After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

800 meters.

Chen Ping stared at the blue dot on the navigation screen, without starting the car. The Chengguan branch was just two streets ahead at the corner; he grew up in Qingxi and could find it with his eyes closed.

But you can't go directly there.

If a provincial government secretary-general goes to the county's rural commercial bank to check on a dead person's account, the news will spread throughout the entire Qingxi officialdom within half a day. Since the person who slipped the note under the door could reach his doorstep, they must have been watching his every move.

Chen Ping turned the car around and drove towards the county government.

The Qingxi County government building is a four-story office building from the 1980s. The exterior walls are covered with white tiles, but most of the tiles on the ground floor have fallen off, revealing the gray cement underneath. Chen Ping parked his car in front of the small supermarket across the street, changed into a cotton coat, took off his watch, and pushed open the gate to enter the county government compound.

A security guard in his fifties was sitting in the guardhouse, scrolling through short videos on his phone.

"Comrade, who are you looking for?"

Chen Pingfang took out a business card and handed it over. The business card read "Chen Fang, Researcher, Policy Research Office of Jiangsu Provincial Government". This was a "lightweight" identity that Han Zhiming had prepared for him half a year ago, specifically for occasions when it was inconvenient to reveal his real position.

The security guard glanced at the business card and made a phone call inside.

Three minutes later, a middle-aged man in a dark blue jacket jogged out of the building. He had a round face, a receding hairline, and a face full of wrinkles when he smiled.

"A leader from the province? I'm Sun Guisheng, deputy director of the county government office. Welcome, welcome!"

Chen Ping shook hands with him.

"He's not a leader, just a researcher. The province is conducting a research project on the economic and financial ecosystem of counties, and Qingxi is one of the sample counties. He's just here to take a look; no need for reception."

Sun Guisheng's smile faded slightly, but his hand remained on Chen Pingfang's arm.

"Well, we should sit down and have some tea. County Magistrate Li is here today; would you like to see him?"

"No need. I'll just take a look around, check your investment attraction records, and get a basic understanding of the situation."

Sun Guisheng was stunned for a moment.

"Ledger?"

"Yes. Do you have a list of investment projects from last year and the year before?"

Sun Guisheng's hand slid down Chen Pingfang's arm and rubbed the seam of his trousers.

"Yes, there is, but the Economic Development Bureau has to check it. Which part do you want to see?"

"all."

Sun Guisheng slowed his pace by half a beat, glancing back at Chen Pingfang as he led the way before quickly turning away.

The Economic Development Bureau was on the third floor. Two of the fluorescent light tubes in the corridor were broken, causing the light to flicker. A young clerk brought in two file boxes, placed them on the conference table, poured himself a cup of tea, and left.

Chen Ping didn't touch the tea; he went straight to flipping through the files.

The list of investment projects was compiled by year, with each project followed by the investor's name, registered capital, investment amount, and payment status. His finger quickly scanned the paper, stopping when he turned to the 2019 page.

"Songhe Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 20 million yuan, and the actual amount received is..."

He looked at the line of numbers twice.

The actual amount received was 48 million. For a company with a registered capital of 20 million, the amount received was 2.4 times the registered capital.

The project type is listed as "Comprehensive Development of Ecological Agriculture," and the investment location is Sanhe Township in the southern part of Qingxi County. A small note in the remarks section states: "This project is a key investment attraction project for the county and enjoys a three-year tax exemption policy."

Pine and Crane.

It shares the same name as the bank account under Song Baiqing's name.

Chen Ping took a picture of this page and continued turning the pages.

In 2020 and 2021, Songhe Company made two additional investments, each worth 30 million yuan, with the remarks stating "expansion of ecological agriculture".

The total amount involved here over three years has exceeded 100 million.

A company registered under the name of a deceased person invested 100 million yuan in "ecological agriculture" in a county town.

Chen Ping closed the file box and stood up.

Sun Guisheng reappeared at the door at some point, holding a freshly brewed teacup in his hand.

"Investigator Chen, have you finished reading it?"

"How is Songhe Company actually doing in terms of operations?"

Sun Guisheng raised his teacup to his lips but didn't drink.

"It's great. They've built a greenhouse base in Sanhe Township to grow organic vegetables and even set up a picking garden. It's a star project in the county, and it was even included in the city's compilation of typical investment cases last year."

Chen Ping nodded.

"I want to go and see Sanhe Township."

Sun Guisheng finally put down his teacup and placed it on the windowsill next to the door frame.

"I'm afraid it's too late today. Sanhe Township is in the mountains to the south, it takes an hour and a half to drive there, and the roads aren't very good."

I have my own car.

"Then, shall I have Xiao Li from the Economic Development Bureau accompany you?"

"Need not."

Chen Ping walked out of the conference room, went downstairs, and exited the county government gate. He didn't go to Sanhe Township, but instead drove towards the old town area on the east side of the county seat.

His mother's old house was deep in an alley on Dongguan Street. It was a two-story brick house with withered vines climbing the courtyard walls, and the iron gate was rusty. He always carried the key with him, hanging it on the same ring as his car keys.

The lock cylinder was stiff; it took two turns to open it.

The cement ground in the yard had several cracks, and the weeds growing in the cracks had turned yellow. A piece of glass in the kitchen window was broken and patched up with cardboard.

Chen Ping pushed open the door to the main room, and a wave of dampness hit him.

"mom."

The sound of slippers scraping on the floor tiles came from the inner room. The curtain was lifted, and a thin old woman peeked out.

Su Minhua. Seventy-one years old, with completely white hair, wearing a faded dark blue cotton-padded jacket and cloth-soled slippers.

"You're back? Have you eaten?"

"have eaten."

Chen Ping sat down on a wooden chair in the main room and glanced around. A black-and-white portrait of his father, Chen Jianbang, hung on the wall; the frame was spotless.

Su Minhua brought out a bowl of red date soup from the kitchen and placed it in front of him.

"Why did you come all the way back in the dead of winter?"

Chen Ping didn't beat around the bush.

"Mom, do you remember Song Baiqing from Dad's funeral?"

Su Minhua's hand trembled slightly as she held the soup bowl. A few drops of the jujube soup spilled onto the table, forming small, dark red dots.

Why are you looking into this?

"Someone doesn't want me to investigate."

Su Minhua placed the bowl down steadily, sat down opposite him, and remained silent for a long time.

"Song Baiqing was a young man your father mentored at the Provincial Party Committee Office. It wasn't a formal teacher-student relationship; your father privately taught him how to write documents. Later, that man was transferred, and I don't know where he went. He came to send a wreath when your father passed away, but he never appeared again after that."

"He died in 2003, and the death certificate was issued by Qingxi County People's Hospital."

Su Minhua rested her hands on her knees, her fingers pinching the hem of her cotton-padded jacket and slowly rubbing it.

"I didn't know he was dead."

Chen Pingfang looked at his mother's hands. She was rubbing the hem of her cotton-padded jacket, a habit she had when she was nervous.

"Mom, is there anything else you haven't given me?"

Su Minhua looked up and stared at him.

The room was silent for about ten seconds. The second hand of the old wall clock ticked away.

Su Minhua stood up and went into the inner room. The sound of rummaging through drawers and cabinets continued for two minutes.

When she came out again, she had a silver-gray voice recorder in her hand.

It's an older model, a Sony, with severe wear and tear on the body, and the battery compartment cover is wrapped with tape.

"A month before your dad passed away, he gave this to me. He told me to keep it safe, saying that if one day you grow up and do something he didn't want you to do, he would give this to you."

Chen Ping took the recorder and turned it over. On the back of the device was a line of small characters, in his father's handwriting.

"1999.11.17"

He pressed play.

The recorder's speaker emitted a hissing noise, and then a young man's voice came through.

His Mandarin is very standard, with a slight accent from northern Jiangsu. He speaks slowly and very carefully.

"This money can't go through the government account; it has to go through private channels. Jianbang, you're responsible for holding onto the provincial party committee office's approval document for three days. Three days should be enough."

Chen Ping's thumb hovered above the pause button.

He had heard that voice countless times on television news.

The person speaking in the recording is Zheng Weiyuan, the then Deputy Secretary-General of the Provincial Party Committee, who has now retired to a second-tier vice-ministerial level position.