Chapter 2214: Results Are In

More than a dozen cars were parked in Anqiu Hutong, two of which were off-road vehicles with military plates: a second-generation Pajero and a BAIC 213 Jeep, also known as the domestically produced Cherokee. The rest were all small-plate cars belonging to various ministries or municipal government departments.

The courtyard was exceptionally lively, with a large group of cute little ones playing "Eagle Catches the Chick" to their hearts' content.

Lao Si stood at the very front of the line, acting as the mother hen. She spread her arms wide, trying her best to block the fierce eagle, Jian Mingfan, and protect the group of chicks behind her.

Among these children, Su Su was the youngest and had the shortest legs. Due to her physical limitations, she could only stand at the very end of the line.

Whenever everyone started running, she could never keep up with the rhythm and would soon be left behind by the other little friends. Then, the little girl would run around aimlessly, wailing loudly.

Finally, the cunning eagle, Jian Mingfan, seized the opportunity and lunged toward Su Su. Poor Su Su had just lifted her short legs to run when the back of her collar was grabbed. Her body was instantly lifted into the air, and she fell completely into the clutches of the "devil."

"Gaga ga..."

Jian Mingfan let out a strange, triumphant laugh, hugged Su Su tightly, and turned to run.

Seeing this, Lao Si immediately led the other little brats in hot pursuit, shouting incessantly,

"Don't run! Put Su Su down quickly!"

Meanwhile, Su Su struggled in Jian Mingfan's arms, wailing and shouting,

"Help! Xiao Du, come save me quickly! The eagle is going to suck me away!"

The entire courtyard echoed with the children's innocent cries and laughter. Even the adults watching from the side couldn't help but reveal happy smiles on their faces.

In the reception hall of the third courtyard, Zhou Andong sat on a soft, comfortable Chinese-style sofa, smoking a cigarette. As the swirling smoke gradually filled the air, it blurred his features.

After a while, he reached out and grabbed the phone on the coffee table, quickly dialing a string of numbers. Soon, a pleasant woman's voice came through the receiver.

"Hello, this is the Youth Daily. May I ask who is calling?"

The moment he heard this voice, a faint smile immediately appeared on Zhou Andong's face: "Sister Wei, it's Dongzi!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a light laugh came from the other end of the line: "They say a night owl enters a house for a reason—it never comes without a purpose. You, Zhou Andong, are just like a night owl; you never call me unless there's something up. Calling so suddenly now, there must be something going on, right?"

"Just a small matter."

Zhou Andong didn't waste words and briefly explained the situation regarding Wen Sanmao. As a reporter for the Youth Daily, Du Youwei's professional ethics and sense of confidentiality were naturally top-notch, so Zhou Andong didn't hold anything back during his explanation.

After all, given the relationship between the two of them, if he couldn't even trust Du Youwei, then he certainly couldn't trust Guan Shengjie either. In that case, who else could he, Zhou Andong, possibly trust?

"Wen Sanmao is a notoriously famous 'old gun' (veteran hoodlum) and also a 'famous' entrepreneur here in the capital. If you arrange for someone to investigate him and the news leaks out by accident, I expect quite a few people will jump out, brandishing big knives to back him up and cheer him on!"

As an experienced reporter with extensive connections, Du Youwei's understanding of Wen Sanmao far exceeded that of the general public, Zhou Andong included. She was well aware of the intricate web of relationships behind Wen Sanmao.

"You actually let a police station chief investigate Wen Sanmao? That's not a wise move. Once this chief can't withstand the pressure, he's very likely to sell you out without hesitation. What will you do then?"

"I'll handle it!" Zhou Andong sneered: "They are all just a bunch of petty, sycophantic people. I actually sincerely hope they have the guts to charge at me with knives; that would actually save me a lot of time and energy."

"It's just a pity; I'm afraid that once they find out it's me investigating in the dark, they'll tuck their heads into their shells like turtles and not dare to show their faces, or even use the preparation time to escape the net of justice."

Hearing these words from Zhou Andong, Du Youwei couldn't help but be amused: "That's true. After all, you are the Jian family's son-in-law. If they want to raise a knife against you, they have to carefully weigh the consequences."

"What's more, that 'Sword Heroine' by your side—she's the grandmistress of knife-wielding. Her 'knife skills' have been practiced since she was a child and are long since perfected. If we're talking about chopping people, she definitely counts as a professional!"

"Hahaha..."

Zhou Andong laughed heartily: "You know about that too?"

Du Youwei also followed with a laugh: "Shengjie and Gu Bing grew up together since they were children. He knows everything about Qiuqiu's childhood. Sometimes when we chat about things from when we were little, Qiuqiu is a topic that can't be avoided."

The two chatted for a while, and Zhou Andong checked the time: "Alright, it's getting late, and it's almost time for you to get off work. When everything is settled tomorrow, call Brother Jie, and I'll play host to treat you both to a good meal."

Du Youwei smiled slightly after hearing this and replied: "Treating us to a meal? Let's wait until we get back from Hulunbuir."

Zhou Andong was stunned and pressed: "You're going to Hulunbuir?"

Du Youwei replied: "The case of the mining disaster in Arong Banner already has a result."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Andong instantly perked up and quickly straightened his back: "It's been almost a year; we've finally waited for a result. Tell me the details quickly."

Du Youwei said in a slightly lazy tone: "I don't know too much about the specific situation either. You know, I'm doing a series of special reports on this case."

"It covers your Yugong Group's investment status in the local area, as well as the compensation standards set for the victims of the mining disaster, and so on."

"So I've been patiently waiting for the final handling results of the case to be released. Just last night, a colleague at our Inner Mongolia office called to say that the county and city have arrested a total of forty-three people, including that uncle of yours, Yuan Hongbiao."

"Of course, these forty-three people don't include those underworld figures who were handled separately and involved in organized crime cases. If you add those people in, the total number exceeds one hundred and twenty."

Zhou Andong asked: "When is the court hearing, and when are you leaving?"

"The hearing is on the 28th, and the flight is tomorrow at noon." As she spoke, Du Youwei paused: "So, I'll have to trouble a colleague to help run to the Donghuamen Police Station for your matter."

"Also, tomorrow morning, Shengjie and I will go to your house first to see the newborn little princess, and then we'll go straight to the airport from your place."

"Time is indeed a bit tight." Zhou Andong thought for a moment: "How about this, eat lunch at my place. We'll start the meal a bit early, and after we finish, I'll arrange for someone to take you to the airport. I guarantee it won't delay your schedule."

Du Youwei wouldn't engage in those empty, superficial pleasantries with Zhou Andong and said straightforwardly: "Fine, get me plenty of good food. Since you're the wealthy landlord, I must eat a big meal at your expense."

A smile appeared on Zhou Andong's face: "Then tell me, what do you want to eat?"

Du Youwei didn't even think about it and blurted out: "Lobster, abalone, bear paw, and deer tail!"

Zhou Andong blinked and said in a very serious tone: "Lobster and abalone are no problem. As for the deer tail, that should be doable too, but this bear paw... that's really a bit difficult."

Hearing Zhou Andong's serious tone, Du Youwei was stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter: "I was joking. Even if you got bear paw, I wouldn't dare eat it."

At this moment, Zhou Andong also laughed heartily: "I was teasing you too."

"Pah!" Du Youwei spat in disdain: "Not a shred of sincerity. I'm not talking to you anymore."

Having said that, she hung up the phone without giving Zhou Andong any time to react.

Only Zhou Andong was left on the other end of the line, shaking his head helplessly at the receiver that was already emitting a series of busy signals.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The rapid and monotonous beeping continued to come from the receiver. Zhou Andong slowly put down the phone and couldn't help but laugh again. Afterward, he lit a cigarette and leaned back against the sofa, his movements appearing somewhat lazy.

At this moment, Gu Bing pushed the door open and walked in: "You're done with your business, why aren't you coming out? Everyone is waiting for you!"

Zhou Andong waved his hand casually: "Wait until I finish this cigarette."

Seeing this, Gu Bing reached out to the coffee table, picked up a cigarette, and lit one for himself. He then walked over to the sofa on Zhou Andong's right, sat down with a thud, and asked curiously.

"Who was on the phone just now, chatting for so long!"

"It was Fang Hongbin calling."

Zhou Andong remained lazily leaning against the back of the sofa, speaking slowly as he explained Fang Hongbin's plan.

"He asked me to help contact the media, so I gave Du Youwei a call."

Gu Bing nodded, then asked with a face full of gossip: "I saw Qiuqiu's aunt and third aunt come over too. What's going on with that?"

Zhou Andong rolled his eyes at Gu Bing and said irritably: "What could be going on? They are Qiuqiu's aunt and third aunt. Their niece is in confinement; isn't it only right for them to come and see her?"

Gu Bing looked at Zhou Andong with disdain, his mouth curling slightly to reveal a contemptuous smile.

"You can only fool those who don't know the inside story with that talk. Do you think you can fool me?"

Zhou Andong leaned forward unhurriedly, reached out to pick up the ashtray from the coffee table, and then gently placed it on his lap.

Then, he took a deep drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaled the smoke, and then nonchalantly flicked the ash with his fingers a few times before looking up and staring straight at Gu Bing to retort.

"Then tell me, why would I want to fool you?"

"..."

Gu Bing's mouth opened slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't pop out a single word for a long time, only letting out a muffled grunt from his nose.

"Regardless of how you put it, I'm somewhat related to them by blood or marriage. Is there anything about the messy business in their family that I don't know?"

"Back then, the reason I ran to this Jiangzhou Winery was mainly because I had no feelings for my ex-wife from the day we met, and after we got married, we were together in name only."

"But there was no help for it; we were both sacrifices of a political marriage and had no autonomy. Even if there wasn't a shred of affection, we still had to put on a show of a harmonious and happy family in front of everyone every single day."

Speaking of this, Gu Bing looked at Zhou Andong, his tone filled with indescribable bitterness: "We were married for eight years. Even if a cat and a mouse slept in the same room for eight years, they should have developed some feelings and become friends, right?"

"But we didn't. For eight years, we were a loving couple when there were outsiders around, but in private, we were the most familiar strangers; we rarely talked or chatted. Do you know how suffocating and oppressive those days were?"

"Later on, Qiuqiu found out I was in Jiangzhou and chased after me. In the end, it was actually because that group of people was strongly advocating for Qiuqiu to enter a political marriage. Because of this, Qiuqiu completely broke off relations with them."

"Now that Qiuqiu is in confinement, in order to maintain the appearance of harmony and not be a laughingstock to outsiders, they definitely still have to come and see Qiuqiu."

"However, it's absolutely impossible for them to come at this time; at the very least, it would have to be after some time. By then, everyone who should have come to offer congratulations will have basically already come, and your house will have quieted down; only then will they come over."

"And even if they really come, they won't stay here for too long, let alone hold your daughter and praise her incessantly, or even stay for a meal like they are doing now."

Looking at Gu Bing, Zhou Andong wore a meaningful smile: "Then tell me, in the current context of reform and opening up, which family in the capital can provide them with sufficient benefits and practical, effective help?"

As he spoke, Zhou Andong reached out and picked up the ashtray from his lap, pressing the finished cigarette butt into it. He then placed the ashtray on the coffee table, stood up, and stretched comfortably.

"Reform and opening up, economy first. If our country wants to achieve true take-off and development, we must build a powerful engine for the economy."

"Therefore, from central leaders down to grassroots cadres, everyone has economic development as their primary goal. Everyone views developing the economy as the top priority and the most urgent task. Everyone is going all out and working hard, tightly focused on how to promote economic development."

Having finished, Zhou Andong turned to look at Gu Bing, a faint smile still hanging on his face: "The times have already undergone earth-shaking changes. Nowadays, if you are in officialdom and want to climb higher, relying solely on so-called political resources is far from enough."

"The important position occupied by economic factors will become increasingly prominent and pivotal. As long as you can manage local economic construction well, political achievements will naturally follow!"

Zhou Andong patted Gu Bing on the shoulder and stepped out the door, then heard a little boy's shout coming from the entertainment room opposite.

"I'm hidden, come and find me quickly."

Zhou Andong stopped and took a look, then saw a little head peeking out from the windowsill, stealing a glance outside.

"Ha!"

Zhou Andong laughed, shook his head, and walked toward the meeting room.

At this moment, Gu Bing chased after him and shouted as soon as he saw him.

"I understand!" ===== CHAPTER 2215 =====