Chapter 202 Figure It Out Yourself [1 update, request for monthly pass]
"If you had offended someone else, I would have conveyed the message on your behalf, but you've offended him, and I'm not going to help," Cheng Yazhou ultimately refused coldly and then hung up the phone.
Ge Dongxu had shown him great kindness, and he knew that Ge Dongxu was a man of loyalty. Once he asked for a favor, Ge Dongxu would certainly oblige to save face, but it was precisely for this reason that he couldn't afford to ask casually.
Especially not for someone like Cao Dapeng. He wasn't worth it.
"Fuck! Cheng Yazhou, you're fucking inhuman!" Seeing Cheng Yazhou hang up on him, Cao Dapeng swore furiously, stomping his feet in anger.
After cursing for a while, however, Cao Dapeng completely lost his temper. What replaced it was indescribable panic.
Because if Qinghe Herbal Tea Beverage Factory decided to terminate their cooperation with him, his factory might very well go under!
"No, I can't just sit here and wait for doom. I must think of a solution. Right, try finding Zuo Le. He's a county committee leader and the head of the Public Security Bureau. If he's willing to mediate and pull some strings, perhaps there could be a turnaround." After panicking for a while, Cao Dapeng eventually calmed down and remembered that he had some distant kinship with Zuo Le, which resulted in some personal connections, so he hurriedly made a call to Zuo Le.
"Director Zuo, hello," Cao Dapeng greeted respectfully as soon as the call connected.
"You... are President Cao," Zuo Le sounded slightly surprised at first, but quickly realized who was calling.
"Yes, yes, it's me, Cao Dapeng," Cao Dapeng hurriedly confirmed.
"What brings a big boss like you to call me?" Zuo Le asked with a chuckle.
"I do have a favor to ask of you," Cao Dapeng said.
"What is it? Just tell me. As long as it's within the rules, I'll certainly help if I can," Zuo Le stated.
"You know I've been doing business with Qinghe Herbal Tea Beverage Factory for over a year. Not too long ago, you, Cheng Yazhou, Wu Qianjin from Qinghe Herbal Tea, and I even had dinner together. At that time, I specially mentioned adding a production line, and both Cheng Yazhou and Wu Qianjin nodded and agreed. Do you remember that?" Cao Dapeng asked.
"I have an impression. I think that's a good thing!" Zuo Le responded.
"Yes, I also thought it was a good thing. So, I went ahead and added a production line. But now Cheng Yazhou says he wants to discontinue our cooperation, so I want to ask you to say a word or two on my behalf. What he's doing is pushing me towards a dead end!" Cao Dapeng said.
"Really? Don't panic now. As far as I know, President Cheng isn't the type to do that without good reason. Did something happen between you two?" Zuo Le frowned upon hearing this and then inquired.
"There was a small misunderstanding. On the way back to Linzhou from Beijing by plane a while ago, I had a bit of a conflict with the major shareholder of Qinghe Herbal Tea Beverage Factory on the plane. I didn't know he was the major shareholder at the time, so I might have been a bit rude. But 'not knowing is not a crime,' right? You should give me…" Cao Dapeng hesitated and then said.
"The major shareholder? Are you talking about Ge Dongxu?" Zuo Le's voice suddenly rose upon hearing this.
"Correct, correct. I didn't expect you to know Ge Dongxu, Director Zuo. That makes things much easier," Cao Dapeng, surprised to learn that Zuo Le knew Ge Dongxu, said with delight.
"Easier my ass? You offended Ge Dongxu and now you want me to stick my neck out for you? I'm already being nice by not cussing you out. Go figure it out yourself!" As soon as Zuo Le confirmed it was Ge Dongxu, he immediately cursed.
Having said that, Zuo Le hung up the phone directly.
It was a joke. Ge Dongxu was his lifesaver, having cured his infertility, allowing him to have descendants in the future. With Cao Dapeng having offended Ge Dongxu, how could he possibly act as a mediator on his behalf?
Zuo Le had just hung up the phone when Cao Dapeng's face froze in shock, his heart rapidly filling with panic.
This time, he had come to fully understand that this high school student, Ge Dongxu, was not only wealthy but also had significant influence!
Swept by fear, Cao Dapeng thought of someone—Yuan Li.
So Cao Dapeng instantly rushed to the Industrial and Commercial Bank in a frenzied hurry.
...
"President Yuan, I apologize to you, a sincere apology! Please, be magnanimous and let me off this once. If you don't show mercy, I really might jump off a building!" In the branch president's office, Cao Dapeng, a grown man, was bowing and wiping away tears in front of Yuan Li, without any of the arrogance and flippancy he had shown on the plane.
Watching Cao Dapeng grovel before her like a fawning dog, Yuan Li felt incredibly conflicted.
Without Ge Dongxu, this scene would never have happened; even on the plane, she would merely have suffered Cao Dapeng's advances and his demeaning disrespect in vain.
But now! All because of Ge Dongxu, Cao Dapeng, this wealthy boss, was pathetically coming to her to bow and apologize, begging her to show leniency.
"I will not interfere with Dongxu's decisions; pleading with me is useless," Yuan Li said coolly, though her feelings were complex, she wasn't about to play the good Samaritan right away.
Having reached her current position, she had seen her fair share of characters and understood very well the mentality of people like Cao Dapeng. Pressured by circumstances, he might be humble and even subservient now, but as soon as he regained his footing and accumulated some capital, he would likely become haughty and domineering again.
"So you mean there's no problem on your end, and as long as Ge Dongxu is willing to let it go, then it's okay, right? Thank you! Thank you so much!" Cao Dapeng, ever the sly one, misconstrued her words deliberately and kept bowing his thanks.
Yuan Li watched Cao Dapeng repeatedly bow in thanks. Her lips parted as if to speak, but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to say anything too cold-hearted.
Seeing her reaction, Cao Dapeng secretly rejoiced and bowed several more times before hastily leaving Yuan Li's office, giving her no chance to change her mind.
After leaving Yuan Li's office, Cao Dapeng drove straight to Changxi No. 1 Middle School.
Upon reaching Changxi No. 1 Middle School, Cao Dapeng did not dare to barge in and find Ge Dongxu.
Ge Dongxu, as the big boss of Qinghe Herbal Tea Beverage Factory, was doubtlessly the richest man in Changxi County. However, he kept a low profile there; even Cao Dapeng, who worked with Qinghe Herbal Tea as a packaging factory owner, had been unaware of his true status, which made it clear that Ge Dongxu did not want his identity as the big boss to be public knowledge.
Cao Dapeng was aware of this much.
After evening self-study was over, Ge Dongxu, along with Du Yifan and Cheng Yazhou, were laughing and pushing their bikes out of the school gate, about to mount them when they saw Cao Dapeng standing near the gate, wringing his hands.
When Ge Dongxu saw Cao Dapeng, Cao Dapeng also spotted him and quickly walked over to him, smiling and slightly bowing.
He had no choice, for this high school student, once insignificant in his eyes, now held the key to his financial future. If this student didn't relent, his life's struggles could all go down the drain.
ps: Continuing with five updates today. The competition for monthly tickets is fierce; many authors on Qidian have issued red packet monthly tickets, forcing me to do the same. Luckily, it's the Qidian readers who benefit, so the giving feels joyful, like a New Year's gift. Still, I humbly ask my readers to please help by casting your monthly votes for me. Monthly ticket rankings are very important for a new book. I haven't fought hard for rankings with my previous books, but I truly want to compete this time, so please grant me this favor.