"It's not just the two of us who saw him; there are others," Father Gu said calmly, anticipating Zhang Liunian's defense.
As his words fell, several more people stepped forward to speak.
"I saw him too."
"Me too."
"And me."
"..."
Suddenly, six more people declared they had seen Zhang Liunian in the circle of Hong Kong businessmen, causing everyone present to cast suspicious glances.
The saying "three men make a tiger" applied everywhere, and so they began to waver about whether to continue trusting Zhang Liunian and cooperating with him.
Although Zhang Liunian's department stores were very appealing to them, the thought that Zhang Liunian might be affiliated with their archrivals made them fearful. They suspected this might be another tactic by the Hong Kong businessmen to entrap them.
Upon considering this, they immediately decided to forgo the cooperation for now.
"Mr. Zhang, perhaps we should call off today's cooperation!"
"Yes, yes, Comrade Zhang Liunian, we need to think about this more!"
"You are likely well aware of the matters between our domestic businessmen and the Hong Kong businessmen; we cannot break the rules."
"We're sorry, Comrade Zhang Liunian. If you are with the Hong Kong side, we will not cooperate with you."
"That's right. They cheated hundreds of us, and those people are still working for them, without freedom or a future. We don't want to end up like that."
"..."
Because of Father Gu's smear campaign, those who were initially willing to cooperate with Zhang Liunian suddenly turned against him, declaring they would not cooperate.
This left Zhang Liunian, who was on the verge of reaching an agreement, stunned, and made Kang Dafu anxious.
"Everyone, don't be fooled. Liunian is truly not with the Hong Kong side, nor could he be associated with those people. I believe Boss Gu and the others must have misidentified someone; perhaps they saw a similar figure."
Kang Dafu regretted inviting the Gu family. Zhang Liunian was about to succeed, and he was going to get the red glaze information he wanted, but Boss Gu's few words instantly caused everyone to back out of the cooperation.
Kang Dafu did not believe Zhang Liunian was with the other side. Although they didn't interact much, he simply trusted him.
"Kang Dafu, aren't you in cahoots with him? Why are you speaking up for him? You need to understand that we are domestic businessmen, and they are Hong Kong businessmen. We are irreconcilable. Anyone who dares to cooperate with them, we will be the first to object," Old Mu said, unable to tolerate Kang Dafu defending Zhang Liunian, and warned him.
"Old Mu, I don't care about your relationship with Boss Gu. I just want to say that we shouldn't wrongly accuse Liunian. He is also a domestic businessman, and you can't just brand him with a black mark and lead everyone to boycott him."
Kang Dafu stepped forward and began to argue with Old Mu.
He could see that the Gu family was forming factions, winning over many people to speak for them. He was also foolish for not realizing he had invited so many of the Gu family's associates.
Without them, Zhang Liunian's efforts to attract businessmen for cooperation would surely have been successful. It was his failure to screen the attendees properly.
"I think you are in league with him, which is why you are standing up for him. No wonder it was so smooth when the Hong Kong businessmen entered Pengcheng back then. Without your guidance, how could they have taken down so many so quickly?" Old Mu was speaking without basis, spouting nonsense.
However, his words caused Father Gu's eyes to flash, though no one noticed.
"Brother Kang, thank you for your trust. I will explain this matter."
Zhang Liunian was very grateful for Kang Dafu's trust. He then turned to the crowd and said, "As I've already explained, I am from Nancheng. I only started working as a self-employed individual a few months ago and have been operating in Nancheng, never leaving the province. This can all be verified by checking at the train station. If you don't believe me, I can accompany you to the train station now."
As soon as he spoke, Old Mu immediately retorted, "You claim to be from Nancheng in another province and only started as a self-employed individual a few months ago, and now you have two department stores? That's quite a boast.
No matter how much someone can earn, they're not as formidable as you. In just a few months, you've managed to acquire two department stores. Although these department stores are not in Pengcheng, you would need at least tens of millions in capital to do so.
Don't tell me you've earned tens of millions in just a few months of being self-employed?
Even the largest horse ranch in Pengcheng isn't that impressive; you're practically reaching for the sky.
If you insist that you've earned this much money through legitimate means, I don't believe it. If you really managed to acquire two department stores in just a few months, then I believe you must have taken some illicit path; otherwise, you wouldn't have reached this point.
Furthermore, regarding your background, none of us here are familiar with your history, and it's all up to you to say what you want. You could say you're Bruce Lee, and we'd have no way to verify it."
"..."
After listening, everyone found some truth in his words. How could someone who had only been self-employed for a few months suddenly own two department stores? They had no idea what had transpired.
Putting themselves in his shoes, if they were to work diligently and honestly, they would never be able to earn tens of millions in just a few months and successfully acquire two department stores. This was not something an ordinary person could easily achieve.
Could it be that Zhang Liunian was indeed associated with the Hong Kong businessmen, which led to his rapid rise? Otherwise, these illogical aspects couldn't be explained.
"Old Mu is right. How could someone who just started as a self-employed individual acquire two department stores in a few months?"
"If I were to do it, I certainly couldn't."
"Me neither. When you're a self-employed individual for the first time, you're essentially crossing the river by feeling the stones. How could you possibly earn tens of millions in just a few months? If it were that easy, our domestic businessmen wouldn't be so suppressed by the Hong Kong businessmen."
"It's also possible that, as Boss Gu and the others said, he has powerful backing and received assistance to accelerate his progress."
"That's not unreasonable. So, does that mean he might really be affiliated with the Hong Kong side?"
"I think it's highly likely."
"Then can we still cooperate with him?"
"If you don't want to be ostracized, forget about it."
"..."
Zhang Liunian, hearing everyone begin to doubt his capabilities and affiliations, put his hand to his forehead and said, "If I can prove that I acquired the two department stores through legitimate means, will you then believe that I am not affiliated with the Hong Kong side?"
"How is that possible? If you can acquire two department stores in a few months, I'll take your surname." Old Mu, seeing Zhang Liunian still wanting to explain, jumped out to mock him.
"What if I really can? Can you then continue to discuss cooperation with me?" Zhang Liunian calmly asked again.
"That's still impossible. Even if you prove it, you can't prove you're not from the Hong Kong business circle," Old Mu continued to answer first.
"..." Zhang Liunian looked at the crowd, only to see that they did not believe he could acquire two department stores in a few months, and many of them showed expressions of disgust and rejection towards him.