Dawson nodded in satisfaction when he saw how confident Jasper was.
“If you’re in the business world, you’ll meet all sorts of people, including royalty and smugglers. Competition among your peers is inevitable.
“It might be healthy competition among businesses, or it might be malicious competition with intent to suppress. There’s no way you’ll be the only person in an industry. Competition exists as long as you have peers.
“Competition itself is not scary, but you should always ensure you never underestimate your enemy and confuse yourself. No matter who the competition is, you must make sure you have a thorough understanding of them before fighting against them. Your mindset is the most important thing here.”
Dawson gave his diligent advice and said kindly, “If you’re going to take matters into your own hands, I can help by contributing ideas, but most of it will be up to you to handle.”
Jasper understood that Dawson was giving him a chance to gain more experience in fighting business battles, which was why he did not modestly decline. He smiled and said, “Alright, you should take this time to rest up. I’ll come to you if I face any further problems.”
Dawson smiled and said, “You’ve already proved your ability and vision in making money. You’re much more powerful than anyone I’ve ever met, but you still need a little practice in business battles. I’ll help keep an eye on things while I still can. You don’t need to worry.”
Dawson’s phone rang while he was still talking.
It was a phone call from the executives at JW Real Estate.
A moment later, Dawson hung up the phone. He had a grim expression on his face.
“The people from Waterhoof City are quite aggressive.”
Wendy hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong? What did they say?”
Dawson said, “The person in charge from Nauritus City’s government just called. Something about how the company that wants to develop the south bank intends to have contact with me because they plan to build a bridge across Southface River that will connect the south and north banks.”
“Build a bridge? Isn’t that what the city government is supposed to do? Since when were companies in charge of that? Our main goal as a real estate company is to earn money, and a bridge would cost a billion dollars at least. Why should we fund this?” Wendy asked indignantly.
Dawson smiled as he said, “Nauritius City’s government thinks it’ll definitely be a good thing if the south bank is developed as well. Not only will it build a better image for themselves, but they’ll also be able to boost the economy on the north bank, which is relatively backward as of this moment. There’s no reason why they wouldn’t want us to collaborate.
“This bridge is probably one of the things the real estate agents at Waterhoof City used to tempt the city hall.”
Jasper laughed lightly as he said, “How calculating of them. They’ll be the only ones gaining benefits from this bridge, but they want us to fund a portion of it as well. In the end, we’ll have paid for nothing while they get all the credit. Do they think everyone else is a fool?”
Dawson nodded. He was deeply impressed.
He said in a low voice, “But either way, developing the north bank is a project that neither Nauritius City’s government nor the Southeast Province City’s government can reject as it will boost their economy. We’ve already gotten the shorter end of the stick.”
“It doesn’t matter. They can approach us all they like. When will that happen?” Jasper asked.
If Ian and Norman were going to drive up to his door, there was no reason for Jasper to cower behind the door.
Thus, Jasper had never considered rejecting the approach.
“This afternoon at the conference room of Nauritius City’s government,” Dawson answered.
Jasper thought for a brief moment before he raised his head and said, “I’m fine with the time, but I get to decide where we meet.”
Dawson raised an eyebrow slightly.
Jasper continued saying, “We’ll set the location at the development site at the south bank of the Southface River. If we’re going to discuss the development of the south and north banks, we should do it where it’s happening. What can we discuss in an office?”
Dawson smiled and said, “Alright, that’s a good idea. That’s settled then!”
“I’ll have someone return the call immediately and inform Nauritius City’s government of our decision. Let’s eat now.”
…
Dawson was a well-known figure in Southeast Province, a territory that covered Nauritius City. When the call was made, the city hall only hesitated for a brief second before agreeing.
Jasper spent some time with Wendy before getting into the car and driving toward the development site.
Wendy did not follow along. Dawson had assigned the vice-president from the real estate company who was in charge of the Southface River project to go along with Jasper. The main reason was that an executive familiar with how the project was progressing needed to be there if any operational issues came up.
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Laine.” The vice president was named Sean Tucker. He was an executive who Dawson had paid a hefty sum to hire from a state-owned real estate company.
Jasper smiled as he shook his hand and said, “Nice to meet you, Vice President Tucker. I’ll need to trouble you in answering any questions there might be regarding the business today. I’m not too familiar with that aspect.”
Jasper rarely made an appearance at JW Real Estate, but Sean knew the existence of this most powerful boss.
Dawson was only the CEO of the real estate company on paper. In actuality, the shares were all under Jasper’s JW Investment Company and Wendy’s name. Thus, Jasper was his actual boss in practice.
As such, Sean put on a respectful attitude as he hurriedly said, “That’s my duty. I’ll do my best.”
Dawson’s chauffeur was in charge of driving them. Usually, Jasper would have Julian act as both his bodyguard and chauffeur whenever he went out. However, Jasper had allowed Julian to take care of his sister during this time.
A bone marrow match had been found for Julian’s sister, and she would be having her operation in two days. Jasper had not only paid for everything, but he also used Dawson’s connections to form a team of the best specialists in the country to conduct the operation.
Jasper had also given Julian an additional sum of money to use to take care of his sister, Cathy.
Jasper was never stingy when it came to his subordinate’s welfare.
An employee would only be steadfastly loyal to their employer if the employer helped solve their worries. Jasper, who had been an employee for the entirety of his past life, understood that thoroughly.
The Southface River south bank project was the largest investment Southeast Province had made since its establishment. The developmental funds required for the entire project were estimated to be around 15 to 20 billion dollars. Jasper had already invested eight billion dollars into the project. He had not included the Law family’s investment of four billion dollars in that.
Even though they had not arrived yet, Jasper could see the development site in full swing as he listened to Sean’s report in the car. The site was spread across 900,000 square feet across the entire south bank.
