The banquet concluded, and Yang Jian did not head directly to Yu Feng's office. Instead, he went to the coffee shop in the hotel lobby, ordered a coffee, and picked up a magazine.
It would take Zhou Tao considerable time to see off the guests, and Yang Jian wanted to avoid facing Yu Feng alone in the office, which might lead to gossip.
"Mr. Yang, I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting. There were just too many guests."
After waiting for over twenty minutes, Zhou Tao rushed over.
As Zhou Tao was a senior figure, Yang Jian stood up. "It's alright, Mr. Zhou. Shall we chat here? I have an appointment with Captain Lin from the police station at two o'clock."
"Certainly, it's quite quiet here. We can discuss things briefly without taking up too much of your time."
Zhou Tao also had a coffee delivered by a waiter and sat down opposite Yang Jian.
After glancing around again to ensure no one was nearby, Zhou Tao began, "Mr. Yang, this is our first meeting, but I'm quite familiar with your situation. Ms. Yu should have briefed you on mine as well, right?"
Yang Jian smiled. "I don't know much about you, Mr. Zhou, but my brother-in-law has met you a few times and said you're very easy to deal with and don't put on airs."
"Yes, yes, yes. I interacted with your brother-in-law regarding that piece of land, but I never expected so many things to happen afterward."
"Mr. Zhou, Sister Feng mentioned you had something important to discuss with me. Please, go ahead."
"Alright, I won't beat around the bush. Here's the situation: on the 25th of next month, the Water Conservancy Bureau will hold an auction for the sand extraction rights of the Da Xin River. I want to cooperate with you to secure these rights."
Yang Jian hadn't planned to get involved in the sand dispute, but he couldn't help but ask, "How would we cooperate?"
"We'll each hold a fifty percent stake."
Yang Jian wondered if he had misheard. "Fifty percent?"
"Yes, fifty percent. This auction is for a five-year extraction right. I've already registered and submitted my qualifications and deposit. If the bid is successful, the thirty-five kilometers of the Da Xin River within Xinhe District will belong to us."
"Five years of extraction rights? How much will it cost to bid?"
"The starting bid is two million yuan per year, and I estimate the final price will be around five million yuan."
"Five million a year. What's the estimated output value then?"
"Conservatively, over twenty million yuan. If we increase the extraction volume, exceeding fifty million yuan in annual output value will be easy, as I've already found channels for external sales to other provinces."
"What's the profit margin?"
"Seventy percent."
With an output value of fifty million yuan and a seventy percent profit margin, the annual net income would be over thirty million yuan. A fifty percent share would bring in over ten million yuan, which was indeed very tempting, and Yang Jian was no exception.
"Mr. Zhou, why do you want to partner with me? If we successfully win the extraction rights, how much money will I have to pay?"
Sensing that Yang Jian was swayed, Zhou Tao smiled and said, "You don't need to pay anything. I've already prepared the funds for the bidding. As for partnering with you, I won't hide my intentions. It's because you can keep Hong Xing and Bao Guo's people in check. They are our biggest competitors in this auction. Even if I win the extraction rights, they will still forcibly engage in illegal extraction. The Da Xin River has over a dozen sand extraction points on both banks, making the frontline too long. If I can't control them, I'll be working for their benefit."
"Mr. Zhou, with your strength, you should be able to handle Hong Xing, shouldn't you?"
"I'm forty-eight years old. After my youngest son was born when I was thirty-eight, I stopped wanting to live a life of fighting and killing. My temper has been smoothed out over the past ten years. I no longer have the fighting spirit. I'm giving you fifty percent of the shares because I need you to guarantee that the sand extraction will be undisturbed."
Zhou Tao spoke very frankly, clearly telling Yang Jian, "I'll provide the money, you provide the effort. It's a win-win cooperation."
Yang Jian actually appreciated his straightforwardness. However, he still had a question. "Mr. Zhou, why don't you directly cooperate with Hong Xing? He came today, which suggests you have a good relationship. He'd probably be satisfied with half the shares, wouldn't he?"
Zhou Tao gave a wry smile. "What good relationship? Mao Zi and Hong Xing are both insidious. They're the kind of people who call you 'brother' to your face but stab you in the back. A few days ago, Bao Guo even brought people to smash my sand dredging boat. And I don't like Hong Xing. His ambition is too great, and he's too greedy. If I cooperate with him, I'll likely be completely devoured by him. However, I trust your character. Both Song Jianhao and Yu Feng, including my brother-in-law, say you are righteous, generous, and willing to go to great lengths for your brothers. You never hog profits when it comes to money and interests. You're the best partner."
Yang Jian quickly waved his hands. "You flatter me, Mr. Zhou. I have another question. Since Hong Xing is participating in the bidding, his bid might be even higher. Then our discussion today would be meaningless."
"Don't worry. I'm confident in securing the extraction rights. Although Hong Xing is very strong, he's also very stingy and won't do anything that comes at too high a price. He probably won't bid beyond five million yuan. He'd rather force me into cooperation without spending money. Once I secure the extraction rights, he'll definitely use underhanded tactics to interfere with my sand extraction, forcing me to back down, or he'll engage in direct illegal extraction, operating without cost."
Yang Jian nodded. "I understand. The extraction rights are not that important to him. Even if he fails to win the bid, he'll use brute force to interfere with sand extraction. Therefore, he doesn't need to bid a high price."
"Exactly. People like him have no bottom line and don't abide by any rules of the martial world. Using force to counter force is the only way to deal with him. And currently, the only person he fears is you. I, this old man, am no longer a match for him in his eyes."
"Mr. Zhou, this proposal is a bit sudden. I need to go back and consider it."
"It's alright. There's no rush. You can make your decision after I win the extraction rights."
"Alright, I will consider it carefully. Let's end our discussion here for today. I still need to meet with Captain Lin."
After speaking, Yang Jian stood up, shook his hand, and left.
The reason he didn't refuse Zhou Tao on the spot was that both he and Yu Feng had misjudged the situation. They had assumed Zhou Tao, in seeking his alliance, would offer at most a ten percent stake or a fixed annual payment. They hadn't expected Zhou Tao to offer half the shares right off the bat. This was a tremendous temptation.
As a twenty-four-year-old young man from the countryside with limited social experience, Yang Jian, apart from his formidable combat prowess and generous nature, was essentially an ordinary person with no exceptional intelligence. His current achievements were entirely built on his reputation, not much different from the struggle of most powerful figures in society. He didn't possess any golden fingers or extraordinary talents like protagonists in novels. Therefore, faced with the immense lure of profit, he was equally unable to remain detached, instantly overturning his previous decision.
Once one's reputation is established, more people will come forward to cooperate. This is the reality of navigating society. Whether Yang Jian can calmly analyze the pros and cons and maintain a long-term perspective is something that will require time, accumulation, and refinement.