Chapter 163: Li Dong Wants Land Too

After lunch, it was already past two in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, Li Dong continued to accompany everyone to visit the bamboo sea, the ancient town ancestral hall, and the thousand-year-old house...

By the time they left the tower garden, it was already past six.

Qi Fangfang was still excited about taking a boat ride, but Li Dong quickly said, "Let's skip the boat ride. It's almost dark, and it'll take us more than two hours to get back."

Qi Fangfang was a bit unhappy and suggested, "How about we stay here for the night?"

Li Dong didn't want to stay out, especially since he hadn't booked a room in advance. During the peak tourist season, it wasn't guaranteed they would find accommodation.

Zhou Yue and Qin Yuhan managed to calm Qi Fangfang down, eventually dissuading her from staying.

As they left the town and crossed the arch bridge, Meng Qiping suddenly asked, "Dong Ge, we just went to get the keys from that guy. Do you know where his car is?"

Meng Qiping's question piqued everyone's interest.

They had been so busy having fun in the afternoon that they hadn't even seen the guy's car yet.

Li Dong wasn't worried about finding the car. He pressed the car key, and an Audi parked outside the parking lot started beeping.

They walked over to see it was a nearly new Audi A6.

Although Zhang Qing wouldn't drive a car worth over a million, he wouldn't drive something too shabby either. The Audi was stable and stylish, which made it a good choice that wouldn't attract too much attention.

Li Dong glanced at it and lost interest, tossing the car keys to Zhou Haidong and saying, "Have someone drive it back later."

They had two cars for this trip, and among the eight people, only Li Dong and Zhou Haidong had a driver's license. The car would have to be left here for now.

Meng Qiping was itching to help and said, "Dong Ge, how about I drive it back for you?"

Li Dong gave him a sidelong glance, thinking that Meng Qiping was always looking for trouble. Why hadn't he given up yet?

Before Li Dong could speak, Cheng Nan grabbed his flesh and said sternly, "If you want to die, go ahead. Don't ruin the car!"

Meng Qiping cried out in pain, finally escaping Cheng Nan's grip, and shouted, "Murdering my husband! If I die, you'll be a widow!"

Cheng Nan, angry, chased after him again.

The others ignored their commotion, and when it was time to get in the car, Meng Qiping dejectedly came over.

He adamantly refused to ride with Cheng Nan and insisted on sitting in the passenger seat with Li Dong.

Li Dong couldn't tolerate him anymore. Since it was getting late, he finally let Qin Yuhan accompany Cheng Nan in Zhou Haidong's car.

By the time they got back to Pingchuan, it was nearly nine. They had a simple dinner, and after a long day, everyone went their separate ways.

---

In the next two days, Qin Yuhan continued to explore with Qi Fangfang and the others.

Li Dong had other matters to attend to, so he left Zhou Haidong and Zheng Long to act as drivers and bodyguards for them, and returned to the company to handle business.

On July 13th, domestic media reported that Baidu had filed for an IPO with the NASDAQ in the United States.

According to the publicly available prospectus, Baidu planned to issue $80 million worth of Class A common stock.

Although Li Dong knew this day would come sooner or later, he couldn't help but feel excited.

With Baidu's IPO process officially underway, the day when he would make a big profit was drawing near.

On the same day, Zhang Qing sent over the vehicle transfer documents.

Without needing any of Li Dong's documents, the car was transferred to Li Dong's name, showing the privileges of the elite class.

Also on the same day, several convenience stores and community stores under construction outside Yao Hai District encountered significant problems.

Some stores were reported for excessive noise disturbing the residents, while others were reported for inadequate fire safety facilities...

There were all kinds of strange reasons. Although there was no mention of sealing the stores, various departments frequently harassed them, severely impacting the construction progress.

Li Dong knew this was Zhang Qing's retaliation.

Having lost face because of the car, Zhang Qing wouldn't let it go without making some move.

However, Li Dong didn't care. Zhang Qing could only do so much; he wasn't capable of directly shutting down stores in distant locations.

As for the Yao Hai District, Zhang Qing was even more powerless.

Without Hu Sicheng's support, others would not pay any attention to Zhang Qing. Besides, Li Dong had made good connections in Yao Hai, and the Longhua store was still thriving.

Li Dong sneered. Unless Zhang Qing's father personally intervened, Zhang Qing wouldn't be able to do much against Li Dong.

But this issue couldn't be made public. Zhang Qing's father wouldn't intervene for him.

If it became a public scandal, aside from Li Dong's own matters, Zhang Qing's plan to embezzle state assets would be exposed, leading to trouble for both father and son.

After hearing Liu Qi's report, Li Dong casually said, "Don't worry about it. Let him make a fuss. Even if the convenience stores can't open, it won't be a big loss."

He then added, "Sell that Audi at auction and say that Zhang Qing's company is insolvent and needs to sell the car to survive."

Liu Qi agreed but reminded, "Li Dong, doing this will offend him thoroughly. Shouldn't we just return the car..."

Before she could finish, Li Dong interrupted, "Do as I say!"

Since they were already at odds, Li Dong didn't mind making it worse.

Although ordinary people wouldn't notice or care about Zhang Qing's car being sold, those who paid attention would quickly catch on.

The Audi was Zhang Qing's personal vehicle, bought recently. Selling it under these circumstances would likely raise many eyebrows.

Zhang Qing was already struggling to raise funds for the Huafu Avenue project. With this news, it would become even harder for him to secure the money.

If he couldn't raise the funds, the land on Huafu Avenue wouldn't wait.

Recent turmoil among veteran employees of the Yao Hai Supply and Marketing Cooperative had even reached Li Dong's ears. The district government couldn't suppress it for too long.

Previously, Hu Sicheng was willing to help, but after that meal, he had become a bystander.

Without Hu Sicheng's support, Li Dong knew that Zhang Qing would most likely be unable to secure the land.

If Zhang Qing couldn't get it, Li Dong became interested.

Both for the distribution center and the headquarters of Yuanfang, land was needed.

While a distribution center could be built in the suburbs, the headquarters of Yuanfang needed to be centrally located, making Huafu Avenue a perfect spot.

Li Dong hadn't thought of this before, but with Baidu's IPO approaching, he needed to prepare for certain things.

After discussing Zhang Qing's matters, Liu Qi asked, "Regarding the candidates for the vice president position you mentioned last time, the headhunting company has recommended a few. When would you like to meet them?"

"First, let me review their resumes," Li Dong said, then added, "Send a copy to General Sun as well for his advice."

Sun Tao had been recovering at his hometown in Dongping since returning from vacation.

Unless Li Dong called, Sun Tao had almost no contact with the senior management of Yuanfang.

Li Dong knew it was to avoid any conflict of interest, but he still wanted Sun Tao's input on the vice president matter. It was important to maintain good relations.

If Li Dong didn't even inform him, it would surely cause resentment later.