Chapter 054: The Master Beggar Su Yongzhi

At the reception hotel of the Guanzhong Special Zone Government, Li Hu, the head of the Tangyao Consortium, was conversing merrily with the government’s chief administrator, accompanied by Li Shude, chairman of Shenyao Entertainment under the consortium’s banner.

The banquet ended with both host and guests well pleased. Afterward, Li Shude accompanied Li Hu to the car, chatting about recent amusing events.

“I heard Yang Ying isn’t planning to come home again this year? Still staying in Sanjiang Province?”

“Grandfather, you know how he is. Last year he boasted about unifying Sanjiang’s entertainment and cultural market, but he couldn’t even handle a small company backed by Zhuque District in Jianye. He also brought over Xiaokuihua from Huating. Now look, Sanjiang is split into three, and he’s just gone there to make a fool of himself.”

Li Hu smiled at that. “Yang Er does have talent, he’s just too young.”

“The New Year has just passed, and another incident broke out in Sanjiang. A new company took a different approach and broke into the children’s culture market. I had someone look into it—Sanjiang Media Group is planning to spend two hundred million to acquire it.”

“Oh?” Li Hu’s interest was piqued by his grandson’s words. “For Sanjiang Media Group to take an interest, it must be a valuable asset. A two hundred million acquisition—if that passes Sanjiang’s board, the head of that company will soar to the top. Whose company is it?”

“An orphan who used to be a child star.”

“Oh?” Li Hu’s curiosity deepened. “Is he forty yet?”

“He’s only eighteen.”

“…”

Li Hu slowly turned his head, his eyes full of bafflement.

“Really, Grandfather, he’s only eighteen. He was famous ten years ago for singing ‘The World Only Mothers Are Good’.”

“Oh… I see.” The old man nodded, then chuckled. “That boy is something else. Shude, do you have plans?”

“I want to seize this chance and work with him. A few days ago, news from Guangling said Yang Ying tried to smear him, but nothing came of it.”

“His skills are rusty—can’t compare to his father. If his father took action, an innocent man would be black as coal, and the guilty would shine white.”

After his comment, Li Hu continued, “If he’s only eighteen, Sanjiang Media Group’s acquisition will surely fail. If you want to cooperate, consider it carefully.”

“I’m just after a content partnership, not a joint venture. If it works, we split the profits; if not, the loss is limited.”

“You’re better than Yang Er. If you get the chance, swallow up all his assets.”

“His father’s still in charge.”

“So what?”

“Heh, thank you, Grandfather. But I’m short-handed lately. Could I borrow Fa Xiaozhi for a couple of days? I’m heading to Sanjiang this week to negotiate. With Fa Xiaozhi by my side, I’ll feel secure.”

“You’ve got your eye on Xiaozhi? That’s overkill. Take Ma Youchang with you.”

“That works too.”

“‘That works too’?!” Li Hu glared at his grandson. “It’s a multi-million business—go and return quickly.”

“Hehe…” Aim high, settle for the middle—quite satisfying.

But he genuinely wanted Fa Xiaozhi, after all, Fa Xiaozhi was an alternate member of the Tangyao Consortium’s Strategic Committee and one of the most likely candidates to become the chief steward. Moreover, Fa Xiaozhi was held in high regard by Li Hu, a man of influence, and to some extent represented the will of the consortium’s master. If he accompanied Li Shude to Sanjiang for business, everyone inside and outside the consortium would speculate that Li Shude might be the heir apparent.

As it turned out, the old man was steady as ever—not giving his grandson too much hope, but not disappointing him either. After all, Ma Youchang was the chief assistant in logistics and also a key trusted aide.

Back home, Li Shude made a call to Sanjiang.

“How’s it going with ‘Creative Ability’?”

“Nothing much happened; instead, they’ve bitten back. Jianyi is conducting an internal investigation. Three girls voluntarily reported to the school that they were paid to falsely accuse ‘Creative Ability’. Jianyi called the police.”

“What about ‘Daye Films’ now?”

“He went on holiday to Jiangdu. The media went to his company and found no one.”

“Take care of yourself.”

“Don’t worry, it’s just a public apology.”

“That’s good. I’ll be in Sanjiang in a few days to discuss cooperation. As for the contracts ‘Daye Films’ lost, I’ll send someone to take over.”

“No problem.”

The call ended. Meanwhile, in the restroom of the Dragon Palace Entertainment Club in Guangling, Li Lingbo washed his hands after using the facilities, adjusted himself, and walked down the corridor, once again donning the demeanor of a rakish playboy. With a sly grin, he returned to the private room.

He opened the door to the lively scene—beautiful women everywhere, a true spectacle of curves and waves, an awe-inspiring sight.

“Boss Li~~”

“Hahaha, Boss Li is here~~”

Li Lingbo spread his arms and dove straight in, burying his face amidst softness, taking a deep breath—it was a pungent scent, and just right.

Was there any impact from being confronted by reporters earlier in the day, accused of inciting female students to frame male students?

None whatsoever.

Life goes on, after all.

Meanwhile, at the Canglong Hotel in Canglong District, Su Yongzhi gathered several people to discuss post-election strategies with Li Jie in detail.

However, Li Jie was more interested in what would happen after Su Yongzhi was elected.

“Grandfather, will they really start merging county-level TV stations?”

“That’s certain.”

Seeing Li Jie take the bait, Su Yongzhi smiled. “Xiao Li, you know how hard it is now to get an exclusive audio-visual license. If two or three IPTV approvals are granted each year, that’s considered good, and it’s mostly big companies trading among themselves. Now, with the merger of county-level TV stations, maybe other assets won’t be worth much, but those broadcasting rights are extremely valuable.”

“But it’s hard to say which TV stations will be cut and which won’t, right?”

“That’s where we legislators come in. This will be discussed at the provincial assembly and through public hearings—it’ll take at least a year or two. By then, if I’m a provincial assemblyman, do you think I won’t get wind of the inside news?”

“Wow, Grandfather, you make me feel ashamed. If I can have your drive at your age, I’ll have no regrets in this life.”

“Hahahaha…”

The flattery was pleasant to hear. Su Yongzhi said, “As long as you and Yao Yao are well, I’ll give my all, even if it costs these old bones.”

“Thank you, Grandfather!” Li Jie seized the moment, stood up to pour wine for Su Yongzhi, and declared, “Grandfather, I will do my utmost to support you! Like an old steed with ambitions for a thousand miles, you are a role model for our generation. A toast to you, Grandfather—let me learn from you.”

He didn’t actually drink, as he was an athlete and needed to stay in top condition.

Su Yongzhi, however, was different. He downed a sixty-degree liquor in one go, then quickly grabbed a chopstick of beef and stuffed it into his mouth.

He hadn’t brought people here today to pressure Li Jie. On the contrary, he wanted them to see that Su Yongzhi wasn’t lacking for campaign backers—the boss of Creative Ability Co. was his grandson-in-law.

Money was no object; strength was assured.

With Li taking this role, Su Yongzhi’s hesitant “sponsors” immediately perked up. If he could command such power, why bother with a measly district council seat? Two years from now, they would aim for the provincial assembly summit!

Go all in—five times the original amount, a million in campaign funds!

And not just a total of one million—every single person present pledged a million!