Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

The black G-Wagon turned onto the bumpy asphalt road.

Shen Nian sat in the passenger seat. Although the scene of being surrounded by three cars at the intersection had passed, her fingers resting on her knees were still very tense.

The car came to a stop in front of the rusty iron gate of the welfare home.

The children who were playing in the yard heard the sound of brakes and all rushed to the iron gate.

"Brother Fan is here!"

"Sister Shen Nian is here too!"

Tiger ran in front, gripping the iron railing with both hands and straining his neck to stick it out.

Jiang Fan pushed open the car door and got out, then casually opened the passenger door.

Shen Nian got out of the car.

Seeing the children's bright, sparkling eyes, her tense shoulders finally relaxed, and she quickly walked over and pushed open the iron gate.

"elder sister!"

Several little girls rushed up and hugged Shen Nian's waist.

Shen Nian squatted down and reached out to touch the hair of the little girl with pigtails at the front.

"Were you a good girl today?"

"Good boy! Aunt Fang said that whoever behaves well today will get an extra half a sugar triangle at lunchtime," Tiger shouted loudly from the side.

Shen Nian smiled.

She stood up and took the paper out of her bag.

"I promised to teach you how to sing last time, and I brought the sheet music today."

She took the two little girls' hands and led them to the crooked old locust tree in the corner of the yard.

Shen Nian sat in the very center.

Some children were huddled on stools, while others squatted on the cement floor, craning their necks and looking up at her with longing eyes.

Shen Nian cleared her throat and began to sing softly without accompaniment.

"The dark sky hangs low, accompanied by bright stars..."

A clear and bright voice drifted through the courtyard.

Several older children who were cleaning windows on the second-floor balcony stopped wiping their rags and leaned over the railing to look down.

Jiang Fan stood by the car, looking at Shen Nian who was surrounded by children.

Sunlight filtered through the sparse branches of the locust tree and fell on the white dress.

As Shen Nian sang, she tapped out the rhythm with her hand, teaching the children to sing along line by line.

"The insects fly, the insects fly, who are you thinking of..."

A child's innocent voice followed.

Although the singing was terribly off-key, the atmosphere in the courtyard was incredibly lively.

Jiang Fan withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the porch of the bungalow.

Fang Xiulan was carrying a plastic basin out of the kitchen, in which were soaking vegetables she had just bought from the market.

She saw Jiang Fan walk over and place the basin on the wooden shelf in the porch.

"I heard a car horn when I was standing at the door," Fang Xiulan said, wiping her hands on her apron. "What brings you here again today?"

Jiang Fan walked to the porch and leaned against a cement pillar.

"Aunt Fang, I need to tell you something."

Fang Xiulan stopped what she was doing and stared at Jiang Fan's face.

"What's wrong? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Jiang Fan glanced towards the courtyard.

The children were still singing the chorus loudly with Shen Nian, their voices drowning out the noise from this side.

"Someone has their eye on the land where the welfare home is located," Jiang Fan said in a low voice.

Fang Xiulan frowned.

"What's there to like? This place is nothing but a few old houses and overgrown weeds. Who would want it?"

"The specific plans are still pending, and the documents might be released next month," Jiang Fan said. "Anyway, the old courtyard can't be preserved. It will definitely be demolished in two or three months at the shortest, and six months at the longest."

Fang Xiulan stood there, silent for a long time.

She turned her head, her gaze sweeping over the old locust tree in the yard and over the newly installed aluminum alloy window frames.

Finally, it fell on the group of children who were singing.

"If it's demolished, where will the children live?" Fang Xiulan's throat was dry. "Although this place is remote, it's still a home. If it's really razed to the ground, there are more than thirty mouths to feed. They can't sleep on the main street, can they?"

"Don't worry, Aunt Fang," Jiang Fan interrupted her.

"I plan to find a new place in Songjiang or Qingpu, buy it directly, and build a new welfare home."

Fang Xiulan turned to look at him.

"Buy land and build houses? How much would that cost? You've only just made a few bucks, don't try to impress others by pretending to be rich."

"You don't need to worry about the money," Jiang Fan said calmly. "The new building is built to standard, and it has activity rooms, a medical room, an art studio, and a large cafeteria."

Fang Xiulan stared at Jiang Fan's bald head for a long time.

Her eyes reddened, and she struggled to hold back her tears.

She raised her hand and slapped Jiang Fan hard on the shoulder.

"You've always had big ideas since you were little." Fang Xiulan sniffed, her voice becoming hoarse.

"You wet the bed when you were eight, and climbed over the wall to get into fights when you were fourteen. I thought you were a troublemaker back then. Now that you've grown up, you've really turned out to be someone decent."

Jiang Fan rubbed his shoulders.

"Aunt Fang, can we please not mention the bedwetting incident anymore?"

"So what if I bring it up? Can't I even say it?" Fang Xiulan glared at him.

She sighed, her gaze softening.

"You are a good boy."

In the center of the courtyard, Shen Nian had already taught the lesson for the third time.

Xiao Mei sat at Shen Nian's feet, holding a colored pencil in her hand, humming along as she colored on the paper.

Just then, Jiang Fan's phone vibrated violently in his pocket.

Jiang Fan took out his phone and looked at the screen.

It was Song Siyi calling.

Normally, Song Siyi is handling Qitian Culture's daily business at this time and rarely makes phone calls.

Jiang Fan swiped to answer the call and put the phone to his ear.

"Feed".

"Jiang Fan, something's happened."

On the other end of the phone, Song Siyi's voice was very low and she spoke very quickly, with background noise including voices and footsteps.

"What's wrong?"

"Half an hour ago, people from the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Tax Bureau, and the Copyright Bureau all entered the company at the same time."

Song Siyi was breathing rapidly.

"They presented a joint enforcement notice, citing a formal complaint that Qitian Culture was suspected of tax evasion, false advertising, and book copyright violations."

"All the computers in the finance office are now sealed off, and the CFO is being questioned alone. We've received a notice from the bank that all three of Qitian Culture's main corporate accounts have been frozen by the court."

"How much capital has been frozen?"

"A total of 820 million." Song Siyi's voice was filled with anxiety.

The action was swift. Less than two hours after Gu Qingqiu made his harsh remarks at the intersection, administrative power directly struck Qitian Culture.

"Also, five minutes ago, Zhou Dayong called me. He said that the fire department and the environmental protection bureau came to the site together and said that Qitian Printing's sewage pipes had major hidden dangers and that the width of the fire lane was not up to standard."

"A notice to suspend production and rectify the situation was issued on the spot, the factory gate was sealed, and all the machines were stopped."

Jiang Fan held his phone. Qitian Culture was currently his biggest cash cow and the financial hub for his investments in real industries and film and television.

"Jiang Fan, what do we do now?" Song Siyi's voice came through the receiver. "The Ministry of Justice is following up, but the other party's paperwork is flawless; they came prepared."

"How are the employees' morale?" Jiang Fan asked.

"Everyone was a little panicked. Three departments came to seal off the premises at the same time, which made a huge commotion."

"Notify the administration department to place all staff on paid leave for the time being," Jiang Fan said calmly. "Have the legal department cooperate with the inspection; provide them with whatever information they request, and avoid any conflict with law enforcement officers."

Song Siyi paused for a second.

"Everyone on holiday? What about the company's business...?"

"The accounts are all frozen, stopping business for a few days won't kill anyone. As for the printing plant, have Zhou Dayong appease the workers, keep their wages paid, and let them rest in the dormitory to prevent any trouble."

"Okay, I'll get on it right now." Song Siyi hung up the phone.

The phone screen went dark and then lit up again.

Caller ID: Su Yuyan.