Gangster heir? Please call me a legitimate entrepreneur.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Top floor conference room of Sihai Group building.

The air conditioner blew in through the louvered windows.

It still couldn't suppress the oppressive atmosphere that filled the room, making people feel uneasy.

The sunlight was blocked by heavy blackout curtains, and several cold white spotlights shone on the conference table.

Shen Qinghan sat on an extra seat in the corner.

My toes were curled up tightly inside my flat canvas shoes.

She hadn't gone on vacation yet when Zhang Tiezhu suddenly pulled her in to fill in for him and take meeting minutes.

The white shirt clung to my back from the cold air, raising goosebumps like chestnut seeds.

She bit her lower lip, a familiar rusty taste filling her mouth.

This is the end-of-month financial meeting of senior executives of Sihai Group.

This group of desperados in suits divide up Longhai City's enormous wealth every month in this room.

"Cough cough..."

Chen Suan sat diagonally opposite Su Ye, and coughed twice while clutching his stomach.

His face was as pale as a photocopy.

The black-rimmed glasses had slipped down to the tip of his nose, and his dark circles looked even deeper than last month.

"Boss, there's a problem."

Chen Suan let out a sour burp, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.

He pushed a thick stack of A4 paper to the middle of the table, the pages rubbing together with a dry, rustling sound.

The meeting room fell into a deathly silence.

Lei Hu sat down beside him, stopped twirling his pen, and a layer of white sweat suddenly appeared on his bald head.

"Mr. Chen, what's wrong? The accounts don't match up again?"

Lei Hu asked gruffly, his hand instinctively reaching for the CPA question bank in his pocket.

"Is one of the branch offices evading taxes? I'll take the security department to give them a physical lesson in the law right away!"

"It's not tax evasion."

Chen Suan frowned in pain and tapped a few times on the keyboard.

The large screen behind me lit up, displaying a densely packed bar chart.

"It's money...too much money."

He gasped.

"After Sihai Travel took over Zhongtian Bus, its daily revenue tripled, including the original drivers."

Chen Suan pointed to the red pillar that pierced through the ceiling.

My hands were trembling.

"The funds pool of Sihai Yulibao has accumulated 1.2 billion yuan in cash."

"This money is sitting in the bank's reserve account with an outrageously low interest rate."

"The 5% interest we pay to users every day for their current accounts is a huge loss."

Chen Suan looked at Su Ye, his eyes revealing the despair of a Wall Street financial worker.

"Boss, the idle funds rate is as high as 85%. If money can't generate more money, it's like committing slow suicide."

Shen Qinghan sat in the corner, her palms soaked with cold sweat.

1.2 billion.

Legally absorbed private capital.

This is simply a bottomless financial black hole.

If Su Ye transfers this money overseas, more than half of the low-level merchants and drivers in Longhai City will be bankrupted!

She immediately reached into the pocket of her pencil skirt.

He touched the black, encrypted phone.

Using muscle memory, the thumb rapidly touches the keyboard.

[Director Li! Su Ye's funds have exceeded 1.2 billion! Chen Suan reports that the funds need to be transferred. He's about to initiate money laundering procedures! Requesting the Economic Crime Investigation Department's intervention!]

Her fingertips were trembling when she pressed the send button.

In the main seat.

Su Ye was wearing an unbuttoned dark gray trench coat.

He slowly and deliberately unscrewed the chipped silver thermos.

A sharp "snap" sounded particularly jarring in the quiet conference room.

Steam rose up, obscuring his gold-rimmed glasses.

He blew on the plump goji berries on the water's surface.

I took a sip of warm water.

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his expression as calm as if he were drinking a two-dollar bottle of mineral water.

"We really can't let 1.2 billion yuan sit idle."

Su Ye put down the cup, and the metal base bumped against the wooden table.

He pushed up his glasses and glanced at the group of executives on the table.

"If anyone has any good projects to suggest, please let me know."

Gao Qiang was wearing an oversized gray suit and a yellow safety helmet.

They rubbed their calloused hands together.

"Boss, how about... we, the construction company, acquire a few more plots of land? There's also an old city redevelopment project in the south of the city."

"no."

Chen Suan interrupted him, clutching his stomach.

"The real estate cycle is too long, and capital recovery is slow. Our Yu'e Bao is a current account; what will we use to pay if there's a run on it? Will we offer cement as payment to the elderly folks?"

Gao Qiang shrank back and remained silent.

Zhang Tiezhu stood ramrod straight and scratched his buzz cut.

"I think we should buy a few more refrigerated trucks? The express logistics company is currently facing a tight transportation capacity."

Su Ye shook his head and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Heavy capital investment, low profit margins."

An impasse occurred in the meeting room.

Aside from the sound of the air conditioner, all that could be heard was Chen Suan's gasping for breath as he tried to suppress his stomach pain.

Shen Qinghan perked up her ears.

She knew the main event was about to begin.

Su Ye will definitely reveal a well-planned and extremely secretive cross-border money laundering channel.

"Let's go into the film and television industry."

Su Ye's calm voice broke the silence.

Everyone was stunned.

Lei Hu's mouth was agape, and the centipede scar on his face froze.

"Make...make a movie? Boss, we're just a bunch of roughnecks, all we know how to do is throw bricks, what do we know about making movies?"

Su Ye leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped together.

"The film and television industry has a fast capital turnover. From preparation to completion, tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan can go through a cycle in just a few months for a film."

A calculating glint flashed in his eyes.

"Most importantly, the accounts are flexible. The labor costs for extras, the wear and tear on props, and the production of special effects are all costs that are difficult to quantify precisely."

Shen Qinghan's mind went blank.

All the blood rushed to the top of his head.

Flexible accounting?!

Isn't this the most classic money laundering tactic?!

Using high "fake costs" to launder black money or to launder white money overseas!

She was so excited that she almost broke the phone's keypad with her fingers.

[Director Li! It's confirmed! Su Ye has announced his entry into the film and television industry! He personally admitted to flexible accounting and rapid capital turnover! This is the latest transnational money laundering front for the Sihai Group!]

"More importantly..."

Su Ye stood up, and a gentle breeze stirred up the hem of his coat.

He walked to the large screen and pointed to the towering bar chart of funds.

"We not only want to make money, but also to build a public relations moat for the Sihai Group."

"Traditional media is controlled by others. If others say we are a criminal gang, then we are a criminal gang."

He turned his head, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting a blinding white light.

"With film and television media, we can produce and distribute our own content."

"Define ourselves with a legal lens."

The meeting room was completely silent.

Lei Hu swallowed hard.

"Boss... what kind of movie should we film? A police thriller? A gang shootout?"

Su Ye chuckled softly and walked back to his seat.

"No. Film something that ordinary people like to watch."

He looked at Chen Suan.

"Did Old K receive it?"

Chen Suan clutched his stomach and nodded, his face turning even paler.

"Got it. Gao Qiang took him to the shipyard. That foreigner is still dreaming that he's going to film 'The Godfather of the East'."

"it is good."

Su Ye picked up the thermos and drank the last sip of warm water.

"Tomorrow. Have him go to the pig farm on the outskirts of the city to prepare for starting the machine."

Shen Qinghan sat in the corner, her palms sweaty.

She couldn't understand.

Wasn't it for money laundering? Wasn't it for making a big production?

What are you doing at the pig farm?!

evening.

A secluded intersection in the western suburbs of Longhai City.

Li Jianguo's beat-up Santana was parked in the shade of a tree.

The car window rolled down a crack, letting out a strong smell of red plum cigarettes.

Shen Qinghan opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat.

The car was as stuffy and hot as a sauna.

Li Jianguo sat in the driver's seat, his eyes dark and swollen, staring intently at her.

"Is what you said in the text message absolutely true? Is Su Ye really planning to use the film and television industry as a money laundering channel?"

Shen Qinghan took off her hat, her red and swollen eyes revealing a hint of anxiety.

"Absolutely true. He said it himself: this industry has fast capital turnover and flexible accounting."

She bit her lower lip, her mouth throbbing slightly.

"But Director Li, there's something I don't understand."

"He brought that bankrupt Hollywood director here, but instead of taking him to a high-end film set, he made him go to... a pig farm to start filming tomorrow."

Li Jianguo was stunned.

He didn't even notice the cigarette ash between his fingers falling onto his trouser leg.

"A pig farm?"

He frowned, his mind racing.

"This is definitely a cover! The more low-class the place, the easier it is to hide the flow of huge sums of money!"

Li Jianguo slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

"I knew this kid was up to no good! Using invoices for pig feed to cover expenses? That's a vicious trick!"

He turned to look at Captain Gu, who was sitting in the back row.

"Xiao Gu! Bring two brothers tomorrow, in plainclothes."

"Take the highest-resolution miniature camera. Go to the perimeter of that pig farm and keep a close watch on it!"

Li Jianguo's eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth.

"As long as they dare to load large sums of cash into the pig transport trucks..."

"I caught him red-handed!"

Shen Qinghan leaned back in her chair, looking at the director's face, which was contorted with excitement.

She sighed.

For some reason, she had a feeling that what would happen at the pig farm tomorrow would absolutely utterly humiliate the intelligence of those veteran detectives at the city bureau.

"And you, Qinghan."

Li Jianguo turned his head and stared at her.

"Your vacation has been canceled. Zhang Tiezhu just sent word that Su Ye specifically requested you to go to the film set tomorrow to be Old K's accompanying translator."

Shen Qinghan froze.

"Chief...can I not go? I really stutter when I translate those gangster terms."

Li Jianguo sneered.

"Not going? How will I know if they're going to pay a pig a million or ten million?"