He is indispensable

"So, are we going to look for Wu Fengze next?"

On the way back to his residence, Ji Yuxing kicked the snow on the roadside with his toes and asked Zhang Chenglin.

Zhang Chenglin suddenly stopped, and when he turned to look at Ji Yuxing, his eyes were deep and meaningful.

"What's wrong?" Ji Yuxing paused, then asked, somewhat puzzled.

Zhang Chenglin rarely looked at him like that; it made him feel uneasy.

“You keep asking if we’re looking for Wu Fengze,” Zhang Chenglin said, his eyes narrowing slightly, a hint of suspicion in them. “What? Are you very familiar with him?”

Ji Yuxing: "...Don't make jokes like that, it's not funny at all."

Zhang Chenglin looked at him with even deeper eyes, without saying a word.

"Fine," Ji Yuxing conceded defeat and could only explain, "I just felt that Wu Fengze, as the captain, should have a lot of influence in the team..."

"Stop, halt." Before Ji Yuxing could finish speaking, Zhang Chenglin interrupted him, "I've just analyzed this matter. This isn't a reason for you to keep telling me to go to Wu Fengze."

"Either tell the truth, or go home and see your wife."

Ji Yuxing: "..."

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you." Ji Yuxing sighed calmly and continued, "Wu Fengze is a good person in every way, but he has one flaw: he's a womanizer. So he's really the easiest one to deal with. Just give him a beautiful woman, and there's nothing he won't tell you."

Zhang Chenglin remained silent.

Ji Yuxing couldn't tell whether he was thinking or acquiescing for a moment.

"How so?"

After waiting for a long time without him speaking, Ji Yuxing couldn't help but ask again.

“Forget it,” Zhang Chenglin turned around and continued walking, “Let’s deal with Pang Zhanru first.”

After hearing Zhang Chenglin's words, Ji Yuxing was filled with questions.

What's going on?

Does he think this method is unacceptable?

When did Zhang Chenglin become such a kind person?

*

The following evening, Zhang Chenglin went to Pang Zhanru's house without taking Ji Yuxing with him.

This time, it wasn't Pang Zhanru who opened the door; it was his wife.

"Mr. Zhang."

Xian Huilan once worked under Zhang Deyue and was one of the few female decision-makers in the Kuomintang.

Later, he followed Pang Zhanru to Anshan Iron and Steel Group and then withdrew from the Kuomintang.

The Kuomintang's explanation is that she chose love and family.

But Zhang Chenglin and Xian Huilan had known each other for a long time. He knew that Xian Huilan was not the kind of woman who would give up her career for her family, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to remain unmoved by the KMT's decision-making level.

However, Zhang Chenglin investigated for a long time but could not find the truth. Later, with more things happening in Shanghai and Shandong, Zhang Chenglin had to make a choice and temporarily put the matter aside. So, until now, Zhang Chenglin has not found the answer to this question.

"Sister Lan, it's been a long time." Zhang Chenglin greeted her first, but there was no smile on his face.

Xian Huilan looked at Zhang Chenglin as if he were a stranger, and her words were extremely cold: "Pang Zhanru is not home, you can leave."

Just as Xian Huilan was about to close the door, Zhang Chenglin quickly blocked it with his hand.

The door stopped a split second before it would trap Zhang Chenglin's hand. Xian Huilan frowned and said angrily, "Are you crazy?!"

Zhang Chenglin's expression remained calm. As usual, he withdrew his hand, gently brushed away the dust that wasn't originally on the back of his hand, and spoke in a cold tone: "I only met him once. I won't make things difficult for him, and I hope Sister Lan won't make things difficult for me either."

"Is it absolutely necessary to contact him about this?"

"It has to be him."

Zhang Chenglin spoke these words with a firm tone, leaving no room for argument.

Xian Huilan looked at Zhang Chenglin and sighed helplessly: "He hasn't been by Cheng Yuanying's side for many years. What's the use of looking for him?"

“Pang Zhanru participated in this workers’ strike.”

"What?"

Xian Huilan suddenly asked a question, catching Zhang Chenglin off guard and preventing him from saying what he was about to say.

He could only repeat what he had just said: "I said that Pang Zhanru participated in the Anshan Steel Plant workers' strike."

"Is this the information you upper-level leaders received?" Xian Huilan suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with sarcasm and helplessness.

Zhang Chenglin looked at her smile but didn't say anything.

“There was no worker strike at Ansteel, nor was there any so-called worker disturbance; they were simply suspended from their jobs.”

"Since we're on the topic, let me add one more thing: Cheng Yuanying wasn't the one who embezzled and broke the law at Ansteel. Although he's done a lot of dirty work over the years, he's still good to the workers. At least his wages and bonuses are paid on time."

“As for who is guilty of embezzlement and corruption, you might as well ask Cheng Yuanying directly… Oh right, even if you ask him, he might not tell you,” Xian Huilan said, her face turning ugly in an instant. “You might as well ask your boss directly.”

Zhang Chenglin listened to Xian Huilan's words and seemed to be deep in thought, but did not reply.

"Alright, I've told you everything I need to know. I don't know anything else."

Let's go.

Xian Huilan gave the order to leave, and was about to close the door.

"etc."

Hearing Zhang Chenglin speak, Xian Huilan stopped closing the door, her tone unfriendly: "What is it now?"

"Why did Pang Zhanru come to Ansteel back then?" Zhang Chenglin thought for a long time before finally deciding to ask the question that had puzzled him for so long. "And why did you resolutely decide to leave the organization?"

Xian Huilan seemed to be reminiscing about the past and did not answer him immediately.

A few minutes later, she finally spoke: "You should ask your father about this, but he's gone now, so the answer isn't that important anymore."

"The past is the past. We're doing well now and don't want to dwell on those old, trivial matters. Please don't ask anymore."

"Right now, no one else knows about this except me and Pang Zhanru. Don't ask any more questions. It's fine to let it rot in the old days when Zhang Deyue was around."

Go live your own life.

After saying this, Xian Huilan didn't give Zhang Chenglin a chance to speak again and closed the door.

Zhang Chenglin stared thoughtfully at the closed wooden lacquered door in front of him.

*

Zhang Chenglin returned to his residence, and Ji Yuxing squatted down at the door of their residence without any regard for his image.

"What?" Zhang Chenglin lowered his eyes to look at him, and said jokingly, "Is there no one in this world you care about?"

"How dare you speak like that?" Ji Yuxing suddenly stood up, his face showing an expression of barely suppressed anger. "I asked you how you speak?!"

Zhang Chenglin chuckled and went inside.

Ji Yuxing followed him and asked as they went up the stairs, "Did you go to Pang Zhanru's house again?"

Zhang Chenglin nodded and replied in a muffled voice, "Mm."

"Did you see Pang Zhanru?" Ji Yuxing pressed. When Zhang Chenglin returned, his expression was normal, and Ji Yuxing couldn't tell whether he was happy or sad.

“No,” Zhang Chenglin turned to look at Ji Yuxing, “but I saw Xian Huilan.”

"Who?" Ji Yuxing didn't immediately realize who Zhang Chenglin was talking about.

“Xian Huilan,” Zhang Chenglin paused after saying that, then added, “Pang Zhanru’s wife.”

“Oh, oh, oh,” Ji Yuxing nodded. He had heard of Xian Huilan’s reputation, but he had never had any contact with her or met her.

All I know is that she was a very powerful woman in the Kuomintang's decision-making body.

Did she say anything?

“Hmm,” Zhang Chenglin opened his room door and said as he walked in, “Come in and talk.”

"oh."

Because the approved funding was limited, even though they were both young masters from prestigious families, Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing lived in very ordinary places. Zhang Chenglin's room only had a bed, a table, and a chair.

Ji Yuxing stood against the wall and said, "Tell me about it."

Zhang Chenglin summarized Xian Huilan's words to Ji Yuxing in a few sentences. After listening, Ji Yuxing pondered for a few minutes and asked him, "Is the authenticity reliable?"

"I don't know," Zhang Chenglin shook his head. "I'll go see Wu Fengze tomorrow."

"you go."

"Huh?" Ji Yuxing was taken aback. "You're not going?"

“Let’s split up and save time.” Zhang Chenglin picked up the few sheets of paper on the table and said as he looked at them, “Go see Wu Fengze. Ask him whatever you want to know. You might just get the truth out of him by surprise.”

"I'm going to see Lu Shaojie tomorrow."

"Okay." Ji Yuxing nodded and began to think about how to talk to Wu Fengze in a way that would achieve the effect Zhang Chenglin wanted.

*

Night falls at the Flower Moon Pavilion.

Fengyue came down from the stage and was stopped halfway up to the second floor.

"Oh, all alone again?"

A voice filled with provocation and ridicule came from behind, and Fengyue looked up.

Chiju (pond chrysanthemum).

"What? You want to keep me company if I'm not alone?" Feng Yue retorted without any politeness.

Chiju: "You..."

"What do you mean, 'you'? Stay away from me," Feng Yue said expressionlessly as she walked past Chi Ju toward her room, "Aunt Rong is here."

Upon hearing Aunt Rong's name, Chi Ju panicked and quickly turned to look.

Because she was standing at the corner of the stairs, she turned too sharply and almost fell down the stairs.

Fortunately, Fengyue reacted quickly and grabbed the sleeve of Chiju's dance skirt.

"Scared?"

With the help of Fengyue's grip, Chiju regained her balance and looked at the stage on the first floor below the stair railing, still shaken.

Feng Yue found it amusing and asked a question.

Chi Ju glared at her angrily, but didn't say anything.

“This is what happens when you do too many bad things,” Feng Yue said coldly, her eyes narrowing slightly. “If you provoke me again, I won’t hesitate to make you fall straight down.”

“I told you long ago I’m not some little kitten,” Feng Yue said, turning and leaving. “If you dare touch me, see if Aunt Rong will let you off the hook, see if Mr. Zhang will let you off the hook.”

"Feng Yue, don't push your luck!" Chi Ju finally came to her senses, furious and embarrassed: "How long do you think you can be so smug? You're just a worthless slut, what are you pretending for?"

Feng Yue turned to look at her, her eyes calm and a smile playing on her lips: "That's still better than you not being able to be smug at all."

"Wind..." Chi Ju had just uttered a word when Aunt Rong rushed over: "Oh my, what's going on?"

As soon as Aunt Rong arrived, she stood beside Feng Yue without saying a word, looking like she was ready to kill anyone who dared to touch her.

"Chiju, why aren't you preparing properly? What are you doing standing here? Have you made too much money and don't want to work anymore?"

No...no.

Chi Ju turned pale instantly, turned around and ran away.