Chapter 30: Paying Yang Chen to Take on the Project

After taking a shower and stepping out of his room, Yang Chen was greeted by the six beauties, who had already changed into their "battle outfits"—black silk stockings. They bowed in unison.

"Good morning, Chairman Yang."

Yang Chen scanned the twelve long, silk-clad legs and nodded with great satisfaction.

"Come in. Please, start your performance," Yang Chen said with a smile.

Zhao Jing spoke up: "We discussed it and decided to dance for you all at once. We didn't want to take turns, as we didn't want to delay your rest."

Yang Chen nodded. "That's fine. Just keep it racy. Whether you dance one by one or together, I’m not too picky."

The six beauties nodded. Chen Xi started the music, once again using Girls' Generation’s "Gee" as the backing track. It seemed they had rehearsed; their positioning was deliberate, with Chen Xi and Huang Wei standing in the front, and the other four standing behind them in two groups, staggered so that Yang Chen could see them all.

"Aha, listen to me, my first story. Ah, ah, let’s go!"

The six beauties swayed to the music. With those long, silk-clad legs, it didn't really matter if they could dance well; just watching them move was enough. Back on Earth, Yang Chen could only dream of such scenes while scrolling through TikTok; he never imagined that one day, such a sight would be within his grasp.

To satisfy Yang Chen’s requirement for "raciness," their movements were exaggerated, filled with winks and alluring gestures.

When the song ended, Huang Wei, whom Yang Chen had specifically singled out, performed a solo. She was truly obedient, swaying her waist and hips provocatively toward Yang Chen. She placed a finger on her lips, winked at him, and brushed her arm lightly against the tip of his nose, purring, "Chairman Yang, was I racy enough?"

Yang Chen quickly turned his back. "Oh, oh, oh, that’s enough, that’s enough... Stop, stop. You’ve passed. I’m very satisfied."

The six beauties covered their mouths and giggled.

Huang Wei teased, "Can you be a bit more polite? When you talk to someone, you should look at them, not turn your back on them."

Yang Chen stammered, "Sorry, I’m not in a convenient position to face you right now. I have something to take care of. You should go back to sleep."

He hurried into his room, locked the door, and bolted for the bathroom.

The six beauties burst into laughter.

"See? I told you he was just a wage slave before. He’s never had a taste of the good life. We can easily wrap him around our fingers with just a little effort," Chen Lan said confidently.

"Hmph! I only gave a little effort and he couldn't handle it. Hehe..." Huang Wei said smugly.

Chen Xi, however, said, "I think you shouldn't be too happy too soon. With his current status and his absolute grasp on investments, it won't be long before many girls start throwing themselves at him. If his heart gets snatched away by someone else, he won't be interested in you anymore. If you keep acting like this then, he might yell at you or even kick you out—he won't keep you around just to watch you dance in black silk."

The other five beauties fell silent instantly. What Chen Xi said made sense; Yang Chen hadn't fully shed his humble habits yet, but once he adapted to his new status, he wouldn't be so easy to manipulate.

"Oh, why think so much? Future problems are for the future. Let’s just focus on the present. Come on, let's go to sleep," Zhao Jing said.

The six beauties returned to their rooms, though Chen Xi glanced back at Yang Chen’s door one last time.

After nine o'clock, Yang Chen brought the six beauties to the investment department of Sihai Group. Chen Chao had just finished a phone call and rushed over to report.

"Chairman Yang, I’ve contacted the heads of the brokerages we're familiar with. We can borrow a total of 1.6 billion shares, which is about 20% of the total equity of Changhui Group. Is that acceptable?" Chen Chao reported.

Yang Chen nodded. "Yes. Short the entire 1.6 billion shares until the delisting is confirmed, then buy to close the position. Remember, the goal of this operation isn't just to make money; I want Changhui Group to be delisted due to its share price falling below face value."

"Understood! Don't worry, Chairman Yang, we will keep a close eye on the market and report to you at any time," Chen Chao said.

As they spoke, the market began its pre-opening auction. Stimulated by the news that the 30-billion investment had turned into 24-billion in debt, Changhui Group’s stock price hit the daily limit at the opening, quoted at 2.56 yuan. Chen Chao immediately confirmed the short-selling of the 1.6 billion shares with the brokerages.

Once all the shorting operations were complete, Yang Chen and his team watched the market, waiting for news. Before long, Sun Changying called Yang Chen.

"Chairman Yang, you're playing quite a big game. You want to fight to the death with me, is that it?" Sun Changying said in a sinister tone.

Yang Chen remained calm, smiling as he replied, "Why? You've already tried to kill me, and you don't want me to fight back?"

"Do you really think you can succeed in shorting me? My Changhui Group's real estate projects have hit a few snags, but they aren't failing. Our automotive business remains the top distributor in the country. You think it's possible to short me into delisting? Forget about you, a mere scapegoat—even if Wang Sihai himself came back, he couldn't do it!" Sun Changying mocked.

"Whether I can or not isn't up to you. I believe in results. Let's judge the hero by the outcome; I won't waste my breath on trash talk before the results are in," Yang Chen retorted.

"Fine! Yang Chen, listen to me: Changhui Group will not be delisted, but you are f***ing dead!" Sun Changying said vindictively before hanging up.

Yang Chen gave a disdainful laugh and tossed his phone onto the table.

Chen Chao asked nervously, "Chairman Yang, was Sun Changying threatening you?"

"Don't worry about it. It’s just the barking of a desperate man," Yang Chen replied, not taking Sun Changying seriously at all.

Just then, the market showed an anomaly. Large sell orders appeared—consecutive orders of ten thousand shares each. In the blink of an eye, Changhui Group's limit-up was shattered, and the stock price plummeted, hitting the limit-down almost instantly.

Everyone in the Sihai investment department stared at the screen in shock. It turned out that Yang Chen didn't just make stocks go up when he bought; he could make them crash when he sold.

Chen Chao asked excitedly, "Chairman Yang, how did you know Changhui Group would hit the limit-down today?"

Yang Chen smiled. "I didn't know. I shorted Changhui because that rat Sun Changying tried to kill me. If I hadn't been quick on my feet when those twenty-plus guys surrounded me, I don't know what would have happened. It seems my luck is still good; I just finished setting up the short, and Changhui's price plummeted. It’ll be hard for them not to be delisted now."

"Chairman Yang, you’re bragging again. Do you really think you’re Bruce Lee?" Huang Wei questioned.

Chen Xi quickly interjected, "Xiao Wei, Chairman Yang isn't bragging. It's all true. When I took him for barbecue, the president of Changhui Auto's Jiangcheng branch, Zhang Lei, brought people there personally. I counted—there were 26 of them. I was terrified, but Chairman Yang was beyond anything I could have expected. He took down a dozen of them in a flash, and the rest ran away in terror."

"What? Really?" Huang Wei said, shocked. She looked at Yang Chen, smiling awkwardly. "Chairman Yang, I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone in reality could be that capable, so I thought you were bragging. Don't be mad at me. If you want, I'll do a solo dance for you tonight, okay?"

"Just say you want to dance for me, you scheming girl," Yang Chen teased.

Huang Wei stamped her feet in frustration. "It's not like that! I really just didn't expect you to be so strong."

At that moment, Yang Chen’s phone rang. It was Mayor Huang. Yang Chen signaled for everyone to be quiet and answered.

"Hello, Mayor Huang. What’s up?"

Huang Zhenhua replied quickly, "Two things. First, regarding the seven buildings you bought, I’ve negotiated with Poly and Vanke. They will buy them back at the recorded price, and the 1.4 billion will be in your account before the bank closes this afternoon. Second, you really need to reconsider the Yuangang Village project. The villagers have been sitting at our office entrance since yesterday afternoon."

Yang Chen refused immediately. "There’s nothing to reconsider! You should be able to see the environment around Yuangang Village. Can you develop residential housing there? Who would buy it? That project was just an excuse for Wang Sihai to line his own pockets. If I continue with it, I'll definitely take a huge loss. I’m already carrying 3 trillion in debt; you can't just keep dumping problems on me."

"I know, I know. I understand everything you're saying. But this is still a legacy issue from that old bastard Wang Sihai, and we have to do our best to remedy it. If you continue with the Yuangang Village project, all the surrounding land will be yours, and Sihai Group won't need to pay upfront. Once you develop the project and sell it to recoup funds, you can pay the land costs and relocation fees then. Also, regardless of what project you develop on those plots, the government will waive the urban construction tax and value-added tax. How is that?"

"I really can't handle you people. On one hand, you want me to solve Sihai Group's debt problem, and on the other, you keep giving me loans and projects—giving them away for free, or even subsidizing them, just to coax me into doing it. If this continues, when will I ever pay off that 3 trillion in debt?" Yang Chen complained.

Huang Zhenhua laughed heartily. "We see that you have the ability, so we’re trying to provide you with as many opportunities as possible. If you weren't capable, we wouldn't dare give things away for free or subsidize them."

To be honest, the policies Huang Zhenhua offered were tempting enough that, from a business perspective, there was no reason to refuse. However, Yang Chen was also helping the Jiangcheng municipal government solve a major headache, so he still needed to set his own terms.

"Fine. Since Mayor Huang is so sincere in helping me, I can't be unreasonable. But I have other conditions. First, lower the relocation compensation to the legal minimum. Second, ban Changhui Group from any projects in Jiangcheng."

Huang Zhenhua asked quickly, "The relocation standard is easy to handle; they just want to be relocated now, so they'll definitely accept the minimum. But why do you want to ban Changhui Group from doing business in Jiangcheng?"

"Sun Changying threatened to kill me, and I must fight back. I’ve already shorted Changhui Group. If you issue a ban to cooperate, their stock price will continue to fall. I don't need anyone to mediate; I'll solve this myself," Yang Chen replied.