Just as Wu Pengpeng stood up, she heard her junior assistant outside urgently trying to stop someone. "General Manager Zhao, our General Manager Wu is really not here. Please come another day."
General Manager Zhao was insistent. "I've been waiting downstairs of your company all day today. I saw General Manager Wu come in with my own eyes. She hasn't left, so how could she not be here?"
It seemed that the man had come well - prepared, and the junior assistant definitely wouldn't be able to stop him.
Wu Pengpeng walked towards the door. Just as her hand touched the doorknob, the door was pushed open from the outside.
General Manager Zhao was stunned when he saw her, then quickly explained, "Hello, General Manager Wu. I'm Zhao Hongtao from Hongtao Real Estate. I have a project I'd like to discuss with you."
Wu Pengpeng nodded slightly and made a gesture inviting him in. "Please come in, General Manager Zhao."
The junior assistant glared discontentedly at Zhao Hongtao, who had just barged in, then pitifully explained to Wu Pengpeng, "Sis Peng, I couldn't stop him."
Wu Pengpeng waved her hand to show it was okay. "Go and make two cups of coffee and bring them here."
Although the junior assistant was very dissatisfied with Zhao Hongtao's act of barging in, since the boss didn't mind, she couldn't complain either. Reluctantly, she turned around and left.
Wu Pengpeng walked over and sat on the sofa. She didn't know the details of General Manager Zhao's real - estate project, so she couldn't rashly agree. She had to stay silent for the moment.
Seeing that she didn't say a word, Zhao Hongtao felt a bit uncertain. After hesitating for a while, he finally summoned up the courage to speak. "Miss Wu, please help me."
Five years ago, he and several other real - estate developers bought a piece of land on the outskirts of Jincheng, planning to build the world's tallest building.
He had been in charge of going through the formalities and attracting investments for this project in the early stage. After two years of hard work, the project had just started to show some progress. Last year, the investors began to withdraw their funds one after another. This year, two major investors ran away, and the building project was completely abandoned.
He had poured most of his life's savings and all his efforts into this project. If the project failed, he would not only lose all his money but might also face the tragic situation of his wife leaving and his family breaking up.
Moreover, a lot of apartments had been sold when the building was opened for pre - sale. If the project was abandoned, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the customers.
He heard from his business friends that Wu Pengpeng was extremely wealthy and did projects based on her personal preferences, not caring much about making money. So he came here shamelessly.
Wu Pengpeng roughly glanced through the project plan. This building was planned to be an average of 100 floors high, with a net height of nearly 400 meters.
The biggest problems it faced currently were not only the lack of funds but also the fire - safety facilities.
With the current world's fire - fighting level, the highest fire - fighting ladder could reach 200 meters. This project had too many safety hazards, so it would naturally encounter more obstacles.
This was completely a money - burning and thankless project, which Wu Pengpeng quite liked.
If she agreed to invest, besides being able to squander a large sum of money, the most important thing was that she could save many families. It could be considered a good deed.
"Don't worry, General Manager Zhao." Wu Pengpeng closed the project plan and said seriously, "I really appreciate your spirit of 'being the first in the world'. I'm willing to cooperate with you."
Zhao Hongtao was overjoyed. "General Manager Wu, have you really thought it through?"
Wu Pengpeng nodded. "Please leave an account number later. I'll ask the finance department to transfer a sum of money first. You can return the house payments to the customers who bought the apartments before. Wait until our building is completed and tested for safety, then we can start selling again."
Zhao Hongtao was very satisfied with her arrangement. He quickly left his account number and went back to draw up the contract, as if he was afraid she would change her mind if he was a bit slower.
Of course, Wu Pengpeng wouldn't change her mind. This project was so large - scale that it would surely burn a lot of money. Moreover, the fire - safety hazard was a fatal flaw, and there was basically no chance of a turnaround.
If she could successfully squander money on this project, her task would basically be completed.
Wu Pengpeng was immersed in the joy of her upcoming success in squandering money when Zhao Bufan barged in angrily.
"Wu Pengpeng, what on earth are you doing?" She didn't even have time to take off her coat before scolding, "The project of Hongtao Real Estate is clearly unreliable. It's just a defunct and deceitful building."
Of course, Wu Pengpeng knew it was unreliable. She pretended to be innocent and said, "Why is it unreliable? We're going to build the world's tallest building."
Zhao Bufan walked over and sat opposite her, glaring at her in frustration. "Do you think doing business is like playing house? Why do you want to build the world's tallest building? For fun?"
Wu Pengpeng had already thought up an excuse. She said unhurriedly, "By then, we can build the world's largest shopping mall. The income from the tourists alone would be a huge amount of money. Just think about it. Won't we make a fortune?"
This idea was actually quite good.
"The premise is that you can actually build this building! As far as I know, with the current fire - fighting level in Yun Country, the highest they can reach is 50 floors." Zhao Bufan picked up the coffee in front of Wu Pengpeng, took a sip, and continued, "If something goes wrong with this 100 - floor building, it will be a disaster."
Of course, Wu Pengpeng wouldn't joke about people's lives. This building would never be completed.
However, she still had to fool Zhao Bufan.
"Don't worry. As time progresses and technology develops, this technical problem will surely be solved by the time we finish building the building."
Zhao Bufan rolled her eyes at her. "When you do business, don't pin your hopes on your own fantasies."
"Who said it's just a fantasy? I will definitely increase the investment in fire - fighting. This way, it can not only benefit the people but also bring huge profits. Why not do it?"
Zhao Bufan knew that once Wu Pengpeng said something, she would do it. And from the previous projects of the geographical magazine's expedition team and Kangtai Medicine, every time she did such an unreliable project, she ended up making more money.
Maybe this time she could also turn the situation around. So she didn't try to persuade her anymore.
She carefully observed Wu Pengpeng and saw that her state was the same as before. She felt a bit relieved. "Let's have dinner together tonight. Your Uncle San misses you very much."
"Your Uncle San?" Wu Pengpeng keenly caught the key point in her words and leaned over curiously. "Have you two made any progress?"
Zhao Bufan was reminded of something sad. She forced a smile and said, "Your Uncle San assigned me two more book reports. I have to read books with a total of one million words. I'm so busy every day!"
Judging from her sarcastic tone, it was obvious that she had been rejected by Wu Ju again.
As the best "toxic" friend, wasn't it just about building one's own happiness on the "misery" of one's best friend?
So Wu Pengpeng said meanly, "You haven't made any progress, but I have."
She took out her phone, pulled up the chat records with He Qianshan, waved it in front of Zhao Bufan, and said regretfully, "I'm going to have dinner with my boyfriend tonight, so I can't accompany you."
"Boyfriend?" Zhao Bufan was stunned for a moment, then reacted. "Damn it, Wu Pengpeng! Didn't we say that single dogs should stick together, and anyone who gets a partner first is a dog? How could you secretly get a boyfriend behind my back!"
Wu Pengpeng tilted her head and shamelessly barked twice.
Zhao Bufan was extremely angry at first, feeling betrayed by her dog - like best friend. But seeing Wu Pengpeng's genuinely happy look, she knew that her friend had finally walked out of the nightmare of the past. She was truly happy for her.
She reached out and poked Wu Pengpeng's head, pretending to be angry. "You're going to be stuck with He Qianshan for the rest of your life."
Wu Pengpeng smiled and threw the same words back. "Aren't you going to be stuck with my Uncle San for the rest of your life?"
Zhao Bufan raised her head proudly. "I'm willing. It's none of your business!"
"I'm willing too!" Before Wu Pengpeng could finish her sentence, her phone rang. She looked down and saw that it was a call from He Qianshan. She couldn't help but smile.
She deliberately glanced at Zhao Bufan, coughed lightly, and answered the call in a coquettish voice. "Hello, boyfriend."
The person on the other end seemed to be choked by her words. Then a strange male voice came through. "Cough, Miss Wu. This is the traffic police brigade. You're the only contact in the victim's phone. Could you please come to the hospital?"