Eventually, the discussion dragged to a standstill as the plans they agreed on needed concrete implementation before they could move to the next phase. Thus, they ended their drinking session and returned to their abodes for rest. Jin was happy to call it a day finally. He did not doubt that tomorrow was more than enough to do (mainly because the System told him about the things on his agenda.)
When early morning came, he was abruptly awoken by Yun, because of something he had not predicted. Hu Yuan Ba, had made time and was waiting in his store for the dungeon supplier.
Yun would have gladly thrown him out or left him to rot for a long while, before entertaining him and his entourage after the stunt they had pulled. Still, the Royal Zodiac Tiger’s Clan Head had been smart enough to tell her that he had come today in regards to the transfer of territory to Jin.
“What… I thought the Godly Representative said that the territories had already been given out. Why would Yuan Ba come here and in person no less…” Jin yawned as the System automatically activated the showering system for him. (Since the sludge was everywhere in his room.)
“No idea, just go and meet him. We are in your shop so whatever stunt he might want to pull it will be useless. I’ve already sent them to wait in the Panda Street’s Conference Room. Since he’s come to give us something, we should not make him wait too long. But since he also has not bothered to inform us beforehand, feel free to take a long shower. A very long one.” Yun advised as she left him clothes she had picked for him on a higher shelf.
——
“Mr Xie.” Yuan Ba had been starting to get a bit impatient, but she immediately turned courteous as he saw Jin come in from the door. His face was still haggard from yesterday’s activities, and he was definitely not in the mood to hold any proper meeting. Up till now, Yuan Ba continued to refuse Jin’s title of Panda Head Clan despite the Godly Representative’s show of approval. Thankfully, the Dungeon Supplier cared little on such formalities and went straight to the point. There was no need to dwell on these courtesies and waste people’s time although he has the right to do so, especially now that Yuan Ba was in his territory.
“Morning Clan Head Hu. Apologies for the slight tardiness, what brings you here?” Jin literally took Yun’s advice and slept in the shower for some time before coming out to meet Yuan Ba. And now when the dungeon supplier greeted the Tiger Head, he realised that Yuan Ba was truly not the only one waiting for him as Jin took a look at the entourage of people behind Yuan Ba. (In some way, it did benefit Jin as the System reported his staff spent money on snacks and breakfast while waiting for Jin.)
Also, this was the first time Jin saw him without any of his children around and for good reason. Yang Hui and Yang Rong were still recuperating after the overnight resurrection procedure, whereas Yang Ling refused to even see her father after all the work she had put in to try to make Jin have good faith in the Tigers. After her father had broken his promise once again, she had seen him act no better than the Rat Triads and thus refused to take any part of whatever he planned next. While still personally employed by Yuan Ba, she had immediately recluse herself into her company grounds and ignored any text that came from the family.
“These are the major key people that are working in the territories previously owned by Hu Yang Hui and Hu Yang Rong, both of which you have defeated.” Yuan Ba introduced them as they all took a bow as a sign of courtesy towards their new ‘boss’.
Most of the time, territories would be given a new slate once transferred. Buildings and equipment were maintained, but the workforce had to be reassigned since the employees were under the defeated clan’s payroll.
Yuan Ba declared this to be the ‘extra’ compensation that the Godly Representative demanded since he argued Jin might require this more than an extra monetary tribute. It did not break any rules, and the value the employees provided was indeed objectively the better compensation.
“It is best you get acquainted with them for you will need their expertise to maintain the factories and industries.” Yuan Ba advised, yet Jin could not help but feel that the other party was doing this as part of some schemes while pretending to be friendly. Who wouldn’t want exact revenge when they had to give up their territory unwillingly because their failsafe plan had been toppled by a seemingly impossible turn of events?
“Indeed, especially for someone who does not have the knowledge of our field, it’s best you-” one of the older key personnel started to chime his opinion, yet stopped as Jin stood up in the conference room.
If Jin refused this particular compensation, he would not have specific expertise to tap on and even with an all-knowing System, there were certain limitations to practical knowledge. (There are definitely some workplace connections which these people that the System would never have.)
“Clan Head Hu, your kindness certainly knows no bounds. I’ll be more than happy to accept your generous gift.” Jin announced as he walked around the table to show his dominance in the area. He had enough of the Tiger’s tricks, and although he was unsure whether the workers were supposed to be used as spies or just slack off when given the opportunity, Jin would not fall for any of them anytime too soon. Still, Yuan Ba did not expect the dungeon supplier to go with the flow and since JIn decided to play into his trap, Yuan Ba was all the more happier. (Especially when he knows that those buildings would be useless to Jin if he did not have the people to work for him.)
Another reason for the usual change of personnel was that no one was stupid enough to allow potential spies to stay in their own territories. So the most Jin could do was to sell away those buildings and land and Yuan Ba had made sure that Jin was given only the most basic of items if he rejected the compensation since the Clan Head had bundled it all as part of the package.
“But before we sign anything of that sort, I do have one minor condition,” Jin added and Yuan Ba’s eyebrows stoked up.
“Speak, and if it’s not absurd, I might consider it.” The Tiger Clan Head offered cordially, and his brain was ready to work overtime, waiting to counter anything Jin was about to say.
“Well as their new boss, I would like to have a one-on-one talk with them to see if they would really want to become my employees. At the same time, I’d also like to learn more about the industry from their perspective. Especially since they already have taken the time to come down here, might as well take the opportunity to familiarise ourselves.” Jin stated as he continued to walk around to observe their dressing and their body language.
“Ah.” Yuan Ba heaved a sigh of relief and thought he was going to ask for an absurd ‘minor’ condition like asking for extra monetary tribute. “That can be arranged since most of them are on their holiday breaks and have come here specifically just for you. While it might be a holiday, there is much to be done due to the transfer of ownership, so I’ll have to ask you to not spend too much time with them so they could handle the assist with the transfer documents. Besides, I’m sure most of them would prefer to spend some more time with their families as soon as possible.” Yuan Ba grinned, and the rest were nodding their heads along.
Their allegiance would still be to the Tigers, and it would not change with a pep talk with Jin. All of them had done brokered business deals and had handled a fair share of shrewd people in their line of work. Not to mention this Jin appeared to be somewhat naive with his friendliness, so those key personnel were basically handling an ant which they could step on.
In fact, some were already thinking of ways to manipulate the dungeon supplier to hopefully gain more favour with the Tiger Clan Head. To them, It was indeed wishful thinking that Jin could convince them to work for him earnestly.
If only they knew how ‘convincing’ Jin’s headhunter could be…
