Chapter 49 Is the Opportunity Here?

Wang’s Rickshaw Agency.

Li Yan invited Lin Yi to discuss the matters concerning the "division of the family estate." Originally, according to her intentions, it was already quite generous of her not to pursue charges against the second branch's Zhang Chunlan for "causing the death" of her husband; sharing any of the family property with the second branch was completely out of the question.

However, the current issue was that Zhang Chunlan, relying on the fact that she had a son, wailed bitterly of her misery before the Wang family’s friends and relatives, and even threatened to take the matter to court. Faced with pressure from all directions, Li Yan found herself cornered.

Things had come to such a pass that a "division of the estate" was the only way out; otherwise, there would be no peace!

"Lawyer Lin, the Wang family is now like a crumbling wall that everyone pushes, and outsiders are simply dying to tear us apart completely."

Lin Yi, maintaining his "professional ethics," said, "Since I have taken on the affairs of the Wang family, I will certainly use the law to uphold justice for you. Madam Wang, please rest assured."

In reality, he was simply working for money; what professional ethics could he possibly have?

For instance, when Wang Chengyun killed two rickshaw pullers, Lin Yi instructed him to claim that the deaths were "caused by infighting among the pullers." Where was the professional ethics in that? It was nothing short of fabricating false evidence.

Now, since the Wang family could still afford his legal fees, Lin Yi naturally had to continue his service.

Yet in Li Yan's eyes, Lin Yi had become a crucial pillar of support, which was why she consulted him on many matters.

Li Yan said, "Thank you... But now the second branch is kicking up a huge fuss, clamoring to divide the property!"

Lin Yi immediately found himself in a difficult position, for even an upright official found it hard to untangle family domestic affairs.

"How does Madam Wang plan to handle this?"

Ever since the death of her husband, Li Yan had been tempered by tears and had grown somewhat.

Decisively, she stated, "Then we shall divide it for her. I intend to sell fifty rickshaws complete with licenses, and use the proceeds to buy her a Western-style townhouse and cover her remaining living expenses. This will serve as the official separation of our households, and it will be enough for her to raise the child."

Since she had a son and a daughter, and belonged to the senior branch, she would retain the current residence, the rickshaw agency, the remaining fifty rickshaws, the transaction funds from the previous twenty rickshaws, and various scattered family assets.

Moreover, Li Yan was prepared to reorganize the Wang’s Rickshaw Agency, operating with the remaining fifty rickshaws to sustain the family.

After listening, Lin Yi asked, "Has the Second Mistress already agreed to this division plan?"

Li Yan replied, "She has agreed, and she dares not refuse."

Lin Yi nodded and said, "Very well, then I will assist you in completing the division smoothly."

Li Yan specifically instructed, "Once the rickshaws are sold, I must purchase a Western-style mansion for that mother and son; otherwise, that foolish woman will sooner or later eat through all her wealth. When that time comes, I must ask Lawyer Lin to assist with the property purchase procedures!"

After all, they shared the blood of the Wang family, and Li Yan could not bear to see Zhang Chunlan's son suffer hardships in the future.

Yet a foolish woman like Zhang Chunlan would certainly never foresee such things.

***

Lin Yi said, "No problem... Fifty rickshaws must be worth at least fourteen thousand silver dollars, right?"

With a slight pang of regret, Li Yan said, "In normal times, with each license priced at two hundred, all the agencies would hold onto theirs and refuse to sell. Now that our Wang family has fallen upon misfortune, who wouldn't want to profit from our distress? However, two hundred and eighty per rickshaw with its license is my absolute bottom line."

Licenses were typically items of "high demand with zero availability." While priced nominally at two hundred each, no agency would actually sell them unless driven by absolute necessity.

Following the death of Wang Chengyun, Li Yan decided to sell half of her rickshaws for two reasons: first, Zhang Chunlan's persistent demands to divide the estate; and second, because managing so many vehicles was simply beyond her capacity.

One hundred rickshaws meant two hundred pullers, and these men, taking advantage of the fact that the household was now left with an orphan and a widow, constantly attempted to fish in troubled waters.

For now, Li Yan decided to suspend operations for a period to dampen the arrogance of the pullers.

When the time came, she would resume operations with the remaining fifty rickshaws, which would be much easier to manage.

This woman was certainly not like the brainless second mistress.

***

With the assistance of the broker Wang Zuoyi, Chen Guangliang took little more than a week to purchase a three-mu plot of agricultural land on Yuyuan Road from a "country squire."

Though called agricultural land, there was practically no regulation regarding what one wished to build upon it.

Naturally, even if one intended to construct a department store, the surrounding environment still had to be taken into account.

Within a little over a week, Chen Guangliang went through the entire process: executing the deed of transfer, having the Land Measurement Bureau survey the plot, obtaining the county magistrate's official seal, securing the issuance from the Sino-Foreign Affairs Office, and finally paying the cash and receiving the title deed under the witness of a law firm.

The process moved quite swiftly, though every single step naturally implied the need for grease money.

Consequently, while the final transaction price for the three mu of land was only 3,500 silver dollars, expenditures across various stages amounted to another 600 silver dollars (including brokerage fees), bringing the total acquisition cost to 4,100 silver dollars.

When calculated as a whole, the price was very close to that of the previous plot of land. Without the formal title deed, the cost would not even have reached 3,600 silver dollars, but Chen Guangliang had no fondness for such unsecured situations.

Regardless, Chen Guangliang was immensely pleased to have successfully purchased two plots of land totaling six mu and sevenfen within less than a single month.

His primary reason for favoring these two plots was that both were adjacent to "Jingsansi Road" (later known as West Nanjing Road), offering direct transportation access to the bustling commercial hub of "East Nanjing Road."

Although this "direct" thoroughfare was quite long (roughly four to five kilometers away from the Wing On Department Store on East Nanjing Road), cheap land of this sort was all he could afford to speculate on.

Arriving at the base of the Yangtze Rickshaw Agency on Yuyuan Road, Zhou Xinggao hurried over and reported, "Boss, the Wang’s Rickshaw Agency is putting up fifty rickshaws with licenses for sale! The news is already out!"

Hearing this, Chen Guangliang knew that Zhou Xinggao must be feeling quite excited inside, yet he maintained a calm expression and said, "We probably shouldn't even think about it. They hold a grudge against us, so why would they ever sell to us? Besides, items like these are in high demand; they certainly won't lack buyers."

Sure enough, a wave of disappointment immediately washed over Zhou Xinggao upon hearing this.

Yet he also felt the boss made a valid point. First, he had previously snatched a batch of vehicles from them; even if there was no concrete proof, suspicion lingered. Later on, the boss had directly used a scheme to "swindle" them out of twenty vehicles—a matter that was glaringly obvious.

Therefore, how could they possibly sell to them!

Chen Guangliang patted Zhou Xinggao on the shoulder and said, "Never mind. The Transportation Department will issue fifty licenses either this year or early next year, and I will let you take a stake in the business then."

This subordinate harbored ambitions, yet remained fiercely loyal to him, so he needed to understand how to deploy him properly!

Without bestowing benefits, one might eventually suffer the backlash.

A capable person also meant one had to display greater sincerity in order to recruit and bind them to oneself.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xinggao immediately replied, "Well, I was only feeling regret for the boss missing out on an opportunity, especially since we haven't added any new vehicles in quite a while!"

What did he mean by "quite a while"? It had barely been over a month!

Yet, come to think of it, new rickshaws had been added every single month previously, and everyone had grown accustomed to that breakneck pace of development.

Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "Moving a bit slower is fine; it allows us to walk more steadily. Take right now, for instance—we haven't had any trouble for a whole month. Isn't that wonderful?"

Zhou Xinggao chimed in with a laugh, "Put that way, I suppose it really is!"

In the past, everyone lived in a state of constant tension, guarding against competitors and fending off suppression by the municipal police.

Now, however, their competitor was gone (Wang Chengyun), and the police even extended some courtesy to their agency (thanks to Inspector Gao), allowing the Yangtze Rickshaw Agency to usher in a rare period of peaceful stability.

Finally, Chen Guangliang said, "I will be mortgaging the land for a loan very soon. The funds obtained from the loan will be secure, and by then I'll be ready to give you your share!"

Zhou Xinggao hurriedly responded, "Boss, I'll say it again: just give me twenty-five hundred. That's what you rightfully deserve to begin with!"

Everyone present had a share in the gains; furthermore, had the boss not managed to have Wang Chengyun locked away and his squad of thugs disbanded, he would never have had such an opportunity. Had the boss not protected him afterward, he would have long since been caught in a trap by Inspector Gao and ruined beyond redemption.

"Just do a good job for the company and leave the rest unsaid!"

Seeing that Chen Guangliang refused to budge, Zhou Xinggao could only say, "Understood, I will certainly work diligently!"

Chen Guangliang had already mapped it out: if they acquired the fifty new licenses from the Transportation Department and combined them with fifty newly purchased rickshaws, the total value of this portfolio would naturally be calculated at 15,000 yuan (at 300 per vehicle). Thus, Zhou Xinggao could receive a 33% stake; the Transportation Department and Smith would get 50%; and the remaining shares would be split between Chen Guangliang at 12% and Li Chao at 5%.

Accepting a slightly smaller share was a small price to pay, especially since he had also used their funds to purchase land.