Chapter 180: Whispers of Intrigue

That afternoon, Zhao Jihong took a taxi to the southern part of the city.

Many people at the factory knew he had bought a house there and was still renovating it.

Zhao Jihong arrived at the apartment building downstairs but didn’t rush up; instead, he looked around and slipped into a Jinbei van.

A few minutes later, Zhao Jihong opened the door and got out of the van, then turned and headed upstairs.

The van drove away from the southern neighborhood, heading straight to the Chenxin Nurseries in the town.

Li Rui and Fang Jun got out of the van and switched to the black Accord.

They drove out of the nursery area and headed toward the Bright Factory.

…

…

As evening fell, Xu Zhiquan and Xu Chen arrived at the financial room.

“How’s it going?” Xu Zhiquan asked.

Fang Jun pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Xu Zhiquan.

Xu Zhiquan glanced down at it; it listed three company names, each followed by a string of numbers.

Fang Jun explained:

“Zhao Jihong pointed out about eight or nine entries from the ledger.”

“Among those eight or nine entries, four or five involved selling old factory equipment, but the amounts were small—just a few thousand or tens of thousands.”

“The other three were larger, around four or five hundred thousand each.”

“But those three never went through actual payment; they were stopped at the pre-payment stage.”

“All these entries connect to two companies.”

“I looked into them privately and found they’re both subsidiaries of ‘Zheng’an Shares,’ registered in the Provincial Capital.”

“That’s as far as I could dig; I couldn’t go deeper.”

Xu Zhiquan’s face darkened as he stared at the paper.

He said nothing, just handed the paper to Xu Chen.

Xu Chen took it, glanced at it, and murmured:

“Zheng’an Shares… I never saw that coming…”

Fang Jun paused, surprised:

“You know this company?”

Xu Zhiquan lit a cigarette and sat down, seeming to weigh his options.

Xu Chen explained to Fang Jun:

“Remember when Dad got stabbed in the hotel parking lot a while back?”

Fang Jun: “Yeah? Is that connected?”

Xu Chen: “The police traced it back through the attacker to forty thousand yuan in cash.”

“And through that money, they circled around to a company.”

“That company is Zheng’an Shares…”

Fang Jun froze, her face showing shock and unease:

“So, President Xu’s stabbing is really tied to the Bright Factory?”

She thought for a moment and added:

“These ledger entries were all approved by Jin Guiyuan in the factory’s finance department, so does that mean he’s linked to the danger President Xu faced?”

Xu Chen frowned:

“From what we see, there’s definitely a connection; it’s just about how deep it goes.”

“Zheng’an Shares is registered in the Provincial Capital, but it’s run by a local Tiancheng boss named Boss Yu.”

“When Dad was scrambling for money, Boss Yu and Dad’s old friend Boss Huang teamed up with four million to try and join the acquisition of the Mechanical Factory, but Dad turned them down…”

“I never imagined Boss Yu was directly involved with the Bright Factory.”

“And Jin Guiyuan hid these ledgers, covering up dealings with that company, which means he’s tied to Boss Yu too.”

“Boss Yu, in turn, is linked straight to that parking lot attack…”

Xu Zhiquan finished his cigarette before speaking:

“Leave this alone for now.”

Xu Chen said:

“Dad, this involves your safety.”

Xu Zhiquan nodded, already lighting another cigarette.

He picked up the paper and said:

“Last time, we traced this company to Boss Yu.”

“It was Xu Chen who reminded me to ask what company Boss Yu runs, and through connections, I found out it’s called Zheng’an Shares.”

“And now, here it is on this paper…”

“The case stalled after that; I asked around through various channels, and it seems someone is suppressing it.”

“Whoever can suppress a case like that has serious pull…”

“Later, I tried digging into Boss Yu myself.”

“He’s from Tiancheng but went south for business years ago; he registered Zheng’an in the Provincial Capital and got into real estate and grain oil trading.”

“But he’s pretty mysterious; I couldn’t uncover deeper details.”

He paused, then continued:

“Keep today’s matters among us three; don’t breathe a word to anyone.”

“I’ll handle the company and ledger issues privately with Secretary Qu and the leadership.”

“At this level, it’s not something we can poke around in…”

“Still, the truth is almost in reach.”

He paused again and said:

“Until this clears up, watch your safety when you go out; I’ll have Zhao Feng and Li Rui assign people to follow you.”

“But don’t act like scared rabbits—keep things normal…”

Xu Chen thought for a moment and said:

“Jin Guiyuan is still hanging around the factory; he must be waiting to confirm that ‘Zheng’an and what’s behind it haven’t been exposed.”

“That’s probably why he pulled those ledgers in the first place.”

Fang Jun: “That makes sense.”

“Actually, Jin Guiyuan has come by a couple of times these past few days, clearly trying to sniff around.”

Xu Zhiquan: “In that case…”

“Tomorrow, wrap up the ledger audit and make a show of it for Jin Guiyuan.”

“Let him think everything’s covered and he’s in the clear.”

“Secretary Qu hinted that the leadership wants Jin Guiyuan out of the Bright Factory so he doesn’t disrupt the new plant’s construction.”

“So, I can boldly ask Secretary Qu and the leadership for help on this.”

“And I suspect the leadership knows more about this than we do…”

Xu Zhiquan suddenly remembered something and added:

“The inspection trip to Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces is set by the leadership and the city; we leave the day after tomorrow.”

“Fang Jun, you’re coming too—they specifically named you. I’ve booked the travel; we head out early the day after tomorrow.”

“The timing works out; tomorrow, we’ll make a big fuss of finishing the finance check and show it to Jin Guiyuan!”

Fang Jun: “Why is the inspection scheduled so suddenly?”

Xu Zhiquan smiled:

“Because Tiancheng’s economic development is urgent!”

“The leadership is eager for Chenfeng Technology to get going and boost the city’s economy!”

“The Bright Factory’s closure was a massive hit to the city.”

“Now, with Chenfeng Technology’s approach, it’s like turning disaster into opportunity for Tiancheng.”

“So, the leaders in charge of economic development and reforms are even more impatient than we are!”

Xu Chen laughed: “That’s great news!”

Xu Zhiquan: “Absolutely!”

“In business back home, having policy and official support makes everything easier.”

“Relying on yourself alone is a tough grind.”

“Our all-in bet to ‘swallow the elephant’ and take over the Bright Factory was spot-on!”

…

…

Early the next morning.

The financial room door stood wide open as Gu Xuewei and three other finance department colleagues returned to the factory to help Fang Jun file the ledger documents.

Gu Xuewei was still the nominal finance manager, but he knew Fang Jun was the real future lead in finance.

Before Fang Jun left, Gu Xuewei had been at the same level as her in the finance department; the previous manager got taken for investigation, so Gu Xuewei was temporarily promoted.

Now reporting to Fang Jun, Gu Xuewei felt a bit of disappointment, but it wasn’t unbearable.

…

The financial ledgers were messy and detailed, so only the finance department staff could handle it; Zhao Feng and the others could only assist by fetching water and moving tables.

Around noon, Jin Guiyuan came down from upstairs.

He strolled down with his hands behind his back, glanced toward the financial room, and walked over slowly.

He stood in the doorway, peered inside, and asked:

“Xiao Gu, are you all done?”

Gu Xuewei looked up, saw it was Jin Guiyuan, and quickly said:

“Hello, Mr. Jin!”

“Teacher Fang Jun has finished auditing the ledgers; we’re just helping with the filing!”

Jin Guiyuan looked at the busy Fang Jun and smiled:

“You’ve worked hard these past few days, Teacher Fang Jun!”

Fang Jun nodded expressionlessly without saying a word.

…

…

Xu Zhiquan took Fang Jun and Yang Congxin south for the business trip.

Xu Zhiquan had wanted to bring Xu Chen along, but Xu Chen declined.

Mainly because the trip included a bunch of city leaders, and Xu Chen hated those stiff, high-pressure settings.

Let old Xu handle that hassle; Xu Chen preferred a relaxed break.

These days, he stayed at the Jinfeng Business Tower, hanging out with buddies like Chen Dahai, playing games all day in pure leisure.

One day at the internet café, he stumbled upon news about the National Games.

This year’s National Games was in Yangcheng.

Thinking of Yangcheng in Guangdong Province stirred some memories for Xu Chen.

In his past life, he had worked and struggled there for six or seven years, remembering the tough times living in ‘urban villages’ and eating braised pork knuckle rice every day.

He checked the event schedule; Xie Bingran’s 100-meter hurdles final was on July 29th.

…

Meanwhile, Renhe Pharmaceuticals reached out to Xu Chen again, needing him to oversee the Fuyan Jie ad shoot.

He couldn’t refuse; it was in the 1.2 million contract.

Luckily, Xu Chen was just supervising; as the client rep, the production team would handle the rest, making it an easy gig.

Once he learned the dates, location, and production company, Xu Chen couldn’t help but smile.

“Teacher Xiao Xu, we finalized Black Duke Marketing for production; they’re the best fit…”

“We’ll shoot in Yangcheng; Fu Disheng and Ren Jing are performing in Guangdong from late July to August, so it’s convenient for them to join the shoot…”

“We’re still confirming with the endorser, but it’s set for late July or early August—let us know what works for you, Teacher Xiao Xu?”