Chapter 369 — Concession of Interests

Chapter 1787: Concession of Interests

"You're quite the straight shooter," Yang Ce said, noting Jotans's decent attitude. He pressed the air down with his palm in a calming gesture. "Sit down and let's talk."

"Thank you, Mr. Yang!" Jotans nodded and took a seat.

"Kras is dead. Who was behind him, who sent him—I don't care to ask, and I don't care to know." Yang Ce glanced at Jotans. "Right now, let's talk about the South City family's problem."

At Yang Juehuan's words, Jotans instantly breathed a sigh of relief. What he had feared most was that Yang Minlan would dig to the bottom of this matter, probing into Kras's background and who had introduced him—that would have put Jotans in an awkward spot. Miss Alice's affairs could not be carelessly disclosed; if Yang Ce pressed, he would have no choice but to stonewall and say nothing.

But Yang Ce had not pursued the matter at all, so Jotans was naturally happy to let it drop.

"Thank you, Mr. Yang!" The same words as before—but where Jotans had spoken them earlier out of pressure from Heng, forced into cautious deference, this time they came from the heart. He felt Yang Ce was truly broad-minded, not one to haggle over trifles.

"All right," Yang Ce waved a hand and said mildly, "but don't imagine this matter will blow over so easily."

"Yes... I know. Of course I know," Jotans nodded and said hastily.

"I won't pursue the Kras business, but the matter of your South City family is far from over," Yang Yanzhou said. "You can see that the Douglas family and I are on fairly good terms now—but do you know what price they paid?"

"I'm all ears!" Jotans was startled for a moment, then the earlier puzzle clicked into place. No wonder the Douglas family seemed on such good terms with Yan—they had paid a price for it too!

Otherwise, Yang Ce's earlier conflict with the Lancer family had arisen because of the Douglas family; Yang Ce had wiped out the Lancer family yet grown closer to the Douglas family instead—that had genuinely puzzled Jotans.

Still, the Douglas family was clever enough to know when to cut their losses. They'd had luck on their side too—surviving all that was nothing short of a great fortune.

"All the Douglas Grand Hotels throughout China—handed over, every one of them." Yang Hengye laughed. "It's no secret; I imagine you've heard something of it..."

"Oh? I'd heard they were bought out wholesale... So that's it! That's why!" Jotans said in sudden understanding. "I wondered why the Douglas family would suddenly sell off all their hotels in China! I thought it strange at the time—this is a profitable industry, and the Douglas family was in the middle of their Asian hotel expansion plan. Why abandon it halfway... So this is what happened!"

Before this, no small number of people like Jotans had found the whole thing baffling. Some who were on familiar terms with the Douglas family had quietly asked what was going on, but the Douglas family members had kept a remarkably unified front, all insisting it was part of the family's overall plan.

Yet they could never specify what that plan actually was. All these signs aroused suspicion, but no one could see the truth of it, and so people had no choice but to accept the Douglas family's explanation for the time being.

Now, at last, Jotans understood: the truth behind the sale of the Douglas family's hotel business in China was that it had been conceded as compensation—a concession of interests. The scale of it was nothing short of immense.

"I can concede our family's holdings in China as well," Jotans said instinctively, now that he knew the truth.

"Oh?" Yang Xutang gave a noncommittal grunt. "From what I know, what does the South City family have in China besides that one casino in Macau?"

"That..." Jotans was immediately embarrassed. What he had said was not an attempt at cleverness; he had simply meant that if Yang Yanzhou's Douglas family could concede some interests, then the South City family could likewise concede the same.

He had said it to put Yang Ce at ease, but to his surprise it backfired, making him look as though he were playing at cleverness. True, both were conceding all their holdings in China—but the Douglas family was giving up the property rights to dozens of hotels, while he was offering only a single casino in Macau. The gap between the two was hardly a small one.

"Mr. Yang, you know that's not what I meant! I only wanted to show that what the Douglas family can do, the Dragon Song City family can do as well—and do better!" Jotans hurried to explain, afraid Yang Ce would misunderstand.

"I know. Even if you meant to settle this with a single casino, I wouldn't accept it so easily," Yang Ce said without expression.

"Mr. Yang, I was merely stating my position just now! What I mean is, the interests the Dragon Song City family can concede will only exceed the Douglas family's," Jotans said. "We operate entertainment businesses in many countries around the world. I can concede a portion of those as compensation to you."

"Many countries around the world? Do you think I have the energy to run off to foreign countries and take over your entertainment businesses?" Yang Ce shrugged. "Let's talk practicalities. Your casinos in Macau and Las Vegas—I'll take them. Of course, I won't stop you from opening a second one. If you have the money, you're welcome to invest again. I won't ***."

Originally, when he heard that Yang Yanzhou wanted the casinos in both those places, Jotans's heart had tightened! Those two places were known as the world's casino capitals, and the casinos there were the most profitable of all. With Yang Ce taking them, the South City family would surely have a hard road ahead. But when he heard afterward that Yang Yongjin *** they could reopen casinos in those two places, Jotans breathed a sigh of relief and felt a quiet gratitude. It seemed Yang Ce was not the kind of man he had imagined—not one to wipe out his opponents entirely.

If so, Yang Cenbin's terms were not only not excessive, but reasonable... Only, wasn't it a bit too little? Just two casinos—far short of the interests the Douglas family had paid.

So Jotans was no fool; he guessed roughly that Yang Juehuan had not finished speaking. "Very well, Mr. Yang. Please go on."

Yang Yuting nodded, quite satisfied with Jotans's posture at the moment. "Beyond that, the holdings in Singapore—I'll take those too."

"No problem, Mr. Yang. Please continue," Jotans nodded. Singapore had only a few hotels and nightclubs; added to the two casinos, they still weren't worth as much as the Douglas family's hotels. So Jotans knew Yang Ce had not finished.

"Plus one billion US dollars," Yang Ce said. "Beyond that, there's nothing more."