Chapter 154: Liu Weihan's Ambition

Upon seeing the visitor, Li Xian felt a wave of discomfort. 

This man was none other than Gao Sanshan, the shabby "richest man" who had previously broken the paired cups of Nagutun.

Although the weather in March was gradually warming up, Gao Sanshan was still wearing his mink coat and the iconic octagonal hat that made him look like an old overseas Chinese.

Seeing Li Xian lying on the chair without moving, Gao Sanshan walked straight over. He glanced at the uniquely designed armchair with intricate wood grain, exclaiming in admiration, "Brother, I haven't seen you around here before. Where are you from?"

Li Xian turned over, raised his hands, and made a half-hearted gesture of respect, "You're too kind. I'm from the Forestry Bureau in Bangye."

Upon hearing Li Xian's self-introduction, Gao Sanshan laughed heartily, "So, you're not a dragon crossing the river, just a local snake!"

Seeing that Li Xian had no intention of engaging with him, Gao Sanshan thumped his chest and introduced himself loudly, "Brother, my name is Gao San. Along with Huo Si and Liu Wanfa, I'm just Gao San! Brother, to be honest, I've had my eye on this house for a while. Now that you've snatched it up, how about this: name your price, and I won't let you lose out on the deal."

Pfft!

Hearing this, Zhou Yong, who was moving bricks nearby, couldn't hold back his laughter.

In Bangye, Huo Si and Liu Wanfa were absolute celebrities.

While Bangye was poor, it was the ordinary people who were poor. Huo Si was currently the richest man in Beilin, originally making a fortune from trading cassette recorders and later monopolizing all the karaoke bars and video halls in Beilin. He was a big boss in the underworld.

Liu Wanfa was well-known, now serving as the Party Secretary of Beilin, a significant local official.

And here was Gao Sanshan, putting his name ahead of these two when introducing himself.

Seeing someone more arrogant than himself, Li Xian found it amusing, "Oh, I must have been mistaken. I had only heard that Bangye had a scrap collector named Gao San. Could that possibly be you?"

Having his background exposed, a flash of anger crossed Gao Sanshan's face.

Li Xian ignored it and patted the armchair beneath him, "Brother, it seems like you're more interested in this chair than the house. While I don't know much about antiques, I can tell this is huanghuali wood. I don't know how much you can sell it for, but let me be clear: I'm not interested in your small change. I didn't buy these things to make money. I just like how they look and want to use them myself. So, I advise you to drop any crooked ideas before we both end up unhappy."

Seeing that Li Xian had figured out his motives, Gao Sanshan felt a bit uneasy, his face changing colors, but he still wasn't willing to give up.

"You like it? Hehe... Brother, I'm afraid you won't be able to live in peace in this house. Let me be straightforward: I'm planning to open a garbage dump nearby, specifically for collecting swill. I've already found a good spot, right in front of your house. I just wanted to give you a heads-up that we scavengers deal with dirty work. In the summer, when the stench and flies get bad, I hope you can tolerate it."

What the hell!

Li Xian felt disgusted.

He hadn't expected this man to be so shameless.

After sizing up Gao Sanshan, he resisted the urge to punch him. Beating up this rascal wouldn't solve the problem; he needed to show him the consequences of messing with him.

Li Xian took a deep breath and smiled, "No problem, we're all from Bangye. It's easy to find out where everyone lives. My family runs a paper mill, so I'll be dumping waste water wherever I please. If there's a garbage dump in front of my house and your place gets flooded with highly alkaline waste water one day, I'll have to apologize in advance. Oh, by the way..."

Seeing Gao Sanshan about to speak, Li Xian raised a finger, "I'm having dinner with Secretary Liu tomorrow night. Now that I've met such an outstanding person like you from my hometown, I'll be sure to mention you to Secretary Liu."

This mix of veiled threats and blatant warnings, with both dirty tactics and official connections laid out, left Gao Sanshan speechless.

Seeing him snort and turn to leave, Zhou Yong spat at his retreating back.

"What a scumbag! Brother, I think this bastard is just asking for a beating! He bullied people over in Nagutun without anyone to deal with him, and now he's trying to mess with us! Do you want me to find some guys?"

Li Xian smirked and shook his head.

Patting the armchair beneath him, he thought of the rising antique craze and knew that a well-preserved piece of huanghuali furniture could fetch tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars at auction in Hong Kong. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

"Everyone's driven by profit."

He muttered to himself, then moved the chair into the storeroom and locked it up. He called out to Wang Qinghe, who was busy working, "Brother Wang, let's get the guest rooms ready. I'll send Zhou Yong to buy some bedding, and you all can stay here for now."

"Got it!"

Wang Qinghe, his forehead wet with sweat, responded loudly.

…

Renovating the old house wasn't something that could be done in a day or two, and Li Xian couldn't stay there the whole time. He left Zhou Yong with the car to help oversee the renovations and take care of the workers, then told everyone the wages for the job. After that, he planned to return to Beilin.

However, as he was leaving, Su Hui followed him out. She stopped Li Xian and told him that Su Ya had instructed them not to accept any payment for their work, no matter what.

Li Xian understood the siblings' intentions. Seeing Su Hui standing tall and serious, he didn't refuse.

After leaving the old house, he returned to Beilin.

By the time he arrived in Beilin City by bus, it was already evening. While Li Xian was preparing himself a big meal, he received a call from Liu Weihan.

On the phone, Liu Weihan, usually very composed, sounded uncharacteristically excited and kept urging Li Xian to go out for a meal. When asked why, he wouldn't say, insisting that they talk at the dinner table.

Mysterious, and making Li Xian curious. However, knowing that Liu Weihan wasn't the type to arrange a meal just for fun, he figured there must be a reason, so he poured out the half-cooked Sanxian Yimian in the pot, got dressed, and left.

The restaurant was a decent place in the city center, and when Li Xian arrived, he saw Liu Weihan waiting at the door.

When he walked in, Liu Weihan came over to greet him.

Li Xian looked around and saw no one else with Liu Weihan, which made him curious, "Director Liu, are you only inviting me tonight?"

Liu Weihan, his face flushed with excitement, nodded heavily, nearly knocking his glasses off his nose, "Yes! Just you!"

That was strange.

Li Xian thought there wasn't anything particularly close between him and Liu Weihan. Their previous interactions had always been businesslike and straightforward, a gentlemanly relationship.

They hadn't gone through any extreme experiences together, so why was he inviting him out now?

Seeing the puzzled look on Li Xian's face, Liu Weihan laughed and pulled him into a private room.

Inside the room, the food was already on the table: four dishes, one soup, and two bottles of high-end Confucius Family Liquor, already opened.

As soon as Li Xian sat down, Liu Weihan filled his glass.

"Mr. Li, I apologize for the suddenness. But I thought about it and realized I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if I didn't meet with you."

Watching Liu Weihan pour the wine and say such flattering words, Li Xian quickly held up his hand to stop him, "Brother Liu, you're making me nervous. I might be good-looking, but I'm not something you can eat or use as a sleeping pill. There's no one else here, so just tell me what's on your mind. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep tonight."

Liu Weihan laughed, noticing the door was tightly shut. He raised his glass, clinked it lightly with Li Xian's, and took a big gulp.

"Ah!" The strong liquor burned, making him cough, "Yesterday, at the municipal committee meeting, some changes were announced regarding the leadership in Beilin."

Oh?

Hearing this, Li Xian straightened up.

Recently, New Beilin Paper had grown rapidly, expanding its business, thanks largely to strong local government support. Frankly, he wasn't hoping for any major changes in Beilin's leadership structure.

Keeping things as they were would be just fine.

Noticing Li Xian's tension, Liu Weihan smiled and waved it off, "It's good news. Mayor Wang Xinghua has reached retirement age, and Secretary Wu has been promoted to Mayor."

Hearing this, Li Xian relaxed completely.

Although Wu Zhengsi was no longer the top leader in the district, being the city's number two was even more influential.

This was indeed

 good news.

"Congratulations!" Li Xian raised his glass and stood up to toast Liu Weihan, "When a man attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Mayor Wu is stepping up, and you will have a bright future. I must drink to that!"

After the toast, both downed their drinks in one gulp.

After wiping his mouth, Liu Weihan poured himself another glass, "But that's not the main reason I invited you here."

"Oh?"

"During the meeting, the municipal committee decided to fully develop and expand the Northern Suburbs Industrial Park, encouraging young people and returning overseas Chinese to start businesses. I submitted a proposal, and it was approved." Liu Weihan blushed, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally revealed his cards, "I hope you will join us and invest in it, Xian. With your capital and resources, we can create a new miracle in Beilin. I've already submitted your name for the district leader's consideration. They seem to think you're a great candidate."

Creating an industrial park and asking Li Xian to be involved in it?

He couldn't help but narrow his eyes at this invitation.

Liu Weihan's earlier anxiousness made sense now.