Chapter 141: The Storefront Vandalized

"Brother Xu, what are you saying?" Zhang Wei was stunned, as if he had misheard, upon hearing Xu Ming's words.

"The Yayuan branch has been smashed. You need to get back there immediately!" Xu Ming repeated.

"You say the branch was smashed? Who did it?" Zhang Wei frowned and asked hurriedly.

"The comrades from the Public Security Bureau are investigating; it’s not yet determined," Xu Ming sighed.

"When was it smashed? Is anyone hurt?" Zhang Wei asked.

"It was already smashed when we arrived this morning. It must have happened last night," Xu Ming said.

"Brother Xu, you knew this morning, so why wait until noon to notify me?" Zhang Wei asked.

"Don't ask so many questions. You’ll understand once you get to the store. I’m giving a statement at the police station now. Hanging up!" Having said this, Xu Ming abruptly ended the call.

Xu Ming had always been the manager of the Yayuan branch. Upon seeing the damage that morning, he had immediately fulfilled his duties by calming the staff and calling the police, but he hadn't bothered to notify Zhang Wei, the store manager. Li Lin, Guo Bin, and Wang Jian were all accustomed to taking orders from Xu Ming and had simply followed his instructions, never thinking of Zhang Wei. As for the team led by Su Ning, they were even less concerned with Zhang Wei.

It was only when Xu Ming had to go to the police station to provide a statement that he realized the branch couldn't be left without someone in charge. While Su Ning had good business skills, she was a woman, and he worried she might not be able to handle a sudden crisis, which finally brought the newly appointed Zhang Wei to mind.

"Hello, Brother Xu..." Zhang Wei called out again, but there was no response. "Why hang up so suddenly? The matter isn't even clear yet. This is just maddening!"

After hanging up, Zhang Wei felt a bellyful of frustration. He felt that his role as a store manager was truly pathetic. The incident had happened in the morning, yet he only found out after noon. He felt as if he had no presence at all!

"Brother, what’s wrong? Something happened at your store?" Fatty Zhou walked over and asked.

"Yeah. The regional manager just told me that the Yayuan branch was smashed," Zhang Wei said.

"You're the manager of the Yayuan branch now. Could this be directed at you?" Fatty Zhou asked.

"It’s not clear yet. I have no leads," Zhang Wei shook his head.

"Alright, don't worry. I've seen plenty of things like this, Brother Fatty. Once you get things figured out, let me know, and I'll help you settle it," Fatty Zhou patted Zhang Wei on the shoulder, offering comfort.

Fatty Zhou had made his fortune in coal mining. While reaping huge profits, it was inevitable that he would attract jealousy. If he didn't have connections in both the underworld and the establishment, he could never have thrived in that industry.

"Thanks, Brother Fatty," Zhang Wei squeezed out a smile and said sincerely, "Brother Fatty, if you trust me, this piece of land must not be bought."

"Alright, don't worry, I understand," Fatty Zhou said quite understandingly. "Since something happened at your store, you should head back first!"

"Alright, then I’ll take my leave," Zhang Wei nodded. He turned to say goodbye to Wu Qian and the others, then hurried out of the conference room.

As Zhang Wei exited and walked along the narrow corridor toward the elevator, he saw a man and a woman coming toward him. The woman was pretty and tall—it was his ex-girlfriend, Li Wan.

The man was of average height, with slightly dark skin and his hair combed back. His appearance bore a slight resemblance to Dong Biao. He was walking and talking with Li Wan, and they appeared quite intimate.

"Zhang Wei, how come you're alone? Aren't President Zhou and the others with you?" Li Wan, who had come specifically to invite Fatty Zhou and his group to dinner, asked in surprise when she saw Zhang Wei alone.

"Oh, I have an urgent matter to attend to," Zhang Wei examined them both, looked at the man's face, and asked, "May I ask how to address this gentleman?"

"Hello, my name is Dong Tiancheng," the man nodded at Zhang Wei and said indifferently.

"Ah, so you are the son of President Dong. My apologies for not recognizing you sooner!" Zhang Wei smiled. He did indeed see a resemblance to Dong Biao, which was why he had asked about his identity.

"I won't disturb your work. I'll be going now," Zhang Wei nodded to them both, then walked around them toward the elevator.

"Wan'er, do you already know this Mr. Zhang?" Dong Tiancheng looked back at Zhang Wei's retreating figure and asked.

"Yes, he was my college classmate," Li Wan said, looking down with flickering eyes, biting her lip.

"I went to your alumni reunion last time, why didn't I see him?" Dong Tiancheng asked, puzzled.

"We have sixty or seventy classmates. Only a dozen or so went last time; there are plenty you haven't met," Li Wan defended.

Once inside the elevator, Zhang Wei crossed his arms. Recalling the demeanor and behavior of Li Wan and her companion, he pondered for a moment and muttered, "Sales manager! It’s not that easy to be one."

Zhang Wei was currently single himself, so he naturally had no time to worry about his ex-girlfriend's love life. Though he felt a bit bitter, he knew that all good things must come to an end, and some people were destined to be mere passersby in one's life.

After exiting the elevator, Zhang Wei cleared his thoughts. After walking a few steps, he saw Xiang Xiaomeng and her group standing nearby. He hesitated, but then walked over, smiled, and said, "President Xiang, hello."

"Hello, Mr. Zhang," Xiang Xiaomeng looked Zhang Wei over and gave a slight smile.

"Miss Xiang, this is my business card. I'm very happy to meet you," Zhang Wei took a clean, white business card from his case and handed it to her.

Xiang Xiaomeng pursed her red lips, her willow-leaf eyebrows slightly furrowed, but she reached out with her delicate hand to take the card and said, "Thank you."

"I won't disturb you further," Zhang Wei nodded to her and her three companions, then headed toward the exit of Changfeng Tower.

"President Xiang, isn't this Zhang guy one of that fat Mr. Zhou's subordinates? Why did he give you his business card?" the female assistant beside Xiang Xiaomeng asked curiously.

"Judging by his performance in the conference room, he probably wants me to call him so he can take the opportunity to persuade me to give up on acquiring the land," Xiang Xiaomeng mused for a moment.

"Why would he do that? We don't even know him," the assistant asked.

"Either he wants to build a connection for future collaboration, or he is colluding with Mr. Zhou to stage a performance in the conference room, using this chance to convince me to give up the land acquisition. That way, with no one to compete against Mr. Zhou, he can take the opportunity to drive down the purchase price."

"President Xiang, are you going to call him now that you have his card?" the assistant asked.

"I'll keep the card, but I'll skip the call," Xiang Xiaomeng shook her head. Compared to taking advice from a stranger, she trusted her own instincts more.

After leaving Changfeng Tower, Zhang Wei drove toward the Yayuan branch. He had indeed given Xiang Xiaomeng his card in hopes that she would call him, allowing him to persuade her not to buy the land and build a good relationship in the process. After all, while he had a good relationship with Fatty Zhou, he couldn't build his entire network on that one connection; he needed to meet more powerful allies to broaden his career path. Of course, if she didn't call, it would mean she wasn't interested in his advice. That was why he hadn't spoken directly at the tower—it was inconvenient to say things unfavorable to the Tiancheng Company inside their own building.

When Zhang Wei arrived at the Yayuan branch, a crowd had gathered to watch the commotion. He couldn't drive directly to the front, so he parked nearby and strode toward the store.

Rounding the crowd, he reached the entrance. The two glass doors had been shattered, and the interior was in a state of chaos. Although the staff were cleaning up, restoring everything to its original state wouldn't be easy.

"Brother Wei, you're back!" As soon as Zhang Wei reached the door, Guo Bin, who was cleaning up tables and chairs, ran over to greet him.

"Is the damage to the store serious?" Zhang Wei looked at Guo Bin and walked inside.

"Two computers were smashed, the water dispenser is unusable, and the glass doors and windows are basically all broken. The safe, however, shows no signs of being pried," Guo Bin pointed to various parts of the store, describing the damage.

"Those bastards. If I find out who did this, I’ll show them," Zhang Wei said, feeling a mixture of shame and anger at the mess.

It was not uncommon for real estate agencies to have their stores smashed, and most of the time it was the work of competitors. Smashings at night were not the worst; sometimes people were attacked in broad daylight, which could lead to personal injury, not just financial loss.

Inside the store, Zhang Wei greeted his team members—Li Lin, Wang Jian, and Liu Cheng—comforting them one by one. Finally, he chatted briefly with Su Ning and began to help clean up.

"Oh, isn't this Zhang Wei? Your luck is really something. You just became a manager and you get a 'grand opening' like this. I just had to come by and congratulate you." As Zhang Wei was cleaning, an陰陽怪氣 (sarcastic/sneering) voice rang out from outside the store.

Zhang Wei frowned, put down his work, and walked out. Sure enough, he saw a familiar figure standing there: Wang Zhen, the manager of Tian Tian Company.

Wang Zhen hadn't come alone. Beside him were his girlfriend, Wang Ying, and seven or eight employees from Tian Tian Company. They didn't look like they were there to offer congratulations; they looked like they were there to watch the show and stir up trouble.