Chapter 194: Chapter 191: 191: The Warm Waters of Spring River (Three More, Vote for Monthly Tickets)

On a Saturday afternoon, Wu Jianguo was staring furiously at the image of his son on his mobile phone screen.

He wasn’t in Funiu, but at a conference in Tiannan dealing with access to the entire construction market in Tiannan. His presence was essential.

Therefore, he was communicating with his son via video call, “You’re telling me that this Xiao Luo can’t be contacted… How on earth did I end up having such an idiot for a son? Can’t you even go find his family?”

“Don’t you curse my son!” A plump middle-aged woman appeared next to Wu Limin’s avatar, speaking angrily, “He has already sent people to look for him… If you’re so capable, find the person yourself. You only know how to take out your frustration on your family after getting upset outside.”

“You know nothing!” Wu Jianguo cursed furiously, “I’m looking for Liu Hong right now. He disappeared last night, vanished on his own turf… All his people are searching for him, do you know what this means?”

The middle-aged woman seemed a bit taken aback but still firmly defended her son, “What does it mean… No evidence, that’s all.”

“Oh my god, I swear you and your mother will be the death of me!” Wu Jianguo exclaimed in frustration, slapping his thigh, “No evidence? That’s what you tell outsiders. This means Liu Hong got so scared he ran away… He didn’t even dare to inform his own people and just ran off!”

“So he ran… If he ran, so be it,” the middle-aged woman realized the gravity of the situation, but still stubbornly retorted, “He’s just some lowlife thug. What’s so great about him? He’s not even worthy of carrying your shoes.”

Wu Jianguo couldn’t help but feel she wasn’t wrong; in Zhengyang, Liu Hong had quite the reputation, able to casually ask Sheng Tang for three to five hundred thousand, and President Wu would oblige—but that was until President Wu was pushed to the edge.

If Wu Jianguo really lost his temper, dealing with Liu Hong wouldn’t be much of an issue after all. The real question was whether it was worth it or not.

But with this situation, it couldn’t be viewed that way—If someone could scare Liu Hong into fleeing, was such a person simple to deal with?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The crux of the problem was that his son was involved, and how much money would he need to pay to make the other party drop the issue?

Wu Jianguo was not stingy; compensating for the Phaeton was just a matter of saying the word, and the other party’s car could be taken, repaired, and still used.

But collaborating with underworld figures to harm someone and getting caught doing it was definitely not just a matter of money.

For this incident, if he compensated too little, the other party might not be satisfied, but… if he paid a lot, it would hurt him too.

President Wu pondered for a moment, then finally made a decision, “Here’s what we’ll do—buy a Phaeton to compensate the other party first, the exact same model, and tell them we’re in the process of finding Xiao Luo… That within three days, we’ll give them a satisfactory explanation.”

“Alright then,” the middle-aged woman replied reluctantly, “I’ll get in touch with that guy right away.”

“No need for you,” Wu Jianguo knew all too well what his wife was like—not only was she a bit stingy, but she also doted excessively on their son.

So, he commanded decisively, “Xiao Min, you go with Uncle Zhang… Don’t get in touch with the other party, contact your Auntie Chang directly.”

“Auntie Chang?” Wu Limin was taken aback upon hearing this. She was just a manager of an entertainment venue, essentially similar to a ‘mamasan’, and not that old either. And you want me to call her Auntie Chang?

“Be a bit more polite, it won’t kill you,” Wu Jianguo glared at his son irritably, “Saying a few nice words can only be beneficial for you, understood?”

“Got it,” Wu Limin nodded. He’d always been an obedient kid, not to mention his father had spelled things out quite clearly. So he asked, “Should I bring Auntie Chang a small gift as well?”

“Not as dumb as you look, at least smarter than your mother,” Wu Jianguo nodded contentedly and turned off the video with a swipe of his hand.

Two hours later, faced with Wu Limin who’d shown up at her doorstep, Manager Chang was somewhat baffled, “Young Master Wu, if you needed anything, a phone call would have sufficed. Why bother to come in person? Should I invite Boss Qu over?”

Boss Qu was an attendant from Brother Hong’s start-up days and had followed Boss Tian for many years; he was the real manager of the Disco Bar.

“No need,” Wu Limin replied with a smile and then gestured, having someone bring over several large and small boxes, “A friend recently returned from Merrick and brought back a few sets of Estée Lauder; to show my gratitude to Auntie Chang, I brought a set over.”

Manager Chang was shocked. To her, brand-name cosmetics weren’t scarce, but she could never have too many. Even if the skin type and fragrance didn’t suit her, she could always give them away—these were gifts worth giving.

After all, she managed many performers.

But she was still frightened by the other party’s form of address, “Young Master Wu, I’m not that much older than you. I’m just an employee; you can’t just call me whatever you like. If word gets out, people will laugh at you.”

Although young, Wu Limin was not lacking in intelligence; naturally, he wouldn’t say, “It was my father’s request.”

He just smiled sincerely and said, “Auntie Chang, you’ve been a great help with this matter. I was ignorant before and am grateful that Auntie Chang didn’t take it to heart. I know who’s been good to me.”

However, the more humble he appeared, the less Manager Chang dared to accept his words. With a wry smile, she replied, “Young Master Wu, I really can’t accept this. If you’re willing to honor me, just call me Sister Chang and I’ll be satisfied. Otherwise… please take your gift back.”

Wu Limin, although an obedient child, came from a family of conditions that wouldn’t permit him to completely lack pride. Seeing her insist on declining, he took the opportunity to gracefully back down, laughing as he spoke, “Of course, if Sister Chang commands it, I must listen.”

Manager Chang also knew that the other party had come all the way here and presented a gift, so there must be a reason. Thus, she directly asked, “Young Master Wu, what do you need me to do?”

Wu Limin was intelligent enough, certainly not to say anything about Liu Hong’s disappearance. He indicated that the Phaeton car had been ordered and was currently on the way, and asked Sister Chang to speak a few good words to President Feng, assuring her they were doing their best to make amends.

Then, conveniently, he brought up the matter of Xiao Luo, requesting Sister Chang to communicate with the other party that there would be an explanation within three days.

Upon hearing Young Master Wu’s request, Manager Chang felt it was reasonable and did not refuse. Instead, she said she needed to ask for instructions, as she did not dare to agree to it right away.

Wu Limin pleaded further and then stated that he himself would come to support the venue in the evening.

After sending him off, Manager Chang did not dare to delay and immediately dialed Third Brother’s phone—Young Master Wu now called her Auntie Chang, a sign that the matter had clearly become more severe, and she could not afford to be unalert.

Then, Third Brother gave her a suggestion, asking her to find out what had happened with Liu Hong.

People from entertainment venues like hers had extensive contacts with the underworld figures. Manager Chang had not inquired before—it was none of her business—but once she did, she obtained information even more detailed than that of Wu Jianguo.

She had even learned that Liu Hong had not only arranged for someone to injure Feng Jun’s friend but had also set up an ambush in Tianchao Di Bar, lax on the outside but tight on the inside, determined to catch Feng Jun off guard.

And then Brother Hong, who had been so insistent on making the other party pay, just mysteriously disappeared. While some might speculate he had fled, there was word that the place where Brother Hong went missing had some bloodstains.

Others claimed that even if Brother Hong had run away, he wouldn’t have done so alone without his brothers, as that would be far too unsafe, and besides, his woman was in possession of several million in cash.

Therefore, they speculated that Liu Hong was more likely to have met with misfortune.

The difference between scaring Liu Hong away and eliminating him was astronomical, especially since the gunmen who had planned to ambush Feng Jun the day before had already fled.

Having sorted through this information, Manager Chang felt that the title “Auntie Chang” was not so easy to live up to.

Nevertheless, she steeled herself and made a call to Feng Jun, informing him that the Wu Family had ordered the car and at the same time withdrew the demand for evidence, saying that it was all the mischief of that surnamed Luo and that within three days, the Wu Family would give President Feng an explanation.

In essence, Feng Jun was a reasonable person, and he felt that Young Master Wu was much less hateful than that short statured man. Therefore, he generously agreed, for the sake of Manager Chang’s face, to give them another chance.

However, next time, Wu Limin himself would have to step forward. It wasn’t appropriate for the Wu Family’s subordinates’ actions to always be mediated by Manager Chang—without meeting him, the victim, it clearly showed a lack of sincerity.

Manager Chang thought about it and concluded that she had indeed taken a significant risk—one that warranted the cosmetics she had accepted.

That very evening, Wu Limin indeed came to the performer bar to support the venue; he sent a wreath to every performer who took the stage—not a lot of money, but a gesture of goodwill, and not overly showy.

It wasn’t until then that Manager Chang revealed the relevant information—disclosed too early, they wouldn’t appreciate its value.

When Wu Limin heard that Liu Hong “might” have disappeared, his face instantly changed; “missing” was not the same as “running away.”

Being indecisive, he immediately called his father to relay the latest news.

Upon receiving the message, Wu Jianguo instantly declared, “I’ll fly back first thing tomorrow morning, and you shouldn’t worry too much. Since they agreed to three days, you should be safe during this time.”

The next day, after President Wu returned, he first sought out the relevant friends and investigated the detailed events of the night Liu Hong disappeared.

At this point, Liu Hong’s disappearance had not yet drawn the police’s attention—although a few police officers knew Liu Hong was gone, isn’t such a disappearance common for gangsters?

President Wu’s investigation was conducted privately, certainly breaking many rules; he even appealed to the famous “relevant departments,” leveraging both personal connections and money.

With President Wu’s status and influence, the effort he put forth was inevitably much stronger than that of Manager Chang.

After half a day’s investigation, Wu Jianguo was shocked to discover that Liu Hong had indeed vanished, from a certain moment onwards, his mobile phone not only lacked call records, but had also disconnected from the communication network.

However, before going offline, this mobile number had generated some data traffic.

(Three updates for the Small New Year, summoning monthly votes.)