Chapter 118

Chapter 118

The next day, as Jian Jing had said, she went to the beauty salon to get her face done.

Tony's inspiration made her realize that while the police could certainly investigate the Fang Group thoroughly, when it came to grudges and grievances, it was still necessary to find someone knowledgeable who was willing to talk.

A beauty salon was a place even better suited for gossiping than a barber shop.

The salon Jian Jing went to was introduced by Kang the president. It was for regular customers only, either successful career women executives and businesswomen, or wives and daughters of wealthy families - in other words, a place where information flowed freely.

She chose a full body care package - a massage while chatting with the beautician.

After asking about her age and family, the conversation naturally turned to salary and finances. Talking about income and money management led to a discussion about stocks.

"The stock market hasn't been doing so well recently," Jian Jing said. Despite her public image as introverted and inarticulate, she had no airs about her, and was gentle and friendly. "You work hard for your money, don't throw it away by investing blindly."

Making money was a topic of interest for everyone.

The beautician quickly said, "I don't buy stocks, only some funds and wealth management products."

"That's good. My manager said stocks have been falling sharply lately, especially Fang Group's. She moved me into pharmaceuticals instead. Medical cosmetics have been doing better and better these past two years." Jian Jing said with a smile.

Hearing this, the other beautician giving her a hand treatment was very surprised. "Fang Group's stock has fallen?"

Jian Jing said, "Yes, real estate has been getting worse and worse these past two years."

"But Mrs. Fang was just here today, and seemed totally normal," said the younger, prettier beautician treating her hands. "Couldn't tell at all."

"Then it probably wasn't an internal company issue," Jian Jing mused. Feigning a sudden realization, she added, "It must be because of the fire."

The masseuse beautician asked, "What fire?"

"Wasn't there a tall building that burned down the day before yesterday? I think it belonged to Fang Group." Jian Jing blinked, looking pensive. "Arson, and with the stock taking a hit, it was probably a competitor."

Hearing about corporate espionage, the beauticians were actually a bit intrigued, already stuffed full of gossip about the wealthy.

"A competitor sent someone to burn Fang Group's building?"

"Who did it?"

"How vicious!"

"You're right, that seems a bit extreme. Business rivals don't usually go straight to arson over a disagreement," Jian Jing said.

The back massage over, Jian Jing changed position to lie on her back. The girl's fingers gently massaged pressure points on her head.

This was a very relaxing part of the treatment, and she spoke more freely: "Either it was a personal enemy, or they offended someone."

The masseuse beautician said, "I haven't heard about Fang Group having any enemies."

The hand treatment beautician disagreed. "Who said they don't?" She named several famous real estate companies.

The masseuse beautician said, "But those are all from different places. Think of all the big national developers, they each started in different cities, the local fights here were settled decades ago. None of the new ones can compare to the Fangs."

The hand treatment beautician didn't argue further.

"An enemy doesn't have to be a business rival," Jian Jing steered the conversation subtly. "Fang Group's...foundation isn't very clean."

The hand treatment beautician lowered her voice, "Does it have to do with the X Road?"

"Unavoidable, twenty years ago," Jian Jing made a thoughtful look. "But with the recent crackdowns, they shouldn't be sticking their necks out now."

The masseuse beautician cut in, "That's right. They arrested quite a few before, remember that girl?" She said to her coworker. "She used to be a mistress, after her boss went to jail, she disappeared."

Jian Jing smiled and gave the final verdict, "I think so too, just don't know what grudge could make him resort to arson."

"Must have been a huge hatred."

"Don't TV shows always say, revenge for a murdered father, stealing someone's wife..."

"No way Chairman Fang is a murderer, but stealing a wife..."

"He must have more than one mistress."

"Mrs. Fang is already his third wife, who knows how many are outside."

"That one before...almost ran into Mrs. Fang, that was..."

"But she's so young."

"The Fang family is so rich, there's no need to steal someone else's wife."

Jian Jing listened to their rambling discussion without interjecting—she couldn't interject anyway since her face was covered with a facial mask. Only after fifteen minutes, when the silk mask was peeled off, did she casually ask, "Could it have happened during the development project... Demolition and relocation are when problems are most likely to occur."

As the conversation delved deeper, the beautician was growing weary of it.

After all, they didn't have much interest in the case. Gossiping was fine, but prolonged discussion was bound to become annoying. However, the customer was excited, so they didn't want to pour cold water on her enthusiasm. Jian Jing looked like someone who could afford to spend money. Firmly grasping a VIP customer was crucial for their performance.

Jian Jing was observant and naturally didn't miss their expressions. She immediately added a manicure service to give them a little sweetener, "What do you think, could something have happened during the demolition?"

Manicures at this beauty salon were worth 2888 RMB, another tidy income.

The beautician wanted to curry favor with her even more. She racked her brains trying to remember, and hesitantly said, "I didn't hear anything about demolition. But there was a lady before who kept saying the Fang family did things unfairly. Supposedly for some project, they ruined a family completely."

Jian Jing slowly opened her half-closed eyes, a glint flashing in them, "Oh? There was something like that?"

The beautician didn't know much, but told her everything she had heard.

This is what happened. About seven or eight years ago, the Fang Group wanted to develop a resort project and acquired two parcels of land. But these two parcels were purchased separately, with a small parcel in between them.

This small parcel had already been purchased by a small developer called "Jianxin." They planned to turn it into an agritourism site.

With conflicting positioning that was also an obstruction, the Fang family naturally wanted to get rid of them.

The beautician didn't know what means they used. According to what that knowledgeable lady said, not only did the company go bankrupt, but the boss jumped off a building and committed suicide over his debts. His family was also harassed until they disappeared without a trace.

Jian Jing searched online. Judging by the timeline, this resort was the current resort.

She then logged onto related websites to look up companies and searched homophones for "Jianxin." There were seven or eight companies, but only one that went bankrupt and dissolved in 2013.

Jianxin Real Estate.

The legal representative was called Pan Guo.

*

The suspect Inspector Qiu locked onto was called Peng Wei, male, thirty-six years old, a survivor of the Qili Bridge collapse accident.

That year, he and his family were preparing to go on vacation when the large bridge suddenly collapsed. Their car was buried for over two days before being rescued.

There were five people in his family - his wife, children, and parents. He was the only survivor. The rest all died. Over the years, he had been trying to petition and sue the Fang Group multiple times but to no avail.

Even now, he still lived alone, doing odd jobs everywhere, and life was very hard for him.

Most importantly, although the commercial building burned down, the street cameras across from it were undamaged. He was caught on video passing by the area before the fire started.

Could it be him?