Chapter 24: – World 1 [24] Part 1

The Kangxin representative was completely baffled by the back-and-forth between Jing Ke and Shang Siyu. He took three gulps of hot water just to stop himself from blurting out, “How do you know that?”

As a high-level executive, the Kangxin representative was well aware of the problems within the group. Their economic performance had indeed been declining in recent years, and they urgently needed a chance for change.

For Kangxin Group, the new technology held by Jing Ke and Shang Siyu was that very chance. As long as Kangxin Group could seize it, reversing their losses would be very simple.

Seeing Jing Ke and Shang Siyu act increasingly assertive, the flicker of arrogance the Kangxin rep had initially shown was quickly extinguished. His attitude swiftly reverted to its original form, his words even carrying a faint hint of ingratiation.

“Peace brings prosperity, peace brings prosperity. The terms of our cooperation can be discussed slowly. If President Shang is unwilling to let us join the broad market, you could also choose to cooperate with us on designated high-end products.”

As he spoke, the Kangxin representative pulled out another drafted contract. “Ladies, why not take a look at this contract first? Our Kangxin Group has a very large existing client base. If a large-scale market cooperation isn’t possible, we can cooperate within a designated scope.”

“We’ve run internal statistics. Across the nation, there are conservatively over two thousand people with assets exceeding a hundred million who need prosthetic limbs. Their requirements for prosthetics are higher, and they are willing to spend a tenth of their assets to improve their quality of life.”

This time, the Kangxin representative didn’t paint an unrealistic picture; he gave concrete data as he spoke.

If New Life Technology cooperated with Kangxin Group, they could likely convert that entire high-asset demographic into clients.

Calculated at a minimum annual profit of one hundred thousand per person, that would mean nearly two hundred million in revenue. If split evenly between the two parties, that would be a nine-figure income.

Neither Jing Ke nor Shang Siyu stopped their little game under the table, but their attitudes were noticeably more serious than before.

After a lengthy, detailed ten-minute presentation on Kangxin Group’s advantage in high-end client resources, the Kangxin representative couldn’t help looking at Shang Siyu with a hint of expectation.

This alternative plan was already the bottom line of Kangxin Group’s concessions. If this cooperation couldn’t be agreed upon either, then the two sides would have to fight it out with real swords and spears in the market.

“President Jing, what do you think?” Shang Siyu openly asked for Jing Ke’s opinion.

Jing Ke furrowed her brow in thought for a moment. Her gaze first landed on the representative’s slightly balding crown before meeting his eyes.

“If what this representative says truly speaks for Kangxin Group, I believe this type of cooperation is feasible. We could then establish a special task force, or even a department, dedicated to serving this specific segment of clients.”

Running a business is all about making money—this was a consensus between Jing Ke and Shang Siyu.

Allowing ordinary people to access good, functional prosthetics at lower prices, and providing the wealthy with better, more luxurious services, were not contradictory goals.

In fact, once the former was implemented effectively, it could even subsidize it to a certain extent, allowing the price of standard prosthetics to drop just a little bit more.

Because high-asset clients, to some extent, also represent connections within upper-class circles. At certain times, a sufficiently wide network can have an unexpectedly powerful effect.

And so, after reaching a consensus, Jing Ke, Shang Siyu, and the Kangxin representative spent a total of five hours in the meeting room.

When the Kangxin representative left, he was smiling.

And Jing Ke and Shang Siyu, who remained in the meeting room, were also in an excellent mood. A steady nine-figure annual income was very beneficial for the sustained development of New Life Technology.

–

While New Life Technology and Kangxin Group were reaching their preliminary cooperation, Xue Fan, whose construction site had been shut down for over a month due to complaints from various property owners, was at his breaking point.

What Xue Fan valued most was his reputation; words once spoken were never easily taken back.

Because of this, when his General Assistant left without any hesitation, Xue Fan didn’t try to persuade him to stay. The day after the GA left, Xue Fan had the GA’s deputy promoted to the new General Assistant.

Although the new GA was also a prestigious university graduate, his experience couldn’t compare to his predecessor’s. He had previously just followed the old GA’s orders and rarely took the lead on major issues.

So, with the new GA in place, Xue Fan’s situation became easy to predict. Without anyone to give timely warnings and gently correct his actions, Xue Fan began handling everything entirely according to his own ideas.

Deputy Director Wang returned the gifts? Then he’d just super-size the gift and send it again.

If Deputy Director Wang wouldn’t accept gifts, he’d approach his family members. His main strategy was a shameless “I’m clinging to you now; if you don’t help me sort this out, we’ll go down together” type of rogue behavior.

This kind of rascally conduct did indeed force Deputy Director Wang to step in and deal with Xue Fan’s current mess, but it also made Deputy Director Wang bear a deep grudge against him.

Even if Xue Fan survived this time, Deputy Director Wang would certainly cleanly sever ties and then turn around to deal with Xue Fan himself.

Xue Fan was aware of this, but he felt that as long as he was sincere enough and willing to spend enough money when the time came, all problems would be easily solved.

But was an issue that had caught the attention of the City Party Secretary and the Mayor something a mere Deputy Director could resolve?

The City Party Secretary had only been transferred to this post last year. After a year of settling in, he had just finished sorting out the situation in River City.

Engaging in this kind of corruption and bribery right when the Party Secretary was looking to make a big move—how was that any different from willingly putting your neck on the chopping block?

And so, before New Year’s Day, the River City government website published an announcement: Deputy Director Wang of the Housing and Construction Bureau was suspended from all duties, pending an investigation by the Discipline Inspection Commission.

If Deputy Director Wang was under investigation, Xue Fan, who had been overly close to him recently, naturally couldn’t escape. Not only did his construction site remain shut down, but the tax authorities also came knocking, demanding a thorough audit of the accounts for the past five years.

Xue Fan’s fortune had only been built in the last few years. A five-year retrospective investigation was no different from digging up his entire past.

Seeing the pile of resignation letters in the HR department growing larger, Xue Fan finally began to panic. His original self-confidence was crushed almost to nothing by this harsh reality. He started shedding his pride, making calls and blocking doorways, trying to find someone who could pull him out of this.

The vast majority of people Xue Fan approached chose to avoid him completely. They ignored their past connections, wanting only to distance themselves cleanly from him.

As for the few individuals Xue Fan had helped once using his precognitive knowledge, they were also powerless. All they could give him was a little money and some advice.

“Cutting off the tail to survive is the best option. Transfer the land in the High-tech Park to someone else to get your funds flowing again.”

“You absolutely cannot default on the workers’ wages. Fix the problematic houses—rebuild where necessary, repair where needed. You must appease those property owners and prevent them from escalating the issue.”

“Stopping work isn’t a disaster. Just standardize the procedures and resume construction. Stop trying to cover things up; honestly admitting fault is the way to minimize losses promptly.”

“Regarding the tax issues, just pay the back taxes and the fines. The worst case is starting over from scratch. You’re capable and young; you still have the capital to make a comeback.”

To be fair, these people were speaking from the heart, offering genuine advice.

If Xue Fan had been a truly capable man, he would certainly have had the confidence to rebuild Wanshen Real Estate even after a massive financial hemorrhage.

But the problem was that Xue Fan wasn’t truly capable. He was just lucky enough to be chosen by the system temporarily, becoming a pig that could fly in a favorable wind.

Now, the east wind that had carried him was gone. If he fell back to the bottom, he wouldn’t be able to fly again at all. He would just be buried in that valley, sleeping there for good.

Unwilling to accept his fate, Xue Fan selectively followed part of their advice, trying to offload the High-tech Park land he had bought for a high price of three hundred million.

If not for the bidding process, the base land price would have been only three thousand per square meter. With government subsidies, it would have been even lower.

Even with the bidding, most companies’ psychological upper limit was five thousand per square meter; they were willing to pay two hundred million at most.

But that was then, and this was now.

Businessmen are the best at assessing situations. Seeing Xue Fan wanted to sell the High-tech Park land at a low price, one by one, they all started suppressing their offers. Many companies tried to snipe this plot of land for under one hundred million.

“President Xue, the highest current bid is three thousand five hundred per square meter, but the payment is in installments, with the down payment only thirty percent,” the new GA reported.

“What use is a thirty percent payment? I need someone who can pay the full amount in one lump sum. A slightly lower price is fine.” Xue Fan rubbed his head irritably.

Xue Fan was desperately short on cash. He needed money for back taxes, for wages, for construction repairs and maintenance.

“President Xue, there is one company that can pay the full amount within a month. However, their bid is relatively low, only three thousand per square meter. We would only recoup one hundred million in funds,” the new GA reported.

“Three thousand per square meter?” Xue Fan felt like something flashed through his mind, but his thoughts were too chaotic now to think clearly.

“Are you sure they can pay the full amount within a month? Have you investigated who the land buyer is?” Xue Fan asked.

The new GA nodded. “It’s a newly established company, apparently founded by a wealthy second-generation returnee from overseas. The registered capital alone is ten million. I asked a friend at the bank; their company’s liquid funds are guaranteed to be at least in the nine-figure range.”

Hearing the new GA’s words, Xue Fan pinched the bridge of his nose. His limited remaining experience told him that at times like this, he needed to stay calm and thoroughly investigate the other company’s background before making a deal.