Chapter 266: Money Is an External Thing

Wang Zhen gave him a sideways glance.

"How can you just say you're not coming and not come? I've invested money in this bathhouse; I'm their biggest shareholder!"

Wang Li abruptly shook his head, surprised, and asked: "When did you invest?"

The bathhouse boss walked into the song and dance hall.

Smiling, he said to Wang Zhen: "Boss Wang, this is still your home; whenever you have time, come back often and give the brothers some advice!"

Wang Zhen tossed the main gate key into his hand, gave a light smile, and replied: "Not only is this place my home, but the several streets nearby are my territory; you do business on my turf, making money or not is secondary; the main thing is character—if anyone likes to cause trouble, once I find out, I will show no leniency!"

"That's for sure!"

The boss hastily nodded, his gaze toward Wang Zhen now mixed with a hint of fear.

The two got into the car.

Wang Li had not yet recovered from his shock.

He stared blankly and asked: "Brother, what did you just say? Those streets are yours? How come I didn't know about this?"

"What do you know these for?"

"All you need to do now is serve those leaders well; you don't have to worry about anything else!"

"By the way, did those people say anything about you when you came to help me today?"

Wang Zhen turned his head to look at him.

During this period, the leaders' travels were all arranged by Wang Li.

Including their social engagements and accommodations, Wang Li was fully responsible.

Wang Li waved his hand and said: "They didn't say anything about me; they're busy with some real estate development, needing to stay a few days at the suburban conference center—so I'll just bring the car fleet there ahead of time to wait!"

"Hmm, do your job well, and don't give them any fodder for talk!"

Wang Zhen relaxed, leaning back against the chair to rest his eyes.

Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Bureau Chief's office.

Wu Jiangshan called Li Jiaci.

"Hey, Xiao Li, come over for a meal later; I'll pick the place!"

On the other end, Li Jiaci readily agreed.

That evening.

The two met at a restaurant near the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Li Jiaci smiled and said: "You're a bureau chief after all—why not pick a fancier place?"

"It's just a meal, no need for extravagance; besides, we're swamped at the bureau—I haven't been home in three days, and this meal time is something I squeezed out!"

Wu Jiangshan shook his head, called a waiter for the menu, and ordered a few light dishes for himself.

His every word and deed radiated integrity.

And it didn't seem like an act.

Li Jiaci followed the host's lead, and since he had driven, he ordered a pot of plain tea.

The dishes arrived.

Wu Jiangshan spoke first: "Regarding what I promised you earlier, I now have some ideas—I'll share them with you and hear your thoughts!"

"Good."

Li Jiaci didn't move his chopsticks.

Seeing that, Wu Jiangshan made a gesturing invitation: "Let's just have a meal together alone—no need for all those formalities; we can eat and talk at the same time!"

Li Jiaci smiled, picked up his chopsticks, and tasted a small dish.

Meanwhile, Wu Jiangshan poured himself a cup of tea.

"Xiao Li, based on your recent conduct, you've actually already cleaned up more than half; the serious part is your brother who runs the song and dance hall—I've heard a thing or two about his affairs!"

"I think that in Pingzhou, black forces are numerous and drug traffickers rampant; if he could do some concrete good for the people, offsetting his faults with merit, things would be much simpler!"

"But doing that requires funding—I don't know whether your brother is willing to spend that money."

"Of course, I can guarantee you that as long as he's willing to put up the capital, my plan will surely succeed!"

Upon hearing that, Li Jiaci, while eating, gave an easy nod.

"Bureau Chief Wu can rest easy on this point—money is merely an external thing to my brother; his resolve to clean up cannot be shaken by anything!"

With that, Wu Jiangshan also laughed.

He valued this agreement greatly—not only because Li Jiaci had helped them, but also because he saw that this young man would surely achieve great things in the future, perhaps even relying on him to rise rapidly.

"Then let me first outline my plan!"

"I intend to have your brother invest in medical and charitable undertakings, aiding those of modest means, or families with merit!"

"Moreover, he needs to prepare a sum of money to award those who successfully suppress drugs—the 'caps'—as encouragement for them to act, intensifying the crackdown on drug trafficking gangs!"

"Besides those, if your brother has free time, he can organize a team to visit and console the families of fallen 'caps'!"

"These are all positive endeavors; unfortunately, few people are willing to put up the capital for such things now—but if he does, he'll become a model figure, greatly boosting his image!"

Wu Jiangshan finished his remarks.

Now we just await Li Jiaci's reply.

"To be safe, Wu Jiangshan reminded: 'I think you should still call him, explain the situation; if he disagrees there, we can still rethink our strategy!'"

"No need—my thoughts are my brother's thoughts, and I think Bureau Chief Wu's suggestions just mentioned are very necessary; I believe my brother will also approve!"

Li Jiaci said this very calmly.

He took the tea poured by Wu Jiangshan and suddenly asked: "Can I participate in these matters?"

"You want to participate? That's great, with your current influence, you'll definitely be able to mobilize many capitalists to invest in these projects; for Pingzhou, this is a good thing, a really good thing!"

Wu Jiangshan was somewhat excited.

Their plan clicked right away.

After the meal ended.

Li Jiaci hurried to find Wang Zhen and explained Wu Jiangshan's meaning.

Wang Zhen smiled and said: "I have to say, that Bureau Chief Wu really has some talent; he's truly someone capable of great undertakings. His ideas are all beneficial to Pingzhou, and also beneficial to me!"

Then shall we get started as planned?

Li Jiaci could hardly wait.

Wang Zhen pulled a chair and sat down, then said: "Don't be hasty; we're currently like headless flies—doing these things calls for a plan!"

Investing in the hospital needs no thought; just pour money in.

Wang Zhen differed from Wu Jiangshan on the matter of investing in education.

"Old brother, I don't want to invest in education; I'd rather directly establish a charity, build schools in all the major counties and rural areas, and help those children who can't afford to study!"

"Ah, my brother's thinking is thorough; we shouldn't just build schools, we should also launch a charity love-meal campaign, push our charity project into the media for massive promotion, striving to give every child a free meal!"

The love-meal charity project would not begin operating until ten or twenty years later; Li Jiaci borrowed the future concept, and to present-day Wang Zhen, this idea was simply wonderful.

"Old brother, you're really a talent!"