Under the intense midday sun, Cao Xue and I looked at each other with smiles, but our hearts were far from the friendly facade we presented. I could definitely detect a threat in his words, as if if Ye Zhi insisted on signing the "Cangshan Villa" project, Cao Jinbo would take unconventional measures to deal with her.
Cao Xue patted my shoulder and finally spoke, “We’re all on the same side, so the word ‘threat’ is a bit too much. The Cangshan Villa project is a big pie, and we can’t let outsiders eat it all up. That would ruin our unity… Think about it yourself. Ever since waves of outsiders came to Dali, how high have the housing prices in Dali been driven up? Locals who want to buy a house are practically being skinned alive… The locals are really angry right now.”
Cao Xue is not as good as Cao Jinbo, so his speaking skills and logic are problematic, but I can roughly understand what he is trying to say. I still replied with a smile: "Brother, don't talk about these superficial things. Even if your uncle gets involved in this project, he won't be selling a batch of houses below market price to locals in the future... They are all businessmen at heart. The market has its own rules. Whoever has the greater ability will take on this project. We two should not get involved."
Cao Xue's face changed, and he said to me with a hint of anger, "If this doesn't work out, I won't get the Jiulongju shop... I'm furious."
I took a drag of my cigarette and replied in the most ordinary of tones, "Cao Xue, isn't it a bit unreasonable for you to take your anger out on me? Cao Jinbo is your uncle. Your father entrusted you to him, and it was his duty to give you three shops without hesitation... Now he's using this to make things difficult for you and for me. He's being unfair..."
Cao Xue interrupted me, saying, "Stop trying to sow discord, you son of a bitch."
"How did it become me sowing discord?... Think about it yourself, why didn't he send Cao Xiaobei to talk to me about this?... Because Cao Xiaobei is his own son. He'd give Cao Xiaobei as many shops as he wanted at Jiulongju, so Cao Xiaobei wouldn't come to me for such a humiliating thing for these three shops... He's already made Cao Xue do the humiliating thing... How long are you going to be such an idiot?"
My words were harsh enough, and they reopened a wound in Cao Xue's heart that had never healed. He clenched his fists so tightly they cracked. I knew what kind of temper he had, so I was already mentally prepared for his fist to come flying at me.
Surprisingly, Cao Xue held back.
I said to him again, “Cao Xue, I have another way for you to go... If you really don’t want to be your uncle’s driver and feel that you have no personal freedom, then come to Jiulongju and do this project with me... Isn’t the money we earn with our own abilities more valuable than the money others give us?... If you really treat the three shops that your uncle gave you with additional conditions as easy prey... then I, Michael, really look down on you.”
After saying all that, I looked at Cao Xue and gestured for him to think it over, then I left first.
To be honest, I feel quite sorry for Cao Xue. Although what I just said was partly meant to provoke him, it wasn't entirely untrue... because I've witnessed both Cao Xiaobei's and Cao Xiaobei's lives. Cao Xiaobei lives carefree and willful, yet he always seems to be living under someone else's roof. Cao Jinbo certainly didn't treat him and Cao Xiaobei equally. At least from what I've seen, Cao Xiaobei's daily activities consist of playing games and riding motorcycles. He doesn't seem to care about making progress or being oppressed by life.
...
After wandering around the ancient city for another hour, I finally found a landscape and water feature design company that frequently undertakes municipal engineering projects. I found the person in charge of the company, told him my budget, and he said he could do it.
However, when I told him that the project was currently stalled by the "Ancient City Protection Administration" and that I needed their assistance in obtaining the necessary approvals, he said that my current budget was too low... He felt that with a budget of less than 70,000 yuan, it was not worth asking the "Ancient City Protection Administration" for a favor, because after deducting the final labor and material costs, their profit would only be 20,000 to 30,000 yuan; of course, if it weren't for the trouble with the "Ancient City Protection Administration," they would be willing to earn that small amount of money.
People are just that realistic, but it did prove that Sun Jiwei's idea was feasible. It's just that I didn't have a generous budget to persuade him.
After that, I went to another company and got the same answer. They also felt that my budget was too low, and that favors were too expensive these days.
...
Before I knew it, it was dusk. I returned to "Shanshuijian" again, having accomplished nothing. I didn't want to go back to that enclosed room, so I sat alone on the basketball court, staring blankly at the fiery clouds on the horizon.
At that moment, I really wanted to hear some words of comfort and encouragement, but all I had with me was a basketball hoop that looked even more lonely than me, and a cool evening breeze.
Looking further, I saw that the snow on the top of Cangshan Mountain had almost melted away. The remaining snow, illuminated by the setting sun, resembled a flawless pane of glass, shimmering with a faint light, sometimes yellow, sometimes silvery-white, giving me a dreamlike and ethereal beauty.
I thought of Ye Zhi and wanted to share what I was seeing with her...
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