51 Chapter Fifty (Two chapters combined)
◎ Career-oriented women are a bit different; they're always exceptionally patient with their bosses. ◎
Li Yingqiao hung up the phone and sat in her car, not starting the engine for a moment. There was a local noodle shop across from the government building. She wasn't hungry at all, but she decided to go down and have a bowl of noodles anyway. She didn't want Yu Jinyang to cook. Because she wanted to give him a good kiss in two hours.
But to her surprise, she ran into an old acquaintance at the shop. The man was as handsome and well-built as ever, with a straight posture and a serious expression. Time had left some marks on his face, but they were not obvious, except for the deep crease on his forehead, which seemed to have been deepened by years of hard work. Li Yingqiao recognized him first and called out to him, "Uncle Xiao."
Xiao Bo was also surprised to run into her here. At first, he didn't recognize her and stood frozen at the next table, holding a mouthful of noodles in mid-air for a long time before slowly calling out her name: "Li... Ying, Qiao".
He hadn't seen her for many years. Back then, Li Yingqiao, then a junior high school student, provided crucial clues in two major cases that shocked the entire city of Fengtan. However, due to strong opposition from her family, key information about her involvement was omitted from later news reports of the kidnapping case. Initially, he and his colleagues didn't understand; even if information was disclosed, it would only be under a pseudonym, and wouldn't affect the safety of the person involved. The family's reaction was so intense that they were at a loss, and of course, they had to respect their decision.
Therefore, he and his colleagues once discussed the difference in social standing between the police chief's mother and the beauty salon technician's mother. Later, he was thoroughly humiliated, and even now, he has to respectfully address Li Shuli as "sister-in-law" whenever he sees her. But Li Shuli says not to call her that; she and that person never obtained a marriage certificate, so she shouldn't be considered a martyr's family member. She had two failed marriages, and her relationship with Li Yingqiao's father was a very brief affair; they never even planned to marry.
Li Shuli said she never knew he was a narcotics police officer. When they met, she was driving a truck on the Yunnan-Burma Road, and he said he was just an ordinary truck driver named Song Liuqing, but clearly using a pseudonym at the time. Li Shuli noticed his Fengtan accent then, which led her to chat with him a bit longer…
"Song Liuqing" sacrificed his life in the winter of 2014. When the police found his body, it was in a cold storage room of an abandoned slaughterhouse, frozen for twenty days. All his organs had been removed, and his death was gruesome. However, because the case was still unsolved at the time, and he was one of the few remaining undercover agents on that line, everything had to be kept secret. However, with one undercover agent after another being exposed, the Provincial Public Security Bureau was shrouded in gloom. "Song Liuqing's" last message to his superior further demonstrated his resolute determination to face death.
Xiao Bo knew very little about the ins and outs and details of the entire case, because it was not completely solved until three years later. In a joint operation across provinces, the police seized more than 200 kilograms of drugs, including smuggled drugs, arrested 47 drug traffickers (including six overseas drug lords), and destroyed four drug manufacturing dens disguised as timber factories. The amount involved in the case was as high as 200 million yuan.
On January 27, 2017, Song Liuqing's ashes, which had been kept at the Provincial Public Security Bureau for three years, were finally returned to his hometown. However, the Public Security Bureau did not disclose many details internally, and by the time it reached Xiao Bo, the information was very vague; even his name and age had been completely erased, leaving only his police number, KL-0315. He didn't know the other person's real name, only that 0315 was an orphan with no real blood relatives. The compensation money issued by higher authorities was divided equally between the two people according to 0315's own request.
One of the documents was given to Li Shuli. However, the other one had already passed away, and he happened to know Li Shuli, so he couldn't tell her about the whereabouts of the other compensation payment. The scope of this case was too large, and all undercover information within five years of the case's closure was classified as top secret. It's rare for files like 0315 to be completely sealed.
Li Shuli was initially shocked, but she quickly calmed down. Xiao Bo guessed she had some idea of 0315's identity, which explained her strong reaction to her daughter's heroic deeds. But Li Shuli said nothing, remaining silent for a long time before asking him if he wanted a bowl of noodles before leaving. He stayed and ate a bowl of noodles with Li Yingqiao. In stark contrast to his mother's calm reaction, Li Yingqiao became very excited, pulling him aside to ask everything about 0315, to which he, of course, had nothing to say.
A few days later, according to classified government documents, the hero's ashes were interred in the local martyrs' cemetery. The tombstone bore no name, no photograph, only a number. Li Yingqiao had asked Xiao Bo for a photo of her father, but even Li Shuli didn't have one, so it was even less likely he, a lowly police officer, would have one. He couldn't possibly have access to such classified information at the provincial public security bureau. Li Yingqiao was deeply disappointed; she couldn't picture her father through his features alone. So she often wondered, "0315, what kind of person are you really?"
Unlike Li Shuli, Li Yingqiao quickly joined the ranks of martyrs' children and stood at attention. Although she couldn't understand what he looked like, she could learn from his spirit. That year, Li Yingqiao spent two weeks in Fengtan during the winter vacation before returning to school early.
She didn't tell anyone about her father. She simply boarded the train north to pursue her studies once again, alone. Her father's story had cemented her position as the guardian angel of Xiaohua Town, making her feel utterly hopeless. She thought she couldn't let Liang Mei look down on her, and she couldn't bring shame to 0315.
***
Xiao Bo sat down in front of Li Yingqiao with a bowl of noodle soup in his hand and asked with concern, "How is your mother doing lately? Is she in good health?"
"Not bad." Li Yingqiao added a lot of chili powder to her bowl, looked up at him and joked, "Uncle Xiao, you don't look your age at all. You're almost forty, aren't you? I really can't tell."
Xiao Bo chuckled with satisfaction, put down his chopsticks, and looked at her with a raised eyebrow, saying, "Uncle was actually quite handsome when he was young. I'm forty-one this year, and I was about your age back then, during the kidnapping case."
Li Yingqiao smiled, said nothing, and silently ate her noodles. It had been many years since she'd seen him; even Xiao Bo was over forty now.
Xiao Bo remarked, "You seem much quieter than before. How are things going? It's not easy to make it out there, is it?"
She opened a bottle of soy milk for herself and nodded emphatically, saying, "It's really tough. Without these uncles and aunts from Fengtan, who will treat us like kids anymore?" She pouted and shook her head solemnly, saying, "Once we make a mistake, no one will forgive us."
"It's alright, Sister Shuli will definitely forgive you," Xiao Bo said knowingly.
Li Yingqiao smiled, and after exchanging a few more pleasantries, she suddenly remembered to ask, "What are you doing here? Who are you keeping an eye on?"
Xiao Bo laughed: "Don't ask me anything. I'm just passing by and delivering some documents to my father-in-law."
"Oh, when did you get married?"
"Your mom came over right after you graduated from university, didn't you know? Sister Shuli was really generous back then, she gave me a 2,000 yuan red envelope. I'm worried about it now, when are you getting married, I have to return that red envelope to you."
Li Yingqiao shook her head and said, "I don't want to get married. My mother doesn't want me to get married either. She doesn't even like any other man, let alone me. In her eyes, no one is good enough for me."
Xiao Bo sighed wistfully, "That's right, who can compare to your dad? I later went to the Provincial Public Security Bureau for training—"
Li Yingqiao interrupted, saying, "Uncle Xiao, I'm no longer fixated on knowing his name and appearance. I'll just remember his code name."
Xiao Bo was taken aback. Actually, he still didn't know 0315's name. When they found Li Shuli, they had overlooked one thing: 0315 might not know he had a daughter, so his will didn't mention anything about the child. Li Shuli had taken the initiative to admit it, which surprised Xiao Bo, but he could only follow the rules. He said that if that was the case, they needed DNA confirmation and to report it up the chain of command before Li Yingqiao could be included in the martyr's file, and the compensation might need to be recalculated. Li Shuli didn't say anything more, just nodded with tears in her eyes. Only then did he understand how heavy a mother's heart could be.
Xiao Bo thought for a moment and said to her, "I understand you, Yingqiao. I just wanted to tell you that our Ministry of Public Security had a five-year confidentiality period back then. Your father's compensation was actually given in two installments, one of which was given to your mother. The other one... couldn't be said at the time, but the information about this case has been completely declassified within the Public Security Bureau in the last two years. Do you want to know who received the other compensation? Perhaps the other party has a photo of your father."
Li Yingqiao no longer really wanted to know. She had always admired Yu Jinyang. Although Fourth Brother (Yu Jinyang's nickname) didn't seem very bright and always did foolish things, and despite making so much money, he hadn't learned much about the world, he was at least a good father. Her father might be a hero, a good person, but he wasn't a good father. She couldn't bear to dwell on someone who might not even know she existed. She admired his spirit and personality, and she would continue his beliefs, but she was no longer curious about him.
"No need," Li Yingqiao changed the subject, "Uncle Xiao, can you do me a favor?"
Xiao Bo was taken aback: "Huh? What kind of help?"
Li Yingqiao briefly explained the matter of the disability certificate, took a tissue to wipe her mouth, and said, "That's the situation. Uncle Yu's court hearing is about to start, and if we can't get the disability certificate, it will probably just drag on indefinitely."
Xiao Bo's eyebrows nearly split open from his shrug: "No, Li Yingqiao, who are you going to 'bribe'?!"
"That old leader at the forensic appraisal institute who's about to retire, I think his surname is Liang."
Xiao Bo's lips twitched as he said, "...Is it Liang Wuguang?"
"Yes, yes, yes."
Xiao Bo: "...Then my father-in-law."
After a moment of silence, Li Yingqiao scratched her eyebrows, looked at him, and then scratched her eyebrows again, seemingly at a loss, and said, "Another bowl, perhaps? With an egg? I'll pay."
Xiao Bo ignored her and continued, "...Putting everything else aside, Li Boqing has been losing money every year to support his wood toy business. He refuses to admit he's old and keeps thinking about making a comeback. Many leaders in the county give him face and play along with his old-timer act. Nobody dares to tell him, 'Li Boqing, your era is long over. If you want to admit you're old, nobody dares.' Even Li Lianfeng knows this, but how could he dare? Without his father, he wouldn't even be able to get into the government building. He can only bully upright gentlemen like Yu Renjie. If he encounters someone with more tricks up their sleeve, they're really helpless."
Xiao Bo could tell from her eyes that she couldn't sit still and wouldn't just wait idly. After sending a voice message, Li Yingqiao leaned over and explained her overall plan. Xiao Bo finally nodded and said, "Okay."
***
Yu Jinyang had a good impression of Zhang Zongxie. He was mature and steady in conversation, and his words were always well thought out. He didn't show excessive concern for his father's legs, which was rare. Yu Renjie was also more talkative than usual, as if he had regained the radiance of his youth. He couldn't help but sigh, "Zongxie, looking at you reminds me of my former self."
That's true. At first glance, Zhang Zongxie does resemble Yu Renjie in his youth in terms of demeanor. He's always dressed in a suit and tie, the air conditioning is always set to 23 degrees Celsius, and he has to turn the rearview mirror over and check for ten minutes to make sure every tooth is clean before starting the car. They are both typical meticulous people, while Yu Jinyang is too casual. He rarely looks in the mirror except when dancing. He liked to wear loose T-shirts since his student days, and even now he still just throws a T-shirt on his forehead to make sure he looks clean and the color doesn't look strange before heading out.
Zhang Zongxie looked at Yu Jinyang with obvious surprise and said, "Jinyang, has your personality always been this mature? I think we met once before, but you seemed quite young and thin back then, and you didn't talk much. Right? Jinyang, are you working out now?"
Yu Jinyang was putting a spoonful of corn kernels into the ice cream cone and into her bowl for her to eat by herself. Occasionally, he would brush a strand of hair from her mouth and say, "It's not really working out, just playing ball with friends occasionally."
Zhang Zongxie: "I will stay in Fengtan for a while. You can call me if you want to work out or play ball in the evening."
Yu Jinyang: Sure. What kind of exercise does Mr. Zhang usually do?
Zhang Zongxie: "Swimming, basketball, bowling... all of those are fine. Does Fengtan have golf?"
Yu Jinyang actually thought about it for him, "No. But there used to be a golf course in the city, I don't know if it's still open now."
Zhang Zongxie smiled and handed him a cigarette: "Let's add each other on WeChat later. Call me when you're free. I don't have many social engagements tonight."
When Zhang Zongxie saw that he didn't answer, he asked, "What, don't you smoke?"
Yu Jinyang didn't dare smoke. Li Yingqiao used to be unable to stand even the smell of his sweat after dancing, so he dared not learn to smoke. Li Yingqiao had always had an exceptionally keen sense of smell and was extremely picky about smells. If Liang Mei burned the rice, she was always the first to smell the burnt smell; or sometimes when the dining table wasn't wiped clean and they were doing their homework on it, she was also the first to smell it, saying that the tabletop smelled like dishcloth water. She could also smell all sorts of strange smells, such as the smell of cockroach droppings, the smell of goldfish saliva... not to mention that now that she's grown up, she's probably even more picky than before.
He could have directly refused the cigarette Li Lianfeng offered him, but if it were Zhang Zongxie, he probably would have accepted it. After all, some things need a trigger, and in this situation, going out for a smoke would be the best trigger. But since Li Yingqiao said she was going to kiss him later, Yu Jinyang wasn't so keen on accepting.
***
When Xiao Bo entered the gate of Bicheng Mansion, Li Yingqiao was waiting at the entrance in her car. Sure enough, not long after, Li Lianfeng hurriedly came out of the elevator on the first floor. She stepped on the gas and rolled the car over, stopping below the steps at the entrance of the public relations department. She rolled down the window and looked at Li Lianfeng, who was about to climb the steps, and said with a smile, "Brother Lianfeng, get in the car and let's have a chat?"
Li Lianfeng's expression changed drastically upon seeing her. He abruptly turned around and, in a panic, plunged into the narrow, dimly lit alleyway leading to the side entrance of the mansion. Li Lianfeng was a very predictable person; in the world of big data algorithms, he would be one of the easiest men to categorize. Bicheng Mansion was the largest nightlife venue in Fengtan County. If Xiao Bo appeared at the front desk, Li Lianfeng would inevitably assume it was a police raid. Even if it wasn't, this cautious man wouldn't want to leave any evidence against him, so he would definitely find an excuse to leave early.
Besides the main entrance, Bicheng Mansion only has two narrow alleys. Since Li Yingqiao blocked the main road, he certainly wouldn't get in the car, so he would definitely turn around and leave. One of the two alleys had a green trash can at its entrance, reeking of garbage. Someone like Li Lianfeng wouldn't allow himself to wander into a garbage dump; he would only go into the narrow alley on the left. Xiao Bo would go around through the back door and wait for him in that alley. Therefore, Li Yingqiao leisurely turned off the engine and headed deeper into the alley.
Li Lianfeng himself was a man who loved to set traps, and when he saw Xiao Bo, he knew what was going on. When Li Yingqiao went in, he overheard Li Lianfeng and Xiao Bo's conversation: "Old Xiao, that's not very fair of you. Are you teaming up with Li Yingqiao to play me? When did you two get together?"
Xiao Bo was very familiar with the grandfather and grandson. One year, Li Lianfeng's brother was involved in a case that Xiao Bo had also handled, but the case was eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence.
Xiao Bo was also impatient to get involved in any messy relationships with the Li family, and went straight to the point: "Hurry up and give the things to Li Yingqiao. Don't play games with people. What are you doing, a grown man like you making such a fuss with a girl?"
Li Lianfeng had no choice but to stop. Turning around, he saw Li Yingqiao turning in from the alleyway, leisurely lighting a cigarette and leaning against the wall to smoke. To be honest, he had initially been somewhat interested in her, but that interest had completely vanished. He had never met such a clever and difficult woman. So, he adopted a bureaucratic tone again: "Li Yingqiao, Xiaohua City hasn't had enough work lately, has it? We invited you here to keep an eye on our own people? Being this aggressive, do you even have any sense of propriety?"
Li Yingqiao, however, said bluntly, "I really don't have time to play these bureaucratic games with you. Give me the documents."
"You! I'm asking you for some sense of propriety!"
“Li Lianfeng.” She stared at him.
Seeing that she was becoming even more aggressive, Li Lianfeng glanced at Xiao Bo beside him and said, "You're so confident, aren't you? Old Xiao, I can't give Old Liang any face if you act like this. I'll complain to your superiors about you."
Xiao Bo was already sitting on a stone bench by the alley, admiring the moon for a while. Without turning his head, he stretched his neck and said, "Just give it to her, what's all the fuss about? I need to go home to my wife. You can complain about me if you want, it'll save me the trouble of explaining to my wife what I did tonight."
Li Yingqiao, glancing at him, added an explanation to Xiao Bo: "...I'll go to your house later and explain to your sister-in-law."
Li Lianfeng then said, "To tell you the truth, the things were taken away this morning."
Li Yingqiao laughed in exasperation and couldn't help but kick the wall behind Li Lianfeng with her toe: "...Are you sick, Li Lianfeng? Making up such an excuse. Who would take this thing! Who would be so interested in Yu Renjie's feet? Is he a foot fetishist?"
Xiao Bo, sitting on the stone stool, laughed: "No, can you please not be so humorous, Li Yingqiao?"
"Let me ask you first, how did you know I was here?" Li Lianfeng said.
Li Yingqiao didn't speak, but took out her phone and played a voice message. The voice on the other end was Li Boqing's: "It's at Bicheng Mansion. Go find it yourself."
Li Lianfeng was utterly shocked: "What did you say to Grandpa?"
Li Yingqiao remained silent, still holding her phone, and slowly played another voice message she had sent earlier: "Hello, Secretary Li. President Zhang came to Xiaohua City today to discuss the acquisition. He raised three questions that I need to verify with Minister Li. President Zhang wants me to give him a reply before I start work tomorrow. Where is Minister Li tonight?"
Li Lianfeng knew all too well that his grandfather was just eager to get rid of the hot potato that was Xiaohua City. If the three hundred million yuan Zhang Zongxie brought from Beijing were immediately in his hands, his grandfather would probably only hesitate for a second or two, even if he were sold out. He was practically fuming: "Li Yingqiao, you're truly repaying kindness with enmity! Do you know where you are now if I hadn't covered for you regarding Liang Wuguang's matter? You still have the nerve to try and trick me into telling you things?"
Li Yingqiao put away her phone and only said, "Do you think I need you to cover for me? Even if I drowned you at this critical juncture, your grandfather wouldn't dare kick me out. Do you think Zhang Zongxie's three hundred million was just a free lunch given away with the current customer traffic at Xiaohua City? Do you think Convey Capital's legal due diligence team are idiots? Do you think Zhang Zongxie is a fool?"
"Li Yingqiao, what do you mean by that?"
"What I mean is, I advise you to clean up your mess as soon as possible and fill in the holes that need to be filled," Li Yingqiao said in a low voice. "Otherwise, even if Sister Xiang helps you after Convey's due diligence is over, she won't be able to help you. After our digital platform goes live, every single ticket reservation will be transparent and open in the backend. Do you think no one knew about those discrepancies in ticket numbers? Didn't Sister Xiang cover for you all these things? Once Convey's due diligence is over, do you think you can still keep it from your grandfather's side?"
If it weren't for the swift dismissal of that able-bodied man, which aroused Li Yingqiao's suspicion, she wouldn't have had Pan Xiaoliang pull up the customer traffic figures from the past two years for comparison. Only then did she realize why Li Lianfeng had such a clear understanding of Xiaohua City's accounts, even having the marketing budget go through him. She initially thought he was just temporarily managing things for his grandfather, but then she discovered so many discrepancies in the data, and Wang Wenxiang remained silent. Li Yingqiao then realized the trickery involved. Of course, this was her last bargaining chip; if things didn't go smoothly with Old Master Liang, she would use these reports to force Li Lianfeng to issue the necessary documentation.
“Look for Zhang Zongxie,” Li Lianfeng said.
Li Yingqiao turned and left without stopping for a moment.
As Xiao Bo left, he reminded Li Lianfeng, who was standing there in a daze and had even forgotten to smoke, "Remember to complain about me, otherwise I'll have to explain to my wife for a long time when I get back."
***
Li Yingqiao walked out of the alley, said goodbye to Xiao Bo, and then dialed Zhang Zongxie's number, but there was no answer.
Zhang Zongxie and Yu Jinyang sat chatting in the indoor swimming pool on the B1 floor of the hotel. There were only two or three other people around at this time. The blue light of the pool was reflected on the ceiling of the swimming pool, like an ocean hanging upside down overhead, making the world seem upside down.
Neither of the two men went into the water or changed out of their swimming trunks; they were still wearing their dining clothes. They sat awkwardly on chairs by the pool of clear water, chatting idly.
Zhang Zongxie's phone was placed on the small table between the two of them. The screen lit up and dimmed repeatedly, showing his perseverance.
The blue light also danced across Yu Jinyang's face, making his already pale skin appear even more translucent and clean. The shimmering halo spread across his arms, where one could vaguely see the bluish veins buried beneath his skin, like a freshly fired piece of celadon porcelain, a rare and exquisite work of art, with a bright, clear, and complete glaze.
However, Zhang Zongxie's phone rang a total of five times during their conversation, but he didn't answer any of them. Without exception, they were all from a woman whose screen displayed "Yingqiao".
There may be tens of thousands of women named Yingqiao across the country, but in Zhang Zongxie's phone, there should only be the one that Yu Jinyang has known since childhood. When he had dinner with Uncle Zhang that time, Li Yingqiao mentioned that she had worked at Convey, and Zhang Zongxie was her former boss.
Career-oriented women are always a bit different; they're always exceptionally patient with their bosses. Even if it's a former boss—oh, and he might soon become the boss again, since Zhang Zongxie said he's there to acquire Xiaohua City—it's normal for her to be patient. After all, he has 300 million yuan in his hands.
When Yu Jinyang saw the name 'Yingqiao' light up on his phone screen for the sixth time, he became a little angry with this boss who controlled 300 million yuan. For the first time, he questioned whether Brother Siyi had any good judgment in sponsoring such an ungrateful person. He could even imagine the helplessness and frustration Li Yingqiao felt when she first started working under him, how she must have been driven to tears by him many times, but she was also stubborn, and even if her eyes were swollen from crying, she would just go to work the next day as if nothing had happened.
As a man, he understood perfectly well how adept male superiors like Zhang Zongxie were at manipulating the psychology of young women. He finally understood where Li Yingqiao's so-called "one slap, one kiss" negotiation rule came from; it was nothing more than the survival rule of these superiors who worshipped a wolf-like culture.
For the first time, Yu Jinyang lost all patience with someone, his brows furrowing in annoyance. Even when he was battling it out with some guys who dissed Chinese dancers in the Chicago underground dance troupe, his eyes had never shown such hostility. He glanced at them sideways and said, "How many times do you want them to hit you, Zhang Zongxie?"
[Author's Note]
See you tomorrow. Three hundred red envelopes!!
(The author, suffering from both qi and blood deficiency, is kneeling here.)
Tips: Xiao Bo first appears in Chapter 19 of the full text.
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