Chapter 150: The Super Oil Tycoon

A convoy of cars stood in a neat line before the entrance to the Yiren Group.

Dozens of people climbed out, all Arabs dressed in white robes and white headscarves.

Kali hurried forward in surprise.

Addressing the young master among them, he said, “Prince Muhan, what brings you here? I sent someone to pick you up at the airport, didn’t I?”

Muhan came from a certain oil-rich nation. He was a true-born prince who had entered the world with a golden spoon in his mouth. He had come to France in search of a master architect to design and build him a palace.

He was a client of staggering wealth.

Kali had gone to considerable lengths to establish contact with him. After an exhaustive sales pitch, Muhan had reached a preliminary agreement with him.

Although nothing had been finalized, Kali believed he had no serious competitors.

Not merely in France—even across the whole of Europe, there were barely a handful of real-estate companies stronger than Kali Architecture. How could Muhan possibly settle for some inferior firm?

Muhan carried himself like a stereotypical nouveau riche. His disdainful, imperious manner made it clear that he did not take Kali seriously; he could hardly be bothered to look at him.

Kali was furious inside, but he had no choice but to endure it. After all, Muhan was a tycoon.

He could only follow obsequiously behind the prince, wondering what on earth had brought him to the Yiren Group.

The next second, he was struck dumb.

The same Muhan who had been so arrogant and discourteous actually cast aside all dignity when he saw Lu Ye. Gathering up the cumbersome front of his robe with both hands, he sprinted toward him and called out warmly, “Ha-ha! Lu-Lu!”

Lu Ye stepped aside to avoid Muhan’s bear hug and called back, “You old dimwit!”

Muhan accidentally stepped on the hem of his robe, tripped, and landed hard on his backside. Rather than bother getting up, he simply sat cross-legged on the ground and pointed at the building behind him.

“Is this the company your family owns?”

Lu Ye nodded. “To be precise, it belongs to my wife. It’s under the Yiren Group. The headquarters are in our hometown, Pearl City. This is only a branch.”

Muhan nodded obediently. “Oh, I understand!”

Everyone present stood frozen in astonishment.

Su Qianqian took Lu Ye by the arm and pulled him aside, whispering, “Darling, who is he?”

Lu Ye smiled. “Do you remember that your Koenigsegg once had two other limited-edition cars of the same model? The other two were the ones that Dimwit and I wrecked while racing in the Middle East. He’s the Arab prince I told you about.”

The corner of Su Qianqian’s mouth twitched. “Why do you call him Dimwit?”

“Because Muhan is awkward to pronounce, so I gave him a Chinese homophone nickname.”

“Good grief!”

Lu Ye said, “I told you not to worry about the business. Dimwit came here today to give you money. He’s the first client of our branch.”

Su Qianqian froze for a moment. “You mean the Arab palace Kali mentioned earlier?”

Lu Ye scratched his head and smiled. “That very project. It should bring you at least tens of billions in profit. How does that sound?”

She drew a sharp breath.

Su Qianqian inhaled slowly and said, “Just this one project would be enough to keep our branch going for three years. We really don’t need to bow and scrape to the French when doing business.”

“Exactly. Though Kali will probably hate us to the bone. Ha-ha!”

Kali rushed over, crouched beside Muhan, and demanded, “Prince Muhan, what is your relationship with this pretty boy?”

Smack!

Muhan slapped him across the face on the spot and barked, “Pretty boy? That’s my big brother!”

Kali panicked at once.

How was that possible?

They did not even share the same skin color or nationality. How could they possibly be brothers?

What would become of his business, then?

Muhan said with deep displeasure, “I’ve looked into the relevant information. Your Kali Architecture firm doesn’t have the ability to build my palace. I’m handing the project to the Yiren Group!”

The crowd erupted in astonishment.

Everyone knew that although oil princes were extravagantly wasteful with money, their demands concerning the products they purchased were nearly impossible to satisfy.

Cost was irrelevant. They did not care how much they had to spend.

The result had to be supremely luxurious—and utterly unique.

Kali protested indignantly, “Prince Muhan, if even my Kali Architecture lacks the ability to take on this project, then what makes them qualified?”

Muhan sneered. “Because I want a palace in the style of a traditional Chinese garden. Can you build that?”

Kali was instantly stunned into silence.

In his understanding, only the French style of Europe represented the pinnacle of architectural excellence. He knew absolutely nothing about the Chinese style from the other side of the world.

Thus, Muhan’s most basic requirement alone was enough to shut Kali Architecture out.

Muhan rose from the ground and dusted off his backside.

“All I see in your eyes is contempt and disdain for your competitors. A man like you does not deserve my business.”

Those words completely extinguished Kali’s hopes. In full view of everyone, they also amounted to a public slap in the face, trampling Kali Architecture while elevating the standing of the Yiren Group.

Muhan walked over to Lu Ye and his wife. He politely pressed his palms together, inclined his head slightly toward Su Qianqian, and said, “Greetings, sister-in-law!”

Su Qianqian gave an awkward smile. “Greetings, Dimwit.”

“Sister-in-law, you heard what I said just now.”

“I’ll pay you a hundred billion in advance as the project budget. If that isn’t enough, I can add more later. Please build me the most unique and dazzling palace in the entire world!”

Su Qianqian remained bewildered from beginning to end. “Aren’t you going to look at the designs and proposals first?”

Muhan smiled. “Sister-in-law, those matters are your professional specialty. You’re certainly far more knowledgeable than I am, so I won’t interfere. There’s only one thing I know how to do—spend money!”

Su Qianqian’s mouth twitched again. “Then shall we draw up the contract first?”

Muhan waved his hand grandly and summoned an assistant, who immediately transferred a hundred billion to Su Qianqian on the spot.

“I’ll give you the money first, sister-in-law. We can sign the contract later.”

Everyone around them drew a sharp breath.

Did he even sound human?

Still, the fact that Muhan dared to hand a project worth a hundred billion to the Yiren Group without a second thought showed that the Yiren Group itself must be a formidable real-estate company.

Moreover, they came from the distant East, supposedly a land with five thousand years of history and culture.

The French were accustomed to seeing European-style buildings everywhere. Learning about the grand and majestic architecture of China suddenly gave them a sense of discovery.

Quite a few people at the scene were already eager to give their own homes a Chinese makeover. Seeing this, Su Qianqian immediately assigned employees with excellent foreign-language skills to provide on-site consultations.

So these people were shameless at heart after all.

Lu Ye had deliberately treated them with contempt earlier, making it perfectly clear that he had no interest in scraping together the few coins in their pockets.

Yet the moment Muhan waved his hand and finalized a project worth a hundred billion, they tossed aside all the humiliation Lu Ye had inflicted on them.

They seemed to have realized that the Yiren Group would lead architectural trends for decades to come.

Their unchanging European-style buildings would be temporarily abandoned by people suffering from aesthetic fatigue.

People always followed the crowd.

Suppose I saw that you had built yourself a beautiful little Chinese-style villa today. I would think it looked excellent—and decide to build one myself tomorrow.

For Kali Architecture, this was undoubtedly a catastrophe. They specialized only in European-style buildings.

Before long, a long line had formed outside the Yiren Group.

Some people did not yet have the means to change the style of their homes, but they had no objection to coming in and making inquiries.

On the very first day of the Yiren Group branch’s opening, the entrance was already bustling with visitors.

Kali had lifted a rock only to drop it on his own foot, and now there was nothing he could do.

When the other entrepreneurs from the chamber of commerce saw him suffer such a humiliating defeat, they not only refused to defend him but even began blaming him.

“President Kali, how did things end up like this?”

“You’re the leader of our chamber of commerce. You were the one who organized this little campaign against them. You owe us a reasonable explanation.”

Kali glared darkly at the backs of Lu Ye and Su Qianqian as they walked into the building.

“What are you in such a hurry to do—put me on trial?”

“My plan was flawless. We simply didn’t expect them to get lucky and happen to know some foolishly generous oil tycoon. As long as we stand together and join forces to suppress the Yiren Group, they won’t be able to withstand us!”