Yang Jian's attitude was also quite overbearing. Considering their partnership in the casino, he could accommodate Li Jin's wishes, but there had to be a bottom line. He needed to maintain face with Zheng Guangyao and Yu Feng, otherwise, who would respect him in the future?
Li Jin was no fool; he could see that Yang Jian was holding back. A complete breakdown in relations would benefit neither of them.
"Little Yang, since you put it that way, I'll definitely give you face. I'll arrange for people to sign the contract tomorrow, and you can put in a good word with those two companies."
"No problem, they can go anytime."
Li Jin refilled his tea. "Little Yang, business is business. We can compete and argue, but we shouldn't have any grudges in private. What I said earlier wasn't directed at you; it's genuinely the rule of the Xunsi River. Don't take it to heart."
"No, no, Brother Jin, there won't be any grudges between us. Speaking for those two companies was just fulfilling a request. This matter doesn't have much personal stake for me."
Although it was against his true feelings, Yang Jian knew the importance of feigning agreement and saying the right things in such situations.
"That's good. If we brothers are united, this Xunsi River area will be our domain. Let's seize this opportunity of major development and make a killing. The casino is becoming more prosperous by the day. Let's aim for each of us to earn fifteen million yuan before the year ends."
"Based on the current situation, achieving this goal shouldn't be difficult. Brother Jin, speaking of the casino, I plan to give you a twenty percent stake. This way, it's fairer, especially since you have many brothers. If they see Biao Biao and the others have shares, they might have opinions."
"How can that be? You're in a difficult situation right now. I need to help you get back on your feet first."
"Brother Jin, thank you. The profits from these past twenty-odd days are enough. They've solved my major problems. Starting today, let's each have a thirty percent stake, and the rest will be divided between Biao Biao and your brothers, with each getting twenty percent."
Using a strategy of yielding to advance, Yang Jian voluntarily gave up shares. On one hand, he wanted the casino partnership to last longer. He was in a critical period of needing money and couldn't afford to fall out with Li Jin.
On the other hand, his loan sharking business had expanded. Not only could the boss from Xinhe provide funds, but the out-of-town bosses involved in construction projects in the area were also targets for loans. With construction sites, there was no fear of them absconding, so profits had increased significantly.
Therefore, by giving up a twenty percent stake, his income wouldn't decrease compared to before.
More importantly, he didn't want to make Li Jin envious. When the casino was small and profits weren't substantial, Li Jin didn't care much about the income and generously let Yang Jian take the lion's share.
But as the casino's scale grew, with hundreds of thousands of yuan coming in daily, it was more profitable than construction work. Anyone would have thoughts, and Li Jin was no exception.
In his territory, and with him initiating the casino's establishment, it was unbalanced that his income was lower than outsiders. Not only would he feel resentful, but his own subordinates would also be dissatisfied.
Yang Jian had noticed Li Jin's discontent from the concrete incident, so he adjusted his strategy in time, making a concession to prevent Li Jin from finding a reason to oust him.
However, given Yang Jian's current influence in the Xunsi River area, Li Jin wouldn't dare to force him out.
"Little Yang, your vision is vast. You'll surely achieve great things in the future. Since you've said so, I won't be polite. How about this: I'll cover the daily expenses for 'greasing the wheels' with the authorities, and it won't come out of the public funds."
"Brother Jin, there's no need. What should be paid from public funds should be paid from public funds. The rules cannot be broken. We brothers shouldn't be unhappy over money matters."
"Alright, I'll listen to you. You're right, we should be open and honest with each other. If we don't quarrel over money, the casino can operate more smoothly."
Li Jin was very pleased. Yang Jian's attitude dispelled all his reservations and imbalances. To celebrate, he treated Yang Jian to a lavish meal.
After settling things with Li Jin, Yang Jian returned to the Dongsheng construction site and informed Manager Fan about his negotiation with Li Jin, emphasizing that he hadn't gained any personal benefits.
"Mr. Yang, Ms. Yu wants to speak with you."
Manager Fan relayed Yang Jian's account to his superior and then handed the phone to Yang Jian.
"Er Jian, thank you for resolving a troublesome matter for our company. If I were to re-hire you as the company's vice president, would you agree?"
"Sister Feng, please don't bring that up. I won't take a position in your company. I promised you before that I would look after this construction site. I have no other requests, just that the company continues to use my templates."
"Using your templates is a given and shouldn't be considered a reward for you. How about I try to get you a bonus?"
"Sister Feng, you're being too formal. You treat me like a younger brother. If I do something for you and expect payment, wouldn't that be an insult to me? You put in a million yuan for loan sharking, and in less than a month, the profit has doubled. That's my bonus."
"Is that so? I haven't been in touch with Xiao Zeng and don't know the casino's situation. That means your casino is doing very well, and your debts should be cleared."
"Yes, if the casino can operate for another month or two, my financial pressure will ease, and the template factory can resume production."
"Template factory resuming production? What do you mean, has the factory stopped?"
"Due to unqualified glue-making technology, over twenty thousand of our templates did not meet quality standards and were all sold at half price. The factory has also temporarily suspended operations and plans to resume in September."
"What! That's a loss of hundreds of thousands?"
"It's estimated to be a loss of over four hundred thousand."
"Resuming production in September, will your glue-making technology be reliable by then?"
"No, we have two plans. One is to hire a professional master at a high salary to make glue at the factory, and the other is to continue sending people to learn the glue-making technology until it meets standards."
Yu Feng was silent for a moment and then said, "Hiring an external master is ultimately not a long-term solution. The key is to master the technology yourself. How about this, I'll help you find a master to provide guidance to your technical staff, and you can resume production immediately."
Yang Jian was surprised. "You'll find a master for us?"
"I know a few template factory owners who have been cooperating with our company for a long time. It shouldn't be difficult for them to arrange a master."
"That would be great. We were planning to spend a lot of money to learn from Dongshan. The templates from that region are of the best quality."
"I want them to arrange a master from Dongshan. By the way, do you have funds for resuming production?"
"Resuming production isn't urgent. I planned to wait until my sister's surgery was done and I had money before resuming."
A slightly annoyed voice came from the other end of the phone. "What are you waiting for? You're facing such a big difficulty and you didn't tell me? Here's what we'll do: after I find a master, you arrange production immediately, and I'll give you fifty thousand yuan for resuming production. This money will be a deposit for template purchases. Speed up large-scale production. Our company has many new construction sites in the second half of the year, so let's aim for all our sites to use your templates."
"Okay, as long as you find a master, I'll arrange for production to resume immediately. Thank you, Sister Feng. My factory's revival depends on you."
"Here you go again. I suddenly feel you're becoming increasingly hypocritical. We're like siblings, so there's no need for thanks. If I face difficulties, I won't hesitate to ask you for help. I also hope that when you encounter problems, you'll tell me immediately. Even if I can't help, I can offer advice, after all, my experience is richer than yours."