"Damn it, I think he's just got too much power. Just wait, I'm going to call Zhou Yang right now. Damn it, even in Binyang City Zhou Yang has to show me some respect. This is utterly lawless, just a small town and already so corrupt and power-abusing."

"You're going to call Mayor Zhou? Well, you better hurry up; if you're too late, I'll be taken away," Ling Zhenfei said, purposely raising his voice so that Mayor Wang and the others nearby could hear him.

After he hung up, the people around him burst into laughter looking at Ling Zhenfei.

"Haha, calling the mayor, that's just hilarious."

"A mere agricultural manor, and you think the Mayor has the time to care about your issues? You really have a big head, don't you?"

"This kid is trying to scare us. Mentioning 'the Mayor,' why don't you just say you're going to call the provincial governor, or even the UN Secretary-General? Maybe the UN will send an international court to judge us."

The people around him burst into laughter again, to them Ling Zhenfei's claim of calling the mayor was a complete joke.

In his heart, Ling Zhenfei found it somewhat amusing too. A town mayor, managing a poor little town of tens of thousands, could do whatever he wanted, oppressing others to line his own pockets. Many people couldn't see the darkness of this society. If Ling Zhenfei's manor hadn't started making money, perhaps these people wouldn't even take notice.

"Ling Zhenfei, stop messing around. You just want to scare us by saying you know the mayor and then hope we give him some face and let you off, don't you? What a joke. I, Wang Pinzheng, have been through all kinds of schemes in my political career. I've seen it all. Your little tricks are no match for me. If you knew the mayor, then I must know the Minister of National Defense."

The town mayor said arrogantly. Only now did Ling Zhenfei realize that the man's name was Wang Pinzheng. His parents must have wanted him to have integrity when they named him, but now it seemed more like a joke.

"How do you know I don't know the mayor?"

Mayor Wang laughed out loud, turning to the crowd and said, "You see? This guy is like a duck that's already been cooked—still hard-mouthed. Let me tell you this, if he really knows the mayor, I, Wang Pinzheng, won't walk anymore; I'd crawl back to town from here."

The crowd burst into cheers, one after another commending the town mayor, praising his words as if they were profound truths of academia.

Just then, Secretary Sun came running over with a cellphone, an anxious expression on his face, saying, "Town Mayor, a phone call!"

"What call? Don't you know I'm dealing with official business right now? Whoever it is can wait." Wang Pinzheng was busy enjoying the flattery of his subordinates and wasn't interested in whoever was calling.

Secretary Sun, holding the phone, said with an ugly expression, "Town Mayor, it's a call from Mayor Zhou."

"What, a call from Mayor Zhou? Why didn't you say so earlier? What does Mayor Zhou want with me?" Wang Pinzheng, having been around the block in politics, had met Zhou Yang a few times but had never actually received a call from him; the two were worlds apart, hardly ever crossing paths.

The crowd, which had just been cheering, suddenly quieted down. These people were cunning, and their minds were turning already—why was Mayor Zhou calling now of all times, when he never called before? Could it be that the owner of this little farm actually had a connection to the mayor?

Wang Pinzheng's hands trembled slightly as he took the phone. Even before he spoke, his face was already dripping with sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water.

"Hello, Mayor Wang, it's me, it's me!" Wang Pinzheng's voice was filled with respect.

"I'm at Xishan Manor, Mayor Zhou, this is all a misunderstanding, I am sure someone has misunderstood my meaning, how could it be, Mayor Zhou's friends are my friends, within my area of responsibility, that is my honor."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, if anyone does that I will remove him from his post, rest assured, Mayor Zhou rest assured, I guarantee it with my integrity, it will definitely not happen."

"All right, I wish Mayor Zhou good health and smooth workings..."

At that moment, the phone call ended, and Wang Pinzheng's face was full of embarrassment. Everyone around him was silently watching him; they had all heard Wang Pinzheng's end of the conversation clearly, though they hadn't heard what Mayor Zhou had said. From Wang Pinzheng's responses, they could guess pretty much what was going on. It seemed that the Ling Zhenfei standing before them really did know Mayor Zhou, and they were not remotely strangers to one another.

But only Zhenfei knew that Zhou Yang had given him this regard out of respect for Chu He and that it had nothing to do with himself. If Zhou Yang still remembered him, he only knew him as a minor doctor.

Wang Pinzheng turned to Zhenfei with a forced smile,"Mr. Ling Zhenfei, I had no idea you were a friend of Mayor Zhou. Why didn't you say so earlier? This is truly like a flood that has rushed into the Dragon King's temple—family not recognizing its own family. Friends of Mayor Zhou are my friends, Wang Pinzheng's friends."

Zhenfei felt a kind of aversion in his heart for these sycophantic types, and hearing Wang Pinzheng's words made him feel even more disgusted. He hastily said,"Town Mayor Wang, cut the nonsense, are you buying my farm or should I be paying you every month?"

Wang Pinzheng masked his embarrassment with a smile,"Look at what you're saying. How could we possibly acquire a fine private enterprise like yours that's just starting up? What we should do is provide it with strong support! Perhaps I wasn't clear just now, I didn't mean to incorporate your farm under the town's jurisdiction, but rather to support the farm as a key enterprise of our town."

Zhenfei hadn't expected Wang Pinzheng to be so shameless, changing his tune so readily. Knowing it was a good opportunity to set terms, relying on the prestige of Zhou Yang to ask for a bit more.

"So, Town Mayor Wang, what do you think would be the right kind of support?"

Wang Pinzheng paused for a moment, realizing that Zhenfei was asking for conditions, and quickly turned to his secretary,"Secretary Sun, what kind of policy support do you think we should offer to an excellent private enterprise like Xishan Manor?"

Secretary Sun was taken aback and internally cursed Wang Pinzheng nearly to death. Wang Pinzheng himself had initiated the problem, but in the end, it fell on Secretary Sun. If not handled well, it could upset both parties, yet the Town Mayor had issued a command, leaving him with no choice but to respond.

"I think an outstanding enterprise like Xishan Manor should be granted a tax exemption policy."

"Tax exemption, that's a good policy. What do you think, Mr. Ling, how do you find the tax exemption policy?" Wang Pinzheng asked Zhenfei in an inquiring tone.

Zhenfei waved his hand,"Taxation is a matter of national importance, I certainly don't want to be branded with a tax evasion crime in the future."

"Then what do you request? As long as our town can support it, we will surely agree." Wang Pinzheng had already lowered his stance very much.

Zhenfei thought for a moment; what Xishan Manor needed most now for its development was money, which had already been resolved, and asking Wang Pinzheng for money wasn't quite realistic. The next requirement was land; presently, Xishan Manor had contracted Xi Shan, but Xi Shan was meant for forest development and couldn't be extensively developed, so land remained a top priority.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.