Chapter Fifty: Xia Fugui's Scheme

“Welcome to today’s midday financial news. This morning, Miss Zhang Jing, CEO of Sunshine Group and president of Celestial Real Estate, attended the grand press conference for ‘Celestial 1997.’ On behalf of Sunshine Group, she officially announced that Celestial will compete for the recently publicized government project to redevelop the old city district. Miss Zhang stated that Celestial is fully prepared for this endeavor and vowed to win the bid. Last night, at the charity gala, the president of Xia Wang Construction also declared his enthusiasm for the bidding. It seems the real estate industry in City C is about to enter another wave of fierce competition…”

“Bang!” As the beautiful face smiled on the television amid the flashes of cameras, Xia Fugui, sitting at his desk, flew into a rage and slammed his fist hard onto the surface. He growled, “I knew that girl wouldn’t give up. I knew it! Damn it, she’s getting more and more arrogant lately!”

“Hey, Mr. Xia? Why so angry? Getting worked up won’t solve anything.” Zhou Zisheng lounged carelessly on the genuine leather sofa beside the desk, his legs crossed, slowly savoring a cigar. He was sitting with Xia Fugui’s son, Xia Jianren. With a sudden glint in his eye, Zhou said, “These days, pigs might climb trees, and apparently beauties can too. Tsk, tsk—a company that went bankrupt for three hundred million, yet somehow survived? Not only survived, but even got acquired by this multi-billion Sunshine Group. It’s bizarre. Celestial’s assets are in the hundreds of millions, but years of poor management left them with no funds. This injection of capital is like manna from heaven!” He cast a probing glance at Xia Fugui and continued, “What’s even stranger is that no one knows anything about Sunshine Group’s background. Not a soul in City C knows who founded it or who the shareholders are—it’s as if it sprang out of thin air. Honestly, if I weren’t Zhou Zisheng, I’d believe Zhang Jing unearthed some family treasure overnight! But I am Zhou Zisheng—the same Zhou Zisheng who once dated that girl. I know exactly what her family’s got, so I came here today for tea because something occurred to me…”

“From the way you’re talking, do you know something? Zisheng, stop beating around the bush and speak plainly. Your Uncle Xia isn’t in the mood for riddles.” Xia Fugui glared coldly at the handsome but rakish Zhou Zisheng. “I suspect someone bought Zhang Jing’s loyalty and is using her to target me! But I’ve thought about it for days and can’t figure out who in City C is rich enough and has a grudge against me. Whatever their motive, it looks like Zhang Jing is determined to fight me to the end.”

“Uncle Xia, you’re mistaken this time.” Zhou Zisheng smirked knowingly. “Think about it—given your status in City C, would you make enemies of powerful, wealthy folks just for fun? It’s impossible. Outside of real estate competition, you’re courteous to everyone. ‘Harmony is the business way’—you always say that.”

“Oh? So you’re saying Zhang Jing’s backer isn’t motivated by any feud with me?” Xia Fugui’s eyes brightened, then dimmed again. “That makes no sense. If it’s not about revenge, is he after my assets? But from the way he’s throwing money around for Zhang Jing—with Sunshine Group and all these ambitious land grabs—he hardly seems short on cash.”

“Wrong, wrong, wrong! Your thinking is completely off, Uncle Xia.” Zhou Zisheng stubbed out his cigar with a lascivious grin. “You’re missing the possibility of a miracle. What is it they say? ‘Even heroes fall for beauty; some men love women more than kingdoms.’”

“You mean…” Xia Fugui suddenly seemed to understand. “So it’s Zhang Jing’s pretty face at work? Damn, that guy is ruthless—spending so much money just for a woman… Why didn’t you spend that much when you were infatuated with her?”

“Heh, people are different. That guy has at least a dozen gold bank cards in his wallet, some diamond cards worth tens of millions. How could I compare?”

“What! You’ve met him?” Xia Fugui stood up in surprise. “Zisheng, who is he? What’s his background?”

“Brother Zhou, spill it already! Don’t play guessing games with my dad. Even I’m curious—who the hell is this guy?” Xia Jianren jumped in, eager to help his father and push Zhou Zisheng to answer.

Zhou Zisheng’s smile suddenly faded, his tone turning serious. “Uncle Xia, you and my father have been friends in business for nearly twenty years. The Zhou and Xia families are in the same boat, so I’ll be frank. First, it seems there’s some discord within the government lately—Mayor Xia is facing trouble, right? To win the government’s old city redevelopment project, you’ll need their support. You’re already behind in capital, but in terms of connections and influence, you have much more leverage in City C than Zhang Jing. Since money isn’t your strength, power is crucial. I heard the newly appointed Party Secretary and Mayor Xia aren’t getting along. That’s not good—you’d better make sure the whole government backs you, so Zhang Jing can’t exploit any loopholes.” He sighed and continued, “I’ve met the man behind Zhang Jing, but I’m sure he has even stronger backing in the shadows. When it comes to money, you really can’t compete with Zhang Jing.” Zhou Zisheng then recounted the story of how he tried to get Fatty Zhang to harass Zhang Jing at a bar, spiking her drink, only for a young man to appear and rescue her.

Xia Fugui was genuinely stunned. After all that, the person Zhou described was little more than a boy, barely out of his teens? It seemed incredible, yet Zhou’s serious expression left little room for doubt. “Zisheng, you really saw that boy with so much money?”

“Yes, he had several cards in his wallet, each worth tens of millions. I’d never seen those kinds of cards—Fatty Zhang had to point them out to me.” Zhou Zisheng took a sip of tea and shook his head. “So I suspect the boy is likely a rich heir from outside City C, smitten with Zhang Jing. His backing must be formidable. What can an eighteen-year-old earn? Unless his father is wealthy, what other explanation is there? So, Uncle Xia, the battle hasn’t even started and you’ve already lost in terms of resources. What you need now is timing and local advantage.”

“Ah… it’s hard!” Xia Fugui finally seemed to resign himself, painfully closing his eyes. “My brother is used to being reckless in City C, but the new Party Secretary, Su Guohui, seems to be targeting him, always opposing him. With my brother’s temper, a clash is inevitable. Without the Party Secretary’s approval, no one in the government would dare help with the redevelopment project on the sly.”

“Dad, I know Su Guohui’s daughter. Her name is Su Xin—the girl I told you about.” Xia Jianren seized the moment to interject.

“What? You’re saying the girl you liked is the Party Secretary’s daughter!” Xia Fugui was surprised, then quickly composed himself. “So the boy you wanted me to teach a lesson to is the Party Secretary’s daughter’s boyfriend? You little bastard! Thank goodness I didn’t help you, or there would have been chaos! You knew who she was—are you trying to ruin your old man?”

“Dad… hear me out. If I win Su Xin over, wouldn’t Su Guohui become family? If we’re family, your problems become his problems.” Xia Jianren explained quickly, “It’s that bastard Xiao Qiang who stole Su Xin from me—I almost had a chance!”

“Oh?” Xia Fugui’s eyes suddenly lit up with hope. “Is what you’re saying true? If you really have what it takes to win Su Xin, that would be an excellent alliance. But what about this Xiao Qiang—what’s his family like? Don’t bring trouble home at a critical moment!”

“No way. I’ve investigated Xiao Qiang—his parents are ordinary folks, not wealthy. Last time, I hired some thugs to rough him up and he didn’t utter a word. He has no background.” Xia Jianren, seeing his father soften, grew excited. “Dad, just ask Uncle De to find some tough guys to deal with him—he’ll never dare compete with me again!”

Listening to his son, Xia Fugui’s broad face twitched. He nodded coldly, “If that’s really the case, your old man will help you this time. Zisheng, do me a favor and dig into the background of Zhang Jing’s young protector. Don’t forget, if I, Xia Fugui, go down, your father and you won’t fare well either. Like you said, we’re in the same boat. This time, I must turn the tide!”

ps: Please bookmark and vote! If you haven’t yet, please take a moment to support—thank you!