Chapter 18 The New Association

The next morning, Su Tianyu's door was knocked. He opened it to see Wu Boxin standing outside, smiling at him. "Fancy a chat, Bureau Chief Su?"

"Oh, Chairman Wu, heh, I should be the one coming to you…" Su Tianyu immediately stepped aside. "Come in, please!"

"Heh, thanks!" Wu Boxin stepped into the room.

"Look at me, I just got up. The room's a bit messy. Let's go to the study…"

Su Tianyu led Wu Boxin into the study, inviting him to sit on the sofa. He then called out to Hou Guoyu, "Monkey, get some tea."

"Okay," Hou Guoyu replied from the living room.

"Ah." Wu Boxin sighed, sitting on the sofa and crossing his legs. "I originally wanted to chat with you at the dinner table yesterday, but I didn't expect things to get so chaotic. I woke up this morning and thought about it carefully. We should still meet and talk about the establishment of the new association."

Su Tianyu reached for a new set of tea utensils from the hotel, lowering his head to arrange the cups as he nodded slowly. "Go ahead."

Regardless, Su Tianyu was still very polite to Wu Boxin. After all, he was connected to the vast influence of the Second and Third Districts, which was why he had gone to such great lengths to get him out of Gwen's hands.

"Ah, what a mess. To be honest, I was completely confused at the time." Wu Boxin said with emotion, "I had just gotten off the ship and was sent to the Huagong Association. Tell me, what did I know? I thought the Huagong Association was the leading organization."

Hearing this, Su Tianyu immediately replied, "The initial agreement was for three parties to cooperate. Because the Huagong Association had an informant in Manchester, everyone agreed to let them be the main rescue team. But! The Huagong Association was able to approach your villa smoothly because we had nearly a hundred brothers on the outside, setting up the platform for them. That's why Brother Qiu from the An family lost control last night. To be honest, my own brother almost got into trouble during this incident… There's a reason why the people below are so emotional, Chairman Wu."

Wu Boxin listened to Su Tianyu's words and nodded slowly. "Yes, you did put in a lot of effort to rescue my son and me."

At this point, the two were silent for a moment. Wu Boxin quickly changed the subject. "After I came here, I actually talked to Lao Huo twice. How should I put it? My political philosophy is very much aligned with his on a grand scale, and the structure of the new association he described to me… is also clear and highly feasible."

Su Tianyu was slightly stunned upon hearing this. He knew that Wu Boxin was subtly telling him that he had already finished talking with Huo Dongsheng and had reached a consensus on the establishment of the new association.

This was why Huo Dongsheng had secretly brought Wu Boxin over. In just two or three days, he had gotten Lao Wu on his side.

Su Tianyu smiled. "Heh, I didn't expect that in just two days, Chairman Wu and Chairman Huo would reach a consensus?"

Wu Boxin chuckled, clasping his hands together. "Little Su, to be honest, Lao Huo's way of doing things is much more subtle than Lao Li's radical approach."

Su Tianyu knew that Wu Boxin was clearly telling him that his political philosophy differed from Lao Li's.

"I know everyone is upset. I personally understand that." Wu Boxin softly advised, "But Little Su, the establishment of the new association is a big plan that involves the vital interests of overseas Chinese. There's an old saying, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' For you leaders, you must prioritize the bigger picture. Only by uniting absolute power can we succeed. So, I personally hope that the Huagong Association and your side can still maintain close contact, unite, and work together to do this well. From my personal perspective, money and power are no longer my main life goals. With the time I have left, I want to do something meaningful."

Su Tianyu turned to look at him, only smiling and not responding. It was clear that he did not agree with Wu Boxin's view.

Wu Boxin looked at Su Tianyu, paused slightly, and continued, "If you feel unbalanced, then let's do it this way. Lao Huo promised me that the management structure of the new association will be handled entirely by me. You give me a number of people, and I absolutely won't haggle. Let's work together to do this well."

Su Tianyu rubbed his palms. "Mr. Wu, the problem isn't about conflicts and emotions. If trust can't be established, then even if the new association is established, it will just be a mob in my eyes…"

…

About an hour later, Su Tianyu smiled and sent Wu Boxin out the door. As soon as Wu Boxin left, Su Tianyu's smile disappeared without a trace.

Ten minutes later, An Qiqi and Yu Mingyuan both arrived at Su Tianyu's room.

Su Tianyu lit a cigarette and then recounted everything he had discussed with Wu Boxin.

"Alright, that's clear." An Qiqi was also harboring anger, but she remained calm and summarized Wu Boxin's meaning. "He came to tell you two things. First, he and Huo Dongsheng are now on the same side, and his position won't change. Second, he's trying to set up the board, persuading us to accept the current outcome."

Hearing this, Yu Mingyuan stared at the floor without saying a word.

Su Tianyu walked to the window, his hands behind his back, and said softly, "What I want to figure out now is whether there's anyone else standing behind Huo Dongsheng."

"Are you talking about the attitude of those above?" Yu Mingyuan said softly, his head lowered.

"Of course!" Su Tianyu looked at the scenery outside the window. "If Huo Dongsheng has no one supporting him, then there's still room for negotiation, but if he does, then it's troublesome."

"If those above support Huo Dongsheng, then we can only give up." An Qiqi said objectively, "But… even without the support of those above, we are now very passive. Because the key figure, Wu Boxin, already has a position and is difficult to win over."

After all, Wu Boxin was being held by Huo Dongsheng, which made the National Unification Bureau and the An family very passive. Huo Dongsheng still wanted to strive for cooperation between the three parties, so he held the celebration and meeting. If Su Tianyu and the others didn't play along, then Huo Dongsheng would simply give up on cooperation and rely on Wu Boxin's influence in the Second and Third Districts, as well as the Huagong Association's own strength, to still establish a very influential new association.

This was why Huo Dongsheng was willing to offend both the National Unification Bureau and the An family to secretly transfer Wu Boxin and seize the initiative in negotiations.

An Qiqi blinked and said softly, "Actually, Wu Taiyong's role is also very important…"

Su Tianyu turned to look at her. "You're close to him. You nurture this connection, but don't communicate with him yet."

"Okay!" An Qiqi nodded.

Su Tianyu lowered his head and carefully considered for a long time before saying with a frown, "If Huo Dongsheng is determined to hold the emperor to command the vassals, then… then this person… will bring us considerable resistance."

Yu Mingyuan lowered his head, staring blankly at the ground, and said in a hoarse voice, "I think he's an obstacle."