Chapter 87: Renewed Cooperation

“I’m exhausted!”

By the time all the evidence-gathering work had finally been completed, dawn had already begun to break. Wu Ya, dragging his weary body back to the hotel, fell flat onto the bed and was soon sleeping the sleep of the dead.

Business negotiations?

That could wait until he had recovered his strength.

By his reckoning, after this incident, Lan Yaoming’s highly respected wife would surely take matters into her own hands.

It was said that her mind was far sharper than Lan Yaoming’s.

The driving force that had once led Grand Ambition to its glory had, in truth, been this unseen mastermind whose name was famous even before she had ever been met.

So she could not be underestimated.

In business, as on a battlefield, one must not face a strong enemy while one’s condition is poor.

Who would have thought—

Rrrring!

Wu Ya had barely slept half an hour before a burst of urgent ringing yanked him awake from his dream.

“So early? Do they not let people sleep? Even if they’re anxious, they should let me wake up first before we talk!”

Wu Ya did not need to think to know who was calling.

In Xiangzhou City, he did not know a soul.

And as for the room phone, only Liu Qian at home knew the number.

She could not possibly be calling at this hour.

So he seized the handset by the bed, lifted it, and then slammed it back down.

Anxious?

Then they would have to wait.

He had stayed awake the entire night because of their troubles.

Was he supposed to drag two black eyes to the negotiating table and discuss business with them?

That would be taking advantage of a man while he was down.

He had just saved their factory!

It would have been enough if they had not proactively prepared to give him a better price.

And now they wanted to strike while his mind was foggy and force an opening?

Then he would simply ignore them.

Soon, the sound of Wu Ya’s snoring once again filled the room.

But not long after.

Just as he was entering that sweetest, deepest realm of sleep—

Thump, thump, thump!

Someone knocked at the door.

Wu Ya did not respond.

Bang, bang, bang!

The knocking instantly grew louder.

With a sudden snap, Wu Ya sprang up from the bed.

“Has the inspection team come?”

In his past life, he had weathered endless hardships.

In lonely and helpless circumstances, there had been many times when he had slept outdoors.

His vigilance had therefore become very sharp.

Almost every moment, he had lived in a state of tension.

All to avoid being caught by the inspectors and mistaken for a vagrant, then hauled off to a shelter.

This reaction was a shadow left behind by that former life.

“I—”

As his mind cleared, a stream of curses burst from Wu Ya’s mouth.

He stared at the door, fury surging in his eyes.

“Didn’t answer the phone, so now you come knocking at my door! Since you’re all so eager, don’t blame me for striking hard!”

As the saying goes, there is no good bargain in chasing after a buyer.

Whatever the reason, he had helped Grand Ambition in the end.

And now they did not even intend to let him get a good night’s sleep?

Fine.

He had already planned to use this incident to squeeze them again.

Now, even the last trace of reluctance in his heart was gone.

After muttering to himself, Wu Ya got out of bed and went straight to the door.

But how could he have known?

The matter of Mo Xiao had been settled.

Yet the money Mo Xiao had embezzled still had to wait until the case was concluded before it could be returned.

By then, word had already spread through the factory.

As rumors fermented, it had become that Mo Xiao had squandered public funds, leaving the factory insolvent and drowning in debt.

Not only were wages impossible to pay, but the bank was about to settle accounts as well.

Once that happened, bankruptcy would follow.

At this moment, Grand Ambition was already in complete chaos.

The workers had surrounded the offices, shouting for Lan Yaoming to pay wages immediately.

Otherwise, they would strip the factory of its materials and sell them off cheap to cover their pay.

Creak—

“You—”

Wu Ya yanked the door open, about to launch into a loud reprimand and give the other side a display of force.

But he had only managed two words when—

“Boss Wu, you can’t just stand by and watch us die!”

A voice, carrying a frantic figure, burst into the room.

Wu Ya was startled by the sudden intrusion.

Looking more closely, he saw that it was Lan Yaoming.

He had also gone a full night without sleep.

At that moment, he was not only listless but also dark-circled around the eyes.

Yet the anxious expression on his face, and the terror written all over him, made it clear that something terrible had happened.

“Factory Director Lan, what’s going on?”

Did he mean for him not to stand by and watch them die?

Hadn’t Mo Xiao already been temporarily detained?

And Zhu Changxing had lost his freedom because of it too.

Trying to take revenge on them had become nothing more than a daydream.

What else could possibly drive the great Factory Director Lan into such panic that he had rushed over here without even taking a rest, speaking and acting with such obvious loss of composure?

“Boss Wu, our workers are making trouble! They heard that something happened to Mo Xiao, but the rumor has been twisted into Mo Xiao squandering public money, leaving the factory buried under debts it cannot clear! So they’ve all gathered and are demanding that wages be paid on time. Otherwise, they’ll haul the factory’s equipment out to sell it off cheap and use the money to cover their lawful pay!”

The workers of Grand Ambition had started a collective disturbance?

At that, Wu Ya’s brows also drew together.

If they really dragged the equipment away, wouldn’t he lose out badly?

After all that hard work, it would all come to nothing.

How could that be allowed?

“Factory Director Lan, what do you need me to do to get through this situation?”

Wu Ya was fully awake now.

His mind was incomparably clear.

This matter could not be treated lightly.

On the small side, it was merely workers demanding wages.

But on the large side, it was a mass incident.

At present, the nation was in the painful throes of reform.

Layoffs were happening everywhere, and everyone was adrift.

Naturally, tempers were strained.

Especially for those already laid off and living in hardship, resentment ran deep.

If that anger were ignited directly because of this, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Most important of all, it would run completely counter to his original purpose.

He was here to buy equipment.

Not to stir up social unrest.

“The main problem is that our finance department is now empty-handed! Faced with the workers’ legitimate demands, we have absolutely no way to answer them! That is why everyone’s emotions have grown more and more agitated. And that is also why the rumors that Mo Xiao squandered the funds and brought the factory to the brink of bankruptcy have become more and more believable. No matter how I explain it, it is useless!”

Lan Yaoming spoke in a flustered rush, saying a great deal.

Yet he still did not answer the key point in Wu Ya’s question:

What do you need me to do?

But Wu Ya understood.

No money.

The core meaning of Lan Yaoming’s rambling was simply that he had run out of money.

He could not pay the workers.

Therefore, the rumor that Mo Xiao had squandered public funds was all but confirmed.

Even if Lan Yaoming wore out his tongue insisting that in a while the more than two hundred thousand in stolen money could be recovered, who would believe it?

What people needed was immediate gain.

Only immediate gain could quickly stabilize the situation and calm the public anger.

However—

“Factory Director Lan, I can’t help you with this. I can’t exactly take my own money and pay wages for your factory, can I?”

Wu Ya refused outright.

Help had to depend on the matter.

When it came to money, even brothers settled accounts clearly.

Much less between him and Lan Yaoming, who shared no kinship at all.

If he were to act generously and pay the workers’ wages with his own money, and then those workers, seeing no future, all ran off anyway, wouldn’t Grand Ambition still end up bankrupt and closed?

Then who would he go to?

To haul away the equipment?

By then, Lan Yaoming would have solved his immediate problem.

Who could guarantee he would not turn against him?

If he did, and the equipment were frozen, then even if the wage bill was not much, Wu Ya would still be the one left with nothing but losses.

Besides, as a businessman, if Lan Yaoming had encountered such a huge difficulty, was that not precisely the opportunity Wu Ya had been hoping for?

To use the chance to force down the price—would he take it or not?

So Lan Yaoming had to speak up himself.

Only if he himself brought up the matter of cooperating again would the deal truly seem proper and natural.

Otherwise, it would just be profiteering in a time of crisis.

“This...”

At that, Lan Yaoming’s face instantly flooded with deep despair.

Wu Ya was the last straw he could think of in his panic.

And now that straw had been thrown back in his face.

What now?

Was he really going to watch helplessly as the factory workers dragged away the equipment and sold it off cheap?

At that moment, Lan Yaoming was completely at a loss.

How could he not understand Wu Ya’s concerns?

After all, the two of them had only just met.

Why should anyone trust you?

But aside from Wu Ya, he could not think of anyone else who might help him.

When all goes well, everyone adds flowers to brocade.

But to send charcoal in snow?

Rare beyond rarity.

At the very least, Lan Yaoming had never encountered it.

Competitors? They would only be delighted if you went bankrupt sooner.

Friends? They would stand beside you when you were glorious, but when trouble came, they would avoid you as if you were plague-ridden.

Only Wu Ya, young and righteous, still had even the slightest chance of pulling him out of this mess.

But now that hope had also gone up in smoke.

The despair in Lan Yaoming’s eyes was almost solid.

So much so that he had even forgotten to mention restarting cooperation for the purchase of equipment.

That made Wu Ya anxious beyond measure.

Say it quickly—I’m still waiting!

As time ticked by, Wu Ya looked at Lan Yaoming’s agitation and felt a stirring of his own.

Just as he was about to speak first—

“Boss Wu, on behalf of Grand Ambition, I am willing to restart cooperation with you! Whatever conditions you have, just name them!”

A crisp, dry voice suddenly came from outside the door.

And then...