Ren Zhong: "Ah, but won’t they worry that I can’t get your certification and the citizen’s vote?"
Yang Bingzhong laughed, "This is called the double suspicion chain. They will suggest that you first gain their approval, then gradually gain my trust, and think of a way once we reach the New Town. After all, Ma Dafu knows my methods, he probably won’t doubt my ability to take control of the New Town. They will first obediently hand over their own power, at least creating some chance for this plan."
Ren Zhong scratched his head, "I’m a little confused, Mr. Yang. This is too convoluted."
"Don’t overthink it, after all, opportunity knocks but once, don’t hesitate. Do as I say now. Otherwise, when we reach the New Town, I’ll have to re-establish connections. By then, when my company expands, I might not be able to take care of you."
Ren Zhong’s expression changed rapidly, but in the end, he couldn’t help but ask, "Mr. Yang, um... there’s something I’m not sure if I should say."
"If they truly treat me so well, aren’t you afraid I’ll really side with them and betray you?"
Yang Bingzhong laughed heartily and pointed to the upper right corner of the office wall.
Ren Zhong turned around and gasped.
Mr. Yang’s mixture of grace and power was truly flawless.
Ren Zhong immediately felt subdued, "Well, thank you for your kindness, Mr. Yang. I’ll do my best."
"Mm, I’ll be waiting for your good news."
Ren Zhong walked out of the office, casting a grateful glance back at the door.
As for Yang Bingzhong, while it can be said he’s smart, it’s not always apparent.
Yet, calling him foolish is not quite right either, otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to turn around the company’s internal decline within sixteen years, while maintaining pressure on Ma Dafu externally.
But now, with this matter at hand, he actually let himself be easily ensnared just to spite the Ma daughter and father.
All this about double suspicion chains up in the clouds.
In truth, none of Yang Bingzhong’s logic held much water, just gambling on a possibility.
Human nature is indeed complex and hard to decipher.
That afternoon, Ren Zhong obtained one of the four certifications—the enterprise certification.
In the evening, Ren Zhong also received recognition from the Mayor and the Guard Captain.
Then, the next morning, at Yang Bingzhong’s behest, the citizens of Starfire Town gathered for a long-awaited all-citizen voting assembly.
At the meeting, nearly six hundred citizens cast their votes of approval, with only the Ma daughter and father, the town hall scribe, and a few Guards with official citizenship feigning urgency to arrive at the last minute and casting futile dissenting votes.
Even though the voting weight of the Ma daughter and father was high, the matter of Ren Zhong’s advancement to citizen status still received as much as 90% approval rate.
At the moment when the votes were tallied, Ma Dafu surveyed the many citizens in the venue, feeling a mix of emotions.
Even though the entire scheme was plotted by Ren Zhong and him, looking at this 90% approval rate, with only a scant dozen or so dissenting votes, Ma Dafu still found it rather jarring.
His intuition told him that something was off.
On the other side, Ren Zhong was already back at Starfire Resources Office with Yang Bingzhong.
Yang Bingzhong was smiling happily.
"That dissenting vote from the Ma daughter and father was pre-arranged between you and them, right?"
Ren Zhong nodded, "Yes."
"To increase your credibility as an insider?"
"Alright, for the next few days I’ll allow you to continue on full leave, take the time to accompany Ma Xiaoling."
"Yes! Thank you, Mr. Yang!"
After Ren Zhong left, Yang Bingzhong, the mastermind behind the scenes, couldn’t help but exclaim, "Beauty fails to overcome the scoundrel. This Ren Zhong is truly an ultimate scoundrel who can even fool himself. I can’t even learn that, a genius indeed."
In the private drawing-room on the second floor of the town hall.
Ren Zhong sat across from Ma Dafu, who wore a serious expression.
Ma Dafu picked up the teacup, taking large gulps like a cow chewing peonies.
After a long while, he put down the cup and let out a long sigh, "I’m so foolish. I really didn’t think of this... sigh. Every time a town is abolished, there would be a similar citizen trial vote. Usually, such a vote is just a formality; rarely would citizens truly vote the wastelanders who supported them for decades to death, usually giving them a way out. But this time... sigh! Yang Bingzhong isn’t even pretending anymore, seizing this chance to make it clear that I’ve been completely marginalized."
Ren Zhong nodded, "Yes. I’ve heard some news."
"This matter also involves the Purple Crystal Mining and the Mengdu Group, here’s how it goes..."
After listening, Ma Dafu turned pale with shock, but quickly regained composure, "The situation is so severe, luckily we still have you as our trump card."