Chapter 95: Someone Wants to Cash In

“Let me explain!”

The three of them exchanged looks and almost simultaneously spoke up.

After all, the competition in bootlicking has become fierce. They were constantly looking for opportunities to gain favor with Xu Shaochen.

“You go ahead.”

Xu Shaochen looked at Zhang Wei and said. He figured that this guy, being a lawyer, should be more reliable than Mei Liangxin and Zhao Qing.

It’s fortunate that Mei Liangxin and Zhao Qing didn’t know what Xu Shaochen was thinking, or they would have spat out blood in anger.

Only they knew Zhang Wei’s true nature. This guy was just putting on an act in front of Xu Shaochen.

“Ahem.” Zhang Wei smugly glanced at Mei Liangxin and Zhao Qing, then cleared his throat. “Mr. Xu, here’s the situation. Our land acquisitions were going relatively smoothly…”

As Zhang Wei explained, Xu Shaochen finally understood what had happened.

Originally, they were offering prices higher than the market rate, so everything was progressing swiftly. They had reached agreements with most people. All that was left was signing contracts and negotiating details.

But then, someone showed up to mess things up.

According to Zhang Wei’s findings, this person was named Li Yuncong, a complete gambling addict and a drifter who owed a significant amount of money.

Even if he sold his house and paid off his debts, he would barely have a little over ten thousand yuan left. This guy greedily approached the three of them wanting to raise the price.

Naturally, Zhang Wei and the others refused. After all, if his family raised the price, why would the others accept the agreed price? After being rejected, Li Yuncong wasn’t willing to give up and instead held a grudge. He came up with another bad idea.

He teamed up with a few thugs he was friendly with and collectively refused to sell their houses, aiming to force a price hike and squeeze some money out of Xu Shaochen.

After this incident, the other homeowners who had originally agreed to sell started having second thoughts and chose to wait and see if they could get a better deal.

In the end, Zhang Wei and the others couldn’t get anywhere.

“Mr. Xu, that’s the situation. If we don’t deal with Li Yuncong and his greedy gang, the land acquisition might get stalled,” Zhang Wei sighed with a helpless smile as he looked at Xu Shaochen.

“We can’t let it drag on!”

Xu Shaochen declared firmly. The municipal government’s documents would be issued soon, and more people would find out about the project. If they didn’t secure the land quickly, it would only lead to more trouble.

Xu Shaochen frowned and looked at Zhao Qing. “Aren’t you from a demolition company? Don’t you have experience dealing with people like this?”

“Mr. Xu, the houses I deal with are those that have already been negotiated by developers. In situations like this, I’m also at a loss!” Zhao Qing said helplessly. As he spoke, it seemed like he was pointing out that people in the demolition business weren’t exactly saints.

Xu Shaochen’s expression shifted unpredictably as he stirred his coffee with a spoon. After a while, he looked up and asked, “How many people are causing trouble with Li Yuncong?”

“Fifteen families.” Mei Liangxin quickly answered.

“Fifteen families?” Xu Shaochen raised a brow and then sneered, “Forget about these fifteen families. Spread the word that their houses won’t be bought anymore. Continue negotiations with the others!”

He believed that once the others were all on board, Li Yuncong would come crawling back. At that point, he wouldn’t even care about giving him the original price, let alone a higher one.

Besides, even if they ended up not buying those fifteen houses, it wouldn’t really matter to him.

After all, it would be the government handling the evictions later. He was just a middleman looking to make a profit, not planning to develop the land himself.

Moreover, he wouldn’t be able to keep the land anyway, given that it was a government project.

However, he found Mei Liangxin a bit slow-witted. It was understandable for Zhang Wei and Zhao Qing to be clueless since they didn’t know the inside story, thinking he was planning to develop the land himself.

But Mei Liangxin knew the truth. Logically, he shouldn’t have made such a dumb mistake.

Could it be that Xu Shaochen had been overestimating his intelligence all this time?

“This…”

Zhao Qing and Zhang Wei exchanged glances, both realizing they had misunderstood. It seemed this land wasn’t something Xu Shaochen was keeping for himself.

After all, if he were developing it himself, he’d certainly want all the land. With fifteen families unwilling to move, completing the project would be impossible.

“Right, we can handle it this way!”

Mei Liangxin finally snapped out of it, cursing Zhao Qing and Zhang Wei mentally. Those two clowns had led him astray.

He almost forgot that Xu Shaochen wasn’t keeping the land for himself.

Losing those fifteen houses wouldn’t have much impact. At most, he’d just make a little less money from the deal.

Xu Shaochen: “…”

Well, it turns out he really had overestimated Mei Liangxin’s intelligence. This guy was so dumb that Xu Shaochen feared he wouldn’t even hold onto a big pile of money if handed it.

It was impressive that he’d managed to screw up something so simple.

“I’ll go with you tomorrow. Let’s set the time in the afternoon.”

Xu Shaochen shook his head helplessly. He was genuinely worried that something would go wrong again. He figured it’d be better to oversee things himself.

“Mr. Xu, it’s almost lunchtime. Why don’t I treat everyone to a meal?”

Zhao Qing glanced at his watch, then looked at Xu Shaochen, awaiting his response.

Xu Shaochen shook his head. “I’ll pass. I have another dinner appointment tonight. You guys can go without me.”

After saying that, Xu Shaochen got up to leave.

“Take care, Mr. Xu.”

Zhao Qing and Zhang Wei quickly stood up to see him off.

“Tch!”

Mei Liangxin looked at them with disdain and sneered. What a shameful display. Two grown men, and they had no backbone at all!

“Can’t you learn from me?”

“Shaochen, I’ll walk you out. Be careful; the ground is slippery. Don’t fall.”

Mei Liangxin rushed up to Xu Shaochen with a fawning smile on his face, like an ancient eunuch serving his emperor.

Zhang Wei: “…”

Zhao Qing: “…”

“The higher the mountain, the taller the devil!”

When it came to shamelessness, they realized they still had a long way to go compared to Mei Liangxin, a natural-born scoundrel.

“You’re so disgusting! Get away from me.”

Xu Shaochen distanced himself from Mei Liangxin as he noticed people in the café giving them strange looks, filled with philosophical implications.

Xu Shaochen was a renowned legend. Known as the ‘Unyielding Spear,’ there was no way he’d let Mei Liangxin sully his reputation.

“Shaochen, take care!”

Mei Liangxin waved at Xu Shaochen’s back until his figure completely disappeared before turning to return to his seat.

“What are you staring at? Never seen a handsome guy before?”

Mei Liangxin arrogantly said to Zhang Wei and Zhao Qing. Obviously, I was the first to grab onto Xu Shaochen’s leg, and you two are just third wheels.

“Waiter, he’s paying the bill.”

Zhao Qing and Zhang Wei both pointed at Mei Liangxin before quickly dashing out of the café.

Mei Liangxin: “…”

The moral compass is broken, and trust in people is disappearing!