Chapter 156: Taking the money and not doing the job?

The next morning, after Zheng Qian finished breakfast, he secretly slipped a bank card to Jin Lu.

"What is this for?"

"Don't do anything today. Just take this card and go buy a house. The password is 390390. Whichever one you like, just swipe it. Put the house in your name."

"Just one requirement: it cannot be less than 50 million."

Jin Lu: ???

Fifty million.

How much is Jiangshan International worth anyway? Even though Long Lake Villa is in a prime location in Yebai, houses there aren't that expensive.

This amount of money is enough to buy a villa in Northern Europe.

"Are you serious? If you are, I'm really going to buy one!"

"Buy it. Don't buy the best one; buy the most expensive one. Fifty million is just the minimum standard; there is no upper limit. Spend as much as you can," Zheng Qian instructed.

Even if Long Lake Villa were expensive, it wouldn't be much more expensive than Jiangshan International.

Fifty million might even be a bit difficult for Jin Lu.

Jin Lu's Favorability toward him was currently at 100 points. Although there was no cashback for this expenditure, Zheng Qian felt truly refreshed spending it.

Her father had just been released from prison; shouldn't he show some gesture?

The money he casually spent on the cargo ship's paint job was already 47 million. Not to mention the house he and Jin Lu would live in; of course, it had to be a bit more expensive.

...

Qilu.

Yuehua Shipping Headquarters.

Hua Yunfeng, Fan Minxue, and Zhang Lekang, the bosses of the three shipping companies, sat together, discussing countermeasures around a map of Kyushu.

Qianhe Group's ambition was so great; they would definitely expand eastward next.

Standing from the perspective of Qianhe Group, the three of them carefully studied the two plans most suitable for Qianhe Group at the moment.

First, Bohai.

Second, the Huai River.

The offensive in Bohai was very strong, directly blockading the Dongyi and Jinmen areas, reaching straight to the Liaodong region, and instantly capturing the market in three regions.

The Huai River option was the steadiest of the steady, with stronger strategic value. If Qianhe Group could gain a foothold at the Huai River, it could connect with Yebei Pier, and the entire Huai River, spanning half the territory of Kyushu, would be within Qianhe Group's operational scope.

"Look at how anxious the two of you are. What are you panicking about? Aren't we discussing countermeasures right now?" Hua Yunfeng sneered. These two allies really couldn't keep their cool; the other side hadn't even made a move yet, and they were already losing their composure.

Besides, hadn't they already analyzed the intentions of that kid, Zheng Qian?

Knowing the opponent's intentions, what was there to panic about?

Fan Minxue and Zhang Lekang both sighed. Although they didn't say anything, they were already cursing inwardly.

Yuehua Shipping's main piers were concentrated in the Yellow Sea and Weihai.

No matter which step Qianhe Group took, it would make Fan Minxue and Zhang Lekang extremely uncomfortable.

Dammit, you don't have to panic because Qianhe Group isn't targeting you.

Hua Yunfeng was the typical example of someone talking without feeling the pain.

The crux of the problem was that even knowing Qianhe Group's next move, there was really no way to defend against it.

These two plans were like boxing.

One move was a left hook, the other was a right hook.

Either plan gave people a headache; one careless mistake and you'd fall into their trap.

If you defend Bohai, what if they throw a right hook?

If you defend the Huai River, what if they throw a left hook?

Raising both hands to defend against left and right hooks was even stupider; you would be completely stuck in a passive state with no ability to counterattack.

What if they just sat tight? Then the costs they paid would be wasted for nothing.

At this moment, Hua Yunfeng calmly glanced at a message he received on his phone, and a triumphant expression instantly appeared on his face.

"Intelligence says that Qianhe Group is going to throw a right hook; they have already sent someone to contact Wu Guangquan, the boss of the Huai River Pier."

Wu Guangquan?

The expressions on both of their faces were very solemn.

"Whose intelligence is this? Is it accurate?" Fan Minxue asked.

If this news was true, their pressure wouldn't be so great. As long as they raised their arms to defend, they might even be able to seize the opportunity to counterattack and take that order in Qilu.

"I can't tell you whose intelligence it is, but I can say that the credibility of this information is very high."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find Wu Guangquan quickly and tell him not to cooperate with Qianhe Group, wouldn't that solve it?"

Hua Yunfeng chuckled; things weren't that simple.

He didn't just want Qianhe Group to suffer a setback; he also had to set a trap for that kid, Zheng Qian.

...

A few days later, Zheng Qian received some bad news.

"Manager Chen and the others are already waiting for you in the conference room."

"What bad news? Why the rush?"

In the conference room were: Chen Weiqiang, Liu Shiqi, and Manager Li Tao.

When Qianhe Group was founded, Zheng Qian appointed Manager Li Tao as his executive director, who enjoyed annual dividends, so Manager Li Tao was also at this meeting.

As Zheng Qian's mentor, Zheng Qian naturally wanted to repay him. With such a deep bond between them, he certainly regarded Manager Li Tao as his confidant.

Looking at the expressions of the three, something must have happened at the Huai River estuary.

The two plans discussed internally by the company a few days ago had not yet been decided—which plan was more suitable for the current Qianhe Group.

Yesterday, Hu Jingyi's suggestion—even he valued the Huai River estuary so much—gave Zheng Qian peace of mind.

After the celebration banquet, Zheng Qian made up his mind to follow the advice of this senior, Hu Jingyi, and gain a foothold at the Huai River estuary, where he could advance to attack and retreat to defend.

This plan was being executed by Manager Li Tao.

"Tell me, what's the situation?" After sitting down, Zheng Qian asked straight to the point.

"I flew to the Huai River yesterday afternoon and met with Wu Guangquan, the boss of the Huai River Pier. The talk went quite smoothly, and Wu Guangquan agreed to our condition for priority docking for 3 years."

"Both sides signed the contract, and finance also transferred the payment to Wu Guangquan. I sent 2 cargo ships over, thinking of planting a flag first. Who would have thought that at four in the morning, I received a call saying that the Huai River Pier wouldn't let our ships enter the pier at all, not even allowing them to pass."

"There was no choice, our ships had to return. I called Wu Guangquan, and he said that the pier is currently short on space and can't accommodate so many ships, asking us to come back after a while."

"Bullshit! The Huai River Pier covers almost the entire Huai River estuary. What is this Scholar Wu playing at?" Chen Weiqiang couldn't help but curse.

Zheng Qian finally understood; Wu Guangquan had taken the money but wasn't delivering?

"I have already sent people to investigate and discovered that on the same night we signed the contract with Wu Guangquan, he signed a contract with someone else. The content was the same as ours—also for priority docking rights at the pier—and the price was higher than what we offered."

If that was the case, then Wu Guangquan's problem was even more serious; he was taking money from two different sources!

"How could this happen?" Zheng Qian couldn't help but ask.

The few looked at each other.

"It's not entirely clear, but from the intentions, the one who signed the priority docking contract with Wu Guangquan is clearly from the Qijinyi Alliance."