Chapter 543: Breaking the Deadlock?

"You're not planning to change the name?" Kong Baosheng asked in surprise.

Most people buying a new shop would want to discard everything from the previous failed business, fearing bad luck. Yet, Chen Ling spent 200,000 on this theater, made no renovations, and even kept its original name. This left Kong Baosheng completely baffled.

"No, I'm not changing it. Changing the name would mean replacing the plaque," Chen Ling said, casually making an excuse. "I only have 200,000 in total, and now I don't have money for such things. Everything needs to be kept simple... Besides, the original name is perfectly fine, so let's just keep using it."

Kong Baosheng scratched his head. Seeing how readily Chen Ling paid last night, he had assumed he was exceptionally wealthy. Now it seemed Mr. Lin also faced hardships... He likely gambled all his assets on this theater.

"Well then, I'll go hang it up."

Kong Baosheng carefully cleaned the plaque and carried it towards the door. Just as he reached the entrance, three people walked in, nearly colliding with him!

Carrying the plaque, Kong Baosheng instinctively dodged to the side, lost his footing, and fell straight to the ground.

"What the hell was that?"

The person outside the door was startled by the massive plaque and gasped.

Chen Ling, who was eating porridge, looked up to see a figure in a purple shirt standing at the doorway, flanked by two tall, burly men in black suits who looked like bodyguards.

The figure in the purple shirt frowned, his gaze falling on Kong Baosheng, who had fallen, and he clicked his tongue.

"Kid, what's wrong? Don't you welcome us?"

"Boss Li?" Kong Baosheng recognized the face, first stunned, then as if remembering something, he quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Not bad, quite clean." Boss Li's gaze swept over the theater. After a brief pause on Chen Ling, he casually looked away, his hands clasped behind his back. He then entered the theater with his two bodyguards, looking around casually.

Seemingly sensing Chen Ling's questioning gaze, Kong Baosheng hurried to his side and whispered:

"This is Boss Li, the owner of the Great World Dance Hall diagonally across the street. He's the one I told you about who was also interested in this theater..."

Chen Ling remembered. Kong Baosheng had indeed mentioned it last night, but at the time, he thought it was just the young man's way of driving up the price and didn't give it much thought.

"Mr. Lin, please give me a moment. I'll explain everything clearly to him."

With that, Kong Baosheng took a deep breath and walked straight towards the three men.

"Didn't I tell you I'm opening a record store here? Even though you've cleaned it up so well, it'll still have to be torn down," Boss Li said, patting the old stage with a hint of disdain.

"Boss Li..."

"I've considered the price you quoted last time. 100,000 is still too high. With this dilapidated location and decor, I'd have to tear everything down and rebuild after buying it, which is too costly... So, 70,000 or 80,000 is the absolute most."

Boss Li subtly waved to the bodyguard behind him, who immediately produced a stack of banknotes and tossed them onto the stage.

Seeing this, Kong Baosheng opened his mouth to say something, but Boss Li continued:

"I know you're selling the building to pay for your grandmother's treatment, but she's already dying. What's the point of throwing more money at her? I think you should just keep it for yourself. For a kid like you, 70,000 or 80,000 is a lot..."

Hearing this, Kong Baosheng's gaze hardened, and he cut Boss Li off in a low voice:

"Excuse me, Boss Li, but this theater has already been sold."

Boss Li paused, then scoffed:

"What kind of joke is this? Who else would buy this run-down building besides me?"

"Someone bought it." Kong Baosheng didn't elaborate, simply raising a hand and gesturing for the three to leave. "In any case, this theater has changed ownership and is no longer for sale... Boss Li, please leave."

Boss Li's eyes slowly narrowed. He stared at the young man's face for a while, then shifted his gaze to the man by the table whom he had ignored.

"I thought he was some distant relative of yours... So, he's the one who bought the theater?"

Kong Baosheng didn't want to involve Chen Ling, so he stepped to the side to block Boss Li's view, stubbornly continuing to ask them to leave. However, Boss Li impatiently pushed him aside and strode towards Chen Ling.

Boss Li dragged a stool, which scraped with a creaking sound on the floor, before he finally set it down with a thud next to Chen Ling and calmly sat down...

"Brother, you look quite young... Which path are you on?" Boss Li asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Does it concern you?"

"Heh heh, I'm just making sure we don't accidentally offend each other... Let me introduce myself first. I'm Li Ruohong, Mu Chunsheng's nephew from the Big Dipper Conglomerate, and the owner of the Great World Dance Hall."

The Big Dipper Conglomerate, Mu Chunsheng?

Hearing that name again after half a year, Chen Ling immediately recalled the old man in the wheelchair who had groveled before him back then. He casually glanced at Li Ruohong.

"Oh, and?"

Li Ruohong looked at Chen Ling's expressionless face and suddenly chuckled. "It seems you're not one of my uncle's people, so that makes things easier... I brought 70,000 banknotes today. How about you sell this theater to me?"

"Sorry, this place isn't for sale."

"Oh? So you bought this theater, planning to tear it down and start what kind of business?"

"The same business as before."

"Still running a theater?" Li Ruohong laughed, looking at Chen Ling as if he were an idiot. "Are you crazy, brother? Haven't you seen the state of this theater? These days, how many people are willing to come watch you sing and babble? Are you stupid or just rich?"

Chen Ling remained expressionless, his gaze on Li Ruohong as calm as still water. Their thoughts were clearly on completely different levels, and he couldn't be bothered to argue with such a person.

"If you don't sell this theater to me today, you can forget about doing business here," Li Ruohong said, dropping his pleasantries and smiling menacingly. "Didn't you bother to ask who calls the shots on this street? As long as my Great World Dance Hall is still here, your theater won't be able to operate. I guarantee you won't have a single customer!"

"That would be excellent."

Chen Ling raised an eyebrow. Just a moment ago, he had been worried that once the plaque was hung and the theater opened, some customers would inevitably show up, forcing him to put on performances. He needed to figure out how to solve the casino's dilemma and didn't have time to actually run a theater... Li Ruohong's threat was practically a godsend to him!

Li Ruohong froze, as if doubting what he had just heard. But when he saw Chen Ling's smiling face, he felt utterly disrespected, and his anger flared instantly.

"Fine... You don't believe me, do you? You just wait! If your theater gets even one customer, I'll be damned!"

Li Ruohong slammed the table, glared fiercely at Chen Ling, then turned and walked out of the theater, his two bodyguards following close behind.

A dead silence fell over the theater.

Kong Baosheng's face was ashen, as if startled by the scene. He looked anxiously at Chen Ling,

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lin, I truly am... I didn't handle it well. Please give me a little more time; I'll explain everything clearly to Boss Li, I..."

"No, it's not necessary."

Chen Ling patted his shoulder. "You did well, kid."

With that, under Kong Baosheng's stunned gaze, Chen Ling walked straight up to the second floor, unhurriedly approaching the railing overlooking the street.

His gaze first swept over the police officers monitoring the casino, then moved to the three men angrily walking back to the dance hall across the street. The casino and the dance hall, both very close by, were simultaneously reflected in Chen Ling's eyes, and an idea slowly emerged in his mind...

The corners of Chen Ling's mouth curled up unconsciously.

The casino, the dance hall, the Dusk Society, the police officers...

"I think I know how to solve this dilemma now..." Chen Ling stood on the second floor of the theater, looking down at the street below. He unhurriedly took out a pen and paper from his pocket and, like a director about to choreograph a play, slowly began to write.