TFS Chapter 27

In the afternoon, dark clouds obscured the sunlight, and a drizzle began to fall. Below the Huafeng Real Estate headquarters, Xie Wenhao parked his car in front of the building. A security guard immediately approached, pointing out that it wasn’t a parking area. Xie Wenhao walked straight inside, ignoring him. Wang Qian stopped the guard, showed his police identification, and quickly caught up with Xie Wenhao.

The security guard watched Wang Qian and Xie Wenhao’s figures in the rain, reporting the police visit via walkie-talkie. Soon, the call was transferred through several layers to Zhou Song’s phone.

Inside the General Manager’s office, Gu Shiqing had just finished a working lunch. Zhao Ning, recently promoted to administrative assistant, was giving her a brief overview of the afternoon’s meeting. Zhou Song entered from outside the office, looking slightly flustered. “Director Gu, someone’s here.”

Seeing his flustered state, Gu Shiqing signaled to Zhao Ning, “The meeting starts in ten minutes. Go prepare.”

Seeing this, Zhao Ning neatly grabbed the documents on the desk and left.

“What’s with this flustered look?” Gu Shiqing said after the door clicked shut.

Zhou Song had now calmed his breathing. “The police are here. The lobby’s monitoring them.” He then synchronized the security camera footage to the display screen on Gu Shiqing’s desk. Gu Shiqing sat back in her comfortable executive chair, watching the two men in plainclothes talking to the receptionist in the lobby.

“Whose business is this? Which department needs to be investigated? They look unfamiliar.” Gu Shiqing thought about recent events at the company. “Just let the legal department handle it.”

“I’m afraid it’s not about the company, it’s Cheng Ran…” Zhou Song didn’t finish his sentence before Gu Shiqing silenced him with a look.

“Think before you speak.” Just as she finished speaking, the general office forwarded a call, confirming that they wanted to see Gu Shiqing to understand the case. The general office claimed that Director Gu was not available today, but the two policemen did not intend to leave the lobby.

Gu Shiqing’s slender, fair fingers tapped irregularly on her phone. “Then let them wait. Are there any police near the parking lot?”

Zhou Song shook his head. “No, there’s only one police car parked upstairs, but it’s not a good look. You know those reporters always like to make sensational headlines.”

“Find someone to take clear photos of them both and send them to me. Ignore the rest and let each department work as usual.” After Gu Shiqing finished speaking, she glanced at her watch and prepared to head to the meeting room.

Just as she arrived at the meeting room, Zhou Song sent the photos to her phone. The entire face was clearly visible. She forwarded the photos to Shen Chen, adding in the message, “The police are looking for you, unfamiliar faces.”

Shen Chen quickly replied, “I will handle it.”

The bustling noise in the meeting room seemed to be muted as she put down her phone, returning to a solemn, relaxed state. Gu Shiqing’s faint smile froze on her face. “Start the process!”

*

Xie Wenhao and Wang Qian had been sitting in the lobby’s waiting area for a short while when two men in suits hurried towards them. Wang Qian lowered his voice and said, “Attention, ten o’clock direction, two people.”

Xie Wenhao, who had been looking down at his phone, switched to camera mode, pretending to take a selfie while capturing their faces. Then he turned off the screen again. After he finished, a middle-aged man in the lead stepped forward and said, “Officers, I am Yuan Zheng from Huafeng Real Estate’s legal department. How can I help you?”

Yuan Zheng’s tone was polite and professional. Xie Wenhao smiled slightly, stood up, and extended his hand. “Lawyer Yuan, hello, we are from the City Criminal Investigation Brigade, Xie Wenhao, and this is my colleague, Wang Qian. We’re here today because we want to learn about something from Director Gu Shiqing.”

Yuan Zheng shook hands with them and then signaled them to follow him. “That’s unfortunate. Director Gu has a meeting this morning and left the company early, but you can ask me any questions. Officers, please follow me, we’ll go to the meeting room for detailed discussions.”

Xie Wenhao knew this was just a pretext, but he had anticipated that he wouldn’t gain anything with just one visit. If he could learn a thing or two from regular employees, he might be able to indirectly learn more information about Gu Shiqing.

The three arrived at an exquisitely decorated meeting room. Yuan Zheng invited the two to sit down before sitting in an empty chair across from them. He folded his hands on the table, looked at them, and waited for them to speak. From his posture to the calm and collected composure on his face, Wang Qian could be sure that this was standard procedure for large companies, and that everything had been prepared in advance for emergency responses to temporary inspections from various departments.

Xie Wenhao wanted to get straight to the point about the recent forced demolitions. “Lawyer Yuan, from what we understand, has Huafeng Real Estate had some engineering disputes recently? For example, in order to realize the Financial City project in time for the press conference, there were some problems with illegal demolitions and forced purchases?”

Yuan Zheng frowned slightly, seemingly unsurprised by the question. “Officers, you know that Huafeng Real Estate is one of the largest real estate companies in the city, so it’s sometimes unavoidable to encounter some engineering disputes and debt problems. But I am a professional lawyer, and I can ensure that all of the company’s accounts and transactions are fully compliant with legal regulations and follow the rules. The issues of forced demolitions and purchases that you mentioned simply do not exist.”

Xie Wenhao nodded and continued to ask, “I heard that a few days ago, some residents from illegally demolished urban villages came upstairs to cause some major conflicts.”

Yuan Zheng was silent for a moment, and then slowly opened his mouth. “It is true that we have encountered such problems recently, but almost all the disputes are not about the points you are concerned about, but about the amount of compensation. This involves the specific cost of our company’s commercial projects and falls within the scope of commercial confidentiality, so I hope you understand that I cannot provide you with more information in this regard. I can confirm that all procedures are within the normal business scope, and our associated departments are actively handling these small disputes.”

His words were airtight, which made Xie Wenhao once again recall Gu Shiqing’s bright eyes and alluring appearance at the press conference. Like general, like soldiers, the thought flashed quickly through his mind.

…

When the two returned to the car again, Wang Qian looked at Xie Wenhao. “Today’s rejection might be a warning.”

“That depends on what grass we’re disturbing and what snake we’re alarming.” Xie Wenhao’s tone was cold.

“What do you want to do next?”

“Keep a close eye on Gu Shiqing. She’s a businesswoman, she’ll inevitably have external collaborations. We’ll stir up the water first, no matter what’s inside. Sooner or later, we’ll uproot it all.”

During the meeting, the director in charge of the Financial City Project One first brought up a problem. When that piece of land was handed over to Jia Da Real Estate, Jia Da had already had a preliminary design plan for the land. Deiyue Design Group had been commissioned by Jia Da and submitted a version of the plan to the district. After they copied it and submitted it to Gu Shiqing several times, the plan was rejected.

Gu Shiqing said solemnly, “It is imperative to carry out a real-time, comprehensive transformation in accordance with President Rui’s plan for Phase III of Financial City. Jia Da’s previous consideration was only the tip of the iceberg. Although it increases the usable area, it does not increase the profit ratio for the company. Obviously, it is not appropriate.”

“But, Director Gu, the district requires us to submit a new design proposal within a limited time. The construction is imminent, and there’s simply not enough time…” The engineering department director’s tone was both humble and melancholy.

“Are the Huafeng Design Institute kept around as decorations? Stop always emphasizing reasons. The two departments should work together and complete President Rui’s requirements within the deadline. I think my meaning is clear enough.” Gu Shiqing said coldly.

The director of Engineering Department Two interjected at this time, “But if we do this, it would be difficult for us to work with Deiyue Design Group in the future. If they can’t get their final payment, I’m afraid it will affect our company’s reputation.”

“If every Tom, Dick, and Harry came to tell the company how to do things, would everyone here still need to continue in this job?”

Not long after the meeting, the vice president of Deiyue Design Group called the director of Engineering Department One. After learning about Director Gu’s arbitrary decision, he was both annoyed and angry, but still tried to appease him. “I understand that you’re in a difficult position. We’ll find a way to change Director Gu’s mind. Please try to buy us some more time…”

*

When Shen Chen received a call from an upstream supplier who had a long-term partnership with the company, he reported the situation to Rui Yichen. In those days, Qin Man’s physical condition was sometimes good and sometimes bad, making Rui Yichen feel somewhat overwhelmed.

He rubbed his temples. “Gu Shiqing used to be flexible. Let’s see what she does first. You can give her a hint that Tianyue not only has a design institute, but also several art galleries. The transaction amount of artworks is not a small amount, she will know what to do.”

Shen Chen said without hesitation, “The police came to the door today, specifically asking to find Gu Shiqing. If we let her participate in these things at this time, I’m afraid it will be difficult to deal with the aftermath.”

Rui Yichen glanced at him, his expression indifferent. “It’s not the first time there’s been an inspection. Contact the public security department and find out what’s going on and prepare in advance. If I don’t give this to her, should I give it to you?” A mocking look flashed in his eyes, making Shen Chen feel uneasy. “I’ll arrange it. But I heard from the legal department that they talked to the police, and they seemed to be looking for the people involved in the previous forced demolition.”

“How would they know their identities?” Rui Yichen frowned, then waved his hand. “We need to understand what they’ve already grasped and what they haven’t grasped yet. The key is the evidence.”

“I’ll make arrangements now.”

“I’ve told you, nothing can be linked to Huafeng and the Rui family.” As Rui Yichen spoke, the color of his eyes deepened.

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