A life of success begins with being a landlord.

The office door upstairs was open, and General Manager Wu was looking at some reports.

Hearing footsteps, General Manager Wu put down the report, stood up, and extended a warm hand: "Mr. Wang, hello."

"Hello, Mr. Wu." I quickly shook hands and nodded, then introduced Ding Zhili to Mr. Wu: "This is my friend, Xiao Ding."

"Hello there."

General Manager Wu nodded and gestured for us to sit down.

The pretty and sensible secretary poured us tea and then left, closing the door behind her.

Mr. Wu was very straightforward and asked me, "Mr. Wang, what brings you here? Just say it. I have a meeting at three o'clock, but we can talk for half an hour now."

I didn't stand on ceremony: "Mr. Wu, my friend Xiao Ding and I have started a business together, and we'd like to discuss the business with you."

"Business is good, that's great." General Manager Wu asked with interest, "What kind of business?"

"It's... we recycle fixing fluid from printing plants and extract silver from it," I said.

"And there are also waste film and film rolls from printing plants," Ding Zhili added.

"Uh, you...do this kind of business?" Boss Wu's smile froze.

My heart sank; I had a bad feeling.

I reckon Kuai Dafu has an agreement with Sihai Printing Factory. This is a big deal that I can't handle!

Ding Zhili asked cautiously, "President Wu, is it... inconvenient?"

"No, no." General Wu shook his head and smiled at me:

"It's just collecting scrap and waste, right? This stuff isn't worth much, I'll just give it to you. You're making a big deal out of it, I thought it was some big business."

I was overjoyed: "Mr. Wu, are you willing to sell us your wastewater and used film rolls?"

General Manager Wu shook his head with a wry smile: "It was just scrap to begin with, what use would I have for it? It's worthless, you can take it."

Damn it, Ding Zhili and I considered this business incredibly important. We were scheming against each other, each hiding our own secrets, and went back and forth in negotiations for several rounds. We were also worried that Boss Wu wouldn't give us face and that we wouldn't be able to close this big deal.

Unexpectedly, when we got to General Wu's place, we were just junk collectors!

They wouldn't even waste a glance at something so small!

"I'll call Director Yu from the rinsing workshop and talk to him," General Manager Wu shouted towards the door. "Xiao Li, call Director Yu here."

The phone was right in front of him, but he didn't make the call; his secretary was there.

The boss is awesome!

When there's work to be done, the secretary does it; when there's nothing to do, well...

I thanked General Manager Wu again and then asked, "General Manager Wu, are you familiar with any of the other printing factories? Could you introduce them to some?"

"I'd forgotten all about it if you hadn't mentioned it." General Wu smiled and quickly wrote two lines:

"The bosses of Sanjiang Printing Factory and Wuhu Printing Factory are friends, and we have business dealings with each other. Here are their contact numbers. When you contact them, just say you were introduced by General Manager Wu of Sihai. I'll make a call later and let them know on your behalf."

"Thank you for your kindness, General Wu!" I took the note, wishing I could give General Wu a kiss, or something else!

The Three Rivers, Four Seas, and Five Lakes were originally Kuai Dafa's business.

By taking down three companies in one go, I completed half of my plan to undermine their foundation.

With half the country in hand, the great cause is about to be accomplished, and hegemony is within reach!

General Manager Wu looked at me and laughed, "I can't help with the other factories, but you can ask Brother Xiong for help; it's a small matter."

As they were talking, Director Yu came up.

General Manager Wu gave us a brief introduction and instructed Director Yu: "From now on, all the wastewater and waste film from the washing workshop should be given to Mr. Wang."

Director Yu hesitated, then said, "Okay, it's just..."

Ding Zhili immediately replied, "Director Yu, don't worry, we'll pay whatever price others offer."

General Manager Wu suddenly frowned slightly and looked at Director Yu: "Old Yu, who did we sell our wastewater and used film to? How much did we get each month? Were we handing them over to the finance department?"

"Oh, it's not fixed. Several people come to collect it, and the price isn't high..." Director Yu stammered.

"Recently, a fat guy has been collecting the money. It's a few hundred or a thousand a month. I've kept track of it and plan to hand it all over to the finance department."

I immediately understood that Director Yu had embezzled most of the wastewater and waste materials from the printing plant!

Ding Zhili, being a shrewd person, immediately nodded: "Director Yu is right. The market has been bad lately, and the profit margin in this industry is very thin. The price of silver is very low, due to the impact of the financial crisis."

Upon hearing this, Director Yu visibly breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a grateful glance.

"Is there a financial crisis? How come I didn't know?"

General Manager Wu glared at Director Yu and reiterated, "From now on, all the waste materials will be handed over to Mr. Wang; he's my friend."

Director Yu nodded: "Understood, General Manager Wu."

General Manager Wu stood up and shook hands with me: "I have to go to a meeting now, it's still in the development zone. I'll have Director Yu take you to visit the washing workshop. Stay for dinner tonight, it'll be my treat."

"General Wu, you're busy!" I bowed and scraped, like a traitor serving the Imperial Army.

General Wu left with a smile.

Director Yu breathed a sigh of relief and invited us to visit the rinsing workshop.

As soon as I entered, I smelled that familiar wastewater odor, sour and foul.

But at this moment, I felt as if I had entered a room filled with orchids, and the sour smell was refreshing and intoxicating.

It's all money, all my money!

The workshop wasn't big; you could see it all at a glance.

Ding Zhili slipped two packs of cigarettes to Director Yu and said with a smile, "Director Yu, your factory is very large and your business is good. Let's sign a contract for long-term cooperation."

Director Yu chuckled coldly: "Sure, but let's be clear. Although you're friends of General Manager Wu, I can't guarantee the output, nor can I guarantee how much silver you can extract from the wastewater. As you know, the saturation concentration of the wastewater is beyond my control."

The local official is more powerful than the distant one; this bastard has started to ask for a price.

He has the power to set prices. For example, he can add some clean water to the wastewater to dilute the concentration, and then we won't make any money if we take it back.

Ding Zhili said with a smile, "Director Yu, don't worry, I'll give you whatever others give me. I'll never treat my friends unfairly."

I looked at Director Yu and began to threaten him: "Director Yu, we understand the ins and outs of this. I know what you're doing by telling me to be careful. If the price is too high, I'll talk to General Manager Wu again."

That bastard, Ding Zhili covered for him just now.

If Ding Zhili were to turn a blind eye, saying that such a large factory generates at least tens of thousands of yuan worth of waste every month, then Director Yu would have to cough up money and go home to shovel manure.

Director Yu smiled and nodded: "Alright, let's sign the contract. I'll draft one for you to take a look at. Just say it's the contract you brought."

Ding Zhili looked at me and nodded in agreement.

The contract is for three years, stipulating a monthly purchase price of 1,100 to 1,500 yuan for wastewater, with flexible pricing based on the volume of business. Waste rubber rolls are sold by weight at the price of plastic.

However, we also have a verbal agreement with Director Yu, which is to give him twice the wastewater purchase price every month, about three thousand yuan.

After finalizing the contract, we left the washing workshop and prepared to go out.

As I passed by an office on the first floor, I saw Liu Haomei through the large glass window.

She stood behind the computer desk, bending over to look at the computer.

A middle-aged woman sat next to her, pointing at the computer screen, seemingly training Liu Haomei.

I stopped and looked around for a moment, smiled, and walked towards the gate.

Liu Haomei didn't see me, and I didn't bother her.

As soon as we stepped out the door, Ding Zhili hugged me: "Brother Zu, you're amazing at negotiating business! You nailed it, and it was a breeze!"

"Hey, what are you doing!"

I shoved Ding Zhili aside and rolled my eyes at him: "Don't ever mention business or the financial crisis again. It's so embarrassing. We're just junk collectors!"