Chen Jiayuan retorted, since everyone else had left and the surrounding area was populated, if they caused a disturbance, they would lose their reputation.
Moreover, Zhang Liunian’s skills were truly superb; hundreds of them couldn’t keep him, which demonstrated his capabilities.
Fortunately, Gu Lou had died, and his assassins no longer needed to pursue Zhang Liunian, saving them considerable manpower and resources.
However, it was impossible for them to simply let Zhang Liunian go.
Since they couldn't defeat him in a fight, they could start from other avenues, such as the business circle.
"He bullied people and treated us like monkeys, how can we just let him go and leave so easily?" The young man with dyed hair's face was filled with hostility, as if he wanted to take Zhang Liunian's life.
Chen Jiayuan saw this and was inwardly delighted. As long as Zhang Liunian was not doing well, he would be happy.
Why hadn't this Zhang Liunian listened to his arrangements and obediently handed over the ninety million they needed? He had to resort to force before Zhang Liunian knew fear.
"Zhang Liunian is not a member of our Port Merchants Association. How you resolve your personal grievances with him is entirely up to you. You don't need to consult me." Chen Jiayuan expressed his opinion pointedly.
Upon hearing this, the young man with dyed hair quickly understood that the chairman meant they could retaliate against Zhang Liunian however they wished, as the latter was not a member of their association, and they shouldn't hold back.
This was great! As long as the chairman didn't object, they could bully Zhang Liunian however they wanted, and they would make him cry and call them daddy.
Thinking of this, the young man with dyed hair became incredibly excited.
Chen Jiayuan saw the excited expression on the young man's face and knew what he was thinking – he wanted to teach Zhang Liunian a lesson.
Perfect, he also didn't want to let Zhang Liunian off the hook.
Did he think that nothing would happen after he left this place?
He was thinking too much. Offending them, the Port Merchants, would not end well, nor would it allow him to develop in Pengcheng.
They were not like the people from the National Merchants, who only knew how to shout and kill. They wanted to strike at the enemy's most vulnerable points, such as the businesses he wanted to develop, or the people he cared about.
Having a direction, Chen Jiayuan turned and sat back at the head of the table, signaling everyone else to settle down.
"As everyone has seen what happened just now, Zhang Liunian's behavior insulted us and he has been treating us like monkeys.
I kindly invited him to join us, wanting to give him an opportunity to make money and get rich, but he didn't cherish it. Instead, he provoked us repeatedly. I cannot swallow this insult."
Chen Jiayuan expounded on his thoughts based on what had just transpired.
The members below became indignant, clenching their fists in anger.
Many of them had been beaten by Zhang Liunian just now, and it would be a disgrace not to avenge this.
This was the sentiment of most of the members present.
"However, we are civilized people and law-abiding citizens. There's no need for fighting or killing. We just need to jointly suppress and blacklist him, making it impossible for him to get by in Pengcheng. That would be considered avenging us all.
Do you have any objections to this?"
Since Zhang Liunian refused to invest money in them, they would prevent him from developing in Pengcheng and would not allow him to establish himself here.
Anyone who wanted to cooperate with Zhang Liunian would be boycotted and suppressed, ensuring Zhang Liunian had no opportunity to grow.
"No objections."
"This method is excellent."
"I agree."
"..."
All the members agreed, with very few dissenting.
Manager Ren, clutching his stomach, also expressed that the proposal was very good. "I support the chairman's idea. That Zhang Liunian is truly outrageous. We kindly invited him to get rich together, and since he shamelessly played us, he even said he wouldn't invest regardless of how good our projects were.
This is simply slapping our faces. I cannot swallow this insult either."
"Me too. When has our association ever been toyed with like this by someone, and moreover by someone from the National Merchants? This revenge must be taken."
"We are Port Merchants, and we are inherently different from them. Giving him an opportunity to invest is already showing him respect."
"That Zhang Liunian is a scoundrel. We offered him respect, but he refused and chose to oppose us. He truly deserves to be suppressed."
"..."
Gu Sanqing, watching the situation develop to this point, couldn't help but think of what happened to his father, Gu Lou, at the National Merchants Association. He speculated that his father must have faced a similar situation when he was with the National Merchants Association.
It was this collective boycott and blacklisting by the association that led him to cooperate with Chen Jiayuan, which ultimately cost him his life.
Now Zhang Liunian was facing the same predicament as his father. He wondered what he would do. Should he go and remind him, to sell him a favor?
Forget it. Given Zhang Liunian's intelligence, he would likely discover this without his unnecessary intervention.
"Since everyone has no objections and supports this idea, everyone will give instructions later to ensure Zhang Liunian leaves Pengcheng and disappears from our sight as soon as possible." Chen Jiayuan waved his hand grandly, deciding to have everyone launch a full-scale offensive against Zhang Liunian.
Those below nodded in agreement, eager to make a move against Zhang Liunian, who was still unaware of this.
At this moment, he was returning home to rest with his bodyguards, whose injuries had been treated.
It was very late. After settling the bodyguards, Zhang Liunian called Uncle Yi and told him what had happened.
Upon hearing this, Uncle Yi's brows furrowed immediately. "Gu Lou is dead? Didn't he go to Port City?"
He was still investigating Gu Lou and Chen Jiayuan's leverage, but one of them had died. This forced his actions to change.
From investigating two people to one, this would significantly reduce the workload.
"He should be dead. Gu Sanqing came to find Chen Jiayuan just now to cause trouble. He seems to have some leverage over Chen Jiayuan. If you have no leads, you can try starting from Gu Sanqing." If Zhang Liunian's relationship with Gu Sanqing wasn't so strained now, he would have wanted to inquire about Chen Jiayuan from the latter.
To see what it was that made Chen Jiayuan change his attitude.
Of course, this was just a fleeting thought.
"No need, I've almost finished my investigation. Take a look at these?"
When Uncle Yi heard Zhang Liunian suggesting he find Gu Sanqing to understand the truth, he refused without hesitation. He would never deal with Gu Sanqing; that person was wicked. Saying so, he took out the results of his investigation over the past few days from his bag.
Zhang Liunian took them and began to read carefully. In a short while, his brows began to knot, and as time passed, the knots in his brows deepened until he finished reading. He still hadn't recovered from the shock.
"So, everything that happened in Pengcheng was his doing? Can you confirm the authenticity of this information?" Zhang Liunian looked at the astonishing things in his hand, finding it hard to believe that Uncle Yi had investigated them in just a few days.
This speed was too incredible!