Whoa...
Even though they had long guessed this might be the conclusion, hearing it with their own ears still left the gathered bigwigs incredibly shocked.
That was a gambling license!
That was the most valuable thing in the Pu Region!
Now, it was just given to an outsider bigwig without any auction or voting process.
On what grounds?
Why does Qin Jiang deserve it...
These bigwigs were insanely jealous and dying to take his place, yet not a single person dared to speak up.
After all, it was Commissioner Pu speaking. To voice opposition would be to strike at Commissioner Pu. In the Pu Region, what was the difference between slapping Commissioner Pu in the face and courting death?
Unless absolutely necessary, who would dare do such a thing?
Furthermore, Qin Jiang was no pushover. He was the kind of person who would call in thousands from his hometown to the Pu Region at the slightest disagreement, the kind of person who had truly wiped out Rong Xing, who had dominated the Pu Region for decades.
To speak out in opposition meant offending Commissioner Pu and offending Qin Jiang!
And the reward? There was none! Even if this gambling license wasn't given to Qin Jiang, it wouldn't fall to them. So, even though they were extremely jealous that Qin Jiang could obtain this license, no one at the scene stood up to oppose it.
Seeing this, Commissioner Pu nodded with satisfaction.
This was the effect he wanted! A swift and decisive action!
If he had announced this matter with prior hype, who knows how many people would have stood up to oppose it, or even how many external forces would have gotten involved. But now, those forces couldn't react in time; by the time they did, the wood would already be carved into a boat!
Everything was a foregone conclusion!
He was leveraging the prestige brought by the recent destruction of Rong Xing to keep all parties from daring to show their heads, thereby implementing his plan.
Even the person in charge of the Zhou Family hesitated to speak.
Commissioner Pu said: "Since no one objects, this matter is settled. Later, the Pu Region will officially sign a ten-year gambling license agreement with the Black Dragon Group. I hope that in the next ten years, the Black Dragon Group can contribute to the operations of the Pu Region."
"Congratulations, Chairman Qin!!!" As he said this, he smiled towards Qin Jiang below.
At this moment, Qin Jiang also smiled back at Commissioner Pu.
This... The bigwigs were shocked once again.
What? It was just settled like this? What about the conditions? The agreements? Just a single sentence about hoping Black Dragon could contribute to the future of the Pu Region?
They had to understand that obtaining a gambling license was not that simple. Even the licenses held by the Zhou Family and the Ning Family had come at a great cost.
Things like contributing to the construction of public facilities in the Pu Region... providing a certain number of jobs for the people of the Pu Region... providing a certain level of convenience for the residents of the Pu Region...
Yet when it came to Qin Jiang, there were no hard requirements at all; it was as if he was being given total freedom to operate as he pleased.
The room for manipulation here was enormous... This wasn't just a good thing, it was a massive windfall. And such a windfall had just landed on Qin Jiang's head?
How infuriating!!!
But before they could raise any questions, Commissioner Pu continued: "Additionally, by resolution: in order to maintain the number of gambling licenses, one of the current four secondary licenses will be chosen to be closed—the one with the worst comprehensive operating conditions!"
"By resolution, this casino is: Tiansheng Casino!"
Swish! Swish! Swish! The eyes of all the bigwigs at the scene turned in unison toward the Zhou Family. Tiansheng Casino was indeed one of the Zhou Family's secondary casinos. Although they had long expected that the Zhou Family's casino would likely be removed, hearing Commissioner Pu announce this resolution publicly still left them absolutely shocked.
The Zhou Family had stood tall in the Pu Region for over a hundred years! Their foundation relied on casinos!
The Zhou Family's three major casinos stood on equal footing with the Ning Family's three major casinos, and the two families were in a state of direct confrontation.
But now, the Zhou Family was missing a casino, and Qin Jiang, the distinguished guest of the Ning Family, possessed a casino!
With one side waning and the other waxing, the Zhou Family's overall strength was surpassed by the Ning Family. For the Zhou Family, this was absolutely a devastating loss.
Could the Zhou Family agree? Could they? They could! Even if they couldn't, they had to!
The person in charge of the Zhou Family looked incredibly grim, yet he did not stand up to object. The Rong Xing matter was still under investigation; logically, pulling the radish would bring out the mud, and even if the Zhou Family had cleaned themselves up as much as possible, they should have been affected. Yet, in this entire day, there had been no inquiries?
Why? It was out of respect for him...
Could he object now? Not to mention that objecting would be slapping Commissioner Pu in the face and inviting trouble, which would inevitably lead to very strict scrutiny and they would certainly be skinned alive using the Rong Xing matter as an excuse, but would his objection even be effective? It would not!
The gambling licenses were issued by the local authorities! The ten-year term was about to expire! To put it bluntly, they could just revoke their main license directly...
What could he do? The power of discourse was in their hands!
Of course, he knew Commissioner Pu wouldn't do that. If they really did, given the Zhou Family's century-old roots in the Pu Region, a desperate struggle would absolutely throw the Pu Region into chaos, and at that point, Commissioner Pu certainly wouldn't be able to bear the consequences! It would just be a lose-lose strategy!
Now, Commissioner Pu had saved him some face! And the Zhou Family could only accept this face-saving gesture!
Commissioner Pu said: "Good! The decisions are made! Thank you all for attending this conference. I hope the Pu Region becomes better and better through our joint construction."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Enthusiastic applause erupted at the scene.
Ten minutes later! The meeting ended!
The bigwigs left the venue with various expressions on their faces.
Just as they left the venue, everyone subconsciously looked toward the three directions: the person in charge of the Zhou Family, the person in charge of the Ning Family, and Qin Jiang.
These three families were the holders of the three gambling licenses of the Pu Region in the future, and Qin Jiang's license had even been bitten off from the Zhou Family. They were all curious about what attitude the person in charge of the Zhou Family would have.
Would they immediately lock horns? Would they start fighting right here?
The next moment, they saw the person in charge of the Zhou Family actually walking towards Qin Jiang. Suddenly, all the bigwigs couldn't help but hold their breath.
Seeing this, the person in charge of the Ning Family also walked towards Qin Jiang, standing beside him and watching the person in charge of the Zhou Family. The meaning was self-evident: he was going to back Qin Jiang up.
The person in charge of the Zhou Family glanced at the person in charge of the Ning Family but didn't even acknowledge him, instead looking at Qin Jiang and saying: "Congratulations, Chairman Qin, on obtaining the gambling license! From now on, we are peers in the same industry! The future three gambling licenses of the Pu Region will compete with each other, which can be considered a healthy development!"
"If Chairman Qin needs any help opening your casino, just say the word. My Zhou Family will definitely do our utmost to assist."
He took out a private business card and handed it to Zhao Shanhe: "This is my private number. Call me anytime if you need anything!"
"Farewell!" He then turned and walked away...
The person in charge of the Ning Family took a deep look at the departing person in charge of the Zhou Family, then looked at Qin Jiang and said: "Chairman Qin! Congratulations!"
Qin Jiang: "Congratulations to you too!"
The person in charge of the Ning Family: "Haha..." "There's no need for formalities between us. If you need anything for your casino, just tell the Ning Family: we will assist with all our might!"
Qin Jiang: "Then I won't stand on ceremony..."
The person in charge of the Ning Family: "You were never one to stand on ceremony anyway..."
Qin Jiang: "Haha..." The few of them chatted and laughed as they got into their respective cars...
Seeing this, the bigwigs who had intended to watch the show couldn't help but feel disappointed, but as they watched Qin Jiang leave by car, they all knew.
The future of the Pu Region: This Black Dragon Qin Jiang had thoroughly become a bigwig capable of sitting on equal footing with the Zhou Family and the Ning Family...
This is not just a dragon roaring in the Pu Region! It is the Black Dragon suppressing the Pu Region!
In the future, Qin Jiang's title will have one more: [The Three Giants of Pu Region]