Free Web NovelChapter 391: Chapter 289: End of the Road, Desperation Breeds Wickedness
"Boss Wang, how could you?" The woman’s tone immediately softened. She panicked when the middle-aged man threatened to tell Zhang Yuxi that she had taken his money to work for him.
"Hmph... It’s good that you know fear. If you dare talk back to me again, you know the consequences..." Seeing the woman on the other end soften her tone, the middle-aged man snorted coldly and added another threat.
"..."
Faced with the middle-aged man’s threat, the woman fell silent. She now deeply regretted being so greedy and taking his money to do his bidding.
Unfortunately, things had already progressed to this point. It was too late for regrets; she could only see this dark path through to the end.
"How many pearls are in that batch?" the middle-aged man asked.
*Sigh...* The berated woman took a deep breath, struggling to suppress her anger. She recalled the pearls she had seen in the warehouse earlier, made a mental estimate of the quantity, and then spoke.
"I’m not sure of the exact number, but based on my experience, there should be no fewer than seventy thousand."
"No fewer than seventy thousand? You’ve got to be kidding me!!!" The middle-aged man cried out in shock when he heard what the woman said.
He had originally thought this batch would be around twenty thousand, just like last time. He never expected the answer to be no fewer than seventy thousand. A number like that completely blew past his projections.
"Boss Wang, I’m not kidding. It’s definitely no fewer than seventy thousand, and that’s a very conservative estimate," the woman said with certainty.
"The quality! The quality of these pearls this time can’t be as good as the previous two batches, right?" the middle-aged man asked urgently, his face filled with anxiety. He hoped the woman’s answer would be what he was desperately expecting.
"The quality of the batch that appeared today is still the same as the first two: perfectly round, pure white, and flawless. The quality is exceptional..." the woman said. Her words plunged the middle-aged man into complete despair.
"..."
Hearing her answer, the middle-aged man felt as if his last straw of hope had been snatched away. He slumped backward, collapsing onto his chair, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Hello? Boss Wang, are you still there?" The woman waited for a long time. When her employer didn’t speak, she called out his name a few times. After getting no response, she hung up.
The middle-aged man, still collapsed in his chair and staring blankly at the ceiling, muttered to himself.
’According to the plan, once that woman Zhang Yuxi’s supply chain was cut off, she wouldn’t have been able to hold out for long before her shop had to close. Everything was going perfectly. Why did it turn out like this?’
This time, the middle-aged man and his peers had mobilized a significant amount of capital to crush Zhang Yuxi.
But unlike the others, the middle-aged man, in his pursuit of greater profits, had borrowed money from every channel he could, betting his entire net worth on this venture.
What was supposed to be a sure thing had now turned into this.
Not only had Zhang Yuxi not been crushed, but she also had an ample supply of goods to launch a powerful counterattack. The middle-aged man and his peers had no chance of turning the tables.
They had lost this business war. Their companies would go bankrupt, and they would be forced out of the industry entirely.
As for the middle-aged man, because he had bet his entire fortune, he would be saddled with a mountain of debt even after his company went bankrupt. Compared to the others, he was in the most miserable position. At least when the others’ companies went under, they would still have some money left to live out their remaining years in peace.
The middle-aged man lay limp in his chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, unresponsive for a long time. He only snapped out of it when the cigarette in his right hand burned down to his fingers, scalding him.
’No, I can’t just sit here and wait to die. I’ve worked for so many years to build the fortune I have today. I can’t let it all go up in smoke overnight.’
The middle-aged man tossed the cigarette into an ashtray. Watching the nearly finished butt, he muttered to himself, a vicious glint in his eyes.
His left hand, clutching his phone, tightened. Filled with malice, the middle-aged man finally made an extremely daring decision.
*SIGH...*
Taking a deep breath, the middle-aged man dialed a number he hadn’t contacted in several years.
He had decided never to contact this person again, but now, he had no other way out.
BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...
The call connected. After just a few seconds, the other person picked up.
"Boss Wang, long time no see. Calling me so late, what’s up?"
"I have a business proposition I’d like to discuss with you face-to-face. Are you free tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow! I’m free... Where should we meet?"
"Tomorrow, let’s meet at..." The middle-aged man gave the other person an address, and then they ended the call.
*HUFF...* After hanging up, the middle-aged man let out a long breath. His heart was racing. With trembling hands, he pulled a cigarette from its pack.
CLICK, CLICK, CLICK...
He fumbled with the lighter a few times before it finally lit the cigarette. Trembling all over, the middle-aged man took several deep drags, then leaned back against his chair. His eyes, now sharp and intense, stared at the family portrait of three hanging on the study wall.
’I absolutely cannot go bankrupt...’
A voice filled with malice echoed in the quiet study.
...
In the early morning, the sun shone brightly. The weather today was just as hot as the past few days.
Lin Li, who had slept soundly until dawn, got up early. After washing up in the bathroom, he went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
He heated up the plate of meat buns his next-door neighbor had given him yesterday. While eating the warm buns, he opened his phone to check today’s weather forecast.
’Holy cow, the high today is actually forty degrees, one degree hotter than yesterday...’ Lin Li clicked his tongue in amazement, a surprised look on his face as he looked at the temperature displayed on the weather forecast.
Even though the forecast showed a high of forty degrees, it wasn’t enough to deter Lin Li from the plan he had decided on last night: to go to the wilderness in the South District Suburbs today and search for that strange Mutant Beast.
After finishing breakfast, Lin Li cleared the table. He then packed the few leftover meat buns into a container and placed it on the Mysterious Small Island, planning to take them to the wilderness to eat later.
Once everything at home was in order, Lin Li made a call to an air conditioner repairman and scheduled an appointment for him to come fix the AC in the evening.
He had the Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact, so technically, he didn’t need to call a repairman for the broken air conditioner.
But Lin Li considered that guests might come over at some point, and he couldn’t very well use the Refrigeration Spiritual Artifact in front of them.
That would be impossible to explain. So, the broken air conditioner at home still needed to be fixed by a professional.
’I almost forgot that thing...’ Heading toward the entryway to leave, Lin Li suddenly remembered something he had forgotten to do. He stopped in his tracks and turned back to the living room.
On the living room coffee table were two shopping bags from the large haul of things he’d bought at the supermarket yesterday.
Lin Li rummaged through one of the bags, which was filled with snacks, and pulled out a large bottle of sunscreen.
In the past, no matter how strong the sun was, he would never have considered putting on sunscreen.
But now things were different. Su Yue had repeatedly asked him about getting a tan, which forced Lin Li to start using sunscreen just to deal with her questions.
’This sunscreen should work, right? I remember back in Qiong City, this was the brand Su Yue used after swimming...’
After applying the sunscreen, Lin Li thought about Su Yue, whose skin was as white as snow and who had never gotten a tan. He instantly felt a bit more confident in the brand of sunscreen he was using.
...
