Chapter 244 - 244 Being Your Own Boss
"Don't listen to his nonsense." Ye Qing glanced helplessly at Zhao Chengshuang and said, "I'm just helping her with her work, or maybe she thinks Shenchuan City is too far away and doesn't want to manage these places."
"Give me a break, who would give up two hundred million for eighty million!" Li Lianshan exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Over two hundred million, if she's not into you, then she's got some other plan. Otherwise, who would give away two billion to someone else?"
Ye Qing nodded; he too suspected that Huangfu Ziyu had some ulterior motive. But he really couldn't figure out what Huangfu Ziyu wanted to do. Moreover, if she was willing to use two billion for it, it was definitely not a simple matter. Even though he had two billion in hand, Ye Qing was somewhat worried; the woman Huangfu Ziyu was too terrifying, and he had to be cautious.
"Who cares what her motives are, having control of twelve places, that's a done deal." Zhao Chengshuang said, "Let's not talk about that nonsense. Old Li, calculate the total worth of these twelve places. We have to sell a few to pay off the sixty-four million owed to Poisonous Mantis—there's only a day left for that."
Li Lianshan said, "Among these twelve places, if it was before, any three of them could fetch more than sixty million. But you need the money urgently, and these are also the Fierce Tiger Gang's properties. Even though they're in your name now, no one can guarantee that the Fierce Tiger Gang won't have designs on these places in the future.
So, if you want to sell now, I'm afraid the price won't be very good, probably have to sell five of them to make up the sixty-four million."
"Five places, that's even less than I estimated, which is good," Zhao Chengshuang nodded and said to Ye Qing, "Ye Zi, take a look for yourself and decide which five you want to sell."
Ye Qing thought for a moment, took out the contract for the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena first, and said, "Let's sell the Dog Field first."
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Are you out of your mind!"
Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan exclaimed in shock, both reaching out to stop Ye Qing.
"Ye Zi, let me tell you, of these twelve places, the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena is the most valuable!" Zhao Chengshuang urged, "Shenchuan City doesn't know how many people are eyeing the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena. Under the control of Tiger King, it has an annual income of over a billion and is the most lucrative place for the Fierce Tiger Gang.
Back when Tiger King was alive, you wouldn't believe how many people had their sights set on the Dog Field. You've finally got it in your hands, and now you want to sell it; what are you thinking?"
Li Lianshan followed, "Yeah, the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena, in normal times, could be worth at least one hundred million. Not to mention anything else, just the plot of land where the Dog Field is located is probably the closest large open space to the city center in Shenchuan City. That land alone is worth a fortune.
Plus, the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena is arguably the largest Underground Boxing Ring and fighting dog arena in the entire Eastern Province, accommodating nearly thirty percent of the province's boxing and dog fighting revenue. Not just Shenchuan City, even people from other cities are covetous of the Dog Field.
Normally, if you wanted to sell, not to mention one hundred million, even if you put a price tag of one hundred and fifty million, there would still be many people wanting to snatch it. Right now, during this chaos, people will definitely drive down the price; you'd be losing at least half the income. Selling it now really isn't worth it!"
Zhao Chengshuang said, "Sell what? We should keep the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena for ourselves; it will definitely make a lot of money in the future. Ye Zi, if you want to run an orphanage, you need a steady stream of income. If you manage the Dog Field yourself, you'll have enough income not just to run an orphanage, but to do whatever you want!"
Li Lianshan nodded, "Running it yourself isn't a bad idea either, since Tiger King has already made a name for the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena. Now, whoever takes over is just going to make money; there's nothing else to worry about."
Listening to the two of them, Ye Qing just shook his head and said, "No matter how much money it can make, it's still earned through gambling; it's dirty money!"
"Come on, you're spouting that nonsense again. I just don't get it. What's 'clean money,' and what's 'dirty money'!" Zhao Chengshuang waved his hand and said, "Do you really think those so-called entrepreneurs and big bosses out there are so clean? Among those who have become wealthy to this degree, which one doesn't have some dirt on their ass? Clean money?
The ones with 'clean money' are all freaking poor. I'll tell you, if you want to make money, you've got to turn a blind eye to many things. With your mindset, don't even dream of getting rich!"
Ye Qing said, "What others do is their business; I can't do these things."
"You... you're really so stubborn!" Zhao Chengshuang was completely at a loss for words, and said, "Old Li, you talk to him, his blockheadedness is driving me insane!"
Li Lianshan said, "Everyone has their ambition, and everyone has their own way of living; we can't say that others' choices are wrong. Ye Zi is a qualified military man, with his conduct, if it were the war years, he would definitely be a Great General known for strict military discipline. His personality is very suited to military life.
But in society, this type of personality is doomed to be disadvantaged."
After finishing his thoughts, Li Lianshan looked at Ye Qing and said, "But think about it, if you don't acknowledge these ugly things happening in the world, does it mean they won't happen? If you don't undertake them, does it mean others won't?
The Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena in your hands is business, and selling it to others is still business; the only difference is whether you make money or someone else does."
```
Ye Qing remained silent, unable to accept the situation. He knew Li Lianshan was right, yet he was gradually adapting to society, slowly changing his own personality. However, when it came to delving into the underworld, he really couldn't accept it, nor could he get over that mental barrier.
Transitioning from a soldier to a figure controlling gambling venues involved in the underworld was not an easy task.
"Forget it, since Ye Zi doesn't want to do this, we can't force him," Li Lianshan said. "However, I have an idea, Ye Zi, that you might want to consider."
"What's your idea?" asked Ye Qing.
Li Lianshan said, "I'm quite interested in getting involved in the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena business. How about this, I put in thirty million to buy a 20% share of the dogfight arena. At the same time, I can help you manage it, and we split the profits according to our shares. What do you think?"
In normal times, thirty million for a 20% share would definitely be insufficient, but at this moment, the price was actually a bit high. Li Lianshan offered this price out of respect for Ye Qing, but he knew that as long as he could clear up the factions at the dogfight arena, his thirty million investment was guaranteed to make a profit.
"Hey, that's a good idea!" Zhao Chengshuang clapped his hands and said, "After all, no matter who we sell to, the business must go on. Might as well give Old Li a share and let him manage the venue. Getting a cut of the profits every year would be the most suitable arrangement."
After thinking it over, Ye Qing said, "Give me fifty million, and I'll give you a 60% share."
A 60% share meant letting Li Lianshan be in charge of the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena, with Ye Qing being merely a shareholder. Ye Qing still did not want to control such a venue, which was why he offered the majority share to Li Lianshan.
Li Lianshan and Zhao Chengshuang exchanged glances, their faces showing a hint of helplessness. They could tell that not selling the dogfight arena outright was the biggest concession Ye Qing was willing to make.
"Okay then, fifty million. I'll bring it to you before noon tomorrow," Li Lianshan paused, then continued, "The remaining fourteen million only require selling two less profitable venues. Which two do you want to sell?"
Ye Qing chose a nightclub and a disco, and this time Li Lianshan and Zhao Chengshuang had no objections. Of the twelve venues, aside from the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena, the other venues were more or less the same.
"We cannot take normal measures if we want to find buyers by tomorrow," Li Lianshan said. "These two venues are currently occupied by Li Chengxing of Fu Bang and Hou Qingyi of Xicheng District. Both of them are tough characters to deal with. Convincing them to give up these venues in a short time is a bit difficult.
However, we can try selling these venues to them, gather the money first, and that's enough."
"That's easy!" said Zhao Chengshuang. "They are just occupying the venues without management rights. This situation will always be a hidden danger. They definitely want to completely take over the venues. Now we have the management rights, and as long as we negotiate the right price, it will be fine. Hou Qingyi's side is easy to deal with, I can talk to him.
However, Li Chengxing of Fu Bang might be troublesome."
"Fu Bang has always been at odds with the Fierce Tiger Gang, both being among the three major gangs of Shenchuan City, with deep-seated grievances between them. This time, with the fall of the Fierce Tiger Gang, Fu Bang took over the most venues. Of the twelve venues in Ye Zi's hands, five were taken by Fu Bang.
If we go to negotiate with them now, they'll definitely try to drive the price down, which would affect the selling price of the other four venues in the future," Li Lianshan paused and said in a low voice, "Moreover, given Li Chengxing's nature, he might even refuse to pay the money. Ye Zi, when negotiating with this person, you need to be mentally prepared!"
Ye Qing nodded and said, "Okay!"
Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan looked at each other, neither knowing what Ye Qing's affirmation really meant. Had he really prepared himself mentally, or was he prepared for something else?
After regrouping, Li Lianshan, together with Ye Qing, Zhao Chengshuang, and Black Bear, set out to negotiate the pricing of the two venues.
The first stop was Hou Qingyi's venue. Not from a gang background, Hou Qingyi, like Li Lianshan, was a prominent local Eldest Brother. He was from Xicheng District and had many dealings with Zhao Chengshuang, who was becoming increasingly influential in the police force. Naturally, Hou wanted to establish a good relationship with Zhao Chengshuang.
It was easier to negotiate the price with Hou since Zhao was the one dealing with him. Having successfully arranged this deal first made it slightly easier to negotiate with Li Chengxing, as he couldn't set his price too low after a precedent had been set.
On the other hand, at Pi Junchao's venue, he sat on the couch listening to reports from two of his subordinates. Learning about the two venues Ye Qing and his group planned to visit, a cold smirk flashed across Pi Junchao's face as he said, "It seems that what the old fox told me wasn't wrong!"
```