In the tea shop, Qi Yun was drinking tea while waiting for Zhang Dayong.

At that moment, the screen of his phone on the table suddenly lit up, and a WeChat message popped up.

He picked up the phone and looked at it; the message was from Xiao Jing, whom he had met at the bank yesterday.

"Mr. Qi, do you have time? My friend from France brought me two bottles of red wine, and I'd like to invite you to try them."

Qi Yun thought for a bit and decided to pretend he hadn't seen it, putting the phone back down.

But two minutes later, the other party unexpectedly sent another message.

This time it was a photo, or more accurately, an extremely seductive selfie.

In the photo, Xiao Jing was wearing a black silk nightgown, holding a bottle of red wine.

From the photo's composition, it seemed like it was about the red wine, but it was full of hidden hints, with subtly revealing curves and long, fair thighs.

Qi Yun stared at the photo on the phone screen, tapped the table lightly with his fingers twice, and then didn't reply, carefully deleting the chat record.

Just then, the private room door was pushed open, and Zhang Dayong walked in quickly.

The untamable joy on his face showed that things were progressing smoothly.

"Did it work?"

Zhang Dayong nodded: "It worked, he called personally."

Qi Yun sighed in relief, somewhat surprised that the other party would personally handle this rather than let a secretary do it.

But after thinking about it, it was understandable; that position, though only at a deputy level, was critical within the city bureau.

Zhou Wenbin would probably lose sleep again after hearing the news.

It's like in ancient battles, just as one side's troops are about to charge, a key general defects to the enemy camp.

But this is just the beginning; his big troubles lie ahead...

"They're going to send the person back to that hotel; you arrange for someone to pick them up," Zhang Dayong added.

Hearing this, Qi Yun immediately picked up his phone and sent a message to Ah Jiao, instructing her to go with Lao Hei to pick them up.

After sending the message, he stood up and said, "Alright, thanks, if there's nothing else, I'll be going."

"Hey, don't rush off." Zhang Dayong quickly called out.

Qi Yun looked at him suspiciously and sat back down: "Is there something else?"

"Yeah, I have a favor to ask you."

"If you have something to say, just tell me, no need for formalities," Qi Yun laughed.

Zhang Dayong picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and slowly began, "The person above me is about to retire, and I think, thanks to your influence, I might make another step forward soon."

"I was hoping you could help me get two paintings; I don't understand these things, but I'll visit him..."

"Don't make them too expensive, but to be honest, I've been working for so many years and don't have much savings; I can only spare up to 200,000."

Qi Yun smiled genuinely: "That's great news, don't worry, I'll handle it for you."

Zhang Dayong nodded: "Okay, I'll transfer the money to you later."

Qi Yun didn't refuse, instead curiously asked, "But with that person's word, do you still need to make rounds?"

Zhang Dayong sighed: "Having someone speak on your behalf is indeed good, but necessary gestures still need to be made, or it comes off as insensitive, leaving a bad impression."

"The twists and turns in your field are too many," Qi Yun chuckled, standing up, "I'll arrange it and have it sent to your home, if there's nothing else, I'll head off."

"Okay."

...

Outside a small hotel in Tugou Village, along the roadside.

A black SUV was parked by the road, and Lao Gui opened the car door, trembling as he got out.

He didn't know why the other party suddenly released him; at this moment, he just wanted to close his eyes and get a good sleep.

Just then, a man and a woman approached the hotel's entrance ahead, it was Ah Jiao and Lao Hei.

"Are you Lao Gui?" Ah Jiao asked.

Lao Gui struggled to lift his eyelids, glanced at the two, and said nothing.

He thought these two were part of the same group that captured him earlier, expecting to set him up since they couldn't get anything from him.

Seeing this, Ah Jiao didn't hesitate, after looking him over, she took out her phone and called Qi Yun.

"We've picked him up; you can talk to him," she said handing the phone to Lao Gui, "My boss, Qi Yun."

Lao Gui hesitantly took the phone and put it to his ear. Qi Yun's voice came through the receiver: "It's me, just go rest with them, I'll come find you tomorrow."

After hearing this, Lao Gui said nothing more and handed the phone back to Ah Jiao.

Ah Jiao continued speaking into the phone: "He's injured, should we take him to the hospital first?"

"Yes, take him there, I'll send Brother Wei to meet you later."

"Okay."

After hanging up, Ah Jiao opened the door of a nearby business car and said to Lao Gui, "Get in."

This time Lao Gui didn't refuse, dragging his weary steps into the car.

...

The next day, after breakfast, Qi Yun planned to visit Lao Gui in the hospital but received a call from Brother Peng.

"Did Liu Meng tell you about the issue at home?"

Qi Yun was puzzled: "No, what's happened?"

Brother Peng explained, "He called me this morning requesting a week's leave, so I asked around; his brother-in-law passed away."

"Passed away!?" Qi Yun was surprised; he had met his brother-in-law, Li Jie, before; he was only in his early twenties.

After the vegetable market scam, he even stole his father's savings to dabble in the stock market.

Though not very stable, it's still a shame for someone so young to die.

"How did he die?"

Brother Peng sighed, "Liu Meng said that the kid secretly went with a friend to learn to be an engineering diver for quick money, ended up being buried during a piling collapse right after training."

"This..." Qi Yun was momentarily speechless, that kid was really daring...

That job isn't for just anyone, dubbed engineering diver at best, but vulgarly it's called a water ghost, living on the edge.

The pay's good, 20,000 if you make it, but 2 million for your life if you don't.

Yet it's a life gamble, one of the most dangerous jobs out there, a hundred times riskier than mining.

Qi Yun shook his head, sighing, feeling some regret for Li Jie, who ultimately paid dearly for his impatience.

After a few seconds of silence, he said, "I'll visit his home later to see if there's anything I can do to help."

Brother Peng nodded, "Also about that load of goods, Lao Men replied last night that the other party refused to budge."

"The detained station is not within Tuva's territory, so even if Nokovic interceded, they still wouldn't cooperate."

"Can you think of a way, if not, I'll have Mengmeng go and appeal to their railway department."

Qi Yun nodded: "Okay, got it, I'll contact Lao Men later to check the specifics."

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