Chapter 858: Some Happy, Some Sad

Three days later, Cheng Shao grew anxious and called her directly to summon her to the hotel.

Zhang Ting wore a smile on her face and said, "Cheng Shao, even if you hadn't called me, I would have come to report the situation to you."

Yet this smile was something she performed—every movement had been rehearsed. Just like when she participated in the Miss Tourism pageant back then.

Cheng Shao did not look at her; he pointed a finger at the chair in front of him, his tone indifferent: "Sit."

"I've obtained their reserve price!" Zhang Ting sat down, smiling even more brightly.

"How much?" Cheng Shao's heartbeat quickened significantly, but he feigned a calm demeanor.

"He Yuzhu interfered and wouldn't let the companies of his friends participate, so He Zheng had to lower the price." She deliberately took her time speaking to convey the difficulty of her work.

Cheng Shao frowned, his voice dropping: "Exactly how much?"

"2.1 billion." Zhang Ting inflated the number by a full 200 million—a small act of revenge.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shao's eyes lit up fiercely, and he immediately let out a long breath, "Excellent! You have performed a great service this time. I will find a way to maneuver things and strive to get your brother's sentence reduced by a few years."

Zhang Ting was not satisfied, but she still feigned happiness and tentatively asked, "Cheng Shao... is there any possibility of getting him out directly?"

Cheng Shao shook his head, his tone leaving no room for negotiation: "The case has already been judged; how could it be overturned? I will try my best to arrange for him to report a few people and perform more meritorious service; it will be good enough if he can get a few years off. After all, he killed someone!"

Zhang Ting cursed inwardly but could not show it; she nodded: "When I visited him last time, he said he was always being beaten by cellmates inside. Could you... say a word to the people inside and let him stay in a cell alone?"

Cheng Shao pondered for a moment, and finally, he gave a soft "Mm": "I will do my best."

After saying this, he reached out and pulled her into his arms.

Zhang Ting's body stiffened for an instant, then went limp.

"There is one more thing you need to do for me," Cheng Shao's voice sounded against her ear, "You need to help me find out which companies are going to participate in the bidding."

Zhang Ting nodded lightly: "That is not difficult. But it will take some time."

Half a month later. Beijing Hotel, He Family Assets bidding meeting.

The atmosphere in the venue was not lively, and no reporters were present.

Six companies arrived, but the list had long since passed through Zhang Ting's hands and into Cheng Shao's drawer.

Every one of them had been "spoken to"—no one was allowed to bid over 2.1 billion.

Therefore, the companies that came this time were not attended by their Bosses; they were all Deputy General Managers or the like just going through the motions.

At the moment the bids were opened, Cheng Shao's company precisely won the bid with a price of 2.1001 billion.

He Zheng stared at that number, sitting dazed for a long time. His hands were trembling slightly.

His internal reserve price was 1.9 billion. He had originally thought Cheng Shao would also bid that amount. But it was exactly 200 million more—it seemed Zhang Ting had truly played a role.

He Zheng returned home.

He Yuzhu was sitting on the sofa flipping through a newspaper; he didn't even lift his head, but his tone carried a smile: "Congratulations! You sold the land for 200 million more."

Seeing that his father was not furious about the land sale but rather a bit happy, He Zheng was confused and asked: "Dad, do you actually want to sell the land, or do you not want to?"

He Yuzhu put down the newspaper, his gaze calm as water, "Selling is fine for the short term. But for our family, we aren't lacking in liquid capital, so holding onto it is steadier. However, if you want to bring down Cheng Shao, then selling is good. But this is a gamble; you have a high probability of winning, but there could also be accidents. Even if you didn't make a move, their family would inevitably collapse in two years. As someone nearly sixty years old, I still prefer a steady approach."

He Zheng stood there, his heart churning.

What he disliked most was this kind of father; he had racked his brains to plan so much, only to potentially accelerate the collapse of the Cheng Family by a year or two.

He shook his head and swallowed that breath: "Dad, then what is your opinion on me investing in Southeast Asia?"

He Yuzhu smiled.

That smile made He Zheng's back feel cold.

"It must be light-asset," He Yuzhu said: "If you invest in heavy assets in Southeast Asia, you will surely go bankrupt in four years. If that happens, I will not save you. And you will never get another cent from me."

He Zheng was stunned.

The thing he was so determined to do had been sentenced to death by his father in a single sentence—and this time, it was the most severe kind.

A long silence.

The air felt as if it had solidified.

He Zheng's Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally spoke, "Dad... point me in a direction."

He Yuzhu looked at him and said: "I wanted you to do industry, but you didn't want to. Then there is only one path—build your own brand and find others to do the manufacturing. It's the same in Southeast Asia; you don't have to invest in factories, but you can place orders with them."

He Zheng nodded slowly, "I understand."

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was June of '93.

The government issued the strictest real estate control policy.

In a private room at the New Dadu Hotel, smoke swirled and the air was thick with the smell of alcohol.

Cheng Shao was dead drunk, slumped on the sofa. He looked at Pan Laoban, Feng Laoban, and Wang Laoban, repeating the same few sentences over and over: "It's over... everything is over now... the export apartments can't be built, and the high-end office buildings can't be built either... what use is this land now that it's in our hands?"

His eyes were bloodshot, as if asking the air, "He Yuzhu... what kind of person are you? Are you a deity? How could you calculate this so accurately?"

Pan Laoban said with a livid face: "Cheng Shao, you say... could this be a trap the He Family set for us? How could the timing be so coincidental? We just transferred the land and moved the money over, and the control policy comes out?"

"Bullshit!" Cheng Shao slammed the table, "How would they have that ability? If we hadn't been in such a rush to flip it for a profit, this land would still be good land! But now... the money was all scraped together, and that makes it difficult!"

As he spoke, his eyes turned red.

Feng Laoban grew anxious, leaned forward, and said: "Cheng Shao, you must save me! My projects on Qiong Island have all stopped... If those raised funds can't be repaid when they come due, all of us fellow villagers will go bankrupt... How will I have a good life in the future..."

He was almost crying.

"Save your ass!" Cheng Shao turned his head sharply, "The banks are urging me to repay loans every day! Do you think my family runs a bank?"

"But this project was organized by you!" Wang Laoban said agitatedly.

"I'm not a deity either. I could foresee this, but let me tell you, even my dad didn't know about this! How do you expect me to handle it?" Cheng Shao said.

Xizhimen Small Courtyard, a small room of a dozen square meters.

Two black-and-white photos hung on the wall—they were the memorial portraits of Zhang Ting's parents. The two people in the photos were smiling slightly, as if they were still watching her.

Zhang Ting lit a stick of incense, and the blue smoke rose in curls.

She bowed respectfully three times before the spirit tablet, her lips moving as she said, "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry... I wasn't able to take good care of my younger brother. It was because of me that he was framed and sent to prison."

Zhang Ting raised her head, staring into the eyes of her parents in the photograph, as if begging for forgiveness, "However... I can consider this revenge on my part."

As she spoke, she suddenly began to laugh.

That smile carried a hint of ruthlessness, "I first made that villain spend an extra two hundred million."

But as she laughed, her eye sockets turned red, and tears rolled down without warning.

"That villain... has met with retribution." Her voice began to tremble, "They bought the land, and now it's all stuck in their hands, they have to pay a lot of money... I, I hope he goes bankrupt."

By the time she reached the last few words, her teeth were chattering.

Tears fell one after another, and she finally couldn't hold on any longer; her knees went weak, and with a "thump," she knelt on the ground.

The cold floor tiles pressed painfully into her, but she couldn't feel it.

"Mom, Dad..." she sobbed aloud, "Won't you make a decision for me? I want to beg He Zheng... to help me save my brother. He is my Boss, he is truly a good person and never bullies women." Her voice grew quieter and quieter, "But... I am an undercover agent."

She opened her eyes, tears blurring her vision, and her parents' memorial portrait became hazy in the teary light.

"How could I have the face to beg him?"

She bit her lip, her fingernails digging deep into her palms: "Will he... instead make sure my brother never gets out for the rest of his life?"

In the room, there was only the "tick-tock" sound of the old-fashioned wall clock, as if it were counting down something for her.

Zhang Ting fished a one-yuan coin from her pocket. She clutched it in her palm and muttered to herself, "If it's heads, I'll go confess. If it's tails... I'll resign and quit. I'll go far away and never come back."

She raised her head and took one last look at her parents' memorial portrait.

"Mom, Dad... you are in heaven, please make this choice for me."

After speaking, she tossed the coin into the air.

The coin flipped as it flew up, flashed once under the dim light, and then plummeted rapidly.

"Ding—"

With a crisp sound, it bounced twice on the ground, rolled half a circle, and finally wobbled to a stop.

Zhang Ting stared at it intently.