Chapter 29: The Factory in Hand

Not long after seeing off Thirteen Sister and the other two, the bar also closed for the night.

Gao Jin walked in holding tonight's ledger.

"Mo Ge, tonight's ledger. The bar's revenue tonight is over three hundred thousand, and the cut from the hostesses' out-calls hasn't been counted yet. The profit from drinks is around one hundred and eighty thousand."

Chen Mo took the ledger and glanced through it.

The situation was about the same as what Gao Jin had said.

Through the system, he could know how much tonight's profit was, but not the specific details of the profit.

"It's the opening day today, so it's normal to have a lot of people. I reckon the next week will be about the same as tonight, and then it'll slowly taper off."

"From now on, every Friday and Saturday night, spend a little money to invite a few young singers to perform."

"Understood, Mo Ge."

"Also, we could go to war with Hongle at any time. Give Da Tou a heads-up about this. Just the two of you need to know — keep it low-key."

Jiang Tiansheng's sudden visit today was to check on Chen Mo's situation.

Chen Mo being initiated as a Red Pole meant nothing to Jiang Tiansheng, but seizing Nüren Jie was a different matter.

This meant that the strength of Thirteen Sister and Han Bin's trio had grown by another fraction.

Fortunately, the bosses who came to the bar tonight, apart from the three of them, were only Jingkun and Brother Ji.

He had guessed that Jingkun wanted to win over Thirteen Sister and the others, and he also knew that Brother Ji was a fence-sitter.

If bosses from other districts had also come tonight, Jiang Tiansheng probably wouldn't have been able to sleep.

Today was only the bar's opening for Chen Mo; if the counterfeit goods business got going in a few days, his strength would increase further.

By then, he would certainly face open and covert suppression from Jiang Tiansheng.

In that case, if Chen Mo still wanted to take on Hongle, Jiang Tiansheng would definitely find ways to stop him.

Chen Mo had to go to war with Hongle and seize Sneaker Street before the counterfeit goods business began.

By then, even if Jiang Tiansheng wanted to stop him, he wouldn't be able to.

After all, he couldn't very well make Chen Mo give back Sneaker Street once he had seized it!

The next day, Chen Mo brought Fei Ji and Jimi to the Quanwan factory again, where they met Lai Kuanhong waiting at the factory gate.

It was obvious that Lai Kuanhong had been having a rough time over the past few days.

He was leaning against his car smoking, unkempt and disheveled, with stubble all over his face and messy hair.

The suit on him was already crumpled and wrinkled.

His eyes were bloodshot with heavy dark circles — it seemed he hadn't slept well these past few days.

"Mr. Chen, I'll sell you the factory at the price you said — twenty million in cash."

The moment he saw Chen Mo, Lai Kuanhong rushed over, dispensing with even basic pleasantries.

He looked ready to drop to his knees and beg Chen Mo to buy the factory immediately.

"Boss Lai, no need to rush. Let's go inside and talk."

Chen Mo reached out to steady Lai Kuanhong, and the four of them entered the same conference room as last time.

"Boss Lai, you're willing to sell me this factory for twenty million?"

"Yes. As long as I can get the money today, I'll sign the contract right away."

Lai Kuanhong was already impatient.

"Good, then I won't waste words." The corners of Chen Mo's mouth turned up, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"Fei Ji, go with Boss Lai to get the factory's ledger and worker roster. Jimi, prepare the contract."

Jimi had the contract ready long ago and pulled it straight out of his bag.

Lai Kuanhong took Fei Ji out of the conference room and returned within minutes with a ledger and a roster.

"Mr. Chen, the ledger and roster are both here. When can I get the money?"

Chen Mo took the ledger and roster, flipped through them briefly, and set them aside.

"Fei Ji, go get the money from the car." Chen Mo gestured to Fei Ji.

"Boss Lai, once you sign the contract, you'll get the money right away."

"Good, I'll sign right now."

Lai Kuanhong picked up the pen on the table and quickly signed his name on the contract.

Within a minute, Fei Ji returned carrying a large handbag.

Fei Ji placed the bag on the conference table in front of them.

Chen Mo lifted his chin. "Boss Lai, this is twenty million. Would you like to count it?"

"Yes!"

Lai Kuanhong practically threw himself at the bag, unzipped it, and revealed stacks of crisp thousand-dollar Hong Kong banknotes inside.

Each stack was a hundred thousand, so counting twenty million wouldn't take long.

"Done counting — exactly twenty million. Thank you, Mr. Chen!"

Lai Kuanhong zipped the bag up, hugged it tightly, and bowed to Chen Mo.

"Boss Lai, do you need my men to escort you?"

"No need, no need. I can drive myself. Thank you, Mr. Chen. Goodbye, Mr. Chen."

Lai Kuanhong turned and left, nervously clutching the money.

He wasn't stupid.

He'd refused to sell the factory to Chen Mo one moment, and the next, debt collectors came knocking at his door — how could he not know that Chen Mo had a hand in this?

If he still treated Chen Mo as a pure businessman, that would be strange indeed.

Chen Mo smiled helplessly — he genuinely just wanted to see him off.

Having used twenty million in dirty money to buy this factory, Chen Mo had struck it rich this time.

There was no need to do the business of killing and robbing anymore.

However, if Lai Kuanhong took twenty million in cash to repay the loan shark company's account, whether the remaining money would be enough to repay the others was uncertain.

Chen Mo glanced at his watch and said to Jimi, "Jimi, I'll leave it to you to handle contacting the suppliers and getting the workers to start production. No problem?"

"No problem, Mo Ge. I'll definitely get it done well." Jimi's eyes welled up with hot tears.

Going from a lowly underling to the factory manager in an instant — how could he not be excited!

"We can make up the back wages this factory owed the workers, but don't pay it all at once.

Give half first, and make up the other half later for those who perform well. As for those who don't, don't keep them.

Recruit whoever you need for the management positions the factory is short on, and set the salaries yourself."

"Got it, Mo Ge!"

After arranging things with Jimi, the rest didn't need Chen Mo's attention.

He trusted Jimi's ability to handle it.

Back in the car, Fei Ji drove up front while Chen Mo sat in the back seat and opened the system to take a look.

"Damn!"

Chen Mo cursed under his breath.

"Mo Ge, what's wrong?" Fei Ji asked.

"Nothing. Drive your car!" Chen Mo said in annoyance.

Chen Mo's system had gained 1000 wealth points.

This meant the system only valued this factory at 30 million — the land was worth 25 million, and the rest, including equipment and factory buildings, was only worth 5 million.

In reality, if Lai Kuanhong hadn't been buried in debt, Chen Mo might not have been able to buy a factory like this even if he offered forty million.

But clearly the system didn't calculate it that way.

Chen Mo's good mood from buying the factory instantly vanished for the most part.

Before Chen Mo could adjust his mood, Fei Ji up front suddenly hit the brakes.

"Mo Ge, the road ahead seems to be blocked."

Chen Mo frowned. Through the car window, he saw a crowded mass of people ahead, blocking the road completely.

"Go check what's going on."

Fei Ji got out and ran up ahead, returning shortly after.

"Mo Ge, the big star Long Wei is filming a movie up ahead!"

"Hm? Let's go take a look!"