Chapter 1079: Staging a Play

Yan Jiefang rubbed his hands back and forth, sneaking a glance at He Yuzhu; he wanted to say something, but swallowed it back down.

When it came down to it, you couldn't write two "Yan" characters with one stroke; he had a rift with Yan Jiekuang, but he had always been good to Yan Yan, who was also the only seedling of Lao San—he still didn't want to see him truly ruined by a woman.

"Brother Zhuzi," he finally managed to squeeze out, "that Yan Yan... he won't be in trouble, will he? That kid is just a playboy. He doesn't have any truly malicious intentions."

He Yuzhu listened to him and said: "If he doesn't know what that woman is up to, then it has nothing to do with him. But if he's involved, this matter is huge. He can forget about ever getting out for the rest of his life. If he's lucky enough to dodge it this time, you go back and advise him. Keep your eyes open when making friends; don't let just anyone get close to you. Especially those people coming from Taiwan—those types, they never wake up early unless there's profit to be made."

Yan Jiefang nodded vigorously at the end: "Brother Zhuzi, don't you worry, I, Yan Jiefang, am of one heart with you. If Yan Yan really acts like a fool and falls into this, then he brought it on himself."

He Yuzhu stopped wasting words, turned around, lifted the curtain, and walked out.

He hadn't walked far when he saw a woman in her thirties coming toward him.

Her steps were steady, her waist straight, and her whole being exuded the unique, crisp vigor of someone who practiced martial arts—it was none other than Yang Xiaoyu, Ma Yan's youngest daughter.

This girl had been obsessed with Kung Fu since she was a child.

She felt the punches and kicks Ma Yan taught her weren't enough, so she ran off to the Shichahai Sports School to soak for several years, winning the championship in the Si Jiu Cheng martial arts competition several times.

He Yuzhu had initially wanted to look after her and had Ershuan put her into the Security Team, but she didn't do that well, and eventually, she became a mainstay in the profession of female Bodyguards.

Ma Yan had doted on this youngest daughter since she was small and had looked for He Yuzhu several times to ask him to let her go; He Yuzhu had even arranged several positions for her, such as marketing director and logistics supervisor at the Electronics Factory, but the girl wouldn't take a single one.

In the end, she laid her cards on the table with Ma Yan: if she wasn't allowed to be a Bodyguard, she would run away from home. Ma Yan couldn't win against her and could only let her be.

Who would have thought this girl actually had a talent for the Bodyguard profession; she was now the Deputy General Manager of the Security Department of the He Group.

Yang Xiaoyu walked up to He Yuzhu and said casually: "Uncle He, Su Ying is indeed problematic. She wants to enter the kitchen and even asked Yan Yan to put in a good word for her. That kid Yan Yan is quite obedient; he told Old Gao that she was a foreigner who wanted to see how the food was cooked."

He Yuzhu's brow twitched; he didn't stop his feet, only replying with three words: "And Old Gao?"

Old Gao was the head chef he had specially invited from the Heji Restaurant, the closing disciple personally trained by He Daqing before he retired; he could handle Sichuan, Lu, and Yue Cuisine, and could even do a few Tan Family Cuisine dishes.

Today's banquet relied on him to hold the fort; if he didn't even have this bit of alertness, then the man wasn't worth using.

Yang Xiaoyu curled her lips: "You know how Old Gao is, don't you? Rules are more important than heaven. He told Yan Yan directly: 'The kitchen is a restricted area, no idlers allowed. If you want to see the food, wait at the table.' He retorted until Yan Yan's face turned green."

He Yuzhu secretly breathed a sigh of relief; his feet had already turned past the corridor, and his voice dropped: "Where is she? Where is she now?"

"Ma Rui and Yang Jing came just now, and the two of them pulled Su Ying to the back courtyard." Yang Xiaoyu followed two steps behind, "They said they wanted Su Ying to help translate a script."

He Yuzhu's steps faltered: "How does Ma Rui know her?"

"Yan Yan has known Yang Jing for a long time; wanting to show off his connections, he introduced Su Ying to her. Who knew that woman would climb up the pole and start chatting quite warmly with Yang Jing. Yang Jing just happened to take on a foreign play and couldn't quite understand the script, so she wanted Su Ying to explain it to her."

He Yuzhu's brows tightened: "Did you arrange for someone to keep an eye on her?"

"I sent two reliable ones over; they've been watching her the whole time."

He Yuzhu didn't hesitate anymore and turned around to head toward the Houyuan: "No, I have to go meet her myself."

Yang Xiaoyu hurried two steps to remind him: "Uncle He, you need a reasonable excuse; this woman is very sharp."

"I understand."

He Yuzhu walked fast, but his brain turned even faster.

He walked to the front courtyard and happened to bump into Xu Damao; he grabbed the man and said: "Damao, act in a play with me."

Xu Damao smiled and said: "Zhuzi, you've invited a bunch of celebrities today; what play do you want me to act in?"

"You play an old lecher who can't move his feet when he sees a pretty woman."

Xu Damao almost dropped his wine glass: "Damn you, He Yuzhu! It's been a long time since I cursed you, but today I have to curse you—that's going too far!"

He Yuzhu draped his arm over his shoulder and led him toward the Houyuan, leaning his mouth to his ear: "See that woman Yan Yan brought?"

Xu Damao glanced in the direction of his gaze, and his eyeballs immediately stuck to her: "That chick isn't top-tier beautiful, but that figure, that wheat-colored skin, the way she walks... it's actually quite interesting."

He Yuzhu let him go and said: "Damao, this woman wants to destroy our pharmaceutical factory. This matter has to do with you, too. You must help me do this."

Xu Damao rolled his eyes and said: "The factory is a matter for several of us; you have to give me more benefits."

He Yuzhu said: "You help me with this favor, and I will help you with a favor in the future. As long as you don't kill or commit arson. If something happens, I will definitely help you."

Xu Damao bumped fists with him and said: "Deal."

He Yuzhu roughly explained the play the two were to perform; Xu Damao chuckled, "Did you really find Big Ocean? That's not mine, it must have been hidden by someone else."

When Xu Damao got close to his own house, he shouted at the top of his lungs: "Zhuzi! You tell me the truth! When you were renovating the house, did you find 2,000 Big Ocean? These Big Ocean are all out of print. One piece is worth tens of thousands. Did you swallow them when you were fixing the house for me?"

He Yuzhu cooperated by raising his tone: "I hired master craftsmen from the Forbidden City to do the repairs; they didn't even leave a brick gap for you, I didn't find a damn thing!"

"No way! I have to go in and see!"

As Xu Damao said this, he had already darted to the door in a few steps and pushed open the door to the courtyard.

Inside the room, Yang Jing was holding a stack of English scripts and asking Su Ying to help her translate.

The moment the door was pushed open, Yang Jing looked up, stunned: "Dad? Uncle Xu? You guys..."

He Yuzhu spread his hands, looking helpless: "Your Uncle Xu doesn't know what nerve he hit; he insists that two thousand Big Ocean he hid back in the day are buried under this house. And they're all out of print. Isn't this just nonsense?"

Yang Jing looked at Xu Damao suspiciously, then looked at He Yuzhu.

She knew Xu Damao had always been in business with her father-in-law, and their relationship wasn't bad on weekdays, so why this sudden outburst? Her eyes were full of question marks.

He Yuzhu sighed and added: "He's just losing his temper at me because he lost too much in Macau and I won't let him sell his shares in the pharmaceutical factory."

Yang Jing hurriedly stood up to smooth things over: "Uncle Xu, how much can two thousand Big Ocean be worth? If you're short on money, I have some here; I'll lend it to you first."

Just as Xu Damao was about to answer, He Yuzhu secretly kicked his heel from behind.

Xu Damao immediately changed his face, his eyes darting toward Su Ying: "Zhuzi, who is this great beauty? Introduce her to me!" He stepped forward, as if remembering something, and said: "Beauty, you were brought here by that kid Yan Yan, right? That kid isn't good enough for you!"

Su Ying retreated half a step without changing her expression, brushing the hair on her shoulder. She exposed the fair skin of the back of her neck, which stung the eyes in the light by the window.

She lifted her eyelids, her gaze resting on Xu Damao for two seconds, then looked at He Yuzhu, and said: "Miss Yang, I think we should change places!"

He Yuzhu reached out and grabbed Xu Damao's arm: "Let's go, don't embarrass yourself in front of the girl."

Xu Damao shook off his arm: "Why can't I sell my shares in the pharmaceutical factory? I invested real money and silver into it!"

He Yuzhu pulled a long face: "I'm not letting you sell it for your own good. Do you know how much that factory will be worth in five years? If you sell it now, damn it, you'll just take that money to gamble and end up a pauper again."

As soon as Su Ying heard "pharmaceutical factory," her eyes immediately lit up.

Su Ying stood up, smiled, and said with a bit of "playing hard to get": "You guys talk about your business; I won't disturb you."

Xu Damao suddenly said, "This young lady, I was just a bit angry earlier; it was mainly because I couldn't sell the shares I spent money to buy, and I couldn't get past it mentally."

He Yuzhu said, "Fine, I will take a step back. If you want to sell, you can, but you must sell the shares to me."