Long Bing’s call did not come but Shentu Tian-Yin did.

Xia Lei was not surprised at all to see Shentu Tian-Yin appear before him. He smiled wryly. “Have a seat. Want anything to drink?”

“No need. You know why I came.” Shentu Tian-Yin cut straight to the chase. “Need my help?”

Xia Lei was silent for a bit before he said, “No. I can settle this myself.”

Shentu Tian-Yin paused. “You really don’t need my help?”

Xia Lei shook his head. “No.”

He had long dismissed the idea of asking Shentu Tian-Yin for help. Gu Ding-Shan was personally involved and the methods Shentu Tian-Yin could use were limited. Furthermore, any action of hers could prompt the beginning of a war between Vientaine Group and North Group. He had already asked Long Bing and Shi Bo-Ren for help so there was no need to ask Shentu Tian-Yin. The result of his request was not out yet and it was nice to have the problem solved but it would be useless for her to use her resources if even Shi Bo-Ren could not solve it.

Shentu Tian-Yin looked silently at Xia Lei. “I’ve heard that Gu Ding-Shan is involved this time. He is no ordinary person. He has influence and is connected to parties of interest. This must be why you don’t want me to help, right? Then have you thought of a solution?”

“I’ve already asked Long Bing to help me and I’m waiting to hear from her. I’ll have to think of something if she can’t help me,” said Xia Lei.

“I see. Give me a call if you need my help,” said Shentu Tian-Yin.

Xia Lei smiled. “I will. You should go home. I’ll visit Uncle when this is all resolved.”

A faint smile appeared on Shentu Tian-Yin’s lips as well. “You’re still able to smile so this means you have a card up your sleeve. You have to overcome this obstacle in front of you if you want to make a kingdom for yourself. I believe in you; you can do it.”

Her words were morale-boosting but Xia Lei heard only the words. He watched Shentu Tian-Yin leave his office but did not send her out.

After Shentu Tian-Yin left, Xia Lei sat quietly at his desk to brood over things. Meanwhile, Guan Ling-Shan and the other important staff of Thunder Horse Manufacturing were in the meeting room discussing possible solutions to their problem.

Long Bing finally called after nightfall.

“How is it?” asked Xia Lei anxiously.

“Sorry.” Long Bing was quiet for a bit before she said, “Boss Shi says you have to handle this yourself. He said that too many people are involved and it will not solve your problem even if he and Gu Ding-Shan come to blows; it will have other effects too.”

Xia Lei’s heart sank.

Long Bing spoke again, “Gu Ding-Shan is a powerful and corrupt person but this is not the time to take him down. Boss Shi said to accept what the Trade and Commerce Bureau gave you and think of a way to solve the problem later.”

Xia Lei laughed, but it was a sour, dry laugh. He’d always seen Bureau 101 as his backer and that was why he had agreed to be a consultant, risking his life and freedom to go on that mission to Germany. Now it looked like there was no true reliable backer. If the opponent was big enough, the backer would fall. The person one could rely on the most was oneself!

“Hello? You still listening?” came Long Bing’s voice.

“Yeah,” said Xia Lei.

“Are you all right?” asked Long Bing in concern.

Xia Lei laughed bitterly. “Fine, I’m all right, just... I’m surprised that Gu Ding-Shan has so much power.”

“The money you’ve made so far is actually enough for you to live on for the rest of your life. It doesn’t matter if you make less money. Why don’t you join Bureau 101? Boss Shi did say that Gu Ding-Shan won’t be able to mess with you if you officially join Bureau 101.”

“Heh Heh. We’ll talk about that later. This is a big decision and I’ll have to consider it. That’s it for now - I have to chair a meeting. I’ll call you next time. Goodbye.” Xia Lei hung up.

His last backer had fallen. Loneliness spread in Xia Lei; this feeling was uncomfortable.

Xia Lei actually did understand Shi Bo-Ren’s unwillingness to help, especially since Gu Ding-Shan was a powerful, corrupt man and had influence and connections. What could be gained compared to the losses was not even worth mentioning if Shi Bo-Ren went up against Gu Ding-Shan. What basis would he have to help him in this sort of situation? Shi Bo-Ren was not acting against an evil to prevent harm to innocents, and Long Bing lacked the power to help.

However, Xia Lei now saw the limits of his backing after this experience; this could be counted as a gain.

The light in the meeting room was still on. The management staff of Thunder Horse Manufacturing were still in discussion. When Xia Lei pushed the door open and walked in, they quieted and looked at him silently.

Xia Lei sat next to Guan Ling-Shan and said with a smile, “So what have you discussed?”

He was actually in the worst of moods but he had to display a relaxed attitude in front of his subordinates. He had to let them think that he was strong and had the ability and confidence to overcome this crisis.

“Chairman Xia, we’ve put together three plans after our hours of discussion,” said Guan Ling-Shan.

“Eh?” Xia Lei was surprised. “Tell me about them. What are these three plans?”

Guan Ling-Shan cleared her throat. “The first plan - public relations. We’ll use money to buy connections. We’ve compiled a list of people we need to contact...”

Xia Lei shook his head. “Tell me the second one.”

“The second plan - relocation. The Gu clan is influential but they cannot cover the whole of China. We’ve done some research and the Gu clan started in Hai-Zhu, then became more powerful in Jing-Du so they are very powerful in these two places but not very powerful in other places. We can move our company further out and rent a factory with equipment. We’ll be able to start work again in a fortnight. The only thing is that it’ll be difficult to settle the problem with the workers; most of our workers are locals from Hai-Zhu.”

Xia Lei glanced at Qin Xiang. He knew a lot about the Gu clan and it was likely that he had been the one to contribute most to this plan. Xia Lei nodded. “Tell me about the third one.”

“The third plan - outsourcing. The world economy is fairly well-connected now and many global companies take this route. Take Apple for example - it doesn’t manufacture its own phones but it’s the company which sells the most and the best phones in the world. It sources parts from all over the world, then choose an appropriate location to put all these parts together and then put the phones up for sale in the market. The phones Apple produces don’t even have to enter America. We can do this too. Get parts from different places, then assemble and sell them further out. The Gu clan is powerful but there is no way then can pressure so many companies spread out in so many different places.”

Xia Lei’s eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his face. The smile this time was from the heart and not forced. “Not bad! I hadn’t expected such good ideas. The first plan can be eliminated. The second and third are very good - I didn’t even think of those. I have to hand it to you guys, heh heh.”

“Chairman Xia, we have strength in numbers! You are overly worried,” said Yin Hao with a smile.

Guan Ling-Shan was also quite happy with the praise from Xia Lei. “Have you decided on which plan to use, Chairman Xia?”

Xia Lei thought for a bit. “Your second and third plans are very good but I feel it will be better if we combine these two plans.”

Combine? Everyone looked at Xia Lei.

Xia Lei smiled. “We’ll start on it tomorrow. Make two groups. The first group will look into companies which can provide us with parts, then finalise one that will do the assembly for us. The second group will go west and look for a suitable piece of land for us to build a factory. The western region is developing now and there are many aspects of preferential treatment. The cost of manpower there is also relatively cheap. It will be a big help to us if we build a factory there.”

“It’s good that we’re combining two plans, but...” Guan Ling-Shan said, “Chairman Xia, what about the current workers?”

“Choose those with good skills to guide and supervise the production of parts. Choose some others to go to the western region to help with the building of the factory - bring apprentices. The remaining people should gather after three days. If they’re free, they can go walk around on the streets with banners. I don’t have to tell you what to write on those banners, do I?” said Xia Lei.

The meeting room filled with laughter.

“Let’s write ‘We want to eat!’” said Zhou Xiao-Hong.

“Yeah!” Liu Xue-Bing smiled and said, “Write ‘We want justice!’”

Every person had a different idea and the atmosphere in the meeting room quickly became lively and relaxed.

Xia Lei waited for their chatter to die down a little before saying, “But don’t cause trouble. Put the banners away if the police tell you to. Change locations and start walking around. The Gu clan can silence the media in Hai-Zhu but they cannot silence the media nation-wide. It’s the internet age now and people will not ignore things like this. It will surely be recorded and spread.”

“Yes, I’ll remember that. Let me be in charge of that,” volunteered Guan Ling-Shan.

Xia Lei nodded and said, “We will start the ball rolling here and the other OEM companies will do production for us. We shall not have delays. The Gu clan wants to slap us down but I’d like to see if their palm is as big as the Buddha Palm*.” Xia Lei immediately thought of something else at that point. “Oh, right, Xiao-Hong, your hometown is in Sichuan isn’t it?”

“Yep, my hometown’s Deyang, Sichuan. What do you want me to do, Chairman Xia?” Zhou Xiao-Hong looked excited. She was willing to do whatever Xia Lei asked of her. Without him, she would probably have been washing dishes in some restaurant but she was now a Workshop Director at Thunder Horse Manufacturing with an annual salary of 200,000 yuan. How could she not repay this kindness?

Xia Lei spoke with a smile, “You’re familiar with the environment so accompany me on a walk around there.”

“You want to go to Sichuan personally, Chairman Xia?” Zhou Xiao-Hong grew even more excited.

“I want to go register a company in Sichuan. I’ll register first, then look for a location,” said Xia Lei.

Yin Hao was puzzled. “What is that for, Chairman Xia?”

“We’re looking for subcontractors for OEM work so their production speed would definitely surpass ours. Once the parts are out, the assembly of these parts will also be quick. We need a non-local company to be in charge of the sales. The domestic and overseas purchase orders must be completed. We will accept these orders, no matter how many we get. Let them create whatever trouble they want here,” said Xia Lei.

Applause rang in the meeting room.

Xia Lei was calm amidst the noise. There was no joy, no anger - just calm. An icy cold voice reverberated in his head, ‘Gu Ding-Shan, if you don’t kill me off this time then I’ll be the one to kill you!’

*Buddha Palm - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEr2wQ7bmhY