Xia Changlong stared at Yang Yajing silently for a while, seemingly considering his options.
This battle of wits lasted for a full five minutes, with neither side willing to concede defeat.
After a long pause, Xia Changlong laughed: "Hahaha! You've got guts!"
Xia Changlong said this because she was the first person to have been able to look him in the eye for more than ten seconds without giving up.
"What are you thinking?" Xia Changlong became serious after laughing.
"I will definitely bring down the Jiang family!" Yang Yajing concluded first. "They look down on ordinary people, so let them become ordinary people and eke out a living."
"You asked about the tax bureau, do you know something?" This time it was Xia Changlong's turn to narrow his eyes.
"You must be aware of the loopholes in the financial operations, right?" Yang Yajing asked knowingly. "Before the Jiang family became too powerful and was heavily in debt to the banks, they had already opened a clubhouse. Tell me... why is that?"
"You suspect the Jiang family of money laundering?" Xia Changlong perked up at this moment.
Running a private club involves all sorts of extravagant spending and is an industry known for its exorbitant profits and arbitrary pricing. When entertaining guests and conducting business in one's own club, bribes can be presented as normal "public relations expenses."
On the surface, it's not obvious what's going on, but a closer look will reveal how much of the profit was actually reported and how much went into the Jiang family's own pockets through falsified accounts.
Private individuals cannot audit these accounts, nor can they do so without a valid reason. However, Yang Yajing knew that soon, a wave of investigations into individuals under investigation would sweep through Jincheng.
Once this wind blows, there will be plenty of reasons to find someone to audit the accounts! But this person must be on Boss Xia's side.
"Do you know anything about the club? Have you ever been there?" Xia Changlong asked Yang Yajing.
"I've never been, but I received a roundabout invitation today, and I didn't refuse," Yang Yajing said proudly. "Should I find an opportunity to go and inquire for you?"
"Is it dangerous? Won't you get yourself into trouble?" Xia Changlong asked with a hint of worry.
"It's alright! I'm very shrewd!" Yang Yajing raised her chin confidently.
Jiang Xuanxuan's vanity and low intelligence made it easy to get information out of her. Plus, with Zhou Pengfei as her shield, she was even more eager to show off!
“Then let’s reschedule for another day!” Xia Changlong nodded. “I personally don’t want to invest in the Jiang family, but the affairs of the Xia family conglomerate are not something I can decide alone.”
"Don't be so quick to object to the investment," Yang Yajing said, then asked, "If I told you that your investment would go down the drain, would you have any financial difficulties?"
"What do you mean?" Xia Changlong felt that Yang Yajing's words had a hidden meaning.
"Is there a way to invest without using your own money?" Yang Yajing blinked. "You might be willing to spend that much, but I'm not! The less I lose, the better!"
"You don't need my money?" Xia Changlong's lips curled into a wicked smile.
That smile made Yang Yajing realize that they were probably thinking the same thing.
"Alright, let me sort out my future boyfriend first, and then I'll help you with your things," Yang Yajing thought that was about right.
"Wait a minute, don't go yet!" Xia Changlong called out to Yang Yajing, who was about to get up. "Tell me who this person is? Is he reliable? Where did you meet him?"
"Boss Xia, are you investigating household registration?" Yang Yajing raised an eyebrow.
"What household registration investigation? Let me, an experienced person, give you my opinion!" Xia Changlong said, relying on his seniority.
"You're going to vet him for me? Hahahaha! Don't worry! He's not some shady character. I know him inside and out!" Yang Yajing laughed.
"Know him inside and out? Then how come he didn't know he was going to meet you?" Xia Changlong looked disgusted.
"That's because I've been planning this for a long time, and I secretly did something harmless." Yang Yajing, that little schemer.
"Tell me about it?" Xia Changlong became quite gossipy again.
Yang Yajing vividly recounted how she instigated him to have a pen pal, then deliberately intercepted his emails and became his pen pal herself.
Upon hearing this, Xia Changlong laughed: "Hahaha! You really have the same style as me back in the day!"
"What's wrong with you, sir? Did you scheme to get your wife into this too?" Yang Yajing asked curiously. "Come, come! Tell me your gossip stories!"
"You really want to hear it?"
"Is it even possible that it's fake?"
"Well! To be honest, that was thirty years ago..." Xia Changlong recounted the story in detail as he recalled it.
In 1971, Xia Changlong and Tao Jiaxuan, who were already in high school, entered university after escaping the nationwide "Three Classes of Old Students Going to the Countryside" movement.
That year, Xia Changlong met Tao Jiaxuan.
In 1972, Xia Changlong, a sophomore in college, learned that the head of the Tao family had been subjected to criticism and struggle sessions against intellectuals during the Cultural Revolution. In order to prevent her from being implicated, her family decided to marry her off as soon as possible.
Back then, marriages were arranged by matchmakers. Because intellectuals were not favored, matchmakers mostly chose young men from working-class or peasant families for marriage.
Tao Jiaxuan was beautiful and charming, and had many admirers both at school and in the village.
However, Tao Jiaxuan was an ambitious person and was unwilling to marry just anyone because her family did not want her to be implicated in the Cultural Revolution's criticism and struggle sessions.
But her pride couldn't overcome her filial piety. Seeing her parents living in fear and worry all day, she had no choice but to reluctantly agree to go on the blind date.
She was still very unwilling to face an engagement at the age of nineteen.
Although Xia Changlong didn't have any direct contact with Tao Jiaxuan at that time, he kept an eye on her.
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