Chapter 49#
The head of the processing plant was a seasoned veteran in his fifties. One look at the scene at the entrance and anyone with half a brain would know the visitors weren’t ordinary. He immediately lowered himself three notches and hurried over to greet them.
Ji Yang stood still where he was.
He noticed his attention kept drifting unconsciously toward Nie Xu, watching him in a dark suit, carrying himself with an unhurried composure. Behind him were seven or eight executives holding document folders — from all appearances, a perfectly routine on-site inspection by the group’s leadership.
But Ji Yang knew that wasn’t what this was.
The old man had gone overseas, leaving the group in Ji Chengyi’s hands.
Nie Xu’s position at the Ji family had always been clear — he was the old man’s man. With the old man gone, Nie Xu ascending to the Ji Group’s table and standing on equal footing with Ji Chengyi wouldn’t strike anyone as strange. After all, Ji Yansong was just that kind of person. Even the successor he’d personally designated, he couldn’t trust entirely.
So Nie Xu’s presence served as both a deterrent and a reminder.
As for how much of this was Ji Chengyi’s reluctant concession, and how much was something he’d done willingly or even deliberately — only Ji Chengyi himself truly knew.
Ji Chengyi had noticed him, and his expression held no surprise.
He said something to the people beside him, which caused the entire group to turn and look. Ji Chengyi walked directly toward him.
He stopped and got straight to the point: “I’ve already seen the prequalification documents for your company. You don’t possess the capability or qualifications to participate in this project.”
Lin Yue looked anxious on the side.
Ji Yang showed no reaction whatsoever, only asking: “Third Brother, are you referring to the five-year record of no major violations, or the requirement for a joint recommendation from two members of the Ji family?” Ji Yang glanced at the leaders behind, then looked back and smiled. “Supposedly an open bid, but it’s really just internal maneuvering. Third Brother deliberately blocking me like this — you wouldn’t genuinely be intimidated by my status as the core heir, would you?”
Ji Chengyi wore the frank, matter-of-fact air of someone conducting business: “The rules were set by the board of directors. They’re not aimed at you personally.”
“I know,” Ji Yang said. “But until the last moment, Third Brother, you’re already certain we don’t even qualify?”
Three or four steps separated the two of them. The overhead sun stretched their shadows into two long, thin lines. The executives nearby tactfully stepped back a little. Only the two accompanying bodyguards remained in place. One of them was Wang Weitao, his gaze drifting toward the cold storage.
Ji Chengyi said: “I’m in charge of the Ji Group now. Getting around those two rules isn’t impossible. If you can prove that you truly have an independent business entity outside the family with stable cash flow, I can petition the board for an exemption on the joint recommendation requirement.”
One second ago he’d said Ji Yang was unqualified. Now suddenly he was offering to get him an exemption.
Ji Yang spun the water bottle in his hand once around.
He raised his head and met Ji Chengyi’s eyes.
Those eyes were beautiful — gentle, clear, like something out of a book, carrying a kind of undercurrent that could never be stained no matter how deep the mud. But as Ji Yang looked into them now, he realized clearly, perhaps for the first time, that the gentleness in those eyes had always been nothing more than calculated shrewdness dressed up nicely.
“Is Third Brother opening a back door for me?” Ji Yang asked.
“Hardly a back door,” Ji Chengyi said. “Since you want to participate, I don’t want you shut out over procedural issues. After all — we share the same blood.”
That line really did disgust Ji Yang.
Disgusted him to the point of wanting to laugh.
Ji Yang held it in.
He merely said: “I thought Third Brother was going to be iron-faced and impartial all the way.”
Ji Chengyi: “How could you think that? We’re all family.”
I know you’ve laid a trap and are waiting for me to walk into it. And I know you know I’ve laid a trap and am waiting for you to walk into it. Everything is understood between us, yet on the surface all is harmonious.
Ji Chengyi: “I heard you’ve been here quite a bit lately. Since you’re already here, why don’t you give us a tour?”
“Sure,” Ji Yang agreed readily.
Ji Yang agreed verbally, but in practice hung at the very back of the group the entire time.
Ji Chengyi didn’t truly want Ji Yang to lead them around either. Walking at the front on the second floor of the cold-chain processing plant, he discussed details with the head of the plant on his own initiative, occasionally throwing a question or two at Nie Xu. The content was all about strategic value, economic profit.
The corridors of the processing plant were made of sheet metal. Walking on them produced a considerable amount of noise.
Lin Yue sidled up and muttered in a low voice: “Young Master Ji, why do we have to follow them? That plant head was supposed to give us the plan and data today, but now he’s only circling around that Director Ji. I can’t help but feel that Director Ji is doing this on purpose — trying to make us look bad.”
“Haven’t noticed,” Ji Yang said, shoving his hands in his pockets and glancing at him in surprise. “Your intuition is pretty sharp, actually.”
Lin Yue: “Can’t we just leave first?”
“We’ve barely started,” Ji Yang said. “The other side is the client. Even if they set up targeted obstacles for you, that’s perfectly legal and justified. They’re just keeping you waiting. Take it.”
Lin Yue’s tiny courage was scared right out of him again. He let out a sullen reply.
Ji Yang glanced at his dejected look and smiled.
Descending from the second floor, the group entered the first-floor freezing zone.
The moment they walked in, everyone shivered one after another.
As the plant head walked forward, he said: “Thank you for your hard work, distinguished leaders. Most of the products in here are seafood, kept at minus eighteen degrees year-round to ensure the goods are fully frozen with no risk of quality deterioration.”
Ji Chengyi suddenly stopped and turned around.
“Ji Yang,” he said. “Your leg is bad. If you can’t handle this cold, wait outside. No need to come in.”
Ji Yang walked in as usual and said: “Third Brother worries too much. I’m fine. Thank you for your concern.”
The plant head chimed in from the side: “Fourth Young Master really has been impressive these past few days. To make sure the entire line from source to processing has no issues, he’s inspected every single stage carefully. He spent a good long while in the freezing zone just yesterday.”
Ji Chengyi paused, his expression carrying an unclear meaning: “Is that so?”
“Yes!” The plant head didn’t notice anything off at all and kept going: “Ever since the Zhouling route improved and the shipping route opened, our entire line from goods supply to processing — profits have directly doubled this month…”
“Cough, cough.” One of the accompanying leaders couldn’t take it anymore and coughed twice to signal him.
The plant head suddenly recalled the rumors about the internal ownership struggles within the Ji family, and his expression shifted. He awkwardly shut up.
Lin Yue whispered: “I’ll never call that plant head a sycophant again.”
“He wasn’t one to begin with,” Ji Yang replied.
While he was whispering with Lin Yue, his gaze met Nie Xu’s — the man who hadn’t said a single word from beginning to end.
Ji Yang noticed his furrowed brow.
He didn’t understand and asked with his eyes.
But he watched Nie Xu lower his head and say something quietly to the plant head, who nodded repeatedly and left.
Ji Chengyi’s attention was drawn away too. He asked Nie Xu: “What is it?”
“Nothing,” Nie Xu said. “Let’s continue. Where were we — the technical challenges…”
Two minutes later, the plant head came hurrying over carrying a pair of brown fleece-lined items and shoved them into Ji Yang’s hands, apologizing: “That’s my oversight. I forgot the procurement department just sent over a batch of new thermal sets the other day — these are for joint protection. You see, a rough fellow like me didn’t even know Fourth Young Master had a bad leg. If Assistant Nie hadn’t reminded me, I probably would have completely forgotten.”
Ji Yang was a bit stunned. As he took the items, he noticed the group ahead had also suddenly stopped.
Ji Chengyi turned around: “Ji Yang.”
“Does Director Ji need something?” Ji Yang asked.
Ji Chengyi: “Since this processing plant speaks so highly of your abilities, why don’t you present your general proposal to the distinguished leaders?”
“That wouldn’t be appropriate,” Ji Yang said.
Ji Chengyi froze, seemingly not expecting this response. “What did you say?”
“I said—”
Ji Yang walked straight through the group of executives. No one expected it as he reached out and pulled Ji Chengyi into a hug.
Only Ji Yang and Ji Chengyi knew how fake this embrace was — there were deliberate gaps left everywhere they could have made contact. Even so, Ji Yang could feel the body under his palm going unnaturally rigid, and found it utterly amusing. Outwardly he sighed: “Third Brother, I understand your good intentions — you fought for an exemption for me, let me join your internal leadership inspection, and now you’re even giving me a chance to showcase myself. But with so many companies competing fairly, how could I just take shortcuts leveraging my status as the eldest son of the main branch?”
The leaders beside them all had their lips twitching.
In all of Fanzhou, who didn’t know these brothers had never gotten along?
But looking at the scene, one by one they started putting on airs of significance:
“With brothers like you two in the Ji family’s main branch, who worries about the family’s resurgence.”
“They really do have a great relationship.”
“Director Ji’s care for his younger brother is understandable, though this is indeed somewhat inappropriate.”
Ji Yang nearly laughed as he listened. He patted Ji Chengyi’s back with the items in his hand, his eyes turning cold as he whispered near Ji Chengyi’s ear: “Third Brother, if you want to pin the label of shady dealings on me, you’ll have to see whether I’ll accept it. You broke my leg — you should have known from the moment you had Tao Jisheng switch my medication that there was no clean ending between you and me.”
Ji Chengyi suddenly grabbed his forearm, gripping hard: “You already knew?”
“Of course.” Ji Yang straightened up.
His gaze swept around, and with a deliberately ambiguous smile, he said aloud: “Whether it’s the project or people, it all has to be fair competition, doesn’t it? Right, Third Brother?”
Ji Chengyi stared at him intently and nodded: “Yes.”
Ten minutes later.
Ji Chengyi personally went in to experience the processing firsthand and accidentally triggered the emergency braking door of the freezing chamber.
At that moment, Ji Yang was still inside.
In the very last second, Ji Yang — under Ji Chengyi’s icy gaze — yanked Nie Xu, who was by the door, inside with him.
The cold air hissed in from all directions.
Through the transparent window, there was the stunned face of the plant head, and the shocked and horrified expressions of the various leaders.
“It’s so cold.” Ji Yang’s teeth chattered, yet his eyes were brimming with amusement. “You’re standing right at the doorway, so I’m counting that as your voluntary cooperation.”
Nie Xu calmly took off his coat and wrapped it around him, while removing the knee pads from his hand. He crouched down. “Lift your foot.”
“Couldn’t you at least have found something nicer-looking?” Ji Yang said with disdain.
Nie Xu wrapped them around him and stood up.
He asked: “Fair competition?”
“Yep.” Ji Yang adjusted to the feeling of the wrap around his knees, rose slightly on his toes, and stopped his lips two millimeters from the corner of Nie Xu’s mouth. “Even if he didn’t intend to kill me, he was counting on my leg not being able to withstand five minutes in there. So I’ll just kill his heart instead.”
Nie Xu’s gaze dropped. “You had to jump right in? Don’t you want your leg?”
“It was never there to begin with.” The same ruthlessness flashed in Ji Yang’s eyes.
It was merely a difference between severe and more severe. Ji Yang continued smiling: “The head of this plant owes me a favor. Guess whether I’ll get the operating rights for the Nan Island shipping route first, or his asset transfer plan falls through first.”
Nie Xu stared at him for several seconds, and finally said: “I shouldn’t have told you about his shell company transfer plan.”
“Too late, brother,” Ji Yang said with a light laugh. “We’ve been in cahoots for a long time now.”