Chapter 138: A Game of Chess

“Uncle, have you asked Mr. Zhen about it?”

Ning Yuzhe looked at his niece who burst into his office with a bitter smile on his face.

The news came out from the United States last night, but it was noon here in Tang Country and it suddenly became a big issue.

Ning Shuangshuang had called him earlier, hoping he would consult with Mr. Zhen on how to ensure Du Qiu’s return to the country.

Now, just a few hours later, Ning Shuangshuang had come directly to his door; it seemed that his niece was indeed serious about Du Qiu.

“Shuangshuang, sit down, don’t rush…”

“How can I not be in a hurry? Du Qiu said that the GIA has already taken action; he’s just escaped Las Vegas and still doesn’t know how to leave the United States.”

Ning Yuzhe’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Ning Shuangshuang and asked, “You’re still in contact with Du Qiu and you’re not afraid that GIA could use that to locate him?”

Ning Shuangshuang shook her head and said, “It’s fine. Du Qiu gave me a dedicated communication software, we contact through the internet, and he said it’s secure from monitoring.”

Ning Yuzhe was taken aback and said, “I forgot, he is a software expert.”

“Uncle, I heard that the Magic City’s annual top ten youths have removed Du Qiu from the nominee list. Du Qiu and his Dream Technology are of great importance to the country.”

“Shuangshuang, you’re worried,” Ning Yuzhe poured a glass of water for Ning Shuangshuang, and then said, “It’s true that Du Qiu’s Dream Technology sold 5,000 environmental garbage handling devices to Goryeo, which Goryeo modified into a batch of nuclear material purification centrifuges, isn’t it?”

“It’s not Du Qiu’s fault. Who knew Goryeo would think of using that equipment for modification?”

Ning Yuzhe continued, “Since that’s the truth, our country couldn’t be without a response. At this time, if we allowed Du Qiu to be elected as one of the top ten youths, it would actually harm him.”

“Fine, leaving that aside, how can an anonymous tip-off letter result in a case being filed?”

“That action was taken by those higher up to go along with the flow. Since there are some people below causing trouble, it just happens to serve as a distraction for the Americans.”

“A distraction for the Americans? Then why send a work group to Xingguang Precision with Fu Guochen as the leader? He is the brother-in-law of Huang Zifeng, and the espionage suspicion hasn’t been cleared yet…”

“Shuangshuang, since when did you stop caring about evidence? Even if Fu Guochen is Huang Zifeng’s brother-in-law, it doesn’t mean we can conclude he’s involved in Huang Zifeng’s affairs. Or do you have evidence to prove it?”

“They have close contacts, that’s evidence.”

“They’re relatives and still have to keep contact limited? We can’t practice guilt by association.”

“Relatives? Have they ever made their family relationship public?” Ning Shuangshuang said angrily.

“Shuangshuang, you must understand the bigger picture.”

“Then… is Du Qiu going to be sacrificed?”

“You worry too much. Those above are playing a very big chess game. Du Qiu won’t be sacrificed. Didn’t I tell you to notify Du Qiu that the consulate in Los Angeles will assist him?”

“But now, the GIA is already guarding the surroundings of the L.A. consulate and Du Qiu can’t get in,” Ning Shuangshuang said anxiously.

Ning Yuzhe pondered and said, “The top will consider this situation. But since you can contact Du Qiu, make sure to promptly report his situation.

Du Qiu’s significance in this incident has become apparent, and the top will not ignore it.”

Ning Shuangshuang stared at Ning Yuzhe and said slowly, “I don’t care about any chess game; I just want Du Qiu to come back.”

After saying this, she stood up and left straight away.

Ning Yuzhe did not try to stop her. He knew Ning Shuangshuang was resentful, but who would have thought that this incident would happen at such a critical juncture?

The Americans were unreasonable and insisted on making a fuss. Du Qiu did indeed sell 5,000 units to Goryeo, and the Americans directly presumed that what he essentially sold were centrifuges, albeit under the guise of environmental equipment.

After all, no one could go to Goryeo to check, and Goryeo wouldn’t come forward to explain the circumstances.

As for Fu Guochen’s work group, Ning Yuzhe’s mouth curled into a cold sneer. It was nothing more than a tool for appeasing him.

Fu Guochen probably didn’t know that the new leadership lineup of the big group had been decided.

The higher-ups intended to leverage his hand to gain a dominant position in the cooperation with Dream Technology.

Ning Yuzhe murmured, “Du Qiu, you probably still don’t know that you’ve caught the highest level’s attention. After this calamity, you’re likely to soar to great heights.”

“What gives you the right to conduct an inspection?”

“Zhao Yicheng, have you lost your mind? We are a work group dispatched by the department for a financial audit of your company. Can’t you understand this letter?”

The day after Du Qiu’s incident, the department quickly directed Fu Guochen and he was excited all night about it.

Early in the morning, he teamed up with work group personnel who had rushed over from the capital to Xingguang Precision.

Zhao Yicheng, the general manager of Xingguang Precision, said coldly, “I’m sorry, but Xingguang Precision is a subsidiary controlled by Dream Technology and the department is just one of the shareholders.

According to company law, to conduct a financial audit, you have to call a board meeting. This company is not a state-owned enterprise, so official jargon won’t work here.”

“You?” Fu Guochen was frustrate, as Zhao Yicheng, obviously a strong supporter of Ning Yuzhe, wasn’t giving him face in front of the people from the capital.

“General Manager Zhao, if that’s the case, please convene a board meeting as soon as possible,” said Chen Hongfan, the deputy head of the work group from the capital.

He was a somewhat serious-looking middle-aged man representing the ministry’s supervisory committee.

Zhao Yicheng had just reviewed the letter, which clarified the work group’s tasks and main responsible persons, naturally understanding Chen Hongfan’s identity.

“Chief Chen, please wait in the meeting room and I will arrange it,” Zhao Yicheng said, leading the work group to a meeting room before returning to his office.

Once back in his office, Zhao Yicheng called Ning Yuzhe. “Chairman, they are here. I’ve said that we need to hold a board meeting to allow their audit. What time do you think is appropriate?”

“Just say some board members are not in Magic City and it will take a couple of days. You arrange for them to be hosted and have fun around Magic City for now.”

“Is that appropriate?”

“With Dream Technology in chaos now, who’s there to attend a board meeting? Stall them to see if there will be any changes.”

“Alright, then I’ll also inform the people on Dream Technology’s side.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Yicheng thought for a moment. The person currently in charge at Dream Technology should be Liu Yaofeng, so he dialed Liu Yaofeng’s number immediately.

“General Zhao, what’s the matter?” Over the phone, Liu Yaofeng’s voice was hoarse after a sleepless night.

“The department has sent a work group wishing to conduct a financial audit on Xingguang Precision. I’ve mentioned we need to hold a board meeting to proceed with such an audit.”

“Thanks, General Zhao. But while you can block the department’s work group, you can’t block Tianhong sub-district office over there. If they want to conduct an inspection, let them. We have nothing to hide.”

Zhao Yicheng sighed. Director Liu was too straightforward, wasn’t he?

He advised, “Director Liu, you can’t talk like that. If the police want to investigate, they will as long as the procedures are complete, but some other people who want to investigate need to follow the correct procedures.

I’ve asked Chairman Ning and he said to stall for two days; maybe there will be some changes.”

Liu Yaofeng pondered and replied, “Chairman Ning’s idea is not wrong. Let’s follow his suggestion.

Notify me when the board meeting is set; I will arrange for someone to attend.”

Liu Yaofeng had just finished speaking with Zhao Yicheng when across his desk, Yuan Minhua, Liu Sichen, and Song Xiangyu were gathered for a meeting.

Evidently, those who were in charge at Dream Technology were holding a meeting.

“Is it Xingguang Precision’s General Zhao?”

“Yes, another work group has arrived wanting to audit Xingguang Precision. Chairman Ning over there said to stall and hold a board meeting.”

Song Xiangyu nodded, “Chairman Ning’s thought isn’t bad. With Director Du’s situation unclear, stalling might clarify things.”

Liu Sichen agreed, “The biggest issue for the company now is that the environmental equipment has just been banned from export by the authorities. Now we only have the domestic market for this product.

‘Xiaobai’ had a successful launch, but we have lost touch with our colleagues in the United States, and we don’t know if the launch plans for ‘Xiaobai’ will continue as planned.”

Yuan Minhua added, “Don’t worry. Before Director Du left, he installed a new instant messaging software for all of us. I believe Director Du will definitely give us directions.”

The last two days to cast monthly votes are approaching; I seem to remember seeing somewhere that they count double!