Chapter 429: Death Before Retreat

The two sides' conversation this time could be said to be very congenial, leaving Song Miaotian, who had invited Minister Hou over, standing aside for a long time.

It was around nine o'clock when Chen Jiajun finally rose with Haitang to take his leave.

After Chen Jiajun and Haitang left, Song Miaotian leaned in and said, "Minister, the matter has been taken care of!"

Minister Hou nodded and warned, "Be more careful when picking people in the future; don't send just any piece of trash to me!"

"Understood, Minister!" Song Miaotian nodded hurriedly.

"Has that money from Zhou Chaoxian been laundered clean?" Minister Hou brought up business.

Song Miaotian nodded and said, "It's been cleaned, but the loss was a bit high! The other party said the investigators are checking strictly and they needed to take a thirty percent cut!"

"Thirty percent is thirty percent!" Minister Hou's expression was very unpleasant: "Once this storm passes, I'll make them spit it all back out for me!"

"Alright, nothing else, you go first!"

Song Miaotian put down the check and then walked straight out of the Restaurant.

Looking at the two sums of money in his hand, Minister Hou finally suppressed the disappointing events of yesterday.

After returning to his mansion, he even had the mood to drink a glass of wine.

Only then did he prepare to open the gift box Chen Jiajun had sent.

After the gift box was opened, the first thing that caught his eye was a cashier's check from a Swiss Bank, worth one million US dollars.

Regarding this figure, Minister Hou was very satisfied and muttered to himself, "A Big Boss is a Big Boss; his spending is truly generous!"

This money was not like that Political Contribution from Zhou Chaoxian, most of which had to be sent up to grease palms.

This cashier's check sent by Chen Jiajun was something he could tuck directly into his own pocket.

As for the Donghu Gang that had taken the initiative to approach him, they were simply here to deliver money to him; he couldn't be happier.

It was just that when Minister Hou took the cashier's check out of the gift box, he discovered there was something else inside the box.

It looked like a videotape.

Minister Hou was somewhat confused, but he still had a servant bring over playback equipment and shoved the videotape in.

Soon the video image appeared, and the protagonist, Minister Hou, was very familiar with it.

But not long after the videotape started playing, Minister Hou's expression changed instantly.

……

On the other side, Haitang pestered Chen Jiajun and said, "Bringing me here today, was it just for this Minister Hou?"

"Of course, the person standing behind this guy has great influence; he is the key person in whether or not I can become a Legislative Member!" Chen Jiajun said with a smile.

Haitang said with some curiosity, "But you didn't mention this matter to him today?"

Chen Jiajun said irritably, "Who reveals their intentions the moment they arrive?"

"Oh, I don't understand!" Haitang said, hugging Chen Jiajun's arm.

Chen Jiajun could only continue: "With a cunning old politician like this, once you reveal your intentions too early, they are very likely to raise the price on the spot, and it's also easy for variables to appear in the middle."

Haitang nodded as if she understood, saying, "Then... what are we doing now?"

"Waiting!" Chen Jiajun smiled and said: "Remember the gift box I gave that Minister Hou? It has some very explosive stuff inside!"

"What is it, what is it?" Haitang had wanted to ask earlier, and now that she heard Chen Jiajun bring it up himself, she hurriedly asked gossiping. "The video of that charlatan Song Miaotian having an affair with Madam Hou, and evidence of that guy secretly selling Laundry Powder!" Chen Jiajun said with a wicked smile: "I didn't expect Minister Hou and his wife to be so wild!"

"That charlatan!" Haitang's eyes widened instantly: "If Minister Hou finds out about this, he'll be so angry he'll want to kill, right?"

"That's for sure!" Chen Jiajun said with a smile: "But we've also sold this Minister Hou a huge favor! If he refuses to comply, I still have a trump card in my hand!"

"What is it?" Haitang admired Chen Jiajun more and more now.

Judging by today's events, Chen Jiajun's methods were far more formidable than Madam Tang's.

No wonder some of Madam Tang's little schemes couldn't be hidden from her own man.

Chen Jiajun said indifferently: "This Minister Hou! He likes to play with those female followers of Song Miaotian, and yesterday he even accidentally played one to death!"

"Ah?" Haitang said in surprise: "Could it be..."

Chen Jiajun nodded and said: "That's right, the people from the Information Department also filmed them disposing of the body. If this Minister Hou is sensible, I'll keep this trump card! If he isn't sensible... hmph!"

Haitang stared closely at Chen Jiajun's profile, seemingly lost in thought.

Chen Jiajun glanced at Haitang: "Little girl, I know you covet my talent and handsome face, but don't look at me like that, I'll be embarrassed!"

Haitang suddenly acted as if she had gone crazy, throwing herself onto Chen Jiajun and kissing and biting him...

Minister Hou did not sleep all night, watching the videotape Chen Jiajun gave him over and over again. The killing intent in his eyes was already becoming impossible to suppress.

If it weren't for the fact that Song Miaotian held too much dirt on him, he would have already found someone to take out this pair of adulterers by now.

In the current situation, Minister Hou actually didn't know what to do.

Just as Minister Hou was struggling, his Secretary knocked on the door and walked in.

Minister Hou said impatiently: "What is it? Can't it wait until tomorrow? Don't you see I'm annoyed?"

The Secretary was startled to see Minister Hou's appearance, but still bit the bullet and said: "Minister, you need to come and see, something has happened!"

Minister Hou immediately felt a sense of foreboding, and he walked quickly out of the room following the Secretary, arriving at his home's living room.

At this moment, a news report was playing on the living room television.

"Last year, the collapse of the San Zong project due to corner-cutting caused over 160 deaths and injuries. Citizens are extremely outraged by officials colluding with gangs to rig bids. The company's Chairman, Zhou Chaoxian, is currently missing!"

"The Construction and Planning Agency announced today that the Binhai project will be frozen for three months! Until an internal review for official-business collusion is completed before bid-rigging is enforced."

"The overall commander of this Investigation Bureau operation is the nemesis of gambling arcades, the Warrior of the judicial world, Fang Guohui. Fang Guohui is leading a group of capable elites, risking their lives, silently working to maintain the rule of law on Taiwan Island. The following is a report by focus news Reporter Ling Fei."

Watching the news report on the television, Minister Hou was completely stunned.

"Where is Zhou Chaoxian? Tell him to roll into my office immediately!" Minister Hou roared loudly.

The Secretary nodded: "I'll go notify him right away!"

"Damn it, there isn't a single person who doesn't cause trouble!" Minister Hou was so angry that he smashed his most beloved ceramics, then grabbed his clothes and hurried out of the house.

……

A few hours later, Minister Hou received the evidence obtained from the Investigation Bureau.

It was precisely what Zhou Chaoxian had said that day in the teahouse while pressuring several construction company Bosses.

Seeing the contents, he became even angrier.

A project worth several hundred million, and only sixty million was sent up; this was practically like a light scratch.

Fortunately, his connections were strong enough to smooth things over with the Deputy Director of the Investigation Bureau, which allowed him to let out a long sigh of relief.

However, even so, he himself had been summoned by the Big Boss and scolded for a full hour.

This left Minister Hou, who was already brimming with suppressed rage, wanting to find someone to vent his anger on.

As it happened, Zhou Chaoxian arrived at this moment.

Minister Hou did not say much else; he played the evidence directly for Zhou Chaoxian to watch!

"I propose a plan to share the government's money together; our government is very rich! Hahaha..."

Watching his own smug appearance on the screen, Zhou Chaoxian's expression turned somewhat gloomy.

Minister Hou pressed the pause button and then started berating Zhou Chaoxian: "Recently, rumors have been flying everywhere outside! It's caused such a stir that people are using it as a pretext! Attacking the Construction and Planning Agency for colluding with gangs to engage in project bid-rigging—this is all trouble caused by you alone, do you know that?"

"The Big Boss is very angry. Tell me! How do you want the Big Boss to punish you?"

Zhou Chaoxian was silent for a moment, then tentatively asked: "I see... it wouldn't be as serious as not nominating me, would it?"

Minister Hou clapped his hands and said: "You guessed right! We have decided to nominate Ding Zongshu; he is obedient, after all!"

Zhou Chaoxian's eyes immediately turned sharp: "Is there any room for remedy?"

"What do you think?" Minister Hou said impatiently.

"In terms of contributions, I can increase them!" Zhou Chaoxian said immediately.

Minister Hou said indifferently: "It's not that simple, is it? I think we should just forget about this term and talk about it next term!"

Zhou Chaoxian stood up: "Fine, then let that sixty million count as the contribution for the next term!"

Hearing this, Minister Hou immediately stood up, getting angrier as he spoke: "Screw your mother! What are you saying, Zhou Chaoxian? Haven't I carried enough of your blame today? For your sake, I've run my legs off all day! I haven't even slept, and I've smiled until my face is almost stiff, and I've vomited over a dozen times from drinking—who the hell do you think I did this for?"

"If it weren't for me today, this videotape would have leaked out long ago! You wouldn't be sitting here slowly enjoying it! You would have been taken away by the Investigation Bureau! I'm telling you, damn it! What are you... are you a candle?"

"Did you have surgery on your brain and have it moved to your ass? Damn it, I saved your life; is sixty million a lot? From beginning to end, I haven't asked for an extra cent! Fuck! You bastard, you don't think before you speak!"

Zhou Chaoxian, having been subjected to a torrent of abuse, was already on the verge of exploding.

As a gang leader, he had never suffered such an insult.

However, he could not turn against him yet, so he could only say in a soft voice: "Thank you for your great kindness, Minister; everything is Chaoxian's fault. I will go back and reflect on it. Minister, please take care of your health and get some rest! Chaoxian will take his leave!"

But after walking out of Minister Hou's office, Zhou Chaoxian said loudly to his woman: "I've been set up! After taking my sixty million, they immediately called the Investigation Bureau to deal with me! They never intended to nominate me at all! Damn it! I! Will die before I retreat!"