Chapter 78: The Rough Man

Ye Chen charged straight to Li Ruo’s office, so quickly that the secretaries at the door couldn’t stop him. He pushed the door open without hesitation. Li Ruo was at her desk, calmly working. When she saw Ye Chen barge in so rudely, she immediately frowned, her gaze landing on the task document in his hand, and she instantly understood what was going on.

“You really are quite rude, aren’t you?” A cold smile flickered across Li Ruo’s face.

“President Li, I… I couldn’t stop Supervisor Ye!” the young secretary admitted awkwardly.

Li Ruo nodded, saying, “Go back to your work, let him in.”

Ye Chen’s expression was dark as he strode inside, slamming the task document down on Li Ruo’s desk. “Li Ruo, I never thought you’d be so vicious. You actually assigned me the company’s so-called death project. Tell me, is this your way of getting revenge?”

Li Ruo didn’t answer directly. Instead, she leisurely took a sip of coffee, a glint of excitement and delight flashing in her eyes. It was the first time she’d seen Ye Chen so infuriated because of her, and she couldn’t help but feel a secret satisfaction. But none of this showed on her face. She simply smiled coldly and said, “Ye Chen, as the company’s business supervisor, you should be finding ways to solve problems for the company, not thinking of shirking your responsibilities. Do you understand?”

“But this project—so many people have failed at it! Even the business manager worked on it for ages and ended up with nothing to show for it. Do you really think we can do it?” Ye Chen’s anger boiled over.

“Fine!” Li Ruo suddenly shrugged and rose slowly to her feet. Ye Chen’s gaze involuntarily fell on the curves of her chest, full and high. Li Ruo sneered and shrugged again. “All you have to do is look me in the eye and say you can’t do it, and I’ll take the project back.”

Ye Chen’s pride was suddenly stung. Admit defeat in front of Li Ruo? Never! A man’s dignity wouldn’t allow it. Standing before her, his anger faded, replaced by a cold, proud smile. He raised his hand and thumped his chest. “Li Ruo, let me tell you, you’ll never hear me say I can’t do it. I’m taking on this project. If I fail, I’ll pack my things and leave!”

With that, Ye Chen grabbed the task document and strode out in style.

A trace of a smile appeared at the corner of Li Ruo’s lips. This man truly had character, and she admired that. If Ye Chen had admitted defeat just now, Li Ruo would have lost all interest in him and wouldn’t have hesitated to abandon him in the days to come. As for the so-called slave contract, it was merely a game—Li Ruo only played with him because she was interested in Ye Chen.

“President Li… do you really think Ye Chen can do it?” Lin Ziwen asked curiously.

“Hmph, if he can’t, then he’s not Ye Chen,” Li Ruo replied, breathing out a fragrant sigh. Even when furious, this scoundrel never missed a chance to take some advantage. She reached up and fastened a button on her shirt, covering her alluring figure.

...

Ye Chen stormed out of Li Ruo’s office, but hadn’t gone far before regret struck him. Damn it, this project is impossible! Two thousand acres of land, over a million square meters. Just walking around it would kill someone. What could possibly be done with such a huge plot? Build a massive entertainment complex, like Hong Kong Disneyland? But Jiangbei is too small a city, there’s no customer base for something like that. And besides, it’s so close to Hong Kong—wouldn’t that be direct competition?

Build a central business district? That’s even more unrealistic. Several business teams, including the business manager, had already evaluated this idea and failed. A central business district—what a seductive vision. If it succeeded, Tianya Corporation could become a Fortune 500 company, maybe even break into the top 100 globally.

Unconsciously, Ye Chen found himself back in the office.

Inside, seven colleagues stared at him, all standing up as he entered. Seeing Ye Chen’s furrowed brow but also the excitement in his eyes, they couldn’t tell whether he’d succeeded or failed.

“Ye Chen, what did you say to President Li?” Liu Shang asked anxiously.

“Ye Chen, did she cancel the project? Or at least change it?” Fang Fei pressed.

“The project wasn’t canceled!” Ye Chen waved them off, turning serious. “Liu Shang, Fang Fei, everyone—this is our chance. If we manage to pull off this so-called death project, our status in the company will soar like never before!”

“What?!” Everyone groaned.

“Ye Chen, you aren’t really planning to take this project, are you?” Fang Fei asked, face drawn in dismay.

“That’s right!” Ye Chen nodded. “If you look at the details, once we complete this project, our commission—heh—each of us will get at least two hundred thousand. Doesn’t that tempt you? It’s just an evaluation—surely that’s not too much for you?”

The mention of two hundred thousand made everyone waver, but the difficulty of the project loomed large. If they failed, not only would they get nothing, but they’d become the laughingstock of the company.

“Trust me, we can do it!” Ye Chen gritted his teeth, trying to encourage them.

“Ye Chen, how do you expect us to believe this is possible?” Liu Shang moaned, running a hand over his fair face—he could already imagine being tanned and haggard after this ordeal. Ye Chen flashed a crooked smile. “As long as everyone tries their best, we can do it. And if you all give it your all and we still can’t finish, I’ll pay each of you a hundred thousand myself. How about that?”

Everyone was stunned, jumping to their feet. This hundred thousand was different from the two hundred thousand—it was guaranteed, while the other was just a pipe dream. They all stared at Ye Chen in surprise.

“Don’t worry, you heard me right! I, Ye Chen, keep my word!” Ye Chen nodded.

“Alright! Ye Chen, I’m in!” Liu Shang declared, clenching his fist. “I’m short a hundred thousand for my house down payment!”

“Me too, Ye Chen!” Fang Fei chimed in, raising her slender arm. “I want to buy a car—something around a hundred thousand!”

Others quickly pledged their support as well. The power of money proved itself once again in the office, and Ye Chen finally allowed himself a sigh of relief.

“Good, since we’ve decided, let’s not waste any time!” Ye Chen, excited, looked at everyone. “Liu Shang, take Xiao Mo and investigate the local residents’ spending power and their suggestions for the area.”

“Got it!” Liu Shang nodded immediately.

“Fang Fei, you take Chen Qiong and Liu Ke to the government offices and look into the land and the surrounding area—any plans or decisions. If necessary, use your connections; all expenses will be reimbursed!” Ye Chen continued assigning tasks.

“No, Ye Chen, I want to go with you!” Fang Fei pouted.

“Uh…” Ye Chen hesitated, but inwardly he was pleased—having a beautiful woman as a companion while running around wasn’t a bad thing. He nodded. “Alright. Chen Qiong, Liu Ke, Xiao Ai—you three go to city hall and the other relevant departments. I want results in a week. These days, you don’t need to clock in at the office—I’ll get approval for that. But if you can’t give me a satisfactory answer in a week, don’t blame me for being harsh!”

“Yes!” everyone responded in unison.

“Alright, get to work! Remember, this is our chance to change our lives!” Ye Chen shouted. “Are you confident?”

“Yes!” Everyone’s spirits soared, and they responded with excited shouts.

The group quickly dispersed—Liu Shang and his partner gathered their things and headed out, while Chen Qiong’s trio set off for city hall. As for Ye Chen, he first found a map online and downloaded it, planning to take Fang Fei to survey the site in person and get a sense of the area to see what it was truly suited for.

Ye Chen drove his battered Alto, with Fang Fei following behind, surprised. “Ye Chen, is this your car?”

“That’s right!” Ye Chen nodded. “It’s a bit old, but still has some power—can seat five people, no problem!”

“Uh…” Fang Fei was taken aback. Judging by Ye Chen’s appearance, she’d expected at least a Volkswagen or a Hyundai, not this little Alto worth just over thirty thousand. Her face fell, but she got in anyway, resigned.

Ye Chen started the engine and sped toward the land in question.

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