Chapter 232: Hooking a Sucker

Tang Chen did not stay long in his villa before going out. He went directly to the construction site of the New Junyue building, thinking that he might be able to meet Boss Pang there.

“Hello, Young Master Tang!” The workers at the construction site all recognized Tang Chen. When they saw Tang Chen, they bowed one by one to greet him, then returned to their work.

Tang Chen smiled and responded to each of them. The building already had a basic structure, and finishing work was in progress. Tang Chen felt satisfied. It seemed Boss Pang really made things easy for him.

As he walked around casually, he spotted a thin figure and was immediately drawn to it. He called out, “Sister Xiao? Why are you working here too?”

The thin figure working was Xiao Ruiqi. She quickly turned around, her hair a bit messy and her clothes somewhat dirty.

“Ah, Young Master Tang, what brings you here?” Xiao Ruiqi looked flustered, as if she hadn’t expected Tang Chen to show up.

Tang Chen walked over, took her hand, and said with concern, “Aren’t there workers for this? Why are you doing it yourself? Where is Old Pang? Has that bastard forgotten my words again?”

Xiao Ruiqi quickly shook her head and said, “No, no, Young Master Tang, it’s not like that. Boss Pang asked me to supervise here, but I saw everyone was busy. Since I had nothing else to do as supervisor, I just helped out a little. It really wasn’t arranged by Boss Pang.”

Thinking of Xiao Ruiqi’s personality, Tang Chen could only sigh helplessly and said, “Sister Xiao, you don’t have to do this. The workers are enough. You’re a manager now; you shouldn’t be doing rough work like the others. Anyway, is Boss Pang here?”

Xiao Ruiqi knew Tang Chen cared about her and felt warm inside. She said, “Yes, he is. Boss Pang is supervising on the second floor. I’ll take you there.”

Tang Chen grunted in agreement and followed Xiao Ruiqi to the second floor. From a distance, he saw Boss Pang busy working. Tang Chen called out, “Old Pang!”

Boss Pang was startled. He quickly put down the blueprint in his hands, and when he saw Tang Chen, his face lit up with joy. He exclaimed excitedly, “Young Master Tang, you’re back!”

Tang Chen nodded calmly, walked over, and hugged him. After explaining his purpose, the three of them went downstairs. Since Tang Chen had matters to attend to, he took Boss Pang and drove away first. This place really wasn’t suitable for discussing business.

In the car, Tang Chen asked Boss Pang, “Old Pang, why was your mobile phone turned off? I tried calling you but couldn’t get through.”

Boss Pang was surprised. He took out his mobile phone and looked at it, then said apologetically to Tang Chen, “Sorry, Young Master Tang. I’ve been so busy lately that I didn’t even notice my phone ran out of battery.”

Tang Chen wasn’t angry, especially since Boss Pang seemed very responsible while working. Remembering something, he said to Boss Pang, “Oh, right, Old Pang. I called you at noon and asked you to investigate the current market value and such of Ding Xiang’s entertainment company. How did the investigation go?”

Boss Pang said happily, “Young Master Tang, I was just about to tell you about this. Good news—I’ve already looked into it. Tianyu Entertainment Company is basically on the verge of bankruptcy. Tianyu never had many famous artists to begin with, Ding Xiang jumped ship, and after the boss died, the company now not only faces issues with unpaid salaries for the artists but also rent pressure. What’s more, the current legal representative of Tianyu wants to sell the company. As soon as I heard this, I contacted them immediately. We agreed to meet tomorrow to discuss it.”

Tang Chen looked at Boss Pang with newfound respect. He hadn’t expected Old Pang to be so good at seizing opportunities. He smiled with satisfaction and said, “Good, good. That’s perfect. Since Tianyu is basically an empty shell now, it’ll be even easier for us to acquire it. Old Pang, call Tianyu’s current legal representative right now and tell him we want to meet and buy his company.”

Boss Pang asked with some confusion, “Young Master Tang, so urgent? Shouldn’t we wait a bit longer?”

“No need. Waiting around will only cause trouble. I want to acquire their company now. When you beat a drowning dog, you have to be swift and decisive.” Tang Chen had no intention of giving Tianyu any chance to recover. After all, you never know what might happen—who knew if Tianyu might suddenly make a big comeback or something?

Boss Pang naturally followed Tang Chen’s words obediently. He nodded, then used Tang Chen’s mobile phone to call the current boss of Tianyu.

Tianyu Entertainment Company could be described as a tree falling and the monkeys scattering. Their star artist, Ding Xiang, was poached overnight, and the original boss died mysteriously. The current boss was Zhang Tao, the largest shareholder of Tianyu Entertainment Company.

In his heart, Zhang Tao cursed Wang Guoren to death. Damn it, why did you have to die now of all times, when the company’s performance is at its lowest? You asshole, now you’ve left this mess for me to deal with. You totally deserved to die.

Though he cursed, Zhang Tao was also a clever man. To stabilize the employees’ morale, he first put on a bold front and sued Ding Xiang. This was like giving the employees a reassurance pill—see, our company isn’t collapsed yet.

On the other hand, this guy secretly schemed for himself. He contacted potential buyers behind the scenes, hoping to sell Tianyu at a low price, then take the money and run. As for whether the artists would be furious, that wasn’t his concern.

Zhang Tao had been trying to make contact for a long time without any results. Then, by chance, he received a call from Boss Pang, who expressed interest in acquiring Tianyu Company, saying he saw potential in their development. At that moment, Zhang Tao was overjoyed. He thought, “I really am clever—I actually hooked a sucker! Idiot, I wonder if you’ll be outraged when you spend money on an empty-shell company?”

So during this time, he had been holed up at home, waiting for Boss Pang’s call. He wanted to call first but felt that might make him seem too eager and raise suspicion. So this guy waited day after day, eating instant noodles and anxiously anticipating what he thought was his sucker…

“You carry her scent on you, it’s my nose…”

A melodious mobile phone ringtone sounded. Zhang Tao anxiously picked up his phone, thinking it would be Boss Pang. Instead, it was an unfamiliar number. He answered weakly, “Hello, who is this?”

Boss Pang laughed and said, “Is this Boss Zhang? Why do you sound so listless? Did something happen?”

Zhang Tao recognized Boss Pang’s voice and his eyes immediately lit up. He deliberately suppressed his excitement and said with a smile, “Oh, it’s Boss Pang. No, it’s just that you’re using a different number, and I didn’t save it, so I thought it was a stranger. What can I do for you?”

Zhang Tao’s palms were sweaty. He nervously thought to himself, “Please, please, say you want to buy my company.”

Boss Pang drew out an “oh” on the other end and said with a laugh, “Nothing major. I just wanted to ask how you’re feeling about our previous discussion about acquiring your company. I’d like to move our meeting to today. What do you think?”

Zhang Tao’s heart was setting off fireworks. He had finally waited for this moment—he was really going to buy his company! Haha!

Zhang Tao held back his excitement and pretended to be reserved. He said, “Alright. Originally, I needed some time to organize things, but since you’re so sincere, let’s meet today. Name a place, and I’ll bring the documents and everything.”

Boss Pang gave Tang Chen a triumphant smile and named a restaurant. He handed the mobile phone back to Tang Chen and said, “Young Master Tang, it’s settled. That guy is probably jumping for joy right now.”

Tang Chen smiled slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting. He said, “That idiot probably thinks we’re the suckers. He’ll be crying after we meet. Haha!”

Tang Chen laughed for a few seconds, then stopped and made a call. When the call connected, he said, “Hello, Police Sister? You’ve already settled Auntie, right? Could you do me a favor? Oh, it’s nothing major—just come arrest an idiot and take him to the police station.”