Chapter 112: Polite Refusal

In the evening, the plane landed at Huazhou Airport in Zone One, the capital and political-cultural center of Zone One.

Everyone disembarked and left the airport through the VIP passage. As soon as they reached the entrance, four very luxurious business sedans pulled up.

A Chinese man in a suit, about thirty years old, smiled and greeted Yu Jinrong, receiving everyone into the cars.

Su Tianyu observed that the drivers in all four cars were wearing formal attire, had proper features, and spoke politely. From this detail alone, it seemed the Yu family had quite a bit of face in Zone One.

The four cars left the airport and arrived at the Huadu commercial district around 7 PM, reaching the Yu family's private apartment there.

This commercial district was adjacent to the District Council and Huadu's most famous landmark buildings. It could be said that land here was worth its weight in gold, yet the Yu family's apartment here had two floors, nearly five hundred square meters.

What was called hidden wealth? This was hidden wealth!

If you only looked at Yu Jinrong's position, at most he was just a bureau director-level official with a not particularly high monthly salary and no absolute power in the Management Council. In terms of wealth, he seemed to have less money than even Lu Feng.

But only after Su Tianyu and Bai Hongbo truly came to Zone One with them did they discover that the big leg they were holding onto was quite powerful indeed.

Since the Yu family had a private apartment, everyone didn't need to stay in hotels. They all returned to their rooms to put away their luggage, had dinner with Yu Jinrong in the evening, and then retired early.

......

Early the next morning, An Qiqi and Wawa went out around eight o'clock with a dedicated driver picking them up, while Su Tianyu and the others finished breakfast and waited together for the person Yu Jinrong was meeting.

The person was a man in his forties with a solid build and crew cut, wearing dress pants and a white short-sleeved T-shirt. He looked very energetic, not at all like a middle-aged man.

During the conversation, Su Tianyu learned that he was Yu Jinrong's younger brother, named Yu Jinhang, who seemed to work in the security department of the Chinese army and was also a military man.

Yu Jinhang sat on the sofa and said softly: "Big Brother, what made you want to establish an association again?"

"Ah, this is the current situation in Dragon City, we're just going with the flow," Yu Jinrong replied while smoking. "Did you contact Red Rock?"

"I tentatively mentioned it, but couldn't discuss details over the phone. I've arranged lunch with Old Nei from Red Rock, shall we talk together?"

"Good, let's talk," Yu Jinrong nodded. "Let's feel out the path first, resolve the funding issue as soon as possible."

"Mm!"

The brothers' conversation was very concise, settling the main business in just a few words. The rest of the time was spent on casual chat about Yu Jinrong's recent situation in Dragon City.

......

At 11:30 AM, in a restaurant in the business tower next to Zone One's District Council, Yu Jinrong brought his son, Su Tianyu, Bai Hongbo and others into a private room.

"Oh my, Old Yu, long time no see!" A plump, balding middle-aged man stood up to welcome them, extending his hand.

"Chairman Nei, Happy New Year!" Yu Jinrong said with a smile.

"Happy, happy, hehe! Come, everyone sit!" the balding middle-aged man politely beckoned to everyone.

In this kind of setting, Su Tianyu and the others couldn't contribute much to the conversation, only sitting obediently to the side watching the big shots perform.

Actually, for this business trip to raise money, whether Su Tianyu and Bai Hongbo came along or not wouldn't affect the outcome. So Dog Six himself understood that Yu Jinrong bringing them along this time was firstly to let them see the world, and secondly to demonstrate his own power to the Su, Bai, and Kong families.

In the room, after everyone was seated, Chairman Nei's secretary began busily pouring drinks and attending to the drinking party.

During the meal, setting aside the exchanging of pleasantries and mutual probing, after everyone had drunk a few cups, Chairman Nei actively brought up the topic: "Old Yu, I hear you came back this time to find money?"

"Yes, looking to raise some investment!" Yu Jinrong nodded. "That's why I've come to ask you, the God of Wealth."

"Hehe!" Chairman Nei smiled. "Last year when you called me God of Wealth, I could still agree, but this year it really won't work. Several projects our Red Rock Group invested in all went down the drain due to Zone One's independence policies. It's very difficult for me too."

Hearing this, Yu Jinhang immediately sneered: "We haven't even talked money yet, and you're already closing the door on us?"

"No, no!" Chairman Nei waved his hand and looked at Yu Jinrong with a smile, asking: "What kind of project do you want to raise investment for?"

"I want to establish an association in Dragon City, a workers' group," Yu Jinrong replied.

"Political investment?" Chairman Nei was somewhat surprised.

"I suppose so. Recently because of that bit of business at sea, we've had very unpleasant dealings with the Dragon City dock gang. They're forcing us into a dead end," Yu Jinrong took a sip of water and replied with his hands in his sleeves. "Was a bit hasty before, but thinking about it now, still need to stay steady and do things properly."

Chairman Nei paused: "How much money do you want to raise?"

"Establishing an association is a long-term investment, one batch of money won't solve the problem, so the amount will definitely be quite large," Yu Jinrong replied frankly. "However, with investment, it's indeed difficult to see returns in the early stages."

"No specific projects?" Chairman Nei asked with furrowed brows.

"Specific projects... currently just the sanitation sector companies and the sea contraband business, but later we can gradually expand through the association. But right now we need to build the framework first," Yu Jinrong replied without leaving any gaps.

After several seconds of silence, Chairman Nei said with a light smile: "Old Yu! At your age, why must you establish an association? To say something unpleasant, this matter might not be accomplished in one generation, and it's very easy to touch Zone One upper levels' sensitive nerves due to political stance and other issues."

Yu Jinrong fell silent.

"If you really must do something, can't we use money to do some specific projects? Real estate, Dragon City's future new district expansion, medicine, foreign trade - these all make good money," Chairman Nei still said with a smile. "Why bother with an association?"

"Hehe," Yu Jinrong grinned.

"An initial investment of one or two thousand isn't much, but this project of yours... follow-up investment needs to keep up, yet there won't be any visible benefits in the short term," Chairman Nei replied somewhat awkwardly. "You tell me, if I report this kind of project to those above, it would probably be quite embarrassing. Hehe, we're a business group after all, we still need to see profits, Old Yu!"

"Alright, then let's just drink!" Yu Jinrong had already understood the other's thoughts, so he didn't want to make things difficult for him.

Chairman Nei raised his wine glass, suddenly paused and said: "Ah, right, if you want to establish an association, I can actually introduce someone to you who might be willing to invest in this, and doesn't lack money."

"Who?" Yu Jinrong asked, holding his wine glass.

"Sanfeng Capital's Shen Fei, Chairman Shen!" Chairman Nei said with a smile. "He's in a state of throwing money out now, especially interested in Dragon City."

Yu Jinrong was stunned for a while: "Shen Fei? This name sounds familiar!"

"In '43 or '44, he actually went to Dragon City, but I heard because of some matters, he didn't put down roots there. Later he came to Zone One before establishing the Sanfeng Group, starting with foreign trade," Chairman Nei said softly. "In recent years, he's quite famous in our circle, but he keeps a low profile. Without reaching a certain level, you can't get in touch with him."

Yu Jinrong: "Ah, now that you say that, I know who he is."

......

At the Su family home.

Su Tianbei sat in the pavilion and asked Third Sister with furrowed brows: "Where do you think Daxiong could have run to?! The Police Bureau has so many people but just can't catch him! Isn't that strange?"

Third Sister was also puzzled: "Yes, his family doesn't care about him, and no one's helping him, where could he run to?"

Su Tianbei was silent for a while: "Ah, maybe it's because he's different from normal people, his circle is too small, he's just struggling alone, that's why he's hard to catch."

"Ah, now that you say that I remember!" Third Sister suddenly shouted loudly: "Ah, it really might be possible...!"

"What might be possible?" Su Tianbei asked.