The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 651: Storm on the way home!!!
June 1998, Yanjing West Railway Station.

He Qiu walked out of the station carrying a military green travel bag. He had not been home for five years, and the hustle and bustle and changes of this city made him dazed for a moment.

He took a deep breath, the air was a mixture of car exhaust and the aroma of roadside snack stalls, familiar yet unfamiliar.

"Chief of Staff, do you really not need me to accompany you back?" Xiao Li, an office clerk who was traveling with you, asked from behind.

He Qiu turned around and patted Xiao Li on the shoulder: "That's enough, you can go home and take a look. Remember, it's about my family."

"Understood! It will be kept strictly confidential!" Xiao Li stood at attention and saluted. "I wish the Chief of Staff a pleasant visit!"

He Qiu returned a standard military salute, watched Xiao Li leave, and then turned around and blended into the crowd outside the station.

He was dressed in casual clothes - an ordinary dark blue jacket and black trousers, but his upright posture and sharp eyes still made him stand out from the crowd around him.

"It's been five years," He Qiu muttered to himself.

The last time he went home was in 1993, when he had just been promoted to chief of staff of the brigade. His parents and wife reluctantly saw him off at the station.

Now, in his early thirties, he is the chief of staff of the "Black Panther Special Operations Brigade" of the Southwest Region, with the rank of colonel.

A taxi stopped in front of him, and the driver stuck his head out: "Comrade, where are you going?"

"Dongcheng District, He's Building." When He Qiu gave the address, he was still a little uncomfortable with the name.

The driver's eyes lit up: "Oh, He's Catering! That's one of the largest catering companies in Yanjing!"

He Qiu smiled slightly and didn't respond.

The scenery outside the car window was rapidly receding, and tall buildings were springing up like mushrooms after a rain. It was very different from the Yanjing in his memory.

Forty minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of a modern building with more than 20 floors.

He Qiu looked up and saw the six large gold-plated characters "He's Catering Group" sparkling in the sun.

He remembered that when he left five years ago, his family was still a medium-sized business owning more than a dozen chain restaurants.

"Sir, do you have an appointment?" A young girl in professional attire asked politely at the lobby reception desk.

Just as He Qiu was about to answer, a loud voice came from the direction of the elevator: "Xiao Qiu!"

He turned around and saw his father He Yuzhu striding towards him.

Although he is in his early sixties, my father is still in good spirits, but he has a lot more white hair on his temples than I remember.

"Dad!" He Qiu walked up to him quickly.

He Yuzhu hugged his son and patted his back hard: "Good boy, you finally came back!" After letting go, he looked He Qiu up and down, "You've become thinner and darker. It must be hard to stay at the border, right?"

He Qiu smiled and said, "I'm used to it. Dad, our company."

"Let's go upstairs and talk!" Sha Zhu put his arm around his son's shoulders and walked towards the special elevator. "Hai Yan is in a meeting. Knowing that you'll be back today, she specially cleared out her afternoon time."

The elevator rose steadily, and He Yuzhu briefly introduced the company's development over the years.

From introducing a team of professional managers, to establishing a modern management system, to the successful listing last year, He Qiu was stunned.

“So, now Haiyan is.”

"General Manager, the one who actually runs the company." He Yuzhu said proudly, "Your wife is amazing! Much better than an old man like me."

The elevator stopped on the 28th floor, and He Yuzhu led He Qiu through a bright corridor with busy office areas on both sides.

When the employees saw He Yuzhu, they greeted him one after another and looked at He Qiu curiously.

In front of the general manager's office, He Yuzhu stopped and blinked mysteriously: "Go in by yourself, I'll give you two some private space." After that, he turned and left.

He Qiu took a deep breath and knocked on the door gently.

"Please come in." A familiar yet unfamiliar female voice came from inside.

Pushing open the door, a woman in a beige business suit was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in the spacious office.

She had her back to the door and was on the phone: "...This quarter's financial report must be released on time. I'll take care of the board of directors."

When she heard the door open, she turned around and stopped talking.

Xu Haiyan, He Qiu's wife, has not been seen for more than a year. She has cut her hair into a neat short style and has a few fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but she exudes the charm and confidence unique to a mature woman.

She slowly put down the phone in her hand, her lips trembling slightly.

"Brother Qiuqiu?"

He Qiu stood there, suddenly not knowing what to say.

They have been together less and less in recent years, and there seems to be an invisible barrier between them.

Xu Haiyan reacted first and walked over quickly, but stopped when she was one step away from He Qiu, tears flashing in her eyes: "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back in advance?"

"I want to give you a surprise." He Qiu said softly, reaching out to touch his wife's cheek and wipe away the tear that was falling.

The next second, Xu Haiyan threw herself into his arms and hugged his waist tightly: "Asshole. You haven't even called me for more than a year."

He Qiu hugged his wife and smelled the familiar jasmine scent in her hair. The ice in his heart melted quietly. He lowered his head and kissed the top of his wife's head: "I'm sorry, our brigade has just been established. Let alone me, Liu Wu hasn't been home for more than a year."

The two hugged each other for a long time before Xu Haiyan raised her head from his arms, wiped away her tears, and put on a professional smile: "Chief of Staff He, do you want to visit our He family's property?"

He Qiu smiled: "I couldn't ask for more."

In the next two hours, Xu Haiyan took He Qiu to visit the entire group headquarters, from the R&D kitchen to the financial center, from the brand department to the high-end catering project team that was about to open.

He Qiu was surprised at the change in his wife - the confidence and decisiveness revealed in her words and deeds were completely different from the gentle and introverted wife a few years ago.

In the evening, He Yuzhu and Wang Qiuju hosted a banquet to welcome He Qiu at the old house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang.

The old house has been renovated and expanded, but the original courtyard layout has been retained.

When He Qiu's mother Wang Qiuju saw her son, she burst into tears again.

"Mom, are you okay?" He Qiu helped his mother sit down.

"I'm fine!" Wang Qiuju wiped her tears, "I'm just worried about you, the border is so dangerous."

"Okay, old woman," Sha Zhu interrupted, "Isn't my son fine? Come, try the braised pork I cooked myself, using the old recipe!"

During the dinner, the family enjoyed themselves very much.

He Qiu learned more about the company - now He's Catering has nearly 100 branches across the country, and its turnover exceeded 500 million yuan last year, becoming a benchmark in the industry.

"By the way," after three rounds of drinks, He Qiu suddenly remembered something, "Why didn't I see Xiaoyu?"

The table suddenly became quiet.

Xu Haiyan put down her chopsticks and said softly, "Xiaoyu is at her grandmother's house and won't be home this week."

"Why did you send her to her grandmother's place..." He Qiu frowned and thought of his daughter, "Tomorrow, I'll go visit the old couple and bring her back!"

"Her grandmother's house has very good study conditions." Xu Haiyan said calmly, but He Qiu keenly caught the unnatural flash in her eyes, "We are too busy to take good care of her."

He Qiu wanted to say something, but finally just nodded. He noticed that his parents exchanged a complicated look.

After dinner, He Qiu and Xu Haiyan returned to their own villa.

As soon as he entered the room, He Qiu was stunned - the walls of the living room were covered with photos of Xiaoyu from childhood to adulthood, from her infancy to the most recent one, which seemed to have been taken last year. The little girl was wearing a school uniform and had a bright smile. Her eyes and eyebrows showed both the delicateness of Xu Haiyan and the perseverance of He Qiu.

"She looks exactly like you," He Qiu whispered, running his fingers over the photo.

Xu Haiyan hugged him from behind: "His eyes look like yours. His personality is similar to yours, too. He's very stubborn."

He Qiu turned around and hugged his wife into his arms: "Shall we go to her grandmother's house together tomorrow?"

Xu Haiyan's body stiffened for a moment: "Tomorrow. Tomorrow I have an important meeting, and..."

"Haiyan," He Qiu interrupted her and looked his wife straight in the eyes, "what happened?"

Xu Haiyan avoided his gaze: "Nothing. I'm just busy with work."

He Qiu held his wife's face in his hands. His military instinct told him that things were not that simple. "Tell me the truth."

Tears suddenly welled up in Xu Haiyan's eyes. She broke free from He Qiu's hand, walked to the desk, and took out an envelope from the drawer: "You can read it yourself."

He Qiu opened the envelope, which contained several photos and a letter.

The photo shows Xiaoyu playing on the school playground, and it was obviously a secret photo.

There was only one line of typewritten words on the letter: "Agree to our terms, or we won't be so friendly next time."

He Qiu's blood froze instantly: "When did this happen?"

"Four days ago." Xu Haiyan's voice trembled. "The police have been called. The police sent plainclothes officers to protect Xiaoyu. I didn't want to make you worry." "What conditions?" He Qiu grasped the key sharply.

Xu Haiyan frowned and said, "I guess it may be related to our competitor, the Jinding Catering Group. The shareholder relationship of this group is complicated. They wanted to invest in our company a while ago, but we rejected them..."

"We'll pick Xiaoyu up and take her home tomorrow morning," he said firmly, "and then I'll find out what's going on."

That night, after Xu Haiyan fell asleep, He Qiu quietly got up and called his old friend Liu Yong in the Criminal Police Brigade of the Municipal Bureau.
The next morning, He Qiu and Xu Haiyan were preparing to go out to pick up Xiaoyu when the phone at home suddenly rang.

He Yuzhu's voice came from the receiver, extremely urgent: "Xiaoqiu, turn on the TV! Financial channel!"

He Qiu pressed the remote control, and a breaking news popped up on the TV screen: "This morning, Jinding Catering Group announced that it had acquired 15% of He's Catering shares on the market, becoming the second largest shareholder. Industry insiders analyzed that this might be a precursor to a hostile takeover."

Xu Haiyan's face turned pale: "It's impossible. Our shareholding structure is very stable."

Just then, Xu Haiyan's cell phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

He Qiu pressed the answer button, and the other end was a processed electronic voice: "Mr. Xu, if you want your daughter to be safe, bring the documents to Warehouse No. 12 of the old steel plant at 3 noon. Don't play tricks, we know your every move."

After the call was hung up, a cold light flashed in He Qiu's eyes.

He turned to his panicked wife and said, "You go to the company and stabilize the situation. I'll go pick up Xiaoyu."

"But the kidnappers said they wanted to go there at noon."

"That's a way to lure the tiger away from the mountain." He Qiu quickly put on his coat and said, "Let's go!"

Xu Haiyan wanted to say something more, but when she saw the determination in her husband's eyes when he gave orders on the battlefield, she finally nodded.

He Qiu kissed his wife’s forehead: “believe me, no one can hurt our family.”

After Xu Haiyan left, He Qiu took out his weapon from the secret compartment in his luggage and quickly checked the ammunition.

Then, he dialed another number: "Lao Liu, it's me. This is the situation. Just now..."

At ten o'clock in the morning, He Qiu drove to the international school where Xiaoyu was studying.

The school gate seemed calm, but he keenly noticed several suspicious figures wandering around the school periphery.

Instead of going directly into the school, he parked his car not far away and observed through the rearview mirror.

Fifteen minutes later, a black car slowly drove towards the school gate.

He Qiu narrowed his eyes and saw someone in the car talking into the intercom.

He quietly got out of the car and used the trees and parked vehicles on the roadside as cover to approach the black sedan.

When he was about ten meters away from the car, the school gate suddenly opened and a group of elementary school students lined up to walk out and prepare for physical education class.

He Qiu saw Xiaoyu at a glance. She was walking in the middle of the team, looking around from time to time.

The door of the black car suddenly opened, and two men in baseball caps walked quickly towards the group of students.

He Qiu's blood boiled instantly, and he rushed out like a cheetah.
"Xiaoyu! Get down!" he shouted and pulled out his weapon.

Xiaoyu reacted very quickly and immediately fell to the ground when he heard his father's familiar voice.

The two kidnappers obviously did not expect this situation and stood there in a daze for a moment.

He Qiu seized the opportunity, took a step forward, and hit one of them in the neck with a knife, and the other person fell to the ground.

The other person reacted and took out a "Big Black Star" from his arms, but He Qiu was faster and hit the opponent's wrist accurately with a side kick, and the "Big Black Star" flew out.

The kidnapper cried out in pain, turned around and tried to run, but He Qiu knocked him down with a sweeping kick and pressed his knee on his back.

"Tell me, who sent you here?" He Qiu asked coldly, increasing the strength of his hands.

The kidnapper struggled in pain: "I didn't know, I just took the money to do the job"

He Qiu was about to continue questioning when he suddenly heard Xiaoyu scream: "Dad! Be careful behind you!"

His military instinct made him roll over and dodge immediately, and a bullet grazed his shoulder and hit the ground.

The third kidnapper emerged from behind the black car, holding a "big black star" and shooting at He Qiu continuously.

He Qiu picked up Xiaoyu and quickly hid behind a big tree.

The school gate was in chaos, with teachers and students screaming and running in all directions.

"Xiaoyu, are you afraid?" He Qiu asked softly to his daughter in his arms.

Xiaoyu shook her head, her big eyes full of determination: "Don't be afraid! Dad is in the People's Liberation Army and will protect me!"

He Qiu felt warm in his heart and kissed his daughter's forehead: "Good girl. Count to three and let's run behind that wall, okay?"

Xiaoyu nodded. He Qiu took a deep breath: "One, two, three!"

He moved quickly holding Xiaoyu, and the bullets stirred up a cloud of dust behind him.

Just as they were about to reach the bunker, He Qiu felt a sharp pain in his left arm - the bullet had grazed his arm.

Because protecting the child did affect his tactical actions.

Hiding behind the wall, He Qiu checked the wound and found it was just a flesh wound.

He tore off a corner of his shirt and bandaged it briefly, then said to Xiaoyu, "Hide here, Dad will go deal with the bad guys."

Xiaoyu grabbed the corner of his clothes tightly: "Dad, be careful"

He Qiu smiled and nodded, pulled out a dagger from his waist, and quietly moved to the kidnapper's flank.
A few minutes later, when the sound of sirens came closer and closer, the three kidnappers had all been subdued and were lying unconscious on the ground.

He Qiu held Xiaoyu and walked towards the police who had arrived. The blood oozing from the wound on his left arm dyed his sleeves red.

"Old He!" The leading police officer was Liu Yong, who asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing serious, just superficial injuries." He Qiu replied briefly, "These people's goal is to kidnap my daughter. There may be commercial crimes behind this, please dig deeper."

Liu Yong nodded: "Don't worry, we will investigate thoroughly. The ambulance will be here soon, you need it."

"No need." He Qiu shook his head, "I have to make sure my family is safe first."

He carried Xiaoyu towards his car, knowing that this was just the beginning.

What are the "conditions" mentioned by the kidnappers? Is it really related to the acquisition of "He's Catering" by "Jinding Catering"?
As a soldier, he was used to facing clear enemies, but this time, the enemy was hiding in the shadows, using business tricks and despicable kidnapping to threaten his family.

He Qiu gripped the steering wheel tightly, his eyes determined.

No matter who the opponent is, he will protect his family in a soldier's way. This war without gunpowder has just begun.
As He Qiu stepped into the house with Xiaoyu in his arms, his cell phone rang.

The call was from my father.

"Dad, Xiaoyu is safe." He Qiu answered the phone, his voice filled with a sense of triumph and relief.

He Yuzhu on the other end of the phone was extremely urgent: "Xiao Qiu, come quickly...Haiyan is in trouble!"

He Qiu's heart suddenly shrank: "What happened?"

"She was kidnapped just now..." He Yuzhu's voice trembled, "The kidnappers left a message, saying that we must agree to their conditions."

He Qiu's brain started working at high speed, and his military instinct made him immediately enter combat mode: "Protect the scene, I'll be there soon..."

After hanging up the phone, He Qiu squatted down and looked into Xiaoyu's eyes: "Xiaoyu, mom is in trouble and dad has to go help her. Can you go to grandma's house first?"

Tears welled up in Xiaoyu's big eyes immediately, but she wiped them away stubbornly: "Did the bad guys kidnap Mom? Dad has to go save her, right?"

He Qiu felt a pain in his heart and touched his daughter's head: "Yes, Daddy promises to bring Mom back safely."

Twenty minutes later, He Qiu handed Xiaoyu to his mother-in-law who lived nearby, and rushed to the scene of the crime.

He Yuzhu stood at the door with a sullen face.

Seeing He Qiu, he hurried over and said, "Xiao Qiu, you're finally here!"

"Dad, don't be anxious. Tell me the details..." He Qiu's voice was terrifyingly calm.

"Haiyan went to the restroom halfway through the group meeting and never came back. The company's cleaning staff found this in the women's restroom." He handed over an envelope.

He Qiu opened the envelope and found a printed note inside: "If you want Xu Haiyan to live, agree to our conditions. Don't call the police, or we will kill her..."

"Dad, don't call the police, I'll take care of it!" A cold light flashed in He Qiu's eyes.

"But if we don't call the police, what if..." He Yuzhu said worriedly.

He Qiu first comforted his father, then calmly called Liu Yong: "Yongzi, your sister-in-law has been kidnapped! Bring your men to the 'He's Catering Headquarters' in disguise..."

(End of this chapter)