Chapter 176

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Protagonist:

Chen Yi

Business registration inspections weren't the first time.

Ever since the bungalows and tenements on South Street were turned into ruins by bulldozers, business and tax inspections had come one after another, and urban management officers would appear from time to time, forcibly demolishing whichever house showed its face.

The old bald man shut the wooden windows and wooden door, propping them with a wooden stick, and peered quietly through the cracks.

In the entire shantytown, no household had ever been heard to register with the Business Bureau, so whichever household was inspected was the unlucky one.

A large rectification notice was pasted on the door of the grocery store across the way.

That was Old Yu's shop. Their family were laid-off workers from the shipping company, and their situation was considered fairly good among the holdouts. Years ago they had bought two tenements on the south side, and now their son and daughter-in-law were both holding firm, refusing to let it be demolished. Before forced demolition appeared, this still had some effect, and they were also a leading figure on Xing Street South.

Old Yu had urged the merchants yesterday, saying: Without 6,000 per square meter, absolutely no relocation.

As a result, he suffered retaliation today.

"Who is it?" The bald man's wife turned off the liquefied gas and also leaned on the window to look.

"Old Yu's place."

"Them. Sigh, the Niu family could give 6,000? 600 would be more like it. I said something would happen.

The bald man impatiently fiddled with his palm and said: "Stop muttering nonsense, go to sleep if there's nothing."

He naturally knew how powerful the Niu family was. Long before Niu Xiang, his old man had been a tyrant in the shantytown, beating and slashing people, seizing territory and driving neighbors away to run exclusive businesses, even trying to collect protection fees at one point. Things Jiangnan didn't dare do, he had tried them all in Jiangbei.

When the bald man first opened his small shop, he had no few conflicts with the Niu family, yet the times he gained the upper hand were not many.

Now, Niu Xiang had climbed the high branch of a foreign businessman, and instantly transformed from a local snake in Jiangbei into a sitting dragon. A gang of little hoodlums followed him, knowing even which family liked to shit where. If it were a city demolition company, how would they know where Old Yu's grocery shop was located? And how would they know it was Old Yu instigating the holdout?

"Strike the snake at seven inches." The old bald man muttered to himself.

Don't look at Old Yu's family having two apartments; if they lost this street-corner grocery shop, their source of livelihood would be cut off instantly.

His own family was no different.

If the shop was gone, they'd probably have no rice for the pot immediately.

"What happened?" His wife had been anxious for a long time.

"6,000 per square meter, looks impossible." The old bald man touched his forehead, very disappointed.

His shop was 20 square meters; if it were 6,000, he could go do business in the city too.

"Where's there such a good thing." His wife heard and grinned: "Drag it out. They haven't even cut water and electricity yet. Heard there are still tricks like releasing poisonous snakes and splashing paint. Now it's civilized."

The current demolition could indeed be called civilized. Because the formal demolition project hadn't started yet. Niu Xiang and his direct superior, Yamashita Horyu, their main work was to ensure Jiangbei Wharf could be constructed smoothly. Manpower had all been transferred there. As for these warehouse areas behind, they weren't the key point.

Even so, relying on Mitsubishi's huge name alone, official power was enough to make people retreat — Mayor He Fuhan had said: to escort and protect the Jiangbei transformation.

The ones delivering the notices were proper Business Bureau civil servants. As state cadres, they usually didn't like to use violence themselves. If one paid fines and ceased business according to regulations, they wouldn't say much more.

But if one didn't act according to the notice's regulations, then a squad formed by temporary workers would come to enforce forcibly.

"Fortunately they didn't paste one on our house." The wife saw the two young men get in the vehicle and leave, and said with relief.

"Can't let them demolish Old Yu's shop." The old bald man suddenly said.

The wife's face was wrinkled like a rag, but she didn't make a sound.

She also knew, never mind the neighbors, right now they were trying to be holdouts. One more family meant one more family's strength.

"Be careful." She said softly.

"It's fine." The old bald man touched his forehead and said: "Wait for the scum to leave, we'll also prepare some hard goods..."

Hard goods referred to things with killing power. Stones and bricks were just basic products. Homemade incendiary bottles, small axes that could be thrown — these were used at the most dangerous moments.

"No need, just helping out."

"If we fight now, Old Yu's family is in front. If we wait until they're demolished to fight, this shop can't be saved."

The wife's tears streamed down, her heart extremely afraid.

However, things did not develop in the direction the old bald man envisioned.

Two minibuses stopped there, and actually didn't leave.

After waiting about half an hour, a truck loaded with workers stopped at the Xing Street South intersection, and then "clang clang bang bang," a simple iron sentry box was built. A police officer and a Business Bureau administrator sat inside grandly.

No wonder the big-brimmed hat's face looked bad earlier.

Whoever got exiled to Jiangbei Wharf District would have a bad mood.

The old bald man and his wife were then thoroughly dazed.

Business Bureau people sitting right at the street corner — wouldn't that mean business can't be done at all? Needless to say, whoever opens their door is unlucky.

The couple stared at each other, not even in the mood to watch the excitement.

By evening, lights came on in the iron sentry box. The original police officer left by bus, and the new police brought two people wearing reflective vests — "Public Security Joint Defense," the legendary Auxiliary Police.

The Business Bureau people remained in the sentry box, chatting familiarly with the other three. Four people gathered under the lamp, clearly intending to stay the whole night.

This disappointed the residents who had hoped the police would get off work to the bottom, and simultaneously made them even more uneasy.

Xing Street was where nearby shops concentrated. If they couldn't do business, later even buying rice, flour, oil, and salt would be inconvenient. Did they have to go to the city to purchase every time?

Night fell. The originally bustling Xing Street was completely silent. Not only was there no sound of televisions, even households with lights on were few.

The earliest minibus still stopped in the road center. The words "Business" represented the right to seal shops at any time.

Soft demolition preparation left the populace, who had been ready to resist violent demolition at any time, at a loss.

The old bald man climbed out the back door, going door to door to find people to discuss. He talked all night until dawn, yet reached no conclusion.

By noon, the police and Business Bureau had changed new people again, still eyeing the street like tigers. Whichever household had movement, they'd find trouble with that household, but for other places they turned a deaf ear.

It seems they intend to demolish the most valuable shops in the shantytown first.

……

By this time, Chen Yi had already returned from Nie Hao's home.

Speaking of Malaysia, this official who had done 20 years of diplomacy was not unfamiliar, but when it came to Malaysia's securities market, even specific policies, he was basically clueless.

However, his own ignorance did not mean others were ignorant.

Nie Hao was somewhat reluctant to let such a good resource as Chen Yi slip away to someone else. So, he set aside his work and personally contacted friends who understood Southeast Asian affairs.

The other party's enthusiasm explained many things, but Chen Yi had no mind to investigate deeply; he had his own plans, and after the baptism of so many events, his mind was naturally more steady.

With no classes in the afternoon, he drove the Raptor to the market on Binjiang Road.

The newly completed Bin Jiang Da Mai Chang appeared somewhat desolate; the sparse merchants were mainly distributed on the Second Floor and Third Floor, half the First Floor shopfronts had been leased out, most were under renovation.

The Subway Tunnel two hundred meters nearby had very large foot traffic; the reason there were still vacant shopfronts lay in his lease terms being quite overbearing, especially the termination clauses, absolutely unfavorable to tenants; if not for the rent still being fairly cheap and the location especially ideal, it would definitely not have been leased out.

Chen Yi silently entered the First Floor Hall; no one knew this young man was the owner of the tyrannical clauses in their mouths.

Unlike nearby commercial buildings, the basement of Bin Jiang Da Mai Chang was the original Subway Tunnel; everything was placed according to its original state, with electricity, water, and Car Air Conditioning connected.

To prevent Subway Company Three from dismantling the original equipment, he even asked his eldest maternal uncle to approve a note.

The dozen-odd words "Deputy Mayor" made Company Three give up electrical equipment worth millions, without even seeing Chen Yi's face. The note was sent over by Luoxiong; the signature on it was the most weighty thing.

Chen Yi twisted open the heavy steel anti-theft door of the Bian Dian Shi; it emitted a stubborn sound.

He waved his hand, and a wooden crate of about 2 cubic meters instantly appeared on the Ground. Inside were fossils from other regions.

Since Chen Yi, through the introduction of several friends by Professor Lao Ying, purchased trilobite fossils worth tens of millions, good things proactively sent to his door have become more and more numerous.

Compared to the traditional antique trade, this line's circle is obviously smaller, but the profit is not thin at all.

Besides a few famous fossils, how to price these things is a rather difficult matter. If considered from a scientific research angle, once a fossil is discovered, repeated fossil species basically lose significance. If considered from an aesthetic or rarity angle, these vaguely shaped stone blocks are somewhat fifty steps laughing at a hundred steps.

In practice, Chen Yi's own standard became much simpler.

He only wanted fossils he had not seen before; as for price, close enough was fine. As a result, everyone was willing to do business with him.

However, although Chen Yi paid readily, the people who actually made money were not many.

Whether doing antique business or fossil business, even arms dealers, their goods sources always have a range. The requirement of only one of each fossil, to many merchants, is a huge threshold, at least a money-making threshold.

Chen Yi was not anxious; if someone delivered goods he would look, if no one delivered then so be it, he himself did not proactively make calls.

He could buy better fossils in Germany; what Chinese merchants sent over only counted as supplementary.

Even so, as the merchants who knew grew more and more, the fossils he received each week also grew more and more — the biological species on Earth are really too many; even with non-repeating purchases, two days could accumulate a Ring.

"Looks like I need to find someone knowledgeable to help make a record." Chen Yi pried open the wooden crate's packaging, slowly arranging the fossils prepared for feeding full the distribution room.

This small room with basic anti-theft devices became his temporary goods storage.

……(Unfinished, if you want to know after this, please log in www. qidian. com, Chapter more, Support author, Support Genuine Reading!)