He wasn't sure how much it would cost to hire an assassin, so he decided to test the waters.
"He's just an insignificant nobody. One hundred thousand will do." Few people knew that Chen Jiayuan was a man who operated in both the legitimate and illegitimate worlds. On the surface, he ran legitimate businesses, but in private, he was involved in this dark industry.
If it weren't for Gu Lou being his man for a long time, he wouldn't have known about such dealings.
"The money will be deducted from next month's profit sharing."
"Agreed."
Two hours later, Gu Lou returned home, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders. Just moments ago, he had used the sixty million he borrowed from Chen Jiayuan to clear all his outstanding debts and appease the families of the workers who had been injured.
He was no longer in dire straits, and the factory could resume normal operations and generate profit. The only drawback was that construction at his site might be halted for a while.
There was no alternative; he simply didn't have the funds right now, nor did he know anyone capable of building houses in water.
However, it was alright. Once he found such talent, he could simply borrow more money.
After contemplating his next steps, Gu Lou stood up and walked around, feeling an unprecedented sense of ease. After a moment, he suddenly realized his son wasn't around.
He went out to ask and learned that his son had gone out to handle his own affairs.
Meanwhile, Gu Sanqing, whom Gu Lou was thinking about, was waiting for Zhang Liunian to get into trouble so he could appear and help him.
His aim was to make Zhang Liunian feel indebted to him.
However, the wait was proving to be long. It wasn't until the next morning that he got his opportunity.
At this time, Zhang Liunian and his entourage had just finished breakfast and were splitting into two groups.
One group was accompanying Zhang to Fude Village for development and construction, while the other group was following Zhang Liunian on a tour to inspect Pengcheng's commercial areas.
The one who encountered trouble was naturally Zhang Liunian himself. At this moment, he was only accompanied by fifteen bodyguards and an Uncle Yi.
"Are you Zhang Liunian?" the assassin asked, seemingly wanting to confirm if he had found the right person.
Zhang Liunian, being too smart to admit his identity, replied, "I'm not. You've got the wrong person."
But the assassins were not convinced. They pulled out a portrait, compared it, then tucked it back into their chests, and said furiously, "Liar, we'll take your life."
With that, as if by prior agreement, they all attacked Zhang Liunian and his group.
The bodyguards, perhaps accustomed to such situations, didn't ask if they should leave and instead drew their iron bars to meet the attackers.
Zhang Liunian and Uncle Yi retreated to the rear to observe. However, it wasn't long before they had to join the fray. This was because the attackers this time were more formidable than the previous ones, and the bodyguards were no match for them. If they didn't intervene, they were doomed to lose.
"You all step back, let me handle this." Noticing that several bodyguards were injured and unable to continue fighting, Zhang Liunian immediately rushed forward, placing himself at the front and telling them to withdraw from the battle.
The bodyguards were surprised that their boss would come out to fight for them and even shield them. They were moved by his actions, especially since this was a matter of life and death. Yet, their boss had charged out without hesitation, solely to save their lives. They would forever remember his great kindness.
"Boss, be careful," the bodyguards cautioned their boss in unison, fearing for his safety.
However, before they could express their concern, two figures suddenly appeared from behind and assisted their boss. The one leading them was an incredibly handsome man. Had he not been wearing men's clothing, they might have mistaken him for a woman.
Zhang Liunian, who was about to engage, also saw Gu Sanqing and his two followers appear out of nowhere. He was only surprised for a moment before reacting with lightning speed. Before long, they had together routed the group of assassins.
"Thank..."
After the fight, Zhang Liunian was about to express his gratitude to Gu Sanqing when the latter, without a word, turned and left as if nothing had happened.
Zhang Liunian watched Gu Sanqing's departing figure, unable to react for a long time.
Seeing this, Uncle Yi walked up to him and advised, "Don't get too close to him."
"..." Zhang Liunian was speechless. It was the same advice again. Why was Uncle Yi so reluctant for him to associate with Gu Sanqing?
Although he didn't understand, he didn't feel rebellious or a desire to force a deep friendship with Gu Sanqing. He decided to let things take their natural course.
Uncle Yi, sensing that Zhang Liunian hadn't taken his words to heart, secretly grew anxious. However, he dared not show it on his face. In the end, he could only sigh and resolve to keep a closer eye on him in the future.
"Let's go, everyone first get your wounds bandaged." Zhang Liunian came back to his senses and led everyone to the hospital to treat their injuries. After they were all attended to, he then led his group to continue their journey.
Not long after they set off, he heard a news report on the television about the Gu family. Zhang Liunian stopped to watch and gathered that the Gu family's crisis had been resolved. A mysterious person had lent them a large sum of money, successfully helping the Gu family overcome their difficulties.
Zhang Liunian was astonished. He hadn't expected the Gu family to be more extravagant than the Sun family. Even after all that, they could still come back from the brink. It seemed they truly had remarkable methods.
This meant more trouble for him. Once the Gu family sorted out these matters, they might come looking for him again.
Meanwhile, the Sun family, who had been waiting for the Gu family's downfall, was also dumbfounded. How could the Gu family turn the tables? Where did they get their capabilities?
Once, twice, they had managed to escape critical situations at the crucial moment. Who had the Gu family met to receive so many opportunities?
"Bang!" Sun's father, watching Gu Lou on television with a beaming smile, slammed his teacup onto the table in anger.
Sun Nian was equally incredulous. "How could this happen? What kind of backing does the Gu family have? Why have they escaped again? Last time, we presented evidence to the President of the association, but he twisted it, claiming Gu Lou was threatened by a Hong Kong businessman and successfully cleared his name. Where did he find this mysterious person this time to lend him such a large sum to overcome the crisis?"
Sun Nian even began to suspect if the Gu family had some extremely powerful background, otherwise, why could they overcome these difficulties one after another?
"It's truly disheartening. We were almost at the top, but at the last moment, the Gu family stood up again.
Eldest, issue an order. From now on, we need to be even more cautious and not let them exploit any loopholes. In both life and business, Gu Lou is not a magnanimous person. Last time, he even sent people to attack our business partner, but we discovered it in advance, so nothing happened. This might not be the case in the future."
Sun's father understood Gu Lou best and knew that once he made a comeback, he would soon have the time and energy to deal with them.
They had to be extremely cautious and absolutely not let the Gu family succeed.
"I understand."