Chapter 1732 — The Gains Don't Cover the Losses

"I once heard a saying — I don't know whether it holds true — that in business there are never any real rivals or real friends. So long as there is a common interest, even a rival can become a friend," Tang Yun said. "I wonder whether that's how it is with Uncle Chu."

"It must be. Daddy is rather remarkable when it comes to business." Gu Mengyao nodded. Cases like the one Tang Yun described were all too common — companies suing and undercutting each other one moment, strategic partners the next — so the cooperation between Gu Pengzhan and An Mingyue came as no surprise.

"Let's wait and see. Uncle Chu knows what he's about," Wei Zhao said.

Gu Mengyao nodded and said nothing more.

Once they were home, the group set about packing to accompany Wei Zhao back to West Star Mountain Village — and naturally, before departing, there had to be a frenzy of shopping. As the saying goes, before troops and horses move, provisions go first; that was the principle of it.

Gu Mengyao planned to buy a few things and mail them ahead, so as to spare them the awkwardness of arriving with nothing at all.

It was still early, so Gu Mengyao and the others headed for the supermarket.

In the supermarket, Tang Yun grew a little anxious, feeling rather like an ugly daughter-in-law about to meet her parents-in-law. She had been with Wei Zhao for so long and had still never paid a visit to his elders. Would Old Man Wei — the man Wei Zhao said had raised him — take a liking to her?

And she wanted to buy some gifts but had no idea what. Taking Gu Mengyao's hand, she asked hesitantly, "Yaoyao, what do you think I ought to buy? Wei Zhao says I needn't buy anything, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it? If I really turn up empty-handed, won't they think I'm clueless?"

"Well... of course you have to buy something, but as for what, I can't really say either, because I don't know what Grandpa Lin likes, I don't know what he's fond of..." Gu Mengyao was equally at a loss.

"Old men — nine times out of ten it's liquor and the like. How about we buy some good wine and take it with us?" Shen Yushu suggested. "My grandpa loves his drink..."

"That works. When you go to see your elders, it's usually this sort of thing..." Gu Mengyao said. "Every time Daddy visits Grandpa's house, he takes this sort of thing too..."

"Then let's buy wine... but what kind should we get?" Tang Yun hesitated, unsure what would be best.

"Why don't we just ask Wei Zhao? He knows best," Gu Mengyao said at last, unable to make up her own mind either.

Wei Zhao had not gone shopping with the women. The honorable task of bodyguard had been handed to Wu Chengtian, who had only just returned to Songshan City, while he himself went to the place where the orphanage was now living.

It was an old-style residential district, very much like the place where Chen Xi's family lived: the top floor of each building was that sort of six-storey-plus-a-seventh attic room. It looked like a duplex, but in truth, because the buildings were so old, conditions in those top-floor rooms were dreadful — leaks were an everyday affair, and the landlord, since the rent was cheap, would take no responsibility for repairs.

Seeing these conditions, Wei Zhao shook his head inwardly. It was hard indeed on the children — and on that miser Yu Xiaoke as well. Yet miserly or petty though she might be, she lived in the same sort of place, for she could not bear to spend a great sum on building up the orphanage: spend the money, and how would they live then?

Li Cihua and Zhu Lingtou had struck a simple agreement with the old director of the orphanage: a plot of land five times the size in exchange for the orphanage's current plot. On the face of it, the orphanage seemed to have gotten the better of the bargain, but it was not so. The new plot was in an utterly remote spot, at the very edge of the city, already within the surrounding suburbs; the land value there and the orphanage's present site were not merely a little different, but a world apart.

So a five-fold difference was no exaggeration. The crux was that Li Cihua had reckoned only the land value, and had not counted the orphanage's original buildings at all.

Li Cihua's reasoning was simple: the buildings had burned down, so how could there possibly be any demolition compensation? Exchanging for land of equal value was only right and proper — perfectly fair!

Though the old director was reluctant, there was nothing to be done by then. The buildings were gone, he had no bargaining chips left in hand, and whatever they said went. Besides, Li Cihua did not want to blow the matter up, so when it came to swapping the plots he did not let the orphanage come off too badly.

The crux was this: the orphanage had nothing but a prime, enormous plot of land and no money to build on it — and that was the truly fatal problem.

Li Cihua and Zhu Lingtou returned to the Awesome Cloud Bar, all ready to claim credit, only to be met with a scene of ruin burned black by fire — and Zhao Qibing sitting in a business van not far away.

Li Cihua started in fright and hurried over to the van. "Young Master Bing, what happened here? Did the bar catch fire?"

"Yeah," Zhao Qibing answered flatly. Humiliation made him unwilling to explain any further. He was waiting here for Elder Bi to come and heal him; had Elder Bi not been unable to find another place, Li Cihua would never have laid eyes on Zhao Qibing at all.

"Ah? What happened?" Li Cihua asked.

Because Elder Bi was about to arrive, Zhao Qibing did not want to explain much. He only said, "Nothing... How did things go on your end?"

"Congratulations, Young Master Bing, congratulations! Under mine and Zhu Lingtou's threats and inducements, that old director of the orphanage finally gave in and agreed to swap plots with us. So that plot of the orphanage's is ours now!" Li Cihua said hurriedly. Though the two plots were close in value, in fact Li Cihua had still come out well ahead.

That suburban plot was of no use whatsoever in Li Cihua's hands; build houses on it and no one would buy, unless it were for a factory or the like, and such cases were exceedingly rare. The plot had sat in his hands useless, so trading it to the orphanage was in effect a gain.

"Congratulations my ass!" Hearing Li Cihua's words, Zhao Qibing finally could not hold back his pent-up fury.

"Ah? Young Master Bing, we really did get the better of it... That plot has a price but no market — nobody wants it..." Li Cihua said cautiously.

"The better of it? I paid Wei Zhao two hundred million, all on account of this fire! Look — my leg's been broken by Wei Zhao again, and the bar's been burned down by Wei Zhao too!" Zhao Qibing said. "Tell me, is this loss of mine not big enough to fill the Pacific? And you talk about getting the better of it?"

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