Chapter 135: Mayor's Summons

Chen Yang originally thought that using a few tricks to get Wang Yichen detained for a while would be enough to vent for Shen Anna. He didn't expect Yexin to be even harsher, not only sending Wang Yichen to jail but also dragging Wang's real estate into a mud pit.

Now Wang Real Estate is busy on one side doing crisis PR to salvage the company's reputation, and on the other side still has to hire a top lawyer to save Wang Yichen. The whole interior has fallen into utter chaos.

But Yexin didn't let up. After successive exposés in Dongjiang Financial News and Xingcheng Evening Post, she quickly dropped another bombshell.

On Monday evening, Zhang Group's CEO in Xingcheng, Zhang Peng, publicly accused via Xingcheng Financial Channel that Wang Real Estate's representative, together with a certain local high-ranking official in Xingcheng, deliberately obstructed the approval process, coercing them to sell the No. 8 plot of Xingcheng International New City at half price, and also attached a recording of the Wang Group representative threatening him.

As soon as the news broke, the entire Dongjiangsheng exploded. The person in charge of Wang Real Estate, the Deputy Mayor of Xingcheng responsible for urban construction, and all related personnel were taken away for investigation by the relevant departments.

When Chen Yang received the news, he was also very surprised. Although in his previous life he knew that the No. 8 plot of the International New City had problems, he had never heard it was a corruption issue.

And once the collusion between Wang Real Estate and that Xingcheng Deputy Mayor is verified, Zhang Group's development path in Xingcheng is revived. This is an outcome Chen Yang never expected.

Of course, Chen Yang currently doesn't have the energy to keep track of Zhang Group's movements. He and Liu Shijie's primary goal now is to gain a foothold in Qingshui City. Zhang Group shifting its industrial center to Xingcheng is actually also a good thing for them.

After all, Qingshui City is a prefecture-level city with severe local protection. Previous officials have given considerable policy support to enterprises investing locally. If used properly, Chen Yang also hopes to surpass Zhang Group and become the new leader of Qingshui City's private enterprises.

While Wang Real Estate was being helplessly attacked by the combined forces of Yexin and Zhang Group, Sunshine Real Estate's first project in Qingshui City—Sunshine Waterfront—held a grand groundbreaking ceremony!

Because this project encompasses the future landmark building of Qingshui City—Qinghe Tower. The Qingshui Municipal Party Committee Secretary Zhou Zhixiang and Mayor Kong Jie both appeared in person at the site, jointly witnessing this milestone moment.

Amid stirring music and enthusiastic applause, Secretary Zhou Zhixiang delivered a passionate speech. He highly praised Liu Shijie's Sunshine Waterfront project, saying it would inject new vitality into Qingshui City's urban development and improve residents' quality of life.

Next, Mayor Kong Jie also took the stage to speak, emphasizing the government's strong support for such high-quality projects and its bright expectations for urban construction.

After Mayor Kong finished speaking, all the leaders present simultaneously swung their shovels to add soil and lay the foundation for the Sunshine Waterfront project. For a moment, salute guns roared in unison, colorful flowers filled the sky, and the atmosphere of the entire scene reached its climax.

Chen Yang originally didn't want to attend the groundbreaking ceremony, but Liu Shijie insisted on pulling him along, saying that as one of the investors, skipping the ceremony would lose face for the leaders, and he might end up being sabotaged later.

Helpless, Chen Yang could only hide in a corner, trying to be invisible. After barely enduring until the ceremony ended, just as he was about to slip away, he was stopped by Mayor Kong Jie's secretary, Zhang Chunhua.

"Chen Yang, get ready; Mayor Kong wants to talk with you."

Chen Yang often went to the government office to pick up Lin Wei after work, having seen Zhang Chunhua a few times, but they had never spoken. He didn't expect this municipal office's first secretary to know him.

"Secretary Zhang, what does the mayor want with me?"

"How would I know about the leader's affairs?"

Chen Yang furtively slipped a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes to Zhang Chunhua and then asked, "Is the mayor's mood good or bad?"

"Don't worry, the mayor only heard from Manager Liu that you are the behind-the-scenes planner of the Qinghe Tower project and wants to hear your specific ideas." Zhang Chunhua did not reject Chen Yang's overture; he had some understanding of Chen Yang's background and ability and also wanted to make friends.

Upon hearing that they were only asking about Qinghe Tower, Chen Yang thought to himself: "Good, I can handle this."

He and Zhang Chunhua drove together to the municipal government. When they reached the door of the mayor's office, Zhang Chunhua lightly knocked.

A steady, powerful voice came from inside: "Please come in!"

Zhang Chunhua gently pushed the door open and brought Chen Yang inside. Seeing Mayor Kong Jie sitting upright at his desk, attentively flipping through the documents in his hand, he immediately said respectfully, "Mayor, Chen Yang has arrived."

Mayor Kong Jie raised his head and gave Chen Yang a friendly smile. "Chen Yang, you're a prominent figure in Qingshui City, yet you kept a low profile today. If Xiao Zhang hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known you were also at the scene."

Chen Yang slightly bowed, his eyes full of reverence as he looked at this second-in-command who holds great weight in Qingshui City, and said respectfully, "You overpraise me, Leader; I'm just an ordinary commoner."

Mayor Kong Jie laughed and said: "You commoner are not ordinary! I heard that since your company opened over a month ago, you've already helped the city clear over a thousand tons of unsold agricultural products, and also allowed hundreds of thousands of Qingshui residents to enjoy welfare benefits. As the parent official of Qingshui City, I must thank you!"

Chen Yang humbly said: "Leader, you really overpraise me! What I've done is truly trivial. As an entrepreneur, having the chance to provide some within-our-means help and service to the people is exactly the social responsibility we should fulfill."

Mayor Kong Jie greatly appreciated Chen Yang's modest yet unassuming attitude. "I heard that Qinghe Tower is also your investment?"

Chen Yang nodded.

Mayor Kong Jie then asked: "How did you come up with the idea to build a super-high-rise commercial building in Qingshui City?"

Chen Yang honestly replied: "It was also a spur-of-the-moment idea. Since Manager Liu is my good friend and needs to secure this project to establish a foothold in Qingshui City, and their company's first plan wasn't approved by the city, I was nagged by him into giving this suggestion."

Mayor Kong Jie felt Chen Yang wasn't telling the truth and pretended to be angry: "You little brat, trying to be slick in front of me. If it were just a spur-of-the-moment idea, you couldn't have outlined Qinghe Tower's future plan in such detail."

Chen Yang said: "Those plans I merely copied the model of those big malls in Xingcheng; they're not really innovative."

Upon hearing this, Mayor Kong Jie slightly frowned, looked at Chen Yang with doubtful eyes, and said: "If you're just copying others' models, why do you still have the confidence to invest fully?"

Chen Yang explained: "Qingshui City currently has no super-high-rise buildings, and its commercial model is only at the starting stage. No matter who first assembles a commercial building, they can get ahead of others and seize more market share. What I want is the advantage of moving first."

"Your idea is not bad." Mayor Kong Jie looked at Chen Yang, his eyes showing a hint of appreciation. Qingshui City's economy has been in decline these past years, fundamentally because too many managers cling to old ideas and lack innovation. If there were more young people like Chen Yang, full of vigor and daring to innovate, what need to worry about the economy not prospering!