Chapter 26: Fishing in Troubled Waters

Chen Mo sniffed himself with a slight pang of guilt — no smell at all!

Wait, what do I have to feel guilty about? In this house, I'm the one who calls the shots.

"What, a Triad Society boss can't play around with women?"

Chen Mo stiffened his neck and shot back.

Gang Sheng's eyes immediately turned red. She buried her head in Chen Mo's chest and began to sob softly.

As a Triad Society boss, Chen Mo had several nightclubs under his control, and every little vixen inside them was so alluring.

Gang Sheng had long known that Chen Mo wouldn't be a traditional good man.

It was just that these past few days Chen Mo had treated her so well, giving her an unrealistic fantasy — the fantasy that Chen Mo might settle down for her sake.

As a result, after only a few days, that fantasy was shattered.

This left Gang Sheng feeling a sense of loss.

"Don't cry, it's not that big a deal!" Chen Mo held Gang Sheng and patted her back. "It's not like I haven't been keeping you satisfied. Why are you being so particular about it!"

"Then you can't just abandon me later, right?" Gang Sheng looked up from Chen Mo's embrace, her still-wet eyes from crying staring at Chen Mo.

"That depends on your performance. When the day comes that a younger sister enters the household, you as the eldest sister need to be magnanimous."

Chen Mo looked at Gang Sheng with a rogue's grin.

Hearing Chen Mo's words and seeing the smile on his face, Gang Sheng directly bit down on Chen Mo's neck.

"You bastard!"

Chen Mo's physique now far exceeded that of an ordinary person, his skin almost as tough as cowhide, so Gang Sheng's bite didn't hurt at all.

However, this kind of outrageous behavior could not be tolerated.

"Hey, looks like I've been too good to you these past few days. Today I'll teach you a proper lesson!"

Saying that, he scooped Gang Sheng up in one motion and headed upstairs.

Gang Sheng struggled a couple of times, to no avail.

"Go take a shower first!"

"Together!"

An hour later, a new location was unlocked.

The next morning, Chen Mo called Jimi to his office.

"Jimi, how are things going with the counterfeit goods factory these past few days?"

"Mo Ge, I did find a suitable factory, but we can't agree on the price."

"How much does the seller want?"

"Thirty-five million!"

Chen Mo frowned — he indeed didn't have that much cash right now.

But if Jimi had his eye on this factory, there must be a reason.

"Tell me the specifics of the factory."

"The factory is in Quanwan. It's a new factory that's only been operating for two years, the equipment is very new, and the workers are all skilled hands.

Most importantly, the land area is very large, nearly fifty thousand square feet, so we can keep adding workshops in the future."

"For a factory like this, is the owner willing to sell?"

"The owner is named Lai Kuanhong. He got hooked on gambling these past two years and lost his entire fortune."

A few months ago, to repay his gambling debts, he drained all the funds from the factory and even took deposits from several customers without shipping any goods.

Right now the factory workers haven't been paid in two months either.

At present, the factory's reputation in the garment circle is completely ruined. All suppliers and buyers are unwilling to do business with this factory."

"I figure Lai Kuanhong must be desperate to repay his debts, so that's why he's planning to sell the factory."

Chen Mo tapped his fingers lightly on the desk and looked up. "First, have someone look into it — see how much debt this Lai Kuanhong owes. This afternoon I'll go take a look at the factory."

"Understood, Mo Ge!"

After Jimi left, Chen Mo took a round through Nüren Jie, mainly checking on his own bar.

Jingkun had quite a few men under him, and they worked very efficiently.

In just a few days' time, the entire bar already looked the part.

Barring any surprises, it could officially open for business in a few days.

Chen Mo made a point of checking the private lounge prepared for him.

Very nice — it just lacked a personal female secretary.

When the time came, he could have Gang Sheng fill in temporarily for a few days.

Jimi moved fast. On the way to the factory that afternoon, Jimi had already tracked down all of the factory owner's debts.

"Mo Ge, Lai Kuanhong currently owes five million in supplier payments, three million in customer deposits, and eight million to a loan shark company."

But counting the loan shark company's interest, it comes to nearly nineteen million-plus."

"Good, let's go take a look at the factory first and then talk."

When they arrived at the factory, Lai Kuanhong was already waiting at the entrance.

Lai Kuanhong had received Jimi's notice long ago and knew that Chen Mo was the real boss. He stepped forward enthusiastically and grasped Chen Mo's hand: "Mr. Chen, welcome, welcome."

"Mr. Lai, I've heard a great deal about you," Chen Mo responded just as warmly.

Lai Kuanhong looked to be no more than in his thirties, wearing a sharp suit, his hair styled immaculately — not the slightest sign of someone being hounded by debt collectors.

"Let's skip the pleasantries. Mr. Lai, could you show us around the factory first?"

Chen Mo said directly.

"Of course, of course — please, Mr. Chen!"

Lai Kuanghong walked in front, enthusiastically introducing Chen Mo to the factory's site and facilities.

The factory was indeed as Jimi had said before; the equipment looked new and complete, truly a new factory.

However, the factory currently has not a single worker.

Two months without wages, and suppliers unwilling to supply; the whole factory has been shut down for a long time.

Chen Mo walked around the factory and was extremely satisfied with it.

Three workshops, with a total of nine production lines and 180 sewing machines, enough for over two hundred people to start work.

The most surprising thing for Chen Mo is that the factory site occupies a foot of land, and still has half of the space left; later, several more workshops could be built.

"Boss Lai, how much are you asking for this factory?"

Upon arriving at the factory office, everyone sat down, and Chen Mo looked at Lai Kuanghong.

"For this factory, I alone invested over thirty million initially; now this plot of land alone is worth twenty-five million, and with the equipment inside, it's at least thirty-five million."

"Boss Lai, don't talk about opening a lion's mouth. I can offer twenty million for this factory." Chen Mo held up two fingers in front of Lai Kuanghong, gesturing, "Cash!"

"Mr. Chen, you're joking; twenty million isn't enough to buy such a large plot. Thirty-three million is just my lowest price." Lai Kuanghong laughed.

Chen Mo shook his head and said in a low voice, "Boss Lai, I'm not joking."

"I believe you know your own situation now."

"How many more days can you delay paying what you owe to Guili Company?"

"You should know that even if someone were willing to spend thirty million to buy your factory now, they couldn't pay it all at once."

"The two million I'm offering is cash; as long as you agree now, I'll immediately arrange for people to bring the money, and today you can clear all your debts."

"Mr. Chen, this is looting a burning house! I could never accept this price; my lowest is twenty-five million, and it must be cash!" Lai Kuanghong said with a cold face.

"Twenty million isn't even enough for the land."

Moreover, after paying off debts with twenty million, he would end up penniless.

"I will only offer twenty million. If Boss Lai can't accept it, then forget it."

Twenty million is already enough for Lai Kuanghong to clear all his debts, with some left over.

"Since that's the case, I see no need to continue talking. Mr. Chen, please go."

Lai Kuanghong issued the expulsion order with a cold face.

Chen Mo paid no attention to Lai Kuanghong's attitude and said to Jimi and Fei Ji, "Let's go; let Boss Lai think it over."