Jiang Chiyu’s voice reached Chen Mo’s ears from a short distance away. He glanced at his phone screen and then at her. After a moment of hesitation, he chose to walk toward her.
“What are you doing?”
As he walked, he had already turned off the call screen on his phone, leaving it pitch black.
When he reached her side, Jiang Chiyu knit her brows and sized him up for a good while before asking, “Were you just on the phone?”
The question came so suddenly that Chen Mo was startled for a second. “No, I was replying to a WeChat message. I sent a voice note.”
The excuse was plausible enough that it didn’t arouse Jiang Chiyu’s suspicion. She simply nodded slowly. “Ah, I see. I thought you were gossiping about me behind my back.”
Chen Mo remained silent for a moment before forcing a smile. “Not at all. That’s impossible.”
“Are we just going to leave it like this? Are you waiting for Lin Wu to contact you proactively?” Chen Mo changed the subject to business, as the previous topic was too awkward. He stared at Jiang Chiyu intently, curious to see what kind of answer she would give.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Chiyu gave him a complete surprise. “The contact information on the business card I gave him belongs to your Young Master.”
In other words, it belonged to her poor, “late” husband.
“What?” Chen Mo’s eyes widened like saucers. “Why did you give him his contact information? Does the underworld provide people with cell phones now?”
“I only joined the company today; where would I have had time to prepare my own business cards? Naturally, I just handed out whatever was available. Besides, if he can’t reach me, he’ll definitely find a way. Hengchuang is such a large company—it would be weirder if he couldn’t find us.”
Jiang Chiyu adopted an air of total indifference. She didn’t believe for a second that if Lin Wu truly wanted to sell, he wouldn’t be able to find someone at Hengchuang. If he couldn’t reach her, wouldn’t contacting those folks on the Board of Directors work just as well?
“Then… where are we going next?” Chen Mo had given up struggling; the light had faded from his eyes.
“Do you know where the person who leaked the information to Jinnian lives?” Jiang Chiyu looked around at her surroundings as she walked. With a slight lift of her gaze, she could see the sky-scraping high-rises in the distance. The imbalance of economic development was vividly illustrated in this moment.
When night fell, this area would form a stark contrast with those distant skyscrapers. One side was a den of luxury for the wealthy, while the other was the daily grind for ordinary people.
“Since the information came from someone in the government, could it be that he is…” Jiang Chiyu trailed off, but her eyes met Chen Mo’s and confirmed her suspicion.
Just as she thought, the background of the person who had leaked the news to Pei Jinnian was certainly not simple. To risk so much to tip him off, that person must have had a high degree of certainty. Perhaps the decision from above had already been made, and all that was missing was a written notice for the revitalization of this district to begin.
If that was the case, then Hengchuang was absolutely right to snap up the nearby land ahead of time. Although these plots were useless right now, once resources began to tilt toward this area, what Hengchuang owned would be far more than just “useless land.”
“Ms. Jiang guessed correctly. However, due to the person’s unique health condition, I cannot take you for an unannounced visit. But I can assure you that the information provided is absolutely genuine, without a hint of deception.”
“If you are truly curious, we can wait until this matter is settled. I’ll find an excuse to invite them to dinner, and then you can see for yourself who it is.”
Chen Mo spoke naturally. Perhaps because he was so familiar with the process of such things, he exuded an inner confidence, as if these matters were mere trifles to him.
Seeing how meticulous he was, Jiang Chiyu stopped dwelling on it. “Hengchuang wants to acquire a total of 20,000 square meters, but Lin Wu only has 10,000. I assume I need to find someone else for the remaining 10,000?”
“Ms. Jiang is indeed clever,” Chen Mo praised half-heartedly. “I can lead the way. Before the Young Master passed away, he had already researched everything regarding the land acquisition, including the owners of the plots he wanted to buy.”
“Then I’ll have to trouble Assistant Chen to lead the way.” Jiang Chiyu flashed a hypocritical smile, her ability to mirror his behavior proving remarkably fast.
With Chen Mo leading, Jiang Chiyu simply followed behind, taking in the scenery. Just as she was thinking about how massive the difference was between here and the bustling center of Jinghai, Chen Mo suddenly stopped. If she hadn’t braked in time, she would have crashed right into him.
“Why did you stop so suddenly?” Jiang Chiyu frowned and took a few steps back. When she looked up again, she realized that besides Chen Mo, there was a large crowd of people standing in front of them. At that moment, they were all staring at her intently, looking like a scene out of a cult prayer meeting.
Never having seen such a sight, Jiang Chiyu took small steps to hide behind Chen Mo under their collective gaze. “What’s going on? Did you walk into the wrong place? They’re having a meeting; what are you doing barging in?”
“No, these are the people we are looking for,” Chen Mo explained, glancing back at her. “The total amount of land they own adds up to 10,000 square meters.”
Actually, it was even more than that.
It took Jiang Chiyu a moment to process what he had said. Finally, she asked, “So… the remaining 10,000 square meters Pei Jinnian wanted to buy are supposed to come from them?”
She looked at the sea of people. There weren’t thousands, but there were at least several hundred. Every single one of them would need to sign a contract and discuss prices. Wasn’t that a massive headache? Was Pei Jinnian just looking for extra work?
Although she thought this, Jiang Chiyu didn’t say it aloud. Instead, she whispered to Chen Mo, “Did you summon these people in advance?”
“Yes. I have the contact information for their representative. I sent him a message just now.”
“I feel like a pyramid scheme leader now, and the people in front of me are innocent victims about to be led astray,” Jiang Chiyu muttered under her breath as she stepped out from behind Chen Mo. Despite her words, she didn’t hesitate and walked straight toward the crowd.
“Hello, everyone! Everyone gathered here today has only one goal, right?!”
“I know you’re all here for the money, so I won’t waste any more words. Five thousand! Five thousand per square meter! The payment will be transferred to your accounts the same day you sign! No delays!”
“Since we’re all here for the money, there’s no point in me giving you a bunch of empty promises. Cash is the only thing that matters. If everyone is satisfied with the price offered by Hengchuang, you can step forward now! We can discuss the purchase details on the spot!”
Standing a meter away, Chen Mo was completely dumbfounded by the scene.
What kind of pyramid scheme recruitment was this?