Chen Feng remained a silent observer, showing no intention of easing the tension, just quietly fiddling with his phone, pretending to scroll.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly felt oppressive.

Ultimately, it was Ma Wenjiang who quickly adjusted his mindset, and said with a cold face: "President Tao speaks frankly, I admire that. However, if President Tao thinks he can do as he pleases just because he's powerful, then that's a bit presumptuous. Remember, there's always someone stronger."

Sun Yanhong also said coldly: "President Tao, it's best not to be too arrogant. Leave a path for yourself, so we can meet again in the future."

This was heading straight to a confrontation, usually, if someone had a bad temper, they might have started fighting by now.

To be fair, Tao Yaoyang's words just now were indeed provocative. No wonder he specifically brought two burly bodyguards this time.

However, everyone here was civilized, and Ma Wenjiang and Sun Yanhong didn't seem like the type to love fighting. Although they were very angry now, they showed no intention of hitting Tao Yaoyang.

To their unfriendly words, Tao Yaoyang wasn't angry. Instead, he suddenly laughed and said, "Say whatever you want. The fact that I came here to meet and talk with you is already giving you an opportunity. If you aren't capable of convincing me, you can only blame yourselves."

Ma Wenjiang and Sun Yanhong exchanged glances, then Ma Wenjiang suddenly stared at Tao Yaoyang and said threateningly: "President Tao, no man is always lucky, and flowers don't stay red for a hundred days. I heard your father is about to retire as well. Who can say for sure about the future, right?"

The moment these words were said, it was clearly a move towards confrontation. Tao Yaoyang immediately turned stern, his gaze coldly locked onto Ma Wenjiang, sneering: "Are you threatening me?"

Ma Wenjiang instinctively avoided his gaze, but his expression remained calm, and he said in a steady tone: "This can't be considered a threat, just a small piece of advice."

"Very well." Tao Yaoyang sneered, "Let me be honest with you, I've made up my mind to take that Yanjiang land, and I've got you in my pocket. You, Ma Wenjiang, Sun Yanhong, and that Guan Yongsong, Li Bingcong — professional speculators. In past years, relying on family connections and local dominance, you engaged in low-buy-high-sell, speculation, corner-cutting, and took advantage of the state, making quite a bit of dirty money. Do you really think you're clean? Truly investigate you, none of you are clean, and taking a bullet wouldn't be unjust."

As Tao Yaoyang said this, the faces of Ma Wenjiang and Sun Yanhong turned slightly pale. During the years they made their fortune, indeed, there were some loose ends they couldn't completely tidy up.

Such as collaborating to buy the land of some state-owned factories and enterprises at low prices, then holding on for some time, often just a few months, then selling it at a doubled or tripled price. They did a lot of that back then. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

It was a characteristic of that time, many people did it, and so did they.

Later, a lot of people got in trouble for things like that, but they were relatively lucky, and managed to stay safe up to now.

But if someone truly dug into the past, what they did would undoubtedly still be a liability. Besides, organizing speculative housing purchases to inflate prices, bribing public officials, secretly raising vast sums of money, they often dabbled in all these activities.

If no one delved deeply, of course, it wouldn't be much of an issue, but if they did, and relevant authorities wanted to investigate, it would without a doubt be a big problem.

Tao Yaoyang's assertion that he had them in his grips was clearly not an empty threat, he had undoubtedly done a thorough background check on them beforehand. If they truly attempted to resist, they could expect an iron fist waiting for them.

Ma Wenjiang made an effort to remain composed: "It seems like President Tao has a certain understanding of us in advance, then you should also know, the four of us have always conducted business lawfully. Our friends and family who engage in business with us have always adhered to the law…"

"Enough!" Tao Yaoyang interrupted impatiently, "Do you believe your own words? For instance, with the Yanjiang land, if you didn't illegally receive planning information in advance and know the internal estimated price, secretly bribing the other two bidders, could you have gotten it for just 180 million? You illegally and even unlawfully acquired that land. Getting it reclaimed and the money refunded with interest should be considered fortunate. Otherwise, forfeiting the money along with the land would be entirely reasonable."

Ma Wenjiang and Sun Yanhong were rendered speechless, the facts were just as Tao Yaoyang said.

Except they had invested so much effort and had successfully obtained the land. If they could smoothly develop and complete the building, they would gain massive returns several times over. It was really hard to let go, so they were conflicted.

But they were also deeply apprehensive of Tao Yaoyang's intimidating words earlier, leaving them somewhat at a loss.

At this moment, a knock came at the door, and a waiter came in pushing a serving trolley.

A variety of delicious-smelling dishes were placed on the table, and Tao Yaoyang's face returned to a smile, showing the demeanor of a hospitable host, he invited: "Alright, let's put other matters aside and enjoy the food first."

Chen Feng was not polite, even though he had already eaten some at home, the food here was really delicious, so he had saved some room when he came. He was the first to pick up his chopsticks and start eating.

Ma Wenjiang and Sun Yanhong exchanged a brief look, then followed suit, picking up their chopsticks to eat as well. However, though the food was delicious, their minds were clearly elsewhere, and the enjoyment of the meal was significantly impacted, if not outright feeling like chewing wax.

Ma Wenjiang and Sun Yanhong tacitly remained silent while eating their meal.

Only Tao Yaoyang and Chen Feng occasionally exchanged a few words as they ate.

After a dozen or so minutes, it was only then that Tao Yaoyang put down his chopsticks. After wiping his mouth with a wet napkin, he slowly looked across at Ma Wenjiang and said, "Do you still have any cards left to play? The time seems about right, so lay them out."

Hearing this, Chen Feng also couldn't help but pause his eating, looking at them, as he was quite curious.

They clearly knew Tao Yaoyang's background, yet still actively came to negotiate, surely they must have something up their sleeve, right?

Ma Wenjiang, unwilling to concede, tried his best to maintain his boss-like demeanor, smiled, and said, "We actually don't have much to bargain with. Before coming over, the four of us discussed and if negotiations failed, we would have no choice but to follow the legal procedures, which means taking the matter to the relevant authorities and dragging the case as long as possible, appealing if necessary, dragging it out for a year or two shouldn't be a problem."

This move was indeed quite sly. Even if they lost, they intended to make it bothersome for him.

Time is money, if this land is tied up for a year or two, for someone as determined as Tao Yaoyang, it undoubtedly incurs no small amount of losses.