Lu Xiaotian entered the room pleading for help, leaving Chen Guanyun a bit bewildered.
However, this wasn’t the first time the kid had done this; sometimes he ran to him for help after getting into trouble.
Many years ago, Hou Wen had stopped seeing him, with Chen Guanyun acting as the intermediary conveying messages.
"What mess have you gotten into now?" Chen Guanyun wasn’t panicking.
Lu Xiaotian said, "I, I..."
He hemmed and hawed, and it took a long while before he managed to explain the situation in detail.
When Chen Guanyun heard about how he had locked up Song Guanchao and his party, the smile on his face vanished.
Learning that he had signed a contract with the other party, Chen Guanyun’s mind went blank.
"Uncle Chen, Uncle Chen?"
Chen Guanyun snapped out of his daze, his throat feeling a bit dry, "The contract?"
He handed over the contract.
Chen Guanyun took the contract and examined it very carefully.
It was a very standard demolition contract.
Amount, signature, official seal...
Everything was in order.
This contract was valid!
Logically, with thirty thousand per square meter and a signed contract, there was no need to fear the other party reneging. They could win even in a lawsuit.
But Chen Guanyun couldn’t bring himself to feel happy at all.
Even Lu Xiaotian, that good-for-nothing, knew what this contract implied, and ran to him scared. How could he be unaware?
The other party had set a trap, just waiting for him to fall into it.
And he had foolishly walked right into it.
This wasn’t a contract to make money; it was a death ledger!
"Uncle Chen, you must help me..."
Chen Guanyun roared, saliva spraying.
Lu Xiaotian immediately clammed up, looking at him with a pitiful gaze. Google seaʀᴄh 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✦𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✦𝓷𝓮𝓽
Chen Guanyun clutched the contract, his brow furrowed, his brain working overtime, considering the risks this contract could bring about.
First thing was certain, Lu Xiaotian had been set up.
Set up by Song Guanchao!
This guy’s methods were just too ruthless.
"Go back!" Chen Guanyun said, "Keep it low-key for a while, don’t go running about everywhere, and I’ll let you know if there’s any news."
"Uncle Chen, can this matter be resolved?"
Lu Xiaotian was panicking, if this couldn’t be resolved, he’d need to figure out a way to flee.
Chen Guanyun saw through what he was thinking; at this time, allowing him to run absolutely couldn’t happen.
If he truly ran, being the first person Lu Xiaotian contacted after signing the contract, he would become the prime suspect.
"It’s not hard to resolve, we’ve just signed the contract, what’s there to fear?"
"I have some acquaintance with Secretary Song, and their inspection team is also in the city. I’ll contact them tonight, see if I can ask around for you."
"They targeted you because you went too far. If you’d been a bit more low-key, asked for less money, would they have done this?"
"I didn’t want that much; it was Biaozi..."
"Alright, alright, go back for now and wait for my call."
After sending Lu Xiaotian away, Chen Guanyun wanted to call Song Guanchao directly but felt it was inappropriate.
He had no relationship with Song Guanchao, and besides, things had become stiff because of Jin Rong just last week; Song Guanchao wouldn’t want to give him any favors.
He called Secretary Sun, "Secretary Sun, do you have time tonight? Haha, I’d like to invite your inspection team to dinner, great, see you tonight."
Lu Xiaotian left the office but didn’t go far; instead, he turned and headed for Zhang Meilin’s office.
He Cunhao saw Lu Xiaotian ignoring him and heading straight to the office; he immediately stood up, "Who are you looking for?"
In the past, Lu Xiaotian wouldn’t have bothered with this at all.
But times had changed, and he fought against the impulse to kick down the door, forcing a smile, "I’m Lu Xiaotian, I’m looking for Brother Zhang."
He Cunhao certainly knew he was Lu Xiaotian, this profligate young man known to the entire officialdom of Dujiang City.
He Cunhao knocked on the door, "Secretary, Lu Xiaotian is here to see you."
He Cunhao opened the door, ushered him in, poured him a cup of tea, then left the room.
Inside the office, Lu Xiaotian said, "Brother Zhang, you have to help me out."
Zhang Meilin frowned, "Encountered some trouble?"
Lu Xiaotian quickly recounted his situation, watching his face intently to gauge his reaction.
"Let me see the contract."
He took the contract, and after reading it, he fell into deep thought.
Lu Xiaotian was extremely nervous.
After a while, Zhang Meilin took a deep breath, slammed the contract down on the table, stood up, and pointed at him, swearing, "What nonsense!"
"You dare to extort the high-speed rail project team? Are you looking to die?"
Instead of getting angry about being scolded, Lu Xiaotian actually felt relieved.
If Zhang Meilin was willing to scold him, it meant he was willing to help.
And more importantly, he had a way to help.
"Brother Zhang, it wasn’t me who signed it; it was one of my guys who did this."
"It doesn’t matter who did it, the company seal belongs to your company, right?"
Zhang Meilin sighed, walked from behind the desk, lit a cigarette, and paced around the office.
By the end of the cigarette, he picked up his phone and called Song Guanchao, "Hello, Secretary Song, hehe, it’s me, Zhang Meilin. Are you free tonight? You have plans already? It’s not anything important, just that we haven’t met for some time, and I wanted to ask you out for a drink. You’re busy tonight, huh? Let’s meet tomorrow then, I’ve got something to discuss with you."
Lu Xiaotian stood by with ears perked up, listening to the conversation, and felt somewhat reassured when he heard him call Song Guanchao directly.
"You can go back now."
"Brother Zhang, what about this matter..."
"Alright then, thank you, Brother Zhang."
Leaving the office, Lu Xiaotian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He knew that Zhang Meilin and Song Guanchao were from the same faction, and if the former was willing to intervene, the effect would certainly be better than relying on Chen Guanyun.
Yet, the loss he had suffered this time really frustrated him.
Song Guanchao, you actually planted a spy close to me!
Lu Xiaotian had not anticipated that Song Guanchao could be so underhanded.
He hadn’t even thought about retaliating against Song Guanchao, but Song had always been plotting against him.
"Wait till I get out of this mess, I’ll see how I can deal with you!"
Song Guanchao had just finished a call with Secretary Sun regarding Chen Guanyun’s dinner invitation that evening when he received Zhang Meilin’s call.
It seemed Lu Xiaotian had realized what was happening and was seeking backup.
He chuckled and put away his phone.
He Songming said, "What are your plans for the next step? A contract alone isn’t much to go on, is it?"
"How can it be of no use?" Song Guanchao scoffed, "Criminal forces coercing the high-speed rail project team to sign a contract, preventing them from leaving if they don’t sign—what kind of behavior is that?"
He Songming replied, "Even so, it won’t be easy to make a significant impact on him."
Song Guanchao leaned back in his chair, making himself comfortable, "Secretary Wu already knows about this, he’s getting in touch with the standing committee of the city, and there will be a meeting when we get back to the city. The specific steps will be decided there."
He Songming clicked his tongue in wonder, fell silent for a few seconds, then said, "The city is so close to Dujiang City, are you sure you can handle this impartially?"
"Just relying on the city definitely won’t work, but like I said, if we’re going to do this, we’ll go all out and cleanse this mess once and for all!"
"You should make your point clear, don’t leave things halfway."
"You’ll find out at the meeting, I’m going to take a nap now, no more talking."
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