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Chapter 472: An Argument Leads to Emotional Bonding

Chapter 472: Chapter 472: An Argument Leads to Emotional Bonding

It took Bai Shao’s family a few days to move most of their belongings from the old house to their new home.

As for Bai Xiangdong’s antiquities, his plan was to casually rent a warehouse to store them, as, according to him, his reputation in the industry was built on his face, not on his storefront.

However, Bai Shao and Zhu Qianying, together with Chen Jing, all felt that it might be better if he rented a storefront in the antique market on the outskirts of the city. Finally, under the "force" of these women, Bai Xiangdong agreed to find a shop location and open a small store to better handle his treasures.

Within a few days, the restaurant buzzed with activity, not just from customers with reservations, but also from Bai Shao’s family dropping by daily.

Little boy Zizi, who had been taken back by the Yan family’s elderly mistress, had not come back for a few days, leaving little girl Bai Xiaolu lonely. Hence, she asked about Zizi’s whereabouts almost every day.

Zhu Qianying and Bai Shao found it amusing, saying that the two children had argued their way into forming a bond.

Since little boy Zizi had returned to the Yan family, the Yan family’s Eldest Young Master, who used to come over under the pretext of bringing his son home and have a meal, had been absent for several days.

However, he would call Zhu Qianying around eleven o’clock every night to chat and encourage her to go to bed earlier.

After seeing this happen two or three times, Chen Jing couldn’t help but tease her daughter.

"With Zizi back at the Yan family, is the Young Master Yan suddenly unable to find an excuse to drop in for a meal?"

Zhu Qianying believed it wasn’t that he couldn’t find a reason to come, but rather he was too busy to spare any time.

After all, a person like the Eldest Young Master Yan could pretty much do anything he wanted, without needing any justification.

"Mom, he is thicker-skinned than a wall; he doesn’t need a reason to come and mooch off us."

Zhu Qianying’s suspicion was indeed correct.

The Young Master Yan was not absent because he had no excuse to drop by, but rather because he was very busy. He barely had time to eat at the Yan family, let alone come to the restaurant for a meal.

These days, he was mostly at Yanhuang Group’s office having takeout with Qin Xiu, or else eating out with clients.

The time he called Zhu Qianying was mostly during his break right after finishing his work.

That night was a Friday, exactly ten o’clock in the evening.

In Yanhuang Group’s top floor, a few senior executives left the conference room, carrying piles of files, looking exhausted.

The conference room was left with just the Young Master Yan and Qin Xiu.

The Young Master Yan sat there, a cigar in his hand, casually leaning back in his chair, the smoke from the cigar hanging in the air around him. Half-closed eyes showing he was lost in thought.

Qin Xiu hadn’t seen Young Master Yan look so serious in a while now. Seeing him so relaxed all the time ever since Zhu Qianying and her son returned, all the more so in recent days, made this seriousness unusual.

"Sir, is Wang Wenjie trying to wear us down?"

The conference that night was an urgent one, called at the last minute.

The reason was that one of the large-scale government infrastructure projects for which the Yanhuang Group was expected to place a winning bid had suddenly received a surprise bid from Yi Wang Real Estate.

Previously in L City, whenever it came to bidding for such large-scale government infrastructure projects, and Yanhuang participated, they were nearly always guaranteed a win.

Firstly, it was due to Yanhuang having an excellent team and quality system unparalleled by other companies in this area.

Secondly, Yanhuang’s bid was usually lower than that of other companies while ensuring excellent quality.

Lastly, Yanhuang Group never entered a battle unprepared. For projects they were eyeing, they would devote a significant amount of human and material resources to make thorough preparations.

But this time, Yi Wang Real Estate not only promised the same quality but also quoted a bidding price that was two percent lower than Yanhuang’s.

You should know, with such large-scale projects, costing more than a hundred billion, a two percent profit margin could easily represent several billion yuan.

Even for a large conglomerate like Yanhuang, the decision requires careful consideration and can’t be made solely based on pride or competitive bidding. In the end, even if the project were won, there might be no profit to gain for the Group.

Under the current circumstances, if Yanhuang insists on winning this project, the main beneficiaries would be the government and Yi Wang Real Estate, who maliciously lowered the bidding price.

"From what I can see, Wang Wenjie never intended to fight for this project. He just wants us to earn less and in the process, suppress and annoy us. This is just a pre-engagement gift for Yi Wei!"

Although the matter came all of a sudden, the Young Master Yan saw it very clearly.

As Qin Xiu rubbed his temple, even this capable special assistant couldn’t help but feel a headache.

"So, what’s the next step?"

The crux of the two-hour meeting came down to two options.

To proceed or to give up!

If they proceed, Yanhuang Group would be looking at minimal profit, at best, and at worst, losses from this heavily invested project.

If they give up, the Yanhuang Group, previously hailed as the unprecedented leader in such projects, would be dethroned by the new entity, Yi Wang Real Estate. This would be a tough pill for anyone to swallow!

"Give up!"

Young Master Yan’s words rang out in the quiet night, shocking Qin Xiu.

"What?" Qin Xiu looked at Young Master Yan in disbelief.

Young Master Yan sat up straight, snuffed out the cigar he’d only taken a few puffs out of in the ashtray.

"Yes, we’re giving up!"

The look on Young Master Yan’s face was as calm and composed as usual, seemingly unaffected by the worries etched on Qin Xiu’s and the other executives’ faces.

"Sir, are we really admitting defeat?"

Qin Xiu couldn’t believe that the determined master he knew would willingly give up and concede to a newcomer.

"Can you really swallow this?" Qin Xiu was clearly starting to lose his patience.

After all, in order to secure this project, several departments in the company had been working overtime for two or three months to come up with this proposal. Now, just saying ’give up’, disregarding whether the Young Master Yan’s face was slapped or not, the loss of all this hard work was unacceptable.

Qin Xiu’s questioning and visible resistance seemed to disturb Young Master Yan.

"We are businessmen. Only if we lose profit, it is a real loss! What kind of loss is a blow to pride?"

Indeed, considering the influence and prestige of the Yanhuang Group in L City and even the whole country, even if they withdraw from this project, the impact would not be too significant. The key was whether Young Master Yan, as Wang Wenjie’s imagined rival, could swallow this pride.