Lin Jiang sat back down in his chair. "How’s the expansion work at Mu Xing going?"
"The factory buildings are already under construction. It’ll be at least another three months before they’re officially operational. But based on the current situation, that might not be nearly enough."
Chen Jingxian said, "Factory Director He came yesterday, and we had a short meeting. He suggested that in the future, we could choose to build a factory in another location to cover the northern region. That way, we can best manage our supply and products. Otherwise, our development model will be completely confined to the south, which doesn’t fit our company’s growth strategy."
Lin Jiang nodded. He had considered this issue as well.
With Mu Xing’s quality, it was bound to secure a foothold in the domestic meat products industry. The current scale was far from sufficient.
If they planned ahead now, there would be little room left for Yong’an to survive.
’In a few days, I’ll have to go to the Northeast to scout locations for the movie.’ ’The proportion of beef cattle there is among the highest in the country. It’ll be a perfect opportunity to handle this matter.’
"Have you heard of Li Yuan Pastures?"
Chen Jingxian looked at Lin Jiang, a little surprised. "You know about this? Did Factory Director He tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"Mu Xing’s quality has started to build a reputation in the industry, and it’s attracted many potential partners. A while ago, the official in charge of investment promotion from Shudong City approached Factory Director He, hoping to attract our business. The two had a brief chat, but Factory Director He didn’t formally express any interest in cooperating during the meeting. Personally, though, he’s in favor of it, which is why he came to discuss it with us."
Lin Jiang propped his feet up on the desk and asked unhurriedly, "Where is this Shudong City?"
"It’s a prefecture-level city in Fengtian Province. Since it’s near the Mongolian District, its pillar industry is animal husbandry."
"And what about Li Yuan Pastures? What did Factory Director He tell you?"
"Li Yuan Pastures is in Shudong City. It did very well in its early years, but as market competition intensified, its development has stalled. Their overall approach is similar to Mu Xing’s, and they’ve been struggling to hang on. Factory Director He’s idea is that we could acquire them. With one base in the north and one in the south, we could further expand our reach nationwide and build up our sales network."
Lin Jiang’s hand came to rest on Chen Jingxian’s leg, and he began toying with it unhurriedly.
But his mind was entirely on Li Yuan.
’This situation is indeed a good opportunity to buy low, but whether they could actually pull it off is another matter entirely.’
"What exactly did the investment official say when they came?"
"They can provide us with land and give us preferential policies. You could tell they were sincere."
Being caressed by Lin Jiang like this felt a bit ticklish to Chen Jingxian, but she kept herself composed.
’She quite liked the feeling, too.’
"If you’re interested, I can help get in touch with them."
"Not so fast," Lin Jiang said. "Besides coming to us, where else did the investment official go? Who else did they contact?"
"I don’t know about that, but at the dinner table, they said they came specifically for us," Chen Jingxian said. "That’s probably true. Animal husbandry is their main local industry, and they don’t really have the environment to support anything else."
Lin Jiang nodded. Chen Jingxian’s analysis made a lot of sense.
"First, look into the situation at Li Yuan Pastures. See if they intend to sell, and if they do, what their asking price is. But do it quietly—it must be kept confidential."
’Right now, the company has over 70 million in liquid capital. Take out the 30 million for the movie, and there’s still a 40 million surplus. Plus, with the constant cash flow from his other businesses, acquiring Li Yuan Pastures shouldn’t be much of a problem.’
"Mm, I understand."
After his brief meeting with Chen Jingxian, Lin Jiang held another meeting with other employees to assign the latest tasks before leaving the company.
That evening, Lin Jiang went to Zhao Fangfei’s place.
Feng Qi answered the door. She was wearing a slip dress, revealing a wide expanse of her chest.
"Brother Jiang, your timing is perfect. The hot pot is ready."
Just then, Zhao Fangfei also came out of the kitchen and found a pair of slippers for Lin Jiang.
The two women linked their arms with his and led him inside.
Having learned from their last game of "Fight the Landlord," the two women were much bolder this time. They pressed Lin Jiang’s arms between their cleavages, brushing against him in a way that seemed both intentional and not.
"You two, calm down. Let me eat my fill before we play cards."
The two women giggled coquettishly. They both knew full well what was going to happen later, but neither of them was shy.
They took their seats in the dining room, and the three of them began their dinner.
"Brother Jiang, let me tell you something interesting," Feng Qi said with a laugh. "Guess what?"
"You’re not about to show me two lines, are you?"
"Hahaha... No way." Feng Qi was beside herself with laughter. "Zhou Jin is planning to shoot a movie."
"He’s making a movie, too?"
"I heard it from Zhou Sui, so it’s pretty much certain," Feng Qi said. "Didn’t they hold a jazz dance competition? They’re saying they’ll pick actors from the winning teams. They’ve completely copied your playbook—they’ve even got promotional posters out."
This news was rather unexpected for Lin Jiang.
Ever since the cheerleading competition began, Lin Jiang hadn’t paid Zhou Jin any mind.
’The girls on my side are gorgeous. My team members are all top-tier talents from their schools. Every single one of them is all slim waists and long legs. In contrast, Trendy World’s jazz dance competition is full of oddballs, and the prizes aren’t nearly as good as mine. What do they possibly have to compete with me?’
’And now, they’re even trying to copy me by making a movie.’
’Now *this* is interesting.’
’A good script is hard to come by. I only decided to make a movie because I got my hands on the script for *Xia Luote’s Troubles*. If Zhou Jin is just blindly jumping on the bandwagon, there’s no telling what he’ll manage to produce.’
"Let them copy me. I’m actually looking forward to seeing what they manage to churn out."
"From what Zhou Sui said, it sounds like Zhou Jin isn’t just messing around. He’s serious about making this movie."
"Anyone who wants to make a movie is serious about it. But whether they can actually make it is another story."
"Anyway, it’s clear to me that Zhou Jin has you in his sights. He wants to go head-to-head with you."
"Then I’ll invite you both to watch a good show. This one’s called ’Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes’."

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