Qin Siyang rubbed his hands together and nodded repeatedly.
"In short, if you can use Chu Xiaoang's name to secure that district, it'll be a huge help to all of us in the future. Actually, not even the future. Its value will probably become obvious before long."
Zhao Longfei let out a long sigh, "The safe zones have been peaceful for ten years. Looks like the weather is finally about to change."
Hearing that, Qin Siyang frowned slightly, "Yan Budong's death and the fall of the Richard family gave me the same feeling."
Zhao Longfei sighed, "There's more than that. The Three Great Chamber of Commerces have just sent invitations to every major force, announcing that they'll hold the Vine Core Trade Fair before the end of this year."
"Before the end of this year? Didn't you say that because I got the Vine Core, the associations couldn't sell theirs at a good price, so they planned to postpone the trade fair until next year?"
"That was the plan. But they changed their minds."
"Why?"
"Because they're splitting up."
Zhao Longfei returned to his chair and said in a slightly worried tone, "Jerry Warren supported you at the thesis hearing and stood against Jiang Hao. That showed the Warren Chamber of Commerce no longer wants to stay tied to the Haori Chamber of Commerce and the Lotus Cloud Chamber of Commerce as one of the Three Great chamber of commerces. At the same time, the losses caused by the Richard family's missing supplies only made their internal conflicts worse."
"In short, they've already passed the point where they can keep up appearances. They're destined to go their separate ways."
Qin Siyang nodded in understanding.
"Business partnerships are a lot like relationships. If being together is exhausting, it's better to split up. But does a single Vine Core Trade Fair really have to be such a big event?"
"It may be called the Vine Core Trade Fair, but it'll involve far more than just Vine Core. The Three Great chamber of commerces will also put up a large amount of shared materials, information, artifacts, and other assets, hoping to convert them into cash as quickly as possible so they can finish dividing their assets. They'll also encourage bartering, hoping to trade for treasures they need from the participants."
"Oh. Then this really will be huge."
"In short, this trade fair will probably be the largest in the history of the safe zones. I expect government officials, university professors, the Six Legions, every Church, and even the mine owners over in West Glory to attend."
At that point, Zhao Longfei paused, his gaze turning unusually serious, "At this trade fair, a lot of people will probably obtain the items or information they need. The end result will likely be that the top experts in the safe zones all become significantly stronger."
"The safe zones are only so big. If everyone inside gets stronger, that's not a good thing."
"The table is still the same table, but everyone sitting around it has gotten bigger. It'll feel more crowded for everyone, and conflicts between factions will become even more intense. Which means the day someone flips the table isn't far off."
Zhao Longfei glanced at Qin Siyang again, "Professor Li and I will both be going. You should come too."
Qin Siyang took a step back, "What would I go for? I don't lack anything, and I might even get assassinated if I leave the house. Whoever wants to go can go. I'm not going."
"You don't lack anything because you think you don't. Go take one walk around a trade fair of this level, and you'll immediately feel like you're missing everything. It doesn't hurt to broaden your horizons."
"It might cost me my life, and you're saying it doesn't hurt?"
"Relax. Anyone who dares pull something at an event this public would have to be an idiot... Speaking of which, when you go to the Vine Core Trade Fair, keep yourself under control. Don't pull another piece of 'hiring an assassin' performance art like you did at the Zhao Chamber of Commerce ceremony."
Qin Siyang immediately complained, "That was called overwhelming dominance! Performance art, my ass! Fine, I got it. I'll make preparations for the trade fair. If there's nothing else, I'm heading back."
"One last thing. The Crystal Coin issuance plan will begin this month, so you should get ready as well. Just like we discussed before, you provide the goods, I provide the manpower. We'll start by testing the waters with half of the Crimson Crystal you left with the Zhao Chamber of Commerce. If it doesn't work, we'll abandon the plan."
"Why the rush?"
Zhao Longfei fell silent for a moment, let out a long sigh, and then simply said four words, "We're out of money."
After inheriting Zhang Yingrui's estate and completing Tang Wanjing's materials mission, the Zhao family had somehow run out of money yet again.
Qin Siyang looked at Zhao Longfei in confusion. He had no idea how the man managed to burn through money like some kind of bottomless money pit.
But Zhao Longfei clearly had no intention of continuing the conversation. Facing the window, he waved Qin Siyang away with the hand holding his cigar.
After Qin Siyang left, Zhao Longfei called Zhao Longteng, "Big Brother, what did Old Gu say about the Church?"
["The usual, he claims he doesn't know anything. I've been thinking about it. Old Gu has kept a low profile these past few years. He has both a son and a daughter, and his family's doing well. There's no reason for him to get involved with a Church. When it comes to the Samsara Church, he might genuinely know nothing."]
Zhao Longfei let out a cold laugh, "The Clothing City was built because he asked us to. He hired the staff, and he ran the business. You're saying he knew nothing?"
["What I mean is, the Gu family isn't run by him alone. We've known Old Gu for so many years. I don't think he's the problem."]
"You're saying..."
Zhao Longfei shook his head.
"Forget it. No point making random guesses. I've already told Little Qin about issuing the Crystal Coins this month, and he has no objections. As for the exact date, work it out with Old Gu."
["Alright. Little Qin is young, doesn't sweat the small stuff, values loyalty over money, and has remarkable vision and generosity. Compared to him, our Zhao family really owes him a lot. We've taken advantage of him again and again. We look worse than street thugs when it comes to that. It's embarrassing just talking about it."]
Zhao Longfei rubbed his forehead, "It's not really our fault either. Who could've guessed that Chief Financial Officer Hu Yu would defect at the last moment?"
["Exactly. Hu Yu's defection caught us completely off guard and triggered a whole pile of debt problems. To deal with it, we had to sell off some of our last reserves, postpone many of the plans we'd already made, and even issue the Crystal Coins ahead of schedule. Since Little Qin understands the situation, you should thank him on our behalf."]
"I didn't tell him about the mole. Everyone has enough problems of their own. We can't drag him into everything."
["You didn't? Well, that's probably for the best."]
"Big Brother, what worries me is this: if even Hu Yu, a brother who fought alongside us in the streets back in the day, had problems, can we really trust anyone else?"
["Second Brother, don't lose heart. There wasn't anything wrong with Hu Yu himself. His mind was under someone else's control."]
"Whether he betrayed us willingly or unwillingly, the damage is the same. If Hu Yu could defect, then no one else is guaranteed."
["I've already had Longju and Xiaoshan investigate everyone else. For now, there don't seem to be any problems. But you're right, we have to be much more careful about mind control. I also looked into Hu Yu's travel records. He was probably tricked into going somewhere by the Fraudsters within the Samsara Church, and that's where his mind was taken over."]
At that, Zhao Longteng sighed, ["It's most likely retaliation from the Samsara Church after we wiped out one of their branches."]
Zhao Longfei's eyes sharpened, "Is it possible that what happened to Hu Yu was Guo Jiuxiao's doing?"
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