Chapter 057: The Real One Appears, and Trouble Begins

Yesterday, after obtaining solid evidence of Xu Juncong and Wang Qi’s crimes from Jin Haijun, he could have destroyed these men in an instant. But wouldn’t that be far too dull? So, he spent the entire night carefully crafting a scheme, setting the stage for a grand performance.

He rushed to Harbor City overnight and discussed two matters with Qin Aiguo. First, he had Lu Dingqian lead a team to the holding site where the deceived workers were detained, freeing them and simultaneously locking up the group of thugs Xu Juncong had hired. When Xu Juncong made his phone call earlier, he hadn’t noticed the silence in the background at all, for those men were already sitting in the police station. With the defrauded workers rescued, followed by a wave of media interviews and pressure from the Employment Bureau, the perpetrators were forced to scramble for a response.

In truth, Zhang Tianfeng’s original plan was to force Xu Juncong and Wang Qi to make a run for it, only to be apprehended while fleeing, which would leave them with far graver charges. However, when Zhang Tianfeng arrived at the Dali Toy Factory with Red Hair and the others, he was stunned by the sight of the factory, newly refurbished from top to bottom.

Good heavens, what on earth were they doing—renovating the entire factory? Workers filtered in, their faces alight with joy, as if they’d just found a fortune. Some wielded water guns, scrubbing the dust-laden signboard, others washed the grounds, arranged inventory, or cleared weeds.

Hung on the building facing the street was a giant poster bearing Qin Aiguo’s portrait. These reckless fools had actually used Qin Aiguo’s image to pass him off as a wealthy businessman from Harbor City. If you’re going to borrow the tiger’s might, at least pick someone less well-known—Qin Aiguo was at least somewhat famous in Harbor City.

A few minutes later, Red Hair jogged back over. “Boss, that bastard Xu Juncong isn’t here yet, probably leading the reporters around in circles.”

“I asked around. It was Wang Qi who suddenly told the workers to come in today. He said the first batch of funds from the Harbor investor had arrived, so he gave everyone a twenty-yuan bonus and promised double overtime pay today.”

“Well, they really have struck gold,” Zhang Tianfeng remarked.

“Boss, should we wait here or just go in and grab Wang Qi now? That way, when the reporters arrive, we can expose his crimes on the spot.”

“If we’d done that, the two of them would have been finished last night,” Zhang Tianfeng replied, patting Red Hair on the shoulder. “Sometimes, crushing a person’s spirit is far more devastating than taking them out directly.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Just watch and learn.”

“All right.”

Since following Zhang Tianfeng, Red Hair had noticed a change in his family’s attitude towards him. Even his father, who used to scold him every time they met, now encouraged him to learn everything he could, recognizing the value of this hard-won opportunity. Red Hair understood perfectly well and worked diligently, hoping for Zhang Tianfeng’s approval and a brighter future.

Inside the factory, Wang Qi stared at the bills covering the entire table, his face dark as thunder.

“Deputy Director, these are the latest expenses. Please approve them.”

When Wang Qi saw the figures on the bill brought in by the finance officer, he nearly leapt out of his chair. “Fifty thousand? What’s all this money for?”

“Meal allowances. Didn’t you say the factory should match the benefits of the new one? This is just for the past six months; for a full year, it’s at least a hundred thousand.”

Wang Qi’s vision nearly went black and he almost fainted. If he’d known, he would never have boasted. Now, not only had he returned all the money swindled from the workers yesterday, but he was also having to dig into his own pockets.

“Damn that Xu Juncong. I told him we should just run for it. Why bother with all this?”

“Insisted on staying, just had to stay! Damn you!”

After cursing bitterly in his mind, Wang Qi said aloud, “Fine, leave the bills here. Tell the workers the money will be in their accounts tonight.”

“Okay, I’ll head out then,” the finance officer replied, skipping away.

Wang Qi still remembered the last time he saw this young woman, only twenty-three and already as listless as a middle-aged housewife. Now, she was radiating energy like a lively young girl. Clearly, money had the power to make people young again.

After glaring at the bills for half an hour, satisfied that all appearances were in order, Wang Qi called Xu Juncong as agreed. The call wasn’t answered—just hung up on.

Ten minutes later, vehicles pulled into the toy factory.

“So sorry, gentlemen, our car broke down midway and delayed you,” Xu Juncong apologized.

“No worries, at least the air conditioning still works!”

Liu Jue brushed her bangs behind her ear and began scouting for the best spot to film with the cameraman. Meanwhile, under Xu Juncong’s guidance, Liu Jialin met with Wang Qi.

“Deputy Director Wang, hello. I’m with the Zhucheng Employment Bureau. You can just call me Xiao Liu.”

“Hello, comrade. Would you like to come upstairs and sit?”

“No need, let’s stay here. We have filming to do soon.”

Glancing at the poster on the wall, Liu Jialin asked, “Who is this?”

“That’s the Harbor businessman investing in Dali Toy Factory.”

“Could you introduce me? I have some questions for him.”

“That’s not possible—the boss has already returned to Harbor City. He’s extremely busy, with his hands full.”

Nodding, Liu Jialin then produced a list of prepared questions. “These are the interview questions we’ll be asking. Please consider your answers carefully. If you’re unsure about any, contact your boss as soon as possible.”

“As you know, every city is competing for higher worker retention rates. The Employment Bureau is under a lot of pressure. I hope you’ll cooperate.”

“Of course, I’ll do my best,” Wang Qi replied.

The very first question made Wang Qi’s head ache.

Why wasn’t a new factory built within Zhucheng’s jurisdiction?

How should he know? He’d have to ask a ghost—this Harbor investor was entirely fictitious.

But now, there was no way to back down. He had to get through this.

Liu Jialin had ten questions in total, and each one cost Wang Qi at least five hairs, making his already balding head even worse.

“We’ve found the right spot for filming. Are you ready?” Liu Jue asked.

“All set!” Wang Qi tucked away the question card, feigning confidence.

Just pretend to be the Harbor City tycoon—no one’s really going to check. As long as he could fool this group, that was enough. He knew his way around dealings with officials.

“Hello everyone, this is Zhucheng TV…”

At that moment, Zhang Tianfeng and Red Hair caught Xu Juncong’s attention.

Xu Juncong frowned and barked, “What are you doing here? Get out, get out!”

“Boss Xu, this isn’t even your factory. Who are you to order people out?”

“He’s not, but I am!” Wang Qi stood up, his face dark. “I’m the deputy director. You’re not welcome here. Leave now, or I’ll call security.”

“You’re just the deputy. You don’t have the authority to throw me out!”

“The director isn’t here, so I’m in charge! Get out, now!” Wang Qi shouted, anger flaring.

Zhang Tianfeng calmly cleaned his ear. “But the director is here today.”

“Boss Zhang, don’t make trouble, we’re filming here.” Liu Jue interjected, “This toy factory just received a five hundred million Hong Kong dollar investment. There’s a big boss here—you should leave.”

“There’s no five hundred million investment, no wealthy boss. But there is a young, handsome, and—one day—destined-to-be-wealthy owner,” Zhang Tianfeng replied.

“I’m not interested in your nonsense. Security, throw them out! And check the warehouse while you’re at it—see if anything’s missing.”

Just then, the sound of a car horn blared, and a black sedan drove into the Dali Toy Factory.

Seeing Qin Aiguo emerge from the car, Wang Qi was dumbfounded, as was Xu Juncong.

What was happening? Hadn’t he already gone? Why was he back?

Wait—something was going very wrong.