Chapter 30

"Did you know that person?" Tang Yino stared blankly at the young man who quickly swiped his card to pay and then rushed out of the BMW 4S store as if he were escaping, and then turned to Yang Chen with a somewhat amused and exasperated look, asking, "A car worth over 600,000, just given to you like that?"

"That's still a bargain for him." Yang Chen let out a light snort and said, "His father, Zhu Changyuan, used to be the paper packaging supplier for Hengyang Group. If it weren't for my father's support over the years, his factory would have gone bankrupt long ago. How could it have lasted until now?"

"Then what about what you said before, about his father leading people to smash your windows?" Tang Yino asked thoughtfully.

"After Hengyang Group entered bankruptcy liquidation, there was still about 300,000 in unpaid goods from Zhu Changyuan." Yang Chen recalled, "Zhu Changyuan led some of his factory workers to our house to block the door and demand payment. But at that time, my father had already had an accident, and our family couldn't possibly bear the company's debts... So, Zhu Changyuan smashed our windows and threatened that if we didn't pay, we wouldn't be able to stay in Jinzhou peacefully."

"Desperation in debt collection is understandable, but a company is a company, and a person is a person. The debt is owed by Hengyang Group, not by your family privately... Blocking the door to demand payment is already excessive, and smashing windows is even more despicable."

"Do you think Zhu Changyuan had the guts to come to our house to demand payment at that time?" A cold light flashed in Yang Chen's eyes as he lightly snorted, "Hengyang Group was their factory's biggest client. After Hengyang Group went bankrupt, many small factories providing services to the group fell into operational difficulties, including Zhu Changyuan's packaging factory."

"If at that time, someone from Sujiang Group offered him orders as bait to make things difficult for us... Zhu Changyuan wouldn't have refused. He just went too far. The people from Sujiang Group weren't even watching on-site, and he ended up smashing over a dozen of our windows and even kicked in our front door... It was as if we had a deep-seated grudge!"

"Is that so..." Hearing Yang Chen mention Sujiang Group, Tang Yino gave a somewhat awkward laugh and didn't continue the topic. After all, it was a company she had worked for before, and she had heard about many of the nasty things between companies and their competitors. What used to be funny stories now felt a bit more relatable.

It seemed Yang Chen didn't want to continue discussing such an unpleasant topic either. After a pause, he handed the keys to the newly acquired pearl white 520 car to Tang Yino, "This car will be for you to drive. The ownership is mine, but the usage rights are yours."

"Ah?!" Tang Yino was startled and quickly waved her hands, "How can I accept that?"

"Why not? You run errands for me all the time. Having a car will make things much more convenient." Yang Chen said earnestly, "Besides, you are my assistant now. If you still take the bus, where would my face be?"

"This... Okay..." Tang Yino knew Yang Chen cared about his reputation. Moreover, she couldn't deny that she was tempted by the BMW. She just couldn't find a reason to accept the keys at first!

Now that Yang Chen had provided the reason, she hesitated for a moment and then reluctantly accepted the keys.

The female salespeople in the 4S store looked at Tang Yino with envy, marveling at the young girl who was already driving a BMW 520, much younger than they were. They all lamented their lack of such good fortune.

The rest of the afternoon was spent mostly at the vehicle management office, where the registration and plating process was a lengthy one.

Yang Chen, who cared a lot about his reputation, went to the office of the vehicle management director before selecting the license plate. After a few minutes of whispered conversation, they both left with smiles on their faces.

When it was Yang Chen's turn to select the license plate, the new car owners waiting in line all stared with wide eyes, amazed!

Consecutive numbers! When it was Yang Chen's turn, the large screen displayed consecutive numbers!

Jinzhou's economy wasn't great, and license plates weren't valuable, but getting a lucky consecutive number still required some money.

After some deliberation, Yang Chen chose the consecutive number '55555' for his BMW X6 and the lucky number '66888' for the 520 that Tang Yino would drive.

When the other new car owners eagerly stepped forward to select their numbers, they found that all the lucky numbers had vanished, leaving only ordinary numbers for them to choose from...

"Damn, money really does make a difference... Even the computer can be rigged to cheat!"

...

At 7:23 PM that evening, Yang Chen arrived on time at the 666 private room on the sixth floor of Jinhu Grand Hotel.

Before Yang Chen and Tang Yino entered the room, two young men with slicked-back hair and powdered faces were already seated inside.

Seeing Yang Chen and Tang Yino enter together, the young man in a Hermes casual outfit, with a slim build and clear features, stood up and complained, "Yang Chen, you're the one who invited us to dinner tonight. Making us wait for over ten minutes, isn't that a bit too inconsiderate?!"

"Sorry, sorry... I've been busy moving to a new house these days, and I just picked up two new cars this afternoon. The registration process alone took a few hours. I rushed here as fast as I could, but I still couldn't arrive early... It's my fault, my fault. How about I drink three cups as a penalty later?"

Yang Chen's face broke into a bright smile as he apologized and shook hands with the young man who had stood up. He then sighed, "I've been so busy lately that I haven't had the chance to have a proper meal with you guys. So, I specially arranged this dinner tonight as an apology..."

A few short sentences revealed a lot of information!

The two young men, who had been wondering about Yang Chen's call, exchanged glances. Zhao Zeran, dressed in casual wear, asked pointedly, "Has something changed at home recently?"

"Hehe... I've been busy all day, let's not talk about it for now..." Yang Chen smiled and sat down, then turned to Tang Yino, "Ask the server to bring the dishes quickly. I don't mind being hungry, but I don't want these two to complain about my poor hospitality..."

Zhao Zeran's gaze fell on Tang Yino, and he asked curiously, "A new girlfriend?"

"Let me introduce you." Yang Chen said, "This is Tang Yino, my assistant... This is Zhao Zeran, the second son of the vice mayor of Jinzhou... This is Meng Haobin, the eldest son of the party secretary of Xibu District..."

"Don't call us 'second son' or 'eldest son,' it sounds like you're insulting us!" Zhao Zeran, with his hair slicked back, waved his hand modestly and laughed, "Don't listen to your boss. We're in a rule-of-law society, no feudal nonsense!"

Tang Yino smiled politely but didn't respond.

She knew why Yang Chen had called her out, so after putting down her bag, she stood up and said, "You guys chat, I'll go urge the kitchen to bring the dishes quickly..."

"Sure, go ahead." Yang Chen took out a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes, nodded, but didn't look at Tang Yino again. He shook out two cigarettes and tossed them over, "You guys have been making money lately, I heard you started an auction company together?"

Zhao Zeran and Meng Haobin had been in touch after receiving Yang Chen's dinner invitation.

They were originally part of the group of friends Yang Chen hung out with in Jinzhou, all locals with powerful families. Yang Chen, with his wealth, naturally fit in with them, and they often frequented Jinzhou's entertainment venues together.

Despite their friendly banter, Zhao Zeran and Meng Haobin never truly considered Yang Chen as one of their own... After all, they were second-generation officials, while Yang Chen was just a nouveau riche.

Especially after Hengyang Group entered bankruptcy liquidation and Yang Xiuyuan was imprisoned, their former close friends naturally cut ties with him, not even bothering to call and check on him.

They thought that after Hengyang Group's bankruptcy and Yang Xiuyuan's imprisonment, they would be like strangers from different worlds.

But unexpectedly, Yang Chen called them in the afternoon, inviting them to have a casual dinner at Jinhu Grand Hotel that evening...

At first, they both refused, but Yang Chen's persistence made them reluctantly agree, even canceling a couple of planned drinking sessions that night, just to see what a fallen rich man's son could stir up.

Now, hearing Yang Chen mention their auction company, they understood the purpose of the dinner.

Not quite grasping Yang Chen's intentions, Zhao Zeran laughed and said, "Making money? Just for fun, how much does it cost to register a company? We haven't even made a single sale since opening."

Meng Haobin also laughed and shook his head, "It's a money-losing business, no profit at all. We have to pay about 30,000 in salaries every month to keep a bunch of idle people. Not worth mentioning."

"Is that so?" Yang Chen looked at them with a knowing smile. Seeing that they were feigning ignorance, he decided to be direct, "But I heard that most of Hengyang Group's assets were auctioned off by your company."

Indeed, that was the reason for the dinner!

Zhao Zeran smiled calmly and took out a lighter to light a cigarette.

Meng Haobin spread his hands, "We knew this dinner wouldn't be easy... Yang Chen, to be honest, Hengyang Group's bankruptcy is unstoppable. Even provincial leaders have been involved. We're just doing the dirty work. There are still billions in debts to be settled. We can't get involved, the risks are too high."

Clearly, Zhao Zeran and Meng Haobin believed that Yang Chen had invited them for dinner with some ulterior motives.

Judicial auctions do have many loopholes, but Hengyang Group's bankruptcy case was too widespread, with even provincial leaders keeping a close eye on it. Who would dare to take a cut?

Zhao Zeran continued, "We're just making a living from the legwork. We really can't help with this... It's not that we're unwilling to help, but you should understand the difficulties."

With that, Zhao Zeran and Meng Haobin had made their stance clear.

If Yang Chen insisted on pushing them, they would likely leave before the food even arrived.

But Yang Chen looked at them with a mix of amusement and exasperation, shook his head, and laughed, "Who asked you to take a cut of the black money? I'm just saying, Old Zhao, Old Meng, are you guys thinking too negatively about me?"

"Then what's the purpose of this dinner?"

"No other purpose, just to ask for some information." Yang Chen's expression turned serious, and he said earnestly, "I've made a bit of money recently. To be honest, I originally planned to just buy back the Hengyang Lab... But something happened this afternoon, so I've changed my mind."

"Click..." The lighter sparked, and a cigarette was lit. Yang Chen puffed on it and asked, "If I plan to terminate Hengyang Group's bankruptcy liquidation and opt for bankruptcy reorganization instead... What are the chances?"

"What? Bankruptcy reorganization!" Zhao Zeran and Meng Haobin were both shocked. The cigarette Zhao Zeran had just lit almost slipped from his fingers. They looked at Yang Chen in disbelief, almost in unison, "Are you just messing with us tonight?!"

Yang Chen looked at them with a mix of amusement and exasperation, shook his head, and laughed, "Who asked you to take a cut of the black money? I'm just saying, Old Zhao, Old Meng, are you guys thinking too negatively about me?"

"Then what's the purpose of this dinner?"

"No other purpose, just to ask for some information." Yang Chen's expression turned serious, and he said earnestly, "I've made a bit of money recently. To be honest, I originally planned to just buy back the Hengyang Lab... But something happened this afternoon, so I've changed my mind."

"Click..." The lighter sparked, and a cigarette was lit. Yang Chen puffed on it and asked, "If I plan to terminate Hengyang Group's bankruptcy liquidation and opt for bankruptcy reorganization instead... What are the chances?"

"What? Bankruptcy reorganization!" Zhao Zeran and Meng Haobin were both shocked. The cigarette Zhao Zeran had just lit almost slipped from his fingers. They looked at Yang Chen in disbelief, almost in unison, "Are you just messing with us tonight?!"