Chapter 78

Xue Xiaochen didn't dwell on this matter, but simply asked, "Is the contract I asked you to draft a few days ago out yet?"

Pei Qing nodded. "Once it's out, I'll email it to you as soon as I get back."

"Well, okay." The woman said, "Oh, by the way, you should get ready and go to the Kang family this Wednesday."

"This Wednesday?" Pei Qing was a little surprised. How could it be so soon?

"I've laid off all their employees, so they're bound to go to the old man and complain and accuse me of wrongdoing. Of course, the sooner this matter is resolved, the better. I won't have a lot of free time to argue with them later."

Pei Qing returned to his office and sent the drafted contract to Xue Xiaochen.

Judging from the other party's requirements for the contract content at that time, she could already guess what she wanted to do.

Ding Dong~

The phone screen lit up.

She looked down and saw a message from Kang Lening.

Since returning to China, she has not had much contact with Xue Xiaochen's cousin, but some information he revealed to her in Country M made it inevitable for her to trust him.

"Come out for a moment, I'll show you something good."

The news stunned her for a moment, then she stood up and walked outside. She saw Kang Lening driving his flashy red sports car downstairs of the company, seemingly waiting for her.

Pei Qing raised an eyebrow, then went downstairs and opened the car door. "Aren't you afraid of being discovered by your sister?"

"Tsk, if I didn't have her approval, would I be able to call you out like this?"

Pei Qing: Embarrassing...

"Then why did you call me out?"

"I'm showing you something so you don't know anything when you go there on Wednesday."

Pei Qing: "?? Am I going alone?"

Kang Lening pursed his lips and said, "Do you think I want to? If that guy didn't want to train you to be a loyal cow and horse of the company, there would be no need to go through so much trouble."

“…”

"Maybe I'm taking you to see what illegal things those old guys who were laid off today have done before."

Having said this, the young man paused.

At this time, the light ahead was red.

He turned to look at her, "One more thing. After you go there, no matter what you see, don't tell anyone. Especially the one who is still in Country M."

The one from Country M, you don’t have to think about who he is referring to.

"Are you still related to Qiao Ye?"

"It has nothing to do with her. After all, her company has already gone bankrupt. But it has something to do with her father and... other family members."

This sentence has revealed all that can be revealed.

"good."

The car stopped in a small alley in the capital. The alley looked a bit old, and the road inside was only wide enough for one person to pass through. It would be a bit crowded for two people.

Kang Lening walked all the way to the end of the alley before he stopped at a red door and knocked on it.

After waiting for a while, the door was slowly opened, and then an old face appeared from the crack of the door.

Seeing it was him, the other party slowly opened the door and asked unhappily, "What's the matter? Didn't I tell you I don't have any other useful information?"

As she said this, the old woman prepared to close the door again.

Before she could close the door, Kang Lening immediately extended her hand with a flattering smile on her face: "Hey, hey, hey, Zhang Po, I came here today with my sister's imperial edict. Please don't give the monk face, but give the Buddha face. Please let me in for a while..."

The old man looked him up and down and asked, "Where is the imperial edict for that girl?"

Kang Lening pushed Pei Qing forward and said, "Isn't this it?"

Pei Qing: “???”

Just as she was about to say something, she saw the old man take out a faded photo, look at it for a few seconds, and then nodded, "Okay. Come in."

“…”

She was no longer able to understand these operations.

I followed Kang Lening into this house in a daze.

It’s not quite right to call it a house. It’s more of a courtyard house than a house.

It is just hard to imagine that there are such courtyard houses in the capital today.

The old woman brought them to a side room. When they opened the door, they were greeted by the rich scent of ink.

"Everything you want is in here. Let's follow the old rules. You must leave here promptly at 11:55 pm."

"Okay, okay, I will definitely follow your rules."

After saying that, the old man left.

It was not until they were the only two people left in the room that the smile on Kang Lening's face disappeared.

"Why did you come here to look for something?"

Pei Qing looked at the books in the entire study. They were different from the books outside. The books here were all written with a brush. If you didn't know, you would think they were the works of a great calligrapher.

"You have to know that evidence of some people's crimes cannot be found in today's Internet age." Kang Lening smiled.

He walked to the bookshelf, then tiptoed out a book from the top shelf and placed it in front of her. "Because Mrs. Zhang is very tight-lipped, many account books involving major financial transactions are here with her."

"Then why are you..."

"Of course it's because Mrs. Zhang is also Xue Xiaochen's person." Kang Lening said as a matter of course.

“…”

She never thought that there was such a thing.

"It's obvious she's not familiar with this matter. But if she hadn't told me herself, I probably wouldn't have known about it."

"Doesn't that mean she holds the lives of many people in her hands? She's not afraid of this..."

"Do you know what Mrs. Zhang did before she did this?"

"What?"

"Mrs. Zhang was a famous Feng Shui master a long time ago. Even if those people have great abilities, they still have to consider this. Although we say we should believe in science, who doesn't have some superstition?"

“…”

Although he knew he was just joking, Pei Qing still didn't quite believe it.

"You're kidding." The boy laughed. "We have to believe in science."

"Why is that?"

"Because Mrs. Zhang is a meritorious official."

"Um?"

"Grandma Zhang is over ninety years old this year. Her husband and three sons all died for their country. She herself had one eye gouged out when she was a serf, so the higher-ups, remembering their kindness, have always protected her. No one dared to touch her, and so this place has become..."

After saying this, what the boy wanted to express became self-evident.

I stayed here until 11:55 am, when the old lady knocked on the door and said, "It's time."

"Oh, okay. Let's go now."

As he said that, Kang Lening stuffed the things back into their original places.

Then he pulled Pei Qing and walked out.

Pei Qing was still immersed in what he had just seen.

Shocked was not enough to describe her mood.

She didn't expect there were such methods...

She didn't react until Kang Lening pulled her out.

"Hey, you're still asleep, aren't you?"

Hearing the voice, Pei Qing slowly turned his head and said dryly: "What...what..."

"You won't be scared by what's inside, will you?" The boy looked at her worriedly. "If you are scared, remember to tell me. I can take you to find my sister, otherwise I will be the one who gets scolded."

"It's okay." Pei Qing shook his head, "I just didn't expect..."

It turns out that what Qiao Ye said in Country M was true, and it turns out that what those people said was true...

Pei Qing felt that his mind was in a mess, as if everything had turned into garbled code.

There are some sorrows that are hard to cut off and sort out.

"Actually, you don't have to worry."

"Um?"

"The vast majority of people here are gone."

"Gone?"

"Well. Either their descendants have already fled, or they themselves have been buried in the ground. Now I'm afraid the only ones left alive are people like Qiao Yang."

“…”

"And... I brought you here this time because I wanted you to meet Grandma Zhang. She's over ninety, and she probably doesn't have many years left to live. She's childless, so it's good for us to visit her more often."

"good."

"By the way, where is your home? I'll take you back. You can also prepare for the banquet the day after tomorrow. We have a tough battle to fight then."

Pei Qing gave an address, and Kang Lening took her directly to the gate of the community.

"Remember to tell your girlfriend that nothing happened between us. I don't want to receive another call from that woman while I'm drinking."

"Okay, I understand." Pei Qing couldn't help but smile.

Looking at Kang Lening, she suddenly realized that this was what vitality looked like.

But on second thought, Kang Lening only looks like that on the surface. In fact, he must be carrying a lot of burdens.

For example, he was sent to Country M since he was a child and had never seen his parents. The only person he had seen was the nanny. However, when he was in high school, the nanny died of illness, and he was left alone.

Thinking of this, she sighed softly.

Wasn't Joe like this at the time?

After returning to her rental house, she first poured herself a glass of orange juice. The iced orange juice was a little cold to drink in this weather, but she still wanted to drink it because she often drank it at Qiao Ye's place.

When she turned on the TV and was about to take a shower, she suddenly heard a sentence in the news.

"Another gunfight broke out in Mishiroda State. This unrest resulted in 31 deaths and 132 innocent civilians injured..."

As soon as the report came out, she frantically flipped through her phone, her hands still shaking, and she couldn't find the contact information she was looking for.

By the time she found it, the phone began to ring for a long time.

Still no one answered...

She dialed again in disbelief.

But apart from that cold female voice: "The number you dialed is currently unanswered, please call again later..."

Nothing.

Her heart felt as if someone had taken a piece out of it, leaving her feeling empty and even her breathing was accompanied by a subtle, intense pain.

She looked at the note on her phone and murmured to herself, "Qiao Ye...Qiao Ye...Qiao Ye, answer the phone..."

She kept dialing, but to no avail.

She could only sit dejectedly on the sofa. It was still a sunny day outside and the temperature was not very low, but she felt like she was falling into an icy cave.

"Qiao Ye...please answer the phone..."