Chapter 109

But when it came to having a woman sit with him, Jiang Luo was sincerely not interested.

He didn’t let the young lady that Li Fengrui had brought over help him with his coat. He took it off himself, draped it over his arm, and, when taking a seat, casually hung it over the chair back.

Li Fengrui was already seated, holding the hand of the woman beside him, smiling at Jiang Luo: “What’s wrong? Don’t like it?”

“I don’t. Swap with me.”

He motioned for the woman beside Li to move over to him.

“No.” Jiang Luo sat down. “I don’t take what’s already loved.”

The girl who accompanied him sat nearby, but Jiang Luo didn’t look at her.

One of the businessmen laughed to break the tension: “Jiang, you’re still young—you don’t appreciate a good woman yet.”

Jiang Luo replied calmly, “If you all go home today, the madams will be in an uproar.”

Everyone laughed, assuming Jiang Luo just wasn’t interested in the girl. Li Fengrui didn’t push it and gave a subtle signal for the girl to leave. She left, crying—whether from embarrassment or frustration, nobody could tell.

Once she was gone, another businessman teased: “Jiang, you don’t pity the delicate sex?”

Jiang Luo responded smoothly: “If you pity, I’ll eat the food.”

“When I’m full, you’ll all still be hungry.”

“We can suck it up…”

The men all laughed heartily, Li Fengrui included. Jiang Luo smirked inwardly: All they think about is sex.

During the meal, Li Fengrui specifically introduced a man sitting to his right to Jiang Luo: “This is Boss Wang, from Tongcheng.”

Boss Wang raised his glass; Jiang Luo raised his in return, knowing that Li’s introduction carried an unspoken purpose. Jiang Luo stayed guarded.

After the meal, Jiang Luo had plenty of work, quickly putting Li Fengrui and the newly met businessmen out of his mind.

That day, as Jiang Luo left the factory, his cellphone rang.

“Hello?”

A voice, both unfamiliar and strangely familiar, greeted him with a laugh: “Hello, Mr. Jiang. Got a moment?”

“I’m Wang Feng. We met at the Bund the last time—introduced by Li from Pacific, remember?”

Jiang Luo recalled and replied: “Yes. What’s up, Mr. Wang?”

“I need to consult you on something. If you have time, would you honor me with a meal?”

Jiang Luo was about to politely decline, but Wang added: “It’s related to your clothing factory.”

Jiang Luo paused, then replied: “We’re all straightforward people—let’s be frank.”

“Can’t explain over the phone,” Wang said. “How about coffee? Won’t take long.”

Jiang Luo agreed.

After hanging up, he put down the phone, already suspecting trouble. Li Fengrui was never truly a good man. Their last dinner hadn’t been just about meeting people.

At the café, Wang Feng stood to greet him: “Mr. Jiang, what would you like to drink?” He extended his hand.

Jiang Luo shook it and sat, checking his watch. Calmly: “I’ll pass. Too busy these days.”

He leaned back in the chair: “Go ahead, Mr. Wang, speak your mind.”

Wang called the waiter for a latte and smiled: “I know you’re busy, so I’ll get straight to it. Please don’t take offense, Mr. Jiang.”

The truth: Wang Feng had a connection to a state-owned clothing factory in Tongcheng that was selling off equipment—equipment replaced just over a year ago and still almost new. Coincidentally, Jiang Luo’s factory needed equipment. Wang Feng’s suggestion was simple: buy the equipment cheaply.

Jiang Luo considered it, thinking it straightforward: “If the equipment is new and imported, of course I want it. How much cheaper?”

Wang whispered a number. Jiang Luo raised his brows: “That cheap? It’s not imported, right?”

“It’s imported, all from Japan,” Wang said.

Jiang Luo frowned: why sell newly purchased imported equipment just because the factory was being restructured?

Wang was vague: “Not sure. Just that they’re selling it.”

Jiang Luo decided: “New machines, imported, latest tech—no problem. I’ll buy. Let’s schedule a trip to Tongcheng to see how many are available.”

Wang agreed, smiling. Jiang Luo could tell there was more he wasn’t saying.

Leaning in, Wang began speaking quietly… but Jiang Luo didn’t need to hear it all. Halfway through, he understood, and a cold smile formed.

This wasn’t about taking over secondhand imported machines. It was using Jiang Luo’s factory as a front to skim state assets.

Tongcheng indeed had a factory upgrading its machines; the factory had replaced imported equipment a year ago, equipment that was indeed being sold. But Jiang Luo wasn’t meant to acquire it—he was just the figurehead.

The plan: Jiang Luo’s factory would ostensibly buy the equipment at a very low price. Wang would then resell it at a high price, taking advantage of the price difference. Jiang Luo would get a cut—thirty percent.

In other words, they were skimming state property.

Jiang Luo’s mind was cold, but his face stayed calm. He wasn’t surprised—people made money in all sorts of ways. He wasn’t overly righteous or heroic. If he needed cash and the risk was low, he would participate.

But right now, he had a legitimate factory running. Why would he use his own factory as a cover for Li Fengrui and Wang to commit this scheme?

“Nice try, Li Fengrui.”

No good deed came of it. Not that they were friends anyway—so they were trying to drag him into their criminal scheme?

“Mr. Jiang…” Wang started, rubbing his hands and smiling, assuming that, being friends and seeing the profit with little risk, Jiang Luo would surely agree.

Negotiations were only about profit distribution.

Wang noticed Jiang Luo rise, stopping mid-sentence. “Mr. Jiang?”

Jiang Luo gave him no courtesy, eyes cold and disdainful: “Tell Li Fengrui to find someone else for this. I have no time to play these games.”

To see the real problem, one must look at its essence.

Li Fengrui didn’t lack money from skimming state assets—he had plenty.

Then why did he do it?

Take a recent example: a table of businessmen, each with a woman beside him. Not because they liked them. Not just because they were men with appetites.

It was about alliances. Sitting at the same table, everyone had to step into the muck together. Only once everything was messy and dirty could they work as a team.

The same logic applied to Jiang Luo. Li Fengrui, regardless of how he currently viewed Jiang Luo, needed a “pledge of loyalty” to bring him in.

The scheme of reselling state assets was that pledge—a chance.

Jiang Luo could take it, wade into the murky waters, and establish a foothold for future negotiations.

Or he could refuse…

At the office, after Wang’s call, Li Fengrui slammed down the receiver, fuming. He had thought Jiang Luo clever, capable, and a local from Haicheng—a perfect ally. After the car interception and the warning about backing off, Li wanted to leverage Jiang Luo’s connections.

He hadn’t expected Jiang Luo to be so uncooperative.

He waited for a call, thinking Jiang Luo might explain. Days passed—one, two, three… almost a week—with no word, no call.