Chapter 15

Inside the private room.

Yu Mingyuan, seeing his guest arrive, immediately stood up to greet him, "Brother Wei, thank you for sparing my life at the cargo yard yesterday."

That's right, the person who came was none other than Wei Xiangzuo, the head of the Zha Nan Wharf Gang. Yu Mingyuan was able to get him here today through a friend in District One, who owed Wei Xiangzuo a favor.

"You're exaggerating," Wei Xiangzuo said, shaking hands with Yu Mingyuan. He replied concisely, "I left yesterday because I didn't know the goods had been hijacked by Xu Hu. There's no question of me sparing your life."

"Haha, Brother Wei is straightforward. Come, come, please sit down!" Yu Mingyuan forced a smile and, finding a way to smooth things over, gestured for the other man to take a seat.

Su Tianyu sized up the burly, resolute-faced man and, as the host, helped him set out his tableware and poured him white wine.

"I've heard about Brother Wei's reputation at the wharf for a long time, but I've never had the chance…," Yu Mingyuan began, wanting to flatter the other man with some business pleasantries.

Wei Xiangzuo waved his hand directly and, looking at the dishes on the table, replied, "I'm here to eat, not to exchange compliments. President Yu, just say what's on your mind. With Old Xu's connection, I'll do what I can. I owe him that much."

Seeing that the other man was so direct, Yu Mingyuan adjusted his approach and cut to the chase, "Brother Wei, I'll be blunt then. The Wharf Gang's current situation with our company is bound to affect our maritime business, so I have to find my own way out. I want to ask you, is there any possibility of cooperation between us?"

Wei Xiangzuo picked up his chopsticks and, without any ceremony, began eating the dishes on the table. He chuckled and replied, "Do you want to cooperate with the Wharf Gang, or do you want to cooperate with me?"

"Of course, I want to cooperate with you!" Yu Mingyuan replied with a smile.

"That's impossible." Wei Xiangzuo ate very roughly, his mouth already covered in oil after two bites of fish. "To bypass the Wharf Gang and do our own thing, that's definitely not going to work."

"I'll give you forty percent of the profits, one percent more than what Tang Baiqing was getting before," Yu Mingyuan continued. "You don't have to do any of the work. You just need to take care of the maritime relations and make sure the goods land safely."

"It's not about that," Wei Xiangzuo shook his head.

Yu Mingyuan looked at his expression and, after considering for a moment, said, "The Wharf Gang is an organized group with a lot of rules. If you're willing to cooperate with me, I can help you get ahead, get into the general union, and give you money and connections."

"Hehe!" Wei Xiangzuo laughed when he heard this and turned to look at Yu Mingyuan. "If you can offer me such a high price, why can't you just give in to Xu Hu? If you give him forty percent of the profits and he doesn't have to do any work, I believe he'll forget yesterday's unpleasantness in a minute."

"No, it's not the same," Yu Mingyuan waved his hand. "Xu Hu wants to make money off me. If he can ask for forty percent today, he can ask for sixty percent tomorrow. And he wants me to kick out the Zang Gang, which is basically making decisions for me. I can't accept doing business like that."

"That makes sense," Wei Xiangzuo picked up a piece of fish. "But it's still not going to work. I can't cooperate with you."

Yu Mingyuan looked at him. "Haha, Brother Wei, are you worried about my character?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"…From what I know, you and Xu Hu have different ideas about some things in the Wharf Gang," Yu Mingyuan said tactfully. "Isn't your reluctance to work with me just driving up Xu Hu's price? To pass up forty percent of the profits and protect Xu Hu's face… I don't understand."

Wei Xiangzuo looked at the dishes on the table and pointed around with his chopsticks. "Look at all these dishes. There are vegetarian dishes, meat dishes, clear soups, and dry pot dishes. But no matter how good any one of them is, it's not a feast! Although the Wharf Gang has many branches, many people, and is a bit chaotic internally, it's only when it's all put together that it can be called the Wharf Gang. The government gives us face, the foreigners give us face, and the customs, coast guard, and police station also have to give us face. Why is that? It's simple: numbers and influence!"

Yu Mingyuan was speechless.

"Xu Hu's way of doing things isn't to my liking, but he and I are sworn brothers who studied under the same master. If you guys start fighting and I take over the business, wouldn't that be stabbing Xu Hu in the back and causing infighting within the Wharf Gang?" Wei Xiangzuo put down his chopsticks, turned to look at Yu Mingyuan, and asked in return.

"Brother Wei, I think…!"

"Little Yu, from my personal point of view, I don't think this matter needs to be a life-or-death situation," Wei Xiangzuo interrupted Yu Mingyuan and continued in a low voice, "...You should still talk to Xu Hu. If you two can reach some kind of consensus, I'm willing to mediate. You ship a batch of goods, give the Wharf Gang a cut, and we'll all sheathe our knives, make money peacefully, and let the brothers below have a better life."

Hearing this, Yu Mingyuan knew that he couldn't persuade Wei Xiangzuo.

"That's it then," Wei Xiangzuo stood up. "I'm leaving first."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Xiangzuo walked out alone, while Yu Mingyuan frowned and couldn't help but ask, "What if I can't reach an agreement with Xu Hu?"

Wei Xiangzuo turned around and replied without hesitation, "We rely on the harbor for our livelihood. If you cross the line and don't pay, it definitely won't work."

With that, Wei Xiangzuo pushed open the door and left.

Yu Mingyuan loosened his collar and cursed silently, "Damn it, I ran into a stubborn one!"

"Yes," Su Tianyu echoed, but in his heart, he had a different opinion of Wei Xiangzuo.

The negotiation had fallen through, and Yu Mingyuan was in a bad mood. He had no appetite for the banquet on the table. He grabbed his coat and headed out the door.

Su Tianyu asked the manager to settle the bill, but the manager told him that Wei Xiangzuo had already paid.

…

Going through the Wharf Gang's internal channels was clearly impossible, so in the following days, Su Tianyu and Yu Mingyuan were busy finding new official connections, but the results were not good. Because Xu Hu hadn't been idle either, he had been visiting all the relevant people in the port, both above and below the table, with various gifts, not giving Yu Mingyuan any chance to intervene.

The business that was being done at sea was now blockaded.

If goods couldn't come in, the company would have nothing to do, so Mingyuan Company was almost in a desperate situation.

But what was surprising was that when the company was facing bankruptcy, Yu Mingyuan wasn't as anxious as he had been before. His heart was at peace, because the worst possible outcome had already happened.

One day at noon.

Su Tianyu, Su Tianbei, Bai Hongbo, and Kong Zhenghui came to the Yu residence to talk to him, because Su Tianyu had been asking about the port situation these days, and he had some ideas in his mind.

As soon as the group entered the Yu residence, Bai Hongbo saw six or seven girls, including An Qiqi, sitting by the swimming pool, chatting.

The sky was bright and sunny, the courtyard had mountains and water, lush greenery, and a gentle breeze. A group of girls sat on the lawn, eating snacks and cold dishes, chatting, and sketching. The scenery was beautiful.

When Bai Hongbo saw this scene, he immediately composed a poem: "A small bridge and flowing water, the wind blowing north, seven beauties eating ham. If you ask me where the beauty lies, I want to reach out and touch their thighs."

This poem was impromptu, completely without warning, so the other three were dumbfounded.

"…You are… truly… talented!" Su Tianbei was completely defeated.