When Ning Wangshu sat down, Manager Song immediately put on a smile again. "By the way, I remember Xiao Zhang telling me your surname was Ning, Young Brother?"
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"Mm."
Ning Wangshu answered softly, then said, "Ning Wangshu."
At that, Manager Song smiled. "So you're Brother Ning! My surname is Song. Song Guowei."
"Good to meet you, Manager Song!"
Ning Wangshu nodded slightly.
Song Guowei looked at Ning Wangshu and continued, "Brother Ning, you probably don't yet know why I went out of my way to invite so many experts here, do you?"
"Please, go ahead, Manager Song. Manager Zhang didn't mention it to me earlier; he only said he wanted me to meet with you here," Ning Wangshu replied.
Song Guowei nodded and took a slight breath. "Here's the situation. I have a rival. We once had a fierce conflict over several mines."
"In the end, I came out on top and took those mines. But recently, my rival found an expert from somewhere. He beat my men so badly they were routed, injuring at least twenty or thirty of them."
"He even threatened that if I didn't hand those mines over, I could forget about reopening them..."
Ning Wangshu couldn't help but pause. "Why didn't you call the police, Manager Song?"
"Call the police?"
Song Guowei gave a bitter laugh. "My rival's connections and influence are no less than mine. What good would calling the police do?"
"Besides, unless there's a huge gap between the two sides' connections and backgrounds, people generally settle these matters themselves. Whoever's stronger gets the mines."
"If you aren't strong enough, you can't hold on to your mines. In the old days, it was common for fights over mines to turn into armed clashes with people killed."
"Things have become more regulated over the years, and incidents like this are less common, but fundamentally, not much has changed."
"So if I want to keep those mines, I have to overpower my rival—or, more specifically, defeat the expert he hired!"
Ning Wangshu understood. "I see!"
After a pause, he asked, "From the way you put it, Manager Song... those mines are worth quite a lot?"
Song Guowei nodded slightly. "Those mines are probably worth three or four billion. Even if I lost them, it wouldn't exactly cripple me."
"But I can't swallow this humiliation! And if I back down this time, my influence in Jiangnan Province will take a sharp dive."
"So no matter how you look at it, I have to hold on to those mines!"
"Understood!"
Ning Wangshu replied.
Song Guowei then said, "Brother Ning, if you're willing to help me keep those mines, I can pay you the same ten million I'm offering Master Hu for your efforts. What do you think?"
In Song Guowei's eyes, Ning Wangshu had already shown with that move just now that his strength was no less than Hu Guangji's. So he'd offered him the same price without hesitation.
When Hu Guangji heard Song Guowei offer Ning Wangshu the same fee as him, he was a little displeased. But after thinking it over, he realized it wasn't his money to pay.
Besides, Ning Wangshu really was quite capable and could provide some help, so Hu Guangji held his tongue.
Ning Wangshu, however, didn't answer Song Guowei right away. After a brief moment of thought, he glanced at him, held up five fingers, and said calmly, "Fifty million!"
"Manager Song, I'll settle this for you for fifty million. No matter what other experts your rival brings in afterward, I'll deal with them too!"
"Fifty million?"
Song Guowei furrowed his brow. Fifty million wasn't much to him, and it couldn't compare to the mines or his standing in Jiangnan Province.
But compared with the ten million he'd promised Hu Guangji, Ning Wangshu's demand of fifty million was undeniably steep.
As Song Guowei pondered, Hu Guangji couldn't hold back any longer. He gave a cold snort. "Young man, I admit you have some skill."
"But at best, you've only just entered the Xiantian Realm. Asking for fifty million right off the bat is a bit outrageous, don't you think?"
"I'm only getting ten million. Manager Song is wealthy, so he's offering you the same ten million and putting you on an equal footing with me. That's already generous."
"What have you done to deserve asking for fifty million?"
Ning Wangshu glanced at him and replied coolly, "I've told you: to me, your so-called Xiantian experts and ordinary people are no different."
"And you have no right to stand on equal footing with me."
"The reason I'm asking for fifty million is that your fee is already ten million. I'm naming a price that puts us in different leagues!"
"What kind of status do you have to claim the same price as me?"
"Besides, if I dare to name that price, it's because I have the confidence to back it up!"
Hu Guangji had sneered at him earlier, and Ning Wangshu had already been annoyed. He had no reason to be courteous now.
"Arrogant!"
Feeling so utterly dismissed, Hu Guangji flew into a rage and shot to his feet.
What he couldn't stand most was Ning Wangshu saying he had no right to stand as his equal and that he was deliberately setting a price to distinguish their standing.
Seeing Hu Guangji lose his temper, Song Guowei hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Gentlemen, please calm down. You're both guests I invited to help me. Don't let this turn into a falling-out."
Of course, he was conflicted too.
If he agreed to Ning Wangshu's price, Hu Guangji would surely be unhappy.
Even if Song Guowei didn't mind spending a few tens of millions more and raised Hu Guangji's fee to fifty million himself, Ning Wangshu's words suggested he would be just as displeased with that arrangement.
But if Song Guowei refused Ning Wangshu's demand, he worried Ning Wangshu might simply leave.
In his view, Ning Wangshu's move had been no less impressive than Hu Guangji's. He was certainly an expert. Hu Guangji himself had admitted he wasn't confident he could deal with Wu Shengtian, the man the Qi Family had hired.
If Ning Wangshu joined them, their chances would undoubtedly improve considerably.
As Song Guowei hesitated, Ning Wangshu suddenly said, "How about this, Manager Song? If Master Hu can handle the other side on his own, and I don't need to step in, you only have to pay me five million for travel expenses."
"If Master Hu can't handle it and I have to step in myself, then the fifty million stands!"
After a pause, Ning Wangshu added, "And if I do step in but still can't resolve this for you, you only have to pay me five million for travel expenses."
"What do you think?"
Song Guowei's eyes lit up when he heard that. He immediately agreed. "All right! We'll do as you say, Brother Ning!"
Then he added, "But, Brother Ning, what if neither of you can deal with Wu Shengtian alone, and the two of you have to work together?"
Ning Wangshu smiled calmly, full of confidence. "Manager Song, that won't happen. Either I won't need to step in, and Master Hu can handle it himself..."
"Or I step in, and no one else needs to get involved. I've told you: whether it's the Xiantian Realm or anything else, to me, it's no different from an ordinary person!"