#368 - Chapter 368 Meeting Zuo Wenshan at Night

“I… I understand.” Gong Kaiming's entire body was drained of strength, his face incomparably haggard.

“I will send someone over tomorrow. You will cooperate fully, do you hear?” Niu Xingwang asked.

“Yes!” Gong Kaiming nodded.

Niu Xingwang was too lazy to waste any more words with him and turned to leave.

After Niu Xingwang left, Gong Kaiming's face turned ashen, and he smashed everything in the office in a fit of rage.

“No, Merlin is mine! Don't even think about snatching it away from me!” Finally, he seemed to have made some important decision.

So he set off that night for the Suiyang Settlement.

“Brother Gong, what couldn't be said over the phone that required you to come all the way here so late?” Zuo Wenshan asked.

“Brother Zuo, I've come to ask for a favor,” Gong Kaiming said bluntly.

“What favor? Brother Gong, feel free to speak your mind,” Zuo Wenshan said.

“I have a letter here. If something happens to me, I need you to find a way to pass it on to the Military and Political Department,” Gong Kaiming said, taking out a letter from his pocket.

“What exactly is going on?” Zuo Wenshan took the letter, his brow furrowed.

“The Huatong Chamber of Commerce wants to seize the management rights of Merlin from me. I don't want to sit idly by and wait for my demise,” Gong Kaiming explained.

“That's impossible, right? What would the Huatong Chamber of Commerce want with your Merlin?” Zuo Wenshan found it hard to believe.

“They are acting too aggressively. I'm basically a puppet now, with no autonomy at all. So I plan to relocate the settlement. I'll need Brother Zuo's help with this!” Gong Kaiming grabbed Zuo Wenshan's shoulders and said.

“Relocate? Relocate where?” Zuo Wenshan was still completely in the dark.

“You are the mayor of Mozhou City. Help me find a place. Anywhere is fine, as long as we can't stay in Merlin,” Gong Kaiming said.

“Wait, wait. Tell me first, what exactly happened?” Zuo Wenshan comforted him, telling him not to rush and to clarify the situation first.

Gong Kaiming recounted the whole affair.

“Old Gong, you're so muddled! Such a good thing, why are you going against him!” Zuo Wenshan reprimanded him after listening.

“He came to me, hoping I would take on his project. Why, can't I fight for more benefits for the settlement?” Gong Kaiming believed he had done the right thing.

“First of all, you need to understand one thing: is he asking you to do him a favor, or is he taking care of you, giving you benefits? Can't you distinguish between these two things?” Zuo Wenshan hit the nail on the head.

“I… this…” Gong Kaiming was dumbfounded.

“Why didn't President Niu come to my Suiyang Settlement, but went to your Merlin? Let me put it this way, if it were me, I would have agreed without hesitation. Why? Crystal cores are money! Producing crystal cores is like printing money! You actually rejected such a good thing and want to run away? You're really something!” Zuo Wenshan said, giving him a thumbs up to express his admiration.

Gong Kaiming was speechless.

“What's the situation with the Huatong Chamber of Commerce now? Which settlement in the whole country doesn't know, doesn't understand? They are taking the initiative to come to your door to give you an opportunity, that's because they are thinking of old times. Yet you're demanding benefits from them, isn't that just being greedy and insatiable?” Zuo Wenshan continued to lecture.

“Whether it's good or bad depends on whether the settlement is under my management. Put yourself in my shoes, if you were the person in charge of the Merlin Settlement, the Huatong Chamber of Commerce would give you some resources, but they would want you to listen to them in everything. Would you be willing?” Gong Kaiming retorted.

“This…” Zuo Wenshan was at a loss for words.

“That's it. It's useless to say anything else now. I can't be a puppet mayor. You quickly help me find a place, I need to arrange the relocation as soon as possible,” Gong Kaiming urged.

“Alright, alright! I'll help you look,” Zuo Wenshan didn't say any more, and walked to the map hanging on the wall to look.

“How about here?” Zuo Wenshan asked, pointing to a spot on the map.

“Huangqiao?” Gong Kaiming asked.

“Yes, it's not far from Merlin, and it has a considerable amount of housing, which can be used after a simple cleaning. However, you'll have to figure out the city walls yourself,” Zuo Wenshan said.

“Okay, let's go with this place. I'll go back now and relocate overnight,” Gong Kaiming said, about to leave.

“Old Gong!” Zuo Wenshan called out.

“What's wrong?” Gong Kaiming had already reached the door and turned back to ask.

“Have you thought it through? There's no turning back once the arrow is released. Once you move, you'll be completely breaking with the Huatong Chamber of Commerce. And without the support of the Chamber of Commerce, I'm afraid your settlement's days won't be easy,” Zuo Wenshan advised again.

“I have no choice anymore, I'll take it one step at a time!” Gong Kaiming planned to go all the way to the end.

After Gong Kaiming left, Zuo Wenshan picked up the letter in his hand, lost in thought.

…

In the middle of the night, Niu Xingwang was woken up by a call from Gu Qingyi.

It turned out that the staff of the Merlin branch reported that Gong Kaiming was planning to run away with the people.

“This Gong Kaiming, he really doesn't make people worry,” Niu Xingwang shook his head.

He knew that Gong Kaiming's official addiction was too great, and he didn't want to lose the power in his hands.

“Notify the Mercenary Guild, let's do it!” After Niu Xingwang issued the order, he fell asleep again.

Since Gong Kaiming wanted to choose confrontation, then he would no longer be polite.