Wandering in the vast darkness

Chapter 88 Planning

"When it was time to eat, they would come to our cafeteria in batches and have to buy their own meal cards. I told the cafeteria to give them meal cards so they could eat for free. Many people couldn't understand it and said that they shouldn't be allowed to eat at all," Lao Shi said. "I scolded them and said, 'What's the big deal? If a few meals could send these gods away, I would throw a big banquet.'"

"Old Shi, you're right," Yu Wenhao said. "If you don't let them eat in the cafeteria, the dozen or so of them will order takeout for their three meals a day. Even if it's the same restaurant, they won't order together. Instead, they'll wait for one to be delivered before ordering the second one. That would make your place very lively, with delivery people coming and going all day long."

"They're alright, what are you complaining about? They're the delivery guys running around, not us. If you want to complain, go tell them off."

Old Shi sighed, "So that's how it is!"

Yu Wenhao nodded: "That's how it is. And in your company, everyone else can come and go freely, but you can't leave, right?"

"Hey, you're right. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done something so shameful and embarrassing, like dressing up as a woman to escape. I've never done anything so humiliating in my life."

As he spoke, Lao Shi raised three fingers and gestured to Yu Wenhao, saying, "Three days, a full three days, I was stuck upstairs and couldn't come down."

"Besides, they won't lay a hand on you," Yu Wenhao said with a smile.

Old Shi nodded: "Yes, yes, they don't even lift a finger. As soon as I go downstairs, whether it's in the lobby or the basement, they'll surround me and block me. Even if I go downstairs with other people, they ignore the others and only block me."

"They surrounded me and told me to have pity on Xiao Fu's parents. After blocking them for only a few minutes, Xiao Fu's parents came over. His father knelt in front of me and cried, and his mother hugged my feet and cried, just like dealing with the police. How can anyone endure this kind of life?"

"I couldn't move at all. I couldn't get anywhere else. I could only retreat back into the elevator. Okay, as soon as I got back into the elevator, they wouldn't follow me in and let me go upstairs by myself. As long as I didn't leave that building, they didn't care about me at all. I could go wherever I wanted. In this situation, I went down twice and was blocked from going down again. I didn't dare to go down again."

"This is all planned out, including where everyone stands. It's like a basketball coach arranging his lineup. They won't leave you any way out. It's a complete man-to-man zone defense. You have nowhere to go except back to the elevator," Yu Wenhao said. "Let's see how long you can hold out."

"Xiao Yu, tell me, who are these people?" Old Shi asked. "How did they do it?"

Yu Wenhao said, "When someone dies, they find the deceased's family, negotiate the terms, and then ask the family if they know any fellow villagers in Hangzhou. If so, they provide contact information or call them over. If the family doesn't know, they go to construction sites and nearby factories to look. Fellow villagers are like family; if they find one, they can find the whole family."

"These fellow villagers come here and don't have to do anything. They just play cards and mahjong every day and get paid. Who wouldn't come and work? At worst, when they see you coming downstairs, a few people will surround you and block you. Someone will have already called your family. Your family and the planner are nearby. As soon as they receive the call, they will come over and you won't be able to leave."

"The main purpose of bringing fellow villagers here is that when the police come and check their ID cards, they all come from the same place. They all claim to be relatives or friends of the deceased. Since they are relatives or friends of the deceased and have not interfered with your normal business operations, they are just here to seek an explanation. The police do not know who is right and who is wrong, and they can't do anything about it. They can only let you negotiate yourselves or go to court."

"So that's how it is." Old Shi understood. "It's all a setup, with each step linked to the next. It's truly flawless. Come, Xiao Yu, have some tea, have some tea. Hey, this world really is a place where you learn until you die. I've seen so much in my life!"

Setting down his cup, Lao Shi looked at Yu Wenhao and asked, "Xiao Yu, is there any way to break this deadlock? I mean, to solve this problem?"

"Yes," Yu said.

"Tell me quickly, tell me quickly, Xiao Yu, what's the solution?" Old Shi asked anxiously.

Yu Wenhao said, "The police have a hard time dealing with the deceased's family, but they can find the person who orchestrated this. If they find out that he was instigating these people to cause trouble at your company and that he was profiting from it, then he is definitely disturbing public order for personal gain, which is a clear case of provoking trouble. The police can arrest him."

"Once this guy is arrested, the rest of the village will scatter like birds. Moreover, the villagers who were called here will definitely refuse the payment he promised them because he's gone. They'll definitely turn around and go after the deceased's family. At that point, the deceased's family won't even have time to escape, so how could they dare to linger?"

"That makes sense, that makes sense, haha, now it's quiet, right?" Old Shi laughed.

Yu Wenhao looked at Lao Shi and said, "Lao Shi, may I say a few more words?"

"Alright, go ahead and tell me."

Yu Wenhao said, "In the end, the deceased's family is also a pitiful person. They just shouldn't have been instigated and become greedy for money. At this point, we shouldn't go too far. You can have someone take them out, find them a hotel to stay in, away from those people, and then quietly handle the funeral arrangements for the deceased and send them off. This can be considered as doing good deeds."

"That's right, Xiao Yu, you really hit the nail on the head," Lao Shi said. "Well, Xiao Fu, no matter what, was originally one of my company's employees. I dare to make the decision here. I will definitely handle his funeral arrangements properly. I'll add 100,000 to the 200,000 I originally promised his parents, giving them 300,000."

Old Shi thought for a moment and said, "There's another problem, Xiao Yu. Do you think there's any way to find the person who orchestrated this? We have security cameras in our lobby. This person who orchestrated it couldn't have never been here, otherwise how could they have orchestrated it, right? Is there any way to find them from the security footage?"

Yu Wenhao shook his head: "Even if you can find out who planned it from the surveillance footage, it's useless. Without evidence, even if they say it's someone they know who helped organize it, there's nothing you can do."

"Yes, yes." Old Shi nodded. "Then what do you suggest?"

"There is one way: infiltrate their ranks, become one of them, and you'll know everything they plan and arrange. Then, secretly record what the planners say, and they won't be able to escape."

As Yu Wenhao spoke, Lao Shi nodded repeatedly. After Yu Wenhao finished speaking, Lao Shi said:

"Xiaoyu, I have an idea."

"What are your thoughts?" Yu asked.

Old Shi said, "They have a plan, so we'll have one too. Let's go head-to-head, like a clash of titans. Xiao Yu, how about you come up with the plan? You'll help me figure out how to find the people behind them. For the time being, you don't need to drive for ride-hailing services anymore. Our company has you on board."

"No, no," Yu Wenhao said. "I only drive for ride-hailing services part-time; I still have a regular job during the day."

"You have to go to work. Which company do you work for?"

"The printing company under the Hangzhou Daily Group."

"Where is Lao Qu?" Lao Shi asked.

Yu Wenhao was stunned: "You know our General Manager Qu?"

"Haha, I'm more than just acquaintances, I know you all too well, I'm a long-time customer of yours," said Lao Shi.

Yu Wenhao thought about it and realized something was wrong. He was in the workshop, and everything printed there had to go through his hands. In his memory, he didn't recall ever printing anything from the Sanhuan Group.

Yu asked, "I'm in the printing workshop, Lao Shi and you guys..."

"Hey, our group doesn't need to print anything, but all the brochures and promotional materials for my real estate companies are printed by you, as are all the factory's materials, including everything we went to the Canton Fair," Old Shi said, waving his hand.

Yu Wenhao understood. It turned out to be a subsidiary. The subsidiary didn't use the name Sanhuan Group, which explained why he hadn't seen it before.

"I'll call Lao Qu right away and borrow you for a while," Lao Shi said.