Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Chen Zhe mediated by saying, "I think you both have a point. Your starting point is the people of Donghai City, and your goals are essentially the same."

"You said something useless; it's as if you didn't say anything at all."

Mu Wanzhi crossed her arms.

"Wan Ya, I'll just ask you one question: if Donghai Bank goes bankrupt, then many other businesses will also go bankrupt. Is that a situation you want to see?"

“I didn’t say I wanted to see this situation; I was just saying that your idea is not in accordance with the rules.”

"Heh, not in accordance with the regulations?"

Mu Wanzhi pulled up a stool and sat down; "Wan Ya, this isn't your first day as an official, is it?"

Wan Ya was provoked by this tone; "Sister Mu, you are Tang Jie's sister-in-law. Tang Jie and I are classmates. I respect you very much and I also regard you as my sister-in-law, but what you said is obviously an insult to me."

"I insulted you? Ha, no wonder we never had much to talk about before. I knew you were old-fashioned the moment I saw you."

"Me, old-fashioned???"

Wan Ya was a little agitated, so she pulled up a stool and sat down opposite Mu Wan.

"Me, old-fashioned? I'm known for my flexible approach to policies. I follow up on any new policies from above in a timely manner. I started as a clerk in a small, remote county town, then became a town mayor, a county magistrate, and now a district head in a first-tier city. You call me old-fashioned? All the places I've worked in have undergone a complete transformation. They all say I'm the most radical."

Wan Ya hated it when people lumped her together with those old-fashioned officials, because old-fashioned officials were generally incompetent and just loafed around waiting to die. How could she be someone who loafed around waiting to die?

"Then why are you refusing me now? I just want you to come with me to report to the higher-ups. It's a very simple matter. As long as the higher-ups agree, Donghai Bank will have a large sum of money. With this money, I can help many companies in Donghai City achieve better development."

“How could things be as simple as you think? You think they’ll leave the treasure here just because you reported it? You’re wrong. They absolutely won’t. So when you brought it up with me, I thought you were just making a fuss over nothing.”

"How do you know it's unnecessary if you haven't done it?"

"How is it not redundant? Before your report has even been submitted, I can already imagine what they will say to us. They will say that the support they give to Donghai every year is already enough, and that your selfish thinking is wrong. They will come up with many reasons, and may even scold us. In short, if you want to ask for benefits from above, you must first do a good job yourself."

"Haven't I done a good enough job? When I took over Donghai Bank, it was a complete mess, and it was on the verge of bankruptcy. If I hadn't used the resources in Beijing and some of my methods, it's questionable whether you would still be able to see Donghai Bank today."

"That's not enough, Sister Mu. Your system is different from ours. This report is being sent to our system, so I think I'm more qualified to say this to you. Let me give you an example. When I was the county head, I doubled the GDP of that place. I thought I had done enough, so I made a few requests to the higher-ups, asking them to relocate some large companies to my area. But do you know what they said? They said it was their own choice whether the companies came or not. If I really had the ability, then I would have to bring them over myself. There are many, many more examples like this. In short, it's like saying, 'If you want a gun, you don't have one; if you want one, you have to rob it yourself.'"

"Rob??"

Mu Wanzhi repeated this word.

Then he thought about it; "Your word makes a lot of sense, perhaps it would be better to just steal it."

"Um... Sister Mu, what are you thinking about? Why do I feel like something's off about your expression?"

"You've reminded me of some of your practices. It's true that submitting a normal report doesn't seem very practical, so you have to resort to robbery."

"Sister Mu, are you crazy? You want to snatch this treasure from the higher-ups? How could they possibly agree to that?"

“If they agree, it won’t be robbery. Wan Ya, since you won’t cooperate with me in submitting the report, then you have to promise me one thing: if they ask about it later, you have to insist that this treasure is from the East Sea and that you have to stand on my side.”

"I……"

Wan Ya looked very troubled.

Mu Wanzhi then looked at Chen Zhe; "Chen Zhe, I want you to do something for me. If you can do this, then I won't need to approve any of your future loans; they'll be approved directly. How about this deal?"

"Um... Manager Mu, you don't mean you want me to commit murder and arson, do you? I can't do that kind of thing..."

The woman said she wanted to take it, and Chen Zhe was afraid she might do something rash, so he didn't dare to agree to her request easily.

"Tch! Murder and arson? Do I need you? Don't worry, everything I ask you to do is legal."

"Tell me about it."

"As I discussed with you before, many businesses in Donghai City are facing bankruptcy. They are all burdened with debts from Donghai Bank. Normally, I can't get that money back, and I can't continue to lend to them. So you have to help me with this."

"President Mu, this isn't right. I'm the one who came to you for a loan, how could I possibly help you resolve this?"

"No, you can do it. I won't let you do things you can't do. It's very simple. Your Linglong Club and Linglong Chamber of Commerce have a lot of orders in hand right now, right?"

Chen Zhe nodded.

Then it dawned on me: "You don't mean you want me to give these orders to these companies, do you?"

"Smart!! That's why I like chatting with smart people!"

When Mu Wanzhi said this, she deliberately glanced at Wan Ya, which angered Wan Ya. "Mu Wanzhi, are you targeting me on purpose today?"

"Am I targeting you?"

"No? You think I can't tell?"

"I didn't!"

Mu Wanzhi denied this and continued to look at Chen Zhe; "Can you promise me this?"

"President Mu, how can I agree to that? Those orders are the lifeblood of Linglong Chamber of Commerce's companies. They are their very existence. Even if Linglong Club controls Linglong Chamber of Commerce, it cannot simply throw these things away."

“I know this is a difficult matter, but you are the most suitable person right now. At first, I wanted to talk to the people in the Donghai Chamber of Commerce, but those companies in the Donghai Chamber of Commerce are now barely surviving. The only one that is booming in Donghai City right now is your Linglong Chamber of Commerce. You have a lot of foreign trade orders, and even if you just give out a little bit, it can support many companies.”

Wan Ya also agreed with this.

She had spoken to Chen Zhe about this before; "Chen Zhe, what President Mu said makes sense..."

Chen Zhe blurted out a curse word without thinking.

"That makes no sense at all. To put it bluntly, they just want us to contribute our own food rations to feed those people. I can't do something as selfless as that."

“Chen Zhe, you can’t just look at your own interests. Donghai City is a whole, and all interests are related. Only when the collective develops well will you all become better. If I can save those companies in Donghai City that are about to go bankrupt, then that will be a great achievement. With this achievement, I will have the confidence to compete with them. When we get the treasure back, you will also be a great hero. Donghai City Bank will always give you the green light. Isn’t that good?”

Chen Zhe hesitated. The temptation Mu Wanzhi offered was indeed very tempting. The bank would always give them the green light, so he could do things without any worries and wouldn't have to worry about funding.

But would she agree to give up her existing orders? More precisely, would Sister Hu agree to it?

"Let me think about it!"

Chen Zhe sighed.

"How long do you need to think about this? You should know that time waits for no one."

"Yes, Chen Zhe, if you can contribute your orders to other companies, then I promise you that I will give priority to your company in all future policy benefits. I mean what I say."

Although Wan Ya disagreed with Mu Wanzhi keeping this treasure, she agreed with Chen Zhe contributing the orders to save other companies.

"Give me two days..."

“I can’t wait two days. I can only give you one night at most. If you refuse me, then the loan for Silin Group is uncertain. Let me tell you first, it’s not that I don’t want to lend you money. Even if I do lend you money, who will you go to for renewal if the bank goes bankrupt? Chen Zhe needs to sacrifice some current interests for future development. I hope you realize that.”

"I know, I will think about it seriously. You can go out now."

"Okay, then think it over carefully. I won't cheat you."

After leaving those words, Mu Wanzhi and the two departed.

...

"Won't scam you? Ha! Does that woman look like a good person?"

In Chen Zhe's apartment, Chen Zhe told Hu Ling everything.

Hu Ling gave him this sentence.

"Then...should I refuse them?"

Hu Ling hesitated for a moment, then shook her head; "Why refuse? Just say yes."

"Um????"

Chen Zhe's eyes widened as he looked at Hu Ling in disbelief. Judging from the woman's expression just now, she should have refused. Trying to take meat from Hu Ling's bowl was harder than climbing to heaven. When he said it, he never thought that Hu Ling would agree.

"Sister Hu, are you really going to agree to their offer?"

"Hehe, why not agree? This is a good thing."

"This... is quite unexpected. I thought you would refuse, since it would harm our own interests. I considered that, so I wanted to come back and ask you."

"Harm our interests? No, no, no! Chen Zhe, I haven't finished speaking yet. You can agree to it, but you have to get those company shares back, just like what I did at Linglong Club before, do you understand?"

"Huh??? Sister Hu, you mean..."

“That’s right! This is great news for us! I was thinking about what methods to use to take over those companies. After all, I’m currently out of the public eye, and there are some things I can’t do directly. As for you, you haven’t reached a certain level of influence yet, so there are some things you can’t do either. Now, it’s perfect timing. I can take this opportunity to get my hands on their companies…”

"Sister Hu, those are all companies that are about to go bankrupt. They are burdened with a huge debt. What use are these companies to you?"

"In their eyes, they are indeed companies on the verge of bankruptcy, but with me, hehe, I can turn trash into treasure. Go ahead, just do as I say. If you want me to give them the orders, then they must give us corresponding shares, otherwise I will not agree."

Chen Zhe wanted to ask Hu Ling in more detail how she "turned waste into treasure," but Hu Ling glossed over the matter and didn't talk to him about it.

Dragging his injured body, Chen Zhe got into the car back to the hospital.

He started thinking in the car.

"It seems Sister Hu is still hiding a lot from me. This woman is really cunning. Even now, she's still keeping things from me. What methods does she have to turn trash into treasure? I'm really curious..."

...