Chapter 435: A Few… A Few Days?

Chapter 435: A Few… A Few Days?

It put Mao Rusong in mind of his own history with Wu Chen.

When they had first met, things between them had been ugly too. His son, Mao Qi, had even brought over a hundred men and come close to having Wu Chen beaten by a mob.

Yet not only had they avoided becoming enemies, they had grown closer and closer.

That proved Wu Chen wasn’t the type to pursue revenge blindly and deny anyone the chance to make peace.

So what was different this time?

No chance at all for the Qi brothers, perhaps not even a chance to talk, just straight for the kill. And not just them. Their entire family.

How big was this going to get?

Relatively speaking, Mao Rusong held enormous sway in Dongpu District. His reach extended everywhere, and he seemed to know someone in nearly every circle.

The Qi brothers’ network wasn’t as broad as his, but when it came to how solid their backing was, theirs was somewhat harder.

Each had its advantages. When Mao Rusong needed something done, whatever it was, it tended to come easier to him, because so many people were connected to him.

But in a truly major crisis, the Qi brothers were probably better placed to weather it.

The difference came down to this: Mao Rusong and Gu Ruibo were close personal friends, but not superior and subordinate. Mao Rusong wasn’t one of the Gu family’s men. He and Gu Ruibo were each part of the other’s network.

Qi Jun’s elder brother, Qi Min, was in much deeper with the Xiang family.

As Qi Min grew and strengthened his business, he had relied heavily on the Xiangs. Naturally, once he made his money, a share of the benefits had to go to them.

To put it crudely, Qi Min was one of the Xiang family’s dogs. A very high-ranking one.

That distinction mattered.

If someone suddenly wiped out Mao Rusong, it would enrage Gu Ruibo personally, but it wouldn’t necessarily draw in the whole Gu family.

Go after the Qi brothers to destroy them, though, and that was refusing the Xiang family face. Even when you beat a dog, you had to consider its master. Taken seriously, it meant going to war with the Xiangs.

And all this…

Because Zhuang Xiaodie had been mocked and slandered a few times, Wu Chen was going to make it this big?!

Mao Rusong had never taken Wu Chen for a hothead.

Gu Ruibo praised the man so highly he practically treated him as a mentor in life.

So Mao Rusong wasn’t wondering why Wu Chen had suddenly developed a temper.

He simply couldn’t understand it. Was there really any need to go this far? Give the Qi brothers a chance, squeeze them for tens of millions, even a hundred million, in compensation. Wouldn’t that be more satisfying?

Yes, three of Qi Jun’s bodyguards were already dead. But as long as Wu Chen’s side held the stronger hand, Qi Min and Qi Jun would certainly back down.

None of it was anything that couldn’t be settled.

No billionaire worth tens of billions was a pushover, and the Xiangs weren’t the Qi brothers’ only connection. Here in Modu, bringing down major real-estate bosses like Qi Min and Qi Jun for good would be extraordinarily difficult.

Real estate was a peculiar industry to begin with.

So Mao Rusong couldn’t understand why Wu Chen wanted to make it so big, nor see how he could possibly pull it off.

Destroying someone and frightening them into line were two different things entirely.

And the heart of Wu Chen’s power wasn’t in Modu, with its tangle of great families. It was in Donghai.

“As long as you understand. Be careful these next couple of days. Have the places your people run keep their heads down too. Don’t give anyone a reason to come looking…” Wu Chen said.

“I understand, I understand,” Mao Rusong said quickly. “Then… Mr. Wu, what do you need me to do?”

He knew something big was coming. He chose to stand with Wu Chen, no conditions.

“Nothing in particular,” Wu Chen said. “Just… ignore them. It won’t be long. In a few days, there’ll be a result.”

“A few… a few days?” Mao Rusong actually stammered.

Take down a ten-billion-yuan family in a few days?!

Here in Modu?

That was impossible. Once the power of great families came into play, even if one side held an overwhelming edge, sweeping the board and securing final victory would take months at the very least.

Of course, there was another option. Simply dispose of the Qi brothers directly.

The worst move of all.

Assassination.

The stupidest, crudest, most forbidden method there was. At the Qi brothers’ level, if they were taken out by someone who ignored the rules, not even the King of Heaven could protect Wu Chen.

A fall guy wouldn’t help.

It would blow up into a case that drew the attention of the whole country, even the world. Billionaires were public figures; the murder of one made headlines anywhere. There would be no covering it up.

An entire family killed, all the more so.

That would draw the attention of the very top.

It would simply be too heinous.

Mao Rusong didn’t believe Wu Chen would go to that extreme, which meant… once again, he couldn’t understand it. He was nearly frightened witless. He knew how much power the Qi brothers had, and the more he knew, the more terrifying it seemed.

Then a thought struck him.

Maybe… Wu Chen was going this big, this hard, not just because of Zhuang Xiaodie. Maybe there was some… deeper reason.

“Mr. Wu, about all this… should I give Brother Gu a heads-up?” Mao Rusong asked after steadying himself.

“Up to you,” Wu Chen said.

A few more words, and they hung up.

Only Wu Chen and Zhuang Xiaodie were in the corridor.

When he lowered the phone, she took two steps toward him, and as he turned she asked, “Mr. Wu… is Boss Mao in a lot of trouble?”

The unease and guilt were back.

“Boss Mao” had been the first thing Wu Chen said when he answered, and though she couldn’t hear Mao Rusong’s side, she had heard every word of Wu Chen’s.

He had even told Boss Mao to be careful.

“It’s fine.” Wu Chen smiled and ruffled her hair as he passed. She turned with him and followed him back toward the studio.

She seemed about to say something.

Before she could, the studio door swung open from inside.

An Menglan and Yu Xiaohu came out together.

“Teacher Morning Mist, are you busy this afternoon?” An Menglan asked the moment she saw him. Her eyes swept over him and Zhuang Xiaodie, then briefly met Yu Xiaohu’s.

Her manner was a little odd. Wu Chen had only just arrived, and she had been recording; this was the first time she had come out to speak to him. Normally she would have exchanged a few pleasantries first.

In front of Yu Xiaohu, she would at least have put on that show.

She didn’t.

“Not really.” Wu Chen stopped, one hand in his pocket, and smiled at the two of them. They were both acting a little strange. “What’s up?”

“Well, it’s like this…”

“Just now…”

They spoke at almost the same moment, stopped at the same moment, and glanced at each other. “Teacher Xiaohu, you tell him,” An Menglan said.

“Tell me what?” Wu Chen smiled, looking them over. Even he was a little surprised.

What had suddenly come up? And why was Yu Xiaohu the better one to say it?

“Mm… here’s the thing, Mr. Morning Mist. Miss An and I were talking just now in the studio. She says that when it comes to music you understand everything, album production included. On the version of her demos you recommended, you did most of the work yourself…”

He began in measured tones but sped up as he went.

“So Miss An and I talked it over.” He looked at Wu Chen. “I’ve decided that if you have the time, Mr. Morning Mist, I’ll step down as producer of Miss An’s new album and you’ll take charge. What do you say…?”

Wu Chen’s smile grew a good deal more subtle.

He genuinely was surprised.

Yu Xiaohu’s boldness went beyond what Wu Chen had understood of him. One could even call it a taste for risk, in music and in his job alike.

He wasn’t bailing out at the last minute. Quite the opposite. He was handing Wu Chen an enormous share of fame and credit.

To an album, the music producer could matter even more than the singer.

A producer’s job included controlling the recording schedule, coaching and directing the singer, organizing the production budget and resources, supervising the recording, and handling mixing, mastering, and post-production.

He planned, coordinated, and oversaw the making of an album from start to finish. It was the producer who determined an album’s quality, and the producer who decided the form in which it finally reached its listeners.

A singer’s effect on an album was a constant.

The producer was the one who decided whether it came out better or worse.

That was why the producer was so often called the “soul” of an album.

Wu Chen was still thinking it over when Yu Xiaohu went on. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask you first, Mr. Morning Mist. Is there any way to get this album done faster? On my original plan, it could still take a day or two…”

“Faster…” Wu Chen considered, glanced at his watch, then looked at Yu Xiaohu. “Five hours.”

“Hm?” Yu Xiaohu thought he’d misheard.