Chapter 45: Midnight Rumba (Part 1)

Judging from Zhang Chunmin's demeanor, Xia An could guess that there seemed to be more disgusting secrets behind Tang Tianxing that he was unaware of.

Even if Zhang Chunmin was truly terrified and wanted to back out, Xia An still had to make every effort to persuade him not to resign.

Otherwise, all their efforts and plans would be completely wasted.

If he were to rely purely on his own strength to gradually reach a point where he could swallow the Tang Group, he estimated it would take at least three to five years.

That would be too much of a waste of youth.

Previously, borrowing the tiger's might by leveraging Zhang Chunmin's family structure had played a huge role.

A good start could not be abandoned and left unused.

It was now obvious that Zhang Chunmin had already formed a preconception, automatically filling in the gaps with the idea that a leadership transition was imminent and someone was about to carve up the fat piece of meat that was the Tang family.

Xia An thought to himself that this was excellent; let him continue to indulge in his imagination.

Next came the same old principle: manipulating human nature.

Unflurried and unhurried, Xia An brewed tea for Zhang Chunmin and cheerfully recounted his trip to Binhai a few days earlier to see Tang Wan.

"She's concentrating on studying mathematics now, leading a very leisurely life. Well, women are better off when they're leisurely."

As he spoke, he shook his wrist: "Look, a gift from her."

It was meaningless for Xia An to show off this trinket; what he was really conveying was: Look how close our relationship is—you and I.

Zhang Chunmin forced a smile, a bitter smile.

He hadn't slept properly in days.

There was no help for it. Through indirect inquiries and direct probing, over five drinking sessions and with six hostesses, Zhang Chunmin had dug deep into three murder cases involving the cousin of Tang Tianxing's driver.

Who could possibly sleep after that?

Taking a sip of tea, Zhang Chunmin nodded and said, "Xiao Wan is a good child with a bitter fate. As long as you treat her well, that's all that matters."

What Zhang Chunmin was really saying was: She and I are as close as true family.

First, Xia An cast a melancholy glance out the window, pretending to be wise beyond his years and deeply profound.

Then, turning back to look at Zhang Chunmin, he said, "Let's first talk about what you've found out. But I can give you this guarantee: if you withdraw, you won't be implicated; if you stay, you won't either, and perhaps a massive fortune awaits you ahead."

The subtext was: Stay, finish the job, and you too can sit at the big table.

Ever since he was laid off from the factory, Zhang Chunmin had been running around following Tang Tiande. It would be no exaggeration to call him the very first head steward of the entire group.

In the decade following Tang Tiande's death, he had still guarded the deserted palace like a loyal veteran, doing odd jobs.

If he had wanted to leave, he would have left long ago.

At his age, he had two children to support.

Now that Tang Tianxing had dumped this task in his lap, wanting to leave was by no means as simple as saying "I resign"—he would undoubtedly be stripped of a layer of skin and flesh at the very least.

Both the temptation of money and the threat of crisis were suspended over Zhang Chunmin's head, and these were precisely the two elements Xia An intended to exploit.

Zhang Chunmin pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked half of it without saying a word.

Xia An was not in a hurry and continued to brew the tea.

When Zhang Chunmin lit his second cigarette, he began to narrate in a smooth, continuous flow.

Xia An was already familiar with two of the murder cases.

The Yang County crop grower was one, and the logistics driver was the other.

As for the third—someone being poured into concrete during a forced demolition by Jintang Real Estate—he was genuinely hearing about it for the first time.

However, real estate was not in Xia An's primary circle of plans, so he temporarily ignored it.

At this point in his narration, Zhang Chunmin cautiously glanced sideways at Xia An:

"In fact, your family must have known about all of this long ago, right?"

Xia An pursed his lips: "In any city, this is nothing rare."

Sighing, Zhang Chunmin continued his story.

This time, the account went much further back.

It even touched upon the topic Xia An had once asked Tang Wan about—the car crash from ten years ago that the latter had been unwilling to elaborate on.

In fact, Zhang Chunmin and quite a few veteran employees had speculated in the early years that the car crash involving Tang Tiande's family of three was orchestrated by his younger brother, Tang Tianxing, only they had suffered from a lack of evidence.

At the time, some upright employees would always talk about this privately among themselves, but one by one, they were subsequently purged by Tang Tianxing.

Gradually, no more rumors were heard.

Zhang Chunmin said that when the textile factory was first converted into Shengtang Trading, the equity structure was an eighty-twenty split between Tang Tiande and his wife.

After Tang Wan reached an age of understanding, Tang Tiande carved out five percentage points from his own share to keep for his daughter as a dowry.

At the same time, he officially transferred the remaining twenty percent—which he had always kept in his own hands—to his good-for-nothing younger brother, letting him collect dividends without participating in business management.

"That was in ninety-four. By the Spring Festival of ninety-five, Tang Tianxing was arrested for gathering a mob for a street fight."

There was a criminal record for this, and Xia An had a vague recollection of it.

Tang Tianxing had been a good-for-nothing since childhood. Calling him a local ruffian was being polite; at his core, he was simply a bastard.

At the time, Tang Tianxing had slept with the woman of one of his henchmen.

The henchmen retaliated by ambushing Tang Tianxing and stuffing him into a sack.

The very next day, Tang Tianxing beat that brother into a vegetative state, and six months later the man died from his injuries, sparking a major lawsuit.

Having no other choice, Tang Tiande had to expend a massive amount of personal favor and step in to resolve the matter.

Later, he slapped his younger brother in the face in public, giving him a choice: either go abroad or become a monk.

Strangely enough, Tang Tianxing had behaved himself ever since then.

Right up until the car crash a year later.

Xia An only knew that much.

Zhang Chunmin filled in the rest of the sequence for him.

The brothers Tang Tiande and Tang Tianxing had no older relatives left. Among peers, Tang Wan had two male cousins, Tang Guan and Tang Mian.

Theoretically, Tang Tiande's direct primary heir was his daughter, Tang Wan, and only after her would it be his younger brother, Tang Tianxing.

The newly established group company should rightfully belong entirely to Tang Wan.

However, Tang Wan was not yet fifteen at the time, an age where she still needed to be raised by a legal guardian.

Everyone had thought of this point.

Before even the first seven days of mourning for Tang Tiande and his wife had passed, the maternal side of the family, who had stepped forward to fight for Tang Wan's interests, made their move.

The uncle came, and was beaten away.

The aunt came, and was beaten away.

One was left crippled, and the other deaf.

With simple and effective methods, Tang Tianxing effortlessly ensured that Tang Wan's maternal relatives no longer acknowledged her as their kin.

At this point in the narrative, Zhang Chunmin drank three bowls of tea in succession.

Lowering his gaze, he blamed himself for his inability to protect little Tang Wan back then.

"She is very smart, she understands everything, and after the Spring Festival, she voluntarily relinquished her right of inheritance."

Finishing his sentence, Zhang Chunmin silently lit another cigarette.

Sipping his ice water, Xia An remained silent.

"When the funeral ended, Xiao Wan tugged at my sleeve and asked me, 'Uncle Zhang, am I someone who has no family left anymore?'"

Exhaling a plume of smoke, Zhang Chunmin looked at Xia An and said:

"She was smiling when she said those words.

"That year during the Spring Festival, she spent it all alone inside that house.

"...

"My wife and I originally wanted to secretly go and deliver dumplings to her, but there were bodyguards watching outside.

"She seemed locked inside a huge, empty cage.

"My wife was crying her eyes out back then.

"When I got home, I called Xiao Wan. It was almost time to welcome the God of Wealth, and firecrackers were popping everywhere outside.

"Instead, Xiao Wan comforted me in return, saying the house was very lively, with her older cousins, second uncle, and second aunt all there.

"They were watching the Spring Festival Gala, watching the firecrackers...

"How could that be? At that time, that house... that house..."

Glancing sideways at Xia An once more, Zhang Chunmin was astonished to see not a trace of murderous intent on the young man's face.

Xia An continued to wear a faint smile, as if he were listening to someone else's past rather than that of his own girlfriend. He puckered his chin slightly, holding the straw, and motioned for Zhang Chunmin to continue.

Zhang Chunmin said, "At the time, to torture his little niece, Tang Tianxing had the television removed, the interior decorations stripped away—no toys, just a small bed on the third floor.

"That night, I clearly saw the light on in the small window on the third floor.

"I thought to myself, she must have been pressing against that window watching the firecrackers all night long.

"On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, she renounced her inheritance, and only after Tang Tianxing took over the company did he allow her to resume a normal life.

"That day, Xiao Wan called me, laughing as she said, 'Uncle Zhang, I'm free! I want to come to your house for dumplings.'

"For ten years, I've never seen Xiao Wan shed a single tear.

"She's a girl who keeps things locked deep in her heart; it's just that her fate is so bitter."

Having heard the whole story, Xia An merely uttered an "Oh."

Zhang Chunmin could no longer suppress his curiosity.

Either this person possessed unfathomable depth, or he wasn't sincere about Tang Wan.

Perhaps he was simply using the opportunity of getting close to Tang Wan to deal with Tang Tianxing?

Yet it hardly mattered anymore; he himself was probably already in too deep to jump ship.

With a helpless sigh, Zhang Chunmin said, "She's a good girl."

Xia An nodded: "I know."

Lighting his fourth cigarette, Zhang Chunmin said, "Xiao-Xia, she's older than you, but given your family background, your mental maturity is higher. You have to treat her right—consider this a plea from me."

Xia An chuckled, "And if I don't?"

Zhang Chunmin was dumbfounded.

If you don't? Or what, I'll beat you up?

Shaking his head, Xia An said, "Don't get me wrong. I meant, why else would I be sitting here?"

Setting down his cup, he stretched lazily and said with a solemn air, "In twenty-some days, I have to go back to school. I'm using this summer vacation to learn how to do business. If it weren't for Tang Wan, I wouldn't be in such a rush to take down Tang Tianxing."

This was the first time Xia An had formally stated his stance to Zhang Chunmin.

However... take him down?

"How do you plan to take him down?" Zhang Chunmin asked instinctively.

"Probably by killing him, I suppose."

Xia An remarked, "After all, people always die eventually."

Watching him smile as harmlessly as a domestic animal, Zhang Chunmin fell silent.

Waving a hand, Xia An said, "Let's talk about business."

Ten minutes—it took a mere ten minutes for Xia An to assign the tasks he wanted Zhang Chunmin to carry out.

It was simple, extraordinarily simple—so simple that Zhang Chunmin could easily accomplish it just by finding a few random people.

"And then?"

"Then wait for my word."

Asking no further questions, Zhang Chunmin began to ponder deeply in his mind.

Logistics, supply chains, fresh-produce convenience supermarkets...

Having wallowed in the business world for twenty years, Zhang Chunmin suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, his face filled with incredulity.

"You're planning to pull the firewood from under the cauldron? How did you come up with such a simple..."

"Business is just buying and selling; it was never that complicated to begin with."

Gazing deeply at Xia An, Zhang Chunmin finally nodded slowly, completely won over.

Lifting his wrist to check his watch, Xia An signaled that Zhang Chunmin was free to leave.

Yet after taking two steps, as if remembering something, Zhang Chunmin turned back and said, "I heard that on the side of the second boy, Tang Mian, things haven't been very peaceful at home lately. Is that your doing?"

This question caught Xia An off guard.

Tang Mian?

Xia An remembered that Tang Mian was the only clean, decent person in the entire Tang clan.

In his past life, only Tang Mian, Shenwei, and their child Tang Xiaobao had survived the catastrophe unscathed.

What had happened to them?

Although he felt puzzled inside, an opportunity to act cool that had been delivered right to his lips was not one to be wasted.

Blinking, Xia An replied, "There is nothing new under the sun."

Drawing a sharp breath, Zhang Chunmin furrowed his brow, nodded, and strode away with an air of dashing confidence.

Xia An smiled.

To be honest, he was starting to grow fond of this Uncle Zhang—who lacked a bit of smoothness and wisdom, yet possessed an abundance of age.

...

Shortly afterward, Xia An discovered that Zhang Chunmin's efficiency was remarkable.

At three in the afternoon, Zhang Chunmin called to report that the manpower had been secured.

Xia An invited him to meet at the coffee shop once again.

This time, he carried his school backpack, but he had no intention of carrying it back empty.

Inside it were 150,000 yuan he had just withdrawn through the VIP channel via Zhou Yitong.

This was the startup capital for Zhang Chunmin to make his initial arrangements.

Xia An said, "I trust you, and you trust me. As for the money, what belongs to me is mine.

"This 150,000 is the first batch. My requirement is for you to secure twelve storefronts within ten days.

"Remember, for now I only want the storefronts and the signboards. As for supply chain distribution, instruct the people handling it to keep their mouths shut—don't even mention a word of it, and it's best if you don't mention it to your subordinates either."

Now that they were in official cooperation, Xia An's aura instantly surged forth.

In that instant, Zhang Chunmin felt as though the person sitting before him was no longer a nineteen-year-old boy, but a young tiger baring bloody fangs.

Although he nodded, a trace of doubt lingered: "Can trademarks be registered that quickly?"

Xia An smiled, "I can."

The fact that trademarks could be registered online was something most older people were unaware of.

Xia An had already applied for the supermarket trademark online when his plan was first finalized.

By the time their discussion concluded, day had turned to night, and Zhang Chunmin offered to drive Xia An home.

"When I was leaving, my wife was just on the phone with Xiao Wan. I happened to chat with her for a bit, and she instructed me that since you live far away, if it gets late, I must drive you back."

Xia An was slightly taken aback.

Comrade Wise Xiao Wan would never act without a purpose.

With barely a few turns of his mind, Xia An understood Tang Wan's intentions.

—A virtuous wife indeed, well done.

When Zhang Chunmin parked his Crown at the entrance of the high-ranking cadre resort villa in the suburbs, he instantly grasped the niece's intention as well.

—This is a reminder that this young man is reliable and trustworthy.

Watching Xia An stroll with his hands in his pockets toward the security post, exchanging a cheerful word with the guards before stepping into the compound, Zhang Chunmin finally turned his car around to head back.

Meanwhile, after borrowing the restroom, Xia An stood by the roadside waiting for a taxi for forty minutes.

...

The next day, the afternoon of August 3rd.

Zhang Chunmin called Xia An once more.

His phrasing this time was rigorous; he told Xia An: Let's have a formal talk.

The word "formal" let Xia An know that this old fellow had indeed been harboring small reservations previously.

After observing back and forth and pondering repeatedly, he had finally surrendered his heart to join this grand enterprise?

Xia An changed back into his white shirt and casual trousers, even putting on the pair of Pierre Cardin leather shoes Xia Kangning had recently bought for him.

At four-thirty, Xia An took a taxi in advance and waited across the main gate of the sanatorium.

Zhang Chunmin's car arrived fifteen minutes later.

Inside the car, Zhang Chunmin told Xia An with a mysterious air:

"Tonight, Uncle Zhang is opening his heart to you, and we won't tell Xiao Wan."

Oh?

Another little secret of Tang Wan's to listen to?

"Alright," Xia An smiled faintly.

Yet when the car pulled into the courtyard of the "Rose Residence," Xia An's face darkened with black lines.

Gazing at Zhang Chunmin, he furrowed his brow deeply.

You've got to be kidding me? Seriously, Uncle Zhang?

"Formal talk" meant coming to a nightclub to party?

Seeing Xia An frown, Zhang Chunmin locked the car, walked over, and smiled: "What? Uncle knows this isn't the absolute best spot in the provincial capital, but Waterside Mansion is a property under Tang Tianxing's name, so it's risky. This place is good; it's quiet."

He was even quite considerate!

Xia An didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Yet upon a second thought, he understood.

In his past life, he had already moved past the level of nightclub business-KTVs and was attending yacht mega-parties instead.

However, the local official-merchant custom of favoring such places had endured for millennia and could never be changed.

Knowing full well that Zhang Chunmin's intention to defect was genuine, he realized this drinking session was one he simply couldn't avoid.

Curving the corners of his lips, he said: "I'll follow the host's lead."

Ascending the steps, two smartly dressed young men with bowties immediately bowed in welcome and pushed open the doors to usher them inside.

Inside, two rows of hostesses wearing high-slit cheongsams wore radiant smiles.

Since Zhang Chunmin was a regular, the head floor manager in uniform proactively guided the two upstairs.

"Director Zhang, and this gentleman?"

Without sparing her a glance, Zhang Chunmin pressed a finger to his lips, signaling her not to ask.

Entering the room, they had two successive batches of hostesses brought in for selection.

Zhang Chunmin picked two.

Noticing Xia An's slight awkwardness, he once again guaranteed that he would never breathe a word of this to Tang Wan.

Xia An thought to himself: As if I'm afraid of Tang Wan finding out? The problem is I can't choose!

Maintaining an air of lofty purity in this room would be equivalent to insulting both himself and others, so in the end, he simply picked a sturdily built young woman who clearly looked like she had come from the countryside to make a living, and motioned for her to sit beside him.

Xia An whispered, "You just need to pour the drinks and sing."

Xiao Lan, whose stockings were stretched almost to their limit, replied, "Okay."

Xia An told Zhang Chunmin that he wouldn't drink the beer here and wanted imported liquor instead, declining red wine as well.

His purpose was singular: to get the man drunk as quickly as possible and go home.

Singing along, Zhang Chunmin proceeded to stroke the young woman's thigh.

As soon as the song stopped, Xia An immediately toasted him.

Hostesses received professional training and were unfailingly polite, yet deep down they still loathed accompanying greasy men.

The two women sitting next to Zhang Chunmin looked at Xiao Lan with envy.

Xiao Lan was also delighted; she felt immensely fortunate—although she was rarely chosen by guests, whenever she was picked, the men beside her were gentlemen without exception.

Today's guest was even more so.

Noticing how fiercely Xia An was drinking, her nightlife experience told her that this young man was trying to get the older uncle drunk.

Therefore, every time she poured a drink for Xia An, she filled the glass with plenty of ice so he would drink less alcohol.

Xiao Lan ended up helping Xia An immensely; before nine o'clock, Zhang Chunmin was completely out of commission.

Imported liquor mixed with ice and soft drinks proved too much for an older man's system.

Once the delayed kick caught up with him, Zhang Chunmin lost consciousness.

When the two women offered to help Zhang Chunmin leave, Xia An said he would take care of sending him back.

The manager informed him that Zhang Chunmin had given instructions in advance that he would stay overnight and not return home.

"The tab has been charged to his card, so please make yourself at home, sir."

Xia An felt a fresh wave of dark lines cross his face.

Tipping Xiao Lan three hundred yuan, he headed to the washroom to splash some water on his face before making his exit.

As he reached the elevator lobby, Xia An suddenly paused, then retreated back toward the first private room along the corridor.

Peering through the glass panel, he looked inside.

Then he looked again.

Amidst the flashing colors of the multi-hued disco ball, Lin Jiachia held a microphone in one hand and a beer bottle in the other, drinking and singing entirely by herself.

Her sweet singing voice drifted out, slightly off-key.

Xia An knew that Lin Jiachia never sang off-key unless she was thoroughly drunk.

...

Seven out of ten men are foolish, eight are bad, nine are dull

Yet there is always one whom everyone loves

My sisters

...

The female floor manager stepping out of the elevator upstairs noticed Xia An crouching and peeking inside, and walked over to inquire.

With a smile, Xia An said: "I know the person inside. Does she work here?"

Startled for a moment, the female manager let out a soft laugh.

"You're joking, sir. That young lady came here accompanied by Director... by several hospital leaders. The other guests have all left, and she said she wanted to stay and sing by herself for a bit. If you..."

Pondering briefly, Xia An said to the female manager: "I understand. I'll go inside for a while."