Chapter 101

Chapter 101

Sure enough, after Nan Mu’s parents left, Xu Yang went in and had only just brought up the matter when Nan Mu turned him down.

Xu Yang went out to handle it. Of course, he would not tell the other party how blunt Nan Mu had been. He would only refuse them tactfully.

“I really don’t understand. Their environmental rectification isn’t up to standard, and instead of putting in the work to fix the actual problems, all they can think about is finding someone to smooth things over with the Environmental Protection Bureau? What is wrong with these people’s brains?”

Qiu Ziyu did not understand these kinds of issues, but Nan Mu knew them inside and out.

Under the current Environmental Protection Law, if a company illegally discharged pollutants, the maximum fine the environmental protection authorities could impose was only one hundred thousand yuan, and they could only issue one fine per month. That meant even if they were fined every month for an entire year, the total would not exceed 1.2 million yuan. For a pharmaceutical company like Hongyun Pharmaceutical, purchasing pollution-control equipment involved not only a large one-time upfront expense, but also the cost of centralized water supply and drainage alone, which would drive up the average price of their medicines substantially. For a major pharmaceutical enterprise like Hongyun Group, if they did not purchase pollution-control equipment, they could cut production costs by tens of thousands of yuan a day. The Environmental Protection Bureau could fine them at most one hundred thousand yuan per violation; they could earn that back in less than two days.

That was why companies like Hongyun Pharmaceutical, which single-mindedly pursued economic profit, would rather illegally discharge pollutants and pay the fines than purchase pollution-control equipment to safeguard the environment.

This was also the first time Qiu Ziyu learned just how big the gap was. He had originally thought there must be some special difficulty involved in the rectification process, which was why they had never managed to complete it. After all that, it turned out to be a money issue.

Thoughtfully, he said, “Then doesn’t that mean the statutory cap on fines isn’t set very reasonably?”

If they raised the fine high enough to scare companies with a single penalty, those unscrupulous businesses probably would not dare do it anymore.

Nan Mu nodded. “That is true in principle, but the market economy needs room to develop. Excessive fines may also force companies to form a united front and pass the costs on to consumers, which would be harmful to people’s livelihoods. So everyone knows the Environmental Protection Law urgently needs to be revised, but it keeps getting delayed again and again.”

Qiu Ziyu asked with interest, “In that case, they were completely unrepentant before. Why are they suddenly in such a hurry now?”

“I heard the director of the Environmental Protection Bureau mention before that the new Environmental Protection Law is likely to issue new provisions soon.”

As Nan Mu spoke, he paused for a long while. He felt that even if new provisions were issued, it should not be enough to make Hongyun Pharmaceutical panic like this.

While he was thinking, Xu Yang returned. He had just chatted with Zhou Zhiheng outside for a while and had more or less figured out the whole story.

Zhou Zhiheng and Nan Mu were not close to begin with. Coming at the last minute to seek help only when the crisis was already at his doorstep-anyone could tell that was unreliable.

“Although Zhou Zhiheng is a general manager, he backed the wrong side at Hongyun Pharmaceutical and is now being somewhat pushed to the margins, so this matter got dumped on him. He is angry about it, but he doesn’t dare leave easily. His son started a factory called Lin’an Weishi, and quite a few of their clients only signed deals because of his connections at Hongyun Pharmaceutical.”

So there was nepotism involved too. Qiu Ziyu figured the man was probably just complaining for the sake of complaining.

Curious, he asked, “Lin’an Weishi? Never heard of it. What do they do?”

Xu Yang explained, “It’s a fairly well-known IT company. They mainly produce, sell, and install network video surveillance equipment and the like. Thanks to Zhou Zhiheng’s connections, Hongyun Pharmaceutical and its affiliated companies basically all use their equipment.”

Nan Mu, who had been fiddling with a piece of blue-and-white fabric, suddenly paused. He lifted his eyes to Xu Yang and repeated, “An IT company?”

Nan Mu’s gaze was like a slab of ice. Xu Yang did not know why his boss had suddenly gotten angry, so he gave a bewildered “Mm.”

Nan Mu’s fingers curled slightly as he tapped the metal railing beside the bed. Then, all at once, he changed his mind.
“Zhou Zhiheng, right? Call him now and tell him to come over. I can help him with his company’s environmental compliance problem.”

Qiu Ziyu and Xu Yang were both stunned.

===

Zhou Zhiheng had thought there was no hope left and was already planning to head back.

But halfway through the drive, he suddenly got a call from Xu Yang. Xu Yang said Nan Mu had briefly regained consciousness and seemed to be in decent spirits. He asked whether Zhou Zhiheng still wanted to handle the matter he had mentioned earlier. If he did, there was still time to come back.

How could Zhou Zhiheng not want to? He immediately ordered the driver to turn around and rushed back to the hospital as quickly as possible.

This was Zhou Zhiheng’s first time meeting the chairman of Nan Huan Group. He had heard plenty of rumors about Nan Mu in business circles, but when he actually entered the room and saw him in person, he still couldn’t help freezing for a moment.

The man on the hospital bed was even younger than he had imagined. Though he was ill and his face was a little pale, he could still be called handsome.

When Nan Mu saw Zhou Zhiheng come in, he started to sit up from where he had been lying.

Zhou Zhiheng knew he was the one asking for a favor, so he put on the full posture of a supplicant. Seeing Nan Mu about to rise, he hesitated for only a few seconds before immediately bending down and moving closer. With one hand, he carefully supported Nan Mu, while with the other, he hurriedly grabbed a cushion and tucked it behind Nan Mu’s back.

“President Nan, are you feeling any better? I’m truly sorry to disturb you at a time like this.”

As Zhou Zhiheng spoke, he also had his assistant arrange the fruit and flower basket they had brought, filling the cabinet beside the hospital bed.

Nan Mu reached toward the chair by the bed, signaling for Zhou Zhiheng to sit.

Zhou Zhiheng kept a smile plastered on his face and exchanged a few more polite formalities before finally sitting down, looking exceedingly careful and cautious.

Without a change in expression, Nan Mu sized Zhou Zhiheng up. After Zhou Zhiheng repeated the purpose of his visit, Nan Mu finally asked in a languid voice, “What if I put in a word for you, but next month you still haven’t made the proper corrections? What then? At that point, I won’t be able to answer to either side.”

“I heard Hongyun Pharmaceutical purchased equipment from Nan Huan?”

Hearing that there was hope, Zhou Zhiheng grew even more eager. “President Nan, please rest assured. That absolutely won’t happen.”

He pulled out the equipment purchase contract he had previously shown Qiu Ziyu and handed it to Nan Mu. “President Nan, look. Hongyun Pharmaceutical has already bought the equipment, and it’s from Nan Huan. Since we’ve bought it, we’re definitely going to use it, right?”

Nan Mu gave the contract a casual glance. “Are you sure the equipment you purchased is enough?”

Zhou Zhiheng froze. For a moment, he had no idea how to prove it, so he could only force himself to say, “We definitely won’t put President Nan in a difficult position…”

Nan Mu toyed with the sapphire cuff link in his hand. “This is quite a risk for me, and right now it’s purely a favor…”

At that, Zhou Zhiheng finally understood. That was only normal. They were all businessmen; no one wanted to make a losing deal.

But he truly had no idea what he could offer Nan Mu of equal value in return, so he could only put on a thick skin and ask, “Haha, of course I can’t let you help me for nothing. Is there anything I can help you with…?”

Nan Mu smiled faintly. His long, narrow eyes lifted steadily and landed on Zhou Zhiheng. In an unhurried tone, he said, “As it happens, there really is something President Zhou can help me with.”

Those eyes were so sharp they seemed able to see straight through his heart. For some reason, Zhou Zhiheng felt a bad premonition, but he couldn’t figure out what he had that the other man could possibly want. “President Nan, please say the word. As long as I can help, I won’t hesitate.”

“I heard Lin’an Weishi is your son’s company, President Zhou?” Nan Mu leaned back against the soft pillow and said casually, “President Zhou, you know I fell into the water aboard the cruise ship Wisdom, don’t you? I want to see exactly how I fell in. So, please use the surveillance footage from the Wisdom as your bargaining chip.”