After the divorce, I started to transfer

Xiao Jinhan glanced at his daughter, who was clearly favoring outsiders, but still explained, "On the surface, they have assets worth seven or eight billion. If they had that many assets as collateral, they could certainly get loans of one or two billion. The problem is, most of it has already been pledged to banks. That's how business is; most of what you spend is bank money, not your own. It's all about mortgaging and then pledging. This is especially true since the Zhao family's business has been declining in recent years. Otherwise, Zhao Xingrong wouldn't have risked going there to try and get into the mining business."

Xiao Jinhan's explanation sounded plausible, but Chen Feng didn't really believe it.

Chen Feng asked directly, "What benefits did Old Zhao give you this time?"

Xiao Jinhan's face stiffened, and he said with a wry smile, "He really didn't give me any benefits this time. If there was anything, it was that he readily sold me that piece of land and quickly completed the transaction. I couldn't refuse him for that. Besides, there's my friendship with their family over the years, especially with Xingrong. I won't lie to you, when I was young, I worked for Xingrong for a while. Back then, he was considered the richest and most generous among the younger generation in Xiuzhou. After all, Zhao Jinfu was so wealthy that he treated his nephew like his own son."

Once at a nightclub, he got into a fight with a guy from out of town over a woman. I helped him fight, and accidentally crippled one of them. Afterwards, Xingrong went to great lengths and spent a lot of money to get me out of trouble. Although it was something he should have done, I couldn't be ungrateful, especially since he had transferred that piece of land to me at a low price.

After hearing her father's words, Xiao Panpan, who was standing to the side, said in a biased manner, "It's your own business if you owe him a favor, why should Brother Feng pay it back for you?"

Xiao Jinhan glared at his daughter and said, "I'm just acting as a mediator. Besides, the Zhao family doesn't intend to renege on their debt. As I just said, they've really suffered a huge loss this time and can't spare that much cash right now."

At this point, Xiao Jinhan said to Chen Feng with a sincere expression, "Feng, I really didn't lie to you. If I were, I'd be a coward. You want them to come up with 6 million in cash all at once? They really can't. I really didn't take any benefits from them this time; I was just returning a favor. Feng, it's okay if you don't agree. I can only tell them that you don't agree. From now on, it's between you and the Zhao family; I won't get involved."

Chen Feng didn't really like Xiao Jinhan, but unfortunately, he had slept with Xiao's daughter.

He speaks so casually now, as if he really didn't receive any benefits from the Zhao family and was merely a middleman.

But Chen Feng didn't believe it.

"The reason I agreed to help save Zhao Xingrong, even risking my life to do so, was because I trusted your guarantee as the middleman and guarantor, and I also trusted Zhao Jinfu's character. Now, you, the middleman and guarantor, are trying to persuade me to postpone fulfilling my promise. Lao Xiao, don't you think that's a bit unfair?"

Although Chen Feng would definitely have to give Xiao Jinhan face because of Xiao Panpan, he couldn't let the old man easily manipulate and use him just because of Xiao Panpan.

Even if he was truly in the wrong, he had already made up for it because Xiao Jinhan had acquired the land at a low price.

Moreover, Xiao Panpan was the one who pursued him; she wasn't even his girlfriend.

Chen Feng really didn't need to worry too much about saving face for the father and daughter.

Xiao Jinhan, of course, sensed Chen Feng's anger and immediately smiled apologetically, "Feng, I didn't expect Old Man Zhao wouldn't be able to come up with this money. If I had known earlier, I definitely wouldn't have acted as a guarantor. I only found out yesterday when Old Man Zhao and Xingrong told me. They really didn't lie to me; they even showed me several mortgage loan contracts. If you don't believe me, you can check them yourself. Most of the Zhao family's assets have already been mortgaged to banks. They also know your influence and strength, so they really didn't mean to default or delay. They genuinely can't come up with that much cash all at once."

Hearing this, Chen Feng was a little unsure. Could it be that the Zhao family really couldn't come up with so much money all at once?
Chen Feng chuckled and changed the subject, saying, "I'm hungry. Didn't you invite me to dinner? Is the food ready?"

After a moment of surprise, Xiao Jinhan immediately laughed and said, "Alright, let's eat first. The food is ready and we can start eating anytime."

After saying that, he stood up and led Chen Feng to the restaurant next door. Inside, there was a large round solid wood table with more than a dozen cold dishes already set on it, just waiting for the hot dishes to be served, making it feel like a hotel.

Xiao Jinhan picked up a walkie-talkie from the dining table and said, "You can serve the food now."

"Okay, boss." The person on the other end of the walkie-talkie quickly replied.

Xiao Jinhan put down the walkie-talkie and gestured for Chen Feng to sit down.

Xiao Panpan naturally sat down next to Chen Feng as well.

"Ah Feng, don't blame me for being nosy. The Zhao family has deep roots in Xiuzhou. They're a family with a history of over a hundred years. Their ancestral home is in TL County, which is under Xiuzhou's jurisdiction. There, the Zhao family is a large surname with several thousand members. This branch of their family moved to Xiuzhou more than two hundred years ago, and then went to Southeast Asia to do business and made a fortune. Old Man Zhao is especially good at shrewd business. Back when the country opened up and urgently needed foreign investment, he was among the first to return to his hometown to invest. Over the years, he has invested a lot of money, built up a wide network of connections in both political and business circles. He even served as the president of the Overseas Chinese Business Association for several years. You should understand the weight of that, right?"

Seeing that Chen Feng didn't react, Xiao Jinhan continued, "Zhao Jinfu was a legendary figure in the business world. He achieved great success in both business investments and people investments. For example, to save his nephew this time, he used a lot of connections because these people owed him money and were people he had invested in. It's just that he's gotten old these past few years, and Xingrong is a spoiled brat. Xingrong's ventures have basically all resulted in losses. But he's stubborn and always wanted to achieve something, so he went to Luzon to try his hand at mining, and this is what happened."

Not wanting to leave the conversation too awkwardly, and also out of curiosity, Chen Feng asked, "Doesn't Old Man Zhao have any descendants?"

Xiao Jinhan shook his head with a smile: "Of course not, otherwise why would I care so much about my nephew Xingrong?"

This answer wasn't surprising, and Chen Feng nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Xiao Jinhan lowered his voice slightly and said, "I heard that when Old Man Zhao was young, he got into a fight in Southeast Asia and was accidentally killed. So what could he do? He could only raise his nephew as his own son. Unfortunately, he only had one older brother, and his older brother only had one son, Zhao Xingrong. Otherwise, he would have adopted him long ago. Xingrong is a good man and lucky. He had two sons, and he has already adopted one of them as Old Man Zhao's grandson. So Old Man Zhao's lineage will have someone to carry on."

At the end, Xiao Jinhan looked envious. He, too, had no sons or grandsons to carry on the family line.

He actually really wanted his daughter to give birth to a son in the future, so that he could be his grandson rather than his great-grandson and carry on the family line.

Therefore, her gaze towards Chen Feng now carried a hint of eagerness.

He wasn't really angry that his daughter was following him without any official status; after all, it was his daughter who liked him.

He even hoped that his daughter and Chen Feng would have a son soon so that he could have a grandson to carry on the family line.

He had told his daughter about his plan last time, but she scolded him, so he had to give up for the time being.

Just as Xiao Jinhan was sighing inwardly, Xiao Panpan said with a look of disgust, "Dad, why don't you adopt a son too? I remember you have two cousins, so you're quite close by blood."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinhan's face darkened, and he glared at him, scolding, "What do you know!"

Xiao Panpan glared back and said, "Don't you have no son? Why not learn from others and adopt one?"

It is clear that Xiao Panpan still harbors resentment because of his past "prayer for a child".

Xiao Jinhan, of course, knew this too, and could only smile wryly and helplessly: "I already have you as my biological daughter, why would I need to adopt a son? If I wanted to adopt, I would have done it long ago, why wait until now? However, if you give birth to a son in the future, he can be adopted as my grandson, and all my assets will be his. Ah Feng, what do you think?"

Chen Feng didn't expect him to do this so suddenly, but he quickly recovered and said indifferently, "That depends on Panpan's own thoughts. It has nothing to do with me."

Xiao Jinhan immediately said, "How can it not concern you? Panpan is with you now, and she's very willing to have your child..."

"Dad, what nonsense are you talking about?" Xiao Panpan interrupted Xiao Jinhan, her face flushed.

Xiao Jinhan was about to say something more when someone came over. A middle-aged chef pushed a food cart over, followed by a young kitchen helper.

The two quickly served all the dishes on the table before pushing the food cart away.

After they left, Xiao Jinhan said to Chen Feng with a grin, "Feng, think about what I just said."

Xiao Panpan said irritably, "Alright! You're so old, and you still talk like that."

Xiao Jinhan retorted, "Is it wrong for me to speak like this? It's called being straightforward."

Chen Feng ignored him, picked up his rice bowl and chopsticks, and started eating. The dishes tasted alright, about the same level as what he had eaten at Guo Mengyao's house yesterday, all like the food from a restaurant. Chen Feng felt that they weren't as good as his own home-cooked meals, which tasted like home.

"Want some drinks? We have beer, baijiu, and foreign brands," Xiao Jinhan asked from the side.

"No need, I still need to drive. Let's just eat."

After finishing his sentence, Chen Feng focused solely on eating, consuming two large bowls of rice and a considerable amount of vegetables.

After finishing the meal, Chen Feng said, "Tell the Zhao family that I hope they will donate at least 100 million within two days, and we can discuss the remaining 500 million later."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jinhan was overjoyed and laughed heartily, "Good, good, Ah Feng, you are indeed magnanimous."

After speaking, Xiao Jinhan gave Chen Feng a thumbs-up to express his appreciation.

Chen Feng scoffed and said, "I didn't agree to your previous request. I just wanted to see if they were going to renege on their debt. If they really donate 100 million within two days, it at least shows that they still have some credit."

Xiao Jinhan quickly said, "They absolutely have no intention of defaulting on their debts, I guarantee that with my integrity. They just can't come up with 600 million right now, but 100 or 200 million is definitely not a problem."

Chen Feng said calmly, "Let's wait until they donate 100 million before we talk about it."

At this point, Chen Feng stood up.

"Thank you for your hospitality today. I'll be going now."

"Oh, you're leaving already? Please sit a little longer, let's chat some more."

Xiao Jinhan also quickly stood up.

"Next time," Chen Feng said, waving his hand dismissively.

Seeing this, Xiao Jinhan felt it was inappropriate to keep him any longer, so he smiled and said, "Alright, you can come and play with Panpan again next time."

He walked Chen Feng to the door while talking to him.

Xiao Panpan stayed by Chen Feng's side the whole time, remaining quiet and not saying a word.

Upon reaching the bronze gate, Chen Feng suddenly stopped, extended his hand to Xiao Jinhan, and made a handshake gesture.

Xiao Jinhan subconsciously reached out his hand and shook hands with Chen Feng.

In just three or four seconds, Chen Feng released his hand and then turned and walked out the door without saying a word.

Xiao Jinhan was taken aback by Chen Feng's sudden handshake and was completely confused. It wasn't until Chen Feng reached the elevator that he realized what was happening. He waved to Chen Feng and Xiao Panpan and said, "Panpan, remember to bring Afeng over to play more often."

Xiao Panpan rolled her eyes at her father, while Chen Feng completely ignored her.

Soon, the elevator doors opened, and the two stepped inside.

Xiao Jinhan stood at the entrance, somewhat embarrassed, watching the two leave until the elevator doors closed.

"I'm sorry, Brother Feng, I didn't know my dad was looking for you to plead for me. If I had known, I wouldn't have brought you along."

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Xiao Panpan nervously and guiltily took Chen Feng's arm and apologized.

Seeing that Chen Feng's expression was rather unpleasant, she felt even more uneasy.

She was the one who pursued Chen Feng, and they haven't even officially settled on the status of her as his lover yet. Her own father has made her act as a go-between twice, which means she's caused Chen Feng trouble both times.

If Chen Feng takes his anger out on her because of this, she might really be dumped by him.

Chen Feng noticed Xiao Panpan's nervousness, but instead of offering comfort, he kept a slightly cold expression and said, "Your dad is a dishonest person. I'll try to have as little contact with him as possible in the future. I'm only letting it go because of you. Otherwise, I'd make him pay back everything he's taken advantage of."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Panpan was immediately filled with embarrassment and shame. Her father had indeed taken advantage of Chen Feng in the rescue of Zhao Xingrong.

And this time, her father is again acting as an intermediary for the Zhao family. Based on her understanding of her father, it's very likely that he has also received benefits from the Zhao family.

And that was indeed the case. The reason Chen Feng deliberately shook hands with Xiao Jinhan was because he activated his newly acquired information recall ability and "saw" the conversation between Xiao Jinhan and Zhao Jinfu yesterday afternoon.

Although it only lasted a few seconds, I already knew what I wanted to know.

It's very simple. Yesterday afternoon, with the help of the Zhao family, Xiao Jinhan finally completed the transfer procedures for that piece of land smoothly.

However, since this land was originally a factory and now needs to be converted into a shopping mall, some complicated approval procedures are still required.

Even though Xiao Jinhan had considerable connections in the provincial capital, the process was still quite long and complicated.

Therefore, Zhao Jinfu offered to help simplify and shorten the approval process and procedures.

Xiao Jinhan was naturally very happy and quickly expressed his gratitude.

Then, Zhao Jinfu brought up the matter of the 6 million yuan donation, explaining that his family couldn't readily provide that much cash and would have to donate it in installments. To this end, the old man even produced documents showing Xiao Jinhan that some of his family's assets had been mortgaged to the bank. On this point, Xiao Jinhan wasn't lying.

However, Xiao Jinhan had obviously received a bribe from Zhao Jinfu, but this bribe was not money or goods, but rather help with the approval procedures.

So, despite his rough-looking appearance, Xiao Jinhan is actually incredibly cunning.

Xiao Panpan, of course, had no idea that Chen Feng already knew what benefits her father had received. Seeing Chen Feng's bad expression, she could only nervously apologize again: "I'm sorry, brother, I will never pass on messages to my father again."

Chen Feng did not respond to her words.

Xiao Panpan panicked even more and quickly assured him, "Brother, I really won't pass on any more messages to him in the future."

"Alright, this isn't your fault."

Upon hearing Chen Feng's words, Xiao Panpan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. (End of Chapter)