Zhuo Weidong was at a loss for words again, because what Yi Anguo said was essentially the truth. The project had been taken over from the Ren Family, so the costs were certainly high.

But then again, isn't this all your fault? If it weren't for your support, would I have expanded like this and swallowed up another person's company? If I hadn't taken over the Ren Family's company, would I be in this predicament?

However, the Yi Anguo of today was no longer the Yi Anguo of the past. Zhuo Weidong could only keep these complaints to himself; he didn't dare voice them in front of Yi Anguo.

He still needed Yi Anguo's help. Otherwise, the days ahead would be tough, and his own Blue Coast Properties might very well follow the same path as the Ren Family's company, ending in bankruptcy.

"Forget it, let's just go with the current market price. I won't press you on the price anymore, how about that?" Seeing Zhuo Weidong's silence, Yi Anguo eventually softened.

Whether he admitted it or not, Zhuo Weidong had helped him a lot. Without Zhuo Weidong, while he wouldn't have struggled too much and would have eventually risen to make a fortune—after all, for a reincarnator, opportunities are plentiful, and as long as he seized them, making money wouldn't be hard—things would not have been so smooth. He wouldn't have been able to accumulate his first pot of gold, earn his first hundred million yuan, and complete his first small goal in such a short time. So no matter what, he was thankful to Zhuo Weidong. Even though Zhuo Weidong had always been using him, hadn't he been using Zhuo Weidong as well? In the world of business, interests are eternal. Mutual exploitation is normal. If you don't even have value that can be exploited, who would genuinely want to be your friend?

"Great! Then thank you!" This time, Zhuo Weidong's thanks were sincere.

Although selling those houses to Yi Anguo at the current lowest market price meant his company wouldn't make a profit, at least it wouldn't lose much. Most importantly, it would recover a large sum of capital, allowing him to repay bank loans and revitalize many projects.

"Brother Zhuo, there's no need for thanks between us. You've always been my benefactor! When I had nothing, you helped me out immensely, so I've always been very grateful, even if I rarely say it," Yi Anguo said with a smile.

Zhuo Weidong looked at Yi Anguo and said, "Your growth has been too fast. In five years, you've grown to a point where even I have to look up to you. The most correct, proudest thing I've done in this life was probably getting to know you and selling you a thousand properties when you were still starting out."

"But even though I helped you back then—you could even say it was a huge favor—I was doing it for my own benefit. You could say I was using you, so you don't really need to be grateful or think of me as your benefactor. I'm sure that even without me, someone else like me would have appeared to help you, or rather, to use you."

Zhuo Weidong was so openly admitting to using Yi Anguo not because he was naive, but because he was well aware that even if he didn't say it, Yi Anguo knew it clear as day. Saying it out loud was actually better; at least it showed great sincerity. If Zhuo Weidong had been the one in charge of their interactions before, then from now on, their roles would be reversed. The initiative would be in Yi Anguo's hands, and Zhuo Weidong would be the one needing to seek his help, entirely dependent on his goodwill. As an astute man, how could Zhuo Weidong fail to see this shift in the power dynamic?

"By the way, there are a few plots of land going up for auction soon. Help me bid for them. You know my company isn't qualified to participate," Yi Anguo added.

"You want to acquire land? Are you also venturing into real estate development?" Zhuo Weidong asked in surprise.

"No, I'm not interested in real estate development," Yi Anguo said, shaking his head. "But my company has so many employees, and they need housing to live and work happily in Shenzhen. As you know, housing prices in Shenzhen are bound to get more and more expensive, and most of our employees are ordinary people who can't afford a home. I plan to build more housing to rent to them cheaply, which will ease their financial pressures. It can also serve as a reward for those who work hard."

"For instance, we can reward them with a house for working with the company for a certain number of years or for making significant contributions. This will give them a greater sense of belonging and motivate them to work even harder and create more value for the company."

"You're that good to your employees? Hearing you say that makes me want to come work for you," Zhuo Weidong said with a laugh.

"Be good to your employees, and they will create more value for you. In the end, you won't lose out," Yi Anguo said with a nod.

"Holding a land auction at this time, I estimate the final bidding price won't be too high," Zhuo Weidong speculated thoughtfully. "But the starting bids at auctions nowadays aren't low either, so finding a bargain won't be easy. Even if a property sells for its starting price, given current housing prices, there's not much profit to be made. You might even take a loss unless you bet on prices rising again soon."

"I know. But whether housing prices rise in the future or not, I'm going to buy land to build affordable rental housing as a benefit for my employees. So, whether the prices rise in the next two years isn't a major issue for me," Yi Anguo stated.

Zhuo Weidong felt a pang of bitter envy. He was truly jealous. Yi Anguo's Anjing Supermarket had developed at a lightning pace in the last two years, launching in first and second-tier cities across the country, as well as many third-tier cities. Its market value was unclear since it hadn't sought any financing, making it difficult to estimate. But it was definitely substantial! It had to be in the tens of billions by now, right? And his other company, Hua Xing Technology, had an investment of two billion US dollars. The Hua Xing smartphone had taken the market by storm, selling out instantly upon release with long queues of consumers waiting for pre-orders. A single Hua Xing smartphone sold for 3,999 yuan, and they sold three to four hundred thousand units on the first day alone. How much money was that? And yet, when I was worth billions, Yi Anguo was just a poor kid. How could things change so drastically in just a few years! Although my own net worth has grown quickly these years, it's nothing compared to Yi Anguo's pace. Even if I owned a money-printing press, I couldn't make money as fast as him! In comparison, although Yi Anguo's property company had also developed very well, it was nothing next to Anjing Supermarket and Hua Xing Technology—it was leagues behind.

The next afternoon, Ou Xiaolong arrived at Yi Anguo's office.

Yi Anguo had several offices now, but he spent most of his time here, on the top floor of what was formerly the Blue Coast Phase IV Business Center. Anjing Trading Company was right next door, and this was also the headquarters of his real estate agency.

The growth of Anjing Trading Company had been rapid these past two years, and it was about to surpass one thousand franchise stores. They also had twenty-three large-scale integrated supermarkets, outnumbering the twenty-one stores of the Guohui Fresh Supermarket chain. Yi Anguo had considered accelerating the expansion of the Guohui chain but ultimately decided against it. He didn't want to dilute the shares held by his third sister and her husband, so he chose to let it develop at its own pace. Instead, he increased his investment in Anjing Trading Company, venturing into large-scale integrated supermarket chains under the Anjing brand.

As a result, its physical stores were associated with the Anjing Online Supermarket brand name. The only distinction was the signage: the online supermarket's physical locations had signs that read 'Anjing Online Supermarket,' with the words 'Offline Store' in smaller letters. In contrast, the Anjing Supermarkets under Anjing Trading Company simply had a sign with the two characters for 'Anjing.' Just like Anjing's convenience stores, which didn't include the words 'Convenience Store' on their signs, the large integrated supermarkets also used the simple 'Anjing' brand. Therefore, distinguishing between Anjing Supermarket and Anjing Online Supermarket was still easy. They weren't the same entity but two different companies that had a cooperative relationship but were also competitors.

When Ou Xiaolong arrived, Yi Anguo didn't discuss investment or cooperation. Instead, he directly presented a newly drafted contract, asking Ou Xiaolong to look it over and sign if he had no objections.

Ou Xiaolong took the new contract and read it carefully. He found that its terms were much more lenient than the one his daughter had signed, and far more favorable to his company. Delighted, Ou Xiaolong saw no reason to hesitate. He quickly signed his name.

"Thank you! Thank you, Brother Yi, for your generosity."

"Don't thank me. If you want to thank someone, thank yourself for having a smart daughter," Yi Anguo replied. "I heard you've been telling people behind my back that I'm not a gentleman and that I'm unfaithful. Brother Ou, I've also heard that you're very devoted to your wife and have an excellent relationship with her. However, your actions yesterday don't seem like something a man so devoted and faithful would do!"

Hearing this, Ou Xiaolong squirmed in his seat. "I have no idea what happened yesterday," he said hastily. "I told you, it was a setup! I was framed! You knew that yesterday, so why are you bringing it up again?"

"I wouldn't have, but you're the one going around calling me unfaithful and no gentleman. When I get a chance to meet your wife, I'll have to ask her just how much of a gentleman her husband is, how faithful he is, and how deep their love runs. I could really learn a thing or two from you!" Yi Anguo said with a smile.

"Don't! You'll be the death of me! As the saying goes, it's better to tear down ten temples than to ruin one marriage. How could you do something like that?" Ou Xiaolong pleaded anxiously.

"Now you're scared? Then why did you have no problem going around telling people I'm unfaithful and not a gentleman, that I have so many women around but never think about marriage?" Yi Anguo retorted.

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