Chapter 149: A Combination of Kindness and Strictness

Yebei Pier and Yenan Wharf have already been acquired by Qianhe Group. Yamei Group doesn't even have a place to dock its ships, so how can it accept orders?

"Since there are no orders in Yezhou, Yamei Group could perfectly well sail its ships to Qilu or the Northeast."

"Even though Yamei Group's transport capacity is nowhere near what it used to be, it can still transport a fair amount of grain."

Hu Jingyi was unwilling to just be defeated by a young punk like Zheng Qian. The reason he had been running around, forming the Northern Alliance, was precisely to oppose Zheng Qian.

Whether it was Zhengxin Shipyard or Qianhe Group, surely they couldn't just admit defeat without even fighting a battle.

Hua Yunfeng did not think so: "Elder Hu, the piers in Qilu are congested, and the ones in the Northeast are too far away. The transport costs really aren't worth it. I believe those exporters wouldn't agree to it either."

"How about this, Elder Hu: when the inland shipping route tender comes around, Yamei Group will be given priority to transport the orders we secure. How does that sound?"

Hu Jingyi was old, but he was not senile.

The inland shipping route tender offered low prices and thin profit margins, nowhere near as high as the profits brought by exports.

Moreover, the inland tender would not be held for at least three months, after the autumn harvest.

He had mortgaged the entire Yamei Group to the bank just to get a loan; waiting idly for three months was simply impossible.

If they couldn't even get ready-made orders now, how could there possibly be any "Yamei priority" later on? It was uncertain if they would even get a piece of the pie.

"Is this what you all think as well?" Hu Jingyi leaned on his cane, stood up, and asked the group.

Fan Minxue, the boss of Changsong Shipping, and Zhang Lekang, the boss of Kangming Shipping, looked at each other and remained silent.

They tacitly agreed with Hua Yunfeng's approach.

Hu Jingyi felt, what kind of bullshit alliance was this?

It couldn't even provide the most basic support to an ally.

This alliance, he was better off without it!

Hu Jingyi flicked his sleeve, let out a cold snort, and stormed out, slamming the door.

Hu Jingyi's angry departure left Fan Minxue and Zhang Lekang with a sense of foreboding.

"Yunfeng, is what we're doing a bit inappropriate?"

"Yeah, Yunfeng, Elder Hu is a senior after all. By doing this, we are driving Yamei Group into a dead end!"

The piers in Yezhou have already been taken by Zheng Qian; now Yamei Group doesn't even have a place to dock its ships.

If the alliance stands by and watches Yamei Group die, what if Hu Jingyi does something rash and sells off Yamei Group directly? Wouldn't that just be handing all those freighters of Yamei Group to Zheng Qian for nothing?

In that case, the Zhengxin Shipyard under Qianhe Group would see its transport capacity increase by a significant margin.

It really isn't worth it.

"This is a solution born of necessity."

"Yamei Group is a complete mess right now."

"You guys probably don't know this, but Elder Hu mortgaged the entire Yamei Group to the bank. He organized this alliance just to fight against Qianhe Group."

"The risk is too high; there is no need for us to shoulder the risks for Yamei Group."

"Besides, now that the ports have been bought by them, it's a problem where Yamei Group's ships can even dock. How can they form an alliance with us?"

Hua Yunfeng's words effectively and completely excised Yamei Group from the alliance.

"You two can rest assured. Without Yamei Group as a burden, our Qijinyi Alliance will develop even better."

Fan Minxue and Zhang Lekang finally nodded, agreeing to Hua Yunfeng's proposal.

"By the way, Yunfeng, that top talent you recruited, why didn't he disclose any information about Qianhe Group to us?"

"Yeah, what's going on? Could he be a mole sent by that kid Zheng Qian to deliberately distract us?"

Hua Yunfeng slapped his forehead; he had almost forgotten about this.

Xiao Xinhao had jumped ship to Yuehua Shipping a few days ago, and their strategic plans were based on the intelligence provided by Xiao Xinhao.

The accident at this tender had Xiao Xinhao bearing inescapable responsibility.

"Go, call that kid Xiao Xinhao over here!" Hua Yunfeng dialed the phone and shouted angrily.

In less than five minutes, Xiao Xinhao was dragged into the room by two burly, sturdy men.

"Break his legs for me!"

At Hua Yunfeng's command, the two burly men immediately pulled out the batons tucked at their waists and began striking Xiao Xinhao's lower legs.

"Speak! Are you a mole sent by that kid Zheng Qian? Did you deliberately provide false intelligence?"

Hua Yunfeng was already full of anger and didn't know where to vent it; Xiao Xinhao just happened to become his punching bag.

"General Manager Hua! General Manager Hua!"

"Please listen to my explanation!"

Hua Yunfeng waved his hand, and the two burly men stopped, stepped back two paces, and waited for his instructions.

Xiao Xinhao was on the verge of tears. He scrambled and crawled to in front of Hua Yunfeng, hugging his knees as he pleaded: "General Manager Hua, I am truly wronged, truly wronged!"

"Didn't you say that you and Zheng Qian were college classmates? You were a senior executive under him, and he didn't tell you anything?"

Xiao Xinhao had just been severely beaten and couldn't even stand up now.

He had never been a senior executive under Zheng Qian; that was all made up. He had only been a team leader in the business department.

Zheng Qian had only mentioned in passing that he would promote him to deputy director, but before the promotion happened, his actions were exposed, and he was fired from the company by Zheng Qian.

"General Manager Hua, you have to believe me!"

"Regarding the matters of Qianhe Group, I don't know a single word! I really didn't deliberately provide false intelligence!"

Xiao Xinhao explained hurriedly.

Hua Yunfeng was ruthless in his actions; if he didn't clarify quickly, he was afraid he would be beaten to death right there.

"Fine, since you don't know a single word, what use do I have for you?"

"Beat him to death!"

Hua Yunfeng waved his hand, and the two burly men surrounded him again, giving Xiao Xinhao another brutal beating.

Xiao Xinhao regretted it so much his guts turned green; he shouldn't have explained it like that.

Now look, it just earned him another beating.

He felt like his legs were no longer his own.

"General Manager Hua, stop hitting me, I'm still useful... I'm still useful!" Xiao Xinhao wailed.

"What other use do you have?"

"I have two fuck buddies at Zhengxin Shipyard. I can develop them into my informants to provide us with a continuous stream of follow-up intelligence."

Hearing this, Hua Yunfeng's eyes suddenly lit up.

He immediately ordered the two burly men to withdraw.

As if nothing had just happened, Hua Yunfeng smiled and helped Xiao Xinhao onto the sofa: "Director Xiao, if you had informants, you should have said so earlier."

"Just now was my fault, old Hua. Don't take it to heart."

Don't take it to heart?

Xiao Xinhao even wanted to drag Hua Yunfeng to jump off the building with him, one life for one life.

Unfortunately, his legs wouldn't listen to him at all!

Even Zhang Lekang and Fan Minxue were shocked.

Damn, Hua Yunfeng really is a two-faced snake; he changes his face faster than turning a page.

Having such a person as an ally, you never know when he might stab you in the back.

"Director Xiao, since you have friends on their inside, please investigate first how much of Zheng Qian's speech at the tender was true and what its credibility is."

"If you do this well, I will reward you."