Chapter 166: Hidden Motives

The next day.

Li Dong arrived at the company at 8:30. He immediately told Liu Qi, "Go check if Shen Qian has arrived. If she's here, have her come see me."

Liu Qi replied promptly, "Shen Qian always arrives at nine sharp, so she shouldn't be here yet."

Liu Qi then carefully observed Li Dong's expression. Seeing no sign of dissatisfaction, Liu Qi felt a bit disappointed.

If there was someone under the most pressure these days at Yuanfang, it wasn't Li Dong, nor Shen Qian, but Liu Qi herself.

When Li Dong kept Shen Qian around, Liu Qi felt she had encountered a rival!

Shen Qian was no less attractive than her, had higher academic qualifications, and was a returnee from abroad, making her the perfect candidate for the position of executive assistant.

If Shen Qian could become the vice president, Liu Qi would be a hundred percent disbelieving. However, since she couldn't become the vice president and Li Dong had kept her around, Liu Qi felt her position as the executive assistant was somewhat at risk.

While she was lost in thought, the office phone rang.

Liu Qi hurriedly answered the phone and, after a few exchanges, covered the receiver and said quietly, "Mr. Li, it's a call from Zhang Qing."

Li Dong raised his eyebrows. Zhang Qing was already getting impatient?

The auction hadn't even started yet, and it seemed Zhang Qing had received the news.

Li Dong answered the phone leisurely. As soon as he spoke, Zhang Qing's cold voice came through, "Li Dong, are you intentionally trying to make this difficult for me?"

Li Dong waved Liu Qi away and then sneered, "Mr. Zhang's words are quite interesting! So it's all my fault from start to finish? I'm just running my business, and you're making money. If you insist on biting me, don't think I'm made of clay!"

Zhang Qing was silent for a moment before replying, "I've bought the land. Make me an offer!"

"Not for sale!"

Li Dong refused outright. He was still waiting for Zhang Qing to step back so he could figure out a way to acquire the land himself.

Zhang Qing was instantly enraged, gritting his teeth, "Li Dong, are you looking for trouble?"

Li Dong scoffed, "Then I'll wait for Mr. Zhang to deal with me!"

"Fine, you've got guts! Li Dong, you think you can mess up this land deal? Let me tell you, you're digging your own grave! The Huafu Avenue land is right under Pingchuan's nose. Do you think others are blind and can't see that plot of wasteland is valuable!"

"You think you're so powerful? I'm waiting to see. You don't need to handle it yourself. If this land deal fails, the loss will be over a billion. Even if you use Yuanfang to compensate, it won't be enough!"

After saying this, Zhang Qing hung up the phone.

Li Dong frowned. What did Zhang Qing mean by that? Was there really someone else interested in the land, or was Zhang Qing just a runner all along?

The more Li Dong thought about it, the more he suspected whether Zhang Qing was putting on a show or if it was really like that.

If Zhang Qing were lying, Li Dong didn't think it was likely. He hadn't thought deeply about it before, but now that he considered it, a deputy mayor's son swallowing up land worth over a billion indeed seemed like a bit too ambitious.

But if someone more influential than Zhang Qing was involved and also short on funds?

Even if it's only tens of millions, it's a huge amount for others. If someone more influential than Zhang Qing was involved, a few tens of millions in bank loans would be no problem. There's no need for Zhang Qing to repeatedly seek him out.

Although Li Dong was cautious about Zhang Qing's words, he didn't dare let his guard down.

He could handle Zhang Qing, but if someone with higher status than Zhang Qing was involved, the situation would become more complicated.

Li Dong decided to call Zhou Haidong and instructed him to keep a close eye on Wang Cheng and see if Zhang Qing had any contact with people of special status.

After hanging up, Li Dong hesitated for a moment and then called Hu Sichen.

Since their last unpleasant encounter, he hadn't been in touch with Hu Sichen and didn't know his current stance.

The phone took a while to connect. Hu Sichen's tone was fairly normal, which made Li Dong relax a little.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Dong asked, "Is it true that Zhang Qing wants to develop the Huafu land?"

Hu Sichen was silent for a moment before replying, "The situation is a bit complicated. It's best if you don't get involved."

Li Dong understood; Zhang Qing's words might be true!

But this was a 60-acre plot in the city center, and Li Dong really didn't want to let it go.

Not to mention its future appreciation, Li Dong genuinely wanted it for Yuanfang's headquarters.

Though he wanted to say more, Li Dong sighed and decided not to press further. He thanked Hu Sichen and ended the call.

Li Dong decided to give up on that piece of land. It wasn't worth getting into big trouble over a piece of land.

With that thought, Li Dong called Zhou Haidong again and instructed him to recall the people he had sent to stir up trouble.

He had initially sent people to incite old employees of the supply and marketing cooperative to cause trouble, but now it seemed he had acted rashly.

If it escalated, it would not only offend a few individuals but the entire Yao Hai District government.

After dealing with these matters, Li Dong exhaled deeply. What a hassle!

Rubbing his temples, he was just about to take a break when Liu Qi knocked on the door and said, "Mr. Li, Shen Qian is here."

"Let her in."

As soon as Li Dong finished speaking, Shen Qian pushed the door open and entered.

Without speaking, she looked at him with a proud expression.

Li Dong frowned. Shen Qian was indeed a troublemaker. Not wanting to be polite, Li Dong directly asked, "Did you really write yesterday's report yourself?"

Shen Qian's face flushed, and she responded sharply, "Of course I wrote it myself. Do you think I would copy someone else's work?"

That was what she said, but in her heart, she added, "My dad isn't just anyone. Besides, he only gave a few suggestions. The report was originally written by me."

Although Li Dong was still a bit skeptical, he couldn't be bothered to think too much. He said, "If it was written by you, then it was written by you. Now, I'm giving you a task. Conduct another survey on Yuanfang's store planning. You said my planning lacks core competitiveness before, right? Here's your chance to prove yourself. Prepare a report and show it to me."

"Does this mean I'm getting a promotion?" Shen Qian asked excitedly.

Li Dong cleared his throat and smiled, "Yes, you're getting promoted. You're now the Senior Researcher in the Marketing Department."

"Not vice president?" Shen Qian asked with dissatisfaction.

Li Dong rolled his eyes. Did she think he was a fool? Giving her a promotion to vice president for just one report? Would the company still be able to function?

But he didn't say it out loud. Instead, he encouraged her, "Promotions are achieved step by step. Look, you've been with the company for less than a week and you've already been promoted to Senior Researcher. The next step is Marketing Director, and then to vice president. With your ability, you'll get to the vice president position soon enough."

Shen Qian snorted. She wasn't stupid and wasn't going to believe Li Dong's empty words.

However, Li Dong's words did make some sense. Promotions take time. Once she completed this task, she would see if Li Dong would give her a promotion.

So Shen Qian gladly accepted the task and prepared to conduct the survey.

Li Dong was also pleased.

Whether Shen Qian had real talent or had someone giving her advice, Li Dong didn't care as long as it benefited Yuanfang.