Chapter 141: I Possess the Strength

"Please, feel free."

This was Nevanov's reply. It was delivered in perfectly standard Mandarin with a hint of indifference, his gaze not even bothering to fix on He Zhijun.

This stunned everyone at the table. For over an hour, Nevanov had been communicating with Zheng Hejin solely in Russian. They had assumed his cold demeanor was due to a language barrier. They never imagined he could speak Chinese, making it clear that he had been intentionally leaving them out in the cold.

After speaking, Nevanov checked his watch. "My friends have been waiting in the adjacent room. Comrade Zheng, please come with me."

Old Soviet officers still liked to address those with shared interests as "comrade."

Zheng Hejin smiled. "Very well, lead the way."

The two of them walked out of the private room. Once they were gone, Chen Nianhua asked impatiently, "What happened over at Xiao Kai's side?"

He Zhijun’s expression was grim. "I don't know yet. Let’s go, we’ll go out and take a look." He barked at his subordinate who had come to report, "Lead the way!"

The subordinate didn't dare dawdle and rushed out aggressively. However, when he saw Nevanov enter the private room where Chai Jin and his group were staying, the man’s legs faltered, and he began to tremble.

"Director He... Mr. Nevanov, he went into that room..."

"What about it?" He Zhijun was already losing his temper.

With a thud, the subordinate fell to his knees. "Young Master... it was the people in that room who beat the Young Master."

"What did you say!"

Chen Nianhua was the most agitated of them all. They all knew there were three private rooms on this floor. One held traders from the North, which Nevanov had merely glanced at before moving on. Another was their table, where Nevanov had spent over an hour solely because of Zheng Hejin. The third room was known to be where Nevanov was hosting his own guests, though no one knew who was inside.

Now, He Kai had actually gotten into a conflict with the people in that room. How could he not be anxious? He blurted out, "What is Xiao Kai doing? How did he get into a fight with the people in that room!"

"Old He, let's go over and see what's going on."

Cold sweat broke out on He Zhijun’s forehead. He realized this matter was not going to be simple. The two hurried toward the room, almost at a run. As they arrived, they saw Zheng Hejin inside, in a towering rage.

Within seconds, He Kai and his group were thrown out by him.

He Zhijun shouted anxiously from the doorway, "Vice Mayor Zheng, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding..."

"Get out!" Zheng Hejin roared from inside, followed by a loud slam of the door.

The group at the door stood frozen, stunned into silence.

Chen Ni looked toward the doorway, confused. She had been in the restroom when the fight occurred and had just come out in time to see Zheng Hejin shouting for them to get out. That wasn't what was important, though. What mattered was that she thought she had seen Chai Jin through the gap in the door! How could Chai Jin be here?

Seeing Chen Ni approach, He Zhijun asked urgently, "Ni Ni, what exactly happened here just now?"

Chen Ni’s expression turned icy; she looked at He Kai with utter disgust. "They brought a group of people to cause trouble and got beaten for their efforts. Uncle He, ask your son what exactly happened." With that, she walked downstairs, having no desire to stay any longer.

He Kai, already full of resentment, immediately roared, "You bitch, you're siding with outsiders..."

*Slap!*

He Zhijun was furious. It was bad enough that his son had caused him such massive trouble, but he still had the nerve to insult others. Unable to control himself, he began to rain punches and kicks down on his son. If Chen Nianhua hadn't pulled him back, he likely would have beaten him to death.

After calming down, Chen Nianhua and the others didn't dare leave. Even though they didn't know exactly what had happened, given Zheng Hejin's attitude, did they dare walk away? If they left, they would be offending him completely, and their lives would certainly not be easy from then on. They had no choice but to bite the bullet and wait at the door for them to come out, hoping to beg for their forgiveness.

As for Chen Ni, once she reached the ground floor, she couldn't help but call Chai Jin.

Inside the private room, Chai Jin and his companions had already put the incident outside behind them and were busy discussing business. The phone ringing interrupted their conversation.

Chai Jin gave a wry smile. "My apologies."

Nevanov’s attitude was very accommodating. "It is no matter."

Chai Jin picked up the phone. Chen Ni’s voice came through. "Chai Jin, are you at the restaurant on Guanyin Mountain?"

"Yes," Chai Jin smiled.

"Are you with Vice Mayor Zheng and the others?"

"Yes, I'm here accompanying my boss. Why do you ask?"

Chen Ni sounded nervous. "What exactly is your boss's background? How does he even know Nevanov? I'm right here."

"Oh, I see. We are in the middle of talking business, let's discuss this later," Chai Jin said, hanging up.

Chen Ni sat in her car, rolling down the window to gaze at the two-story building. "This guy... what exactly is his background?"

...

Chai Jin and Nevanov spoke for over three hours. At first, there was some skepticism toward Chai Jin, but when Chai Jin revealed himself to be the man behind Xiao Li Liquor, Zheng Hejin was stunned. The owner of Xiao Li Liquor was Chai Jin?

Once Chai Jin learned of Zheng Hejin’s position, he laid out his plan with Feng Haodong and even made a call to Feng Haodong on the spot. By leveraging that connection, Zheng Hejin understood the scope of Chai Jin's influence.

Currently, the domestic civil aviation industry was in a period of rapid growth, but many airlines lacked the capital to purchase large aircraft, leading to a scarcity of main-line planes and a reliance on small, short-haul craft. What Mu Qizhong was importing from the Soviet Union/Russia were the Tu-154 main-line jets that the country desperately needed.

Chai Jin was replicating that model: he would put up the capital to buy the planes for Shenzhen Airlines, and they could rent them or purchase them through installments. Either way, he would provide the planes for them to operate first. This solved the dilemma of airlines lacking the funds to buy large jets while still having them available for operation. The airlines faced zero risk. As the Vice Mayor of Shenzhen, why wouldn't Zheng Hejin support this?

However, he asked curiously, "Xiao Chai, where is your capital coming from? Xiao Li Liquor is successful, but it doesn't have the foundation to support an aviation business, does it?"

Chai Jin smiled. "Xiao Li Liquor has made some profit, and I’m borrowing some from my brother Feng Haodong. It shouldn't be a problem."

Upon hearing that Feng Haodong would be involved, Zheng Hejin breathed a sigh of relief. He was, after all, the vanguard of reform and opening up in the South. Everyone knew Feng Haodong had the resources.

Having received his answer, Zheng Hejin looked at Nevanov with a relaxed expression. "Mr. Feng is known in Southern China as the 'King of Southern Goods.' He has the capital and the ability to coordinate daily commodities; it shouldn't be an issue."

Nevanov also relaxed, and the conversation turned to deeper matters.