Chapter 70: Watch Me Knock Some Sense Into You
Sometimes, Song Siqing really thought Yao Jing was lucky to have married someone as clever as Wu Zhiming. At least he was smart enough to handle tricky situations.
Earlier, when Song Siqing suggested they go on a trip together, if Wu Zhiming had simply agreed, Yao Jing would have likely declined, citing work as an excuse. But Wu Zhiming was shrewd; he deliberately suggested not going on the trip and offered several reasons why. By doing so, he triggered Yao Jing's natural inclination to do the opposite, making the idea of going on a trip practically a certainty.
That's why Song Siqing called Wu Zhiming a master strategist. It was clear he also wanted Yao Jing to take a break and have some fun.
Wu Zhiming left Song Siqing's home ahead of time and headed to Huachi Stadium with Wang Hai that afternoon.
With the new orders from the top, the stadium was already undergoing demolition. Meanwhile, the city had begun publicizing the construction bids for the new school project.
The Wu Group didn't get involved in this project. Government contracts typically offer low profit margins, and right now, the Wu Group's focus was on the development of school district housing. They weren't interested in small gains from such government projects.
Building the school would be a much slower process than developing the housing. Government projects are notorious for their complex procedures and slow pace, unlike the private sector where Wu Group could move much more swiftly.
Wu Zhiming had delegated all the school district housing construction to Wang Hai and usually didn't concern himself with it. But that afternoon, he had to intervene because there was trouble on the construction site.
Initially, when Wu Zhiming heard the news, he thought some local gangsters were trying to extort money. However, Wang Hai informed him that the troublemakers were actually people who had previously sold their land to the Wu Group at low prices.
There were several large plots of land around Huachi Stadium, owned by locals who had built small houses or used the land for other purposes. When the Wu Group came to buy the land, the offered prices were decent, and the owners eagerly sold. Now, seeing the area being developed into valuable school district housing, with property values skyrocketing nearly tenfold, they felt unfairly treated and had come back to cause trouble.
"Did they come this afternoon?" Wu Zhiming asked while sitting in the car.
"Yes, about a hundred people showed up, mostly from the Chen family. They have a strong presence in this area, with their ancestral hall nearby. They're all related in some way. They've blocked our access roads, so our heavy vehicles and machinery can't get through, effectively halting construction," Wang Hai explained.
"They can block roads? What about the police?" Wu Zhiming asked.
"They just have a few elderly folks sitting by the roadside, enough to let small cars pass but blocking the large ones. You can't honk at them; it'd be a problem if someone had a heart attack. So, all our vehicles are stuck outside," Wang Hai replied.
"Is there anyone influential in the Chen family who has clout in Haixia City?" Wu Zhiming inquired.
"There's a guy named Chen Weichao. He owns a factory and has some money. He's somewhat of a notable figure in Haixia City," Wang Hai said.
"Chen Weichao, huh? Keep an eye on him," Wu Zhiming said.
"Got it!" Wang Hai nodded.
The car drove into the most affected construction site.
The construction had come to a standstill. Over a hundred people gathered at the site, with banners calling the developer heartless and deceitful.
The workers stood by, while the site manager tried to negotiate with the protesters.
"Drive over there," Wu Zhiming instructed.
The car stopped at the edge of the crowd. Wu Zhiming stepped out and saw that among the protesters were about a dozen elderly people, but the majority were young and middle-aged.
Seeing the luxury car, the crowd knew someone important had arrived and immediately focused their attention on Wu Zhiming.
"This is Mr. Wu, the president of Wu Group. You can voice your demands now," Wang Hai announced.
"Our demands are simple," a young man stepped forward.
"What's your name?" Wu Zhiming asked.
"What's it to you? Are you planning to retaliate?" The man replied angrily.
"I don't talk to nameless people. It's just my habit," Wu Zhiming said calmly.
"I'm Chen Yanping!" the man replied.
"Alright, continue," Wu Zhiming said.
"When we sold the land, the price was too low. You knew this area was going to be developed into a school district, and that the land value would increase. Yet, you bought our land at a low price. It's clearly unfair. You took advantage of your insider information to profit unjustly. You should compensate us!" Chen Yanping spoke assertively, and the crowd echoed his sentiments.
"Go on, how do you want to be compensated?" Wu Zhiming asked calmly.
"Compensation can be done in two ways. First, you can reimburse us for the difference. Pay us the current market value for the land. I know you real estate developers have many ways to make money. Once the houses are built, your profits will roll in, so giving us the difference won't hurt your bottom line!" Chen Yanping explained, sounding very confident while the crowd voiced their agreement.
"Okay, what's the other option?" Wu Zhiming asked.
"The second option is to provide us with resettlement housing. Based on the size of the land each of us sold, those who sold larger plots get more, those who sold smaller plots get less. This way, we don't have to buy new homes. You bought wasteland where barely a few hundred people lived. Even if we take over a small neighborhood, you still make profits from several others. It's a fair deal!" Chen Yanping proposed.
"Wang Hai, they do have a point," Wu Zhiming nodded.
"Indeed, they do!" Wang Hai agreed, though internally he thought it was nonsense. But if Wu Zhiming said it made sense, then it made sense.
"You're a reasonable boss. We're not unreasonable people either, but it's outrageous how the land value has increased tenfold in just half a year. We lost a lot! We're just asking for some compensation now," Chen Yanping continued.
"Okay, so why block our construction then? Just go and ask for compensation," Wu Zhiming replied.
"If you don't compensate us, we have no choice but to stop your construction!" Chen Yanping said.
"Then why don't you ask the people who bought your land cheaply to compensate you?" Wu Zhiming asked.
"Wasn't it your Wu Group that bought our land at that low price? And now it's your Wu Group developing it!" Chen Yanping countered.
"Mr. Chen, you might have misunderstood. The Wu Group that bought your land was owned by Wu Zhixing. He spent ten billion to buy the surrounding land. Later, I bought the entire Wu Group from him, which means this Wu Group now belongs to me and has no relation to the previous one. To be honest, I paid fifty billion in fines for this land. So effectively, I spent sixty billion acquiring this area, while Wu Zhixing made a fortune. If you want compensation, go find him. I have his exact address and can give it to you," Wu Zhiming said with a straight face.
Chen Yanping was stunned. He hadn't expected Wu Zhiming to say something like this.
"Whoever negotiated the land purchase with you and signed the contract is the one responsible for compensating you. I fully support you in protecting your legal rights. I'll even help you as much as I can. Here's what we'll do: I'll have Wang Hai give you 10,000 yuan. With a hundred people, that should cover your round-trip to the provincial capital. Consider it my treat for your travel expenses," Wu Zhiming said, then turned to Wang Hai and added, "Give them a check."
"Got it, got it!" Wang Hai quickly pulled out his checkbook and started writing.
"Wu, are you screwing with us?!" Chen Yanping shouted angrily.
"How am I screwing with you? I'm just stating the facts," Wu Zhiming shrugged.
"We don't care about your Wu Zhixing or whatever. Now you're the one developing this land, so you need to compensate us!" Chen Yanping insisted.
"Well, that's unreasonable. I bought this land at a higher price too. We're not making much profit here, and if I compensate you, this project will be a loss. That's not how business works," Wu Zhiming shook his head.
"If you don't compensate us, then you can forget about continuing this construction! In our Chen family's territory, who dares to disrespect us?" Chen Yanping said arrogantly.
Wu Zhiming smiled and looked at Chen Yanping, "Playing hardball?"
"Yeah, we're playing hardball. What are you gonna do about it? Want to fight? Believe me, I can call in hundreds of people with one phone call," Chen Yanping boasted.
"Fight? Who's afraid of whom?"
"On our turf, come and try if you're not afraid to die!" the crowd jeered in support.
Wu Zhiming chuckled and said, "Wang Hai, lock the gate of the construction site."
"Got it!" Wang Hai nodded and signaled the workers in the distance to lock the gate.
"Get all the guys here, and bring the gear," Wu Zhiming ordered.
"Everyone, come here with the tools!" Wang Hai shouted.
The workers, already frustrated, eagerly grabbed wrenches and iron chains. Some even started driving excavators towards the crowd.
With several excavators and dump trucks positioned around them, the protesters were soon surrounded.
"Wu Zhiming, do you think you can scare me? We have elderly people here. If you dare to lay a hand on us, I'll expose you to the media immediately!" Chen Yanping pointed to the elderly in the crowd.
"I'm a reasonable man. Right now, you have a chance to leave. If it turns into a fight, weapons won't have eyes. Getting injured is one thing, but if someone dies, it's not worth it. Especially for the elderly, a death here means a life lost. For us, it's just an accidental death during a fight. We'll serve a few years in prison, and I'll take care of their families until they get out. Trading a life for a dozen years in prison—decide for yourselves who benefits and who loses. You have one minute to leave for the gate. After that, you can watch and see if I won't knock some sense into you!"