Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 961 - Chapter 961 Chapter 961 Different Standpoints (Extra updates

Chapter 961: Chapter 961 Different Standpoints (Extra updates for Xiaonian, seeking monthly passes) Chapter 961: Chapter 961 Different Standpoints (Extra updates for Xiaonian, seeking monthly passes) President Qi’s logic isn’t exactly wrong–why not set out early for an appointment?

In his eyes, a project negotiation of this level surely calls for meticulous haggling. Although Shengshi is a big player, even they can’t afford to waste money recklessly–after all, even landlords don’t have endless supplies.

Therefore, in the preliminary stages of the negotiation, having the upper hand is crucial. If you show any sign of weakness, the other party might push their advantage.

But he overlooked one thing: this negotiation was a one-sided desire on his part, as Feng Jun had no intention of selling Luohua to begin with.

In Feng Jun’s view, the mere fact that he was willing to meet the other party was already a favor to the Yu Family. Besides… it’s not like he intended to be late.

Well, alright, what he actually thought was that a few minutes’ delay didn’t really matter–he had considered the possibility of traffic, just not that it could be this bad. After all, at this time of day, it normally wouldn’t be so congested.

So after waiting for twenty minutes, he promptly stood up. “Gazi, let’s pay and leave.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Sister Hong’s mobile phone rang again. Sister Shen was on the line: “Sister Zhang, please wait a moment longer, the road has cleared… we’ll be there soon.”

While President Qi decided to leave Feng Jun hanging, he couldn’t do so without any communication. Thus, Sister Shen had proactively made a couple of phone calls to inform him they had also been caught in traffic, asking Feng Jun to wait just a little longer.

Twenty minutes… Calling right at the twenty-minute mark surely meant they wanted Feng Jun to keep waiting.

President Qi didn’t object to this approach. In the business world, a win-win is the proper way. Humiliating one’s opponent might feel satisfying, but forcing them into a desperate last stand is unnecessary.

After picking up this call, Sister Hong was also inclined to wait a bit longer–being streetwise meant not being afraid of trouble but not that she was looking to stir it up everywhere.

However, ultimately, she glanced at Feng Jun, saw him shake his head slightly, and could only cough gently, “I apologize… President Feng has a very tight schedule. Maybe next time.”

Upon hearing her say this, President Qi rolled his eyes and then gestured dismissively.

Sister Shen got the hint. “Honestly, the road is clear now, we’ll be there in three minutes… two minutes.”

It wasn’t that she was making promises on behalf of President Qi; it was a stalling tactic. Now, it was “wait another three minutes,” then it was “two more minutes.” Those waiting would start to feel that, having already waited so long, a few more minutes wouldn’t make a difference.

In the end, a delay of ten minutes was easy to achieve.

President Qi began to get up, putting on his jacket and shoes. Dressing and taking the elevator down, then the drive over, all these little things would also take nearly ten minutes.

However, just as he was putting on his shoes, he heard Sister Shen pleading desperately, “Come on, Sister Zhang… you’ve already waited so long, can’t you wait another three minutes?”

A smirk crept onto his lips. Being late was certainly rude, but he didn’t mind using that as an excuse to offer something in return. The key issue was who would hold more sway in the upcoming negotiation between the two parties.

If I make you wait, you wait!

And then, the very next moment, he heard Sister Shen loudly repeat “Hello, hello” a couple of times, then she frowned, “They hung up? That’s really rude!”

The smile froze on President Qi’s face. After a moment’s pause, he asked in a deep voice, “They hung up?”

Sister Shen nodded with a worried look and glanced at him cautiously, sighing, “Yes, they did!”

“Call them again,” President Qi said expressionlessly, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but hasten the pace of dressing.

Sister Shen kept calling, but the other side was unbending, declining calls without hesitation–until two minutes later, as they were leaving the elevator, the call was finally answered. She couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, “Ah, you’re finally answering…”

“Sorry,” came Sister Hong’s voice from the speaker, “I was caught up getting downstairs and into the car, couldn’t answer the phone. Now that I’m in the car… what are your instructions, Sister Shen?”

“You’re in the car already?” Sister Shen couldn’t help but exclaim loudly. “Don’t go yet, we are almost there, almost there… just wait for us half a minute, half a minute should be alright, right?”

A luxurious executive car quietly arrived, and its door slid open automatically. President Qi, with an expressionless face, stepped into the car.

It was less than a kilometer to the teahouse from here, and there would be no traffic congestion within the research institute area.

Regrettably, Sister Hong’s voice came through the receiver, “Never mind. Waiting half a minute for you isn’t going to change things. We have other matters that can’t be settled in just a sentence or two. You should head back.”

“Actually, it can all be said in two sentences!” Sister Shen shrieked, while also casting a wary glance at President Qi.

President Qi did not give an opinion, simply pointing to the car door–the message was clear: let’s talk inside the car.

He was very sure that if he could meet with them, he would be able to keep them there to talk.

Unexpectedly, Sister Hong decisively refused, “No need. Please tell President Qi that President Feng’s time is very precious. If he wishes to discuss anything further, he should come to Luohua Manor… We’ve already waited for twenty minutes, which is quite gracious of us.”

“But you were also late,” Sister Shen was too anxious to speak politely, “Isn’t this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?”

“We didn’t even need to come,” Sister Hong spoke indifferently, “President Feng never really wanted to sell the manor, so… our lateness was genuinely due to traffic. Your being late is the true rudeness. What were you doing all this time?”

She didn’t expect an answer from the other party; after asking, she promptly ended the call.

The driver cautiously glanced at the rearview mirror before speaking up, “President Qi, should we ask the tea house to stop them?”

President Qi rolled his eyes disdainfully and answered, “Do you really need to ask me that?”

The driver immediately started dialing, while gradually picking up speed.

Unfortunately, the tea house reported that the other party’s car had just left, “We can’t stop them unless we notify the research institute’s gate to block them… Shall we notify them?”

Upon hearing this, President Qi let out a dejected sigh, “Forget it, don’t have the gate block them, otherwise… that guy will start demanding the sky.”

From beginning to end, he viewed the problem from the perspective of a businessman. He knew about Luohua Manor and was aware that the owner indeed planned to focus on planting trees–at least for the next one or two years, there were no signs of any real estate developments.

Since there was no plan for real estate development, this implied that Feng Jun didn’t have many ways to cash in, and a threefold return on investment in two years should be attainable. Moreover, 1.5 billion is just the baseline, there’s room to negotiate a higher price.

For instance, he could reimburse the costs of constructing the mountain wall. Although the wall’s construction was somewhat inexplicable and quite luxurious, it is now considered one of Baixing Town’s landmarks–many even believe it to be a vanity project orchestrated by the Zhengyang family.

President Qi felt that he was engaging in a battle of wits with Feng Jun, and he must not reveal his desperation to acquire the property.

But Feng Jun simply didn’t care about the other party’s thoughts; he stated clearly, “Courtesy has been extended, so we don’t owe the Yu Family anything. If they come making a fuss again, they’ll be turned away without exception!”

His own twenty-minute delay was indeed excusable, as there was a genuine traffic jam, verifiable by that day’s traffic reports. However, the other party’s delay of over forty minutes couldn’t possibly be seen as traffic congestion.

After all, they chose the time and place; they couldn’t possibly be ignorant of the surrounding traffic conditions, nor could it be that they rushed over from somewhere far away at the last minute. So… how could they be forty minutes late?

There might be no evidence for these things, and even if traffic reports are checked, the other party could concoct some difficult route. But why should Feng Jun bother? He could just assume that was the case.

The next day, people from Shengshi contacted Li Shishi–this was an official channel, informing that President Qi would visit Mountain Master Feng at 11 a.m.

President Qi still had his pride and couldn’t let it go; when he was to meet someone, he definitely wanted the proceedings arranged properly–befitting such an important figure.

Li Shishi directly refused, stating that President Feng was too busy for visits, and if anyone wished to visit, they should schedule an appointment three days in advance.

Yet at 11 a.m. the next day, Shengshi’s car arrived–although President Qi did not come, unbeknownst to outsiders.

The gatekeeper at Luohua Manor loyally blocked them, and quite a row ensued for some time.

That afternoon, President Qi’s car did come, and he was accompanied by leaders from the City Forestry Bureau.

Luohua Manor wasn’t unassailable; the Forestry Bureau and the Land and Resources Bureau were its in-house mother-in-laws, and if they found reason to investigate, they could do so at any time.

Previously, the heads of these two bureaus did not wish to offend people unnecessarily, so without orders from above, they generally stuck to their own business. At most, they would just shake people down a little for a windfall–at least that was their upper limit.

But now, someone wanted to move against Luohua, and it was someone they couldn’t refuse, so… they just followed along.

The Yu Family indeed differed from the Dou Family. As newcomers, the Dou Family could instruct others to create disturbances but couldn’t directly jump into the fray themselves, opting instead to appoint proxies. But being locals, the Yu Family cared less about such subtleties and directly confronted the issues head-on.

In fact, being local gave them a natural advantage; they didn’t need to worry about the local populace’s reaction–they could simply fight head-on.

Hearing the gatekeeper’s report, Feng Jun also felt a bit of a headache. He wasn’t afraid of others finding faults, but if the current regulatory agencies came knocking, he couldn’t simply ignore them.

Still, he chose not to show up himself and sent Li Shishi and Xu Lei Gang to greet them instead–Fatty Xu was prone to blunders, but for some unclear matters, a muddle-headed approach might have unexpected results.

Yang Yuxin also volunteered boldly to go. Her presence was more like a symbol–after all, she wasn’t a local power.

But she knew Feng Jun was reluctant to use her, and although this made her happy inside–that she wasn’t just a shield for him–she was keener to prove her worth.

She believed that it had nothing to do with personal feelings between men and women but was purely a sense of identification and responsibility.

Moreover, she assured Feng Jun, “I’m just going along to see. I won’t interfere in issues they can handle.”

(First update, wishing everyone a happy Minor New Year, and an additional chapter for monthly tickets)

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