Chapter 149 Catching a Turtle in a Jar: Subtle Clues and a Trap Set Up

"Mr. Qin, what are you saying? I'm happy to be able to help you! As the saying goes, you rely on your parents at home and your friends when you're away from home. It's my luck to be able to lend a hand when you need me."

As he said this, Yang Xu gestured, "Come, President Qin, please sit down. Let's eat and chat."

Qin Zhen didn't actually want to attend the business dinner; he just wanted to take the money and leave.

If Yang Xu hadn't suggested meeting in person to discuss the details, he wouldn't have even bothered to come; he would have just wanted the other party to transfer the money directly to him.

When they sat down to drink tea, Qin Zhen was clearly distracted and kept steering the conversation toward money.

But Yang Xu seemed not to understand, and just pulled him to drink tea and reminisce.

"President Qin, don't worry, I'll take care of the money. Let's have a good meal and a good chat today."

Yang Xu poured Qin Zhen a full glass of wine, then sighed.

"Actually, I heard some time ago that President Qin was borrowing money from someone. At the time, I thought it was impossible. The Qin family is an absolute force in the capital, and their wealth is unmatched. It's always others who ask the Qin family for money, not the other way around. If I hadn't met you in person today, I would still have thought it was fake. When I contacted you before, I was afraid you would think I was stupid for believing those people's nonsense!"

As he spoke, Yang Xu took a sip of wine and placed it on the table.

"After all, just a few days ago, the economic news channel reported that your Qin family donated 40 million yuan worth of supplies to Nancheng, and Uncle Qin also spent 200 million yuan to buy a new piece of land. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like you're short of money."

Yang Xu's words, though spoken casually, struck a nerve with Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen gulped down a mouthful of wine, a surge of heat rising in his chest and rushing to his head. All the pent-up frustration of the past month was released at this moment.

He sneered, "The Qin family isn't short of money, but our old man's heart is completely out of his mind! When the family was divided, my brothers and even my nephews got more than me. Tell me, where am I inferior to them? It was one thing that they wouldn't let me take over the family business before, but when the family was divided, they only gave me Lan Chuang, this mess! In their eyes, I'm nothing but a Qin family member!"

"No way?" Yang Xu looked incredulous, then continued to pour wine for Qin Zhen. "Now the old man only has you and Uncle Qin as his two sons. Even if he favors his grandchildren or Uncle Qin, he wouldn't give you nothing, would he?"

"See? I'm telling the truth, and nobody believes me!"

Qin Zhen downed another glass of wine.

“How can the living be compared to the dead? My third son died a long time ago, but his son did! That old man in our family used to spoil our third son the most, and as a result, they both died young. As a result, the old man felt indebted to his son and always treated that kid like an ancestor. Not to mention the family property, he even gave that kid the position of head of the family!”

At this point, Qin Zhen was both gloating and angry.

What's gratifying is that Qin Yong's scheming over the past decade has ultimately benefited Qin Shu.

What angered them was that all the benefits went to Qin Shu.

"Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore, let's drink! Just thinking about those scumbags makes me angry!"

But Yang Xu set up this trap today to trick Qin Zhen into revealing information.

Seeing that we were about to uncover the truth, how could we possibly let it go?

So, while smiling and refilling Qin Zhen's wine, he continued to try and get information out of her.

"According to what you're saying, as an outsider, I must say something offensive: your old man is really biased to an extreme degree. No matter how much he feels indebted, he shouldn't be so partial, especially when it comes to the position of head of the family. It should be someone as mature and experienced as you, not a naive junior. What's the point of giving it to him?"

"Moreover, among the Qin family's nephews and nieces of this generation, I think the most capable is your son, Qin Ji, the second young master, followed by Qin Zhou, the young master of the Qin family. As for the other young master, no one has ever even heard of him. What abilities could he possibly have? Wouldn't he just ruin the Qin family?"

Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't mean they're not capable.

Qin Zhen was already somewhat drunk, his eyes beginning to blur, and he sneered, "That kid has managed to flatter the old man so well, no one in the Qin family can compare to him."

"Is he really that amazing?" Yang Xu was skeptical. "Then how come we've never heard of him before? We don't even know his name."

"You don't know because the old man is protecting you. The Qin family has kept the news under wraps. How could you lowly lackeys possibly know? How could you possibly know?"

Qin Zhen started slurring his words, but he no longer needed Yang Xu to pour him drinks and began refilling his own glass.

"Mr. Qin is right, we are indeed unworthy, but as a member of the Qin family, you must know that, right? There's no one else here, just the two of us brothers. Why don't you say it, so that your brother can broaden his horizons?"

"Of course, of course I know... hiccup!"

Qin Zhen let out a hiccup, rolled his eyes, and swayed as he raised his index finger, "I'm telling you, but don't tell anyone else, my old man forbids it, that kid's name is..."

Qin Zhen stopped midway through his sentence.

"What should I call you?" Yang Xu urged.

"No, no, no, I can't say," Qin Zhen waved his hand drunkenly, but still retained a sliver of instinct. "If I say it, the old man will break my legs!"

It was he who let slip that led to Qin Shu's kidnapping.

Although he was eventually saved, the old man immediately grabbed his cane and beat him half to death.

The boxwood cane broke.

So ever since then, keeping silent about Qin Shu's name has become an instinct for Qin Zhen.

But he was drunk after all.

Seeing that Qin Zhen's mouth was impossible to pry open and that he even showed signs of fainting, Yang Xu quickly grabbed Qin Zhen and forcibly pulled him up.

"Is his name Qin Shu? Qin Yue's son, Qin Yue's favorite grandson, your nephew, and the current head of the Qin family, is his name Qin Shu?"

"Qin, Qin Shu? Where is Qin Shu? That bastard, if it weren't for him, the family fortune should be mine. Why should he get so much? Why..."

It was Qin Zhen's instinct to avoid revealing Qin Shu's name.

But Qin Zhen's reaction upon hearing Qin Shu's name was also instinctive.

Yang Xu suddenly loosened his grip on Qin Zhen's collar.

Completely drunk, Qin Zhen collapsed onto the dining table and fell into a deep sleep, snoring loudly.

Footsteps came from the private room.

Those who had been in Qian Lai's ward earlier all came out at this moment.

The group exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions awkward.

The only sound in the deathly silent private room was Qin Zhen's loud snoring.

Finally, Yang Xu broke the silence.

"Let's talk next door."

-

The group moved to another location, closed the door, and Yang Xu was the first to speak.

"Did everyone hear what Qin Zhen just said?"

Everyone nodded in silence.

His expression was solemn.

When she spoke again, her voice even trembled slightly.

"No wonder that man dared to beat Qian Lai like that... That's the crown prince of the Qin family, no, that's the head of the Qin family, the current King of Hell of the capital! It's really lucky he didn't kill Qian Lai..."

"Will we be next...?"

"With the Qin family's power, if they can find Qian Lai, they can definitely find us too. At that point, none of us will be able to escape..."

"No, we can't just sit here and wait to die! Here's what we'll do: if Qin Shu really traces it back to us, we'll say that this has nothing to do with us, that we were all forced into this by Qian Lai!"

"That's right. Anyway, Qian Lai offended the Qin family and is now in this terrible state. He's hopeless now. We can't end up like him! Let's submit to the Qin family and curry favor with Qin Shu! What do you say?"

"But how can we gain Qin Shu's trust? What if he already knows, or Qian Lai has already exposed us..."

"Then there's only one way."

Yang Xu spoke slowly, looking at everyone.

He is the youngest and most charismatic among this group. Although he is only thirty-eight years old, he has been in this industry for several years.

Huayin Entertainment's development over the years has been phenomenal.

No one who climbs to a high position in such a short time has clean hands.

Especially those present.

They've never lacked shady dealings and underhanded methods.

After meeting Yang Xu's cold gaze, everyone had a general idea of ​​what method he was referring to.

"How can this work?" Some people were skeptical about the effect.

They weren't hesitant to do it.

But the question is, is it all worth it?

"Whether it works or not, we'll know once we try."

Yang Xu narrowed his eyes, scanning everyone. "If Qin Shu is willing to accept our goodwill, that would be great. If not... now more than one person knows that it was Qin Shu who beat Qian Lai half to death, right? If Qian Lai dies from his injuries... he is not one of those unknown people. Even if the Qin family wants to suppress him, they can't."

In short, if Qin Shu is willing to let bygones be bygones, then everyone can live in peace from now on and never offend each other again.

If Qin Shu is vindictive and refuses to let them off the hook, then Qian Lai's murder case will become his death warrant.

"But who will do this?"

Someone asked that question, but everyone's eyes were on Yang Xu.

Yang Xu chuckled, sat down, and tapped the table lightly. "I was the one who asked the questions, and I was the one who came up with the idea. Everyone, you don't still want me to do this at this point, do you? Qian Lai's example is right in front of us. Don't treat me like a fool."

"If no one is willing to do this, then consider it drunken ramblings. Let's all go home and mind our own business."

After saying that, Yang Xu stood up and walked out without looking back.

After Qian Lai got into trouble, Yang Xu made all the decisions and even found out Qin Shu's identity, which Qian Lai hadn't been able to discover before.

Having offended the Qin family, everyone was already in a state of panic and desperately needed a leader. How could they really let Yang Xu leave at this time?

Soon someone stopped Yang Xu.

"It's not appropriate for anyone to do this. Since everyone is here today, we should naturally share the benefits and risks together!"

"so what?"

Yang Xu dusted off non-existent dust from his shoulder and asked.

After a moment of looking at each other in confusion, everyone went all out.

Not long after, everyone left the private room one by one.

Yang Xu was the last to leave.

Looking at the note in his hand, signed by everyone, he scoffed.

A bunch of old foxes, shrewd all their lives, yet when faced with the real challenge, they still managed to leave a written agreement that would give others cause for gossip.

After folding up the agreement and putting it away, Yang Xu leisurely got up and returned to the next private room.

Qin Zhen was still sleeping like a dead pig.

"Go find the manager and get a bowl of hangover soup," Yang Xu instructed his assistant.

-

When Qin Zhen woke up again, it was already afternoon.

My head is throbbing terribly.

Staring at the unfamiliar surroundings, it took him a while to react before he suddenly sat up.

But then I saw a person sitting on the sofa opposite, reading a newspaper.

Hearing the noise, the man put down his newspaper and showed his face.

"President Qin is awake?"

"Mr. Yang?!"

Qin Zhen looked around, instinctively on guard. "Where am I? How did I get here? Weren't we just eating?"

"We were having dinner, but Mr. Qin drank too much and got drunk in no time. So I had someone book a room and bring you here to rest and sober up."

It sounds strange that two grown men are booking a hotel room.

Qin Zhen felt uncomfortable listening to this, but still thanked him, "Thank you for your help, Mr. Yang."

After saying that, he remembered the purpose of his meeting, so he got out of bed. "Mr. Yang, about the money we talked about when we had dinner earlier..."

"Don't worry, Mr. Qin, I always keep my word."

After Yang Xu finished speaking in a low voice, he took out a card and pushed it in front of Qin Zhen.

"President Qin, here is ten million. It may not completely solve your immediate problem, but it can help you get by for a while."

The bad debts of Lanchuang will require at least 70 million to resolve.

In order to avoid getting involved in the Xu family's affairs, Qin Zhen sold a villa under his name, sold all the cars in the garage except for two, and cleared out most of the valuables in the house.

There's still a shortfall of over 14 million to resolve.

But even with over ten million yuan, he couldn't get it no matter how much he begged and pleaded; he only managed to borrow a little over ten thousand.

Originally, when he came to see Yang Xu, he thought that borrowing four or five million would be the absolute maximum.

Who would have thought that Yang Xu, who rarely visited before, would be so generous, spending ten million in one go?

If he had this ten million, he could go to his son and plead poverty, or sell Xu Jinhua's valuable jewelry. Wouldn't that solve the mess that had been troubling him for so long?

"Mr. Yang, you're not lying to me, are you? There really is ten million in this card?"

Qin Zhen was so excited he couldn't believe it.

Confirmed again and again.

"There's a bank right across the street. If you don't trust me, Mr. Qin, I can go with you there right now to check it out."

"Mr. Yang, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that this amount is too large, I..."

"Don't worry, Mr. Qin, I understand. Let's go downstairs for a walk before the bank closes."

-

Ten minutes later.

Qin Zhen stood in front of the self-service machine and counted the zeros in the string of numbers on the card several times.

Still somewhat incredulous, Qin Zhen only felt a sense of relief when the bank manager intervened, repeatedly assuring him that there was indeed ten million in the card, and then led the two to the VIP room, where they were treated with great hospitality.

After carefully hiding the card close to his body, Qin Zhen met Yang Xu's gaze and felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Please excuse my poor performance, Mr. Yang."

When has the Second Master of the Qin family ever been so humiliated?

Before the family split, the millions in revenue were just a string of numbers; why would it cause him to be so alarmed?

Now that he's fallen from grace, he's suddenly like a country bumpkin, and Qin Zhen himself is embarrassed.

"Mr. Qin, you're too kind. Being meticulous and cautious is a good thing."

"However, Mr. Yang, what about the interest rate and repayment period..." Qin Zhen mentioned his biggest concern.

"As I said before, it's my good fortune to be able to help President Qin and make a friend like you. So, the interest will be waived. As for the repayment period... how about one year? With LanChuang's future momentum, that shouldn't be difficult, right?"

"Interest-free...interest-free?!"

Qin Zhen couldn't believe it.