Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Power of Guo Xiangqing

"Don't worry, I'll find a way," Zhang Ye said, pacing back and forth, considering whether to proceed with the plan he had originally devised.

"What's wrong?" At that moment, Guo Xiangqing approached and asked.

She hadn't caught what Liu Guangxiang had said, but from his demeanor, she could sense his anxiety.

Seeing Guo Xiangqing, Zhang Ye's eyes lit up. Although it might seem as though he was exploiting her, after a moment's thought, he still believed it was feasible. With a broad smile, he turned to her and said, "There's something I need your help with, Miss Guo. I wonder if you'd be willing to lend us a hand?"

Zhang Ye treated her as a friend, and naturally saw no reason to hide such matters from her.

"Sure," Guo Xiangqing replied readily, surprising Zhang Ye for a moment, but soon he smiled and said, "Actually, you don't need to do anything in particular—just come along with us. You only need to stand there."

Guo Xiangqing nodded in confusion, saying nothing more.

To sign a transfer contract, they had to go to the administrative office; after all, these shops technically belonged to the authorities. That was why Liu Wentao ran into obstacles and found himself powerless.

Zhang Ye didn't have any especially effective solutions either, but he believed that with Guo Xiangqing present, everything would be different.

After the incident at the police station last time, although things seemed calm on the surface, everyone working in the various departments had heard the story in detail. Guo Xiangqing had kept a low profile before, but now that she had stepped into the spotlight, anyone who dared make things difficult for her would have to think twice. After all, the wrath of the county party secretary was not something these people could bear. It was well known that none of the police officers involved in that previous incident had come to a good end.

It was precisely this that Zhang Ye counted on, and that's why he thought of bringing Guo Xiangqing along. The invisible pressure she exerted would be far more effective than a direct confrontation.

"Ye, you're here. Wu Dongjun is inside negotiating with Director Gao, but it's not going well. I had to step out in frustration." Liu Wentao was pacing at the entrance to the office. When he saw Zhang Ye approaching, his eyes lit up and he walked over quickly, explaining the situation as he came.

He was never afraid of a fight, but dealing with bureaucrats was another matter entirely. Knowing Zhang Ye had family matters to attend to, he had thought to call on Wu Dongjun, who had a knack for handling officials.

"It's fine. Let's go in," Zhang Ye nodded and led the way to the office.

Guo Xiangqing followed close behind, her face full of curiosity.

"Director Gao, if we've done something to offend you, please tell us directly. As long as it's within our power, we certainly won't..." Zhang Ye had just approached when he heard Wu Dongjun's anxious voice. Zhang Ye immediately frowned. If Director Gao was blocking their way, normally a little under-the-table incentive would suffice, but seeing how resolute he was, the problem clearly didn't lie with him.

"Mr. Wu, this matter is indeed quite difficult. It's not that I, Gao Ge, want to make things hard for you. To be frank, someone wants to cause you trouble. You'd better seek help from the right person," came another deep voice—clearly Director Gao himself.

Zhang Ye's eyes flashed sharply. As he had suspected, Li Yulong must have interfered behind the scenes. As the son of the executive vice county head, such minor manipulations were child's play for him.

Without hesitation, Zhang Ye pushed open the door and entered. With a quick glance, he saw Wu Dongjun standing by the desk, looking displeased, and across from him, a portly, middle-aged man with a thick layer of dark stubble on his upper lip. The man sat there nonchalantly, staring in astonishment at Zhang Ye as he entered.

"And who are you? Who let you in?" the man finally reacted, shouting loudly.

"I'm here to handle a shop transfer. Isn't this the place for such business?" Zhang Ye paid him no mind, simply walked in, and sat down in a chair to one side. Guo Xiangqing followed silently, taking a seat next to him, looking around with curiosity.

"You are..." Director Gao's expression darkened, but when he saw Guo Xiangqing sit down beside Zhang Ye, his face changed dramatically, and he froze on the spot.

Unlike others who had only heard of her, he had actually met Guo Xiangqing. Seeing her standing so obediently behind Zhang Ye, he was filled with disbelief.

Especially after the incident at the police station, Guo Xiangqing had become one of the most untouchable figures in Lihua County.

"Heh, of course, if you want to transfer ownership, that's entirely possible. That's exactly what we do here," he said, quickly shifting his tone to one of hearty enthusiasm, even going so far as to pour two cups of hot water from the nearby dispenser.

Zhang Ye signaled Wu Dongjun not to speak, and smiled, "Is that so? Then why did my cousin and the others run into so many problems when they tried to transfer their shop? If there really is a regulation that prohibits transfers, then we have nothing more to say. Those shops are in prime locations; we could easily run them ourselves and still make a profit. But..." Zhang Ye accepted the cup of water from Gao Ge and took a sip, without the slightest courtesy.

"There's absolutely no such restriction. Business here is free and open—there's no way we'd set up such obstacles," Director Gao hurriedly interjected, cutting Zhang Ye off. If word of this got back to her father through Guo Xiangqing, he'd be in real trouble.

They say a daughter is her father's dearest treasure, and with Guo Xiangqing being so beautiful and beloved, Guo Haidong surely doted on her. After the recent grievances she'd suffered, who could guarantee Guo Haidong wouldn't make an example of him as a warning to others?

As for Li Yulong and the others who had tried to interfere, he could only offer his apologies—compared to that, the authority of the head of Lihua County was much greater.

Thus, what seemed to Liu Wentao and Wu Dongjun to be an impossible, infuriating ordeal was resolved effortlessly by Guo Xiangqing's mere presence. She didn't even have to say a word—just sitting there quietly was enough.

Everything afterward became simple.

The shops Zhang Ye and the others had chosen were the most spacious and desirable ones available at the time; many people had their eye on them. Once they let it be known that the shops were available, interested parties swarmed in like bees to honey. That very afternoon, all ten shops were sublet.

Perhaps it was the sudden rush, or simply the fierce competition among buyers, but the transfer fees ended up netting them a tidy profit. Even the smallest shop, after deducting a five-thousand-yuan cost, earned them another five thousand—double the investment.

As for the larger, better-located shops, the profits were even greater. In the end, once all the shops had been transferred, they had made a total profit of seventy-five thousand yuan, more than double their original investment.