Chapter 1820 - 751: Double Agent (2)

Chapter 1820: Chapter 751: Double Agent (2)

As long as Sister Qingkui isn’t up to some mischief, any minor physical issues are not a problem. Once I complete the fourth round of actions, I can easily exchange for some potion to cure her.

...

On the other side, far away at the Guojin Office Building in Magic City.

After carefully hanging up the phone, Xu Lingyue turned to look at Jiang Qingkui, who was standing in front of the desk with her arms crossed.

Jiang Qingkui was still wearing her custom tailored business dress, but upon closer observation, it was apparent that the waist area had become more relaxed, still difficult to hide her curvaceous and alluring figure, but not as form-fitting as before.

Seeing Xu Lingyue staring at her waist, Jiang Qingkui couldn’t help but laugh, "What are you looking at? It’s just over a month, there’s no sign of a belly yet."

Xu Lingyue bashfully pursed her lips, then remembered something and held Jiang Qingkui’s hand, speaking pitifully:

"Mr. Jiang, if the boss discovers that I deceived him later, you must protect me!"

Xu Lingyue wasn’t sure how she muddled into this "double agent" situation.

To blame, it seems her lack of experience is at fault.

Initially, following Zhou Wang’s instructions, Xu Lingyue had been monitoring Jiang Qingkui’s unusual behavior and noticed some clues.

One was that Jiang Qingkui’s overtime frequency had decreased; another was that she appeared to be on some long-term medication.

To figure out what was going on with Jiang Qingkui, Xu Lingyue sneaked into her office one dark and windy night to examine what medicine she was taking.

"Folic acid?"

When she found the medicine bottle, Xu Lingyue was bewildered.

She looked it up on her phone and realized this was the commonly recommended "drug" for all pregnant women during early pregnancy, a vitamin supplement that primarily helps prevent birth defects like neural tube defects and anencephaly in babies.

"Mr. Jiang is pregnant?!"

Xu Lingyue’s brain froze; she never expected Jiang Qingkui to be suffering from this kind of "illness."

"Yes."

Just then, a calm voice from behind confirmed her suspicion.

"Mr. Jiang..."

Turning around, Xu Lingyue was startled, shocked to find Jiang Qingkui standing right behind her.

It turned out, as Xu Lingyue thought her spying was untraceable, Jiang Qingkui had already noticed her unusual behavior.

With Jiang Qingkui’s cleverness, catching her little tricks wasn’t too difficult... In fact, there were several times Jiang Qingkui intentionally took medicine in front of Xu Lingyue.

In summary, without options, Xu Lingyue was forced to become Jiang Qingkui’s "double agent."

The statement she just made on the phone to Zhou Wang was entirely under Jiang Qingkui’s instruction, rehearsed multiple times before saying it.

"You are the third person to know, and I hope there won’t be a fourth one, do you understand?"

Seeing Xu Lingyue successfully passed, Jiang Qingkui warned again.

"Yes, I understand, Mr. Jiang."

Xu Lingyue nodded obediently, inwardly apologizing to the newly appointed Mongolian Drummer, Mr. Zhou.

.....I really had no choice!

...

"Sign this contract, and the money will arrive this afternoon."

Monday morning, as Zhou Wang was brewing tea in the shop, the attractive young woman Liu Rushuang barged in, placing two standard contracts in front of him.

"Unsecured, two million, five per mille monthly interest?"

As Zhou Wang briefly reviewed the agreement, he couldn’t help but look up, surprised.

Five per mille monthly interest... it’s not high but low, even excessively low to a shocking degree in a certain sense.

This past week, Zhou Wang, while researching loan options, discovered that bank loans were out of the question and explored private lending routes.

It’s known that under current laws, private lending rates have a judicial protection ceiling, approximately around 13% annualized under the latest policies; however, in actual lending scenarios, it’s virtually impossible to find channels offering this rate.

There are individuals willing to vie for channels offering 20% to even 30% annualized rates.

For example, take the most familiar borrowing platform for the average person; the daily interest of 0.05 converted to an annual interest rate is close to 20%, whereas realistically, those qualified don’t need it, and those who want it often aren’t eligible...

Five per mille monthly interest, equivalent to a 0.5% monthly rate, totaling merely a 6% annual rate, only a third of common borrowing platforms, already reaching the best level akin to prime bank loans.

"Yes, my friend’s lending company, I provided a simple guarantee."

Liu Rushuang avoided Zhou Wang’s gaze, merely explaining casually.

"Sister Liu, I indeed need this sum now, so I won’t stand on ceremony, but don’t worry, I’ll repay you."

After contemplating, Zhou Wang found no reason to refuse, and sincerely said.

"Do you think my help aims at your repayment?"

Liu Rushuang cast a slightly annoyed glance at Zhou Wang, then with an "Mm," continued, "This weekend our company has an outdoor team-building event, Susu wants to invite you to join; are you available?"

Here we go again...

Though nominally the invitation comes from Liu Rushuang’s daughter Susu, Zhou Wang naturally understands the true nature of the affair.

Observing Liu Rushuang’s feigned nonchalance coupled with her subtle nervousness, Zhou Wang sighed inwardly, smiled, and replied, "I should be free; send me a message, and I’ll be there on time."

Seeing Zhou Wang agree, Liu Rushuang left, satisfied, carrying her bag.

Yang Hao came over jealously, "Brother Dog, with your charm, even if you go bankrupt someday, you’ll have no worries in your later life..."

"Get lost!"

Zhou Wang didn’t bother to bicker with him, only passionately grabbing the loan agreement.

Two million, enough to open two other branch stores, leaving substantial funds on the books, also meaning Zhou Wang has more room for errors, allowing him to "lose" without restraint.

"Haozi, I think we need to restructure our pricing."

Zhou Wang already had a fresh plan and immediately drew Yang Hao aside to discuss.

"Restructuring prices? Sure!"

Given Zhou Wang’s recent price cut which Yang Hao originally disagreed with, his spirits lifted upon hearing, "Then, let’s go back to the earlier prices?"

"No, I plan to go upscale, offering only custom services priced in the four-figure range and cut all low-end product lines..."

"What?"

Yang Hao was startled, almost unresponsive when the newly hired receptionist hurried over.

"Mr. Yang, there’s no internet again..."

"What?"

Yang Hao was furious upon hearing, "Those bastards from Coastal Farewell Society, cutting our cables again, I’m gonna fight them!"

"Cutting cables?"

Zhou Wang was befuddled.

"All they do are these dirty tricks, those jerks; Xiao Yang, bring back Xiao Xu and Xiao Li, and prepare a pot of boiling water for me!"

"Boiling water... what are you planning?"

Zhou Wang asked puzzled.

"I’m taking the crew to water their money trees; let’s see if they still dare mess with me."

Lifting his sleeves, Yang Hao stormed off, leaving Zhou Wang amused but ultimately not stopping him.

This is perhaps the most unvarnished aspect of "business rivalry." As long as it doesn’t escalate, Zhou Wang couldn’t care less.

He sat back at his desk, reconsidering the pricing strategy. Zhou Wang already decided to at least double the prices for all current custom services, reducing his products’ market competitiveness to the lowest...

He refuses to believe this would still not lead to losses!