Chapter 100: An Unexpected Delight, and an Early Move into Precision Industry

"You... you dare hit me!"

Huitian Daisuke trembled all over with fury, his words coming in ragged gasps, his eyes bulging as though he might collapse at any moment.

"If I weren't sparing your age, do you think I'd let you off today?"

"The physical suffering can be excused. Next, I'll make you watch your Huitian family crumble before your eyes."

"You dare!"

"If you don't believe me, go make a phone call right now and see what reputation the Huitian family has out there."

By the time he had escaped disaster, it was already midnight. Zhang Tianfeng later called the Hou family and used their office on the island of the small sun to issue a formal statement.

It said, in no uncertain terms, that the Huitian family had failed to appreciate kindness, offended the Hou family, and would henceforth be treated as an enemy.

Anyone who dared help them would never receive a single investment from the Hou family.

The statement was brief, but devastatingly effective.

Within an hour of its release, three major financial institutions on the island of the small sun announced they were withdrawing support from the Huitian family. In the hours that followed, other powerful clans joined the assault, all eager to kick the man when he was down.

While the Huitian family was in crisis, Huitian Daisuke was busy plowing the fields, Huitian Dainen was drunk out of his mind at the thought of having money to squander again, and the only one who could be considered sober, Huitian Yilanfang, was imprisoned in this small courtyard, unable to enter or leave.

"Forget it. An old fellow like you probably doesn't even have the strength to move. Just stay here and wait for the Huitian family to collapse."

"The Huitian family cannot fall!" Huitian Yilanfang rose and said, "Mr. Zhang, they offended you, and you may punish them. But this has nothing to do with the Huitian family."

"They used conveniences provided by the Huitian family. How can you say it has nothing to do with them?" Zhang Tianfeng asked in return.

Huitian Yilanfang bit her lip and said, "At worst... at worst I'll compensate you myself. If you want shares, I'll give you shares. If you want precision equipment, I'll give you precision equipment. No bargaining."

Zhang Tianfeng paused for a moment and instantly understood the woman's intention: to seize power.

When he had come in, he had seen Huitian Daisuke interrogating her, which made it obvious that her position was not a good one.

Now that she had stepped forward to speak, she was clearly placing herself in the position of family head.

You're certainly good at climbing once there's a ladder, but this towering pillar of mine is not so easy to scale.

"What would I want with the original shares of that half-dead factory of yours? Would they be of any use to me?"

"They will be useful, definitely useful!" Huitian Yilanfang said firmly. "They may not be worth much now, but if you agree, I will integrate the family's resources and devote everything to developing precision manufacturing."

"You are an honored guest from the Flame Nation. Its precision industry is lagging behind, but I can help you with the technical work and serve as your supplier of machinery and equipment."

"How soon can I see results?"

"Before tonight, you can have the most advanced equipment currently available at the Okamoto factory, along with a professional maintenance team to match."

"Within a month, I will bring the Okamoto factory back from the dead."

"Within a year, I will make the Okamoto factory one of the top ten precision manufacturers on the island of the small sun."

"Within two years, the Okamoto factory will be among the top ten precision manufacturers in the world."

Zhang Tianfeng nodded and said with a smile, "All right. Then I'll wait to see your results."

When Gao Ran behind him heard that, she nearly panicked.

Usually he was shrewd as a weasel; how had he become so muddled now? It was obviously an empty promise, yet he had accepted it so happily. Could it be that he had taken a liking to her?

Gao Ran glanced at Huitian Yilanfang, then looked down at herself.

All right, it really was impressive.

Mm, men were all the same.

After finalizing the details of the cooperation, Zhang Tianfeng led the others away.

This time, many people had come with him: Ding Yan and his brothers, as well as Li Qing and Gao Ran.

Back at the Fenglinwan Hotel run by Old Ding, everything was essentially over, and only four people remained in the room.

Zhang Tianfeng said, "Brother Ding, Gao Ran, Li Qing, the three of you all helped make my plan a success, so I will pay you a reward."

"For now, I will give each of you 0.1 percent of the original shares of the Okamoto parent company."

"If you're not satisfied with that price, come find me in Shencheng next month, and I'll buy back those shares for 500,000 each."

"If you want to hold on to them, don't sell within ten years. That's the only advice I'm giving you."

When Ding Yan heard this, he thought something had gone wrong and hurriedly said, "Brother, didn't we agree? You'll make money next month and take me with you. What do you mean by paying me now?"

"The plan for making money next month still includes you. This time is just my thanks for bringing people to rescue the three of us from Huitian Daisuke's lair."

"Ah, you scared me half to death. I thought you were going to cut me off." Ding Yan grinned foolishly and thumped his chest hard.

Li Qing, standing nearby, said softly, "I'm rather short on money right now, so I definitely won't keep the shares. I'll come find you next month."

Zhang Tianfeng nodded, then turned to Gao Ran. "And you?"

"Ignore you!"

She had made her feelings so obvious, and yet this fool still kept such a careful distance from her. Gao Ran was nearly furious to death.

With a huff, she turned and left.

Ding Yan laughed and said, "Probably because he saw you flirting with that little beauty just now and got jealous."

"Brother, listen to me. Women need to be coaxed. I'll come find you tonight and make good on my promise to treat you to a late-night snack."

"Fine, sorry to trouble you, brother."

As soon as Ding Yan left, Li Qing followed. She, too, had not slept all night and had just endured that tense and thrilling rescue; she needed a place to rest properly.

Carrying a cup of brewed coffee, Zhang Tianfeng knocked on Gao Ran's door.

"It's not locked. Come in."

Pushing open the door, Zhang Tianfeng found Gao Ran sitting on the balcony and admiring the view. She glanced at him and said, "Well? What's this? Lord Zhang actually brought me coffee?"

"You're overthinking it. This is for me."

Zhang Tianfeng sat down and said, "We're only ordinary friends right now, so don't try to hold me to the rules of a couple, all right?"

"Tell me your thoughts. What exactly are you dissatisfied with in me?"

Gao Ran knew there was no point dwelling on it; only by defining the relationship could she truly keep Zhang Tianfeng in hand.

Her attitude softened as she asked, "You should know Huitian Yilanfang's ultimate goal, shouldn't you?"

"Of course. She wants to rely on the Hou family to help the Huitian family rise and to gather the family's power back into her own hands."

"And you still agreed to it."

"If I said this was an unexpected surprise, would you believe me?"

When he had arrived, Zhang Tianfeng had already decided he would only seek revenge on Huitian Daisuke and leave everything else alone.

After all, the Hou family had only provided him with a half-true statement. They were not going to offer much real assistance.

Using that leverage, Zhang Tianfeng had successfully overawed Huitian Daisuke; that kick had been wonderfully satisfying.

He had originally intended to extort a little more, make Huitian Daisuke apologize and cough up some money, and let it end there. Unexpectedly, Huitian Yilanfang had climbed up the pole on her own.

Since she wanted power, then let her have it. What she would have to pay was the most cutting-edge production equipment and a professional maintenance team—things worth tens of millions, perhaps even hundreds of millions, and not something money could easily buy.

Though he had made many empty promises afterward, in this matter Huitian Yilanfang absolutely would not dare falsify anything.

Because she now needed to rely on Zhang Tianfeng to secure her position as head of the Huitian family.

By the time she had truly settled into that seat, Zhang Tianfeng would already have obtained everything he wanted. After that, whatever Huitian Yilanfang chose to do would have nothing to do with him.

"You scared me to death. I really thought you were interested in her."

"Not at all. I'm not the kind of man who loses his footing every time he sees a woman." Finishing the last sip of coffee, Zhang Tianfeng stood and said, "Rest up. We'll eat well tonight, and tomorrow we head back."