"You're talking nonsense. Your father and I are just engaging in normal business exchanges; there's nothing illicit going on."
Chen Jiayuan forcibly suppressed his anger and, pretending nothing had happened, changed the subject. "Let him in. Since he wants to become our member, let him join. There's no reason his father can be our ally, but he cannot."
Chen Jiayuan thought for a moment. He decided to let Gu Sanqing have his moment of triumph for now. He would arrange to deal with him quietly in a few days.
"Wouldn't it have been easier to just say that earlier?" Gu Sanqing raised an eyebrow at Chen Jiayuan, seeing that he had finally compromised.
A fleeting murderous intent flashed in Chen Jiayuan's eyes. "Alright, the meeting is about to begin."
After saying this, Chen Jiayuan stopped paying attention to Gu Sanqing and turned to walk to the head seat, intending to start the day's meeting.
As Chen Jiayuan and his entourage left, Gu Sanqing immediately spotted Zhang Liunian behind the crowd. His expression faltered for a moment before quickly returning to normal.
"Comrade Zhang Liunian, you're here too?" Gu Sanqing stepped forward to greet him, as if he hadn't been the one acting like a fighting cock moments ago.
"Yes, the meeting is about to start. Let's go quickly!" Zhang Liunian didn't know what else to say and used the meeting as an excuse to find a seat first.
Seeing this, Gu Sanqing followed and sat beside him. They then exchanged a glance and said no more.
Although they both appeared calm on the surface, they knew deep down that it was now even less likely for them to become good partners.
Zhang Liunian had nothing much to say, only feeling a sense of loss for his old friend and the way things had changed.
Gu Sanqing, however, felt great regret at not being able to become Zhang Liunian's friend, which was equivalent to losing a powerful ally.
"Today's meeting agenda is the 'one-stop' commercial project. The business content includes shops, residences, hotels, and rickshaws. We will primarily focus on these four projects. Everyone can invest separately or invest in all of them..."
Chen Jiayuan began by listing the confirmed project content, allowing everyone to consider which ones to invest in.
Unlike last time, this time, with Gu Sanqing present, Zhang Liunian had someone to talk to.
"Comrade Zhang Liunian, do you have any thoughts on this project?" Gu Sanqing asked Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian smiled. "These are all good projects. You might consider investing."
"I'd like to invest, but they might not agree," Gu Sanqing said with a hint of bitterness.
If he hadn't threatened Chen Jiayuan with past matters earlier, the other party might not have agreed to let him join, let alone participate in making money.
Zhang Liunian knew it was difficult to respond to this.
Just then, Chen Jiayuan suddenly looked over and said again, "Comrade Zhang Liunian, this is a project you favor. How much money are you willing to invest?"
Two days ago, Zhang Liunian had expressed his preference for the "one-stop" project. Now that the discussion had finally reached this project, Chen Jiayuan was eager to know how much Zhang Liunian would invest. It would be ideal if he could bring out the entire ninety million.
"Could I see your detailed plan before we discuss investment matters?" Zhang Liunian asked seriously.
He didn't understand why Chen Jiayuan wanted him to invest just by mentioning the project names. Were they treating him like a fool?
If you want others to pay, you must show sincerity. You can't expect people to invest without saying anything.
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiayuan's expression instinctively soured at the thought of Zhang Liunian wanting to see a more detailed plan. However, remembering the money he held, he patiently explained, "We haven't prepared the detailed plan yet. Right now, we are mainly discussing investment intentions and amounts. A more detailed plan will be released later."
Zhang Liunian replied, "I want to hear your plan and quotation first, and then decide on the investment amount and intention."
No one was a fool. They hadn't even made a detailed plan for this project, yet they wanted him to confirm the investment amount. Wasn't this a joke?
Zhang Liunian thought Chen Jiayuan was playing a trick on him, but Chen Jiayuan believed Zhang Liunian was looking for excuses to back out of the investment. He conveniently ignored the fact that he deliberately hadn't produced a detailed plan.
"Comrade Zhang Liunian, our Hong Kong investors always operate in this sequence: first confirming intentions and amounts, then conducting more precise research. If you don't wish to cooperate with us, you should have said so earlier, instead of making so many excuses." Chen Jiayuan's expression was not very pleasant.
Seeing this, the young man with yellow hair knew he had another chance to mock Zhang Liunian and stepped forward without hesitation. "Chairman, I think he's clearly saying this deliberately to extract intelligence from us so he can inform the domestic merchants. You don't know, but those domestic merchants have already gone to inquire about the automotive project and are even preparing to buy land. This must have been leaked by Zhang Liunian, otherwise, they wouldn't be acting so quickly. I think Zhang Liunian is a spy sent by the domestic merchant association to extract our projects and gain a head start, snatching these profitable projects from us. You must not believe Zhang Liunian's nonsense; he is definitely one of their running dogs."
The young man with yellow hair unleashed a barrage of accusations against Zhang Liunian, trying to paint him as someone like Gu Lou.
Zhang Liunian rolled his eyes speechlessly. "Young man with yellow hair, I think you're the one without a brain. In the last meeting, your chairman didn't ask me to keep it confidential, which shows that whether it's kept secret or not doesn't affect your plans. You're jumping around here like an idiot. Besides, even if the domestic merchants know your plans, so what? Haven't they suffered enough losses at your hands before? This is why your chairman is so confident and not worried about the domestic merchants knowing the project's details, isn't it?"
After Zhang Liunian finished speaking, he looked at Chen Jiayuan, who was smiling gleefully and even applauded after Zhang Liunian spoke.
"That's right. I didn't ask you to keep it confidential the day before yesterday, so I never thought those old foxes could contend with us." Chen Jiayuan spoke frankly, revealing his truest thoughts.
The members listened, each displaying a proud demeanor as if they were part of the success.
"If you don't mind, I can also tell you the domestic merchants' thoughts. They are aiming for the same thing as you: the automotive project and the 'one-stop' commercial project. It's up to each of you who wins or loses." Zhang Liunian didn't mind revealing their intentions at all. In any case, the domestic merchants' plan was to follow the Hong Kong merchants. Whatever the other party wanted to do, they would do. There was no need for him to hide it.
When the Hong Kong merchant association members heard this, they collectively looked as if they had expected it.