CH 45.2

Chen Qizhao listened to them talk while looking at Lin Shizong’s sanctimonious appearance and the board of directors that he mentioned in a few words. The Chen Group’s internal and external problems did exist. The biggest internal problem was the board of directions and the overall plan laid down by Lin Shizong. The former was in the light while the latter was in the dark.

Chen Qizhao was quite clear about Lin Shizong’s layout. He had found out the details little by little in his previous life. He was basically clear about who had problems but now some things hadn’t happened yet. There was a lack of evidence to bring Lin Shizong into it.

After this Feihong incident, Chen Shiming mainly targeted the various major projects and the personnel deployment within the group. This was obviously very unfavorable to Lin Shizong because many of his arrangements were in these projects.

For example, two of his people in the assistant group were discovered this time. They were also Yu Jie and the other one who was buried deeply.

Obviously, Lin Shizong’s layout had been disrupted.

For Lin Shizong, there was a flaw in the plan he had been setting out for decades and several core chess pieces were exposed in advance. Combine this with Yicheng making trouble for Lin Shizong outside and he couldn’t have a smooth year. He also had to find ways to make up for the gaps in the plan.

Lin Shizong was an old fox. He had prepared for a big situation for decades and it was impossible for him to be in chaos due to this sudden incident. He would most likely rest and recuperate while waiting for the next opportunity. So what he had to do most urgently right now was to stabilize the internal layout of the Chen family and find a way to divert Chen Shiming’s attention. He brought the conflict to the board of directors while seeking opportunities for himself to adjust.

Chen Qizhao couldn’t allow Lin Shizong to be happy. Since the other person didn’t want to make a move, he had to find a way to make Lin Shizong move.

“What are you thinking?” Chen Shiming suddenly asked.

Chen Qizhao’s mind returned. Lin Shizong was talking to Chen Jianhong and didn’t notice what happened on their side.

He met Chen Shiming’s suspicious eyes and casually said, “I’m looking for an assistant.”

Chen Shiming looked slightly surprised and he said directly, “If you need someone then I’ll send a person to you.”

“I don’t want it. I will suffer a loss if I meet another person like Yu Jie.”

Chen Qizhao didn’t want Chen Shiming’s assistant. Chen Shiming had a lot of matters. If he picked someone to send to Chen Qizhao and a dubious person was assigned to Chen Shiming’s assistant team, the problem would become even bigger.

There would definitely be actions in the new year. Chen Shiming might have too many things to deal with and Special Assistant Xu might not have time to run back and forth. Special Assistant Xu was indeed very good but he couldn’t use Chen Shiming’s people all the time.

Therefore, Chen Qizhao wanted to find a trustworthy assistant to help him… but when it came to trustworthy and capable people, he had only one person in mind.

They chatted for more than an hour and Chen Qizhao listened for more than an hour.

As they were leaving the Lin house, Chen Qizhao looked at the garage behind the villa. If he remembered correctly, there should be a spare parking lot behind the Lin house. He had some doubts in his heart but just as he took two steps in that direction, Chen Shiming called out to him from behind him.

“Where are you going?” Chen Shiming wondered. “Our car is over here.”

Lin Shizong looked at Chen Qizhao.

“Uncle Lin’s garden is quite big,” Chen Qizhao replied. “I was just taking a look at it casually.”

Lin Shizong told him, “If you have time in the new year, you can come here to play.”

The moment the Chen family left, Lin Shizong’s expression darkened immediately. He returned to the living room and found that Jiang Yuze had already come out of the study.

“Why did the Chen family suddenly come?” Jiang Yuze frowned. “I was almost discovered.”

“Don’t worry, your whereabouts haven’t been exposed.” Lin Shizong lit his cigar. “Chen Jianhong said he would come over to give a New Year’s greeting. I thought it would be two hours later. I hadn’t expected him to come so soon.”

Lin Shizong asked again, “What happened on Yicheng’s side?”

“There is no way to deal with it.” Jiang Yuze frowned. “We thought of many ways to divert Yicheng’s attention but their senior management has made up their minds. Based on Yicheng’s current actions, it is estimated that they will grab the two bids related to us this year. It is recommended to give up on them.”

Lin Shizong didn’t move and stared gloomily at the tea tray in front of him.

The layout had been so well arranged… as long as the Chen family and Yicheng fought, he could sit back and watch the tigers fight while enjoying the benefits. The two bids that Jiang Yuze mentioned were projects that had been prepared for a long time ago. They had paid a lot of money for them. If Yicheng fought with the Chen family then they would have no time to care about other things. Then these two bids should be in the bag.

Now everything was in chaos. Due to the Chen family, the projects they had spent most of the year preparing for might need more money in order to win them. In addition, the mad dog Yicheng was always watching and restricted them everywhere.

A long time passed before Lin Shizong opened his mouth. “Last time, I asked you to check Chen Qizhao. What is the result?”

Jiang Yuze replied, “We checked his group of friends. Chen Qizhao basically goes out to drink with them every week. His personality is the same and he occasionally loses his temper when drinking. On the surface, it is no different from the results of our previous investigations… At the end of the year, he often showed his dissatisfaction with Yicheng and Fu Yanyu in front of Cheng Rong and the others.”

“There is a suspicious point but it isn’t that suspicious. Chen Qizhao has recently started caring about Chen Jianhong and Zhang Yazhi’s health.” Jiang Yuze thought for a moment. “It happened in the middle of last year. Chen Qizhao and Zhang Yazhi went to the hospital for an examination. There was a small problem found with Zhang Yazhi’s body and Chen Qizhao’s attitude became a bit extreme.”

“Suddenly concerned…?” Lin Shizong frowned. “Has he found a problem?”

“In the Chen family, Chen Qizhao has the best relationship with Zhang Yazhi and it is common for him to care about Zhang Yazhi’s body. Chen Jianhong’s problem was also discovered after that and he was asked to make an appointment for a full body examination in the new year,” Jiang Yuze explained. “Chen Qizhao hasn’t made any unnecessary moves except for showing concern so it actually isn’t suspicious.”

“You should be careful about this matter and don’t let it be exposed in the near future.” Lin Shizong asked again, “What about his school?”

Jiang Yuze continued, “There are no gains. Chen Qizhao’s social circle at school is limited. We checked the people he gets along with and the only one he has been close to recently is Shen Yuhuai of the Shen family. The two of them seem to have a good relationship due to the previous matter with the research institute. I also received news that the Shen family went to the Chen family to celebrate the new year this morning.”

The Shen family… Lin Shizong couldn’t understand it. He had heard a bit about Shen Yuhuai of the Shen family and he didn’t seem like someone Chen Qizhao would make friends with. Why did these two suddenly have a relationship? He instructed, “Pay attention to the movements of the Shen family during this time. Don’t let them come to do bad things.”

“The most important thing is to keep an eye on Chen Shiming. If he finds out that something is wrong—”

Lin Shizong sneered. “I don’t have to explain the rest to you.”

—

During the Spring Festival, the Chen family was quite lively. People came to give their New Year’s greetings one after another. Chen Qizhao could still listen to it in the first two days but he was really not interested later on. He stayed in his room except when eating and was pulled by Yan Kailin to play games.

Chen Qizhao did love to play games when he was young and he thought he played well. However, he hadn’t played in too long and the feeling was gone. After fishing in troubled waters, Chen Qizhao found it hard to pick up the interest of his youth so he simply went downstairs to find Zhang Yazhi.

Zhang Yazhi was painting in the small garden and didn’t react when Chen Qizhao came over.

“This kid, you should’ve told me when you came.” Zhang Yazhi turned sideways toward him. “Your father and brother are playing chess over there.”

Chen Qizhao asked, “Have you checked your blood pressure today?”

“I measured it.” Zhang Yazhi glanced at him and put down the things in her hands. “Why did you come here? Didn’t you say you were playing games with Xiao Yan?”

“It is finished. I just came here to take a look.” Chen Qizhao sat down in a chair next to her and didn’t intend to disturb Zhang Yazhi. He picked up his phone to read his messages.

It was a message from Special Assistant Xu.

[Zhao: So fast?]

[Special Assistant Xu: There was information from the last inspection of the car yard so it wasn’t difficult to check.]

Special Assistant Xu had a good Spring Festival. For a profession like this, the boss was used to being on call but the boss’ home was quite good this New Year’s. At the very least, there were no arguments like last year and he didn’t have to go out urgently during the holidays.

For this reason, when Special Assistant Xu prayed for blessings this year, he added something for his boss and wished for harmony for his family.

However, his boss didn’t look for him but Second Young Master Chen did.

This person asked him to check the maintenance masters and technicians of the suburban car yard and to send the information to him in the new year. It just so happened that he had the materials for the year-end inspection of the car yard so he temporarily sorted them out and sent them to the second young master.

He was just curious about why the second young master suddenly started checking the car yard. It had nothing to do with Feihong!

[Special Assistant Xu: Why did you suddenly want to check the car yard?]

[Zhao: Oh, Chen Shiming told me to get a driver’s license so I want to see which person’s technique is the best.]

Special Assistant Xu: “……”

You aren’t choosing a concubine. Do you need so much information to find a driver’s license instructor?

[Special Assistant Xu: …And the maintenance master?]

[Zhao: I want to build a modified car.]

Special Assistant Xu: “……”

The driver’s license hadn’t even been received and he was already planning to change the car!

As Special Assistant Xu was considering whether to report this to his boss or not, Chen Qizhao had already checked the information of the car yard one by one.

The information was very detailed and included all the employees of the car yard, from the managers to the workers in the yard. There were no problems found in the inspection at the end of the year and Chen Jianhong’s fleet was in operation. At a glance, there were on problems. This was a car yard that looked completely fine on the surface.

The employed personnel, the yard equipment, the cooperative parts suppliers, etc.

If he had to scrutinize the car yard then he would have to look at all aspects.

Chen Qizhao hesitated a bit before going to the information page of the maintenance master.

He couldn’t determine if Chen Shiming’s car accident was a complete accident or man-made. After all, the cause of the car accident was speeding in the city and a turning truck. Later, Chen Qizhao didn’t suspect any man-made factors. The driver was dead and Chen Shiming admitted that there was a speeding problem on their side.

So in the previous life, the car accident was handled according to a traffic accident.

If it was man-made then the problem was likely to be with the truck that caused the accident. During the time when Chen Shiming had an accident, Yu Jie had already entered Chen Shiming’s assistant group under Jiang Yuze’s arrangement. As an assistant, it was entirely possible for Yu Jie to get Chen Shiming’s itinerary. The appearance of the truck might not be an accident. It might be through Lin Shizong’s hand.

Yet there was another possibility in addition to the truck.

It was Chen Shiming’s car that caused the accident. The driver, Old Lin, had worked in the Chen family for many years and his driving skills were acknowledged by many people. He could drive very steadily even in heavy rain. Even if he was speeding while driving, he was an experienced driver and should be able to react when special circumstances occurred. It was impossible not to take any actions…

The car accident at the time was very tragic. When checking the surveillance afterward, the traffic police investigator said that the steering wheel of the vehicle must’ve turned before hitting the truck. So in the major car accident, Old Lin died on the spot while Chen Shiming lost both legs but survived. Due to the severe damage to the vehicle and the small-scale fire at the scene, the investigation of the vehicle was very slow and no results were produced in the end.

It could happen again. In the case where he wasn’t sure if it was man-made or accidental, Chen Qizhao couldn’t let Chen Shiming repeat the same mistakes. If it was a problem with the truck then it was the assistant leaking the itinerary. If it was man-made and the vehicle tampered with… the driver Old Lin might have problems but it was more likely to be the regular maintenance worker of the car yard?

This car yard had to be checked.

Zhang Yazhi’s brush didn’t move. She seemed to be focused on her painting but her attention was always on Chen Qizhao, who was sitting diagonally in front of her.

Chen Qizhao was sitting in front of her, his eyes on his phone.

However, his fingers hadn’t moved for a long time.

The child seemed to be thinner. His originally fleshy face was gradually becoming angular. Even though he was wearing heavy cotton clothes, she felt that the body under the clothes was much thinner than before.

In addition, there were changes in the child. The time when he was silent was much more than before and he wasn’t as direct and clear as before. Sometimes, she looked at the child and saw the subtle changes in his expression, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Chen Qizhao suddenly noticed Zhang Yazhi’s gaze. “Mom?”

Zhang Yazhi’s mind returned. “Why don’t you wear more clothes when you come out? Isn’t the weather cold? Should I go get you more clothes?”

“It isn’t cold.” Chen Qizhao noticed what Zhang Yazhi was wearing. “I’ll go get you one.”

“No need…”

Chen Qizhao had already walked away.

Zhang Yazhi pursed his lips slightly and swallowed down her words in an emotional manner. She felt like this child was being crushed by a mountain.