Chapter 1201: Dividing the Pie
Whether Sage Donghua was truly aware of this, he would have to claim ignorance on the surface. After all, the face of the Quanzhen Sect had to appear clean, without the slightest speck of dust.
It was always subordinates who had to take the blame for their superiors, never the other way around.
With that, there was no way to continue the discussion.
His Ziwei Hall colleagues had no choice but to appeal to old ties. “We really have no other way. The expenses in Jade Capital are huge, but our stipends are so small. We’re all strapped for cash. We know we can’t embezzle, so we had to find another way. After thinking it through, doing business seemed the most reliable, which is why we want to acquire some hall property. That way, it won’t be anyone’s private asset, and it won’t count as abusing power for personal gain. No one can fault that.”
Of course, this could not be taken at face value; it was merely a way to give both sides a step down. If it were truly so aboveboard, why would Sage Donghua not suggest it?
Qi Xuansu did not wish to offend these old colleagues too deeply. In his struggle with Wang Jiaohe, the Ziwei Hall had helped him. Even if he did not care about their past camaraderie, he still had to repay that favor.
The reason he brought up Sage Donghua was to lower their expectations—drive down the price and keep them from demanding too much. At the same time, Qi Xuansu was pointing out the risk. Without Sage Donghua’s endorsement, if Sage Donghua later denied it and chose to pursue the matter, Qi Xuansu would have nothing to say in his defense.
In the end, Qi Xuansu relented and took a step back, rather than standing firm to the bitter end.
He could give them what they wanted, but he was not obligated to do so. This way, Qi Xuansu lowered the price and even made his old colleagues owe him a favor.
Madam Qi had once said that one could not have only superiors and subordinates; one also needed allies. Alliances were built through interests, and interests came in two forms: power and money.
This suited Qi Xuansu’s name—half black, half white.
Those who could take part in restructuring the Nanyang United Trading Company would inevitably be the powerful and influential. Ordinary people had no right to reach in at all.