Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"Xiao Hai, I haven't seen Kun Ji and A Lai for a while. Where did they go?" Chen Shuifen asked while tidying up the vegetables.

"They're helping out at the company; it's been quite busy lately."

"Oh, that's good. Grandma Le has come over to ask me several times. She treats Kunji like her own grandson now."

"Oh, by the way, Grandma Lezai told me that Kunji gave her a set of gold jewelry, saying that Lezai had done you guys a big favor. I asked Kunji what exactly he had done for you, but he didn't explain clearly. Do you know what happened?"

"Oh, doesn't Lezai often come to the company to help move things? Last time the company was broken into, luckily Lezai was diligent and moved a batch of important components a day in advance, which saved the company from huge losses. Those were the company's reward."

I was worried that Lok-jai would squander the money, so I had Kwan-ke give it to Grandma.

"Oh, what happened? You should at least explain it to them clearly. You scared the old man so much that he hasn't slept well for days."

"Haha, it's my fault."

"And also, did you guys trick Lezai into thinking you'd find him a bunch of beautiful wives?"

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes, Lezai can't find any of your people. He's come to me several times asking when I'm going to find him a wife. I'm completely confused by his questions."

"Lok-jai isn't very bright and can't lie. You guys fooled him, and now he's believing you. You'd better figure out what to do next."

"Fine, I'll go ask which bastard agreed to that! Let him handle it himself..."

Chen Shuifen finished preparing the vegetables and went to the kitchen to cook. There was a knock at the door. An Xiaohai ran out to see who it was, and to his surprise, it was Yang Yuanbing.

"Section Chief Yang, what brings you here? Why didn't you call to let me know beforehand?"

An Xiaohai was quite surprised. Although Yang Yuanbing would call him from time to time to chat, he always maintained a certain distance from everyone. He would arrange to talk about anything outside and rarely involved other people's private lives, let alone come to his door like this.

"I'm feeling a bit down, and I don't know why I ended up here. Is it inconvenient for you?"

"It's convenient. What could be inconvenient about being at home?" An Xiaohai quickly invited Yang Yuanbing in. "You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"not yet."

"That's perfect, my mom's cooking, let's eat together."

"OK."

"You are... Section Chief Yang?" Chen Shuifen ran out at this moment. She also recognized Yang Yuanbing. She often saw Yang Yuanbing when she went to the First Prison to see An Xiaohai, but they had never spoken much.

"Yes, it's me. I no longer work at the First Prison; I went to the Transportation Bureau."

"Oh, the Transportation Bureau, that must be a good unit. Please have a seat, I'll go make another dish."

"No need, big sister, I'll just eat something simple."

"It'll be quick, please have a seat. Xiao Hai, go make some tea for Section Chief Yang."

"OK."

An Xiaohai made tea for Yang Yuanbing, who curiously looked around the house. He knew that An Xiaohai was not short of money now, but the furnishings in the house seemed unchanged. The furniture looked quite old and somewhat simple.

"Section Chief Yang, my home is a bit humble, please don't mind," An Xiaohai said, bringing over the tea.

"No," Yang Yuanbing waved his hand, "Looking at your house, I feel quite at home."

Yang Yuanbing picked up his teacup, blew on it, took a sip, and let out a soft sigh: "My family is from the countryside, and I grew up there too."

The houses back home are much worse than yours. The walls are still made of adobe, and the roof is full of holes, leaking everywhere when it rains.

When I was a child, my favorite thing to do was to squat by the wall and play with ants, watching them carry all sorts of things little by little into their nest.

Later, I finally got into university, moved to the city, and was assigned to the First Prison.

I desperately wanted to climb the ladder and make more money so that I could buy a big house in the city and bring my elderly relatives to live there.

But who knew that after I finally succeeded, all the old people would pass away.

"..."

An Xiaohai didn't know how to respond to this. Yang Yuanbing seemed a bit sentimental today!

"Actually, the elderly don't ask for these things. They are at ease when they see that you are doing well."

Sometimes bringing elderly people to live in the city isn't necessarily a good thing. They might not feel comfortable away from the familiar mountains and rivers of the countryside.

"Yes, I never expected you to understand these things!"

That's how my parents are. When they can't see me, they talk about me all the time. But if you bring them to the city, they'll only stay for a couple of days before they start clamoring to go back. Sigh...

Okay, enough of that. I have some good news for you.

"What good news?"

"You're a genius! Your plan was a huge success."

In the past few days, the police, traffic police, fire department, and city government officials have all gone crazy and come to the company to place orders, and they are all large orders.

I estimate that the contracts Mr. Tian has signed in the past few days total over 100 million yuan.

"So many!?" An Xiaohai was also taken aback.

An Xiaohai knew why these departments were in such a hurry to install surveillance systems.

With so many bizarre cases happening in Shenhai City recently, it would be strange if they weren't worried. An Xiaohai just didn't expect the total amount of the contract to be so large.

After all that fuss, it turns out there's this unexpected benefit to my actions.

"Yes, I was also scared. Mr. Tian said that as long as we can get all these contracts done, the company will not have any survival pressure for the next few years, or even more than ten years."

At this rate, it's only a matter of time before the company goes public.

"Look, this is the commission Mr. Tian gave me."

Yang Yuanbing took a check out of his bag and handed it to An Xiaohai. An Xiaohai took it and saw that it was a large check for 600 million yuan.

Yang Yuanbing drank another cup of tea, rested his head on his hand, and leaned back in his chair: "Damn, that scared me to death! Xiao Hai, do you know, I still feel like I'm dreaming."

Honestly, it feels like you gave me this money. I didn't really put in any effort to close these deals.

The direction you chose is absolutely brilliant! I didn't have to put in much effort at all.

The system that Mr. Tian and his team developed is exactly what various organizations urgently need. We also hold all the relevant patents, so there's nothing anyone can do to compete with us.

These days, I've been approached by a constant stream of people, all wanting a piece of the pie. Looking at their smiling faces, I suddenly felt a sense of absurdity!

Tell me, wasn't I just like them before?

"It's different, you're more handsome than them."

"Hahahaha..." Yang Yuanbing laughed heartily, only stopping after a long while: "You... hey? Where's my check? Where did you put it?"

"A check? What check? I didn't see it!"

"Give it to me now! Or I'll fight you to the death! Haha!" Yang Yuanbing and An Xiaohai were arguing, and the worry hidden between his brows finally disappeared completely at this moment.

During the meal, Yang Yuanbing startled An Xiaohai again.

Despite his slender build, he has an enormous appetite; he devoured a whole pot of seafood stew by himself.

Chen Shuifen was naturally delighted; the fact that the guests finished all the food was the greatest compliment to her culinary skills.

After dinner, Yang Yuanbing chatted with Chen Shuifen for a while. Everyone was quite relaxed, and the atmosphere was very pleasant.

After chatting, An Xiaohai took Yang Yuanbing for a walk on the nearby beach to digest their food.

"Section Chief Yang, tell me, what happened?"

"You really can't hide anything from you..." Yang Yuanbing sighed deeply. "Something happened at the First Prison. Wang Tao is finished, and all his men are finished too. They've all been detained by the procuratorate, and their chances of survival are slim."

An Xiaohai didn't say anything. He had long expected this day to come. Even if the procuratorate didn't take action, once he finished his other business and had some free time, he could still send these people in if he was in a bad mood.

"Xiao Hai, do you know? Being an official is actually a high-risk profession."

"How so?"

"Because it's really dangerous!"

The greater the power you wield, the more temptations you face, and the greater the pressure you endure. If you refuse to compromise your principles, you'll block others' paths, and someone will always try to get you; if you do compromise your principles, it's a path of no return, and one day you'll inevitably run into trouble.

Especially for someone like me who has no connections or background, if I want to climb up the ladder, I have to demonstrate enough value. Either I can help them make money, or I can flatter them and provide emotional value, or I can take the blame.

In short, everyone's risking their future and their lives. As for the job, it doesn't matter; it doesn't matter who does it. Sigh...

It's better to stay at the grassroots level. You can just do your job day by day. You won't get rich, but you won't starve either. I never dare to hang out with them, nor do I dare to try to climb the ladder.

Sometimes, it's really tiring.

"Yeah, just thinking about it makes me feel pretty tired."

"But now it's great, 600 million! And this is just the beginning. I can't even imagine what it will be like when this project is rolled out across the country."

I can't even imagine it!

A while ago, I was dreaming about my company going public. Now I don't dare to dream like that anymore. You only realize the weight of money when you have it in your hands. I'm afraid that if such a huge amount of wealth were to fall into my lap, I wouldn't be able to handle it or manage it.

"I think you're afraid the pig will get fat and get slaughtered..."

"You're so vulgar! But you're right, I know those people too well. I'm not exactly clean myself, so it's too easy for them to find fault with me. I'm actually a little scared."

"So? You want to profit from this?"

"What does 'spend it all' mean?"

"It's about immigration."

"You have connections?"

"It's possible, but it's more difficult in Europe and America. It's relatively easier in Southeast Asia."

What do you think of Southeast Asia?

"I think it's alright. If I really want to go abroad, I can choose Hong Kong or Singapore."

"Oh, I see."

Actually, I also prefer Southeast Asia. I'm too old to learn English anymore. You're right, Hong Kong or Singapore might be more suitable for me.

"Then start preparing. Let me know whenever you want to leave, and I'll help you find a way."

"Thank you in advance. I knew you would have a solution. I'm so glad I met you. Thank you so much for helping me."

"Haha, I guess we've always been helping each other out."

"Oh, right, there are two more things I need to remind you of."

"What is it?"

"First thing, Ah Limp ran away. There was a big incident in the city yesterday. Several videos of officials were leaked all over the world. You know about that, right?"

"I've heard about it."

"Some of these videos were leaked from Ah Bo. He must have been terrified and packed his things and ran away overnight."

Only I know about this, and I think the police will find out about him soon.

"Got it. If the police catch him, won't you be in trouble?"

"Won't.

I never mess around with him. I do bring people over often, but I never introduce women to them myself. They deal with Ah Limp themselves. It's none of my business!

"That's true, thanks."

"What are you saying?"

"And the second thing?"

"Ghost Six has escaped from prison."

"What? He escaped from prison? When did this happen?"

"Just last night."