I waited by Erhai Lake for a full hour, but Ye Zhi didn't reply to my messages. I couldn't hold back any longer, so I sent her a voice message request for the first time. She finally answered after a moment, but didn't speak.
I had a bad feeling about this, so I lit a cigarette before asking her, "Are you very busy right now?"
"No, I'm having tea at the hotel restaurant."
"Why haven't you replied to my message for so long?"
"I don't know how to tell you... I just want you to understand me, because the logic of business has always been cruel and inhumane."
My heart clenched suddenly. I knew what she wanted to say, but I still couldn't give up and asked her, "What do you mean by all this?"
After a long silence, she said to me, "I'm sorry, Michael... the Longkan project has been won by our group. I wouldn't have told you if you hadn't asked, because I was afraid of losing you as a friend; but if you asked, I will definitely tell you the truth, also because I'm afraid of losing you as a friend..."
"So, the location of your project overlaps with that of our inn?"
"Yes... your location has the most open view in the entire Dragon Shrine; at the same time, the land utilization rate is also very high. After conducting market research and evaluation, we decided to build the hotel and water park in that area, so the house where your inn is located will definitely face demolition."
"Hehe... No wonder you were so skeptical of our inn before. I was wondering why we, a very profitable inn, couldn't catch your eye. Turns out, everything was already under your control!"
"No, we won this project from the government after competing with several other groups, and it wasn't even finalized until last week."
"What's the difference?"
Ye Zhi fell silent again, but I became increasingly agitated, my voice growing louder: "You know what? I feel a deep sense of shame, like I've been raped by capital... Our inn didn't fall victim to the Erhai Lake protection policy, nor did it die at Cao Jinbo's hands, but unexpectedly, it's being destroyed by you in the end... Yes, you can say that business logic is ruthless, but have you considered what this means for people like us...? We'll be bankrupted and lose our dreams because of this!"
"I have already explained everything that needed to be explained."
I almost yelled, "No, I want an explanation!"
Ye Zhi remained calm as always. She asked, "What kind of explanation do you want me to give you?"
I froze for a moment, then asked myself: What kind of explanation can I expect from her? Should I ask her to compensate for all the losses suffered by the inn? That's unrealistic, and asking her to stop the project is even more unrealistic!
I couldn't get any explanation from her at all. The reason I'm so angry is because I'm unwilling to accept that all my hard work and sacrifices have been so easily undone by the encirclement and suppression of capital. Those of us who chose to stay in Dali shouldn't have ended up like this either.
Seeing that I didn't speak, Ye Zhi said to me again, "Calm down first. Once you've calmed down, you can tell me if you have any reasonable requests."
After Ye Zhi finished speaking, she didn't give me a chance to say anything more. She chose to end the voice call, and my hand holding the phone felt like it was made of lead, and I couldn't put it down for a long time... Then a wave of despair, that we were finished, washed over me again.
...
Back at the inn, only Peach was still in the bar mixing drinks for a few scattered customers. I took two bottles of beer from the bar and sat down by the window. I felt terrible, but I still hoped to think of some solutions to minimize our losses.
Even if the landlord is willing to fully compensate us for our renovation investment, the money won't be disbursed quickly. And the guesthouse will be demolished shortly after the official documents are issued. How are we going to get through such a long transition period without income?
After mixing drinks for the guests, Peach sat down opposite me and asked, "Why do you look so preoccupied?... Is it still about the inn?"
I didn't answer directly, but instead asked her, "Where are Tie Nan and the others?"
"Tie Nan and Coach Ma went to the ancient city... Bai Lu returned to Xiaguan."
I nodded.
"I just asked you a question, and you haven't answered yet!"
I finally looked her in the eye and said, "Peach, we really can't save this inn this time."
Peach was a little flustered and asked, "Has the news been confirmed?"
I replied somberly, "I just contacted Ye Zhi and asked if she knew about the large-scale development planned for Longkan... I think she's also here in Dali to invest, so she should know some inside information..."
At this point, I paused, then downed half a bottle of beer in one gulp before continuing, "She knows the inside story... because the Longkan project was invested and built by their group, and the site is located in the area around our inn, so the demolition of the inn is a foregone conclusion; now all that's left is for the 'government' to issue a public notice."
Is it really that serious?
"Yes, she told me all of that herself."
Peach remained silent for a long time before asking me, "What do you plan to do?"
"No one wants the inn to be sacrificed, but how can we possibly contend with such powerful capital? ... The only thing we can do now is to minimize the losses as much as possible."
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com