Chapter 1948: Sting Operation

The company regained stability, grew rapidly, and became one of the top private enterprises in the country.

This story tells us: do business with clear eyes and guard against petty people, for you never know whether the friends or brothers beside you will betray you.

Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei, amidst their success, also encountered unprecedented setbacks in their lives. Zhang Zhiqiang had once met a young girl at a dinner gathering. Her name was Wang Yan, the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man in the city; after her parents divorced, she followed her mother. But because she was beautiful and knew how to win her parents' favor, she was very well-off in the wealthy family.

She had a strong affection for Zhang Zhiqiang. She proposed a condition to him: if Zhang Zhiqiang married her, they would give him a generous bride price; if Zhang Zhiqiang refused her, she would use her father's connections to shut down his company.

Zhang Zhiqiang never expected a wealthy man's daughter to take an interest in him. He ecstatically agreed to Wang Yan's condition. He immediately found someone to draw up a wedding date, preparing to marry her. As the wedding date approached, he suddenly discovered a rift had formed between him and Wang Yan.

Wang Yan's father was full of hostility toward Zhang Zhiqiang; he hinted that if Zhang Zhiqiang did not want his company to go bankrupt, he should not touch Wang Yan. And Zhang Zhiqiang also felt Wang Yan was unsuitable as a wife, so he went to find Wang Yan. Upon hearing this, Wang Yan was furious and turned on Zhang Zhiqiang right there on the spot.

Zhang Zhiqiang was deeply regretful; he believed he had caused Wang Yan's death. He wanted to make amends, but Wang Yan simply would not forgive him. In the end, Wang Yan chose to commit suicide.

After Wang Yan's death, Zhang Zhiqiang was heartbroken; he locked himself in his house and refused to go out. Yang Mei accompanied him every day, silently taking on the role of comfort and encouragement. She urged Zhang Zhiqiang to pull himself together, not to give up, and to consider personal happiness only after the company weathered the crisis.

That morning, Zhang Zhiqiang suddenly thought: "I must find Liu Ming as soon as possible and take back those funds! Not only that, I must punish Liu Ming severely and force him to spit out that money!"

He planned to talk to Liu Ming, ask where the money was, and then figure out a way to snatch it back. He first called another employee of the company, Zhou Hao, to ask where Liu Ming was. Zhou Hao told him that Liu Ming had resigned and he was not clear on his specific whereabouts.

Zhang Zhiqiang decided to go to Liu Ming's hometown to search for him, but since Liu Ming had moved out of that house half a month ago, Zhang Zhiqiang could only check into a hotel in the suburbs and wait patiently for news.

This wait lasted seven or eight days, with no progress from Zhou Hao. Around three o'clock that afternoon, Zhou Hao suddenly came knocking on his door, shouting excitedly: "Zhiqiang, Zhiqiang! We have a lead!"

Zhang Zhiqiang quickly opened the door and, excitedly, grasped Zhou Hao's hand: "What lead, Zhou Hao?"

"I just received a call saying Liu Ming's whereabouts have been found!"

Zhang Zhiqiang's face immediately lit up with joy: "Really? That's great!"

The two hurriedly dressed and went out, driving to the county town Zhou Hao mentioned. By then, it was nearly five o'clock. After the two arrived at the hotel, they sat in the lounge waiting.

A moment later, footsteps were heard outside. Two tall, burly men pushed the door open and walked into the room. One of them said coldly to the two: "You two are the ones we are looking for, right? We are police officers; this time we are taking you to handle a case."

These two men were very serious, radiating a flavor of iron and blood; one could tell at a glance they were battle-hardened veterans with blood on their hands.

Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei stood up and respectfully greeted the two men. Zhang Zhiqiang even took out a stack of red banknotes and stuffed them into their hands.

After one of the police officers accepted the money, he frowned, seeming to think the amount was a bit low. But he said nothing, beckoned the two out of the hotel, and walked straight toward two black sedans parked outside. Zhang Zhiqiang, sitting in the back seat of the second car, suddenly noticed Yang Mei was gone. He was about to call out her name when he was stopped by the police.

Zhang Zhiqiang felt very uneasy; he thought something was wrong. He began to regret his action of stuffing money into those two police officers just now. He began to consider the safety of himself and Yang Mei.

The two cars quickly arrived outside a heavily guarded villa. The two police officers brought Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei into the villa, had them sit in the living room, and then left.

Shortly after, Liu Ming appeared before them. Beside him followed a girl in a white dress, holding a sharp knife in her hand.

Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei were both startled. They did not know when Liu Ming and this girl had appeared here. They wanted to escape, but found their bodies had already stiffened.

Liu Ming walked up to Zhang Zhiqiang and sneered: "Mr. Zhang, you should not have done many things, but you should not have forced Wang Yan to her death! Do you know? She was the woman I loved most; if not for you, she would not have gone down that dead end! Today, I will make you and Yang Mei pay the price!"

Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei looked at Liu Ming in terror; they did not know how to deal with this situation. Their bodies began to tremble.

Just then, a sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside. The door was pushed open, and several police officers rushed in. Seeing Liu Ming and that girl, they shouted loudly: "Liu Ming, you are under arrest! Drop your weapon!"

Liu Ming and that girl looked at the police in panic; they wanted to escape, but were quickly subdued by the police.

It turned out that after obtaining Liu Ming's whereabouts, Zhou Hao had not directly notified Zhang Zhiqiang but had called the police. The two police officers had also pretended to be Liu Ming's subordinates to bring Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei into the villa. This operation was entirely a sting operation. The police took Liu Ming and that girl away. Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei were finally safe. They sat in the living room, recalling the experience just now with lingering fear.

"Yang Mei, this time I owe it all to you! If you hadn't reminded me, I might have truly become a scapegoat!" Zhang Zhiqiang said with emotion.

"Hmph, that Wang Yan was truly pitiful; for the sake of a man, she actually went down such a dead end!" Yang Mei said with hatred.

"Alright, now everything is over. We can start anew. However, this time we must learn a lesson; doing business must still be done steadily, and we cannot think of taking shortcuts anymore!" Zhang Zhiqiang said.

"Yes, and we must properly repay Zhou Hao; without him, we definitely would not have escaped this time." Yang Mei said.

"Good, we will go find Zhou Hao tomorrow and thank him properly." Zhang Zhiqiang said.

The next day, Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei, carrying precious gifts, arrived at Zhou Hao's home. Seeing them come personally, Zhou Hao felt very surprised and moved.

After the three chatted for a while, Zhang Zhiqiang took out a check, signed his name on it, and then handed it to Zhou Hao: "Zhou Hao, this time thanks to you, we were able to escape disaster. This is a small token of gratitude; you must accept it."

Zhou Hao looked at the number on the check and exclaimed: "So much! I dare not accept it!"

Zhang Zhiqiang smiled: "You take it! This is what you deserve. We will still be dealing with each other in business in the future!"

Zhou Hao gratefully accepted the check: "Good, then I won't be polite. If you need any help in the future, just come to me!"

After the three chatted for a while longer, Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei stood up to take their leave. Zhou Hao saw them off to the door: "Take care! Keep in touch in the future!"

After Zhang Zhiqiang and Yang Mei left Zhou Hao's home, they went to a scenic resort for a vacation. After staying in the resort for a few days, they finally gradually emerged from the shadow of before.

At this time, Zhang Zhiqiang received a call from a client, who said on the phone: "Mr. Zhang, the batch of goods we agreed on last time has arrived; when can you come over to sign for it?"

Zhang Zhiqiang replied: "Oh, sorry! I've been busy with some things recently until now. I will rush over tomorrow to sign the contract with you."