Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 203: Leave Him Hanging

Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Leave Him Hanging

When the police car stopped in front of the brick kiln’s gate, Wu Youshan had already unlocked the tightly closed gate and cheerfully greeted the two officers getting out of the car.

Wu Youshan: "Director Zhao, Officer Yu, what brings you here?"

"What’s going on? The electricity folks came to inspect, so why didn’t you open the door?" Zhao Zhengyu, with a loud voice and brisk stride, stormed in.

Looking at Wu Youshan’s fawning attitude, the three people were well aware—he was just catering to whoever was in charge.

Tian Quan was displeased. He daringly said, "Director Zhao, thank goodness you all came! Otherwise, the door wouldn’t have opened, and the three of us would be dried out like jerky under this sun." He then sarcastically added to Wu Youshan, "Right, the police come, and the door swings open nice and fast."

Wu Youshan felt guilty. "Hey brother, you can’t say that."

Tian Quan purposefully spoke loudly for the two officers to hear. "It’s true. If it weren’t for the police, the dogs would still be clawing at the gate barking at us."

Zhao Zhengyu ignored Wu Youshan and went straight to the three others, greeted Chen Ningxi and the group, and only then turned to Wu Youshan with a serious face.

"Old Wu, did the electricity officers say this was happening or not?"

Wu Youshan: "..."

Zhao Zhengyu asked again, "Was the dog tied up, was the gate locked?"

Wu Youshan laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, "...I’m just a gatekeeper. The boss hadn’t said anything, so I—"

Before he could finish, Zhao Zhengyu waved his hand, "Enough with the excuses. How come you knew to open up for us, but when the electric company came to inspect the lines, you wouldn’t let them in? What’s your reasoning?"

Wu Youshan was like a slippery character, saying, "It’s different when the police are here, right? We’re familiar, always seeing each other, but they look unfamiliar. How could I verify their identities? What if they’re troublemakers coming in to stir things up?"

Liu Shaojun was about to speak, but Chen Ningxi raised a hand to hold him back, signaling him not to be impulsive.

The young officer, Yu Yanchuan, noticed the three’s sweaty heads and felt sympathetic, addressing Wu Yousheng,

"They’re three people, one a female officer, two male officers all in electric company uniforms, and you say they’re bad guys? Who’d believe that? They’re conducting normal inspections, why not open the door? What are you feeling guilty about? Afraid of being checked for a problem?"

"Problem? Let’s not spread rumors," Wu Youshan’s eyes shifted sneakily. "My boss hired me to watch the gate, so I keep it secure. Without his word, no one can enter."

Zhao Zhengyu listened with a furrowed brow, but still had to patiently persuade and explain.

"The electricity officers are conducting a standard, legal inspection. Your brick factory must cooperate."

Wu Youshan nodded, seemingly cooperative now. "All right, I hear you. In the future, I’ll let them in for inspections and won’t stop them."

"That’s how it should be," Zhao Zhengyu advised earnestly, finally seeing some results.

The village work was trivial, full of domestic trivialities and conflicts to mediate. Especially in this small village, the worst crime in the past decade was when Old Xue lost a sheep. A village youth had stolen it, selling it for 800 yuan to a city mutton soup restaurant. By the time Zhao Zhengyu arrived, the sheep had been turned into roast lamb and lamb soup. He returned with the confiscated goods, and the youth compensated Old Xue for his loss. Feeling community heart, Old Xue didn’t press charges and treated the whole village to lamb roast and soup. However, the youth’s actions amounted to theft, earning a five-day administrative detention—a minor punishment as a warning.

Zhao Zhengyu asked, "Where’s your boss? Why hasn’t he come out yet?"

"Hmm, he..." Wu Youshan was about to say he’s not around when he saw Xiong Chengbin coming out of a small gatehouse and pointed, "Here he comes, here he comes."

Tian Quan remarked, "Just now, you said he wasn’t here, and now he’s coming out of the factory?"

Zhao Zhengyu, hearing this, said to Wu Youshan, "Do you ever tell the truth?"

"I..." Wu Youshan felt guilty. "I, haha, I can’t always keep track of where he goes."

Zhao Zhengyu frowned, exhaling, "You should be cooperating. Hiding makes it seem like there’s something to check."

Wu Youshan stood speechless, embarrassed.

Liu Shaojun and Tian Quan, receiving Chen Ningxi’s cue, didn’t continue the banter. It was pointless to argue— they came here to investigate electricity theft, which was the key issue.

Chen Ningxi asked Tian Quan beside him, "Xiao Tian, where is the brick kiln’s electric meter located?"

Tian Quan pointed to the hut Xiong Chengbin had just emerged from. "According to records, the meter’s behind that house."

Chen Ningxi understood. "In a bit, go take a look; inspect carefully."

Tian Quan: "Okay."

Liu Shaojun remained standing behind Chen Ningxi, composed and reserved.

From afar, Xiong Chengbin waved at Zhao Zhengyu, "Ah, Mr. Zhao, what brings you here?"

When Zhao Zhengyu and the others approached, he said, "If you’d come out earlier, I wouldn’t have to be here." He began introductions, "Danjiang Electric, Manager Chen, Master Tian, Master Liu; they’re here to inspect the lines."

With a beaming smile, Xiong Chengbin looked at Chen Ningxi, pulling out a pack of soft Yunya cigarettes, "Hello, Chen Ningxi, have a cigarette."

Chen Ningxi said, "Thanks, I don’t smoke."

Xiong Chengbin offered to the others, but no one took one. He had to light one for himself, smoking as he asked, "What are you inspecting?"

Chen Ningxi showed him the Electricity Inspection Work Order. "Xiong Chengbin, this is a notice for inspecting electricity usage. You can take a look. Your wife should be on her way too; she’s the legal representative for the brick factory. Once our colleagues begin the inspection, you need to supervise, and after the check, confirm, and sign off on this work order."

Xiong Chengbin didn’t give the paper or Chen Ningxi’s words any importance.

Impatiently, he said, "She registered it in her name, does that mean it’s her factory? Ask the people here, who really runs this place?"

Chen Ningxi maintained a businesslike stance, her tone calm, "From a legal perspective, the ownership of this factory is indeed your wife’s."

"What do you mean it’s hers? This factory is mine. I just borrowed her name to register it. Ask the workers here, who is the real boss?" Xiong Chengbin pointed with the cigarette-holding hand at Wu Youshan, "You, tell me, whose factory is this?"

Among those present, only Wu Youshan had taken Xiong Chengbin’s cigarette. He exhaled the smoke, speaking with teeth yellowed by tar, "It’s Boss Xiong’s; this factory is Boss Xiong’s."

Chen Ningxi smiled faintly, satisfied.

The most effective way to handle someone like Xiong Chengbin was to leave him hanging.

The more you ignored him, the more he’d crave attention like a clown performing for an audience.

Chen Ningxi told Liu Shaojun, "Once the legal representative arrives, we’ll start the inspection."

Xiong Chengbin clicked his tongue, feeling belittled by the electric company’s manager, as if he didn’t even exist in her eyes. He felt the need to make her understand who really wielded power in this factory—who was the boss.

"Tsk... what can a woman do when she’s here? If you’re going to inspect, do it quickly." Xiong Chengbin pointed behind him, "Go ahead; I said so."

As soon as he finished speaking, a red Qashqai sped in, kicking up dust as it drove along the ground.

The car stopped by the courtyard wall, and a middle-aged woman got out from the driver’s seat, slightly plump, with stylish curly hair and recently tattooed semi-permanent eyebrows still an unnaturally fresh color.

"Who are you guys?" The woman angrily marched toward the group and confronted Chen Ningxi, her eyes fierce, "Was it you who called me just now?"