25: Chapter 25 A Dilemma: The Approval Leads to Trouble

Lin Zimo froze in place.

His gaze shifted from the total position on the computer screen to Shen Du's expressionless face.

His mouth was half-open, and his breathing had stalled.

"Buzz—Buzz—"

The paint-chipped Nokia on the table suddenly began to vibrate violently, breaking the frozen air.

Shen Du glanced at the screen.

It was a local Shanghai number without a contact name.

He pressed the green answer button, held it to his ear, and said in a flat tone: "Who is this?"

From the other end of the line came a respectful, slightly cautious male voice:

"Mr. Shen, hello. I am Gong Jun, the person in charge of Meituan in Shanghai."

"Currently, I am in charge of the 'Community Food Delivery' pilot project between Meituan and the Shanghai City Hall."

Shen Du did not reply, listening quietly.

Gong Jun on the other end did not hear a response, his tone unconsciously tightening as he sped up his speech:

"It's like this: Mr. Wang originally intended to fly over to visit you personally."

"But considering your low profile in Shanghai, he was afraid of disturbing your peace."

"So, he sent you a text message as a courtesy, and then specifically instructed me to contact you. We wanted to ask you to step in and help steer this project."

After hearing this,

Shen Du's expression did not fluctuate in the slightest.

He gave no polite response.

His thumb pressed directly on the red hang-up button.

"Clap." The call was cut off.

He lowered his head and opened his inbox.

In the unread list lay a long text message sent ten minutes ago.

Sender: Wang Xing.

After scanning the content of the text and confirming it matched what Gong Jun had said,

Shen Du pulled up the call history and dialed the number back.

The call was answered almost as soon as it rang.

"Mr.—Mr. Shen?"

Gong Jun's voice sounded insecure, clearly terrified by the sudden hang-up just moments ago.

"Gong Jun, right."

Shen Du stood up and grabbed the black jacket draped over the back of the chair:

"Send me the address. I happen to be free this afternoon; I'll be over in a bit."

He did not give the other party a chance for pleasantries and hung up the phone again.

Shen Du shoved his phone into his jacket pocket, pulled open the dormitory door with one hand, and disappeared into the light of the hallway.

Half an hour later.

Shen Du stepped out of the elevator and arrived at the floor housing Meituan's Shanghai headquarters.

Gong Jun, who had been waiting outside the glass door, was sweating profusely, his tie loosened halfway.

Seeing Shen Du appear, his tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, as if he had seen a life-saving straw.

He hurried forward and invited Shen Du into an office deep in the hallway.

"Mr. Shen, please sit."

Gong Jun personally served hot tea. He handed a blue folder to Shen Du with both hands, his tone anxious:

"This is the proposed project plan and the official approval; please take a look."

Shen Du leaned back on the sofa, took the folder, and opened it.

Having fought in the capital markets for many years in his past life, he had an instinctive keenness for project proposals with this kind of official background.

His gaze did not linger on the nonsense at the beginning.

His fingers flipped through the pages, precisely cutting to the cooperation terms and the site selection approval page.

Upon flipping to this page, Shen Du's movements paused slightly.

This guidance document had a stiff disconnect here.

For this cooperation, the total pot was 100 million in special funds.

But on the approval page, two completely different red-headed official documents were clipped to the left and right, splitting the 100 million into two halves.

The one on the left was stamped with the seal of the Livelihood Department.

It required an immediate injection into the "Old City District".

There was only one core requirement: provide employment for laid-off workers.

As long as this condition was met, the 50 million in funds would be released.

The one on the right was stamped with the seal of the City Construction and Planning Department.

It directly designated the unfinished "New City District" as the cooperation site.

It required Meituan to pay for road repairs first to increase construction progress.

Only after the infrastructure was built would personnel be allowed to move in for employment, thereby unlocking those 50 million.

Two documents, two directions. They were stiffly placed together in the same folder.

Shen Du frowned slightly.

He closed the folder and tossed it onto the coffee table with a "clack".

Shen Du raised his eyes and stared at Gong Jun, who was standing to the side wiping his sweat:

"You called me over, it shouldn't just be for site selection, right?"

Upon hearing this,

The forced smile on Gong Jun's face froze.

He pulled several tissues from the box and wiped the sweat from his forehead messily.

"Mr. Shen has sharp eyes; I cannot hide anything from you."

Gong Jun's voice was dry, filled with powerlessness:

"These two official approvals are indeed the intentions of two different groups of leaders."

"This isn't site selection; this is pushing Meituan into a fire pit."

Shen Du leaned on the sofa, his gaze calm: "Continue."

Gong Jun swallowed, pointing to the document on the left:

"This side is the leader in charge of livelihood and employment."

"They urgently need performance results by the end of the year and require us to land in the Old City District immediately."

"As long as we set up shop and start recruiting, these 50 million can be credited immediately."

"But this one on the right..."

Gong Jun's finger moved to the other paper, trembling with nervousness:

"It is a death order from the City Construction and Land Planning Department."

"They have long secretly decided to demolish that piece of land in the Old City District and sell it to developers."

"How could they possibly allow us to build a fixed delivery station there?"

"So, they are forcefully pressuring us to go to the New City District."

Gong Jun gritted his teeth: "In reality, they want Meituan to be the sucker."

"They are forcing us to pay for road repairs, and only after we finish clearing the wasteland will they allow us to recruit."

"If we go to the Old City District, City Construction can come tomorrow to cut the power, seal the doors, seize our vehicles, and fine us."

"If we go to the New City District, not only will we have to throw money into a bottomless pit, but the Livelihood Department will also block our business procedures."

Gong Jun made a bitter face, spreading his hands on his legs: "This 100 million pot is a piece of bloody meat."

A flash of realization crossed Shen Du's eyes.

He had figured out Wang Xing's roundabout plan.

Wang Xing, an upstart who made his fortune in Zhongguancun, could not reach his hand into the deep waters of Shanghai.

He had taken the fake identity, deified by Wei Ziang and others in Lanting Mansion, as the truth.

He wanted to borrow his persona as the "Prince of the Shanghai Shen Family" to come forward and suppress these two factions in the City Hall.

The office was very quiet, and Gong Jun stood there holding his breath.

Shen Du knew his own cards better than anyone.

Besides the 20 million he had just doubled in futures, his political resources were a blank sheet of paper.

He could rely on an information gap to deal with an upstart like Wei Ziang.

But once he intervened in such a municipal-level grand game involving the internal strife of two factions, using a front-end identity,

Those old foxes wouldn't need to do anything; they would just need to let the system run his ID number.

His ordinary family background would be sitting on their desks by tomorrow morning.

This fake tiger, borrowing a shell, would be crushed.

Gong Jun stood opposite the coffee table.

The sound of him swallowing was exceptionally clear in the room.

He was hunched over, waiting for the judgment of this "Mr. Shen" before him.

Shen Du did not give an answer immediately.

He fished that nail file out of his pocket.

He turned his head, his gaze passing through the floor-to-ceiling window, watching a sand transport ship entering the mist on the distant Huangpu River.

His right thumb and index finger slowly rubbed the rough edge of the nail file.

"Rustle... rustle..."

A long while later.

Shen Du retracted his gaze, put the nail file back in his pocket, and said in a calm tone:

"It takes time to figure out the current situation. You wait for my news; I will go find an acquaintance to ask."