Chapter 315 The Manipulator Behind the Scenes

The company had decided to call for a meeting of Xinyue Estates’ property owners the next day, intending to have it attended by three to five representatives of property owners for each phase. However, such an arrangement was met with vehement objections from the property owners, for they claimed that three to five representatives were too few to represent the dozens of blocks. Instead, it would be better to have three to five representatives attend the meeting for each unit.

Standing in front of Qin Jinhuan’s desk, Chao Chenyu wiped his sweat as he asked, “Xinyue Estates was built in ten phases, with each phase comprising 30 to 40 blocks and each block consisting of four or five units. If the meeting is to be attended by three to five representatives per unit, won’t we have to prepare a conference hall that can accommodate at least 10,000 people?”

Qin Jinhuan shot him a look of intense displeasure. “Are you going to cater to their whims?”

Chao Chenyu looked troubled. “If we don’t comply with their demands at this critical moment, I’m afraid they will put us in a difficult situation!”

“A difficult situation?” Qin Jinhuan snorted coldly. “Since it’s going to be a difficult situation, why should we try to get out of it? Wouldn’t it be better to sit tight with ease of mind?”

“The problem is that we can’t sit tight with ease of mind now! We can’t say whatever we like just to vent our anger. Look at this.” Chao Chenyu showed Qin Jinhuan his muted cell phone which was registering a steady string of incoming calls. “These calls are from the sales center and the management center, and I don’t have to answer them to know they want to tell me that more and more property owners have come forward and are demanding to withdraw their ownerships. This can’t go on, Boss! We have to find a way to suppress this as soon as possible, or else the consequences will be disastrous!”

“In that case, just prepare for the meeting with these property owners.”

“I’m worried that the more property owners attend the meeting, the more chaotic the situation will be! When there are many people present, there will be many different voices, and there will definitely be a lot of them who are bound to stir up trouble on purpose!”

His words jarred on Qin Jinhuan’s nerves, and the latter motioned him to get out with a wave of his hand. “Just do what I said.”

“But…” Chao Chenyu opened his mouth to speak. In the end, he said nothing and left the office while feeling depressed.

As soon as Chao Chenyu went out, Bian Zijun came into the office in a hurry. He closed the door and stepped quickly toward Qin Jinhuan while he asked, “Boss, we discovered that Zheng Yiping and Zhu Yong had sold information about our clients. What should we do now?”

“Do you have solid evidence of this?”

Bian Zijun nodded solemnly. “Yes.”

“Don’t do anything for the time being.”

Bian Zijun was astounded. “Don’t do anything?!”

“That’s right. For now, our company needs stability more than anything else.”

“I see.” Bian Zijun thought for a moment, but he was still somewhat worried. “In that case, I’ll have someone give them a warning. People who are greedy for small gains like them can easily be bought. If they come out again to do something negative to the property owners at this moment, they can easily incite the property owners to stir up trouble.”

Qin Jinhuan gave a slight nod as he asked, “How are the injured who have been hospitalized?”

“Most of them suffered only minor injuries, and they’ve returned home by now after we promised to talk to them later about the compensation. Those in the ICU are already out of danger, and they have been transferred to the general ward along with those who suffered severe injuries; I have asked the medical staff to take good care of them. As for the families of those who died, I have sent someone to console them, and they are negotiating compensation with the families,” answered Bian Zijun. As he spoke about this, he changed the subject with a worried expression. “As far as the current situation is concerned, I don’t think these things are the primary issue, Boss. In fact, what are you going to do at the meeting with the property owners tomorrow? What if those property owners continue to demand refunds and ownership withdrawals?”

Qin Jinhuan was holding a sample of a property sale and purchase contract in his hand at this moment. Upon hearing Bian Zijun’s words, he merely gave him a faint smile without much of an expression on his face.

Bian Zijun’s face lit up. “Have you come up with an idea?”

“Honestly, this matter isn’t of the greatest importance.” Qin Jinhuan’s face was sober and grave, and his voice was deep. “The most important thing is that someone is taking the opportunity to spread rumors that Qing Tian Group is about to suffer a huge misfortune. If everyone believes this, our company’s share prices will definitely be affected.”

“What?!” Bian Zijun’s face turned pale in horror. “Are you saying that Qing Tian Group’s share prices might plummet?”

Qin Jinhuan made no comments. Instead, he merely folded the sample of the property sale and purchase contract carefully before putting it into the drawer. After a while, Bian Zijun finally asked, “Well, what should we do now?”

Qin Jinhuan’s eyelids raised impassively. “Everyone must fulfill their responsibilities and maintain the company’s stability together.”

“Then—” Bian Zijun began to speak, but he was interrupted by an urgent knock on the door. He quickly turned his head around.

The door opened, and the one who came in was Zhi Xiaoyin, Qin Jinhuan’s secretary. “B-Bad news, Boss!” she said.

Bian Zijun instinctively asked, “What’s wrong?”

Zhi Xiaoyin quickly came in and closed the door. Then, she ran up to Qin Jinhuan and said hastily, “Boss, I j-just heard some employees talking about r-resigning en masse again in the restroom!” She stuttered a little as she was too anxious to catch her breath.

Bian Zijun was surprised. “All the company’s employees have signed the new labor contract, haven’t they? How could they still have the nerve to talk about resigning?”

Zhi Xiaoyin was somewhat downcast as she replied, “They are all worried that they will become the next victim. They said it’s meaningless no matter how much money they make as long as they don’t live to spend it. You two have no idea—the employees have been spiritless at work since yesterday, and they all have been discussing the serial murders! Some even have secretly written letters of resignation, though none of them dare to be the first to tender their resignation. I bet that if someone becomes the first person to do so, they will be followed by a large group of employees who will do the same. When the time comes, our company’s headquarters will definitely be paralyzed!” As she spoke of this, she became somewhat indignant. “But they have the courage to resign because Xiang Long Industry has extended an olive branch to them, you know!”

“It’s Xiang Long Industry again!” Bian Zijun instantly flew into a rage. “It seems like Drake Lu wants to take advantage of our misfortune.”

Qin Jinhuan replied with a snort, “He just wants to add insult to injury.”

“Is he doing so to take revenge on us for taking the land away from him?”

The land in West City where Xinyue Estates now stood had not been developed several years ago. Situated at the foot of a hill and beside a stream, it boasted a beautiful landscape and a profound cultural atmosphere. Lu Yuyang, the owner of Xiang Long Industry, was the first to discover the commercial opportunity it presented. He had planned to invest in the construction of houses with a view of the lake near Moon Lake, but as the funding chain wasn’t strong enough, he bought the stretch of land near the highway and built Springtime Woods first while taking the issue of traffic accessibility into consideration first.

Just then, Qing Tian Group bought all the land surrounding Moon Lake and invested in the planning and construction of Xinyue Estates, quickly building a 12-lane expressway at the entrance to Xinyue Estates that cut across West City before Lu Yuyang could raise enough capital. As soon as the expressway was opened to traffic, the originally much-used path at West City became a dead-end road. Since it was located behind Xinyue Estates, Springtime Woods instantly became a dead space, and nobody was interested in this area for a while. To make matters worse, Qing Tian Group built schools, hospitals, and commercial streets in Xinyue Estates simultaneously, driving Springtime Woods into a corner. Fortunately, the property market had been booming over the last two years, and people were strongly inclined to buy houses and speculate in real estate. Moreover, real estate wasn’t the only industry that Xiang Long Industry dabbled in, so the company didn’t face a bankruptcy crisis, preventing Springtime Woods from becoming an unfinished housing project. Still, thousands of houses there hadn’t been sold and were slowly pulling through.

Qin Jinhuan was rather mean to Xiang Long Industry for a reason. Lu Yuyang, the owner of Xiang Long Industry, was the maternal uncle of Yuchi Industry’s Yi Yunrui. Yuchi Industry and Qing Tian Group had always been sworn enemies, and Yi Yunrui—who was once Qin Jinhuan’s classmate—had been at loggerheads with the latter. In the end, Yi Yunrui died in vain because of Yin Anjing, resulting in a deeper feud between the two families. After vowing to avenge his elder brother, Yi Yunrui’s blood brother named Yi Yunzhe opposed Qing Tian Group at every turn after taking control of Yuchi Industry. However, Qin Jinhuan couldn’t care less about Yi Yunzhe and went all out in fighting against him, inadvertently making Lu Yuyang a target to crack down on.

Qin Jinhuan still remembered how Yi Yunzhe nearly got caught in a mire with no ability to save himself for helping Lu Yuyang, and he felt incredibly pleased whenever he thought about this. As he had never given a damn about Xiang Long Industry, he immediately snorted dismissively when he heard Bian Zijun’s words. “How could he possibly do that alone?”

“Xiang Long Industry’s overall strength has improved enormously over the past six months, though. We can’t underestimate them!” There was a hint of anxiety in Bian Zijun’s eyes. “Now, Xiang Long Industry is no longer what it used to be!”

However, Qin Jinhuan sounded somewhat light-hearted as he said, “We’ll knock them back to square one sooner or later.”

His tone of voice worried Bian Zijun somewhat, but the latter didn’t dare to say anything else. After thinking for a moment, he tried to ask another question and said, “Boss, did you pay attention to Yi Yunzhe’s whereabouts after Yuchi Industry’s bankruptcy?”

“Didn’t he go overseas to seek treatment for his illness?” Qin Jinhuan replied. As soon as he finished his sentence, he suddenly realized something while his eyes darkened. “Has he returned from overseas?”

“I don’t know that, nor have I paid attention to it either. Perhaps I’ll have to look into it.”

Qin Jinhuan straightened up slightly, lowered his eyes, and thought for a moment. “We all know how capable Drake Lu really is. He developed his company by relying on Yuchi Industry, yet we dealt him a huge blow after he had taken a great deal of effort to establish his company. Xiang Long Industry wasn’t able to recover from its slump over the past two to three years, yet it expanded so fast in the past six months. This is contrary to reason. I suspect that Yi Yunzhe sneaked back to An City some time ago and had been scheming on Lu Yuyang’s behalf behind the scenes—although Yi Yunzhe is annoying, we have to admit that he does have considerable business acumen,” he said. He then continued, “Check Yi Yunzhe’s whereabouts and look into Xiang Long Industry’s capital flow during the past six months.”

Bian Zijun was surprised by the last part of Qin Jinhuan’s speech. “Could Yi Yunzhe have blown smoke at us back when Yuchi Industry went bankrupt to give himself room for maneuver?” As he spoke of this, he was instantly upset. “When I saw how terribly ill he looked at the time, I thought he would die in a few days. I didn’t expect him to come out and stir up trouble again so soon! It’s my fault for not keeping a watchful eye on him back then!”

Qin Jinhuan looked unsurprised, though. “He wouldn’t be Yi Yunzhe if you could see through his flaws merely by keeping an eye on him.”

Bian Zijun was stunned for a moment before he smiled with embarrassment and said, “Honestly, I didn’t expect that he would have such a day. I have to find out what this guy has been doing over the past six months. If he really has returned, he must be the one instigating Xinyue Estates’ property owners to ask for refunds and ownership withdrawals, getting them to buy properties in Springtime Woods instead. Drake Lu has always played everything safe, and he has always been respectful and afraid of you after Qing Tian Group dealt him a huge blow. Rumor even has it that he would walk away and make a detour whenever he sees you. He wouldn’t have dared to mess with you no matter how bold he is!”

Bian Zijun was right to say that; it was precisely because Xiang Long Industry had always stayed away from Qing Tian Group that Qin Jinhuan never paid attention to Lu Yuyang since then. However, he didn’t expect that Lu Yuyang would dare to make so much trouble one day.

“Find out everything about Yi Yunzhe before the property owners’ meeting commences tomorrow.”

“Yes. I’ll get it done right away.” With that, Bian Zijun immediately stepped out of the office.

Qin Jinhuan held up his cup and took a sip of his already cooled tea. Just when he was about to close his eyes in thought, he heard a scream near the door. “Ah!” He quickly looked up and saw Bian Zijun dragging someone while questioning fiercely, “What are you sneaking around here for? Are you eavesdropping?!”