Lu Yang knew that Li Chen was a very domineering person. Even if he stayed here, let alone Cheng Lin, Li Chen would ostracize him.
Lu Yang couldn't help but sigh and said in a low voice, "It seems I need to have a talk with him. This shipment has crossed a line; it's clearly a business between the two of us."
Seeing that Li Chen can manage the mall well without him having to worry about anything is indeed a good thing.
I'm afraid that Li Chen will isolate him in the future, and he won't know how much money the mall makes.
How much money he gets depends entirely on Li Chen's conscience, which is absolutely unacceptable.
Cheng Lin clearly saw through Lu Yang's thoughts and quickly reminded him, "Li Chen is a local strongman after all. You'd better be careful when you talk to him about these things."
Lu Yang understood Cheng Lin's concerns. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Li Chen and He Yunwei were essentially no different.
It's simply a matter of differing stances. Moreover, the fact that Li Chen and Du Miao could easily get He Yunwei imprisoned despite their collaboration shows that Li Chen is a formidable opponent.
After a moment of silence, Lu Yang said, "I just want to place my own people in the sales department."
"He shouldn't have any objections if we place two or three people in the business. If he does, then we can't continue this business partnership."
Cheng Lin thought for a moment and said, "This should be no problem. Are you just using the excuse that I'm too busy? You're far away in Yangcheng, and you just want to arrange a few of your own people."
Lu Yang shook his head with a straight face and said, "There's no need to beat around the bush with a smart person like Li Chen. I'll just say it directly. I won't hide it from him. I'm not autocratic."
"If I'm not mistaken, he went to the mall specifically to find me yesterday."
Cheng Lin sighed and waved his hand helplessly: "You two are both big shots, I can't afford to offend you, you two talk it over."
Lu Yang was amused by his appearance and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "It's difficult for me to transfer people from Yangcheng in a short time, so you'll have to find a suitable candidate."
"Find a reliable one, that way we can both save ourselves some trouble."
Cheng Lin nodded: "I actually arranged for people a long time ago, but Li Chen gradually squeezed them out of the mall's management."
Lu Yang shook his head and said, "Then find someone more capable, someone who can't handle even the slightest grievance."
Cheng Lin helplessly spread his hands: "Fine, I promise this time I'll find someone who's both shrewish and capable."
Lu Yang smiled and asked about other things. Cheng Lin said helplessly, "Apart from the mall business being a bit complicated, all other businesses are operating as usual."
"There's something a bit complicated. Yu Guangxie's ex-husband has been released from prison."
"He somehow got involved with Yu Guangxue and has been pestering her to remarry her recently, but Yu Guangxue naturally disagrees."
"But there are a lot of gossipers around, saying that Tang Jincheng is still Xiaoxue's daughter's biological father, which is better than finding a stepfather. They also try to persuade her to get back together with him. Yu Guangxue is extremely annoyed by them."
Lu Yang rolled his eyes: "Some people are just bored and have nothing better to do than cause trouble."
He hadn't been to the appliance store in a long time; each month he simply instructed the manager to have all the appliances that needed to be replenished delivered.
Old Yu's family, along with Cheng Lin's relatives, never let him down, always managing the appliance store very well.
He even somewhat overlooked the electronics store and Old Chen's family.
Lu Yang said coldly, "I'll go find Li Chen first to discuss the matter of placing people there. After we've discussed it, I'll go to the appliance store to take a look."
Cheng Lin said with some unease, "You can talk to me about it."
Lu Yang stood up and said casually, "Don't worry, I've known Li Chen longer than you have, so I know him a little bit."
Lu Yang told Yao Lili not to follow him and to wander around on her own, while he went directly to Li Chen's bar.
Li Chen was yawning and sitting on the sofa on the first floor, leisurely watching TV with his legs crossed.
The lobby on the first floor was quiet, except for Li Chen and two other people drinking together.
Lu Yang entered the bar through the back door and sat down opposite Li Chen.
He took a box out of his pocket, placed it on the coffee table, and said, "I forgot to give you the gift yesterday; it's something I brought back from Yangcheng."
Li Chen was somewhat surprised; the box was only the size of a palm, and it definitely didn't contain anything large.
He opened the box and found a snuff bottle inside. Don't overlook the fact that it was semi-transparent and contained a lifelike painting.
“Collecting antiques is popular in the South now. I just happened to get this snuff bottle, so I bought it for you to play with.”
Lu Yang said casually.
Li Chen raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "There are people here who make all sorts of random stuff, but there are a lot of fakes and a lot of genuine ones."
"You did a really nice job. Even I, a layman, find it quite remarkable."
Lu Yang said helplessly, "It's not easy to find a genuine one. The antique market in the south is even more murky."
The two used this as a starting point to begin a casual conversation.
As they chatted, Lu Yang brought up the shopping mall. He said directly, "I've got my eye on two people who are quite capable. One is an accountant, and the other is a cashier. I'll arrange for them to work in the mall's finance department."
"We brothers should keep clear accounts to avoid future misunderstandings and trouble."
Li Chen raised an eyebrow, not surprised at all.
He said calmly, "Since you're so eager to get involved in the mall's business, then it's no problem to place two people in there."
"However, I must warn you. I will treat everyone equally; if they slack off, I will deal with them too."
Lu Yang wasn't surprised at all. He poured himself a glass of wine and said with a smile, "I've said it before, I have no experience in the business world. If there's anything, you and Cheng Lin can discuss it together."
Li Chen naturally understood Lu Yang's underlying meaning: he couldn't decide the fate of the people Lu Yang had placed; he had to discuss it with Cheng Lin.
But he also knew that Lu Yang was not Cheng Lin; he was much more ruthless than Cheng Lin, so he had no choice but to compromise.
"Alright, there's a dinner party the day after tomorrow, arranged by the deputy director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau, who invited us to go together."
Li Chen agreed to the idea, and then mentioned that the other deputy director, Shen, didn't like him very much.
However, he greatly admired Lu Yang, so it was actually Deputy Director Shen who invited Lu Yang to this dinner.
Lu Yang readily agreed: "Okay, I'll definitely be there on time."
There wasn't much left for the two to talk about, so Lu Yang got up to say goodbye.
No sooner had he left than the two men who had been drinking gathered around Li Chen.
One of the burly men said coldly, "This guy surnamed Lu is too arrogant. Back then, he had to beg Brother Chen to do things for him, but now he dares to shrug off Brother Chen."
Li Chen took a sip of his drink and said casually, "Even when he asks me for a favor, he's not exactly a pushover."
"This guy has the right to be arrogant. If you were worth tens of millions, you could be just as arrogant."
Upon hearing this, both of his subordinates fell silent.
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