The Strongest Master Venturing Urban

"I think he's definitely smearing our station on purpose because he couldn't win you over."

Hearing Chen Bin's words, Xin Kalan frowned slightly, her face gradually turning grim.

"If that's really the case, I'll dislike him even more."

"Then I plan to teach him a lesson. You wouldn't object, would you?"

"Sure, if you can actually handle him, I'd be thrilled."

"Alright, with your approval, I'm relieved."

After Xin Kalan left, Shi Can, the deputy director of the Farmer Channel, came in.

He handed over a document to Chen Bin. "Chen Tai, take a look at this."

It was the Farmer Channel's detailed financial expenditures. After reading it, Chen Bin was dumbfounded.

"Why are we spending so much? And what is this office expense?"

"I don't know either. Director Zhu always uses office expenses as a reason to get reimbursed by the station."

Seeing Chen Bin plunged into silence, Shi Can continued.

"Someone saw Director Zhu privately meeting with certain advertisers. I suspect he's trying to pocket kickbacks, but I don't have evidence."

"Keep an eye on Zhu Lang for me, and report back to me on anything you find."

About a week later, Shi Can came to the station director's office once more.

He placed a pricing sheet and a signed contract on the desk.

After Chen Bin reviewed them, he noticed the signed price was 20% lower than the quoted one.

Shi Can explained that Zhu Lang's reasoning was the Farmer Channel needs to compromise on pricing for long-term partnerships with advertisers.

However, Yanxi Station has never been short on advertisers.

Zhu Lang acting this way clearly indicated he was taking kickbacks.

After Shi Can left, Chen Bin immediately called Mao Bocheng to report Zhu Lang's activities.

Mao Bocheng furiously exclaimed, "Don't worry, I'll contact Zhu Lang right now. If he dares to mess around again, I'll demote him from his director role myself!"

Hearing this, Chen Bin was quite satisfied.

Just when he thought Zhu Lang's issue could be perfectly resolved, Shi Can came back with another report.

It turned out Zhu Lang had closed another advertising deal, and yet again at an absurdly low price.

It was then Chen Bin realized Mao Bocheng had been brushing him off.

It seemed relying on Mao Bocheng to deal with Zhu Lang was futile.

In the evening, Chen Bin went to Cheng Zhuang's house for his son's birthday celebration.

At the dinner table, Chen Bin raised his glass to celebrate.

"Old Cheng, congratulations on your promotion!"

Aside from preparing gifts for the child, Chen Bin had also asked Fu Hongtu to help promote Cheng Zhuang to the role of captain of the District Police Security Brigade.

Cheng Zhuang clinked glasses with him and chuckled heartily.

"Big brother, my promotion is all thanks to you."

"Brother, work hard. After a while, I'll get you to the Municipal Bureau."

Nodding vigorously, Cheng Zhuang grew even more respectful toward Chen Bin.

Without the latter's help, he'd probably still be working as a gatekeeper in a residential complex.

After dinner, while Cheng Zhuang's wife was washing dishes, Chen Bin discreetly pulled out a photo from his pocket.

He whispered, "This man's name is Zhu Lang, the director of our Farmer Channel. His personal information is all on the back of the photo."

Glancing through it, Cheng Zhuang asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Help me teach him a hard lesson. No life-threatening injuries, but make sure he's hospitalized for a while."

"No problem, leave it to me!"

Three days later, when Chen Bin arrived at work, he heard people talking at the station.

Zhu Lang was attacked on his way home last night and had both legs broken. He was now hospitalized.

This news allowed Chen Bin to vent his pent-up frustration.

In late November, various city-level TV stations led by Tianhai TV Station united again to target the Provincial TV Station.

Upon receiving the news, Chen Bin couldn't be bothered to deal with the conflict further.

He promptly reported the situation to Xiao Cong.

Xiao Cong immediately summoned the TV station heads to Tianhai for a meeting.

After severely reprimanding them, he ordered them not to target the Provincial Station anymore, warning of dire consequences.

Since the Provincial Propaganda Minister had spoken, those guys naturally didn't dare act out.

They immediately terminated their cooperation with Ni Bo.

By early December, leadership changes occurred at Yanxi Province TV Station.

Xiang Chengkang was transferred, and his replacement was Mou Long from the Imperial Capital.

No one knew much about Mou Long, but upon reviewing his resume, they learned he was 45 years old and had worked at the National Radio and Television Administration before coming to Yanxi.

By mid-December, Chen Bin received a call from Cheng Zhuang.

"Big brother, Zuo Kai has been found! After interrogation, he confessed to having a video on his phone but never shared it with anyone. As for reporting you to the Provincial Committee, it was just a bluff—he didn't provide any evidence."

"Alright, I got it."

After hanging up, Chen Bin was thrilled.

But immediately following that, he cussed out Mao Bocheng's ancestors to the eighteenth generation.

It turned out the old fox had nothing on him and had been bluffing all along.

Chen Bin had made up his mind: if given a chance, he'd definitely take care of that bastard.

With the pressure off his shoulders, Chen Bin booked a flight to the Imperial Capital.

He sought out Niu Kuipeng to discuss how the station's entertainment programming should develop.

Ever since Chen Bin helped Niu Kuipeng sell his company to Ma Juan, their relationship had deepened.

Privately, they referred to each other as brothers.

After dinner, the two headed to a bar together.

Niu Kuipeng told Chen Bin he'd spotted a talented singer and planned to sign her.

The latter grew curious and quickly followed Niu Kuipeng's gesture to find the girl sitting on stage, gently strumming a guitar while singing.

"Holy crap, isn't that Ni Baige?!"

Seeing Chen Bin frozen in place, Niu Kuipeng laughed and spoke.

"What do you think? Isn't her singing great?"

Chen Bin, with a serious expression, countered, "Do you remember when you were trying to sell me that company?"

"Of course, what about it?"

"While we were chatting, the girl who pitched herself to you, that was her!"

Niu Kuipeng's special interest in Ni Baige stemmed from feeling he'd met her before.

Initially chalking it up to fate, he now realized he'd let a genius slip through his fingers.

"Since that's the case, I'm definitely signing her this time."

"But remember, that day in front of her, you tossed her CD and business card into the trash. Do you really think she'd want to join you now?"

Frowning, Niu Kuipeng appeared visibly regretful.

"So what should I do?"

"Sigh, looks like it won't be easy."

Just then, Ni Baige finished her song.

A young man held up several stacks of cash and shouted.

"Our boss loved your song just now. Sing it ten more times tonight; these 100,000 yuan are yours."

Ni Baige replied with a blank expression, "Sorry, I only sing each song once per night."

"If the money's not enough, just say so; I can add more."

"This is not about the money at all…"

Before Ni Baige finished speaking, the young man shouted again.

"110,000."

"I have my rules. Each song gets sung only once per night."

"120,000."

"I won't sing!"

Ni Baige clearly grew angrier.

The man continued raising the stakes, "150,000!"

Taking a deep breath, Ni Baige put down her guitar and prepared to leave.

The man stepped forward abruptly and grabbed her wrist.

"If it's not enough, just say so. I'll pay more; don't leave."

Ni Baige forcefully freed her hand and scolded loudly.

"I'll say this one last time! I have my rules—it's not up for negotiation. Stop messing with me!"

The man spat coldly, "You're just a singing act. Not taking money? Are you insane?"

Ni Baige glared at him, "No matter what you say, I won't sing that song again tonight."

"Alright, alright. I'm having fun today, so I won't argue with you. I'll transfer 200,000 yuan. Sing that song ten times for me, okay?"

"I said no! Even for one million, I won't sing it again!"

The man finally lost it, pointing at Ni Baige and shouting furiously.

"You dumb b***h, are you looking to die?!"