Chapter 33: Until the Dust Settles, Everyone Is a Dark Horse!
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After taking a photograph with Tang Ye, the mother said her farewells and left. Before departing, they exchanged contact information, and she said that if the opportunity arose, she would invite Tang Ye and Gu Wenqin to dinner as a gesture of thanks.
Smiling broadly, Tang Ye carried the silk banner into the office.
The wall on the right was starkly white, so he found a three-legged wooden ladder and hung the banner up as decoration.
Chen Zhihua walked in and began directing him with a smile. “A little farther to the right—too far. Raise the right corner by a centimeter. There, that’s perfectly straight.”
Tang Ye hammered the nail in, then jumped down from the chair. Discovering that he was drenched in sweat, he turned to Chen Zhihua with a grateful smile. “Thank you for helping me, Mayor Chen.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Tang Ye poured Chen Zhihua a cup of tea. “Did you need to see me about something?”
“I wanted to discuss the construction of the town nursing home with you. The government funds were approved long ago, but construction still hasn’t begun.”
Tang Ye understood what Chen Zhihua meant. The new nursing-home project was a sore spot for him.
Chen Zhihua had previously encountered all kinds of obstruction while trying to push the project forward. In the end, he had become disheartened and chosen to give up.
Now that he wanted to pull himself together, he intended to start with the nursing-home project. He planned to raise the matter again at the Party committee meeting and hoped to win Tang Ye’s support.
After Tang Ye completed the investment-attraction assignment, Xu Yiping had become exceptionally amiable toward him.
Xu Yiping had no reason to sour his relationship with a temporary outsider who could bring him political achievements.
But Tang Ye increasingly felt that Xu Yiping was not a qualified leader.
Pinghu was about to undergo tremendous development, and Xu Yiping, with his mediocrity and stubbornness, would become an obstacle to the town’s progress.
Tang Ye knew something about the nursing-home project. He sighed. “Mayor Chen, I understand that you want to accomplish something substantial, but reopening an old matter won’t be easy, will it?”
Chen Zhihua’s eyes widened in anger. “That money was divided up among them long ago.”
Tang Ye sympathized with him. Stroking his chin, he pondered for a moment. “We can’t simply tear off our masks and fight them head-on. They’ll certainly be prepared.”
Chen Zhihua said coldly, “Even so, we can’t let them act without restraint. There will be a great deal to do from here on out. We can’t let those parasites keep sucking us dry and lining their own pockets!”
Tang Ye secretly realized that Chen Zhihua was thinking along the same lines as he was. He took a document from the drawer and handed it to him. “Take a look at the section on senior care in this proposal.”
Chen Zhihua accepted the proposal and quickly flipped through several pages. His eyes grew brighter and brighter.
A health-and-wellness town.
The Pinghu Resort Project Proposal.
The proposal contained extensive plans for the nursing-home component. Not only would a new nursing home be built, but Pinghu Town’s facility would also be developed into the finest and largest nursing home among the surrounding towns.
From the proposal, Chen Zhihua could see that Tang Ye had an expansive vision—and even greater ambitions.
“Are you trying to compete for a provincial-level resort project? Our town doesn’t have any advantages!”
“How will we know whether it’s possible if we don’t try? Since the inspection team has already come here to survey the area, they must have given us some consideration. The outcome is undecided; you and I could both still be the dark horses.” Tang Ye patiently guided him. “When you go to the county for a meeting, you can bring up this proposal with the county leaders. They want to secure the resort project even more than we do.”
What a line: The outcome is undecided; you and I could both still be the dark horses!
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Chen Zhihua admired the breadth of Tang Ye’s vision.
He was playing an enormous game of chess.
He was reading people’s hearts and making use of politicians’ hunger for political achievements.
The county leaders would naturally see the opportunity as well.
Whether the resort project—worth tens of billions—had a ten-percent chance of settling in Pinghu or only a one-percent chance, success would bring enough benefits to their careers to make anyone pursue it desperately.
Chen Zhihua skimmed through the project once more, his heart filled with emotion. The proposal was extremely detailed and displayed extraordinary foresight and vision.
Tang Ye had actually been willing to give it to him. That alone had given him ample confidence.
Clutching the documents under his arm, Chen Zhihua left the office, his footsteps considerably lighter.
Tang Ye understood Chen Zhihua. In terms of prestige, he was inferior to Xu Yiping, but in terms of ambition, he was far stronger.
The official world emphasized hierarchy. Although Du Chengfeng had a favorable impression of Tang Ye, directly submitting the documents to him would constitute bypassing the chain of command—an unforgivable taboo.
Besides, Tang Ye also wanted to arm Chen Zhihua with the strength to contend with Xu Yiping.
After returning to his office, Chen Zhihua immersed himself in the proposal. Deep in his heart, amazement and emotion kept rising.
If Little Tang’s idea could become reality, then as mayor he would gain impressive political achievements. He had originally thought he would retire at his current rank, but now he had the confidence to strive for a deputy-director-level position.
The investment-attraction matter had already been settled, but there was still no sign of hope for Qinge’s transformation...
After work, Tang Ye went to the Qinge Garment Factory. At the entrance, he placed a pack of cigarettes in front of Elder Lin.
Elder Lin glanced at the cigarettes and frowned. “Stop trying to curry favor with me. Call someone to come get you.”
Faced with Elder Lin’s complete imperviousness to persuasion, Tang Ye helplessly took out his phone and called Gu Wenqin.
A few minutes later, Gu Wenqin came to the entrance to welcome him personally.
The two were just about to head toward the workshop when a voice suddenly came from behind them.
“President Gu! Please wait.”
Gu Wenqin turned around.
Zheng Yaodong stepped out of a BMW.
Xu Jie followed behind him, a malicious smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“Is something wrong?”
Zheng Yaodong straightened his suit. “I never visit without a purpose. Let’s go inside and have a good talk.”
Gu Wenqin looked warily at Xu Jie. “You’re welcome, but he isn’t.”
Zheng Yaodong waved his hand at her. “We’re here to discuss business today. I need President Xu present, so do me this favor.”
Xu Jie grinned inwardly. Just wait, Gu Wenqin. You’ll have your time to cry.
They all went to Gu Wenqin’s office.
Zheng Yaodong took a contract from his pocket. “President Gu, I came today because I sincerely want to discuss a partnership.”
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Gu Wenqin knitted her elegant brows. “Didn’t you refuse before?”
Zheng Yaodong smiled. “As far as I know, all of Qinge’s distribution channels have now been cut off. Without orders, continuing to struggle will only lead to greater losses. Xu Jie and I are willing to invest two million together. In return, you’ll hand over the entire factory building and production line to me. This is your last chance.”
Gu Wenqin had not expected Zheng Yaodong to understand Qinge so thoroughly. The garment factory was now filled with anxiety, and many people believed that it was about to go under.
Their accounts were stretched to the limit, and it was becoming clear that they would not even be able to pay this month’s wages...
They had originally hoped to make a breakthrough in women’s underwear, but there was no sign of success for the time being.
“Wenqin, listen to me. Let the two companies become one. I’ll be the boss, and you’ll be the boss’s wife. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Why listen to an outsider? Your family can barely put food on the table, yet you’re still talking about transformation?”
Xu Jie adopted the posture of someone taking advantage of another’s misfortune.
An outsider?
Tang Ye sensed the hostility and sneered. “President Gu has already made herself clear. She won’t transfer the company. Leave.”
Gu Wenqin’s face went pale with anger. “Mayor Tang’s words represent my own position.”
Xu Jie swept Tang Ye an indifferent glance, then looked at Gu Wenqin with pity. “Don’t regret this.”
Zheng Yaodong had come to Pinghu today to discuss expanding production and building a new factory with Xu Jie.
His visit to Qinge was merely a side trip to test Gu Wenqin’s situation.
After all, Qinge would go bankrupt sooner or later. When that happened, they could acquire the factory building and production lines at a very low price.
Zheng Yaodong and Xu Jie left.
Gu Wenqin’s eyes reddened. “What if I return your investment? There’s still some money in the accounts. We should cut our losses while we can.”
Tang Ye took a deep breath and encouraged her. “The harder things become, the more we have to grit our teeth and persevere.”
His phone began to ring.
Tang Ye answered it.
Lin Ziyang’s voice was filled with excitement. “Brother Ye, I’ve got great news! A major customer just placed an order for two thousand pieces. Do we have enough stock in the warehouse?”
Tang Ye tried to remain calm. “Are you sure it’s two thousand pieces, not two thousand yuan?”
Lin Ziyang burst out laughing. “This customer bought fifty pieces a few days ago. I thought it was rather strange at the time, but I never expected her to place an order for two thousand today. I talked to her, and she’s the owner of a foreign-trade company in Yunhai. She’s been looking for products with good styles and quality, and ours happen to meet her requirements. This is only the first batch. If the response is good, we can maintain a long-term partnership!”
Tang Ye covered the phone and immediately told Gu Wenqin the good news.
“You’ll need to organize everyone to work overtime and replenish the stock as quickly as possible!
“There’s no need to worry about sales anymore!
“Lin Ziyang has sold the entire first batch.”
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