187: Chapter 187 Resource Broker

Under the dim yellow streetlights of Chengdu at night, a dark red car was moving along the road at a steady yet fast pace.

Su Ye sat in the back seat and looked at Classmate Xiao Zhao, who had fallen asleep against the car window, drooling while dreaming of some delicious food. He smiled, then took a wet wipe from the storage compartment to wipe Classmate Xiao Zhao's face.

He then looked at Zhang Jing, who was driving intently in front, and said:

"Old Zhang, sorry to trouble you to come pick me up so late—"

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Zhang Jing's mouth as he said:

"Chairman Su, you're being too polite. You know, compared to when I was on call 24 hours a day at Guangyao International, this is so much easier."

Su Ye nodded with a smile. Who says foreign companies don't have overtime? As long as they come to Daxia, there is no such thing as not working overtime. The higher the position, the more intense the overtime and the greater the pressure—unless, of course, they are expatriates.

"I called you over this time not just to drive me, but to check on the progress of setting up the Family Office. After all, as you can see, I'm quite in need of a driver sometimes. I ordered a bulletproof Bentley, and I should be able to pick it up soon."

Zhang Jing asked in confusion:

"Chairman Su, are you planning to drive this car abroad?"

Su Ye was speechless. He just wanted to be safer, a bit more afraid of death—why did everyone think he had persecution mania?

"It's just for use domestically. I just thought it looked safe enough, so I bought it."

Zhang Jing smiled but didn't laugh out loud, as he felt it would be truly impolite. Although Su Ye was easygoing, Zhang Jing understood the boundaries very clearly when it came to giving his boss face.

Changing the subject, Zhang Jing said:

"Chairman Su, the basic framework for the Family Office has been built. We just need to fill it with personnel to perfect it. It is expected to be operational by mid-October. As for your driver, I am already conducting background checks. If there are no issues, you can meet him the day after tomorrow."

Su Ye nodded with satisfaction; Old Zhang's efficiency was quite high.

Su Ye then turned serious and recounted what happened today at Golden Knight with Liu Hongbo and Qin Lang. Zhang Jing had planned quite a bit regarding the Qin Family previously, and since Zhang Jing was handling most of Su Ye's business empire, he couldn't afford to be caught off guard if they were targeted.

After two or three minutes of heavy silence in the car, Zhang Jing slowly said:

"Chairman Su, what you did today was correct. For now, it's best we don't have a direct confrontation with Liu Hongbo. After all, we haven't had any conflict with him before, and sometimes, being in the right is quite important."

"As for this person Liu Hongbo, I didn't know much about him before, but after hearing what you said, a profession very similar to mine came to mind: a broker—"

Su Ye asked, a bit confused:

"A broker?"

Zhang Jing nodded, a hint of caution flashing in his eyes.

"Yes, Chairman Su, a broker. What I did at Guangyao International, to put it bluntly, was broker work—introducing the right person to the right company. In general, it's a form of resource exchange. What this Liu Hongbo does is essentially a form of resource exchange as well: using his political resources to trade for wealth resources, and using wealth resources or emotional resources to trade for political resources. The reason he has succeeded is that he has built his own channels."

Hearing Zhang Jing put it this way, Su Ye really felt it was true. Isn't that how Liu Hongbo achieved his current success, by utilizing various resource exchanges? You could say political resources are his base.

"What do you think Liu Hongbo and Qin Lang will do next?"

Zhang Jing freed his right hand to adjust the glasses on the bridge of his nose and then said:

"Chairman Su, our companies are all wholly owned by you, and we are not short of development funds, nor do we have any partnerships with banks. Under these circumstances, it's impossible for him to influence us from the outside. Therefore—"

A decisive voice came from Zhang Jing:

"Internally. They can only break us from the inside. The methods for breaking us from the inside are nothing more than those few: bribing middle-management and above to stir up conflicts between departments, then fishing in troubled waters by hiring commercial spies or bribing our R&D personnel to obtain technology, and slandering us externally to make our partners cut off cooperation and sever our capital flow."

Su Ye pondered for a moment and then added:

"Liu Hongbo has deep roots in official circles; we cannot rule out that he will use official power to constantly cause us trouble."

Zhang Jing nodded, agreeing with Su Ye's assessment.

Su Ye closed his eyes tightly, thought for a moment, then opened them and said:

"Let's move first. I'll contact someone and let you know. Move all the companies to the tech park in the High-Tech Zone. No one will bother us there."

"As for the rest, I'll have to trouble you to be more vigilant during this time. Also, don't tell anyone else about what happened today."

Su Ye's eyes narrowed slightly:

"Instead of letting those people hide in the shadows, it's better to bring them into the light. I want their people under our surveillance; that's the only way to be safe."

Su Ye's car slowly pulled into the parking lot. He shook Classmate Xiao Zhao, but she didn't react at all. With no other choice, Su Ye had to carry her on his back, and without looking back, he said to Zhang Jing:

"Old Zhang, go buy some work vehicles. You have a budget of three million. Also, pick one out for yourself as an early year-end bonus—a budget of two million."

With that, Su Ye's figure disappeared into the elevator.

Zhang Jing watched the closed elevator doors, and after a long while, he smiled and whispered:

"Understood, boss—"

Su Ye carried Zhao Sihan on his back and opened the door, then retaliated by giving Classmate Xiao Zhao's perky butt a hard squeeze.

The next second, Su Ye felt a pain in his shoulder, and then he heard Classmate Xiao Zhao's muffled voice:

"Old Su, are you trying to pinch my butt until it breaks? You're so heavy-handed. If it breaks, you won't have anything to play with. Good thing this is real, otherwise I'd have to be sent to the hospital."

Su Ye grimaced and said:

"Hiss—weren't you sleeping like a dead pig? How did you wake up as soon as we got home?"

A hint of craftiness flashed in Zhao Sihan's eyes:

"That's none of your business. Can't I just happen to wake up?"

Su Ye felt the pain in his shoulder and gave it another hard squeeze.

"Ah!"

Classmate Xiao Zhao let out a cry of pain, and then her mouth, which had just opened, bit hard into Su Ye's shoulder again.

"Let go."

"I won't, you let go first."

"Hiss—hurry up, you let go first."

"Ow—you let go—"

Su Ye hardened his heart and carried Classmate Xiao Zhao directly toward the bedroom.

Zhao Sihan saw the direction Su Ye was heading and her heart trembled. She quickly let go and said:

"Forget it, forget it, Old Su, I was wrong, Old Su, don't!"

A smile tugged at the corner of Su Ye's mouth:

"It's not that you were wrong; it's that you know disaster is imminent—"