Sun Yanhong wasn't affected by Ma Wenjiang's unusual gaze. She was quite bold and straightforward.

"I said I knew him before, and it's true. Actually, I won't hide it — I have a fondness for him, so I had someone look into him. That's pretty normal, right?"

Ma Wenjiang coughed dryly, then nodded, "It is quite normal. So, how familiar have you gotten with him now?"

Sun Yanhong found this loaded question somewhat displeasing, not because she thought he was implying something, but because she really wasn't that familiar with Chen Feng. Being asked like this made her feel like she was being put on the spot.

"Why do you care how familiar I am with him? Do you expect me to throw away my dignity to ask him to mediate?" Sun Yanhong retorted angrily.

Ma Wenjiang laughed, "I don't mean for you to humiliate yourself by begging him. If you're on good terms with him, asking him to step in and pass a message, or even mediate, is completely normal. You just tried calling him and didn't get through, right? We can cater to his tastes, send a gift, or ask his relatives and friends to help persuade him. This must be quick. Once a formal mandatory document comes down, it'll be troublesome."

"You all handle him." Sun Yanhong felt a bit embarrassed after being rejected by Chen Feng over the phone. Asking her to further lower herself to plead with him was too much.

Ma Wenjiang said, "We don't know him at all, and have no relationship with him. How should we talk to him? At least you know him better than us. You should know someone among his relatives or friends who could help us speak on our behalf, right? This task can only be handled by you."

Master also spoke up, "Little Hong, a task should not be left unfinished by the initiator. Since you've taken it up, you should see it through. Besides, just asking Chen Feng to pass on a message and act as a go-between isn't a big deal. We're not asking him to be a mouthpiece, he has no reason to refuse."

Li also nodded, "Yeah, just ask him for a small favor. In return, we owe him a favor. As long as he understands the weight of this favor, he shouldn't refuse. Why don't you call him again and try to negotiate properly?"

With all three of them saying this, it would seem awkward for Sun Yanhong to continue refusing.

Their small four-person group was somewhat democratic, and even though she was vaguely ranked second, with the leader and the other two already speaking, refusing would seem to disregard the bigger picture.

After a moment of silence, Sun Yanhong finally nodded, "Alright, I'll think of a way to get him to agree to help."

When Ma Wenjiang and the other two heard her, smiles immediately appeared on their faces.

To them, it seemed highly likely that Sun Yanhong had something going with Chen Feng. After all, she admitted having a fondness for him, and given her looks and methods, it was unreasonable for Chen Feng not to hit it off with her.

Ma Wenjiang asked, "So what do you plan to do to get him to agree? Do we need to cooperate with you?"

Sun Yanhong thought for a moment, "I'll call him again and talk to him directly. If that doesn't work, I'll go find him myself."

"Then we'll wait for your good news. It's best to settle this by tonight, it can't be delayed any longer."

Sun Yanhong nodded without expression and walked towards a bedroom, locking the door behind her.

"Old Ma, do you think she can succeed?" Li asked Ma Wenjiang.

"It's just passing a message and acting as a go-between. Yanhong should have this in the bag." Ma Wenjiang pondered.

"Then why didn't the other party agree earlier? Did Yanhong lie?"

Ma Wenjiang speculated, "Yanhong probably hoped he would be a mouthpiece, persuading Tao Yaoyang to back off, something the other party surely wouldn't agree to."

Li grinned and asked slyly, "Do you think there's something illicit between Chen Feng and Yanhong?"

Ma Wenjiang rolled his eyes at him.

Master frowned and chided, "Li, Little Hong is our own person, don't speak ill of her behind her back."

Li quickly nodded, "Yes, yes, I was just curious, didn't mean to speak ill of her."

...

After entering the bedroom again, Sun Yanhong didn't immediately call Chen Feng but instead dialed Shi Xiangnan.

Shi Xiangnan had been waiting for her call and answered almost immediately.

"President Sun, hello, is there any progress on my issue?"

Shi Xiangnan asked eagerly.

Hearing this, Sun Yanhong felt slightly awkward because she had almost forgotten about it. Initially, she did inquire about him, but it turned out to be a tough case to clear his name.

Later, because of Tao Yaoyang's attempt to seize land, she had put Shi Xiangnan's matter aside. If it weren't for wanting to leverage Shi Xiangnan's connections this time, she wouldn't have contacted him actively.

"There's a bit of progress. I consulted some insiders; completely clearing your name seems unlikely. The best outcome would be replacing punishment with a fine, which could be a hefty sum. I'm not sure exactly how much."

Shi Xiangnan felt a bit of relief upon hearing this. As long as he didn't have to serve jail time, he was willing to spend money to make the problem go away.

He immediately said happily, "A fine instead of a sentence is fine by me. I accept it, as long as I don't go to prison. President Sun, please help facilitate this for me and tell me how much it would cost for me to prepare."

"Sure, I'll figure out how to help you with that."

After saying this, Sun Yanhong moved to the main topic, "I have a favor to ask you. Have you heard of Tao Yaoyang, Mr. Tao?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

At first, Shi Xiangnan didn't recognize Tao Yaoyang's name, but "Mr. Tao" was a name he was quite familiar with.

As a businessman with some achievements in Xiu Zhou, the provincial capital, almost no one hadn't heard of Mr. Tao.

When Mr. Tao was younger, he was quite a prominent figure in Xiu Zhou's business circle, though he became much more low-key in recent years.

But even with his current low profile, his legend still remained in the Xiu Zhou business circle.

"Of course, I've heard of Mr. Tao's famous name. However, I don't know him."

Shi Xiangnan indeed did not know Tao Yaoyang and had never even met him, puzzled by what Sun Yanhong wanted from him.

Sun Yanhong didn't mince words, "Tao Yaoyang and Chen Feng are very good friends. I want you to ask Chen Feng to help introduce me to Mr. Tao. Can you do that?"

"What?!" Shi Xiangnan was dumbfounded, "You said Chen Feng and Mr. Tao are very good friends?"

Shi Xiangnan couldn't believe what Sun Yanhong said. In his view, Chen Feng was at most a lucky outsider who made some money; how could he possibly know someone of Mr. Tao's prestigious status, let alone be very good friends with him?

Shi Xiangnan didn't believe it!

"Yes, they have a very good relationship. Mr. Tao values Chen Feng as a friend, so I want to get to know this distinguished Mr. Tao through Chen Feng. Can you make that happen?"