Part Two: The Road to Success, Chapter 102: Helpless in the Face of Adversity
"It's a pleasure doing business with you." I signed and stamped the contract, then we exchanged documents. I handed the contract to Zhou, the buck-toothed man sitting next to me. Zhou glanced at the contract and put it in his briefcase.
Yang Wei put away the silver pen in her hand, stood up, and shook hands with me.
The signing process was simple. The terms of the contract had been agreed upon by both parties beforehand, and Zhou with buck teeth had carefully reviewed the contents of the contract and found no problems.
However, the only thing that slightly annoyed me was that Yang Wei was accompanied by a young man. This man looked somewhat like Yang Wei, with a rather handsome face, a tall stature, and an expensive white Armani suit, except that his shirt collar had lace trim, making him look like a playboy.
This is Yang Wei's younger brother, one month younger than her. He is also Mr. Yang's biological son, and his name is Yang Yi.
I don't really like this guy. He seems frivolous, with a hint of arrogance in his eyes and a somewhat frivolous smile on his face. I really don't know what Mr. Yang sent this guy for.
More importantly, ever since I picked them up from the airport, Yang Yi has seemed to be hostile towards me. Her words and actions always subtly hinted that she was deliberately trying to antagonize me. Yang Wei noticed this and twice subtly suggested that Yang Yi should tone it down. However, Yang Yi just rolled her eyes, clearly not taking Yang Wei's words seriously.
"Alright, now if anyone is interested, you can take a tour of the company." I smiled and said, "From now on, this company has 15% of its employees."
Yang Wei smiled calmly and nodded. In public, she maintained a very peaceful demeanor towards me. Since getting off the plane, I'd been surrounded by other people, including Yang Yi, who had spoken somewhat disrespectfully to me, so I hadn't had a chance to catch up with Yang Wei.
Huaxing Company isn't large, occupying only a third of one floor in this commercial office building. Currently, I've placed eight people here, our core team from the repair shop, specifically responsible for coordinating smuggling with the docks. The only ones actually doing legitimate business are the few I just hired: Sun Wendi, the manager of the Commercial Trade Department; the black man, Iglar; and the white man, Luman. Sun Wendi already exudes a managerial aura; he's interviewed and hired quite a few people these past few days, cultivating a commanding presence. Iglar, the black man, is his assistant and my preferred candidate for deputy manager. As for Luman, as I said, he's a veteran, and I need his experience. As for a seasoned veteran who occasionally coasts along, I'm not worried; as long as he fully utilizes his experience, he can solve many problems for me.
Besides these three key personnel from the Department of Commerce and Trade, three ordinary employees were also hired. I have never met any of them; I have only seen their resumes.
Clearly, Yang Wei and her group knew that the real value of this company wasn't its legitimate business department, so they just took a casual look around. As planned, I intended to arrange for Yang Wei to meet with some of the company's other shareholders, namely the other gang leaders in Vancouver, in the afternoon.
However, I really dislike Yang Yi.
"Oh my god, is this the company we just spent 30 million US dollars to buy a 15% stake in?" Yang Yi waved his hand with disgust, as if even breathing the air here made him uncomfortable. "I think you could buy three or four companies like this with just a million dollars! Yang Wei, is this the treasure trove you bought with 30 million US dollars from your family?"
Yang Yi made no attempt to hide the contempt in his eyes, and he even spoke loudly, causing Sun Wendi, who was standing next to me, to freeze in place as he stepped forward to shake hands with him.
Yang Wei frowned, her eyes already showing a hint of anger, and said coldly, "Yang Yi, please watch your words. You are speaking to an ally of our family!"
Yang Yi glanced at Yang Wei, shrugged, and still looked arrogant.
I coughed and looked at this playboy-like guy: "Mr. Yang Yi, what you just said is not accurate... To be precise, in addition to the thirty million US dollars in cash, there is also a one percent share of your casino. All of these together only amount to fifteen percent of my company."
Yang Yi glanced at me, then walked straight in. He looked around the office and said in an exaggerated tone, "My God, does this company's commercial trade department only have six people?" He turned to Yang Wei and said, "Yang Wei, I have doubts about everything I've seen today! I believe this transaction is detrimental to the family's interests, and I demand to see this company's trade data and files for the past six months!"
Seeing this, I understood that this guy was deliberately trying to cause trouble. But what I found even stranger was... why would someone as astute as Mr. Yang send out someone like this?
Yang Wei also seemed to be quite tolerant of him.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Yang Yi.” I said sarcastically, “Our company has only been established for about six months, so we don’t have any trade records to check… Didn’t you carefully research the relevant information before coming to participate in the transaction?”
"Hmph!" Yang Yi looked at me with disdain and arrogance, as if even speaking to me was beneath his dignity.
Then he pointed to Sun Wendi, Iglar, and Luman behind me and said coldly, "These are the three gentlemen, and these three other employees. There are six of them in total. How much profit can they bring us each year? Is it worth the family paying such a high price to buy this company... and it's only 15%!"
“Yang Yi, if you continue with this attitude…” Yang Wei took a deep breath, “you’d better understand that this deal was personally negotiated and finalized by your uncle!”
Yang Yi then calmed down a bit, but the employees behind me showed some anger. Looking at the black man, Iglare, he was almost about to explode on the spot.
Yang Yi slowly walked past Yang Wei and suddenly whispered something. Although he didn't speak loudly, it was just enough for Yang Wei and me to hear what he said.
He whispered to Yang Wei, "Using the family's money to support your gigolo, my dear sister, it turns out you're no good either!"
Yang Wei's face turned pale with anger, but she quickly regained her composure. Instead, she smiled slightly at me and said, "Alright, there's nothing to see here. Let's go outside for a coffee... We'll go to the pier together this afternoon."
When I arrived at the conference room, Xu Xin, the company's new administrative secretary, brought in coffee... The young and beautiful Xu Xin was wearing a rather appropriate black business suit today. Although the neckline was still a bit low and the skirt was a little short, at least she was wearing a business suit as I requested.
She was already very beautiful and had a great figure. As soon as she entered the room, Yang Yi's eyes immediately lit up with a strange light, and he deliberately smiled exaggeratedly: "God, I've finally seen someone I like."
He then looked at the coffee cup Xu Xin had placed in front of him, squinted, and stared intently at Xu Xin's chest: "Miss, could you add some milk for me? I don't like black coffee, it's too bitter."
Xu Xin didn't care about his gaze at all. Instead, she smiled sweetly, quickly took a bag of milk from the cabinet next to her, tore it open herself, and poured it into his coffee cup...
Just as Xu Xin bent down, Yang Yi's eyes immediately darted inside the collar of her shirt. Then, with a frivolous smile on his face, he suddenly reached out and slapped Xu Xin's pert buttocks with a loud "smack"...
At that moment, everyone in the room, especially me, changed their expressions! I was furious!!
No matter who he is, even if he is Mr. Yang's son and my honored guest, he cannot bully my men in my territory! That's my principle, Xiao Wu!
I was about to lose my temper on the spot.
But at that moment, Xu Xin's face, which had flashed with anger, suddenly returned to calm. She casually turned her body to avoid Yang Yi's hand that was trying to take advantage of her, and then smiled sweetly and said, "Sir, is there anything else you need?"
I saw Xu Xin put her hands behind her back and gently wave at me, signaling me not to get angry.
"Sugar, I want some sugar." Yang Yi was even more smug. Xu Xin raised an eyebrow, then casually grabbed a bag of sugar...
Just as Yang Yi was about to grope her, Xu Xin deliberately moved her body and her hand trembled. Amidst Yang Yi's scream, a cup of scalding hot coffee was spilled all over Yang Yi's crotch...
"Ah!" The man jumped up, furious. Xu Xin had already retreated to the back and hurriedly said in a panic, "I'm so sorry... I... Sir, are you alright?"
But I noticed a hint of a smile in her eyes; this woman was doing it on purpose.
Yang Yi roared, "You idiot..." He clutched his crotch, thankfully the pants were thick enough not to burn him, but his clothes were completely stained: "Do you even know how much this outfit is worth! You bastard! This is a work by Armani's chief designer! The latest design this year! There are only nine sets in the whole world!!"
Xu Xin quickly apologized, pleading softly and even intentionally throwing flirtatious glances at Yang Yi. Although Yang Yi was still furious, he couldn't be too rude to a girl in front of so many people. He muttered a few curses and snapped, "Aren't you going to take me to change my clothes?! Damn it, this godforsaken place, surely there's a changing room?!"
"I'll take you to change your clothes." Xu Xin's face was full of panic, but her eyes were cunning.
I even subtly waved to her, indicating that I didn't need to send anyone along.
Sure enough, less than ten minutes after Yang Yi followed Xu Xin out with a furious expression, Xu Xin returned.
She forced a smile, but deliberately lowered her head: "Boss, you'd better go and see... Mr. Yang probably needs a doctor..."
Just then, from outside the open conference room door, Yang Yi's intermittent screams and angry curses came from the corridor.
It turns out that Xu Xin had taken Yang Yi to the company's break room to get a rag to wipe the stains off his clothes, and by chance... well, to be precise, Yang Yi took off his outer pants so that Xu Xin could take them to him to clean them...
"Take off your pants?" I frowned and whispered, "Why would I take off my pants?"
Xu Xin chuckled softly, a malicious expression on her face: "Hmph! A man like that, if I asked him to take off his pants, he'd do it faster than anything else!"
I see... It seems this woman used some kind of "method".
I stood at the door of the tea room and saw Yang Yi kneeling on the ground, his hands covering his crotch. He was only wearing underwear, and his exposed thighs were covered in water, but they were all scalded red.
“Mr. Yang was thinking…” Xu Xin coughed and said lightly, “But when I was dodging, he accidentally knocked over the coffee machine… and a kettle of hot water that had just been boiled spilled out.”
Mr. Yang thought... I dodged...
This sentence is clearly implying something. Coupled with Xu Xin's terrified expression, the meaning becomes obvious.
"But..." I pointed to the table and chairs that had been overturned on the floor, "What happened?"
Xu Xin shrugged innocently: "The floor was slippery because of the water... When Mr. Yang was in a lot of pain, he moved too much and fell, knocking over the table..."
Yang Yi was already kneeling on the ground, unable to get up, screaming incessantly, "Damn it! Call a doctor... I... my back... God, my back is broken! I've been burned!!"
Yang Wei stood by my side the whole time, her face calm and she didn't say a word. I sighed and said to the people behind me, "Carry Mr. Yang out and then call an ambulance."
"It seems my brother won't be able to come with us to tour the docks." Yang Wei suddenly smiled, then looked at Xu Xin beside me: "Chen Yang, your secretary is quite impressive!"
After sending people to carry Yang Yi away, Yang Wei sighed and said with a wry smile, "Fortunately, you didn't go too far." I glanced at Xu Xin, thought for a moment, and said nothing.
Xu Xin stared into the air, as if muttering to herself, "Hmph, trying to take advantage of me, you're asking for it."
Yang Wei and I returned to the office. She said to me, "He is, after all, my brother. It's no big deal for your people to punish him a little. Anyway, I don't like him either, but that's enough. Once you send him to the hospital, don't do anything else to him."
I shrugged in agreement, but then frowned and asked, "How exactly was Yang Yi sent? Why would your uncle send someone like this?"
“He’s my younger brother, my uncle’s biological son, and also his heir. He has another younger brother, but he’s even more incompetent. If nothing unexpected happens, I think Yang Yi will be our family’s heir in the future. Moreover, within our generation, Yang Yi has always disliked me because he feels that many of the things I’ve done… are probably a threat to him, so he’s always been making trouble for me.” Yang Wei sighed, a hint of helplessness in her eyes: “This is the trouble of a large family. He insisted on coming this time, and my uncle didn’t object, after all, he’s his son. It’s just that Yang Yi knows that this business deal is related to my role in facilitating it, so he’s making trouble for you!”
I nodded.
“There’s nothing to hide.” Yang Wei thought for a moment. “This is the struggle for the throne. Although I’m a woman, the better I do, the more jealous Yang Yi becomes. Although our family has never had a woman as head of the family before, my uncle is a very enlightened person this generation, and he might make some changes. Yang Yi is very anxious… The internal strife in our family is actually quite fierce right now. Yang Yi, me, and his younger brother, we’re all fighting amongst ourselves, desperately trying to seize power within the family while cultivating allies outside. Now it seems you’re my ally, so it’s natural that Yang Yi treats you this way.”
I laughed and said, "But this guy is obviously a good-for-nothing. It would be a miracle if he could beat you!"
But at this point, Yang Wei's face darkened, and she gave a bitter smile: "That's not necessarily true. Now it seems that Chinese people are Chinese after all, and sometimes, family ties are greater than anything else!"
She slowly sat down on the sofa, her eyes fixed on the cup in front of her, her expression strange. "In the family... well. In our generation, not that I, Yang Wei, am arrogant, but I believe that in terms of ability, no one is better than me. But so what? I'm a woman. Chinese people have always favored men over women, and there's also... Uncle, although enlightened, is still human, with his own selfish motives. Even if Yang Yi is a bit incompetent, he's still his son. You know, I seem to be in charge of quite a few businesses in the family now, but they're all under Uncle's direct leadership. That means I only have the right to operate, not the right to make decisions. Uncle clearly understands my abilities, so he's making full use of them, but at the same time, he's trying his best to suppress me and prevent me from having real power. But Yang Yi... humph, he directly manages a casino and three companies! He controls all of those all by himself!"
“Mr. Yang is a very capable person... He wouldn’t do something so foolish, would he?” I frowned.
"This has nothing to do with whether Uncle is smart or not." Yang Wei's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "You've studied history, so you should know that at the end of the Three Kingdoms period, Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, destroyed Shu Han, swallowed Eastern Wu, and unified the world. The Three Kingdoms were unified under Jin, and he was a great man, a powerful and ambitious ruler. But what happened? In the end, this very intelligent man had a son who was an idiot. He clearly had other sons and nephews, but in the end, he still passed the throne to that idiot son, and as a result, the Jin Dynasty also collapsed... Why? It was all for selfish reasons! No matter how bad a son is, he's still his own!"
“Yang Wei…” I thought for a moment, then said intently, “In the future… if needed, I am willing to help you… do anything!”
Yang Wei raised an eyebrow and looked at me, but quickly smiled and said, "We'll talk about the future later." Then she thought for a moment and looked at me again, "But right now, if you're willing, you can do something for me."
"What?"
"Come with me to Toronto." Yang Wei smiled.
Toronto.
I didn't expect to be back in this city so soon. In fact, I caught a flight in the afternoon and came here with Yang Wei.
Things have gone a bit beyond my expectations.
Yang Wei had a purpose in asking me to come to Toronto with her.
I really miscalculated. I was the one who consolidated the smuggling trade, and before that, no one thought that they could control the entire Vancouver, the largest port city on Canada's west coast, to run a smuggling monopoly.
And the huge profits that come with this are incredibly tempting!
So, Yang Wei subtly told me something.
This was undoubtedly bad news for me. Given Sorin's deep-rooted influence in Canada, if he coveted my business and wanted to turn against me, my chances of winning were very slim... However, Sorin didn't intend to go that far; he didn't plan to use force to steal my business. After all, he was currently focused on clearing his name.
After I consolidated the smuggling trade, the profits I made were probably not much less than those from drug trafficking! Such huge profits were enough to make people envious... and even commit crimes.
Sorin was greedy. He got the drug trafficking business and drug supply I gave him, and I gave him the entire drug market. In return, he only received five percent of the shares in the laundering group he established, and I didn't even have any decision-making power, only dividends. He probably realized he had already gained a lot, so he didn't dare to directly ask me to get involved in the smuggling business.
So, he took a detour, learned about my deal with Mr. Yang, and then spoke with Mr. Yang. He was willing to pay a price in exchange for a share of the smuggling trade held by the Yang family.
I sold 15 percent to the Yang family, and the Yang family planned to sell 5 percent of that to Sorin, keeping only 10 percent for themselves.
However, according to the agreement and my negotiations with Mr. Yang, the Yang family is not allowed to transfer their shares for several years. Therefore, they must obtain my permission.
Thorin's meaning was very clear... He wanted to be a prostitute but also want to maintain a virtuous image, so he wouldn't resort to violence, but rather he wanted to imply, threaten, and force me to submit and compromise.
More importantly, inspired by me, Sorin also began to consolidate the power of the port cities on the east coast of Canada... But unfortunately, the east coast is on the Atlantic Ocean, and across the Atlantic Ocean is economically developed Europe!
Anyone with common sense knows that smuggling is only highly profitable between economically developed and underdeveloped regions... while the profit margin is very low between two equally developed regions.
I controlled the west coast, which, although separated by the vast Pacific Ocean, was bordered by the relatively underdeveloped Asian continent, thus reaping the greatest profits.
Sorin was envious, so he could only ask the Yang family to talk to me.
His conditions were simple: I would allow the Yang family to give up five percent of their share, or I would sell them another five percent directly to him... That would be the minimum.
"I advise you to agree." This was Yang Wei's advice to me: "This is business. There are no principles, only interests. Sorin is not a kind person. If you don't agree, I don't think he will obediently do nothing. Your strength is far less than his right now. If he forces his way in, you have no chance of winning. It's better to give him some meat and tolerate it for now."