Chapter 1073: Motive

Elder Qiao nodded: “It was a long time ago, did you buy this place?”

The middle-aged man smiled and said: “Yes, I bought this land, planning to develop it.” He took out his business card and respectfully handed it to Elder Qiao.

Elder Qiao took his business card and saw the identity and name on it — Equatorial Capital CEO Ren Tianye.

Elder Qiao said: “So it’s President Ren.”

Ren Tianye said: “You recognize me?”

Elder Qiao looked at the unfamiliar face in front of him. He had never seen this person, yet for some reason he felt a sense of familiarity from deep within, perhaps because they met at the old house. He shook his head.

There’s a trace of disappointment in Ren Tianye’s eyes: “I know you.”

Elder Qiao’s lips showed a faint smile, many people know him, it was not surprising, he softly said: “Sorry to bother you.”

Ren Tianye looked at Elder Qiao’s slightly hunched back, his eyes showing an extremely complex expression.

As Elder Qiao was about to reach the door, Ren Tianye’s voice came from behind: “Elder Qiao, is this what you dropped?”

Elder Qiao stopped and slowly turned around, seeing Ren Tianye walking towards him and coming close, he reached out his hand and placed a coin in his palm.

Elder Qiao looked down and saw Ren Tianye had placed in his palm a commemorative coin for the 35th National Day anniversary, worth one yuan, with the front design of the founding ceremony.

Elder Qiao’s body trembled slightly as if electrocuted, raising his head to see Ren Tianye quickly leaving.

Elder Qiao’s mouth opened wide, wanting to speak but stopping, his chest heaved dramatically, even the usually composed Elder Qiao faced with a crisis like the collapse of Mount Tai, in this moment his eyes actually turned red.

He lowered his head again to look at the commemorative coin, then tightly clenched it in his hand.

Although Qiao Rulong had passed the danger, he still felt lingering fear. If Xu Chunliang hadn’t acted in time, he might have already died.

Qiao Rulong looked at the heart monitor, seeing the stabilized blood pressure and heart rate, he finally relaxed a bit. Having escaped death once, it was precisely because of that experience that now he cherished life more.

Compared to life, wealth and power seemed less important.

During this time he experienced a lot, and Qiao Rulong increasingly realized he couldn’t become the kind of person his grandfather hoped for, and his grandfather gradually lost hope in him.

Seeing his grandfather come to visit, Qiao Rulong wanted to get out of bed.

Elder Qiao pressed his shoulder down: “Rulong, you should lie down and not get up.”

Qiao Rulong lay back down, smiled at his grandfather: “Grandpa, I’m fine, it’s probably just a false alarm.”

Elder Qiao said: “It’s good if it’s nothing, you might have been too tired recently, take this chance to rest well.”

Qiao Rulong thought his grandfather was hinting at something, quickly said: “Grandpa, I’ve already submitted my resignation to Hua Tou, the leadership understands, given my current health I can no longer fulfill my role at Hua Tou.”

Elder Qiao said: “That’s good.”

Qiao Rulong said: “I’m sorry.”

Elder Qiao smiled and shook his head: “I heard Xiaoxu saved you?”

Qiao Rulong said: “I owe him.” After saying this, he felt much more relaxed inside, actually ever since Xu Chunliang helped save Qi Shuang and her son, he admitted this reality, but never mentioned it publicly, today he not only spoke of it but in front of his grandfather.

Elder Qiao said: “Great kindness doesn’t require thanks, but it should be remembered.”

Qiao Rulong said: “Grandpa, you’re right, the Ye Family must have blamed Elder Ye’s death on you, should you find a chance to explain to them?”

Elder Qiao said calmly: “They’re free to think what they want, explanation for what? I’ve been wronged a lot in my life, but as long as I have a clear conscience it’s enough.”

Qiao Rulong nodded, his mood turned heavy, he knew his grandfather valued his friendship with Elder Ye greatly, Elder Ye’s death completely broke their years of revolutionary bond.

Elder Qiao said: “By the way, have you finished handling the matters in Dongzhou?”

Qiao Rulong said: “It’s done, once Hua Tou approves my resignation, my partnership with Dongzhou Culture and Tourism will officially end, Hua Tou is already looking for my replacement. Jishi Medical has also been sold to Equatorial Capital.”

Elder Qiao heard about Equatorial Capital, took out the business card from his pocket and handed it to Qiao Rulong.

Qiao Rulong took it and glanced at it: “Ren Tianye? He’s the CEO of Equatorial Capital, when did you meet him?”

Elder Qiao said: “By chance, is he the one who acquired Jishi Medical?”

Qiao Rulong said: “Yes, Equatorial Capital initially wanted to invest in Dongzhou Infectious Disease Hospital, after taking on the CEO role, he believed Changxing Hospital’s return on investment was more certain than the Infectious Disease Hospital, so he acquired Jishi Medical, solving some troubles for me.”

Elder Qiao nodded and said, “It seems he’s been quite good to you.”

Qiao Rulong said indifferently, “In business, there’s no place for sentiments. He acquired Jishi Medical just to make money.”

Xu Chunliang planned to return to Dongzhou tomorrow. His grandfather and Elder Ye would need a few more days before heading there. Before leaving, he went to specially visit Huang Wanglin, Master Huang San, of Linzheng Hall.

Apart from the Dongzhou Infectious Disease Hospital, Xu Chunliang is currently also in charge of the Weishan Lake National Resort Project’s construction command center. During this trip to the Capital City, he formally invited Huang Wanglin to serve as a consultant to prepare for the subsequent development of the Underwater City exploration and development project in Dongzhou.

Huang Wanglin is highly esteemed in the collection world. With his endorsement, the archaeology of the Underwater City would proceed much more smoothly. Currently, Dongzhou is already far behind Jizhou in exploring the Underwater City.

Xu Chunliang invited Hua Zhuyue to accompany him. Hua Zhuyue had agreed to return to Dongzhou with him and intended to invest in a film and television base there.

On the way, she inquired about the investment situation of Dongzhou Infectious Disease Hospital and had also heard about Equatorial Capital abandoning the investment.

Xu Chunliang said, “Currently, the person responsible for investment approval at Equatorial Capital is Ren Tianye. Mo Han has already resigned.”

Hua Zhuyue said, “So didn’t they play you for a fool? Without their investment, should you consider other avenues?”

Xu Chunliang said, “Zhai Pingqing from Kangjian Group is willing to invest five billion in the construction of the new hospital, gaining support from various departments in Dongzhou.”

Hua Zhuyue said, “Is Zhai Pingqing that wealthy?”

Xu Chunliang said, “I’m also a bit puzzled. He clearly has more profitable healthcare and senior living projects, yet he’s investing heavily in building a general hospital this time and insists on sole investment, rejecting other capital. I really don’t know what he’s up to.”

Hua Zhuyue said, “Perhaps he wants to walk on two legs, one focused on healthcare and senior living projects, and the other on traditional medical care.”

Xu Chunliang glanced at her chest and sighed, “It’s not necessarily doable with both hands.”

Hua Zhuyue picked up on his implication and teased, “How would you know without trying it yourself?”

Both of their gazes became somewhat heated, and Hua Zhuyue nearly ran a red light, slamming on the brakes: “Don’t distract me while I’m driving.”

Xu Chunliang laughed and said, “You blame me for your own lack of focus.”

Hua Zhuyue said, “Jiajia wants to be a shareholder in your hospital. Now doesn’t it seem like that’s not going to happen?”

Xu Chunliang said, “I always feel Zhai Pingqing’s motives aren’t pure.”

At this moment, his phone rang, and to his surprise, it was Zhai Pingqing calling. Xu Chunliang chuckled. Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives.

Zhai Pingqing would be arriving in the Capital City today and wanted to meet Xu Chunliang. He planned to host a gathering the next day, inviting several distinguished figures from the medical field to prepare for the future construction of the new hospital. And he wasn’t coming alone; Dongzhou Infectious Disease Hospital’s deputy director Pan Junfeng and Li Chunyan were also coming, along with the deputy director of the health bureau, Wu Zhongyi.

Xu Chunliang was a bit puzzled as to why Zhai Pingqing was the one calling him, but he agreed without hesitation.

Shortly after hanging up, Pan Junfeng called, asking if Xu Chunliang’s family matters were sorted out. Initially, Pan Junfeng hadn’t planned for Xu Chunliang to attend this meeting in the Capital City, considering Xu Chunliang had personal matters to take care of. But it was Zhai Pingqing who proposed having Xu Chunliang attend.

Pan Junfeng also considered that Xu Chunliang wasn’t very fond of Zhai Pingqing and worried he might make things awkward for him at a crucial moment. He specially instructed Xu Chunliang that some important figures would be at the meeting tomorrow.

Xu Chunliang assured Pan Junfeng to rest easy, as he wouldn’t undermine his own people.

Arriving at Linzheng Hall, he learned that Huang Wanglin had stepped out to greet him when he heard Xu Chunliang was coming. Xu Chunliang cheerfully went over to shake hands with Huang Wanglin. In fact, they had seen each other just yesterday, as Huang Wanglin had attended Ye Changyuan’s memorial service.

Huang Wanglin greeted Hua Zhuyue, “President Hua is here too.”

Hua Zhuyue said, “I’m here to appreciate Master Huang San’s collection.”

Huang Wanglin called over a guide to take Hua Zhuyue to appreciate his collection, and Xu Chunliang explained his purpose to Huang Wanglin. Huang Wanglin happily accepted his invitation.

Xu Chunliang knew Huang Wanglin and Zhai Pingqing were both members of the Four Elders of the Desekan Sect and intentionally shifted the topic to Zhai Pingqing: “Third Master, are you familiar with Zhai Pingqing from Kangjian Group?”

Huang Wanglin said, “We’ve collaborated in the past and can be considered friends to some extent.”

Xu Chunliang told Huang Wanglin about Zhai Pingqing’s intention to invest in building their hospital.

Huang Wanglin said, “Kangjian Group has been very successful in the health and senior living sector over the years, but they rarely venture into general hospitals.”

Xu Chunliang said, “Because Dongzhou has had failed past experiences with private capital entering public hospitals, our hospital is quite cautious about this collaboration. I’m not very familiar with Zhai Pingqing as a person. He proposed a five billion investment—does he have that capability?”

Huang Wanglin immediately understood Xu Chunliang’s intent—he wanted to learn about Zhai Pingqing through him.

Huang Wanglin said, “There shouldn’t be any issue regarding his capability. However, I also can’t understand why he wants to enter the traditional medical market. He is already very successful in the health and senior living sector. If it were me, I’d continue to delve deeply into the familiar track, as switching tracks carries risks.”

Xu Chunliang nodded and said, “I think the same. The health and senior living industry is just emerging, with ample profits and broad prospects. Clearly, he already has a goose that lays golden eggs, so why choose the highly competitive traditional medical market?”