I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 777 Finding Zhang Dongwen in the Yimeng Mountains
Fang Qingye only stayed at her home in Shanghai for one night. The next morning, she and Yue Kai drove north to Shandong Province.

Heading north along the Shenhai Expressway, they then switched to the Changshen Expressway and arrived in Linyi city around 2 PM. However, this was not their final destination. After a short rest and refueling, they continued their journey deeper into the Yimeng Mountains, with their final destination being Feixian County, west of Linyi.

As National Highway 327 winds westward, flanked by rolling mountains, and occasionally passing through villages and folk-style towns, Fang Qingye was struck by a vibrant scene—fiery red chilies, golden corn, and orange pumpkins spread out in rustic courtyards, a stark contrast to the autumn colors of Jiangnan. He later learned that this scene was known locally as "drying autumn crops."

That evening, the two checked into the Blue Ocean Junhua Hotel in Feixian County, where they enjoyed local stone-ground pancakes and whole pig soup for dinner. Pancakes are a traditional staple food in the Yimeng Mountains with a long history. Feixian stone-ground pancakes are famous for being "as thin as paper, as soft as satin, bright in color, and rich in nutrients," and the most classic way to eat them is "pancakes rolled with scallions."

Those scallions are really big...

After spending the night there, Fang Qingye washed up and ate breakfast in the morning. She took out her phone and pulled up her contacts. She called Zhang Dongwen.

A few months ago, Zhang Dongwen left Shanghai and returned to her hometown. She is now preparing for the civil service exam.

"Dongwen, I've arrived in Feixian County. I'll come find you right away," Fang Qingye said.

"Okay, I'll wait for you at home. Call me when you're almost in the village."

"Ah."

Zhang Dongwen's village is called Shiwogou Village, which is not too far from the county seat, about ten kilometers away. The car drove out of the county seat and turned several bends along the county road on the winding mountain road. A village appeared in the valley below, and the navigation showed that the destination had been reached.

This is an ordinary little village in the Yimeng Mountains. Stone houses are crammed together in the valley, with wisps of smoke lazily rising from their gray roofs. The stone-paved road is worn smooth, and a few old locust trees along the roadside are shedding their leaves. Some houses have freshly harvested corn drying in front of them, its golden leaves spread out on mats. At the foot of the wall, several elderly people sit quietly, their pipes glowing faintly.

Instead of calling Zhang Dongwen, Fang Qingye got out of the car and asked an old man who was smoking.

"Are you looking for Zhang Dafu's eldest daughter? Look, that's the house over there." The old man enthusiastically pointed to the village with his pipe.

Yue Kai parked his car at the entrance of the village, carrying two gifts, and walked with Fang Qingye.

A typical farmhouse courtyard, its walls made of stones of varying sizes, the gaps filled with yellow mud, and a few golden pumpkins perched atop the walls. Three stone-based, gray-tiled main rooms, with strings of bright red chili peppers hanging from the eaves. In the center of the courtyard, golden corn is spread out, and a girl wearing a straw hat is drying it—it's Zhang Dongwen.

At this moment, she was no longer the white-collar lady in the office building of Shanghai, wearing an OL suit. She wore a red jacket, jeans, and canvas shoes, and at first glance, she looked no different from an ordinary farm girl.

Hearing footsteps, Zhang Dongwen looked up and saw Fang Qingye and Yue Kai walking into the courtyard. A smile appeared on her face: "Why didn't you call first? I could have picked you up at the village entrance."

"I asked the old man sunbathing at the village entrance, and then I came here myself," Fang Qingye replied with a smile.

"Come in and have some water," Zhang Dongwen said, then noticed the gift in Yue Kai's hand. "You're already here, why bring anything?"

"Hehe, it's just a small token of my appreciation for your parents. As the saying goes, you can be a friend to them but not to them in a gift."

Upon entering the main room, Fang Qingye noticed a portrait of a great man hanging in the center, a portrait rarely seen these days. But then she thought, Yimeng Mountain is an old revolutionary base area, so it's not unusual to hang such a portrait.

Over tea and casual conversation, Fang Qingye learned that Zhang Dongwen's parents had gone to the fields to harvest corn again. She also had a younger brother and sister. Her sister had gotten married last year, and her brother, after graduating high school, hadn't gotten into university and was now working in the south. "How's your preparation for the civil service exam going?" Fang Qingye asked with concern.

"I just finished my teacher qualification exam last week, and the civil service exam won't be until next May. I don't have much to do right now, so I'm helping my parents with farm work at home." Zhang Dongwen smiled, then paused, her gaze falling on Fang Qingye's face.

"You said on the phone yesterday that you were coming to Linyi for a meeting? I don't quite believe it. Linyi isn't a big city, why would a financial conference be held here?"

"Then I'll be frank. I came all the way from Shanghai to find you and ask for your help."

"Boss, you guys chat, I'm going out for a walk." Seeing that Fang Qingye was about to get down to business, Yue Kai immediately stood up and walked outside.

Watching Yue Kai's figure disappear through the gate, Zhang Dongwen asked with some confusion:
"Looking for me? What can I do for you?"

"Have you heard of Mintian Holdings and the 'Mintian Group' to which it belongs?" Fang Qingye asked.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Dongwen answered very calmly, "I know, and I understand very well."

"what?"

“Goldman Sachs has conducted detailed investigations and analyses of many companies in the domestic financial and securities industry, especially their equity structure and related relationships, and will further classify and evaluate them. So they knew about the ‘Mintian Group’ a long time ago.”

Zhang Dongwen explained, then laughed, "I used to be a Goldman Sachs employee, so it wasn't convenient for me to say much. Now I don't have so many reservations."

Lin Wei is indeed cunning! She clearly knew about the Mintian Group all along, but yesterday she pretended that she only discovered it while analyzing Hengtai Securities.

Fang Qingye muttered to herself, but didn't say it aloud.

"What, did Min Tianxi offend you?" Zhang Dongwen asked again.

"That's it."

Fang Qingye then recounted how Jinghai Bank had recently negotiated with Yongjiang City Investment to underwrite 30 billion yuan in corporate bonds, how Hengtai Securities had interfered midway, and how he had devised a plan to break the deadlock and obtain the key ABS project proposal—of course, he did not go into details about how he obtained it.

"Dongwen, since you already know about the Mintian Group, I won't go into details. Currently, there are two main things involving the Mintian Group in the securities market: First, 'Longwei Media,' controlled by Zhao Weiqi, acquired 29.135% of the shares of Wanjia Culture; second, the listed company Huazi Industry plans to issue new shares to increase the capital of Huaxia Life Insurance. The Mintian Group is behind both of these things, and they are using the 'snake swallowing an elephant' method."

Fang Qingye explained the two transactions in detail, and concluded: "It's obvious that the Mintian Group urgently needs a lot of funds. I want to take this opportunity to detonate this landmine directly. I hope you can help design a financial product structure, using funds as bait to lure the Mintian Group in—it looks like candy on the surface, but it's actually a poison pill."

After listening, Zhang Dongwen looked at Fang Qingye and said, "Although this financial product structure is challenging, it's not overly complex. Jinghai Bank also has many financial experts. Why did you come all this way to find me instead of directly asking them for help?"

(End of this chapter)