A life of success begins with being a landlord.

I was immediately at my wit's end. I threatened Kuai Dafa, "Kuai Dafa, don't get cocky. I've already set up two lines to deal with you properly. Do you know how I've planned it?"

If Kuai Dafa really calls Dao Zaixiong and spews out a bunch of foul language, Dao Zaixiong will definitely be furious.

And then, they'll definitely complain about me!

Kuai Dafa sneered, "Wang Yaozu, tell me, what methods do you have to deal with me?"

I coughed twice, pretending to be serious:

"First, I recorded all your abusive phone calls and submitted them to Chief Nie. You know that's the crime of creating trouble and hooliganism, right? You also tried to extort 500,000 yuan from me, that's extortion, you can't escape that, can you? Chief Nie has already made arrangements to issue an arrest warrant and work with Uncle Hat from your hometown to arrest you."

Secondly, Dao Zai Xiong also found out about this and arranged for people to go to your hometown and post missing person notices. They call them missing person notices, but they're actually wanted bounties from the underworld. Be careful.

I've arranged both the black and white paths, do you think you can escape my grasp? I'm not short of money now, I'll spend five hundred thousand to make you pay the price!

The so-called underworld bounty for killing someone was something I made up.

It's also possible that I saw it in a movie and have forgotten about it now.

I'm currently at a loss with Kuai Dafa, so this is the only way I can scare him.

"Two hundred thousand, is that it? You're going to be charged with extortion!" I sneered.

"Go ahead and make the calls. Call whoever you want. I've already told Dao Zixiong that he'll record your calls at any time. And you know Dao Zixiong's temper; if you anger him, something really bad might happen to your wife and children!"

"Damn it!" Kuai Dafa slammed down the phone.

I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that my earlier threats had had some effect.

Erxia, who had been listening to the phone, pondered for a moment and said:

"Brother Zu, the two paths you mentioned are really feasible. The first one, with Director Nie's help, can really get Kuai Dafa convicted. Extortion is a serious crime."

Secondly, we can scare Kuai Dafa by sending a few people to his hometown to post missing person notices with a reward of 200,000. Kuai Dafa will genuinely believe it's some kind of wanted poster.

Sister Li nodded repeatedly, "Erxia's analysis makes sense, we can do it that way!"

I shook my phone: "Let's see if Kuai Dafa will harass us again."

Sending someone to Kuai Dafa's hometown would cost money, wouldn't it?

It would take several days to travel back and forth.

Moreover, even if you kill a scumbag like Kuai Dafa, it won't make much of a difference.

Back at the company in Hongxing Village, Lan Xin called.

"Ah Zu, we've finalized the deal with the Guofeng wood carving factory you mentioned." Lan Xin said proudly, "Two million one hundred thousand, we'll buy it all. Hurry up and raise the funds so we can sign the contract as soon as possible."

"Sister Xin, you're so capable, you're really awesome!"

I was very surprised: "How did you manage to negotiate down to 2.1 million? Did you use your charm to win over Lao Guo?"

We've talked to Guofeng Wood Carving Factory several times.

Guo was very firm; his bottom line was 2.6 million, not a penny less.

Lan Xin and Sister Lü actually managed to cut the price down by 500,000! That's incredibly impressive!

Lan Xin giggled: "You guessed it! I did use my beauty to win over Lao Guo. But I was too beautiful; just one glance from me and Lao Guo was stunned."

Holy crap, that laughter is so captivating.

"Sister Xin, whatever tricks you use, just get it. I keep my word; half of the 500,000 you get will be split between you."

I readily agreed: "Could you arrange for Lao Guo to meet this afternoon? We can discuss signing the contract."

Lan Xin had already taken care of everything, and said with a smile, "See you at 2 PM, handsome!"

"It's a deal, little beauty." I hung up the phone and quickly notified Ding Zhili.

Ding Zhili was out doing business when he rushed back with Chen Feng.

Chen Feng is now Ding Zhili's assistant and partner, and also my spy placed next to Ding Zhili.

In terms of business, I'm supporting Chen Feng, hoping he can become a great leader in the future.

Only Gao Jianfeng is destined to be a bodyguard and thug for the rest of his life.

He has a fierce appearance by nature, so he can't be a salesman or a manager.

The old squad leader could only handle logistics.

Ye Xiaotian seems quite promising, but we're still observing him and don't dare to give him too much responsibility.

We were having dinner when Ding Zhili came back.

Upon learning that they had acquired the Guofeng Woodcarving Factory, Ding Zhili was excited, but also said with difficulty, "Brother Zu, Sister Li, I'm having a bit of a problem right now... I don't have enough funds, so could you please cover the investment for the materials recycling company first..."

"Bullshit!" I glared. "Since it's a business partnership, everyone has to contribute capital. You're not going to put in any money, are you trying to get something for nothing?"

Sister Li rolled her eyes: "A material recycling company requires a huge investment, it's not just about buying the Guofeng Wood Carving Factory. We've done the math, it'll cost at least five million."

Li Jie and I can indeed come up with more than two million yuan to buy the Guofeng Wood Carving Factory; that's enough.

But the next step requires at least a million more to get it running.

The first is inventory, which can easily tie up funds.

Secondly, we also need to purchase some professional equipment and tools, which is a small expense.

Third, renovate the wood carving factory and add some supporting facilities.

The fourth point is to cultivate relationships and establish long-term partnerships with large companies, which may require paying a deposit.

There's also the working capital needed for receiving goods, and unpredictable expenses, etc.

Ding Zhili sighed, "Even if I beg and plead, I can only scrape together another two or three hundred thousand."

"Bosses from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, stop complaining about being poor," Sister Li said irritably.

"We agreed before that you'd contribute half the funds for the film and the liquid metal; now look at you, all the post-production costs are mine and Wang Yaozu's! I think you're just as cunning as Kuai Dafu!"

Zhongyao Company's investment is indeed as Sister Li said.

Initially, Ding Zhili contributed half of the start-up capital. However, as we continued to invest more, Sister Li and I kept adding to the investment, but Ding Zhili kept complaining about being poor and owing us money.

Fortunately, during this period, we gradually made a profit and the funds were recovered.

He still had over 200,000 taels of silver tied up, waiting for the right price to sell.

Ding Zhili sighed and smiled bitterly, talking about his difficulties incessantly, just like Xianglin's wife.

I said calmly, "The materials recycling company is a separate company from Zhongyao Trading Company, so it needs to be re-accounted for. I have no objection to you contributing 200,000; consider it as 200,000 shares to you."

Erxia chimed in, "We estimate an initial investment of four million. Ding Zhili will contribute two hundred thousand, which means... a five percent stake. That five percent won't generate much profit. Even if it doubles every year, it'll only be a profit of two hundred thousand annually."

Ah Xiang, who was listening in from the side, smiled and said, "Brother Zu, Sister Li, can I invest 50,000 yuan?"

I was surprised and turned to look at Ah Xiang.

Didn't they cry and shout last time that they had no money?