"Isn't it true?" Mrs. Zhou glared at Zhou Kai, saying, "If they are really that outrageous, I won't let you work for them anymore."

"It's not true at all," Zhou Kai said angrily, "This is just the preliminary plan. Do you know what Sichuan University Group's final plan is?"

"What is it?" both Mr. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou asked in unison.

"Every household will be compensated with a new house based on their current home's floor area, and the three thousand yuan subsidy is for your renovation!" Zhou Kai sneered, "Tell me, where can you find such a generous developer?"

Upon hearing this, they were both dumbstruck.

"My God, is this... is this true or false?" Mrs. Zhou hurriedly asked.

"Of course it's true!" Zhou Kai said earnestly, "Xiao La Jiao (Xiao Rui) told this to me and Chuanzi personally; how could it be fake?"

"If that's true, then that girl Xiao Rui (Zhou Rui) is really a good girl," Mrs. Zhou said, changing her tune as if she had taken back all the previous complaints about Zhou Rui. She quickly added, "Our family has eighty square meters. We can not only be allocated a residence but also get a decoration subsidy of two hundred and forty thousand yuan... Isn't this compensation standard too high?"

"Too high? It's practically faster than robbing a bank," Zhou Kai said with a cold voice.

"Hehe..." Mr. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou couldn't help but laugh sheepishly.

In a fit of anger, Zhou Kai revealed the truth. Mrs. Zhou, being talkative, blurted it out the next day while buying groceries. By noon, the whole Changlin Factory was abuzz with the news.

"Have you heard? The final compensation plan from Sichuan University Group is actually quite good."

"What compensation plan?"

"Don't you know?" Aunt Zhou said proudly, "It's all thanks to our Xiao Rui taking care of everyone. They're compensating every household with a residence based on size, plus a renovation fee of three thousand yuan per square meter."

"Really?!" Upon hearing this, everyone immediately cheered up, "If that's true, we really should go back and light some incense in gratitude."

"Exactly!" Aunt Zhou said excitedly, "Never thought this girl has been hiding all this, she really had us worried."

At this moment, a voice from the crowd said, "Sichuan University Group hasn't made a statement yet, and you are all buzzing about, as if it's real. Maybe this is just a smoke bomb intentionally released by Sichuan University Group, to keep you calm for a while. Once they're fully prepared, they'll sweep you all up in one go. By then, crying won't help you at all."

With that one remark, everyone fell silent.

Then someone asked, "Aunt Zhou, did your niece tell you this information herself?"

"That…" Aunt Zhou hesitated for a moment, then said awkwardly, "Wasn't it Zhou Kai who said it? He heard it from Xiao Rui."

In the crowd, that voice spoke up again, "You're Zhou Rui's aunt, and instead of telling you personally, she tells Zhou Kai. Don't you think there's something fishy about this?"

Hearing this, everyone immediately felt that it made a lot of sense.

Aunt Zhou was extremely anxious, frustrated by the fact that she really hadn't verified it with Zhou Rui. Even though she wanted to say something, she found that she had no grounds to speak on.

"Well, looks like we need to be cautious."

"Right, that girl Zhou Rui is pretty cunning. Maybe she's scheming something against us."

"Exactly, we need to be careful, we absolutely can't fall for their traps."

A moment ago, the group was singing Zhou Rui's praises, but in an instant, Zhou Rui had been painted as a little witch in their mouths, and they almost wished to curse her. Aunt Zhou couldn't stay any longer, and she left quietly. After walking a distance, she hurriedly called Zhou Rui. At this time, Zhou Rui's phone was extremely busy. Various material suppliers and construction teams... were practically lining up to call Zhou Rui. With Zhou Rui having the final say on the Changlin Factory project, nobody else's words mattered.

Therefore, these people were virtually queuing up every day to call Zhou Rui or visit her in person, hoping that Zhou Rui would use their materials or hire their construction teams. The visitors were endless every day. Even unqualified teams and material suppliers were blocking the way downstairs of the office building just to catch a glimpse of Zhou Rui.

At this point, it was clear that Aunt Zhou could not get through to Zhou Rui's phone.

Having no other choice, Aunt Zhou could only take a taxi to Sichuan University Group.

And she went straight into Zhou Rui's office.

In the office, several suppliers were gathered when suddenly an old lady barged in. They all looked bewildered.

"Auntie, how come you're here?" Zhou Rui was surprised.

"Xiao Rui, tell me, what exactly is the compensation standard for Changlin Factory?" Aunt Zhou asked urgently.

"What standard?" Zhou Rui looked puzzled.

"The one where you said a house is compensated, plus a renovation fee of three thousand per square meter!" Aunt Zhou blurted out.

Zhou Rui immediately covered her face, helplessness written all over it, and said, "Was it that brat Zhou Kai who blabbed again? Damn it, I knew the guy couldn't keep his mouth shut, but I didn't expect him to spill my plans so quickly. This is infuriating, I'll have to deal with him when I get back!"

"Don't worry about who said it for now, I just want to ask if this plan of yours is real?" Aunt Zhou asked.

"Yes, it is," Zhou Rui nodded and said, "This is my final plan."

"Then that's settled!" Aunt Zhou heard this and hurriedly said with a smile, "Then I won't disturb your work discussion. I'll get going now."

Having said that, Aunt Zhou rushed off as quickly as she had come.

A group of people watched Aunt Zhou come and go in haste, all with stunned expressions. Zhou Rui also had an incredulous look, and said with a wry smile, "Alright, let's continue with the matter at hand. We were just discussing some issues with the steel, let's carry on discussing that..."

......

Even though Aunt Zhou had obtained confirmation from Zhou Rui, very few people at Changlin Factory were willing to believe her. This was because the Sichuan University Group had not issued any formal documents, and there were people behind the scenes manipulating and inciting discord. Therefore, Aunt Zhou's words were almost completely ignored. No one wanted to believe her at all.

Liu Jianguo was very pleased with the move he had played. His subordinates also earned significant credit.

In Liu Jianguo's office, five or six people were gathered, drinking tea.

"Director Liu, now the residents of Changlin Factory are all siding with us," a square-faced man wearing glasses said with a smile.

"Hmm!" Liu Jianguo nodded with great satisfaction and said, "Good, this is exactly the effect I wanted."

The backlash from Changlin Factory was huge, and it seemed that the people in the factory were very resistant to the demolition. Many had formed their own group, determined to fight Sichuan University Group to the end. The voices inside the factory rejecting Lin Chuan and Zhou Rui were growing louder. In private, there were plenty cursing them as vampires, wishing them dead.

Because of this, Lin Chuan decided to personally form a team to negotiate with the residents of Changlin Factory.

Li Xiaodong, the person in charge of this area for Sichuan University Group, rushed to Changlin Factory without delay and posted a large notice. He called on the residents to elect twenty representatives to discuss compensation matters with the executives of the Sichuan University Group the next afternoon.

Once the news broke out, a bunch of people from Changlin Factory immediately became frantic.

"What should we do now?"

"Who can we send to talk to them?"

"Yeah, who can negotiate with those people? If things go south, they might start throwing punches!"

Clearly, the group from Changlin Factory didn't dare to negotiate face-to-face with Lin Chuan and his people. After all, Lin Chuan and his crew were from the underworld, and they had even formed a group called Jvyi Gang. No ordinary citizen dared to negotiate with the mafia; that would be a death wish.

"How about sending Liu Jianguo?" someone suddenly suggested from within the crowd.

"Yes, yes, yes, let's send Liu Jianguo. He's the community committee director; let him lead the delegation."

The crowd nodded in agreement, seemingly having found an outlet for their anxiety. They remembered Liu Jianguo, apparently selectively forgetting the bad things he had done before. They even forgot that Liu Jianguo had once helped the Tiger Gang to lure factory residents to relocate for a lower price.

Immediately after, a group of people eagerly went to find Liu Jianguo.

Liu Jianguo already knew about the situation, but since it called for twenty representatives, it was natural for the residents to choose them themselves. Therefore, he waited in his office for someone to come and ask for his help. And sure enough, in less than two hours, a group of residents came to the community committee.

"Fellow villagers, take a seat, please sit. What brings you to the community committee for coordination?" Liu Jianguo assumed the appearance of a gentleman and even had an air of leadership about him.

"Director Liu, we've come to ask you to negotiate with Sichuan University Group."

"Yes, Sichuan University Group wants us to elect twenty representatives to negotiate with them. None of us dare to go, so we can only trouble the comrades at the community committee to appoint our representatives."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianguo's heart bloomed with joy, but he hummed and hawed, saying, "This... Is this really okay? How can I represent all of you?"

"Why not?" someone spoke up: "Firstly, you are the community committee director, you have the most authority to speak, and you can represent us the best; secondly, you're one of us from Changlin Factory, just these two points alone qualify you more than anyone else."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The crowd nodded in agreement.

The group of people flattered Liu Jianguo profusely, almost imploring him to step forward.

After some hesitation, Liu Jianguo said with feigned reluctance, "Alright then. If my neighbors think so highly of me, I won't refuse any longer. But since I will be representing everyone, I will do my best to fight for our interests."

"Great!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

Soon, the community committee comrades saw the group out, and more people kept coming to petition, hoping Liu Jianguo would represent them in the negotiations. After finally sending everyone away, the community committee closed its doors for a meeting.

[Thank you to the book friend 'Guangzhou Revival Logistics' for the daily rewards. Here's an extra chapter as thanks!]

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