I took out the cigarettes I had specially bought last night and handed one to Cao Jinbo and one to his henchman. After Cao Jinbo took them, he asked me, "How's business at the inn lately?"

I laughed and said, "Mr. Cao, if you're not joking with me, I'm really stumped by your question."

Cao Jinbo looked puzzled.

I continued, “A big project has come to Longkan, and our inn happens to be located on the site of this project… so it was demolished a few days ago… Mr. Cao, there aren’t many people in Dali who are more informed than you. You’re a businessman, you should know about this, right?”

Cao Jinbo replied with a smile, "I really didn't know about this."

I smiled even brighter than Cao Jinbo: "It's a good thing the inn was demolished... Otherwise, if we had stayed here, we would have offended so many people... Mr. Cao, to be honest, I really enjoy making friends, especially those who are older than me and full of experience. If we younger folks could meet an older brother like that who we can get along with sincerely, we would probably benefit from it for a lifetime!"

While playing with his bracelet, Cao Jinbo replied, "If young people are willing to lower their expectations, we older folks are willing to learn from and encourage each other. After all, the future belongs to you young people, and we old folks will have to retire after a few more years."

I smiled but didn't reply, though I cursed him inwardly... He's a cunning old fox who does bad things and then tries to smear others. Of course, I understood what he meant; he was probably warning me that as a junior, I shouldn't be too arrogant or high-profile.

...

A short while later, Sun Jiwei arrived, accompanied by a friend. As they entered, I quickly stood up to greet them. Cao Jinbo, however, remained seated. After greeting me, Sun Jiwei walked over to Cao Jinbo and said with a smile, "Mr. Cao, let me introduce you to this gentleman. He has long admired your reputation and, knowing we have a dinner party today, insisted on meeting you no matter what."

Cao Jinbo then glanced at the newcomer.

Sun Jiwei added, "This is our bureau's newly appointed deputy director, Luo Zhuming... Many important matters in our bureau have to be handled by him; he's a very busy leader!"

Cao Jinbo quickly stood up from his seat and extended his hands to the leader. He probably had only regarded Luo Zhuming as Sun Jiwei's follower before. This was normal. After all, when you get to his level, you sometimes don't like to look people in the eye. Besides, at first glance, Luo Zhuming didn't have any leader's aura. He was only wearing ordinary sportswear and didn't look like someone in an important position at all.

After Cao Jinbo invited Sun Jiwei and Luo Zhuming to sit down, he began to chat with them, but in my opinion, it was all just polite small talk...

After a few drinks, Sun Jiwei said to Cao Jinbo, "Boss Cao, you have to toast Director Luo properly. These days, all wastewater discharge permits for industrial enterprises and inns require Director Luo's signature to be valid... Director Luo's personal visit to see you today shows how much he values ​​you entrepreneurs."

Cao Jinbo personally poured Luo Zhuming a glass of wine, then lowered his glass to toast Luo Zhuming.

At this moment, Sun Jiwei winked at me again, signaling me to talk to Cao Jinbo about serious matters... Only then did I understand why Sun Jiwei had said these things to Cao Jinbo earlier. He hoped that Cao Jinbo could connect me with Luo Zhuming, thus making it easier for me to act. This was definitely a skill in controlling the situation.

I first poured Cao Jinbo a full glass of wine, then poured one for myself. After lowering my glass to toast him, I said, "Mr. Cao, I originally invited you to dinner today, but I didn't expect Director Luo to grace us with his presence as well. I am truly honored to have this opportunity for you both to get to know each other... I'll drink this glass in advance as a sign of my respect!"

After I finished speaking, I tilted my head back and drank all the wine in the glass.

Cao Jinbo gestured for me to sit down and then said to me, "I heard you have something to talk to me about?...Go ahead...Say what you want to say. I appreciate straightforward young people."

I glanced at Cao Jinbo and said, "I've got my eye on those 16 shops you own in Jiulongju, Mr. Cao. I'd like to use them for some business... for a month. Although there's an element of opportunism involved, it's definitely a legal business... If you're willing, Mr. Cao, I hope you can rent these 16 shops to me..."

Cao Jinbo smiled and asked, "What about my return?... Don't mention rent to me. To put it bluntly, I can earn back this rent in the time it takes me to have this meal with you... Don't say I'm not giving young people a chance... Doing business is about equality. You have to make me feel that my effort and reward are fair before I'm willing to continue talking to you."

I smiled back at Cao Jinbo and replied, "I know, Mr. Cao, you came today entirely because of Brother Sun, but I won't let you come for nothing... I know you've invested a lot of money in these 16 shops in Jiulongju... According to the current market conditions for commercial real estate, these properties should have doubled in value long ago, but because the overall market for Jiulongju is sluggish, the value these shops should have been realized has not been reflected, and there are even signs of depreciation... Mr. Cao, let's be frank, if you were to sell these shops now at the original price, do you think anyone would be willing to take them over?"

"Disaster."

"If I asked you to sell it for less than the original price, you probably wouldn't be willing to accept it... After all, these days it's rare for money invested in real estate to shrink in value."

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