62: Chapter 057 [Deadly Strike] 62: Chapter 057 [Deadly Strike] In the early morning, as the eastern horizon was dyed red by the dawn, He Fenghua got out of bed, drew back the curtains, and the originally dark bedroom became bright.

The morning glow illuminated He Fenghua’s handsome face, allowing one to clearly see that his complexion was somewhat yellowish, with two distinct dark circles under his eyes, and even bloodshot veins within them.

The cause of all this was: he had not slept at all last night.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sleep, but that he couldn’t.

Last night, after returning from Qiao Bazhi’s villa, the unease in his heart lingered like a curse, never dissipating.

And as time passed, the anxiety in his heart became even more intense—Qiao Bazhi had yet to call him.

Rubbing his face, He Fenghua quickly walked to the bedside table, picked up his phone, and directly dialed Qiao Bazhi’s number.

“Young Master He.”

Upon connecting, Qiao Bazhi was the first to speak, his tone carrying an unhideable weariness and anxiety; he too hadn’t slept well last night, having made dozens of calls to Wu He in the past few hours, none of which were answered.

“Master Eight, any news?” Sensing the abnormality in Qiao Bazhi’s tone, He Fenghua pretty much guessed the answer, but still couldn’t let it go.

Qiao Bazhi spoke with a somewhat grave tone: “Young Master He, there’s still no news.”

“Master Eight, didn’t you say that your men are Jianghu People, that killing that Ye bastard would be like slaughtering a chicken?

How come there is still no news?” His suspicion confirmed, He Fenghua felt an inexplicable irritation.

Because he felt guilty and needed to ingratiate himself with He Fenghua, Qiao Bazhi didn’t show any dissatisfaction but frowned and explained: “Young Master He, logically there shouldn’t be any problems.

Looking at the current situation, it’s very likely that my men have fallen to the Dong hai Gang’s poison!”

“Dong hai Gang?”

“Yes, Young Master He!

The man I sent is named Wu He, my right-hand man, and the Dong hai Gang is well aware of this.

They might very well have used this opportunity to eliminate Wu He, gaining an edge in the struggle.”

As the main shopkeeper of Nanqinghong in Jiangnan, Qiao Bazhi had come to Jiangnan two years ago with only one mission: to drive the Dong hai Gang out of Jiangnan and thus fulfill Nanqinghong’s ambition to unify the South underworld.

In the past two years, Qiao Bazhi and the Dong hai Gang’s forces in Jiangnan had fought openly and covertly.

Although he had gained some advantages, he had not been able to drive the Dong hai Gang out of Jiangnan.

Under such circumstances, Wu He not returning any news overnight, and his whereabouts unknown, Qiao Bazhi instinctively believed that Dong hai Gang’s people had made a move.

As for…the possibility that Wu He was killed by Ye Fan, Qiao Bazhi hadn’t even considered it!

Let alone the fact that Wu He had judged from the surveillance recording that Ye Fan was only at the ‘Early Postnatal’ level, in his own words: If Ye Fan was a Jianghu person even deadlier than Wu He, how could he possibly be Su Yuxin’s assistant?

As the heir apparent of the He Family, He Fenghua not only had a clear understanding of Qiao Bazhi’s identity but was also very informed about the struggle between Qiao Bazhi and the Dong hai Gang; even more so…

he knew that the reason Qiao Bazhi went to all lengths to get to know Han Guodong through him was to use Han Guodong’s influence, attacking from both legal and underworld fronts, to drive the Dong hai Gang out of Jiangnan!

“Master Eight, do you mean to say that our cooperation is terminated?”

Despite understanding all of this, He Fenghua felt that Qiao Bazhi’s feud with the Dong hai Gang was none of his business; his only concern was whether Qiao Bazhi could take down Ye Fan for him.

“Of course, that’s not what I mean.”

Qiao Bazhi hurriedly said: “I’m just informing Young Master He of the specific situation.

Please rest assured that once I report this matter to the higher-ups, I will definitely fulfill our agreement and deliver that Ye person to you.”

“All right.” He Fenghua brooded for a moment, then reminded him, intentionally or otherwise: “However, Master Eight, I hope you can act quickly on your end.”

“No problem.”

Perhaps because last night’s affairs had gone so terribly, sensing the disappointment and impatience in He Fenghua’s tone, Qiao Bazhi had no choice but to endure and bear it.

Hearing Qiao Bazhi say this, He Fenghua stopped beating around the bush and hung up the phone directly.

“Buzz buzz…”

Just as He Fenghua hung up, his phone vibrated, and picking it up, he was surprised to find it was Han Jing’s call.

He quickly answered: “Xiao Jing.”

“So busy early in the morning, could it be because of the Su Family’s matter?”

On the other end, Han Jing, the only daughter of Jiangnan’s number two, casually asked, appearing entirely unconcerned about how this would affect He Fenghua—in her view, this setback was nothing much for He Fenghua!

“No, it’s about the company.”

A man always wants to appear strong and powerful in front of his woman, especially a self-important man like He Fenghua.

“Oh, if it’s company business, then you should quickly deal with it,” Han Jing didn’t doubt He Fenghua’s words at all and reminded him: “Make sure to be there before twelve o’clock, my dad and I will arrive at twelve.”

“Rest assured, I won’t be late for such an important matter,” He Fenghua said, unable to help but laugh, and the unease and irritability in his heart vanished with the smile.

Because…

he suddenly felt that compared to the first time dining with Han Guodong, teaching Ye Fan a lesson seemed trivial—once Han Guodong fully acknowledged him, not just Ye Fan, but the entire Su Family would be trampled under his feet!

After ending the call, He Fenghua pondered whether to bring that piece of Emperor Green Guanyin from the safe with him.

The Emperor Green Guanyin was something He Fenghua had put great effort into acquiring from the Myanmar region of the Southeast Asia Special Zone.

Though Myanmar was now part of the whole Southeast Asia Special Zone under Huaxia, the price of jadeite had become even higher than before.

He Fenghua spent a total of one hundred and eighty million to get this piece of Emperor Green jadeite, only twenty million less than the pair of porcelain vases he previously presented to Han Guodong!

This also indicates, from another perspective, that He Fenghua and the entire He Family spared no expense to win over Han Guodong’s approval!

After some consideration, He Fenghua decided not to bring the Emperor Green Guanyin with him; after all, this was the first time he was having a meal with Han Guodong, and bringing a gift would seem crass.

At eleven o’clock, He Fenghua hurried to a Tujia restaurant by the West Lake and handed over the top-grade Longjing tea he had brought from home to the waiter, instructing them to prepare the tea for the guests upon their arrival.

At eleven forty, He Fenghua was waiting at the entrance of the Tujia restaurant, anxious as if he were afraid of neglecting Han Guodong.

As the second in command of Jiangnan Officialdom, Han Guodong had arrived in Jiangnan four years ago.

With the support of the Beijing Bai Family, he had not only firmly established himself, but he had also subtly outshone the first in command.

It was not an exaggeration to say that he was the de facto number one figure in Jiangnan.

Because of his distinguished identity and lofty position, looking across Jiangnan, the line of people wanting to invite Han Guodong to a meal could stretch from West Lake to the East Sea, yet very few could actually succeed in doing so.

Even when they did manage to invite him, Han Guodong usually just made a brief appearance and almost never arrived on time.

However…

today, Han Guodong arrived at the Tujia restaurant punctually at twelve o’clock.

This discovery thrilled He Fenghua immensely, and he immediately went to greet the high-displacement Audi with the number plate of the provincial government’s number one.

“Uncle Han.”

As he saw Han Guodong get out of the car, He Fenghua quickly bent over to give his greetings.

Han Guodong gave a slight nod before he, accompanied by Han Jing, first headed towards the Tujia restaurant.

Seeing this, He Fenghua smiled at Han Guodong’s driver to show his gratitude, and then followed behind Han Guodong and Han Jing.

“Uncle Han, this is the Pre-Qingming Longjing tea from Shifeng Mountain.

Please try it and see if it’s authentic,” He Fenghua said, taking the teapot from the waiter and eagerly serving tea to Han Guodong as soon as he and Han Jing entered the private room.

Seeing this, Han Jing couldn’t help but smile and said, “We’re family, why the formality?”

Han Guodong, as if he hadn’t heard anything, just focused on the tea, while He Fenghua, noticing that Han Guodong showed no dissatisfaction with Han Jing’s remark, could not help but feel overjoyed inside, although he kept a restrained demeanor and sat down.

“Lv Hu Group won the bid for the first phase of the Binhe New District project.

I heard that you originally planted a spy inside Lv Hu Group, but the Su Family turned the tables on you?” Han Guodong asked indifferently after gently putting down his teacup.

“Yes, Uncle Han, that was my oversight,” He Fenghua nodded.

He was well aware that such matters could never be concealed from Han Guodong, especially since he had been taken into the police station because of Xu Weize’s affair, right?

“Avoid crooked paths in the future,” Han Guodong advised.

“I will take Uncle Han’s teachings to heart,” He Fenghua responded, feeling exuberant inside as if a beggar had stumbled upon a feast.

In his eyes, since Han Guodong was giving him such reminders, it meant that he was already recognizing him!

This meant that it was only a matter of time before he became part of the Han Family!

And Han Guodong, who was only a little over fifty this year, not only had outstanding capabilities but also received strong support from the Beijing Bai Family; his career would definitely not end at the provincial-ministerial level!

If one man attains the Tao, even his pets ascend to heaven, let alone as the son-in-law of the Han Family?

“Buzz buzz…”

Later, while He Fenghua was fantasizing about how far he could progress with Han Guodong’s help, Han Guodong’s phone suddenly vibrated.

Han Guodong directly took out his phone in front of He Fenghua and answered a call from his secretary.

This detail caught He Fenghua’s attention, making his heart almost leap out of his throat in excitement!

But then—

He Fenghua quickly sensed something wrong.

While answering the call, Han Guodong’s expression turned grave, and he stared at He Fenghua with a stern gaze.

What happened?

The abrupt change left He Fenghua feeling completely bemused, like a monk who has reached the second level but still cannot figure out the puzzle.

“Does the He Family have a notebook that records the gifts and bribes given over the years?” Han Guodong asked after about a minute, his tone having shifted from the mildness of early spring to the coldness of midwinter.

“Uh…”

Shocked by Han Guodong’s question, He Fenghua at first froze, then hesitated briefly before nodding in admission—he didn’t know why Han Guodong was asking, but reason told him it was best not to lie to Han Guodong!

As He Fenghua agreed, Han Guodong’s eyes twitched violently, and his eyebrows furrowed instantly, his commanding presence making He Fenghua feel as if he were on tenterhooks.

“Dad, what’s wrong?

Why would you suddenly ask that?” Han Jing asked, confused as the atmosphere had suddenly become tense and suffocating.

“That notebook is now in the hands of the provincial discipline inspection commission!” Han Guodong spoke slowly, his somber words reverberating in the private room like a thunderclap in spring!

Whoosh!

In an instant, He Fenghua’s complexion changed drastically!

…

…

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