Courtyard House: Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) Traded for an Aircraft Carrier, the Whole Count

The tree wants to be calm and the wind does not stop.

Although Sha Zhu's misfortune brought two days of peace to the courtyard, the undercurrents never stopped surging.

Ever since being removed from his position as the second uncle and publicly executed at a hospital-wide assembly, Liu Haizhong had been on the verge of madness. His once obese body had visibly thinned, his eye bags were so large they looked like two water bags, and his eyes were filled with resentment and malice.

He was not reconciled.

Liu Haizhong had been a careerist all his life, and after finally climbing to the position of the second eldest uncle, how could he be defeated by a mere young upstart?

That evening, a light drizzle was falling.

Liu Haizhong, wearing an old raincoat, sneaked out of the courtyard and made his way to a secluded tavern near the factory.

Pushing aside the greasy curtain, a strong smell of cheap liquor and pig's head meat wafted out.

In the corner, a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit was pouring himself a drink. He had a long face, high cheekbones, and gloomy eyes; he was Zhao Gang, the deputy head of the security department.

Zhao Gang was a veteran in the factory, and he was originally the most likely successor to Section Chief Nie after his retirement. But then Jiang Chen suddenly appeared, not only taking over the section chief's position but also turning the security department into his personal fiefdom. Zhao Gang was sidelined and became a mere figurehead, and he had been holding back his anger for a long time.

"Section Chief Zhao, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." Liu Haizhong leaned over and sat down with a fawning expression, casually pulling out a bottle of fine wine from his pocket. "This is my treasured Fenjiu, which I brought especially to offer you."

Zhao Gang glanced at the bottle of wine and sneered, "Old Liu, let's not beat around the bush. You're calling me out late at night not to drink, are you?"

"That's right, that's right." Liu Haizhong lowered his voice, looked around, and then leaned close to Zhao Gang's ear before saying, "Section Chief Zhao, don't you want to bring down that Jiang Chen?"

Zhao Gang paused slightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "You have a way?"

"I have solid leads!" Liu Haizhong's eyes gleamed with madness. "That Jiang Chen has been smuggling scarce supplies into the factory lately. Sweet potatoes, pork, and even some intricate parts that are hard to identify. He claims it's for 'technical breakthroughs,' but the origins of those things are unknown! Think about it, how scarce are supplies outside right now? How could a security chief like him have such abilities? He's definitely engaging in speculation! Or even..."

Liu Haizhong made a throat-slitting gesture, lowering his voice even further: "They might even be colluding with enemy agents!"

Zhao Gang narrowed his eyes.

That's a serious crime.

If the evidence is confirmed, Jiang Chen will not only lose his official position, but he will also be shot.

"Do you have any evidence?" Zhao Gang asked in a deep voice.

"The evidence is in that 'Special Material Warehouse for Technical Breakthroughs'!" Liu Haizhong said through gritted teeth. "Normally only Jiang Chen and his crony Xu Damao can enter that warehouse; even Deputy Factory Director Li rarely checks it. If we conduct a surprise inspection, check his accounts, and investigate the source of the materials, we're sure to uncover something fishy!"

Zhao Gang was tempted.

This is a high-stakes gamble. If he wins, he can rise to power and reclaim everything that belongs to him; if he loses… no, if he acts quickly enough and catches Jiang Chen red-handed, Jiang Chen will have no chance of turning things around!

"Good!" Zhao Gang downed his drink in one gulp and slammed the glass down on the table. "Jiang Chen is going to a meeting at the Municipal Bureau tomorrow morning. This is the perfect opportunity."

"I have law enforcement authority and can issue a 'special search warrant.' Old Liu, lead the way, let's go straight to seal off the warehouse!"

The two men exchanged a glance, both seeing greed and the thrill of impending revenge in each other's eyes.

"Jiang Chen, Jiang Chen, tomorrow is your death day!" Liu Haizhong was so excited that his whole body of fat was trembling.

……

Meanwhile, at Jiang Chen's home.

Jiang Chen was sitting cross-legged on the bed, resting with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, a slight stinging sensation came from my mind. It was the system's built-in [Danger Perception] skill sounding an alarm.

The feeling wasn't strong, indicating there was no immediate danger to life, but the malice was very clearly directed—it came from the direction of the factory area, and it carried a damp, viscous feeling, like that of a venomous snake.

"Ding! A conspiracy against the host has been detected taking shape. Source of malice: Liu Haizhong, Zhao Gang."

The system notification sounded coldly.

Jiang Chen slowly opened his eyes. There was no panic in his dark pupils, but rather a hint of mockery.

"Liu Haizhong? Zhao Gang?"

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the dark, rainy night.

"I was originally planning to keep you around for a while, but since you're in such a hurry to die, don't blame me for being impolite."

Auditing the accounts? Investigating the source of supplies?

Jiang Chen's lips curled into a cold smile. All his supplies came from the system space, and every transaction had a "perfect receipt" and "proof of legal origin" generated by the system. It was a kind of black technology that even the highest level of auditing could not find any flaws.

In fact, the so-called "special supplies depot" was just a cover he set up to deceive others.

"Want to check my accounts? Perfect."

Jiang Chen stared at his reflection in the glass, his eyes sharp as knives.

"I'd like to check yours too."

He turned around, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed a number.

"Hello, this is Jiang Chen. Pass the word that tomorrow morning's technical task force meeting is canceled. Also, place those 'ledgers' that were prepared beforehand in the most conspicuous spot in the warehouse..."

The rain was pouring down harder and harder, as if foreshadowing a bloody storm to come tomorrow.