Chapter 326: Where Did He Hide It?

“Director Cha, weren’t you supposed to leave for a business trip to China?”

The official trip to China was scheduled for this morning. However, when I showed up at the office, Chairman Park Yeongil asked me about it in surprise.

“My flight is at 3:00 p.m., so I still have time.”

“Looks like you came because you heard something from Chairman Zhen. Go on, tell me.”

“Director Pan contacted me and said that Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan personally went to see Chairman Zhen Weiliang early this morning.”

“Should I take that to mean he managed to secure the money to buy the gold?”

“That’s what Director Pan thinks.”

“That’s good news. So when are the negotiations between Chairman Zhen and Deputy Secretary Zhang supposed to begin?”

“According to Director Pan, they were scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. our time.”

Chairman Park Yeongil glanced at the wall clock and continued.

“It’s already been about forty minutes. Still, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?”

“Director Pan promised to contact me immediately if anything unexpected happened.”

“Then no news is good news.”

Bzzzz—

Some time later, the phone lying on the desk vibrated.

I picked it up and checked the screen. The caller was Director Pan Kai.

That call could only mean one thing.

Something unexpected had happened.

After informing Chairman Park, I immediately answered.

“Yes, Director Pan.”

“Director Cha, this is Zhen Weiliang.”

“Ah, Chairman Zhen. How are the gold negotiations with Deputy Secretary Zhang going?”

“We just finished.”

When conducting a precious-metals transaction, the buyer first has to verify that they actually possess the funds. The seller, meanwhile, must prove to the buyer that the gold is genuine.

Going through all those bureaucratic procedures usually takes quite a lot of time.

Yet they had finished the negotiations in only two hours.

I asked Chairman Zhen Weiliang why everything had ended so quickly.

“It’s because we skipped the gold-authentication stage.”

Authenticity verification was the most basic and important part of the transaction.

Yet for some reason, they had skipped the procedure.

I asked Chairman Zhen Weiliang whether Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan had actually agreed to that.

“Would Deputy Secretary Zhang really agree to something like that?”

“I’m not quite following you, Chairman Zhen.”

“I suspected that he might not be hiding the gold in Beijing at all, but somewhere else. So I used a little trick to test that theory.”

I immediately understood what Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s trick had been.

He had probably hinted to Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan that Politburo member Liu Peiqi had his eye on the gold, then offered, just to be safe, to transport the shipment all the way to its final destination.

Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan would have considered the offer something he had nothing to lose from accepting.

Carefully, I asked whether my guess was correct.

“Director Cha, you guessed exactly right. We agreed to verify the gold’s authenticity after arriving at the destination airport, when I hand the shipment over to Deputy Secretary Zhang.”

“I understand what you were trying to do, but there’s one thing that worries me.”

“You’re afraid there might be fake bars mixed in with the gold?”

“No. I’m worried that after receiving the gold, Deputy Secretary Zhang might claim he doesn’t have the money and refuse to pay.”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang suddenly burst into thunderous laughter.

Not fully understanding the situation, I waited silently for him to calm down.

Before long, he continued in a cheerful voice.

“I considered that possibility too, so I had the payment for the gold transferred in advance.”

“That’s an extremely unfavorable condition for Deputy Secretary Zhang. Did he really agree to it that easily?”

“I added a clause to the contract stating that if any counterfeit gold is discovered, I’ll pay ten times the amount in compensation.”

“Ah, now I understand. Then where does Deputy Secretary Zhang keep his gold?”

“He stores it at some secret location in Langfang, right between Beijing and Tianjin.”

At that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.

After quickly organizing it into a clear plan, I continued.

“Chairman Zhen, how are you planning to transport the gold Deputy Secretary Zhang purchased?”

“We’ll load it into specially designed containers and send it by cargo plane. Why do you ask?”

“I was thinking it might be useful to attach a GPS tracker somewhere on those containers.”

“Ah, I see what you’re getting at.”

“Still, there’s no harm in being extra careful. The device absolutely cannot be discovered.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

When the worldly and experienced Chairman Zhen Weiliang spoke with such confidence, there was no need for further concern.

“Ha-ha, understood. What time are you planning to arrive in Beijing?”

“If we leave here at one in the afternoon, we should reach Daxing Airport at around seven in the evening. What about you?”

“I’m supposed to arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport at around 4:30 p.m.”

“Then why don’t we meet somewhere near Daxing Airport?”

They would attach a GPS tracker to the special containers.

If luck was on our side, we would be able to find out exactly where Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan was hiding the gold.

Chairman Zhen Weiliang was proposing that we meet precisely so that we could track down that location together.

“I accept your proposal, Chairman Zhen.”

“Ha-ha, good. We’ll talk later.”

Click.

The moment I hung up, Chairman Park Yeongil immediately began questioning me.

“What did you discuss with Chairman Zhen?”

“The gold deal with Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan...”

***

“What?! Is that true?”

Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua practically jumped out of his seat in shock as he asked the caller again.

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

“All right, understood. Where is he heading now?”

“He’s on his way to the airport.”

“Got it. Report immediately if anything unexpected happens.”

Click.

As though he had been waiting only for Pu Zhenghua to hang up, Politburo member Liu Peiqi spoke.

“Pu Zhenghua, what happened?”

“Ten minutes ago, Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan left Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s office, and he looked extremely grim.”

Politburo member Liu Peiqi believed he understood what had happened.

Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan had gone to Chairman Zhen Weiliang’s company at eight in the morning to purchase the gold.

Yet for some reason, he had left the office after only two hours.

That could only mean that the negotiations had collapsed.

He asked Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua what he thought.

“I’m inclined to think the same thing.”

“But why did the negotiations collapse?”

“Perhaps Chairman Zhen granted your request?”

Liu Peiqi recalled what had happened several days earlier.

He himself intended to eliminate Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and seize the gold by force.

That meant there was no longer any need for him to buy gold from Chairman Zhen Weiliang.

After notifying Zhen that circumstances would prevent him from purchasing the shipment, he had asked him to quote Zhang Jinan an absurdly high price.

And that was exactly what Pu Zhenghua was hinting at now.

Suddenly, a bad thought crossed Liu Peiqi’s mind.

“What if Deputy Secretary Zhang changed his mind about buying the gold?”

“That possibility should be taken into account as well.”

Anxiety seized Liu Peiqi.

If Zhang Jinan refused to buy Zhen Weiliang’s gold, then the entire plan they had painstakingly put together would have to be completely redesigned.

“Hmm... What should we do?”

“Perhaps we could ask Chairman Zhen to make a small concession?”

“You think we should?”

However, Director Liu Haoran had a different opinion from Liu Peiqi and Pu Zhenghua.

“Brother, you’re in the position of someone who’s supposed to prevent Zhang from buying Zhen’s gold. If you bring up something like that, it’ll look suspicious.”

“Hmm, I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Brother, you shouldn’t act openly. I’ll call Vice Chairman Wei Chen myself and find out why the negotiations broke down.”

“Call him now.”

Without delay, Liu Haoran dialed Vice Chairman Wei Chen.

After several rings, Wei Chen’s surprised voice came through.

“Director Liu, what brings you to call me?”

“I heard Deputy Secretary Zhang went to see Chairman Zhen yesterday evening.”

“That’s correct.”

“And how are their negotiations progressing?”

“They’re going smoothly without any problems.”

Director Liu Haoran frowned in confusion.

He knew for certain that the negotiations between Zhang Jinan and Zhen Weiliang had fallen through.

“Come on. Tell me the truth.”

“I am telling you the truth.”

“Then why did Deputy Secretary Zhang leave Chairman Zhen’s company after only two hours?”

“Where did you get that information? Don’t tell me... you’ve been following Deputy Secretary Zhang?”

For a moment, Liu Haoran’s breath caught.

Vice Chairman Wei Chen had hit the nail on the head.

If he answered truthfully, the consequences could be disastrous.

How could he possibly admit it in a situation like this?

“How could you even think such a thing!”

“Then how do you know Deputy Secretary Zhang’s movements?”

“We’re simply very interested in whether he’ll buy the gold from Chairman Zhen.”

“You mean you put Chairman Zhen’s office under surveillance?”

“You’re absolutely right, Vice Chairman Wei.”

“I’ll take your word for it, Director Liu. But there’s no longer any need to keep watching the office.”

Those words meant Zhang Jinan would not be buying Zhen Weiliang’s gold.

Liu Haoran asked Vice Chairman Wei Chen whether he had understood him correctly.

“You’re mistaken, Director Liu. We simply decided to continue the negotiations in Beijing.”

“But isn’t the gold stored in the underground vault beneath Chairman Zhen’s company?”

“This afternoon, we’ll load it onto a cargo plane and deliver it to Beijing.”

“Ah, I see.”

“We’ll be flying together with the shipment. If the opportunity comes up, let’s meet there.”

“Ha-ha, excellent. I’ll treat you to a luxurious dinner and drinks.”

After exchanging a few more words with Vice Chairman Wei Chen, Liu Haoran ended the call.

He then relayed the conversation in detail to Politburo member Liu Peiqi.

“...It looks like the gold negotiations are already in the final stretch.”

“I see. Still, where exactly is Zhang Jinan planning to store that gold?”

“I’ll buy Vice Chairman Wei Chen some drinks and casually coax the information out of him.”

***

“Why did Liu Haoran call you?” Chairman Zhen Weiliang asked Vice Chairman Wei Chen curiously.

“He thought the negotiations had fallen through.”

“So he called to confirm his suspicions?”

“That’s right, Chairman.”

“Petty bastards... Has the GPS tracker already been attached to the special containers?”

“I was just informed that the device has been installed.”

“And you’re sure they won’t find it?”

“It was installed in the most concealed and inconspicuous location possible, so the chance of discovery is essentially zero.”

“I see. Still, why is Director Cha so desperate to find out where Zhang Jinan’s storage site is?”

Vice Chairman Wei Chen had been wondering the same thing.

Liu Peiqi was going to seize Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan’s gold anyway.

So what difference did it make where exactly the gold was stored?

Yet Cha Jiham stubbornly wanted to know.

“I have no idea.”

“What do you think, Director Pan?”

“There’s a high probability Liu Peiqi will try to get Zhang Jinan’s storage location out of us.”

Only then did Chairman Zhen Weiliang begin to understand Cha Jiham’s true intention.

For his plan to work flawlessly, one crucial condition had to be met.

Liu Peiqi had to eliminate Zhang Jinan and seize the gold.

Cha Jiham was simply preparing the ground so that Liu Peiqi could dispose of his rival without difficulty.

He asked Director Pan Kai for his opinion.

“I’m thinking the same thing as you, Chairman.”

“Now I understand what he’s planning. Have they transferred the payment for the gold sold to the U.S. government yet?”

Chairman Zhen Weiliang had sold Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan twelve tons of gold, half of which consisted of gold entrusted to him by the U.S. government.

“Director Griffin said he would transfer the money immediately after the transaction is completed. Since the purchase hasn’t formally closed yet, there’s no need to send the funds right now.”

“Hmm... That’s true.”

Knock, knock, knock.

There was a knock at the door, and the secretary entered the chairman’s office.

“Chairman, it’s time for you to leave for Beijing.”