ousand from Uncle Zeng Quanming. Aunt Yin Shuying, who was initially not in favor during the family meeting, said: "Your family’s income does look good now; adding up the profits from your two stores...Chapter 42: The Fog Plan

The concept of ten million RMB was astronomical a decade ago when China's economy was just starting to boom in the '90s. Nowadays, on Forbes' Chinese rich list, even the hundredth ranked tycoon has a net worth of five billion RMB.

This kind of figure is unattainable for most people. To Su Chen, it also seemed dizzyingly large. For most businesses in Shanghai, such an amount would be considerable.

But the crucial issue was how Dingle Group had racked up one billion RMB in debt.

The immediate priority was to gather information and avoid being at a disadvantage due to lack of knowledge.

The next morning, when Su Chen woke up and got out of bed, Li Hanshao and Xiao Xu had already left after greeting him. They were wearing running shoes and planning on doing their calisthenics routine near where the female journalism students practiced their vocal exercises every day. Before leaving, they invited Su Chen to join them, but he declined by shutting the door in their faces.

Su Chen gave Li Lian a call, told her what had happened, and briefly explained his plans. On the other end of the phone, Li Lian initially sounded somewhat dissuasive, but fell silent when Su Chen finished speaking. She then suggested, "How about this: I'm on my way to the company right now. I'll turn around and pick you up, and we can discuss things further with Uncle Tang."

Su Chen calculated the time and left campus shortly thereafter. After waiting for half an hour at the school gate, Li Lian's car pulled over. She rolled down her window next to Su Chen and said, "Get in."

The car sped off.

In Dingle Group's office, Tang Fu was seated behind a redwood desk with his brow furrowed as he pondered their situation. His assistant entered, drenched in sweat. "Mr. Tang, we still haven't found it. There is also no contract on file from Hong Kong."

Tang Fu frowned. After resigning from the government to start a business and venture into commerce, his family had experienced some lean years before gradually climbing back up. Although he wasn't considered an extremely wealthy tycoon, several successful investments and prudent decisions had garnered him some respect in the industry. While others saw only his glamorous exterior, now holding the position of Dingle Group's General Manager, such a significant mistake could have disastrous consequences. Not only would all their hard-earned money be lost, but it might also bring down two companies.

When Su Chen arrived, Tang Fu was preoccupied with thoughts. Only after Li Lian approached and informed him did he turn to face her and say, "Nonsense." Then he addressed Su Chen: "Su Chen, you don't need to rush here. After a while when things calm down, I'll visit Tang Wu again. By the way, if you go back, there are some items here that you can take with you for her."

He then took out some specialty goods given by others and was about to pack them up when Su Chen interjected: "Uncle Tang, currently, Dingle Group's crisis lies in unresolved issues on multiple fronts. I think we should first stabilize Chao Yuefang, but more importantly, we need to know as much as possible about the ins and outs of this situation. They certainly won't show us everything they have, but there must be some documentation filed at the local court. Accessing those original records shouldn't pose a problem."

Tang Fu was taken aback for a moment before saying hesitantly: "I had already thought of that. I made a call this morning and am waiting for my friend's response. I might have an update by noon."

Su Chen felt somewhat embarrassed, realizing Tang Fu had already considered it. Someone like Tang Fu, who has climbed to his current position through trials and tribulations, wouldn't be lacking in intelligence or experience. Especially now when facing such a critical situation, he certainly wouldn't just sit idly by.

This meant Su Chen's visit was somewhat redundant.

At that moment, Su Chen received a call from Zhang Xiaqiao. When he answered on the corridor, it turned out to be Xiao Xu's voice: "Boss, you're in trouble! Our counselor took attendance today and no one dared to answer for you. Now everyone is here except you who skipped class. Boss Su even asked where you went. You left with a bad expression."

Su Chen was surprised. "Isn't the conduct book in the hands of the class study secretary How could Zhang Guzhu fail to protect it"

"Mr. Su personally took charge and checked off each name. What can he do Anyway, when I told him you were absent, he looked at me as if I'm not a good person, especially seeing how the class is now making trouble by chanting your name."

Su Chen felt somewhat dejected; it was like losing both wife and army in one fell swoop. Tang Fu had already considered everything Su Chen could think of, and he ended up skipping class and getting caught as a result. Had he known this would happen, he wouldn't have competed for the position of class monitor.

Defeat is inevitable; it's better to retreat temporarily.

When Su Chen returned to the office, Tang Fu seemed to be on the phone with his mother.

"You're talking about this What do you intend to tell them They are old and shouldn't have to worry over such matters," Tang Fu sounded somewhat anxious.

“I don’t plan to tell them. Eventually, they will hear about it through newspapers anyway. Now people are already asking me if something serious is happening with my Old Tang. How should I explain I wish you could quickly resolve this problem too, but can you do that Several lawyers have told me the case is complicated and unusual. Not having a contract is ridiculous. Back then when handling it, you should have thoroughly investigated instead of focusing solely on immediate benefits,” Mu Xuan responded in a business-like tone; she had been dealing with her own troubles recently too.

“You know how complex real estate matters are, involving many intricate details. When I first took over the situation, I didn't anticipate such problems either. This isn’t just an ordinary issue; let me handle it first before we talk more. Besides, my mother’s side wouldn’t understand the ins and outs of this matter anyway. Telling them would only disappoint her and confirm how prescient she was when she disapproved of your marriage to me.”

Mu Xuan and Tang Fu were having an argument; everyone pretended not to hear anything while Li Lian sat on the sofa pretending to read a newspaper.

In Rongcheng, Mu Xuan knew that this matter was unusual and had already heard about it. Now people privately discussed her as the head of justice, facing her high-and-mighty attitude with a mix of resentment and compliance. Many were secretly envious and would act respectfully while harboring ill will. As she was a political figurehead and focal point, many people in politics closely followed developments concerning her.

Tang Fu and his mother both faced significant pressure.

In this situation, the conversation naturally ended unhappily. Tang Wu must have also sensed the tension at home. Therefore, she was likely feeling rather depressed as well.

Not long after hanging up the phone with his daughter, a friend's call came through.

"Old Tang, I checked around and know someone in the Enforcement Division of the court—a certain Director Gong whom I still have connections with. Why don't you go see him Find out more about the situation and see if there’s anything we can do."

"Alright then. We’ll head over right away. Thanks for your help."

After hanging up, Tang's father got to his feet: "Let's go to Chao Yue!"

The scenery was a vast stretch of sea and a road that stretched out endlessly into the distance. Along the way, through those steel-and-concrete high-rises in cities, there were stretches of lush fields interspersed with dry land, which did not cause visual fatigue.

Su Chen pondered within the car as to whether it was worth skipping class for this.

At this point, what was the use of asking if it was worth it After all, he could not just stand by and watch his future father-in-law fall from grace.

The shattering of everything beautiful is called tragedy. Su Chen now wanted to prevent that inevitable tragedy from happening; he had already done this more than once and would continue to do so in the future, as his opponents would grow stronger. He needed some strong support.

After a four-hour car ride, it was nearly afternoon when Su Chen, Li Lan, Tang's father, and one of the office directors from Tang’s company arrived at Chao Yue City.

The moment they entered the city by the sea, the bright sunlight seemed to suddenly darken. Clouds covered the sky above the city, a feeling that Su Chen had experienced before. After being fired, facing an uncertain future, he felt that his strength was directionless. Without a career or family and even without love, all of this centered on money, something which he knew he lacked both in quantity and ability to earn.

But now the same feeling returned. He wasn't aimlessly wandering with nothing but wanted to defend the carefree university life that he had built step by step, the ambiguous romance within the campus, and this peaceful life at eighteen years old.

In Chao Yue City's courthouse, Tang’s father and his entourage went straight to the Enforcement Division.

Right now, if Su Chen wanted to follow them, no one had the heart to stop him. At most, he might leave a lasting impression in Tang's father's mind that he was still immature. But compared to Su Chen’s premonition of future threats, this was just a trivial matter.

The director from the Enforcement Division received Tang and his entourage based on their friendship. As they sat down, he revealed some difficulty: "To be honest, Mr. Tang, I can't say much here. The original documents are something you won’t see. Let me tell you what I know."

This outcome was expected. The company in Chao Yue City belonged to the government; their coming over to inquire about details naturally would raise suspicion among relevant departments. They wouldn’t be given access to the original documents.

Even if Tang’s father and mother had some background, in terms of influence, it was simply a fantasy to think they could affect things here. Even as someone with power in an inland provincial capital city, you couldn't reach out and influence Zhejiang's counties and cities.

Moreover, Chao Yue City’s attitude was already quite good; there was a one billion yuan shortfall in the project funds, and since it belonged to the government, this would be a large amount of fiscal resources. As a county-level city, they naturally kept a close eye on such money. Not overturning the table at the time could even be considered as showing respect for Tang’s father.

"The situation is like this: there's one billion in debt. If we’re talking about something reasonable, I have some connections with them; otherwise, I can try to arrange a court ruling on debt restructuring and get Chao Yue to make some concessions."

After leaving the Enforcement Division, everyone’s spirits were rather low. Su Chen realized that the other side was also aware of government officials behind Tang's father, so they didn't dare go against their wishes. What they said didn’t hit on key points and only added more trouble.

The phone rang; it was from the young female chairman of Donglin Group, clearly very concerned about this matter. But not just her, everyone in the company was watching the development closely, hoping for a good outcome to follow the group towards prosperity but knowing that if things went poorly, their livelihoods would be jeopardized.

After hanging up, she consoled those in the company office but they felt uncertain about what to do next.

"Mr. Tang," Li Lan said as she came over, "why don’t we have something to eat We haven't eaten since noon."

“How can I eat” Tang’s father shook his head and looked at Su Chen: “Eat, eat. Fill your stomachs first, Su Chen. Why did you come with us This is nonsense!” Tang's father was in a bad mood and spoke harshly to Su Chen.

"Mr. Tang, please don't blame him; I brought him along," Li Lan hurriedly said.

Su Chen looked at Li Lan gratefully, thinking that she had quite a sense of righteousness.

Tang’s father, with his hands behind his back, spoke even more sternly to Li Lan: "What does discipline mean Because you let Su Chen who knows nothing come and meddle, the company is now in disarray. How can I scold you"

With a wave of his sleeves, Tang’s father turned and walked off.

This Conan impersonation is a bit overdone, Su Cen felt somewhat awkward. In the end, he couldn’t keep up the anime persona.

He also can't always maintain a sinister expression to deceive the masses. When Su Cen saw Tang Fu's father's figure receding into the distance, he inexplicably felt a bit of familiarity towards him. This wasn't because of heartache but rather due to his close relationship with Tang Wu, leading to an affection for this middle-aged man who had a round face and slightly lowered shoulders.

A tiger in plain clothes This is helplessness. Perhaps the turning point in the fate of Tang Wu's family from the future started here.

Mislead under heaven.

Su Cen’s mind quickly flashed with inspiration, and after organizing his thoughts for a moment, he suddenly felt enlightened.

He hurriedly approached and stood in front of Tang Fu's father. When Li Lan saw Tang Fu's father's gaze focus on Su Cen, she couldn't help but feel nervous. She heard Su Cen say, "Uncle Tang, I have an idea now. We should find a hotel nearby and book a room."

"Hotel Booking a hotel room won’t solve anything if we haven’t made any progress. Are you suggesting that we engage in attrition warfare here" A man asked.

Tang Fu's father didn't speak, but stared at Su Cen with narrowed eyes as if his patience was severely tested by this comment.

Su Cen paused briefly before continuing. "Not only do we need to book a hotel room, Uncle Tang, you also need to make a call to Chao Yue and say that we are here to repay the debt."

The group seemed as if they had encountered an unexpected stroke of luck when this happened; all their expressions were full of astonishment as they stared at Su Cen in front of them. They couldn't help but wonder if he was delirious.

A call from Chao Yue’s side sounded, and after picking up the phone, Wang Daming, who was sitting there waiting for a call, said upon hearing it was from Tang Fu's father, "Your call came at just the right time. I was about to look for you. If we don’t get an answer soon, we will have no choice but to sue you. We are already being very courteous."

"Mr. Wang, I have just checked into a hotel here and am busy handling your matter. This is the situation: We used to be friendly partners, but now there’s some dispute. However, we should solve it through friendly negotiation. Our visit this time was quite urgent, and many documents were left behind. How about you bring over the contract and related materials so that we can discuss whether a repayment plan can be set"

"I haven’t been staying at Chao Yue for long and am currently in a bind with many other issues to handle."

He successfully created an image of being extremely busy.

The person on the other end, who originally had a confrontational air about him, seemed intrigued by the possibility of setting up a repayment plan. He said, "Alright then, I’ll be there soon. Where are you"

At that moment, Su Cen in one of the hotel suites was directing everyone to stage an "incident scene," making everything seem chaotic and smoky. Li Lan puffed on five cigarettes at once, waved them around in the air, and asked Su Cen as she did so, “Is this enough If we do more, it’ll be harmful to young people.”

"Under these circumstances, even if I am harmed slightly, it’s fine. Light up a few more cigarettes! The more there are, the better!" Su Cen waved his hand and gave instructions to the office director, "Director Yang, roll up the carpet, take out two beer glasses from outside and place them on the table. Place some blankets over the sofa backrests and armrests and make it look even messier. Bring out the bath towels from the bathroom as well and randomly scatter them around. Make a chaotic scene."

The entire setting was in utter disarray, resembling an aftermath of chaos. Su Cen wanted to set up this scenario so that the sharp-witted Mr. Wang would have no choice but to lower his guard under these conditions.

In business dealings, it is often necessary to create a "situation" and build momentum for negotiations; sometimes negotiation venues can change dramatically, from bars to high-end clubs—such environmental choices can significantly influence the outcome of an event's resolution.

Since they couldn’t reduce their alertness fundamentally, Su Cen would use external chaos to destabilize them mentally.

Su Cen learned a lot from his previous failures and had become dedicated to studying psychology after his rebirth. He even took this subject as an elective course at Nankai University and found it quite beneficial. Now was the time for him to put what he’d learned into practice.

Everything was ready, waiting only for a favorable wind.

Everyone’s palms were sweaty; they felt that Su Cen's actions were too fanciful but also realized there was no other way. The fates of Donglin and the Tang family enterprise might turn in this very moment.

The scene left only two people: Tang Fu's father and Su Cen, who had disguised himself as a secretary.

Su Cen needed to operate personally; both parties were indispensable.

The other party arrived punctually. After Tang Fu’s father opened the door, they saw that the man still wore his usual attire but seemed more relaxed this time. Upon entering, he was immediately greeted by a thick cloud of smoke and alcohol scent, causing him to wrinkle his nose in displeasure, “What's going on here”

Tang Fu’s father apologized, "The place is quite messy; please overlook it."

The other party, Mr. Wang, sat down only to realize he had a sock caught under him. Tang Fu’s father suppressed his laughter and immediately scolded Su Cen, “What happened”

"It's an accident," Su Cen quickly interjected, noticing how uncomfortable the man looked sitting there. Mr. Wang was used to luxury and hadn't encountered such a scene before; in this room where the air was thick with smoke and alcohol smell, it felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

"I’ve brought all the materials, take a good look!" Manager Wang put down everything on the table. He then realized that it might not have been placed properly.

Tang’s father hurriedly took them over, "Let me do it." He adjusted the layout of the table and glanced at the other person secretly. Seeing his eyes never relaxed, he secretly praised him as indeed worthy to be a manager. His alertness had never let down; he merely adjusted the tie, loosened it as it was too hot in the smoky room.

Tang’s father pretended clumsily took out the materials and put them on the table, then gestured to Su Chen to pour Manager Wang some tea since it was getting warm.

Su Chen went over to the water dispenser for a cup of hot tea and intentionally walked slowly from the side before presenting it crisply. "Manager Wang, here’s your tea."

"Thank you." The other person turned around to receive it.

At this moment, Tang’s father felt his heart thump up to his throat as he saw that contract among the piles of documents.

This was a loan agreement signed nine years ago between Donglin Group and them. With the contract in hand, they could study how to counterattack; they wouldn’t be clueless about their opponent’s basic direction and strategies anymore!

Due to the arrangement of the coffee table filled with bottles and jars, Tang’s father was actually out of sight from the other person’s line of vision.

Su Chen subtly gave him a signal that this was the moment. If he missed it, he would miss it forever.

This moment was crucial!

And as Manager Wang received Su Chen's cup of tea, at most, with his skillful handling, he could delay the other person for a few seconds. This precious time was fleeting.

Tang’s father trembled as he slipped out that important contract copy underfoot and sent it to the sofa base; in this moment, his hands were shaking but he was excited.

Manager Wang seemed to be oblivious of falling into their trap during those moments.

Su Chen let go when Manager Wang received his cup. Then, turning around, he stared at Tang’s father who pretended to browse through the documents naturally and casually.

Tang’s father was already back in position, looking natural while randomly flipping through materials; Su Chen secretly thought that Tang Wu's father had good acting skills indeed.

“Why don’t we go down to the restaurant for a chat!” Tang’s father frowned.

"Alright, let’s do it. Your place is not suitable for living." This finally struck Manager Wang as he made an impolite joke. Now that Tang’s father had no influence over him anymore, he was merely a creditor in his eyes.

Of course, Manager Wang's alertness never lowered throughout the entire time; he helped Tang’s father collect those documents and glanced at him with suspicion when he didn’t make any moves.

When they left the room, Tang’s father was excited. He exchanged a glance with Su Chen who gave him a thumbs-up sign. Tang’s father then left as well. Su Chen took out the contract and some additional documents from under the sofa to hand them over to Li Lan who had been waiting in the next room anxiously; she nearly screamed, “The contract.”

Once they were down at the restaurant, Tang’s father was much more composed. When Su Chen came downstairs, Tang’s father looked at him and said while flipping through the documents, "Hey, you don’t have that contract here."

The manager naturally didn’t believe it when he heard this. He stood up to look for it with Tang's father.

Tang’s father asked concernedly, "What happened Did you see anything before coming here Was it the original"

"Of course it was a copy. They told me they would put it in my luggage but what were those guys doing"

“Why don’t you go back and get it, and take these documents with you, I’ll wait here for your return."

"That’s really sorry," the manager was helpless as well. He picked up the documents and went back to the company in a huff.

By the time he had left, the coffee hadn't even cooled down.

Tang’s father stood up with his mighty strides and patted Su Chen on the shoulder. "Let's go back to Shanghai."

The sun was bright outside.motion below.Su Can opened the door and walked out. Facing Cong Tong and Cheng Congcong, who almost gasped upon recognizing him, he said, "What’s going on You took the money but didn’t do anything. Ge...