Volume 3 Hello, Eri Chapter 348 Everything Returns to the Starting Point (Part 2)
Suddenly, I began to miss my youthful life. Although you are now entrusted with the mission of slaying dragons and travel in luxury cars and private jets, your favorite time in this life is still Shilan Middle School. In those spring and autumn evenings, many girls would sit in the stands beside the basketball court, waiting to watch Chu Zihang play basketball. The air was as clean as if it had been washed in those days.
"Have you considered how to develop in the future?" After three rounds of drinks, Su Xiaoqiang's face was flushed with alcohol, but his words were still very clear, and he didn't sound drunk at all.
"After graduation, I will take the teacher qualification exam," Chen Wenwen said. "My family hopes that I can have a stable job and have some connections... maybe I will even come back to teach at Shilan in the future."
Her major is Chinese Language and Literature. Most of the girls who graduated from that major went straight to the civil service examination. The publicity reports of government agencies and public institutions were basically written by them. Civil servants are indeed the most popular golden rice bowl. However, Chen Wenwen did not seem to have the idea of competing with others on that broad road. It was not bad for her personality to go back to being a teacher. A girl with a delicate and sensitive mind could not play the little tricks of office politics. This was probably also considered by her family.
"I really haven't thought about it yet..." Liu Miaomiao said softly. She always felt that it was embarrassing to talk about this topic, and it seemed a bit embarrassing.
But she really hasn't thought it through. Her family is a scholarly family and they have high expectations for their child. They just hope that she has good enough qualities. As for what path she will take in the future, she will be allowed to do so. At the very least, the professors at home will back her up. Whether she wants to concentrate on being a composer, performer, or music director, Liu Miaomiao's family has the means and funds to support her.
"I don't have anything much to say. I just need to be a watchdog, guard the mine and make a living for the rest of my life, and at the same time, guard against those who covet our family." Su Xiaoqiang raised his glass and drank.
Only at this time could Lu Mingfei clearly feel the gap between herself and the girls present. They were not in the same class at all. What Nuo Nuo said to her back then was true. Once you step into the gate of Kassel College, you will never be able to turn back in this life. It is a one-way passage and you can only walk to the end in one breath. You can't just say, "Sister, my goal is to kill a dragon to cheer everyone up."
"What about you?" Su Xiaoqiang nudged Lu Mingfei with his arm.
"As for me..." Lu Mingfei thought for a while, trying to come up with a reason that would be acceptable but not too out of place. "Finance, actually. I have some funds now, and I plan to try investing after I graduate."
"Oh! So you became a vampire of Wall Street in the United States!" Su Xiaoqiang suddenly realized and laughed so hard that his body shook. "Speaking of investment, how about trying real estate? Local housing prices have been rising in the past few years."
"If everything is so smooth, shouldn't you have joined the game a long time ago? I heard that's just an appearance, and the bubble will burst and be cut in half in two years." Lu Mingfei smiled. She had never intended to really join the game. Investing is risky and one needs to be cautious when entering the market. The little liquid cash she has has to be kept well and prepared as a dowry in the future. How can she mess around with it? What if she loses all her money?
"Who said I didn't get involved?" Su Xiaoqiang twisted her shoulders, and instantly she looked like a strong woman sitting in an office. "My family really got into the real estate business, but we didn't start from scratch the first time. We recruited some talents and took on government business. Do you still remember the Black Prince Group?"
Lu Mingfei's heart moved. A certain memory that had been buried deep in her heart was quietly awakened the moment this name came out of Su Xiaoqiang's mouth. Yes, the Black Prince Group, how could she have forgotten it?
The Maybach that Father Chu drove belonged to the Black Prince Group. The company was once a major taxpayer in the area and was once glorious. It bought the tallest building in the city center as its headquarters. Later, it suddenly declared bankruptcy in Lu Mingfei's freshman year. All its things were sold for cash and it left as fast as the wind. Many people still talk about this matter with relish, and always say that there must be some unknown secrets behind it.
"Remember, what happened to the company?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"The municipal government planned an industrial zone on the edge of the city many years ago. Before the Black Prince Group declared bankruptcy and liquidation, it was still expanding its business locally. There were many factories built by them in the industrial zone, and their business was booming. But then all the projects were terminated when the bankruptcies broke out. Many of the companies that were opened at that time have basically stopped operating now. There are almost no people in the entire industrial zone, and the land is completely abandoned."
Su Xiaoqiang poured himself another glass of wine. "As an official, you have to have achievements. You can't just leave such a large piece of land lying around. How could there be no mountains or water around an industrial area? The land was taken back by the government and sold to real estate developers, who planned to transform it into a famous luxury residential area in the city. My family used some tricks and got the land from a real estate company. Many half-built factories can be directly transformed, which will save a lot of costs. That's why I told you whether you want to invest or not. The city has developed well in recent years, and it should be very popular if it is fully built."
"That place is now entirely under the management of your company?"
"Yes, after being stationed here for a long time, it has almost become a construction site."
"Can I go take a look?" Lu Mingfei said, "An on-site inspection, right now."
"So urgent?" Su Xiaoqiang looked at her in surprise.
"It's better to arrive early than to arrive late. Besides, I didn't come back just to travel. I have other things to do these days. I may not be free. Let's do it today." Lu Mingfei was very good at telling lies.
Su Xiaoqiang looked at the time and realized that it was time for her to go home. It didn't matter what time she went back. At most, she could say that she worked overtime. But Liu Miaomiao and Su Xiaoqiang were both good girls. Unlike her, who could make her own decisions, it was not a bad thing to go home a little earlier.
She took out a business card and handed it to Lu Mingfei. It was a thin platinum sheet with the name, phone number, and Su Xiaoqiang's current position engraved on it by laser. This business card is almost like a special pass in the local area. Anyone who sees this business card will know that the cardholder is here to work for Su Xiaoqiang. No one can forge it. It is too expensive and not something that ordinary people can make.
"With this, you can go in freely. It's like I'm here with you. It will be very convenient for you to get things done." Su Xiaoqiang said, "Do you need me to accompany you?"
“No need. I’m already very grateful to you for giving me this.” Lu Mingfei took the business card and smiled apologetically at everyone at the table. “Sorry, I have to leave first. I wish you all have fun. We can get together again next time when everyone comes back for the New Year. I’ll treat you then!”
Each girl raised her glass to say goodbye. Lu Mingfei made an exception and grabbed a bottle of wine, drinking it all in one gulp as an apology for leaving early.
The taxi went straight to the suburbs. During the journey, Lu Mingfei even made a phone call. The world outside the car window was passing by. Lu Mingfei tried her best to dig out all the scenes about Chu Tianjiao from the deepest part of her memory.
In her impression, Chu Tianjiao was less of a patient dragon-slaying hero and more of an old man with a lot of boastful words. It was hard to imagine that such a man could have a serious son like Chu Zihang. The two of them were simply like the reverse of the same mold.
Since Chu Tianjiao had worked in the Black Prince Group, there might be people who knew him there, or some clues he had left behind. However, it had become a construction site, and Lu Mingfei could only hope that if there were any clues, they would not have been destroyed by an excavator. That was why she rushed there in such a hurry.
It was a 30-kilometer drive, and also in the city. The taxi arrived more than an hour later. Lu Mingfei pushed open the door, and the taxi sped away. A familiar MINI COOPER was parked on the side of the road. The person in the driver's seat rolled down the window and greeted Lu Mingfei from a distance. It was Ling, the person Lu Mingfei had specially called.
"Come to a place like this so late at night?" Ling threw over an oil paper bag.
"Because I suddenly thought of some clues." Lu Mingfei smelled a fragrance as soon as she took it. She opened it and found a hot hand-pulled pancake inside. It was obviously made at a roadside stall, full of added ingredients, and the dough was stuffed like a balloon.
"Do you know Chu Tianjiao?" Lu Mingfei asked vaguely.
"I've never heard of this name." Ling shook his head.
"He is Chu Zihang's father. He used to work for the Black Prince Group and was responsible for driving a Maybach as a driver. The legal person name of the Black Prince Group is ENXI. I think she is Su Enxi in your team. This company is in your hands, but you don't know him."
After Kassel Academy moved to Tokyo, according to Angers' request, all the files that were once confidential intelligence have been unlocked for Lu Mingfei, including those that only the school directors could read in the past. There is a detailed record of Maybach and Chu Zihang, which also mentions the existence of Chu Tianjiao. It seems that Chu Tianjiao is indeed the pride of the former S-level, but the task he was later assigned was to monitor Lu Mingfei's safety, which was a complete waste of talent.
This is the crux of the problem. The file does not mention what Chu Tianjiao was doing in China before he carried out this mission. Even Angé did not know. Lu Mingfei even thought that Chu Tianjiao was also a member of Lu Mingze's team, but now Zero's answer is a complete NO.
"I only know Mai, Su Enxi and the boss, and I only have contact with them. As for whether there are other people, I really don't know, and I don't want to know. I just need to do my own thing." Ling turned his head and looked at the fenced-off construction site. "You said that this bankrupt company belongs to potato chips. Then I have to say that it is only possible that this company was drained of blood, so she gave up. She should not know Chu Tianjiao, not to mention that he is just a driver."
"What do you mean?" Lu Mingfei didn't understand.
"Don't be fooled by Su Enxi's innocent face. She is a vampire. As long as she can make money, she doesn't care about morality or methods. The Black Prince Group may just be one of Su Enxi's ways to make money. She uses this company to gain the trust of the government and banks with superficial benefits, then build factories, and finally take away all the bank loans she cheated. In this way, she gets all the money, and what's left is just a mess."
"Oh my god! How old is she? She's already using the tricks of an unscrupulous manufacturer!" Lu Mingfei was stunned. According to Ling's description, this operation was not something a girl in her twenties could do. Could it be that Su Enxi was the Child-Fairy of Tianshan? In fact, she was already in her seventies or eighties!
"Her usual method is to buy a company, use it to make money, and then abandon it and run away with the money. I've seen it many times. I'm afraid that when the Black Prince Group was still glorious on the surface, Su Enxi already knew about its internal financial problems, and directly offered a price to take over, and then planned to make a big profit. If she is sentenced according to the laws on financial fraud, the amount she owed should be extremely huge, enough to sentence her to death, and there is no possibility of commutation."
When Ling said that series of huge words, she didn't even take a breath or pause. Combined with her expressionless face and declarative conversation, there was an inexplicable cuteness in her.
"Are you here to convict her?" Zero said.
"I want to see if I can find any trace of Chu Tianjiao. He worked here. I know too little about him."
“It feels hard.”
Lu Mingfei could sense this without Zero's reminder. They were still outside the fence of the construction site, but they could already see the tall cement buildings inside, covered by all kinds of scaffolding and engineering nets. Although it was to be developed into a luxury residential area, in addition to single-family houses, there were also high-rise buildings made up of entire flats. Judging from the current construction progress, it was hard to say whether there were any original factory buildings or office buildings that could remain in their original state.
"Now that I'm here... I have to give it a try." Lu Mingfei scratched his head.
"It's up to you." Zero said calmly.
The gate at the entrance to the construction site is card-swipe type. In the security booth next to it, a middle-aged man is watching a TV series hidden in the corner. Judging from the flashing images and the sounds that are not suitable for children, it is obviously not a serious TV series, but a private entertainment for a middle-aged bachelor late at night.
Lu Mingfei and Ling were already standing in front of the security booth, but the middle-aged man was still concentrating and didn't notice them at all. Lu Mingfei had to cough dryly and knock on the transparent window to jolt him back to his senses. The middle-aged man looked up and saw two young girls. He was surprised and didn't forget to turn off the TV. However, Lu Mingfei had already seen the vivid performance on it, so she could only pretend not to see it with a blank expression.
Oh, man, being so secretive is only making things more obvious. I have already seen all of Lu Mingze's collections when I was in high school! People are all naive animals, there is nothing to hide! I have also thought about stripping Chu Zihang naked and throwing him on the bed, hehe, grinning! Lu Mingfei secretly complained.
