Chapter 106 - 94: I Actually Forgot I Was a Boss?

"My apologies, my apologies!" Wang Donglai raised his hands, apologizing to the barista behind the cafe counter and the other customers who were staring at him in surprise.

"It’s alright. A cleaner will be by to take care of it in a bit." The barista was decent about it, not giving Wang Donglai a dirty look.

After nodding and thanking them profusely, Wang Donglai turned to look at Fang Zhen, his eyes filled with shock.

"Bro, you’re not messing with me, are you?"

"Fifty kilograms?"

"Of this quality of ore?"

"What else? Why would I joke about that?" Fang Zhen asked.

"Damn, this is insane. Insane." Wang Donglai kept patting his chest. After a long moment, he looked at Fang Zhen again and said, "There’s no way I can handle this quantity. How about this? I’ll recommend a big shot to you. He has real resources and is reliable. I’ll just make the introduction, and you two can talk specifics."

"A deal this big is out of my league."

Fang Zhen chuckled.

He knew Wang Donglai too well. This wasn’t his childhood friend being modest.

Wang Donglai’s family was quite wealthy, but that money belonged to his old man, not to him.

Fang Zhen recalled that right after college graduation, Wang Donglai had wanted to start his own business. His father, however, was against it and gave him two options. One was to take the civil service exam, land a stable government job, and hopefully become a section chief with some authority by his thirties. The other was to join his father’s company and work his way up honestly. Then, when his father retired, his performance would be evaluated. If he was good enough, he’d take over the business. If not, he’d just go home and live off his parents. In any case, starting his own venture was forbidden.

Wang Donglai had argued for a long time before he finally managed to persuade his family to give him a third option.

His dad gave him 500,000 as seed money to try his hand at business. If he succeeded, he would be allowed to do his own thing. If he lost it all, he’d have to go back to one of the two paths his family had laid out for him.

Wang Donglai had made a decent effort. He hadn’t lost the 500,000; in fact, his small business was gradually getting on the right track.

By now, Fang Zhen estimated that the initial 500,000 had snowballed into over two million, though most of it was tied up in the business.

Wang Donglai was actually quite ambitious. At least he hadn’t lost the 500,000 and had even turned a profit. Of course, his house and car were bought by his family. He definitely enjoyed the support befitting a second-generation rich kid, and his path in life was much smoother than most people’s.

So when Wang Donglai said he couldn’t handle Fang Zhen’s batch of goods, he was telling the truth. That was all the capital he had; he really didn’t have any more.

"So what’s your relationship with this ’big shot’?" Fang Zhen asked.

"A business connection. He’s around our parents’ age, but he has a youthful spirit. He’s powerful, reliable, and his assets are no less than my dad’s. You could call him my benefactor in the business world," Wang Donglai replied.

"Alright, let’s set up a meeting," Fang Zhen said.

「30 minutes later」

Back in the same Starbucks, Fang Zhen met the "big shot" Wang Donglai had mentioned.

The man appeared to be in his late forties. He wasn’t tall, standing a little over 1.6 meters, but he had an exceptional Spirit, giving off a sharp and capable vibe. His presence was commanding.

It was hard to tell his exact age; he was likely older than he looked. But he was dressed in a way that was both powerful and fashionable, similar to the recently popular CEO Lei, making him seem younger.

Wang Donglai made the introductions, and Fang Zhen learned that this man’s name was Luo Bin.

Luo Bin was surprisingly polite and easygoing. He was very friendly to Fang Zhen upon meeting him and didn’t show any of that condescending, preachy attitude common among successful middle-aged men, nor did he flaunt his wealth.

Simply put, Fang Zhen’s impression of him was that he was powerful, but not greasy or pretentious.

Luo Bin spoke to people in a gentle, pleasant manner, but when it came to business, he was decisive and efficient.

Fang Zhen watched as Luo Bin examined the Cinnabar Ore for a moment before putting it down.

"I tend to call younger guys by their names, and I prefer it if you call me by my name, too. I hope you don’t mind. Fang Zhen, this quality of Cinnabar Ore—you have fifty kilograms of it?" Luo Bin asked.

"A little over fifty kilograms. I haven’t weighed it precisely yet," Fang Zhen replied.

"Alright. If it’s all this quality, I’ll take it. Sell it all to me," Luo Bin said. "For ore of this quality, I can offer 68 per gram."

"Huh? Brother Luo, you’re so straightforward!" Fang Zhen’s eyes lit up.

"Hold on a second," Luo Bin paused and asked, "This Cinnabar Ore of yours... it doesn’t have mining permits or other proofs of origin?"

"It doesn’t," Fang Zhen answered, his reply both direct and frank.

’There’s no hiding this. It’s better to be upfront.’

Luo Bin studied Fang Zhen for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay, you’re very honest. I like your character," Luo Bin said. "Just because you don’t have those documents doesn’t necessarily mean it’s illegal. I have ways to handle the formalities."

"Don’t worry about the specifics of how I do it. The point is, it can be processed through legal channels."

"However, there are costs involved in the process, so I can only offer you 60 per gram. And you’ll have to pay the back taxes."

"When it comes to taxes, don’t even think about evading them. Other things can be manipulated, but tax evasion is the most troublesome, and the consequences are especially severe."

"I never evade taxes in my business, and I don’t do business with individuals or companies that do."

Fang Zhen smiled and said, "I feel the same way, Brother Luo. If I can pay the taxes, I absolutely will."

"Good. As long as you have that awareness," Luo Bin nodded.

"You have over fifty kilograms, so at 60 per gram, the total price will be over 3 million. We should use a corporate account. Later, I’ll come to your place to inspect the goods, and if there are no problems, I’ll transfer the money via a corporate account."

"A corporate account?" Fang Zhen was taken aback.

He hadn’t expected Luo Bin to be so decisive, ready to buy on the spot.

A 3 million transaction really did require a corporate account. A transfer between personal accounts would be scrutinized very strictly, and might even be reported by the financial institution to regulatory authorities.

The last time Fang Zhen had sold Gold, the payment of over 600,000 was already pushing the limits. And he still had to file and pay back taxes on it the following month.

"You don’t have a corporate account?" A hint of suspicion crept into Luo Bin’s eyes.

Just as Fang Zhen was wondering how to answer, he suddenly saw Wang Donglai winking and making faces at him. "Bro, have you forgotten? Your trading company, the social security thing, that one!"

A flash of inspiration hit Fang Zhen.

’Damn, I completely forgot. I’m technically the boss and legal representative of a company!’

He remembered it now.

Fang Zhen was indeed the legal representative and owner of a company, but it was just a shell company with only nominal employees.

He had registered the company because it used to be inconvenient for freelancers to pay for social security. After looking into the situation, Fang Zhen had applied to start a company.

The company was essentially a shell trading company. It had about ten employees on paper, but they were actually all his freelancer friends.

The purpose of the company was to allow everyone to pay into social security; the "employees" all paid their own contributions.

Later, the social security regulations changed, and it became possible for freelancers to pay into the local social security system directly. The company thus lost its purpose, and Fang Zhen hadn’t paid any attention to it for seven or eight months.

He had even forgotten all about it.

Wang Donglai’s reminder brought it all back to him.

’I actually forgot I was a boss...’ Fang Zhen suddenly found the situation rather absurd. ’No one would believe it if I told them.’

The company’s annual inspection was only seven or eight months ago, so its license probably hadn’t been revoked yet, and the bank account shouldn’t be dormant either.

"Alright, let’s do it as Brother Luo suggested."

...

After a series of procedures that Fang Zhen found rather tedious, the transaction was finally completed a little after three in the afternoon.

The total weight of the Cinnabar Ore Fang Zhen had brought back was 55.35 kilograms, and the price came to 3,321,000.

That money was now sitting in Fang Zhen’s corporate account.

As for Luo Bin, he left with the Cinnabar Ore, looking reasonably satisfied.

Fang Zhen didn’t let his friend help him for nothing. He gave Wang Donglai an 80,000 finder’s fee.

Wang Donglai naturally tried to refuse, but Fang Zhen transferred the money directly to his bank card.

"Just take it. You helped me out, so I can’t let you do it for free. Even close brothers keep clear accounts. This way, I’ll feel better about asking for your help again in the future. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even know who to sell my ore to, or for what price."

"If you think it’s too much, just consider it a favor you owe me. Just don’t turn me down next time I need your help."

Wang Donglai thought about it for a moment and accepted the money.

After the deal was done, Fang Zhen went straight home.

’All this stuff is too tedious. It’s not for me.’

’Anyway, the company account is active again. I should probably hire a few people later. I’ll leave these mundane tasks to them. I’m not doing this anymore.’

’I’ll be a real boss. In the future, I can get this kind of stuff done just by giving an order.’

Fang Zhen thought to himself.

His so-called company currently only had one real member: himself. The money in the corporate account could be used after going through some necessary procedures.

With this money, he wouldn’t have to worry about living expenses for a while.

At home, he opened the "Dungeon Life Game" and directly typed some key requirements into the ’Dungeon Search’ page.

"Evaluate my current strength and search for a dungeon world that can be speedrun within 7 days and where I can learn a relatively powerful skill. Difficulty must be moderate. Exclude weird powers," Fang Zhen typed in his request.

Instantly, the Dungeon Life Game responded.

"This search will consume 15 Merit Points. Do you wish to pay?"