Five o'clock in the afternoon, at the Longcheng garrison headquarters compound.
After the meeting, the officers left the compound, each with their own thoughts.
After saying goodbye to the generals who were traveling with him, Jiang Yuanzhen walked to the gate of the courtyard alone.
Three military vehicles were already waiting here. The adjutant stepped forward, opened the door of the middle vehicle, and let Jiang Yuanzhen get in.
The convoy slowly drove away from the compound. Jiang Yuanzhen loosened his collar, leaned back in the soft seat, and closed his eyes to rest.
Jiang Yuanzhen's youngest son, Jiang Zheng, was also sitting in the car. He was about 25 or 26 years old. When he saw his father's appearance, he couldn't help but ask, "Dad, I heard that the commander-in-chief didn't even smile when he came back this time. What do you think our future direction is?"
Fatty Jiang said slowly without even opening his eyes: "Direction? Now even the commander-in-chief has no direction. I don't know where we should go, and this is not something we should worry about. However, military spending has been cut by 30%, and the days ahead will be difficult."
"Thirty percent?" Jiang Zheng was also shocked: "Isn't this too much?"
Fatty Jiang didn't say anything. Jiang Zheng thought for a moment and asked again, "Dad, do you think the Longcheng Finance Department will give an explanation? Is it possible to communicate with the Finance Department and let Lao Li bear this part?"
Jiang Yuanzhen snorted, "You must be joking. Why does Lao Li love you so much? If you clearly express your support for that shitty association, you might be able to afford it. But judging from the commander-in-chief's attitude now... forget it. There's no way to communicate."
Jiang Zheng sighed and said nothing more.
The car continued to drive. Jiang Yuanzhen lay in the chair, thinking for a long time, and suddenly asked: "Have you been to the company recently?"
Jiang Zheng was stunned for a moment and replied: "I go there every day!"
Jiang Yuanzhen put his hands on his stomach and said softly, "I guess we can't count on the military expenses. Let's store more food and grass here. In the near future, you should pay more attention to the company and focus on business matters."
"Okay, I understand." Jiang Zheng nodded: "Then should we increase the purchase volume?"
Jiang Yuanzhen said casually: "You decide."
The father and son stopped talking after this.
About half an hour later, Jiang Zheng sent his father home, then he got into a private car and left with a group of people.
…
At seven o'clock in the evening, Jiang Zheng arrived at Zhanan Wharf, walked into the building of a logistics company, and went directly to the office on the third floor.
After walking in, Jiang Zheng sat down in the boss's chair, asked the young female secretary to bring the account book, and flipped through the records on it.
About ten minutes later, the office door was gently pushed open, and a young man in a black jacket walked in. He said to Jiang Zheng, "Why are you here to check the accounts so late?"
This young man is called Lu Guangwei, Jiang Zheng’s cousin. He has been following him around and helping to manage the family business over the years.
The jacket, watch and belt that Lu Guangwei is wearing are all trendy brands and luxury goods. His every move and gesture has a bit of the air of a gangster.
"Yeah." Jiang Zheng said without even looking up, "There have been some minor problems recently. The old man asked me to keep an eye on the company's affairs."
Lu Guangwei's expression changed, and he waved to the side, and the female secretary immediately left the office. He walked to the desk, and while helping Jiang Zheng pour tea, he asked, "What's going on?"
"There was a meeting today, and they said they wanted to cut military spending. Life will be hard in the future." Jiang Zheng put down the account book and sighed.
Lu Guangwei hurriedly asked: "How much will it be reduced?"
Jiang Zheng held up three fingers.
Lu Guangwei frowned, then waved his hand and said with a smile: "Fuck, it's just 30%. With so many troops, it won't be much if we divide it up. If we work a little harder, we can easily make up for this little bit of money."
As he spoke, Lu Guangwei pointed outwards, "A batch of good goods arrived tonight, in large quantities. I will distribute them myself."
Jiang Zheng took a sip of tea and said, "Pay attention to yourself. Don't just focus on making money. Be more stable as well."
"Don't worry, I know what's going on." Lu Guangwei said with a smile, "Come on, I'll take you to the warehouse to see how much goods we have stored."
"Okay." Jiang Zheng stood up and the two walked out together.
…
The warehouse was built next to the logistics company. At this time, the door was locked and there were three strong security guards guarding it.
Seeing Jiang Zheng and Lu Guangwei approaching, the three security guards who were squatting on the ground smoking immediately stood up and greeted them: "Hello, Mr. Jiang, Hello, Mr. Lu!"
"Yes." Lu Guangwei pointed to the warehouse door: "Open the door."
One of the security guards immediately took off the key hanging from his waist and unlocked the large iron door. The other two security guards stood on both sides and stretched out their hands to open the door.
“Crash!”
As the warehouse door opened, the scene inside appeared before Jiang Zheng.
In this area of four or five hundred square meters, there were rows of boxes neatly stacked, so densely packed that they almost filled the warehouse.
Lu Guangwei led Jiang Zheng in, laughing: "Damn it, after the war in Shengbao City, these things are more valuable than gold! Last time I stockpiled two batches of goods and prepared to sell them. Now the time has come, I plan to release a batch tonight..."
Lu Guangwei stretched out a finger and said to Jiang Zheng excitedly: "Brother, this batch of goods can make up for the deficit of your entire army for a month!"
Jiang Zheng looked at the warehouse full of goods and nodded slowly.
Lu Guangwei took two steps and stood in front of the goods, with his hands behind his back, and said with a smile: "What do you think of these people? Fighting for power, fighting wars, what's the point of doing these things? Look how good we are. We live a peaceful life and make money without doing anything."
Jiang Zheng smiled and said nothing.
…
At around 8:00 p.m., in a private room of a hotel, Su Tianyu was entertaining a group of people who came to hold a meeting with a smile on his face. Including Wu Boxin, Xin Xiaodong, and representatives of Chijun were all there.
Everyone was toasting each other and chatting happily.
Su Tianyu exchanged a few more pleasantries, then walked out of the box, took out his cell phone and made a call: "Mingyuan, where are you?"
"Nowhere." Yu Mingyuan said calmly, "I'm at home."
"Where's Lu Guan?" Su Tianyu teased, "Let your little hands rest for a while, come out and have a meal? There are quite a lot of people here."
Yu Mingyuan guessed what it was and declined politely, "Forget it. I'm not going to participate. What else can I do?"
Su Tianyu said: "It's just a meal, what does it have to do with whether you participate or not?"
Yu Mingyuan still refused: "You guys eat, I won't go, I have something to do."
"Okay." Seeing that Yu Mingyuan refused, Su Tianyu stopped trying to persuade him: "Then we can drink alone later."
"Okay." The two of them hung up the phone.
…
On the other end of the phone, Yu Mingyuan threw his phone aside while driving.
After more than ten minutes, the car stopped in front of a dilapidated house.
Yu Mingyuan pushed the door open and got out of the car. He walked slowly to the door of the house, looked at the deserted yard, and slowly lit a cigarette.