Chapter Forty-Nine: They Are Nothing More Than Ants

Chen Yang no longer paid any attention to the two security guards at the gate and walked straight toward the entrance of the Chamber of Commerce Villa. The large courtyard of the villa was fitted with surveillance cameras everywhere, so with such a commotion at the gate, there was no way Cui Shangkai wouldn’t know about it.

Indeed, Cui Shangkai was informed immediately that Chen Yang had come to see him. He promptly gathered his six associates together and waited quietly for Chen Yang in the villa’s reception room.

In no time, Chen Yang and Shen Donghua arrived at the bright, spotless reception room, where Cui Shangkai and his six companions were all smoking.

Cui Shangkai was a middle-aged man with a pockmarked face, exuding an air of thuggishness. His six companions were similarly rough and streetwise in appearance.

As soon as Chen Yang entered the room, he found himself face-to-face with Cui Shangkai. Cui greeted him with a smile, and naturally, Chen Yang returned the gesture with an even broader one.

Suddenly, Chen Yang paused in his stride, prompting Cui Shangkai and his six associates to fix their gazes on him, assessing him carefully.

Chen Yang stared directly at Cui Shangkai. After locking eyes with him for two seconds, a faint smile curled at the corner of his lips. “Good day, Mr. Cui.”

He appeared perfectly composed.

Cui Shangkai, determined not to lose face, maintained his own calm demeanor. He replied to Chen Yang’s simple greeting with an equally plain, “Good.”

“What’s good? What’s so good about it?” Chen Yang’s tone suddenly turned cold, his expression darkening, catching Cui Shangkai off guard.

Cui Shangkai’s face hardened as well. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and retorted, “What’s wrong with you?”

“The Southwest Chamber of Commerce dares to challenge me, so, obviously, I’m not well,” Chen Yang replied icily.

Cui Shangkai sneered dismissively.

At that moment, one of his companions, a boss with dark circles under his eyes, scoffed, “So what do you want then?”

“You should look at yourself in the mirror before coming here to cause trouble,” chimed in a brash young man, probably in his thirties, his tone openly mocking and unrestrained.

Shen Donghua felt a surge of agitation at their words. He furrowed his brow and retorted coldly, “Business competition always has winners and losers, but I've never encountered such shameless people as your lot.”

The brash young man immediately shot back, “Who are you calling shameless? You old fool, you’re the most shameless one here!”

Shen Donghua, ever the gentleman, was at a loss when dealing with these thuggish real estate bosses. He could only knit his brows in frustration, suppressing his anger.

Cui Shangkai, secretly pleased with himself, chuckled and said to the young man, “Zhaozhi, sit down, sit down. Let’s hear what Mr. Chen has to say.”

After instructing the young man to sit, Cui Shangkai turned to Chen Yang with a faint smile. “Mr. Chen, please speak. We can’t expect Mr. Shen to do all the talking, can we?”

Chen Yang’s lips curled into a sly grin. “You really want me to speak?”

Cui Shangkai laughed derisively, “Of course. Why else are you here? For tea? Sorry to disappoint, but the good leaves were finished yesterday; all that’s left are the dregs. If you don’t mind, you can have those.”

A man holding a clear glass cup chimed in, “Speaking of tea dregs, there are quite a lot in my cup.”

Cui Shangkai burst out laughing. “If Mr. Chen wants to drink them, let him have them.”

The man with the cup turned to Chen Yang, his intentions obvious to anyone with eyes. “Mr. Chen, would you like some?”

In a flash, before anyone could react, Chen Yang flicked a throwing knife from his hand. The blade flew straight and true, slicing through Cui Shangkai’s ear, leaving a bloody gash.

Cui Shangkai clutched his ear, letting out a cry of pain, then sprang to his feet, eyes blazing. “You bastard! Neither you nor Shen are leaving this villa alive today!”

Shen Donghua instantly understood Chen Yang’s intent—he had come to give Cui Shangkai a lesson. And clearly, Chen Yang had succeeded.

Unyielding, Shen Donghua said, “Cui Shangkai, do you really think my Huading Corporation has no one just because you have a few men?”

Cui Shangkai, furious, roared, “I’ll wipe out your whole family!”

Chen Yang glanced at Shen Donghua with a mocking smile. “Mr. Shen, the old fool has gone mad. Did you hear what he just said? He wants to kill my whole family. I’m so scared.”

Shen Donghua recognized Chen Yang’s sarcasm and gave a cooperative, silent smile.

After a chuckle, Chen Yang’s face turned cold. He fixed his gaze on Cui Shangkai. “You should know better than most that behind Huading Corporation stands Huading Group, a force with immense influence in the entire province. This time, both of us wanted the land in the northern suburbs, but ultimately, Huading Corporation secured it. Do you know why? Because with our strength, whatever we want, no one can take from us.”

“You want to play games with me? I’m more than willing, but I fear you won’t be able to handle the consequences. This time, my blade only cut your ear. Next time, it might find your brow. And as for your pack of lackeys—your talk of tea dregs, your threats, your boasts—you think I don’t have the power to wipe out your families as well?”

At Chen Yang’s words, the entire reception room fell silent.

Cui Shangkai looked at Chen Yang with a complicated expression, his thoughts unreadable.

Having said and done what he intended, Chen Yang turned to Shen Donghua. “Mr. Shen, let’s go.”

Shen Donghua nodded, and together they left without a backward glance.

Cui Shangkai, still pressing his wounded ear, didn’t order his men to give chase.

He knew that Shen Donghua would call for reinforcements. Even if he managed to trap both Shen and Chen Yang in the villa today, it would do him no good—he still couldn’t snatch back the land in the northern suburbs. That land was what truly mattered to Cui Shangkai.

Meanwhile, Chen Yang and Shen Donghua got into their car after leaving the villa. Shen Donghua turned to him with a serious expression. “Mr. Chen, should we inform Mr. Lin about this? If Mr. Lin steps in, the Southwest Chamber of Commerce won’t last long.”

“No need,” Chen Yang replied calmly. “There’s no reason to trouble Mr. Lin over such a minor group.”

“But what if they try to cause trouble during the next phase of the project?” Shen Donghua asked, frowning.

Chen Yang smiled. “You just said it yourself—if Mr. Lin gets involved, it’ll be resolved easily. That means we have absolute strength to crush them. So what’s there to worry about?”

Shen Donghua gave a wry smile. “I’m just concerned that lot might try something again, like they did last night.”

“It’s fine, I understand your concern. But that’s what makes things interesting. If the Southwest Chamber of Commerce really wants to play, I’m happy to oblige. As the saying goes, third time’s the charm. We’ll see what happens in the future,” Chen Yang said lightly.

Seeing that Chen Yang wasn’t bothered by the Southwest Chamber of Commerce in the least, Shen Donghua fell silent. In truth, his main worry was that Chen Yang might be targeted for revenge, but since Chen Yang seemed unconcerned, there was nothing more to say.

Besides, Chen Yang was right—Huading Group had more than enough power to crush the Southwest Chamber of Commerce. If they dared to make trouble, they’d only be digging their own graves.

After that, Shen Donghua said nothing more, and Chen Yang closed his eyes to rest.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

During those two days, nothing stirred from the Southwest Chamber of Commerce. Chen Yang didn’t spare them a thought and continued his daily work as usual.

The project on the northern suburban land progressed in an orderly fashion.

Chen Yang felt fulfilled each day. His confidence grew—he was certain he could handle the northern suburb project and, more importantly, make a fortune out of it.

Two days later, at six in the evening, Chen Yang returned home as usual. But as soon as he entered, he was surprised to see his mother-in-law, Han Qin, clutching her stomach and groaning on the sofa.

Startled, Chen Yang hurried over to ask, “Mom, what’s wrong?”