Chapter 55: The Bait

After Fan Dazhi took Ren Yinglian away, Di Ye handed a pack of cigarettes to each of the idlers at the entrance and sent them off. He then called Huang Zongshan into the shop, rewarded him with 800 yuan in private, and praised him: "You performed very well today. You not only protected your sister but also guarded the entrance to the cash register. You are reliable in a pinch; you're a real man."

Although Huang Zongshan hung around the streets, he was essentially just a green kid under 20 who still retained a bit of innocence. He didn't take credit and said sheepishly: "I wanted to beat that woman at the time, but my sister held me back and told me to guard the entrance."

Di Ye stuffed the money into his hand and continued to praise him: "You were slapped by a woman yet managed to keep your cool and listen to your sister; that is already very impressive. There aren't many people in the whole country who have your level of self-control."

It was rare for Huang Zongshan to be praised, and he was grinning from ear to ear. He happily put the money away, then looked around at the messy shop and tried to be helpful: "Brother Di Ye, let me help you clean this place up."

"No need to clean; keep it exactly as it is. I'm going to have a meeting with Manager Zhong in a moment so he can see the losses clearly, and then I'll demand compensation."

Hearing this, Huang Zongshan associated it with the gang boss negotiations in movies and rubbed his hands together, saying: "Brother Di Ye, I'll go with you."

"We are holding a shareholder meeting. You aren't a shareholder, so you can only stand outside in the cold wind; you can't come with me."

"I can help you keep watch at the door. In case that Manager Zhong plays dirty and brings another group of thugs over, I can help you call the police."

Di Ye couldn't help but laugh and cry. He waved his hand to shoo him away: "Manager Zhong is a businessman. He's coming to the meeting for the sake of harmony and profit, not to fight. Go home; don't loiter here."

Huang Zongshan misunderstood the meaning of "harmony and profit" and became even more reluctant to leave. He asked with a face full of resentment: "Is he coming to help Ren Yinglian get that 100,000 yuan?"

Seeing this, Di Ye simply brought over two plastic stools, gestured for him to sit down, and said: "You think 100,000 yuan is a lot, right? Actually, 100,000 yuan is nothing at all. If Ren Yinglian really wanted it, she could have just called me and come over to take it privately. But she insisted on coming to make a scene during the Flagship Store's business hours; it's obvious she has another motive."

"What motive?"

Di Ye didn't rush to answer but instead asked: "You often hang out on the streets; you should know what the current loan interest rates are, the kind for one-year loans."

"I know. If the relationship is good, it's about 20 percent; if it's not, it's 25 to 30 percent."

"Then do you know how much money Yingfeng has in the Bank?"

"I don't know. My sister never tells me these things."

"As of this afternoon, Yingfeng has 10.2 million in the Bank, and it's increasing at a rate of about 1 million per day. With so much money, if it were lent out, it could earn over 5,000 yuan a day. If it were used for stock speculation or investment, it would earn even more."

Huang Zongshan's attention drifted, and he clicked his tongue in amazement: "1 million a day? Is our company that profitable?"

"That isn't money earned; it's money that clients have temporarily placed in the company! That's why your sister and I control the Public Seal and the Account Book, not letting Manager Zhong, Fan Dazhi, and Zheng Yingyong interfere and mess things up. If you were them, knowing there was over 10 million in the company but not being able to spend it yourself or use it, could you endure it?"

"I definitely couldn't endure that. Forget 10 million; even if it were just a few tens of thousands, I couldn't endure it."

Di Ye was amused by Huang Zongshan's honesty and said: "That's why Manager Zhong sent Ren Yinglian to cause trouble, wanting to make your sister and me look bad. As long as we look bad, he, Fan Dazhi, and Zheng Yingyong have an excuse to take the Public Seal and the Account Book and do whatever they want."

Huang Zongshan finally understood and said viciously: "We shouldn't have let Ren Yinglian go just now; we should have detained her as a hostage!"

Di Ye smiled dismissively and said: "She was just cannon fodder. Do you think Manager Zhong cares about her? Even if Manager Zhong cared about her and stopped, Fan Dazhi and Zheng Yingyong would eventually make a move."

Huang Zongshan thought about it and felt a bit discouraged, asking: "If the three of them keep playing these dirty tricks in the future, what should we do?"

"If you want to know what to do, go back to school and study hard. Otherwise, you'll never understand it your whole life and can only be cannon fodder like Ren Yinglian."

Di Ye felt that letting him know that information was enough. He stopped explaining and shooed him away again: "Go home first; I'm going to have dinner."

After sending Huang Zongshan away, Di Ye found a restaurant nearby and ate a bowl of braised beef noodles. Around 6:45, Zheng Yingyong arrived at the Flagship Store by taxi. After entering and seeing the mess on the floor, he didn't look surprised at all, appearing as if he already knew about the farce that afternoon.

"Manager Di, Manager Zhong didn't act properly in this matter. I'll have him apologize to you later; there's no need to withdraw from Yingfeng."

"Manager Zheng, I am indeed withdrawing because my studies are busy and I can't attend to things here. It has nothing to do with this afternoon's incident."

"Haha, if you hadn't said it, I would have forgotten you're still a university student. A university student who can do business as well as you—you're probably the only one in the country."

Zheng Yingyong was smooth and tactful, and his way of dealing with people was entirely harmonious, the exact opposite of Ren Yinglian. Yet, Di Ye was even more vigilant toward him, because a shrew is easy to deal with, but a smiling tiger is impossible to guard against.

A few minutes later, Zhong Rongke drove a Crown sedan and brought Fan Dazhi to the Flagship Store. After Di Ye exchanged a few pleasantries with the two, he stood up, pulled down the rolling shutter, and officially started the shareholder meeting.

Di Ye didn't bicker with Zhong Rongke about the afternoon's farce. As soon as the meeting started, he threw out Yingfeng's latest Financial Statement and detailed the source of every transaction. When Zhong Rongke heard there was 10.2 million on the books, his face showed wild joy; when he heard that by the end of the first lunar month there would be about 20 million in funds, his wild joy almost turned into wild laughter.

"Manager Di, regarding what happened this afternoon, I must sincerely apologize to you. Ren Yinglian is lawless because I usually spoil her. Tomorrow, I will let her..."

Di Ye raised his hand to interrupt Zhong Rongke's insincere apology and said: "Manager Zhong, I am not a petty person and won't lower myself to the level of a woman. Let's just leave the matter of Miss Ren at that. But the matter of Ren Datou cannot be left at that. The Flagship Store is the signboard of our Yingfeng; he brought people to smash it to pieces. If he isn't severely punished, our business will definitely be affected in the future."

Zheng Yingyong looked at the three smashed televisions and agreed: "Manager Di's words are reasonable. If Ren Datou can smash the Flagship Store like this and remain unscathed, what will our clients think of us? Will others follow suit? Therefore, he must be severely punished, otherwise, it won't be enough to convince the public! If Manager Zhong has no objections, I will go to the municipal Public Security Bureau later to ask a friend and see how to arrange things for him."

Zhong Rongke's expression was uncertain. After taking two puffs of his cigarette, he said: "Ren Datou is Ren Yinglian's cousin. He has loved causing trouble since he was a child and is used to acting recklessly. He really should be taught a lesson."

Di Ye glanced at Fan Dazhi and, seeing him staring intently at the Financial Statement with no intention of expressing an opinion, had to say it himself: "Manager Zheng and Manager Zhong acquiring Bi Wanxi's shares was originally a transaction between willing parties, but Ren Datou acted on his own initiative and broke several of Bi Wanxi's ribs. Now he is in the Hospital, refusing to eat or drink, and has suicidal tendencies. Bi Wanxi's grandfather is from Hong Kong; if this matter blows up, it will affect Yingfeng's business as well. So, I plan to go and appease him. What do you think?"

Hearing this, Fan Dazhi finally came to his senses and said: "Right, Bi Wanxi really needs to be appeased. We can't let him ruin the company's great situation."

Zhong Rongke and Zheng Yingyong also agreed and asked: "How does Manager Di plan to appease him?"

Di Ye held up three fingers and said: "First, when we severely punish Ren Datou, we'll let Bi Wanxi vent his anger in the process; second, give Bi Wanxi a hush-money payment to make him shut up; third, I will have a friend send Bi Wanxi to Pengcheng, and he will not be allowed to return to Yuncheng."

"Manager Di's arrangements are very thoughtful. With these three measures, even if Bi Wanxi had heaven-sized grievances, they should dissipate. Let's do it this way."

After finishing the discussion about the company and Bi Wanxi, Di Ye began to fight for his own interests, preparing to withdraw from Yingfeng, and said: "During my time as General Manager of Yingfeng, I didn't take a single cent of salary. When I withdraw at the end of the first lunar month, I want to take a bonus of 100,000. You have no objections, right?"

Although a bonus of 100,000 yuan sounded shocking, Di Ye's performance was too dazzling, so none of the three objected.

"I hold 20% of Yingfeng's shares and plan to sell them all when I withdraw. If you are interested, we can discuss an internal price for me. If you aren't interested, I will spread the word and sell them to someone who is."

As soon as these words were spoken, Fan Dazhi and Zhong Rongke immediately looked at each other, while Zheng Yingyong pushed up his glasses, his originally smiling expression becoming serious.