During the following week, the mischief-making squad, with the Pan Lie brothers at its core, wound up like a clockwork toy, tearing ahead full throttle.
Old Dou was in charge of securing the funds, which ant he had to navigate the company’s internal relationships.
State-owned enterprises could purchase trusts above the standard grade; all that was needed was a resolution from the company’s board of directors.
For a large state-owned enterprise, spending 2.5 billion in legitimate areas wasn’t a big deal; the only issue was that the process was rather complicated.
At this critical mont, Dou Mingde, who was usually front and center when it ca to drinking and carousing, finally showed his true capabilities.
In less than three days, he had Old Xing, who had considerable sway in the matter, worked up and antsy.
On Thursday night, Old Xing hosted a dinner and took the initiative to invite Han Lie.
Dou Mingde contacted Han Lie half a day in advance, reminding him with the slyness of a thief, "Mr. Han, carry yourself with dignity! Rember, we’re the ones begging you!"
Acting all high and mighty, huh? Buddy, you’ve co to the right person!
Han Lie imdiately countered, "What are General Manager Xing’s usual hobbies?"
Dou Mingde thought for a long mont before replying uncertainly, "Does loving to show off count?"
"It counts!"
Brother Lie was delighted.
To deal with soone who loves showing off, you have to outdo them. Subdue them with the aura of the king of show-offs, and then everything becos easy.
"Alright, I’ll go make so preparations!"
Han Lie hung up and went straight ho to find Panzi. "Bro, do you have any clout at Patek Philippe?"
"What was that? What did you just call ?!"
Well, Pan Shengwu, a perfectly normal Magic Capital man, was so annoyed he actually slipped into a Northeastern accent.
"Ah!" Han Lie slapped his forehead. "Back in my hotown, n call their future fathers-in-law ’brother’ before getting married."
Panzi chuckled despite himself. "Then what does our Nannan call your father?"
"She still calls him ’Dad,’ of course!"
Han Lie continued his cheeky act, completely unabashed, while Old Pan poked him several tis with a finger, ultimately unable to say anything.
That’s the downside of having a daughter; it feels like a loss no matter what. Scold your son-in-law, and he bullies your daughter. Hit your son-in-law, and he still bullies your daughter. Try to intimidate your son-in-law, and he still bullies your daughter...
After their last interaction, the bond between Panzi and Liezi had grown stronger, both emotionally and in terms of shared interests, evolving to a point where they could casually joke with each other.
So, what could Panzi do? His only option was to quickly get the serious matter over with and then send that scamp Han Lie packing!
"What do you need? I’ll get in touch with the Patek Philippe store manager for you."
Panzi didn’t outright brag, but the implication was clear—he himself had plenty of pull.
Han Lie clicked his tongue and said truthfully, "I want to buy a watch. I’m eting Old Xing tonight, and I need to look the part."
"It’s too late."
Pan Shengwu pondered for a mont, then shook his head.
"There are very few display pieces in the Patek Philippe store. Watches priced over 500,000 yuan require reservations, and those over 2 million yuan need to be custom-ordered in advance. I can get you the eligibility, but I can’t conjure a watch out of thin air."
"So, what now?" Han Lie asked lightly, showing no sign of anxiety.
"Co with !"
Panzi glared at him and grumbled, "You scoundrel, I knew you were after my collection! Too lazy to even put on an act, are you?!"
"Five percent. One hundred twenty-five million."
Han Lie casually uttered the two figures, and Panzi imdiately deflated.
To earn a safe and easy 125 million as a buffer, and you’re begrudging him one watch? You still dare to raise your voice?!
Indeed feeling a pang of guilt, Panzi reluctantly opened his watch cabinet, letting Han Lie choose for himself.
Truthfully, Han Lie knew nothing about watches. In his previous life, he had always used his phone to tell ti—the most pitiful part was, he couldn’t even afford an Apple or a flagship Honor phone.
But Han Lie understood psychology!
He picked up the watches from Panzi’s collection one by one, not looking at the tipieces themselves, but at Panzi’s expressions.
Ah, his pupils constricted! Ah, the corner of his eye twitched! Ah, his nostrils flared and his temples throbbed!
The extrely shrewd Brother Lie quickly ntally ranked all the Patek Philippe watches in Panzi’s collection by value, in descending order. The top piece appeared to be an extrely ugly pocket watch.
Perhaps because it has antique value?
Ranked second was a Special commorative watch with a stainless-steel dial, rather average in appearance.
Han Lie’s interest was caught by a watch ranked around third or fourth in value.
The Patek Philippe Grand Complications series 6002G.
It had a white gold case, a deep blue dial, and a flamboyant style, adorned with engravings, cloisonné, and enal—very striking.
To put it bluntly, Brother Lie felt quite indifferent about this particular watch.
But... it was a real eye-catcher!
Nothing pricier was as striking, and anything better-looking was either cheaper or not a Patek Philippe.
Oh well, it’ll do for showing off, Han Lie thought.
So he casually slipped it onto his left wrist. Panzi imdiately clutched his chest.
"No! Absolutely not that one!"
Such an intense reaction? Han Lie realized he’d picked the right one. But how to wheedle it out of him? That was the real challenge... Forget it, ti to go big.
The wily man blinked, looked at Panzi, and said with deep emotion, "Dad!"
"Shit!"
Pan Shengwu, the Lion of Magic Capital, the pillar of the Pan Family—a man who wouldn’t so much as grunt if he were hacked with knives all the way from the Bund to the Southern Heaven Gate—was floored by a single word from the shaless young brat.
For the first ti in front of Han Lie, the great Panzi lost his composure and swore, the flesh on his cheeks twitching in anguish.
"That’s the latest model Patek Philippe unveiled at this year’s Geneva exhibition! Bloody hell! There are only three of them in the entire world! I spent three years and pulled a lot of strings to reserve one!"
Brother Lie’s eyes glittered. "Is that so? Sounds like it has great potential for appreciation, then?"
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