Chapter 688

Buying a house in Beijing is a big deal; I couldn't not report it to the Mayor.

I called the Mayor's cell phone, and the first sentence I said was: "Is it done?"

In the Mayor's mind, as long as I took action, there was nothing that couldn't be done. The Mayor had placed me in the position of Industrial Park Director with special high expectations.

I said hesitantly: "Mayor, the matter has a lead, but..."

I didn't dare say that I had to give someone a house; after all, buying a house in Beijing was not a small sum. How to account for this money and how to deal with audits in the future had to be thought out beforehand. Otherwise, if it were discovered during an audit, not only would all previous efforts be wasted, but it would also cause trouble. Although it wasn't my own embezzlement or misappropriation, using it for improper practices was still a key target for crackdown.

The Mayor seemed a bit impatient, urging me: "Why are you mumbling? Speak clearly, what trouble did you encounter?"

I gathered my courage and said: "The approval document has to be exchanged for a house."

The Mayor was silent on the phone for a while, then cursed: "Which son of a bitch dared to open his mouth like that? Is there no law? Isn't this clearly soliciting a bribe? This is outrageous!"

I held the receiver, quietly listening to the Mayor vent his frustration.

The Mayor was a very strong-willed person; he had worked his way up from the grassroots, understood the hardships and twists of the official career, and was used to the darkness of the officialdom. His cursing now was nothing more than venting his frustration.

Sure enough, after he finished cursing, he sighed helplessly and said: "Just do as they ask! The seal is in their hands, damn it."

The Mayor approved the house purchase, and a stone in my heart fell to the ground. The big talk I had made in front of Quan Bi could now be realized, and Quan Bi would have to look at me differently. As long as Quan Bi processed the approval, what was this little bit of money?

I found the Director of the Beijing Office and asked him to help me buy a house within three days.

The Beijing Office Director widened his eyes, hesitating and not daring to speak. He had been the Director of the Beijing Office for nearly ten years and had never thought of buying any private property in Beijing—not because he didn't want to, but because he really couldn't afford it. You have to know that buying a house in Beijing could buy ten or more houses of the same size in our Hengyue City.

"How big?" The Beijing Office Director finally calmed down, closing his eyes and not looking at me, though his face was full of disdain.

"Within the Third Ring Road, no less than seventy square meters," I said according to Quan Bi's requirements, waiting for the Beijing Office Director to speak.

He thought for a while, raised his head, and said: "There are some, but the price is a bit high. I don't know if Director Chen is buying this house for himself to live in or for investment."

He looked at me with a half-smile, as if a giant corrupt official was standing in front of him, his tone and expression revealing disdain and resentment unconsciously.

"I have my own uses. I hope you will put in the effort, Director." I couldn't tell him the purpose of the house; besides the Mayor and me, no third person in Hengyue City would know the inside story.

With the house purchase settled, the next step was money. Without money, I couldn't buy a house. I made another call back to the park office, found Xu Meili directly, and asked her to wire five million to the Beijing Office account.

Xu Meili didn't react for a long time when I said I wanted five million, and it wasn't until I urged her impatiently several times that she carefully asked me: "What do you need so much money for?"

"It's useful," I said simply, "Be quick."

"If you don't explain clearly, I won't send it to you," Xu Meili said stubbornly, "This is my responsibility; I have to be responsible to myself, and even more so to you."

"Nonsense!" I cursed in a panic, "I need the money, stop nagging. If this matter isn't handled well, I'll remove you."

Xu Meili had never seen me lose such a temper; in the past, I had always been gentle and elegant in front of her, a typical humble gentleman. This was also the main reason why Xu Meili was infatuated with me and willing to follow me. Now, being cursed at by me, she was clearly stunned, not saying a word for a long time, letting me jump around holding the receiver on this end.

"Don't worry! I won't make a mistake," I lowered my voice and comforted her, "This money has an important use."

"You have to tell me where it's being used," Xu Meili said stubbornly.

I told her helplessly: "I need to use this money to buy a house in Beijing to exchange for the approval document for our Industrial Park's upgrade. Do you understand?"

"Isn't doing this committing a mistake?" Xu Meili hesitated for a long time and said, "Why don't we just not upgrade? Anyway, we are already a provincial-level park, which is enough for us."

"You don't understand," I explained, "Provincial and national levels are simply not on the same plane; the difference is so great it's almost incomparable. In the future, you will understand that a national-level industrial park not only has an absolute advantage in policy but also an absolute guarantee in funding."

Xu Meili was still hesitating, and I became increasingly impatient. If Xu Meili didn't send the money, I couldn't catch the white wolf empty-handed. In this land of Beijing where people are all cunning, as an outsider, only real money could make them brighten up.

The reason I wanted to take such a big risk was actually that I didn't want Xu Mengda to get there first and get things done. As long as Xu Mengda got things done after me, I could ignore him. Without the approval document in Xu Mengda's hands, my contract with him couldn't be valid. If the contract wasn't valid, Xu Mengda couldn't get a grip on my lifeline. If Xu Mengda couldn't get a grip on me, I wouldn't have to worry about my entanglements with him.

Xu Mengda was a capable person; I didn't know what kind of connections he had in Beijing. But he could send Xue Bing to handle the upgrade, so he must have been confident and sure of success.

Xu Mengda's ambition was very large, large enough that he wanted to control the Hengyue City Industrial Park. Of course, profit wasn't the most important thing to him; what was important was the list in my Aunt's hands.

Xu Mengda was very smart; he understood that my biggest weakness was my Aunt, and he also understood that my Aunt's biggest weakness was me. As long as something happened to either of us, the other would definitely charge forward, even if it meant being smashed to pieces. He entered my Aunt's company just to control her; controlling her was equivalent to controlling me. Controlling me meant not only controlling the Hengyue City Industrial Park but also controlling the officialdom of Hengyue City and even Central Province.

This was a huge conspiracy; I couldn't let him succeed!

Xu Meili finally relented, saying with a trembling voice: "You must not get into trouble."

"Don't worry! I have a sense of proportion," I comforted her, "I won't let everyone worry."

With the funds secured and the house settled, I felt refreshed. I opened the door, stood in the hallway, and shouted: "Li Mei, Xiao Li, what are you doing?"

Li Mei responded and came out of the room, looking at me with a smile and saying: "What are you calling me for?"

She looked at me for a long time and asked hesitantly: "Is there happy news?"

I laughed: "Of course! Mission accomplished."

Upon hearing this, Li Mei became happy, almost cheering: "Then we must celebrate properly. I'll go call Sister Bing."

I didn't stop her; the reason I told her on purpose was that I wanted her to be my messenger, to tell Xue Bing not to be busy anymore, as the matter was settled!

Telling Xue Bing the news was naturally telling Xu Mengda.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, my phone rang.

It wasn't Xue Bing who called, but Xu Mengda.

"Congratulations, brother!" Xu Mengda laughed eerily on the phone.

"Many thanks, Brother Xu!" I said insincerely, waiting for Xu Mengda to continue expressing his views.

Unexpectedly, Xu Mengda hung up the phone, which caught me off guard.

Holding the phone with the busy signal, a layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on my back. Xu Mengda wouldn't have called just to say those four words; I had ruined his plan, and he wouldn't let it go easily. Besides, I hadn't received the approval document yet; it was only just beginning. If something went wrong in the middle, wouldn't all my previous efforts be wasted?

I punched myself hatefully, and it actually hurt so much that my face wrinkled up.

I was too impatient! Too naive! I secretly blamed myself.

The more I thought, the more afraid I became; the more afraid I became, the more I thought. It was as if the ground beneath my feet had suddenly vanished, and the feeling of fear surged like waves, almost suffocating me.

Sweat began to break out on my forehead, and my whole body trembled for no reason. I leaned against the railing, looking blankly at the gray sky in the distance, my heart churning with regret and remorse.

Li Mei came out of the room almost skipping, stood next to me, and asked happily: "Director, where are we going to celebrate tonight?"

"Celebrate my ass!" I roared, "Sleep!"

Li Mei was startled by my sudden temper; she froze on the spot, her face pale, and as her eyes moved, tears fell down her cheeks.

My heart softened, and I patted her shoulder lightly, saying: "Something might go wrong. How about we celebrate after the dust settles, okay?"

Li Mei sniffled aggrievedly, nodded obediently, and asked me hesitantly: "What happened?"

"It's not clear yet, I'm worried," I said, preparing to go back to my room.

"But I've already made an appointment with Sister Bing."

"Cancel it!" I said without hesitation, "Just say you were joking, teasing her."

"Can I?"

"Why not?" I looked at her strangely and said, "We are accompanying her to handle business; how can it be that we have finished the business while they haven't moved? Comrade Xiao Li, coming to Beijing to handle business, they are the hosts, and we are just accompanying them."

"It's not strange at all that you finished the business before her," Li Mei said with a look of longing, "If you can't handle it, no one else can. I believe in you! So I think it's not strange at all that you finished it first. Sister Bing thinks so too."

The last sentence Li Mei added made me even more interested.

"Does Teacher Xue really think so?"

"Of course, Sister Bing hasn't gone to handle business since she arrived; she just wanted to save time for you to try first," Li Mei pouted and said, "I don't understand what she's thinking. Actually, isn't it a good thing if either of you gets it done? Why distinguish between each other?"

I shook my head, not wanting to explain too much to her. Li Mei was a girl who didn't understand the world; how could she understand the complex interest relationships in the world?

"If we're not celebrating, I'll treat you to hot pot," Li Mei looked at me hesitantly and asked.

"You're treating?" I asked with a half-smile.

"I'm treating. Is that not okay?"

"Of course it is," I said with a smile, "However, you treat, and I'll pay the bill."