wei Dekang, President Niu wiped the sweat from his brow and dialed Bao Lin's number. He had to tell Bao Lin about this. Otherwise, if Bao Lin ever found out that Wei Dekang had approached him, there would be trouble.

He had refused, true, but at the very least he would be guilty of knowing and not reporting it.

"President Niu?" Bao Lin had President Niu's number saved in his phone, so he knew who it was.

"Boss Bao, it's me, it's me!" Hearing Bao Lin call his name at once, President Niu grew a little excited. "Boss Bao, there's something I need to report to you."

"Oh—what is it?" Bao Lin asked. "Go ahead, Boss Niu."

"It's like this. Wei Dekang of Dekang Real Estate just called me, wanting me to cut corners on the factory construction for Mingyang Heavy Industries. I turned him down flat," Boss Niu said honestly. "He told me he has a grudge against Mingyang Heavy Industries and wants to take them down. I figured I had to let you know about this, Brother Bao."

"Wei Dekang." Bao Lin gave a cold laugh. The little bastard must have a death wish—first he provokes Brother Yang, and now he wants to provoke me too. "All right, I understand. Thank you, Boss Niu."

"Don't mention it, don't mention it. Isn't this just what I ought to do?" Boss Niu said. "That Wei Dekang even dangled a hefty profit in front of me, said he'd let me take on the construction project in the shantytown. Looks like he's really set his mind on this. You'd best be on your guard early, Brother Bao."

On the surface Boss Niu was talking about Wei Dekang's determination, but in truth he was telling Bao Lin that he had given up enormous profit to bring him this warning.

Bao Lin smiled faintly. How could he fail to catch Boss Niu's meaning? "Rest easy, Boss Niu. I, Bao Lin, never treat my friends badly. If you run into trouble in the future, just call me directly."

Boss Niu was overjoyed. With that one word from Bao Lin, things would be much easier for him from now on. As a bottom-tier construction company, Boss Niu had taken plenty of abuse from developers—not only did they constantly nitpick, they also dragged out payment for projects on one pretext or another. Every time he went to collect what was owed, Boss Niu had to beg and scrape and wear out his smiles.

Now that Bao Lin had said as much, he was effectively Brother Bao's friend. Next time he went to collect payment, who would dare refuse him face? To deny him face was to deny Bao Lin face—and in Songjiang there was probably no one bold enough to openly defy Bao Lin.

After hanging up on Boss Niu, Bao Lin began to mull over the matter of Wei Dekang. This fellow clearly needed a lesson—he even dared to set his sights on Mingyang Heavy Industries.

Still, before acting, Bao Lin naturally had to check with Yang Ce. So he repeated everything Boss Niu had said, then asked, "Brother Yang, how should we handle this? Shouldn't we give Wei Dekang a warning?"

Yang Xu's brows knitted at once. This Wei Dekang actually wanted to move against Mingyang Heavy Industries—the man's nerve was outrageous. Half annoyed and half amused, he said, "Fine. Handle it as you see fit."

Bao Lin knew that was Yang Cenbin's way of handing him the solution. "Understood, Brother Yang. I know what to do."

Wei Dekang was still fuming that Boss Niu had refused to cooperate when the phone on his desk rang. He did not want to answer, but worried it might be an important business partner, so he picked up. "Hello, Wei Dekang speaking."

"So you're Wei Dekang. Good." Bao Lin gave a cold laugh. "You're exactly who I'm looking for."

"Who is this?" The other man's tone was brusque, and Wei Dekang was instantly displeased. He had just finished being angry at Boss Niu, so he was hardly in a good mood.

"This is Bao Lin." Bao Lin announced himself. "I hear you want to take down Mingyang Heavy Industries."