Song Yuzhang: Chapter 104 - Chamber of Commerce
Chapter 104: Chamber of Commerce
Song Qiyuan leaned lazily against the doorframe, watching Song Yuzhang tie his tie. “Handsome.”
“Well said—indeed, very handsome,” Song Yuzhang replied shamelessly.
Song Qiyuan let out a laugh. Noticing that Song Yuzhang’s tie was slightly crooked, he stepped forward and said, “Such a handsome man, yet can’t even tie a proper tie.”
He tugged the tie loose and began retying it neatly for him, giving instructions as he worked. “Don’t move your head.”
Song Yuzhang straightened up with a chuckle. “Yes, Mrs. Song.”
Song Qiyuan rolled his eyes. “Must you take advantage of every opportunity?”
“With someone as good-looking as Third Brother, it’d be a shame not to.”
As Song Qiyuan was tying the tie, he gave it a slight tug at those words. “Then since you’re also so good-looking, shouldn’t I take advantage of you too?”
Song Yuzhang turned his face to the side. “Go ahead, don’t hold back.”
After quickly finishing the tie, Song Qiyuan flicked his fingers against Song Yuzhang’s handsome face. “Go.”
The two of them went downstairs together, Song Yuzhang slinging an arm over Song Qiyuan’s shoulder. “I’m heading to the Chamber of Commerce today. Want to come along?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Haven’t prepared myself for the overwhelming stench of money.”
“Haha, Third Brother, you still haven’t come to terms with it?”
“What’s there to come to terms with?” Song Qiyuan replied casually, hands in his pockets. “The doctrine of the mean—that’s the way to go.”
Seeing that Song Qiyuan was gradually regaining his former spirit, Song Yuzhang patted his shoulder. “Good. You’ve found the Way.”
Song Qiyuan sneered, “Not only found the Way—I'm ascending to heaven,” then pressed down on Song Yuzhang’s shoulder. “You want to follow the chicken if you marry a chicken, follow the dog if you marry a dog—join me on my ascent?”
The two bantered, arms slung around each other, as they came downstairs—only to run into Song Mingzhao, expressionless, at the bottom of the stairs.
“Fourth Brother,” Song Qiyuan dropped his arm, “You’re here early.”
Song Mingzhao stared fixedly at the arm Song Yuzhang had just had around Song Qiyuan’s shoulders.
Song Yuzhang noticed, but he didn’t withdraw his arm immediately. They were brothers, after all—there was nothing wrong with it. He no longer wanted to cater to Song Mingzhao’s possessiveness.
Song Mingzhao lowered his gaze, and like a wandering ghost, said, “Eldest Brother and Second Brother have been arguing all night.”
“Seriously,” Song Qiyuan frowned and ruffled his hair. He turned to Song Yuzhang, “I’m heading back first.”
“Go ahead.” Song Yuzhang patted his shoulder and finally let go.
Song Qiyuan left in a hurry. Song Yuzhang descended the stairs at a leisurely pace. “Fourth Brother, have you had breakfast?”
Song Mingzhao didn’t respond. After a long pause, he said slowly, “I have.”
“That’s good.”
Song Yuzhang went to eat breakfast on his own, leaving Song Mingzhao alone in the hall.
Song Yekang and Song Jincheng had argued in front of him until the middle of the night.
Though it wasn’t exactly an argument—they had joined forces to go after Song Yuzhang. And of course, in the process of attacking him, they ended up bickering with each other again. They also grilled Song Mingzhao relentlessly.
They had finally come to a realization: their infighting had been so intense that they had each acted independently, creating the perfect opportunity for Song Yuzhang to drive a wedge between them. Now that they were communicating again, they began to notice all sorts of suspicious things.
Once two unsuccessful power-hungry men begin to suspect others with malice, the flood of poisonous accusations can soak a person from head to toe.
Song Mingzhao was left dazed and rattled, as though he’d been dragged into some secret interrogation chamber and verbally flayed by his two older brothers.
According to their version of events, Song Yuzhang was a cunning and devious bastard, and Song Mingzhao was the dumbest one in the family—a fool who had been beguiled, used, and toyed with by him.
They said that the only reason Song Yuzhang had chosen to ally with Song Mingzhao during the family split wasn’t because of any bond between them, but because he was the easiest to manipulate, the least capable—utterly unqualified to be an opponent.
“For us, he still has to put in effort to outwit,” Song Jincheng sneered. “You? Give you a little benefit and you’re wagging your tail like a dog.”
One after another, the two brothers vented all their pent-up emotions onto Song Mingzhao before finally going to bed satisfied.
Song Mingzhao stood alone in the hall. The morning wind in late autumn was already getting cold. He lifted his numb left hand to pull his coat tighter. In his ears, a buzzing sound—his eldest brother, second brother, third brother, Song Yuzhang, even Song Zhenqiao—but not his own voice.
Song Yuzhang had gone to the Chamber of Commerce.
It was his first time entering the Chamber since taking over the bank. He had deliberately worn a black suit to look more dignified—another masterpiece by a Parisian tailor. It had sat unsold because no one in town had the build to wear it, so Song Yuzhang graciously accepted it with a laugh.
The long street was grayish-white; the Chamber’s front doors were redwood with gold paint, flanked by two fierce and majestic stone lions. Song Yuzhang stepped up lightly, the sound of his leather shoes against the stone steps barely audible. He looked like a sleek black umbrella, refined and compact from head to toe—restrained yet ready to open at any moment. As soon as he entered the Chamber, all eyes turned to him.
President Song—so handsome he could make anyone swoon.
Song Yuzhang took his seat, entirely at ease under their gazes.
But no one came over to speak with him. Even the way they looked at him was furtive.
Before long, a stir at the entrance. From the greetings, it was clear to Song Yuzhang that Meng Tingjing had arrived.
No surprise—after years of cultivating ties in the Chamber, his network was vastly broader than Song Yuzhang’s.
Meng Tingjing greeted the crowd politely, his posture not overly aloof—quite approachable overall. He had a good reputation in the business world because he was known to be a man of his word. While that kind of inflexible personality could be hard to tolerate at times, it made him highly reliable in business.
He came straight toward Song Yuzhang.
There was no one seated beside Song Yuzhang, so he took the seat to his right.
Song Yuzhang cast him a brief sidelong glance, and Meng Tingjing looked right back at him. This time, he didn’t say anything like “caught you staring,” but “You’re dressed sharp,” he remarked.
Song Yuzhang lowered his gaze and swept a glance over himself, then looked at Meng Tingjing’s black robe. “Right back at you.”
After a moment of silence, Meng Tingjing said, “Nice weather today.”
Song Yuzhang let out a soft laugh. “Boss Meng, if you have nothing to say, it’s okay not to say anything.”
Meng Tingjing shot him a sideways glance, as if about to speak, but in the end just turned away with a frosty face.
About three to five minutes later, Nie Xueping arrived.
There was another stir at the door. Song Yuzhang subtly turned his face inward, and Meng Tingjing noticed the movement—he shifted his stool slightly to block most of Song Yuzhang’s figure from view.
“Boss Nie, you must’ve been busy these past few days?”
“Yes, just a small mishap. Thank you for your concern.”
Nie Xueping exchanged some pleasantries with the others. His eyes passed briefly over Song Yuzhang and then met Meng Tingjing’s gaze. Meng Tingjing gave him a faint smile, though his eyes were cold. Nie Xueping also curved his lips slightly and gave a subtle nod, then looked away.
“Don’t look up,” Meng Tingjing lowered his head and whispered, “He’s sitting right across from you.”
Song Yuzhang scratched his forehead and turned to Meng Tingjing. “Can’t you go sit across from me instead?”
Meng Tingjing gritted his teeth, then smirked and slid a hand under the table to touch Song Yuzhang’s thigh. “No.”
Song Yuzhang smiled lazily. “One touch, ten thousand.”
“What are you, made of gold? Ten thousand for a touch?”
“Then don’t touch.”
Meng Tingjing stroked his thigh again. “Fine, count it up then.”
Song Yuzhang reached down and grabbed his hand. “Don’t be so wasteful. And if you touch me again, I’ll go sit across from you. I mean it. I doubt Nie Xueping would be as shameless as you, groping someone’s thigh.”
Their conversation was all whispered, and to onlookers, it just looked like the two of them were close. With the Meng-Song railway cooperation underway, it made sense that their relationship seemed good.
Song Yuzhang released his hand and casually looked up. Sure enough, Nie Xueping was also watching him, his gaze still soft.
Their eyes met, and Song Yuzhang quickly looked away.
The breakup had been ugly—he’d left behind just a few parting words and walked out. He scratched his face again, but then immediately lowered his hand—scratching your face made you look guilty.
The current chairman of the Chamber of Commerce was a grain industry magnate, well over seventy, with white hair but full of energy. His speech was eloquent and forceful. He delivered a longwinded appeal, urging the bankers present to subscribe to national treasury bonds, which immediately drew groans all around.
“First they want reserve deposits, now they want treasury bond subscriptions—where are we supposed to find that much cash?”
“Overcome hardship together, overcome hardship together,” the chairman said earnestly, hands pressing down as if to calm the crowd.
Though they grumbled, everyone knew it couldn’t be helped. The real plan was to quietly give less than asked. They might demand ten million, but only hand over two million. What, that’s not enough? Then drag things out, delay here and there—for as long as possible, and cut as little flesh as necessary.
Besides that matter, the chairman also raised the issue of the upcoming leadership re-election. It would be held after the New Year. As for candidates, the higher-ups would discuss, but anyone interested could nominate themselves.
After the meeting, Song Yuzhang went alone to the inner office to discuss some matters with the chairman.
After hearing him out, the chairman asked, “So what exactly is this? Are you trying to issue bonds?”
“You could put it that way,” Song Yuzhang replied.
The chairman hesitated. “I’ll need to send some people to your bank first—to carefully examine the books before making a decision.”
Song Yuzhang thought to himself that this process could take ages, so he said bluntly, “As for treasury bond subscriptions, our bank can deliver them tomorrow. Doesn’t that prove our bank has the capacity to issue bonds? Besides, you know our bank is also involved in the new Haizhou railway project. You just said it yourself—extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.” Seeing the chairman still hesitating, he added, “I heard last year’s treasury bond subscriptions gave you a real headache, and in the end you still didn’t manage to raise the full amount. If you’re willing to grant approval, I guarantee this year we’ll make up the shortfall on time.”
The chairman was surprised. “And how do you propose to do that?”
Song Yuzhang replied, “Depends on whether you’re willing to delegate the authority.”
The chairman had indeed been troubled by the bond subscriptions. He knew the Song Bank was wealthy—that legend of a ‘mountain of gold’ had already spread across Haizhou. After thinking it over, he realized there was no harm in this. After all, his term as chairman was ending soon. Why bother clinging to old rules? If he could see this task through before stepping down, it would give the higher-ups a solid impression.
Having received his approval, Song Yuzhang stepped out of the office and saw that the outer hall had split clearly into two groups.
One surrounded Meng Tingjing, the other Nie Xueping.
Song Yuzhang ignored both and headed straight for the exit.
Meng Tingjing had been watching him all along and immediately broke from his group to follow.
In the midst of the noise and chatter, the other group also parted.
“Excuse me.”
Meng Tingjing glanced to his left—Nie Xueping was also making his way through the crowd toward Song Yuzhang.
Song Yuzhang had only taken a few steps when he heard a voice behind him: “Yuzhang.”
He stopped and turned around—both Meng Tingjing and Nie Xueping were walking toward him.
They kept a polite distance between themselves, but their paths were aligned. They came to a stop right in front of him—two men, both striking in appearance, but in different ways. One cold and noble, the other handsome and refined. Standing before Song Yuzhang, they were like a flower and a tree in winter—each beautiful in their own way.
Song Yuzhang remained composed, facing his two former lovers with impeccable calm.
“Yuzhang,” Nie Xueping spoke first. “There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”
Before Song Yuzhang could respond, Meng Tingjing cut in, “What a coincidence—I also have something to discuss with President Song.” His gaze toward Song Yuzhang was heavy with implication. “It’s about the treasury bonds.”
Song Yuzhang glanced at both men and quickly made his decision. He lifted his eyes slightly and looked toward Nie Xueping. “Mr. Nie, shall we talk in the car?”
Meng Tingjing’s expression shifted. “President Song, what I want to discuss is the matter of the ten million in cash for the treasury bonds.”
Every word was emphasized—any fool could understand the implication.
But Song Yuzhang remained unruffled. “Boss Meng, I’ve already drafted a plan regarding the treasury bonds. Thank you for your concern.” Then he turned to Nie Xueping. “Mr. Nie—please.”
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