Chapter 99: A Shocking Secret

After He Yuzhu finished his phone call, he returned to his hotel room.

He first filled the bathtub with hot water and stepped straight in, scrubbing the grime off his body vigorously. Before long, the water in the tub turned black.

When he emerged from the tub, he felt much lighter all over. He filled the tub with water again to make sure he was thoroughly clean.

After drying off, He Yuzhu lay on the bed. With a thought, he entered the space and began to take stock of the gains from this trip.

After counting them up, he discovered he had collected over 300 paintings and more than 400 books from Yi Xiansheng.

The paintings were a collection of works by famous masters, including many ancient paintings as well as many works by Mr. Zhang Daqian. But as he looked through them, he noticed something wrong—those ancient paintings all looked like imitations; could they actually be copies made by Mr. Daqian?

He Yuzhu sighed softly and muttered to himself, "I'll keep them for now. Even if they are imitations, they will be very valuable in the future."

He flipped through the ancient books again and confirmed that most were authentic, with many being classics from the Ming Dynasty. The greatest harvest, however, was the seven volumes of the "Yongle Encyclopedia."

Subsequently, he took out the items from Yi Xiansheng's safe and found that there was not much cash inside, only twenty Small Yellow Fish and a small stack of US dollars; the rest were mostly personnel files.

Among the names in the files, He Yuzhu recognized some, while others were very unfamiliar.

As he flipped through them casually, the three characters "Shen Shichang" suddenly caught his eye.

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat, and he pulled out this file to read it carefully.

It not only recorded Shen Shichang's detailed background but also listed his various sordid scandals, spanning over a dozen years, including the black material on the illicit property transactions Shen Shichang had handled this time.

On several of the papers, it was written in black and white: when he handled the sale of the Japanese ironworks to Lou Zhenhua, he took a kickback of over thirty thousand Big Ocean; another case involved the resale of a textile factory, yielding a profit of twenty thousand Big Ocean. Below that were a dozen similar documents, all with denunciations and fingerprints; the figures of the bribes were shocking.

He Yuzhu twisted these papers, his brow furrowed: should he hand these incriminating pieces of evidence against Shen Shichang to Liu Rusi? He hesitated, unable to decide.

As he continued to flip through, a photograph slid out. He picked it up and saw that the woman in the photo had beautiful features and was actually six or seven parts similar to Liu Rusi! The photo was also stained with a yellowed laboratory report.

He Yuzhu took a close look and couldn't help but gasp—it was evidence that Shen Shichang had poisoned his concubine, Liu Qingxu! What shocked him even more was that the file clearly recorded that Liu Qingxu was a member of the Communist Party.

"Liu Qingxu must be Liu Rusi's biological mother, right? But why has Liu Rusi never kept a photo of her mother at home? Could there be some hidden story?" He Yuzhu muttered to himself.

This truth was too horrifying; if Liu Rusi found out, would she turn against Shen Shichang?

Should he hand over this document or not? Once it was revealed, would it be a blessing or a curse?

He pondered for a long time, still unable to make a decision.

His hand holding the document grew heavy, and sleepiness quietly crept up on him. He Yuzhu hurriedly exited the space and collapsed onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.

The next morning, a knock on the door woke him up.

He Yuzhu rubbed his eyes and asked with a bit of sleepy laziness, "So early, what's the matter?"

"Didn't you say you were taking the train back to Si Jiu Cheng today? If we don't leave now, we'll miss it!" Wang Jiazhi's voice came from outside the door.

"Right, I'll get dressed immediately, we'll leave right away." He Yuzhu instantly sobered up and hurriedly replied.

At the same time, the kitchen at the Lou Steel Rolling Mill was bustling with activity.

Lou Laoban had specifically ordered a private meal in advance, naming He Daqing to show off a few of his signature skills.

He Daqing, wearing an apron, stood in front of the stove, skillfully mixing the sauce while occasionally instructing the kitchen helper, Xiao Liu, beside him: "When slicing the fish, it must be thin; you have to be steady, precise, and fast, doing it all in one go... otherwise, when you pour the hot oil over it, the fish slices will break."

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Xiao Liu's forehead, and his tone carried a bit of earnestness: "Master He, to tell you the truth, since I joined the factory, no one has ever taught me hand-in-hand like this; usually, I just fumble around on my own. You must give me more guidance in the future."

"Teaching you is no problem," He Daqing scooped up a spoonful of sauce to taste and smacked his lips, "but you have to pick the right side and stop following some people, stirring up trouble and slacking off!"

Xiao Liu nodded repeatedly: "I understand, I will definitely follow you and support you."

In the canteen's private room, Lou Zhenhua was chatting with three distinguished guests from Nanjing.

Lou Xiaoe was also sitting beside her father. The guest Lou Laoban was hosting today was a family friend, Zhang Guoping—Zhang Guoping had come north this time to open a bank in Beiping on behalf of the government.

Lou Zhenhua sipped his tea and spoke with a grave expression: "Old Zhang, business is getting harder and harder to do these days. The payment for goods I just received today will depreciate by ten percent in less than half a month. You people who run banks, don't you have any way to stabilize things?"

Zhang Guoping shook his head and sighed: "Military expenditures are huge now, and American goods are pouring in continuously; the treasury is just a bottomless pit, it's difficult! Take my advice: if you can exchange for Big Ocean, do it, and if you have the means, hoard some US dollars and gold. I estimate that by the end of the year, the currency will depreciate by more than double. Let these words leave my mouth and enter your ears; they must never be spread, or I fear my life won't be safe."

Lou Zhenhua sighed deeply, bowed solemnly, and said: "Old Zhang, I cannot thank you enough!"

Zhang Guoping waved his hand: "Brother Lou, you are too kind. If it weren't for your father's all-out support back then, our Zhang family would have gone bankrupt long ago. We are our own people, no need for formalities. There is one more thing I must remind you: recently, some people in Nanjing, for their own selfish interests, intend to release a large amount of counterfeit money into Si Jiu Cheng. You must be careful; don't work hard to ship out goods only to end up with a pile of waste paper."

"Who is so arrogant?" Lou Zhenhua pressed.

Zhang Guoping lowered his voice: "This... it is not convenient to say more, in any case, you must be very careful!"

Just as they were speaking, steaming hot dishes were brought to the table, and the enticing aroma instantly filled the air.

Lou Zhenhua picked up a chopstick of Boiled Fish and said to Zhang Guoping: "Brother Zhang, you are from Chongqing, try this dish and see if it's authentic?"

Zhang Guoping took a bite, his eyes lit up immediately, and his chopsticks never stopped moving.

He remarked to his two assistants: "It's strange, we back home love spicy food, but why has no one tried this method?"

His cousin Zhang Ying echoed: "It's not rare to put chili in fish, but I've never seen fish slices made this smooth, tender, and fragrant before."

Zhang Yong also smiled and said: "Second Uncle, when we go back home, we must bring this method back."

Seeing that the guests liked it so much, Lou Zhenhua instructed the waiter nearby: "Go and invite Director He over."

He Daqing soon walked into the private room and, seeing Lou Laoban and the guests, hurriedly asked politely: "Boss, are these dishes to your liking?"

Lou Laoban nodded with satisfaction: "It tastes just like what you make at He Ji Restaurant, good! My distinguished guests here would like to ask about your method for this Boiled Fish; you don't mind sharing, do you?"

"What's there to mind," He Daqing laughed heartily, "If you really want to learn, send someone to me anytime, I guarantee I'll teach you until you know how!"

Zhang Guoping praised sincerely: "Master He, the fish you made is truly superb! Fresh, tender, and flavorful, with an authentic spiciness; it really suits the taste of us Sichuanese. What is the name of this dish?"

Just as He Daqing was about to answer, Lou Xiaoe, who was on the side, spoke first, her tone filled with a bit of pride: "Uncle Zhang, this is called Boiled Fish! Actually, this dish was first created by..." She glanced at He Daqing and playfully corrected herself, "by Master He's son, Brother Zhuzi!"

Hearing this, Zhang Guoping laughed and said to He Daqing: "Truly, a tiger father has no dog son!"

He Daqing hurriedly waved his hand modestly: "You flatter me. Actually, He Ji Restaurant has a few other signature dishes that are also quite good. If Mr. Zhang has time, you might as well go and try them. Mention my name when you go, and I'll give you a thirty percent discount!"

Zhang Guoping readily agreed: "That's perfect, I'll be free tomorrow at noon. Xiao E, how about you accompany Uncle Zhang tomorrow?"

Lou Xiaoe nodded immediately: "Okay! Master He, is Brother Zhuzi at the restaurant now? I still want to find him to take a few photos for me!"

He Daqing shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness: "That kid ran off to Nanjing, but he'll be back soon. By the way, Lou Laoban, I've been here for almost half a month and want to implement some new rules. I have an immature idea here; take a look. If you agree, I'll put it into effect tomorrow."

Lou Zhenhua looked at it and suddenly became happy, saying: "Good, this is written very well. You just follow these rules, I support you..."