Chapter 51: Chapter 51 The Gym, It’s Mine Now?
"What is Mr. Sun’s status? He’s a distinguished guest who I must treat as an equal, yet you let him get in the ring. What were you thinking?"
A fatal strike! Wang Aimin finally understood the source of his boss’s anger. But I didn’t know at the time! He felt wronged. It’s all that Zheng Dashan’s fault.
His eyes searched everywhere for Zheng Dashan, but he was nowhere to be found. The man had already slipped away.
"Boss, I didn’t know Mr. Sun’s status at first! I had no idea he was your friend. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have dared, not even if you gave me ten times the courage."
He had no choice but to plead his case, but Pi Dehua was unmoved. "Pack your things and leave," he ordered, firing him on the spot.
Pi Dehua turned to Sun Dasheng and said warmly, "Brother Sun, what do you think of my gym?"
The sudden enthusiasm made Sun Dasheng look at him with a hint of suspicion.
Realizing he was coming on too strong, Pi Dehua changed the subject. "Back in my younger days, I also dreamed of becoming a professional boxer."
Pi Dehua started talking about his aspirations. Sun Dasheng’s gaze drifted to the man’s beer belly, as if to say, Are you kidding me?
Pi Dehua didn’t mind and patted his large stomach, saying self-deprecatingly, "Of course, that’s impossible now. For the sake of the family business, I can’t get away from all the social obligations. Don’t let my current gut fool you. Back in the day, I was a handsome young man from the surrounding villages, with a set of fighting muscles."
As he spoke, he even wanted to pull Sun Dasheng into the ring to spar—not for real, just to go through some motions.
Sun Dasheng quickly refused. The man was so heavy he wobbled when he walked, and it would be a huge hassle if he accidentally hurt him.
Pi Dehua wasn’t annoyed by the rejection. All his roundabout talk was ultimately just a ploy to get Sun Dasheng to take over his gym.
"If you have something to say, just say it," Sun Dasheng said, growing tired of the man’s beating around the bush.
Hearing this, Pi Dehua burst into hearty laughter. "You’re a straightforward man, Brother Sun. I appreciate that, so I’ll stop beating around the bush."
He glanced around. Although most employees were minding their own business, a few still had their eyes and ears fixed on them. Too many ears.
"Brother Sun, how about we talk in my office?" Pi Dehua suggested.
"Alright."
「In the second-floor office」
The office had previously been used by Wang Aimin, but he had just finished packing his things and getting out. Now, it was empty.
The two men exchanged pleasantries and sat down. Xiang Yiren and Jiang Ziyan followed them in.
Xiang Yiren stood behind Sun Dasheng like a personal secretary. Jiang Ziyan brought in tea, served it, and then exited, closing the door. As it shut, she cast an envious glance at her best friend inside; with her current status, she wasn’t yet qualified to stay and listen.
This time, Pi Dehua got straight to the point. "I’m planning to sell this gym chain. I was wondering if you, Brother Sun, might be interested?"
"Oh? It seems to be doing well. Why sell it?" Sun Dasheng asked.
Pi Dehua took a sip of tea and sighed. "I won’t be embarrassed if you laugh, Brother Sun," he began. "When the foreign trade business was good, the factory just had to run at full capacity, and it was like a money-printing machine. We made a fortune. Keeping that money in the bank collecting interest wasn’t satisfying enough, so I got carried away and invested too much in industries unrelated to factory processing.
"At the time, I was only thinking about making more money and didn’t have a proper investment plan. Now, foreign trade is in a slump and factory orders have plummeted. I have no choice but to sell off those assets to fund an industrial upgrade for the factory and develop our own products. You know how much money product development requires—it’s a real money pit."
Sun Dasheng nodded in understanding. Some of the nation’s well-known high-tech companies spend hundreds of billions on research and development each year. Even second-tier players have to pour in tens of billions annually.
Of course, Pi Dehua’s manufacturing plant wouldn’t need that much, but judging from his situation, the annual R&D costs would still be in the hundreds of millions.
No wonder he’s holding a massive asset fire sale.
"Brother Pi, you know this is a sunset industry. There aren’t many takers," Sun Dasheng said hesitantly.
Pi Dehua nodded. "I understand how it works. When the time comes, I’ll have a third party audit the assets, and I’ll give you a 30% discount on the final valuation. How about that? Sincere enough for you?"
That means a company worth ten million would be transferred for seven million. Not bad, considering taking over a second-hand gym chain will come with its share of legacy issues. The money from the discount can be used as a fund to deal with them.
Having agreed on the broad strokes, the finer details would naturally be handled by the staff from his investment company. The two bosses wouldn’t concern themselves with such trivialities.
With that in mind, he transferred his previously accumulated experience points to the investment company’s account.
The investment company originally had 60,000,000 in funds. It had already invested 20,000,000 in Xinli Media—10,000,000 to groom internet celebrities and 10,000,000 to produce short dramas. Now, after withdrawing another 42,000,000, the investment company’s funds are back up to 82,000,000.
A few moments later, the finance department called to confirm the funds had been received, and he hung up.
Pi Dehua’s smile grew wider. "Brother Sun, care for a foot massage? I know a great place."
"Oh? Is it a legitimate place?" Sun Dasheng asked.
Hearing this, Pi Dehua gave him the knowing smile of a seasoned veteran. "Of course it isn’t. Why would I take you somewhere legitimate?"
"Ah, I don’t go to illegitimate places."
Pi Dehua hadn’t expected such an unconventional response. Sun Dasheng declined the offer and left with Xiang Yiren.
Watching Sun Dasheng leave, Pi Dehua patted his belly and remarked, "This guy... he’s interesting."
Stepping out of the office, Xiang Yiren felt as if she were floating. She knew Sun Dasheng was rich, but she never realized he was *this* rich. This was a gym chain! Although it might be a small karami in Shanghai City, it still had over a dozen directly-operated stores and a market value in the tens of millions.
And he just acquired it without batting an eye. His financial power is clearly formidable. My future is set for life!
Suddenly, there was a system notification.
Why is the bond value on Xiang Yiren’s page shooting up? It just jumped to 66 all at once!
Glancing at the blush on her face beside him, he understood. It was the power of money at work.
"Brother Sun, it’s pitch black outside. Let’s hurry home," Xiang Yiren said, her voice as sweet as honey.
He glanced at his watch—it was 10 p.m. "Don’t you usually work the day shift? Why are you getting off so late today?" Sun Dasheng asked, noticing something was off.
"The receptionist who was supposed to take over for me had a blind date today, so I figured I should step up and cover for her," she explained.
Xiang Yiren eagerly pulled Sun Dasheng back to her home.
Needless to say, what followed was an R-rated scene that cannot be broadcast.
... [Ten thousand words omitted] ...
Collapsed in Sun Dasheng’s arms, Xiang Yiren was too exhausted to move. Her eyes were glazed over, her mind a complete blank.
Then she looked at Sun Dasheng, who was still full of life and casually scrolling through short videos beside her.
I completely underestimated him! The enemy’s firepower is too intense! I urgently need support! Urgent!!!