Whether to say or not
"Do I have to make you offend everyone in the Kuomintang?" Ji Yuxing became angrier as he spoke. If the occasion hadn't been inappropriate, he would have flipped the table right there and then.
Compared to Ji Yuxing, Zhang Chenglin remained calm and didn't say a word. He picked up the teapot and poured himself and Ji Yuxing a cup of tea.
Ji Yuxing was tired from talking, so he picked up his teacup to take a sip, but just as the cup touched his lips, he suddenly realized, "Hey, wait a minute, what time is it and you still have the mind to drink tea?!"
Zhang Chenglin put down the teacup he had just taken a sip from, and when his gaze fell on Ji Yuxing, it was indifferent, as if he had been listening to Ji Yuxing tell someone else's story, as if it were none of his business.
“No, brother,” Ji Yuxing was furious at his attitude: “You’ve got a knife to your throat and you’re still so calm? If you don’t deal with Cheng Yuanying, the people above you will definitely hold you accountable. All your years of planning will be for nothing. If you do deal with Cheng Yuanying… Zhuang Yanbin and Jiang Rusu will definitely not let you off the hook. They’ve wanted to get rid of you but haven’t been able to find a good excuse.”
"Do you know who arranged this?" Zhang Chenglin pointed to the stool next to Ji Yuxing, gesturing for him to sit down and talk.
Ji Yuxing didn't even glance at him before pulling out a chair and sitting down, saying, "Mr. Sheng, I just came back from his place."
Zhang Chenglin was speechless for a moment, then added after a few seconds of silence: "What I mean is, who arranged this for Mr. Sheng?"
"The General Secretary?" Ji Yuxing was a little unsure. "No, it shouldn't have been arranged directly by the General Secretary... Anyway, it was a leader within the Party."
“Cheng Yuanying isn’t new to this. Everything was fine when Zhang Deyue was in charge. It hasn’t been long, and things have turned out like this.” Zhang Chenglin tapped his teacup lightly with his index finger, his tone gentle. “There are quite a few people planted by the Kuomintang within the Party. When Zhang Deyue was in charge, everything was peaceful. Now that he’s gone, those who supported him and those who supported Zhuang Yanbin quickly split into two factions and started to turn against each other.”
“The faction that supports Zhang Deyue has lost its backer and remains inactive, while the faction that supports Zhuang Yanbin has begun to take covert actions in order to curry favor with Zhuang Yanbin.” Zhang Chenglin raised his eyes, and a ripple appeared in his usually calm eyes that Ji Yuxing could not understand: “You know, I am the biggest obstacle to Zhuang Yanbin’s rise to power.”
Ji Yuxing was taken aback when Zhang Chenglin said those words directly, and waited for him to continue.
"So some fearless people started to take action and exposed Cheng Yuanying's affair. Some people fueled the flames and incited workers to strike and cause trouble, so as not to let Cheng Yuanying lose face." Zhang Chenglin said, but a smile appeared in his eyes: "Then those undercover agents in the party started to push the blame onto me, trying to use this incident to make me completely lose the trust of both parties."
"Or rather, they want to... kill me outright."
At this point in Zhang Chenglin's story, Ji Yuxing finally understood what was going on and tentatively asked, "So you mean..."
“Hmm,” Ji Yuxing didn’t finish speaking, but Zhang Chenglin already knew, and nodded frankly: “Then we might as well take on this task, dig out the high-level mole within the organization, and do Mr. Sheng a favor.”
Ji Yuxing hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but say, "Then Mr. Sheng really can't repay the favor you gave him."
“It doesn’t matter,” Zhang Chenglin put down his empty teacup. “I don’t need him to pay me back.”
“I should say it or not…” Ji Yuxing said wistfully, but before he could finish speaking, Zhang Chenglin interrupted him expressionlessly: “If you say ‘long time no see’ again, I’ll make sure you never see me again.”
Ji Yuxing: "?"
Looking at Zhang Chenglin's ambiguous smile, Ji Yuxing suddenly remembered that on the day of Jiang Guanyu's wedding, He Zhonghua, Zheng Mingzhe, and Zhang Chenglin greeted each other with "long time no see," and Ji Yuxing leaned over and said, "I have something to say, 'long time no see,' but I don't know if I should say it."
Ji Yuxing had always known that Zhang Chenglin held grudges, but he really didn't expect Zhang Chenglin to hold grudges this much.
"Pah!" Ji Yuxing poured tea into Zhang Chenglin's teacup from the teapot and quickly said, "Let's not bring up the past anymore, okay?"
"What I'm trying to say is that you truly live up to being Zhang Deyue's son. Your reaction speed and logical thinking are something that most people can't match."
Zhang Chenglin glanced at him with a blank expression, and said in a cold tone, "I'll take that as a compliment for now."
"By the way, when are you going to the Northeast?" Ji Yuxing's expression turned serious as he got back to business. "Mr. Sheng said you have to come back on the 15th to attend the Puyu Chamber of Commerce's leadership transition?"
“It’s just a formality,” Zhang Chenglin said, gently rubbing the glass with his thumb. “The leadership of the Puyu Chamber of Commerce can’t be changed anytime soon, unless He Qidong steps down.”
Ji Yuxing was stunned for a moment and didn't speak. Zhang Chenglin frowned and looked at him: "What's wrong?"
“He Qidong stepped down…that means He Zhonghua will succeed him,” Ji Yuxing said, a crack appearing on his face. “The Puyu Chamber of Commerce, the largest chamber of commerce in China, whose network extends to all economic networks at home and abroad and holds the power of life and death over countless companies, is headed by He Zhonghua.”
"This scene is absolutely stunning."
Zhang Chenglin: "...Although, I think what you said makes a lot of sense."
“Just kidding,” Ji Yuxing finished his tea in one gulp and laughed, “I also think He Qidong will have to work for at least another 20 years, just like your grandfather. These people are the ones who truly support half of China’s economy. As long as they can stand there, they will always stand there.”
Zhang Chenglin agreed and nodded: "Mm."
"Getting back to the main point," Ji Yuxing asked again, "When are we leaving for the Northeast?"
"First thing tomorrow morning."
"good."
*
Ji Yuxing thought that Zhang Chenglin would go directly to Cheng Yuanying after arriving in the Northeast. After all, Cheng Yuanying was Zhang Deyue's man, and even if he didn't care about Zhang Chenglin's reputation, he would still give him face.
As a result, after Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing got off the plane, Zhang Chenglin's first words were: "Let's go see those striking workers first."
"Huh?" Ji Yuxing, who was clutching his coat tightly and lamenting how cold it was in his hometown, didn't react for a moment.
“I said,” Zhang Chenglin turned to look at him and repeated what he had just said, “go and see those striking workers first.”
"Oh," Ji Yuxing responded, then took a couple of steps with Zhang Chenglin before suddenly asking, "Why?"
Zhang Chenglin: "...Let's go back, let's go back to Shandong, okay, brother?"
Ji Yuxing and Zhang Chenglin first went to their accommodation to put down their luggage, and then began to analyze the information they had on the striking workers.
“I have a vague impression of this Wu Fengze. He seems to be the captain of some team at Ansteel. He should have some influence among this group. If we want to win them over, starting with Wu Fengze is the most suitable approach,” Ji Yuxing said, fiddling with a corner of the paper.
“But these are also the most difficult people to deal with,” Zhang Chenglin added after glancing at the table.
“Indeed.” Ji Yuxing nodded, pursed his lips and changed to the next one: “Pang Zhanru, I don’t remember him, but I heard Bo Yan say that he has a good relationship with Cheng Yuanying, and it seems that he was sent by the Kuomintang.”
Zhang Chenglin took Pang Zhanru's paper and glanced at it separately. Ji Yuxing then asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with him?"
“Keep an eye on this,” Zhang Chenglin said, looking at the piece of paper that was detailed in some ways but lacked the information they were looking for. “I have a feeling I’ve seen this person before, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
"Okay," Ji Yuxing replied, making a mark on the paper with his pen.
"And this Teng Dechang..."
Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing spent an hour sorting out the information of more than forty striking workers from Ansteel, and picked out a few of the more important ones, noting that they would meet with them first.
"Shall we go see Wu Fengze first?" Ji Yuxing asked Zhang Chenglin after organizing the documents in his hand.
“No,” Zhang Chenglin stood up, picked up the document he had just set aside from the table, and said, “Let’s go see Pang Zhanru first.”
"Huh?" Ji Yuxing looked down at the materials about Wu Fengze that he had specially taken out in his hand, puzzled: "Wu Fengze is the captain, shouldn't we capture the leader first?"
“Pang Zhanru used to be Zhang Deyue’s driver.” Zhang Chenglin tapped the document on the table with his right index finger, as if explaining to Ji Yuxing, “He came to Ansteel with Cheng Yuanying back then.”
As soon as Zhang Chenglin finished speaking, Ji Yuxing instantly understood.
Pang Zhanru and Cheng Yuanying came to Anshan Iron and Steel together, which means that Zhang Deyue arranged for them to come together. In other words, Pang Zhanru may have been arranged to come as Cheng Yuanying's assistant.
But now that he's on the side of the striking workers, Pang Zhanru is definitely the most suitable person to find out the specific situation of Cheng Yuanying here.
He had thought that there might be some conflict between Pang Zhanru and Cheng Yuanying, and that it would be more convenient for Zhang Chenglin and Ji Yuxing to come and find out the situation. However, he did not expect that he would be turned away as soon as he started to make plans for this matter.
When they arrived at Pang Zhanru's house, Pang Zhanru himself opened the door.
Pang Zhanru didn't recognize Ji Yuxing. When she opened the door, her expression was relatively friendly, and her tone was relatively calm when she asked, "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"
Seeing his friendly attitude, Ji Yuxing couldn't help but smile and say, "I'm Ji Yuxing, and I came with Zhang Chenglin..."
Upon hearing Zhang Chenglin's name, Pang Zhanru's expression immediately changed: "You've got the wrong person. Get out of here."
Before Ji Yuxing could even react, Pang Zhanru slammed the door shut with a bang, and the sound of the lock clicking shut could be heard from inside.
Ji Yuxing, completely bewildered, turned to Zhang Chenglin and asked, "...Did I say who I was looking for?"
Zhang Chenglin's expression was not good. As he turned to leave, he said, "Well, another one who has been offended by Zhang Deyue."
Ji Yuxing followed behind Zhang Chenglin, watching his unwavering and dashing figure as he walked away, and sighed silently.
Zhang Deyue's life was full of drama, and he offended countless people behind the scenes.
When he was alive, he wielded too much power, and those people dared not directly resist him. After he died, Zhang Chenglin, who was seen as "not doing his job properly" by outsiders, became the target of revenge for those whom Zhang Deyue had offended, and took on almost all of Zhang Deyue's resentment and hostility.
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