Book 4, Chapter 254: Filth Under Splendor

During the afternoon, a station wagon arrived at the villa, and Han Cheng got out. When he reached the living room, he looked around and saw Mrs. Ling cleaning up, which made it clear that they had just finished lunch.

Based on his experience, it meant that Han Kuang was taking a brief nap.

He walked in and asked, “Where are my cousins, Mrs. Ling?”

“Young Master, Young Master Chen is in the southeast guest room on the second floor, and Young Master Nian is in the room next to his,” Mrs. Ling answered.

A voice came from above after the explanation. “You finally came back, hmm?”

Han Cheng looked over and saw Yu Jie walking down the stairs, so he grinned and went up to her. “I couldn’t help it. I had plenty of work to do, Mom.”

Yu Jie twisted his ear. “Work, my foot. You didn’t even come back to celebrate the New Year with us.”

Han Cheng yelped. “Don’t, Mom! Didn’t you say that Aunt Wan and her family are here? Let me keep some dignity, please.”

Yu Jie huffed. “I can’t believe you’d talk about keeping some dignity. I’m telling you right now, your cousins are much more successful than you, especially Xiao Chuan. He’s a high-ranking official in Jibei Road’s Central City now.”

“Oh? He’s a government official?” Han Cheng’s eyes lit up in interest. “What’s his position and department?”

Yu Jie looked at him skeptically. “Why do you want to know?”

“It’s nothing. I just want to know him better. We haven’t really met each other before, so it’s only normal for me to be curious, no?”

“I’m telling you, Xiao Chuan is different. Don’t use your usual tricks on him,” Yu Jie said earnestly.

“I know, I know.” Han Cheng nodded rapidly.

“You don’t. I’m trying to—”

While they were talking, Han Kuang said, “Mrs. Ling, bring the newspaper I left downstairs.”

“Okay,” Mrs. Ling replied.

Han Cheng jumped in shock and whispered, “Mom, don’t tell Dad that I came back.”

Then, he stuffed a package into Yu Jie’s hands. “I got some skincare products for you. I’m going up first.”

He ran up the stairs the next moment.

Yu Jie huffed. “This boy...”

She was still worried, so she grabbed the newspaper from Mrs. Ling. “I’ll take it up.”

When Han Cheng reached the second floor, he walked down the corridor until the end. The guest room’s door was open, so he peeked in and saw two young men sitting inside. There were two cups of tea on the table. The sunlight was perfect and shone on them while they were talking about something.

He recognized Nian Qian, since he had come to his house a few years ago. Aside from being bulkier and tanner, he hadn’t changed much in terms of looks, but the other one...

He took a look and found the other young man looking back at him. For some reason, when their gazes met, his heart started thundering. Despite already having a whole plan on how to get closer to his cousin, he found himself rooted to the spot.

A moment later, he cleared his throat and smoothed his hair to hide the anxiety in his heart before smiling and waving. “Happy New Year to you two. I’m Han Cheng.”

Chen Chuan observed him. Han Cheng was around twenty-eight years old, but he appeared to be younger and was wearing a suit from a famous brand. There were obvious implants on his face and the backs of his hands, but most of them were decorative rather than practical.

It was to the point that if Han Cheng didn’t care about hygiene, he could just get some random implant specialists running illegal clinics to help him remove them. However, any implants appeared intimidating to regular people at the bottom rung of society.

He greeted Han Cheng as well, and his cousin pulled out a chair for himself in front of them while telling them to treat the place like their own. They could buy whatever they wanted and tell him if they wanted help with anything. Since he was their older cousin, he would help them if he could.

Chen Chuan could tell that Han Cheng wasn’t just saying this to be polite. He was surprisingly earnest about it, which meant that he was really offering his house and help to them.

“I heard from Uncle that you’re running a business now. What is it?” Nian Qian asked.

“Dad keeps saying that my business isn’t respectable, but I don’t think so. How should I put this?” Han Cheng rapped his sunglasses against his palm for a bit before saying, “Quite a lot of people in Central City need some controlled substances, but only a limited amount is sold in the market every year. What I do is find people for transportation and pull strings to clear the way so that the substances reach the black market to satisfy those people’s needs.”

Nian Qian stared at him. “You’ve got guts. I can’t believe you’d dabble in the controlled substance market.”

Han Cheng huffed and waved in dismissal. “Calling them controlled substances is just a nice way of saying a group of people in the upper-class society have monopolized those substances. I’m just taking advantage of the opportunities they let slip. I’m not crossing any lines here.”

“Aren’t you worried about them causing you trouble?” Nian Qian asked.

“There are plenty of people doing this business, both big and small. Me joining the market doesn’t change much. If they get to have a slice of the pie, then I can get a small slice too. Of course, this is just the stepping stone. Once I’ve expanded my connections, I can do bigger business.”

“How big are we talking? Smuggling firearms?”

“I’d do it, but...” Han Cheng leaned forward. “My old man is a straight-laced person. The army itself sells firearms. You know Chief of Staff Bai? That’s my old man’s direct superior. He earns a lot in this area. They’ve asked my old man to join them before, but he feigned ignorance, so they distanced themselves.”

He leaned back and spread his arms. “Since he refused to join them, they stopped treating him as part of their group.”

Nian Qian couldn’t understand it. “It’s not like we have major conflicts in the country. Who are they selling the firearms to? Other countries?”

“They sell to whoever wants them. Some of their clients are from other countries, but the army doesn’t earn much from those sales. Do you really think that they can’t sell firearms to people in the country?”

Han Cheng tapped his sunglasses against the table. “I’m sure you know about the resistance groups.”

Chen Chuan’s gaze sharpened, while Nian Qian’s expression grew stern. “The resistance groups?”

“Don’t be so shocked. This isn’t some secret. To those above us, the government salary is too small. If the army didn’t sell firearms, other people would smuggle them in. So, instead of having the money leave the country, it’s better for the army to monopolize this business,” Han Cheng said in a nonchalant fashion.

“Who’s in charge of transporting the firearms?” Chen Chuan asked.

Han Cheng cast a glance at him and wiggled a bit. Chen Chuan made him feel like he was sitting in front of high-ranking officials, and he felt awkward.

“The logistics companies, of course. Shannan Road is located at the center of the Great Shun Republic, so it leads everywhere. The largest logistics company here is United Might. The municipal government gets a crazy amount ofmoney from them every year. Even the army hands over some of their deliveries to them. Their headquarters is right here,” he said.

Chen Chuan took a sip of his tea. “United Might, huh?”

“Aren’t they worried about something going wrong?” Nian Qian asked with a frown.

“What exactly could go wrong? Heh. Chief of Staff Bai’s lackey is the son-in-law of the deputy commander of the garrison. Get what I’m saying?” Han Cheng gave him a look.

Nian Qian scowled and said nothing.

Chen Chuan remembered Chief of Staff Bai and the handsome officer beside him and fell into deep thought.

Han Cheng continued, “We have to live for ourselves, you know? I’ve been working my entire life, but I got nothing out of it. Look at the others. All they have is an idle position in some company, yet they’re enjoying their lives while sending their children to elite schools. Their bodies are full of cutting-edge implants too.

“I’m not that lucky, so I need to work. But I’m not going to complain about my old man. I’ve seen people at the bottom rung of society, and I know that my life is much better than that of most of the people there. I take whatever the old man gives me and figure out how to get whatever he won’t give me.”

“Hasn’t anyone approached you for such business deals before?” Chen Chuan asked.

Han Cheng replied, “Of course they have. How could they not want to get me involved? But I know that I’m a nobody. They only approached me because of my old man.

“He might be old-fashioned, but some of his advice is still good. If a deal appears to be too good to be true, then it’s because whoever is offering it to you wants more from you than they’re saying.

“I don’t want to get involved in such a business and end up becoming a scapegoat before I get to reap the rewards. I might even get my family into trouble. Why would I do that?”

Chen Chuan nodded at that. Han Cheng might seem unreliable, but he has a clear head on his shoulders. He might make some mistakes, but at least he won’t do anything big.

“You’re scared of it too, huh?” Nian Qian commented.

“Heh. I’m a coward and will only do some small businesses. If it doesn’t work, I can walk away from it at any time. I just set up my company actually. Do you want to invest in it?”

He turned to Chen Chuan. “You’re from Jibei Road, aren’t you? My business hasn’t reached that place yet, but if you have any problems, you can send them my way.”

Chen Chuan grinned. “You have something to say, don’t you?”

Han Cheng rubbed his hands in embarrassment. “Eh, you read my mind. I just set up a team and wanted to ship some goods into the city, but the city’s under martial law. They got arrested because they only have temporary citizenship.

“I was thinking that since you’re from Jibei Road and a high-ranking official, you could give them Jibei Road’s citizenship so that they could be released. Don’t worry. I know how things work. I’ll definitely repay you later.”

“When did it happen?” Chen Chuan asked.

“Just this morning.”

“Then I don’t need to step forward at all. Call them and ask about it. They should have released your team by now,” Chen Chuan answered calmly.

“Oh, okay.” Han Cheng was stunned. He couldn’t tell why his cousin was so confident, but he instinctively felt that he could trust him.

Since he was still worried about this, he left the room after chatting with them a little more. Then, he called Lao Feng, who almost immediately answered.

“Mr. Han, the people at the checkpoint just released us,” Lao Feng said excitedly.

“You’re out?” Han Cheng’s voice became a little louder.

“Yeah. We came out one hour ago and delivered the goods. The client is satisfied, especially since security is so tight today. There are guards everywhere, so only we delivered our goods. You’re amazing, Mr. Han!”

“Yeah, sure.” Once Han Cheng ended the call, his expression turned stern. Something was off. Judging by what Lao Feng said, the guards in the city turned a blind eye to his team, and there was no way they would have ever done it for his sake. Forget him, even if Han Kuang stepped forward, they wouldn’t show him such respect.

When he recalled what Chen Chuan had said, he was filled with shock and puzzlement. “Just who is he...”

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