Chapter 222 - 178: The Infallible Mr. Zhu

"Don’t make that face," Chu Bamboo said comfortingly. "The Hehuan Sect knew you have a thing for gangster honor! That’s why they sent you a mob boss to be your concubine."

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to find someone who fits your... preferences and requirements?" Chu Bamboo sighed. "The Hehuan Sect Matchmaking Service doesn’t have it easy, you know!"

Xue Fusheng: "..."

He didn’t want to know.

’And what the hell is a "Hehuan Sect Matchmaking Service"?’ Xue Fusheng’s scalp tingled. ’Is this even reasonable?!’

Lu Muxue’s eyes widened. She looked back and forth between her uncle and her new ’auntie,’ her expression clearly saying that while she didn’t understand, she was deeply shaken.

Madam Xue’s fingers trembled slightly. Her expression was dazed as she muttered, "Such misfortune upon our house, such misfortune..."

On the other end of the line, Lu Jin was already wondering if he should hang up. ’Chu Bamboo has the guts to say these things, but I don’t have the guts to listen.’

"Ah Zhu," Li Kang said, his focus on another matter and his expression turning serious. "If I remember correctly, ’she’ knows Kung Fu. So ’he’ is actually..."

"Mhm," Chu Bamboo nodded calmly.

Li Kang narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. ’The general situation is clear now. The only remaining question is, what was the Hehuan Sect’s motive for having him assassinate Madam Xue and Lu Muxue?’

’Could they be planning to kill Madam Xue to prop up Second Master Xue? Then they could use pillow talk to let the Hehuan Sect infiltrate, or even indirectly influence and control, the Xue Family?’

’But that doesn’t make sense. Second Master Xue is a direct descendant of the Xue Family; he’s already the heir! Madam Xue was married off, and even if she can still mobilize some of the Xue Family’s resources for various reasons, that’s the extent of it...’

’Besides, the biggest obstacle to Second Master Xue controlling the Xue Family’s resources isn’t Madam Xue... it’s that group of old men in the Xue Family!’

’Or maybe they wanted to detonate the Xue Family from within once the news got out? Or even cause a complete falling out between Governor Lu and the Xue Family... But why does something still feel off... Wait!’

"You said ’on the surface’ before?" Li Kang froze, whipping his head around to look at Chu Bamboo. Realization finally dawned in his eyes. ’If there’s a surface, there must be something underneath!’

"Yes." Chu Bamboo leisurely strolled over to Li Kang, pulled his chair next to his own, and flopped down casually. His tone was even. "This Brother Long... the real story is that he was sent to the Human-Demon Workshop by Yang Keshe... the casino owner who was arrested earlier!"

"So, the truth is likely..." Chu Bamboo didn’t finish his sentence, just smiled, his unspoken meaning perfectly clear.

"The All-Powerful Lineage?" Li Kang blurted out. ’How did the All-Powerful Lineage get dragged into this? This is too messy...’

"...I understand!" Lu Jin finally spoke. He carefully considered the information he had, stripping away the chaotic surface to get to the core. "In other words, both the All-Powerful and the Hehuan are suspects, correct?"

’Although for now they’re only suspects, with no real evidence... to him, it was all the same!’

Lu Jin’s fingertips tapped lightly on the rosewood desk, his voice turning cold. "Next, I will work with Governor Su and Captain Huo... to launch a new round of crackdowns in Jinghai City! We’ll focus on Joy Street and Gamblers’ Street... No! We won’t let any other suspicious locations off the hook either."

"The Shoe Sects are running too rampant in our Jinghai City!" Lu Jin said through gritted teeth. "The Human-Demon Workshop! The Hehuan Sect! The casinos! The All-Powerful Sect... harboring assassins, even assassinating the wives and children of high-ranking officials..."

"These are no longer ordinary reactionary forces! We must strike with a heavy fist!"

Hearing this, a flash of inspiration struck Li Kang’s mind, and all his thoughts connected. He shot a stunned look at Chu Bamboo.

’Chu Bamboo’s words never actually confirmed that the culprit was the All-Powerful Sect, did they? In fact, there was no need to jump to that conclusion so early—Brother Long hasn’t even been interrogated yet!’

’Considering all this, combined with the history of grudges between Chu Bamboo and the All-Powerful Sect... the culprit might not actually have any connection to the All-Powerful Sect at all. Is Chu Bamboo... deliberately making trouble for them?’

’Governor Lu was used by Chu Bamboo... oh no, to be more precise, he was indirectly influenced?’

’And now that Governor Lu has made up his mind, even if they interrogate Brother Long later and confirm his actions had nothing to do with the All-Powerful Sect... Governor Lu won’t be able to stop.’

’Once a policy like this is issued, it’s impossible to reverse it overnight unless the consequences are truly severe! Doing so would cause immense damage to the Imperial Court’s prestige. Besides, even if Lu Jin realizes this later, there’s nothing he can say.’

’Because Chu Bamboo only made a casual suggestion. Everyone else filled in the blanks themselves...’

’Terrifying! As expected of you...’ Li Kang was amazed. ’He achieved his goal with just a single, casual sentence... And then, that was it!’

Li Kang also had no love for the Shoe Sects, so there was no way he would interrupt at a time like this.

Of course, Chu Bamboo didn’t know that Li Kang had already figured things out. At that moment, he was silently thinking, ’Let Lu Jin beat the grass... We’ll see if any snakes are startled out!’

’If I beat the grass and startle the snakes myself, I’d be too deep in the situation to see anything clearly. But if the officials do it while I watch from the sidelines... I can probably figure out a lot.’

’Ultimately, there are some things only an outsider can see!’

Madam Xue finally calmed down, though the hand hidden in her sleeve was still trembling. She shot Xue Fusheng a vicious glare, her meaning perfectly clear: *I’ll deal with you properly when we get home.*

"Mr. Chu." Madam Xue turned to gaze at Chu Bamboo, her voice now calm. "To express my gratitude... I’ve decided to further increase the scale of investment in the medical factory that will be producing various medicines in the shantytown redevelopment area!"

"At the same time, regarding the medical factory... we are willing to offer you a certain amount of equity as compensation! To put it simply, you provide a plot of land from the redevelopment area, and that land will be your stake!"

"No need to give the shares to me!" Chu Bamboo raised his eyebrows. "Have the union hold this portion of the shares. The union is preparing to pilot an employee-owned factory model anyway. This half can go right into that!"

"...Employee ownership?" Madam Xue asked, confused.

Chu Bamboo nodded slightly. After a moment’s thought, he began to explain, "It’s a system. The system is basically..."

This was actually the same system used in the real world... distribute profits to the employees as much as possible, making them truly see the company as their own home, and in turn work hard to help the company grow—

This was something he had casually proposed the last time he visited the Union Headquarters!

The group of young students naturally treated it like a priceless treasure. Although the older members had some reservations, considering it was Chu Bamboo’s proposal, they ultimately decided to give it a try and see how it went... After all, if the pilot program failed, they could always change it or scrap it!

"...So honorable?" Xue Fusheng snapped back to reality. Hearing this, his face filled with shock and admiration. ’Is this the true spirit and sentiment of a real gangster godfather? No wonder my niece is so...’

Xue Fusheng loved reading novels about gangsters, Kung Fu, and matrilocal husbands. He had always seen gangs through a romanticized lens. He even wanted to join a gang when he was younger! But word got out, and his old man nearly beat him till his legs were crippled.

Later, he traveled far and wide, entering many slum circles and meeting many gangsters... When he finally saw what real gangs were like, he was deeply disappointed! They were completely different from the ones in novels. Rather than being honorable, they were cruel and violent.

He had already given up hope... ’Novels are just novels, after all!’ But now...

After his expression shifted several times, he made up his mind. He looked directly into Chu Bamboo’s eyes and said, enunciating each word, "Right here, I can give you the bottom line my sister and I discussed! Half... half the factory’s shares, that’s our bottom line!"

"?" Madam Xue almost thought she had misheard. After shooting Xue Fusheng a look of disbelief, she laughed in exasperation.

’Who starts a negotiation by immediately revealing their bottom line?’ But in the end, she didn’t say anything more.

After all, to put it bluntly, Second Master Xue was the true owner of the factory. On the other hand, Chu Bamboo had indeed saved her life...

Most importantly, the factory’s production side wasn’t where the real profits were!

They had invested in and acquired Nanping Pharmaceutical Company—using a licensed company as the main entity to purchase finished medical products from the factory and then sell them within the city—that was where the real profits were!

"I understand," Chu Bamboo nodded slightly. After scanning his surroundings once more, he said, "Alright, since things are more or less settled here... I should be leaving!"

Chu Bamboo waved and straightforwardly exited the captain’s office. Li Kang first nodded subconsciously, then saw Wall Announcements seem to think of something, nod at them, and turn to follow Chu Bamboo.

Lu Muxue bit her lower lip. She walked to the doorway and watched Chu Bamboo’s retreating back, wanting to chase after him, but then she glanced at her mother and hesitated.

Li Kang hesitated for a moment before looking at Ning Linglong. "Captain Ning, I’ll leave the rest... to you!"

Ning Linglong: "..."

The moment she heard Li Kang call her Captain Ning, Ning Linglong knew he was dumping something unpleasant on her... Everyone knew that Li Kang usually called her Vice Ning.

She watched Li Kang’s retreating back, then glanced at the scene Chu Bamboo had left behind, where the atmosphere was as volatile as oil being poured into a hotpot...

Ning Linglong silently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

The next instant, a lioness’s roar erupted: "XUE! FU! SHENG!"

...

Even though Chu Bamboo had already walked some distance, he could still make out that shrill roar... It was Madam Xue’s voice.

He shook his head in pity, then gave Wall Announcements a pitying look. "Didn’t you say you had the day off today?"

"...Yeah!" Wall Announcements wore a brilliant smile, but no matter how you looked at it, you could taste the sorrow hidden beneath it. "It’s just that I was stupid enough to say I’d accompany you to the Moisture Teaching this afternoon... so the captain had a flash of insight, and my full day of vacation was chopped in half!"

Chu Bamboo: "..."

’What a talent!’

’And Li Kang is a top-tier talent too. Good thing he just wanted to pass the civil service exam and get a permanent position back then. Otherwise, I can’t even imagine...’

He entered the women’s restroom and, as per custom, opened the gate to the base. Chu Bamboo glanced at Li Kang, who had also followed, and stepped through without breaking stride.

"...You need to explain things more clearly! That thing, what’s the deal with it?" Li Kang bypassed Wall Announcements to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Chu Bamboo, his voice serious.

"What ’what’s the deal’?" Chu Bamboo’s posture was casual.

"...You know what I mean!" Li Kang said emphatically. Then, he watched as Chu Bamboo, upon entering the base, immediately flopped onto a soft bed constructed by Nuwa.

Li Kang was silent for a long moment before saying, "I understand! Is that your answer?"

"Right... I have heard that rumor before!" Li Kang’s expression was complicated and subtle as he muttered, "I just never thought it was actually true??"

"What rumor?" Chu Bamboo was now the one who was curious.