Chen Feng agreed without a second thought.
Anyone with a brain knew this was the contractor trying to build rapport and curry favor.
Since this contractor was a contact of Xiang Wentian, he had to give face.
Thus, arranged by Xiang Wentian, Chen Feng met the contractor in a private room at a five-star hotel in the provincial capital.
"Director Chen, thank you for giving us such a good project," said Wu Defa, the contractor, as he stood up and respectfully offered a cigarette upon entering the room.
It was an unbranded cigarette.
Chen Feng took a slight whiff of its scent.
He immediately knew where it came from.
It was a special issue cigarette for China's power circles, the kind that couldn't be bought even with money.
If one were to put a price on it, it would be at least five hundred yuan per stick.
From this single cigarette, he couldn't help but acknowledge how meticulously and subtly China's power circles operated.
Why were there so many special issue cigarettes, special issue liquor, internal cigarettes, internal liquor, exclusively supplied cigarettes, and exclusively supplied liquor in China's power circles? The reason was simple: they were too expensive and couldn't be openly priced.
Five hundred yuan for a cigarette, tens of thousands for a bottle of baijiu – if ordinary people knew these prices, wouldn't they curse? httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Therefore, China's power circles cleverly adopted a method: "special issue" and "exclusively supplied" and "internal" were used to disguise the prices from ordinary people.
When it came to the depths of power circles, no country could compare to China.
With five thousand years of history, China had perfected the art of relationships between people and between the common folk and the big shots in power.
Those without tens of thousands of wits were not suited for China's power circles!
"Boss Wu, you're too kind. You're an old friend of Xiang's, and I'm also an old friend of Xiang's, so we're friends. It's only natural for friends to look out for each other," Chen Feng replied politely.
"By the way, Director Chen, how much does Wuzhou District plan to invest in the luxurious office building?" Wu Defa asked excitedly.
"Just a little more investment than the luxurious office building in Mingshan City," Chen Feng replied truthfully.
"Excellent!" Wu Defa's eyes gleamed.
The luxurious office building in Mingshan City was, up to that point, the most luxurious office building among all districts in Jiangcheng.
Since the Wuzhou District government office building was to be even more luxurious than the Mingshan City office building, the investment would be considerable.
This was a major investment project that could yield significant profits.
"It's alright," Chen Feng said with a humble smile.
"By the way, Director Chen, speaking frankly, with Wuzhou District being so poor, isn't building such a large, luxurious government building very risky?" Wu Defa asked in a low voice.
Chen Feng cut to the chase and told Wu Defa verbatim what he had told the two women and Xiang Wentian.
Wu Defa was stunned for a long time after hearing this.
My goodness, Chen Feng's courage and intellect were no less than Xiang Wentian's.
"Director Chen, since everything is foolproof, please rest assured, I will definitely complete the Wuzhou District luxurious office building project excellently," Wu Defa immediately pledged.
"Money is not an issue; funds can be added midway. However, I must remind you of one thing. There must not be any quality issues with the office building. This concerns the careers of both myself and Old Xiang in the power circles, so we cannot be careless. You're a sensible person, you should know that if Xiang Wentian and I fall, you won't have a good outcome either," Chen Feng said with a stern expression.
"Director Chen, please rest assured. You and Old Xiang are my gods of wealth. I'm not foolish enough to harm my gods of wealth. You can send a third-party supervision unit to inspect the construction quality at any time," Wu Defa said solemnly.
"Boss Wu, since you say so, I won't be polite. I will send third-party supervision units to inspect the construction quality from time to time. Once any problems are found, construction will be halted immediately," Chen Feng replied without hesitation.
Wu Defa was taken aback for a moment.
Chen Feng was truly not an ordinary person.
Ordinary people would just feign politeness and listen casually.
Who would have thought Chen Feng would take it so seriously?
"Um... Director Chen, can we slightly loosen up on some non-critical parts of the project?" Wu Defa inquired tentatively.
With Chen Feng sending third-party supervision units to the project frequently, they would surely catch any corner-cutting in non-critical areas. To avoid future trouble, it was best to clarify this beforehand.
"Boss Wu, if it were any other project, it might be acceptable to be a bit lax on non-critical parts. This is a common practice in project engineering; there's no project anywhere that doesn't cut corners. However, the Wuzhou District luxurious office building project is a benchmark project for Wuzhou District, a project of a century's significance. It cannot have the slightest flaw. Therefore, even non-critical parts cannot have corners cut," Chen Feng said with a serious expression.
"Director Chen, if every part of the project is strictly managed, honestly, I won't be able to earn much. This is the situation in China's project engineering industry. To make money building roads, you must cut corners. To make money building bridges, you must cut corners. To make money building power transmission towers, you must cut corners... Of course, smart bosses only cut corners in non-critical parts. Only foolish bosses cut corners in every part of the project and end up in prison. These bosses are truly stupid. For important projects like bridges, if you cut corners everywhere, they'll surely collapse, and someone will have to go to jail. Who goes to jail? It won't be the big shots in power, right? It'll be the project bosses. But if you don't cut any corners, you don't earn much," Wu Defa explained word by word.
"Boss Wu, rest assured, I won't shortchange you on profits. You're an old friend of Xiang's, and for his sake, how could I possibly shortchange you on profits? How about this: I'll increase the total investment amount by ten percent based on the industry quote," Chen Feng said calmly.
"Director Chen, you are a forthright and magnanimous person. Since you've spoken so plainly, I won't hold back either. I will make the Wuzhou District luxurious office building project the most perfect project of my life," Wu Defa said with determination.
"Alright, we've settled the matter. Then you go back and prepare, and I'll head back to Wuzhou District to prepare," Chen Feng said calmly.
"Director Chen, the Wuzhou District luxurious office building project is a major undertaking, there's no need to rush. How about this, since you've finally come out, you should at least have some fun. As a leader in Wuzhou District, you work hard every day and need to rest properly," Wu Defa said with a meaningful look.
"Certainly," Chen Feng replied with a faint smile.
This was standard practice in the power circles.
Maintaining relationships by having fun together.
If he coldly refused, it would clearly put him in a very isolated position.
In the power circles, being isolated and not socializing meant a limited career.
To put it bluntly, one could disapprove of the unscrupulous operations in the power circles, but one could not distance oneself from them.
One had to integrate and participate within limits.
If everyone in the power circles had no integrity, and only you stubbornly clung to your so-called integrity, the result would be that everyone would oppose you and not cooperate with you.
Those who played the game well in the power circles were never stubborn and aloof individuals, but rather those who had principles in their hearts, were smooth operators in public, and played along.
That evening, Chen Feng followed Wu Defa to a mysterious club in the provincial capital.
The club was located on a large ship on the central lake of the provincial capital.
Chen Feng sighed with emotion.
These people's security measures were truly top-notch.
The large ship was in the middle of the lake, with a lookout tower on the top floor, capable of seeing everything that happened.
Upon entering a private room on the ship, Chen Feng was deeply shocked.
Holy cow, was this the secret pleasure den of the provincial power circles?
This was too damn decadent and perverted!
In the center of the hall, on a high platform, were women who were completely unclothed.
If it were just that, Chen Feng wouldn't have been so shocked.
The key was that the women on the platform were all from unusual backgrounds.
Some were hosts from the provincial television station.
Some were junior clerks from towns in the lower administrative levels.
Some were high school teachers.
Some were internet celebrities.
...
Chen Feng had only one feeling.
People said the power of capital was terrifying.
In reality, the most terrifying was power itself.
It could do everything capital could do, and at the same time, it could do things capital couldn't.
For example, it could turn these women with unusual identities into the state they were in.
Frankly, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, who would believe that these women would be so cheap?
"Director Chen, pick one," Wu Defa said with a fawning smile.
"Never mind, I'll just have some drinks," Chen Feng said modestly.
"Director Chen, if you don't pick one, my millions will be wasted," Wu Defa said intentionally.
"Millions in one night?" Chen Feng was stunned.
He knew this pleasure den was expensive, but he didn't know it was this expensive.
"Director Chen, honestly, this place is indeed extremely expensive. However, even at this price, it's not somewhere you can just walk into. You need strong connections in the power circles. Since we're here once, wouldn't it be a waste if you didn't partake?" Wu Defa explained.
"That makes sense. Alright then, I'll pick a host," Chen Feng said, suppressing his excitement.
This host was a popular host on the provincial television station, with a good public image.
Sweet, innocent, approachable, an overseas returnee, and highly educated...
It could be said that this female host named Li Yaqun was like a goddess in the eyes of all men in the provincial capital.
Yet, this very goddess was, at this very moment...
"Certainly, I'll get Li Yaqun for you. We can start now," Wu Defa said with a smile.
"What, right here in the hall?" Chen Feng was bewildered.
"Why else?" Wu Defa continued with a smile.
"Boss Wu, perhaps I should take Li Yaqun to a smaller room," Chen Feng said, feeling dizzy.
"Director Chen, you're an old hand in the power circles, you should understand better than I do. If everyone is in the main hall and you go to a small room, how do you think that would look to others? What would the other big shots think of you?" Wu Defa explained in a low voice.
"That's true. Then let's do it in the hall," Chen Feng said, taking a deep breath.
"By the way, Director Chen, this is the key to a villa in the provincial capital. The deed is in your name," Wu Defa said familiarly, handing Chen Feng a key.
"I don't need this key today. Please give it to Li Hongling after the villa is transferred to her name," Chen Feng said calmly.
"Director Chen, this villa is very luxurious and large, are you sure you want to give it to this woman, Li Hongling?" Wu Defa was taken aback.
"Boss Wu, to be honest, giving it to Li Hongling is equivalent to giving it to me. I am in a crucial period in the power circles, and I cannot afford to be implicated by a house. If someone were to expose the situation with the villa, my path in the power circles would come to an end," Chen Feng explained briefly.
"I'm sorry, Director Chen. I really wanted to thank you, so I bought a villa for you. Fortunately, you were careful and pointed out that it couldn't be in your name, otherwise, I would have become a sinner!" Wu Defa quickly apologized.
"It's a small matter, just change it. In any case, thank you for your kindness," Chen Feng appeased Wu Defa.
Wu Defa gave an awkward smile and then wisely moved aside.
Shortly after, Li Yaqun walked over, unclothed.
Chen Feng did not hesitate and directly...
"Miss Li, may I ask you a few questions?" Chen Feng asked softly after the act was finished.
"Mr. Chen, you're too polite," Li Yaqun quickly responded ingratiatingly.
Her usual aloofness on television was completely gone.
"Miss Li, you are a renowned and popular host on the provincial television station, with money and fame. How can you..." Chen Feng didn't finish his sentence.
Li Yaqun was a smart person and would surely understand.
"Mr. Chen, you must have connections in the power circles to be able to enter such a place. The power circles are a giant whirlpool; once you get involved, many things are beyond your control..." Li Yaqun replied in a low voice.
"Tell me, what does it mean to be beyond your control?" Chen Feng pressed.
"Alas, the greatest mistake I made was being greedy for power. Back then, to get promoted and transfer from Jiangcheng Television to Provincial Television, I engaged in a transaction of beauty with a big shot in the power circles. Then this big shot used the video to threaten me, forcing me to obey him, or he would ruin my reputation. Conversely, if I obeyed him and stayed for a few years, I could continue to climb higher and go to the television station in the capital... To put it bluntly, once you enter this circle, you are no longer in control," Li Yaqun said with a somber expression.
"Actually, Miss Li, you could have resisted intentionally. Perhaps that big shot in the power circles feared the matter escalating and might have let you go, saving you from having to do such disgraceful things on this ship," Chen Feng asked intentionally.
"Mr. Chen, among us women here, there are indeed a few who thought like you. The final outcome was that this big shot in the power circles colluded with gangsters and killed several women who refused to yield, leaving no trace of their bones," Li Yaqun said, her eyes filled with fear.
Chen Feng stopped asking questions.
The situation was already very clear.
These women with status on the ship had all fallen into the same trap.
They were all driven by vanity, or greed for power and money, engaged in transactional sex with power big shots, and then videos were taken.
Once the videos were taken, it was like falling into an abyss, from which there was no escape.
In a sense, if these women had been a little more clear-headed, they wouldn't have fallen for the trap.
Chen Feng thought that being with women of status would be the most explosive.
Who would have thought that there would be even more explosive performances to come?
Chen Feng exclaimed that the power circles were truly sordid; what he knew before was only the tip of the iceberg.
This program was very simple: a low-level employee in the power circles brought his own wife.
A genuine wife, complete with marriage certificate, paternity test, and evidence of their daily marital life.
"This is also possible?" Chen Feng asked Wu Defa in astonishment.
"Director Chen, you are an old hand in the power circles, you should know better than I do. People will do anything unscrupulous for power. Conversely, big shots in the power circles get tired of ordinary games and want to play something different, so the two parties conspire together," Wu Defa explained earnestly.
"Boss Wu, can I opt out of this?" Chen Feng asked tentatively.
"Director Chen, once you're on this ship, you must participate in all activities. The reason is, if you participate, you won't worry about you reporting us," Wu Defa continued to explain.
"..." Chen Feng was speechless.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Feng could only go with the flow and chose a woman.
This event lasted for a full two hours before ending.
"Boss Wu, we've had our fill, can we go back now?" Chen Feng asked tentatively.
"No rush, there's still a grand finale to see," Wu Defa said excitedly.
"There are still events?" Chen Feng felt dizzy.
"Of course, there are. After all, we paid several million for the ticket to get on board. If the programs aren't rich and colorful, wouldn't that be a loss?" Wu Defa said with a smile.
"Approximately what kind of grand finale program is it?" Chen Feng asked tentatively.
"Underground bare-knuckle boxing, with death or serious injury, real weapons and armor," Wu Defa replied.
"Underground bare-knuckle boxing is very exciting, but as a grand finale, isn't that a bit too exaggerated?" Chen Feng countered.
"Ordinary underground bare-knuckle boxing might not qualify as a grand finale. However, this upcoming underground bare-knuckle boxing is definitely qualified to be the grand finale. That's because the participants are none other than..." Wu Defa said excitedly.