Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 399 398 Xu Liansheng's True Identity

"Please, the opposing side, make your statement."

Feng Xiuhu gestured for Shunzi to express his opinion.

Fang Youliu was also confused, and it took him two seconds to realize who "Sister Asheng" was referring to.

Shunzi spoke up: "Do you think it's easy to expand a business? Her husband died and she lost power. Sister Asheng wanted to support the business on her own, so of course she had to deal with the government. But this was all due to the circumstances. If the government hadn't supported her, her business would have been wiped out long ago. How could she have made it to where she is today?"

Feng Xiuhu nodded in agreement: "Shunzi's words make a lot of sense."

With this affirmation, Shunzi gained confidence and continued, "And what do those dirty deeds of the government office have to do with her? The 'no fish' incident was started because of us, and the police used it as a pretext to target foreigners. It wasn't Sister Asheng who had the final say in this matter. Could she refuse?"

Fang Youliu realized something was wrong and quickly interrupted, "Wait, you didn't understand what I meant."

Feng Xiuhu gestured: "Now, please let the affirmative side speak."

Fang Youliu cleared his throat and gathered his thoughts: "Third Master, why do you portray Madam Xu as such a tragic figure?"

"When I said she had close ties with the government, I didn't mean she was forced to get involved with the government. As far as I know, Madam Xu is practically untouchable in Qianyu City—even if she doesn't have absolute power, she's practically untouchable. Even the mayor has to greet her with a smile."

"You think Shi Wu Yu opened such a large restaurant because she shamelessly begged the government officials to build connections? You're wrong! She opened Shi Wu Yu, so those officials had to take the initiative to seek her out and build relationships!"

Shunzi was stunned, and Feng Xiuhu was also puzzled: "Why does she have such a big influence?"

Fang Youliu sneered: "Just because her father is the Director-General of the Taijing Legal Affairs Bureau!"

Feng Xiuhu slapped his forehead—now everything connected.

Xu Liansheng did say that she was originally from Taijing and was good friends with Zheng Sulan, who was married to the chairman of the Taijing City Council. If she were from an ordinary family, why would Zheng Sulan, as the chairman's wife, go to such lengths to visit her?

Moreover, her deceased ex-husband was the mayor of the prefecture, and only with this status could Xu Liansheng be considered a suitable match.

Shunzi remained silent for a long time.

Fang Youliu asked him, "Do you still think she was forced into this situation?"

Shunzi opened her mouth, still unwilling to give up, and tried to defend Xu Liansheng: "This is not Taijing after all, and she is not an official... It's the officials' business if they want to curry favor with her. Sister Sheng herself said that she is just a businesswoman..."

Fang Youliu nodded helplessly: "I have never dealt with her, so I can't say exactly what kind of person she is. I just want to remind you not to underestimate this Madam Xu. As a woman, she has been able to stand firm in Qianyu City for so many years. She can't have done this just by relying on the connections of the Taijing family. She must have unique methods."

Feng Xiuhu waved his hand and concluded: "It's no use guessing here. I'll go ask them directly tomorrow."

The reason for ending the topic was that Feng Xiuhu suddenly remembered something else.

"The shipyard's design plans have been leaked."

He told Fang Youliu everything that had happened at the auction that night.

It's convenient to talk to smart people. Although Feng Xiuhu didn't mention it, Fang Youliu immediately understood what he meant.

"You suspect that the government office itself was behind this?"

Feng Xiuhu nodded and said, "The police searched the factory during the day, and the design drawings appeared at the auction house at night. What a coincidence!" Fang Youliu nodded silently, "So you think this is a play staged by the government itself. By passing through the auction house, the design drawings are 'bought' instead of stolen. This way, even if the foreigners want to investigate later, they can't trace it back to the government—they have to go to the auction house first to find out who the seller is."

Feng Xiuhu asked, "Will the bidding agency inform the foreigners?"

Fang Youliu shook his head: "If we tell them, we'll break the rules and lose credibility, and the Wuchang Auction House will never be able to operate again; but if we don't tell them, can the auction house withstand the pressure from the foreigners? Even if it can withstand the foreigners, can it withstand the Misty Church and the Duke of Da Guo?"

Feng Xiuhu said, "If the Duke of Daguo could really extend his reach to Qianyu City, the shipyard matter wouldn't have been delayed for so long. So the only thing to worry about is the church—that depends on whether the owner of the Wuchang Bidding Company has a strong enough background."

Fang Youliu looked up and said, "So, the bidding agency's backer must be the government."

Feng Xiuhu thought for a moment: "The government office will not support the bidding agency in this matter, otherwise it would be like trying to hide something obvious."

Fang Youliu scratched the back of his head: "I'll find out who owns the Wuchang Auction House later—I'm not trying to cause trouble, but I just happened to be assigned by the newspaper to cover a news story about a factory, so I'm just asking around for you."

Feng Xiuhu asked curiously, "What happened again?"

"Hi."

Fang Youliu shrugged: "It's nothing serious. Recently, the Owlmen have been on strike. Not content with just striking, they've come to our newspaper to leak all sorts of information to go against the factories."

"For example, the owner of this factory slept with his sister-in-law, or the manager of that factory suffers from some kind of hidden disease. Whether it's true or not, people like to read these kinds of news."

"My recent work involves interviewing these owl people and trying to find out as much exciting news as possible."

He glanced at Feng Xiuhu: "Speaking of which, this matter is also related to you."

Feng Xiuhu quickly denied it: "It has nothing to do with me. I didn't do it this time."

Fang Youliu countered, "If not this time, then what about last time?"

"Last time?"

Feng Xiuhu feigned ignorance: "Which time?"

Fang Youliu scoffed: "Stop pretending. It was you who detained the Owlmen in Fancheng and prevented them from working, causing chaos in the factory, that started this."

"If you hadn't pulled this stunt, even the owl-man wouldn't have known that he could use this method to raise wages."

Feng Xiuhu denied it, saying, "That's because you naturally think that owls are inferior, and even the owls themselves think so, so they should be paid less than normal people, as if it's all justified."

“But injustice is injustice, and it doesn’t become justice just because it’s taken for granted. So even without me, the owls will eventually realize that it’s the factory that needs them, not the other way around.”

"Even if this generation doesn't realize it, there's always the next generation. If the next generation doesn't work, there's always the next generation. This will happen sooner or later. I'm just presenting the facts to them in advance."

Fang Youliu stared at Feng Xiuhu for a long time without saying a word. After a while, he asked seriously, "Are you really from Dicheng?"

Feng Xiuhu patted Fang Youliu on the shoulder and said earnestly, "I told you this a long time ago."

"I am actually the dean of the Mystic Arts Academy."

(End of this chapter)