Liu Tianlai naturally had plenty of ways to deal with a fool like Min Chengye, three parts of coaxing, three parts of intimidation, three parts of hinting, and one part of sharpness. Between betraying his friend and protecting himself, Min Chengye thought for a moment and chose the latter without hesitation.
As Wen Liang expected, as a well-known bad friend in Guanshan, Gao Tianfang's private activities were really known to Min Chengye. Min Chengye was a scoundrel who was not afraid of the fifteenth day after doing the first day. He did not wait for Liu Tian to interrogate him, and simply told the truth about Gao Tianfang.
It was already past five in the morning when Wen Liang received Liu Tianlai's call. He was not sleepy anyway and had been busy all night, so he made an appointment to meet at Liuji Mutton Soup Restaurant located in a small alley in Xicheng District. Often the most authentic snacks and delicacies in every city are in some inconspicuous small places, and it is difficult to find them if you are not a local. For example, this Liuji is said to have opened a shop here since the Qing Dynasty. It has been passed down for a hundred years. The old soup is so fragrant that it spreads ten miles away. It only sells from five to eight every morning, and then closes. It will not wait for those who are late. It is very willful!
Along with Liu Tianlai came Geng Chao, the great hero of the night. Liu Tianlai intended to bring him closer to Wen Liang's core circle. Wen Liang had a good impression of this man and was happy to get another helping hand in Qingzhou. As soon as they met, he extended his hand enthusiastically and said with a smile: "Geng, you have worked hard. It was all thanks to you tonight that we were able to catch the criminal red-handed!"
Geng Chao was not good at speaking. Although he was in awe of Wen Liang, he could not show any servility. He smiled awkwardly and said, "... Director Liu was in charge tonight. I was just running errands. It was not hard work."
Liu Tianlai patted his shoulder and said, "It's a merit, it's a merit, just keep what Master Wen said."
“Yes, yes!”
Wen Liang didn't say anything else. He pointed to the small tables and chairs lined up in the aisle outside the store and said, "I didn't expect to arrive late. The seats inside are full of people. Please make do and sit down. If you two want something to eat, ask Chang Cheng to buy it."
Liu Tianlai smiled and said, "Anything is fine. Give me two kilograms of mutton and mutton offal. Oh, and give me a sheep whip..."
Chang Cheng and Liu Tianlai had already gotten along well, so he joked, "Director Liu, you're still strong despite your age, aren't you afraid of feeling suffocated when you eat this?"
"It has nothing to do with that... I just love the texture of this thing when I chew it, it's so crunchy!"
Several people laughed at the same time.
But Geng Chao was not so ignorant. He pulled Chang Cheng and said, "Master Chang, please sit down. I'll do it. I'll do it."
Wen Liang waved his hand and said, "Let him go. Director Geng, please take a seat first. Let's have a chat."
Knowing that Wen Liang had something important to discuss, Geng Chao did not force him. After the three of them sat down, Wen Liang asked in a low voice, "Did Min Chengye confess?"
"Hmm!" Liu Tianlai said disdainfully, "This guy is a well-known figure in Guanshan after all. I thought I would have to put in some effort to deal with him, but I didn't expect that he would be so scared as soon as I threatened to report the gambling-related matter to the higher-ups. Doesn't he have a father-in-law who is the deputy director of the National People's Congress? Why don't you use him to calm the situation?"
"Wang Jinfu has such a precious son-in-law, and he has been holding his nose to get through these years. You can imagine the relationship between the two. If such a trivial matter as gathering for gambling really comes to his attention, I'm afraid the first one to suffer is Min Chengye." Wen Liang smiled and said, "So if the matter can be solved by himself, Secretary Min will definitely not bother his father-in-law. Besides, it's hard to say how much power a deputy director of a mere People's Congress still has now..."
In other words, once someone with ulterior motives got hold of the millions of dollars in gambling money, Wang Jinfu alone would not be able to suppress it. Geng Chao continued, "Although Min Chengye is stupid, at least he is not hopelessly stupid. He probably knows that we are not interested in gambling, but he can't take care of so many things, so he sold Gao Tianfang out so cleanly."
"I would rather die than have a friend die. When a couple encounters trouble, they have to go their separate ways, not to mention such idiot friends." Wen Liang sneered and said, "I am a little curious, what illegal things did these two do together?"
Min Chengye was in charge of urban construction in Sangqiu District, which was a very lucrative department. However, urban construction involved many complicated aspects, and often required the use of connections in the city. Gao Tianfang, as Chen Zongzhi's chief secretary, had a low position but considerable power. In some links that needed to be opened up, he was even cheaper than the leaders. So the two hit it off and worked together to do a lot of good things to enrich themselves.
Liu Tianlai picked out a few important and large-scale cases and told Wen Liang a few stories, which made him speechless. If he were to be reborn twice, what else would he find unpredictable? It would be the courage and methods of domestic public officials to embezzle and accept bribes. There is nothing they cannot do, only what you can't imagine.
However, these things either happened too long ago or are too private, and most of them are difficult to verify. Wen Liang wants solid evidence, not just gossip. Liu Tianlai said, "There is another thing that I think can be used as a breakthrough... About the year before last, Sangqiu District was preparing to develop a batch of high-end commercial housing, but for some reason, the approval procedures were stuck for almost half a year. Min Chengye secretly found Gao Tianfang, who made arrangements and spoke well of him to Chen Zongzhi, and only then was the approval document issued. Because of this, Min Chengye said that he gave Gao Tianfang a bribe of more than 300,000 yuan..."
Wen Liang frowned and asked, "Cash?"
"No," Liu Tianlai shook his head and said, "They are much smarter. First, Gao Tianfang arranged for a friend to buy a three-bedroom apartment in this newly developed commercial housing. Later, the developer found an excuse to break the contract and sold the house to someone else. So Gao's friend sued the developer in court. Finally, after mediation by the court, the two families reached a settlement. The developer was compensated for breach of contract in accordance with the contract, an amount equal to three times the purchase price..."
Geng Chao was also hearing this for the first time, and was quite stunned. He said, "How could they come up with this..."
"This sounds perfect, how could it be a breakthrough?"
"According to Min Chengye, the developer was unhappy with Gao Tianfang's high asking price and should have kept evidence. On the other hand, the friend who helped him out seemed to have fallen out recently..."
Wen Liang's heart moved, as if he had thought of something, and asked, "What's the name of that friend?"
"Mo Xiaoya, seems to be Gao Tianfang's mistress."
The man is unmarried and the woman is unmarried, so they are called boyfriend and girlfriend, okay? However, Wen Liang did not intend to popularize this knowledge to Liu Tianlai, a rough man. He smiled slightly and said, "It's her. I know."
Liu Tianlai asked in surprise: "Do you know Mr. Wen?"
"We met once, but we are not familiar with each other, nor do we know each other. But Min Chengye did not lie, the relationship between these two people is indeed extraordinary."
Liu Tian looked around and came over to say, "It's good that they have a special relationship. They must know all of Gao Tianfang's details. Why don't I send someone to check Mo Xiaoya's background and see if I can get her to give up her evil ways..."
Director Liu must have studied the idiom dictionary recently, and his use of four-character idioms has improved greatly compared to before. Wen Liang smiled and said, "Okay, you don't have to worry about this matter. After dinner, go back with Director Geng and have a good rest."
Geng Chao was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked at Liu Tianlai. He had been busy all night pushing things to this point, and suddenly he was left out like an outsider. Anyone would probably feel uncomfortable, but Liu Tianlai was like nothing happened, without any emotional fluctuations. He sat up straight, swallowed the half-sentenced words, and smiled, "Okay, I got it, Master Wen, tell me if you have anything else."
Geng Chao was silent. It seemed that he still had a lot to learn!
After leaving the mutton restaurant and watching Liu Tianlai and Geng Chao drive away, Wen Liang looked at the sky, took out his cell phone and called An Baoqing, saying, "Brother Jiu, where are you?"
"I just left Qingzhou and was about to go to Yishan. Luo Qi organized a fashion beauty contest in the hotel. Today is the final selection, and he wanted me to join in the fun."
Wen Liang didn't ask in detail. Ever since a young master named Chen organized a grand beauty pageant in Beijing in the early 1990s, this kind of commercial hype that relies on beautiful women to attract attention has gradually appeared on the historical stage, so it is reasonable for Luo Qi to use this to increase the activity of the hotel.
"Please wait for the matter over there. Go back to the big world now. I have something to talk to you about."
In the private room on the second floor of the Great World, An Baoqing hurriedly pushed the door open and said apologetically, "There was a traffic jam on the road, so it's a bit late. Master Wen must be anxious waiting for you, right?"
"I just arrived too. Please sit down. Come and have some tea first."
Wen Liang poured him a glass of clear Biluochun and asked casually, "How is the situation over at Su Hai?"
He was naturally asking about Cat Lady. An Baoqing nodded and said, "Zhiwei is watching her, and County Magistrate Yao is helping her. She lives alone, rarely goes out, reads books and newspapers when she has nothing to do, and leads a very leisurely life."
However, Cat Girl is not destined to be a leisurely person. She must not feel very good about fleeing to a foreign land and hiding her identity. But Wen Liang is too lazy to care about it. He just gives her a place to stay out of the consideration of Lord An Bao. As for the rest, let's just leave it to fate.
An Baoqing guessed that Wen Liang had not called him here to ask about the cat girl's situation, so he asked, "Mr. Wen, is there something urgent?"
"It's not urgent," Wen Liang paused, and said, "Do you remember the Mo Xiaoya I asked you to send someone to keep an eye on?" (See Chapter 465 of Volume 4 for details)
An Baoqing said: "Remember, I asked Shitou to do it."
"Call him!"
An Baoqing clapped his hands, and the door opened. Shitou, dressed simply, walked in quickly and said with a simple smile, "Young Master Wen, Ninth Brother!"
After Wen Liang asked Gao Zhan to leave, the person who followed An Baoqing was this little Shitou who looked very honest and simple. However, if you really think that he is honest, you are too naive.
"What information have you found out about Guanshan's Mo Xiaoya?" (To be continued)