Chapter 9 - No More Chance
“Wow, my little friend! I thought I misheard. It’s really you!” A man shouted as he came out. His hair was slicked back. He was not tall and was about 220 pounds. He had fat ears and head, his face full of meat.
This was the first time the two front desk beauties saw their big boss like this. They wanted to laugh but did not dare to. They could only hold it in, afraid that their boss would fire them.
Qin Sheng had been staring at the middle-aged man with a smile on his face. When the man ran towards Qin Sheng, preparing to give him an excited hug, Qin Sheng had already imagined that the ugly scene which might cause the two beauties to vomit out their last dinner. Thus he reached out his hand to stop the man, “Stop, you old fox. I know you’re very happy to see me, but you need to calm down.”
“Kid, you’ve disappeared for so long. Now you’re finally willing to appear. I thought you were already decapitated!” The middle-aged man laughed loudly.
Qin Sheng rolled his eyes, “Could you think of something good? Do you really want me to die? Even if I will die, you, the rich and powerful man with a lots of debts will definitely die ahead of me!”
“What the hell are you talking about in the middle of the day? Come, let’s go to my office and have a nice chat!” The man spat before pulling Qin Sheng inside.
With a smile, Qin Sheng replied, “Your two beauties at the front desk are pretty good!”
“I can introduce them to you if you want.”
Qin Sheng shook his head, “No. Leave them for yourself. I won’t take your love.”
“Fuck off!”
The middle-aged man was called Jiang Xianbang. He was mainly conducting import and export business. But at the same time, he was also a powerful broker. He had done some shady business during his early years, such as grave robbery and smuggling antiques. Later, he quitted the business and made a personal network with money. He encountered two sponsors and experienced several setbacks, some of which were even lethal, before obtaining a stable life.
One of his sponsor was Qin Sheng’s grandpa. That year, Jiang Xianbang lost everything. He had to go to Zhongnan Mountains to find an mentor to solve his doubts, and coincidentally met Qin Sheng’s grandpa. Seeing that he was not a bad person and had accumulated a lot of good karma for those years, the old man gave a few pointers and introduced him to the old Taoist from Louguan Pavillion, which helped him to avoid the crisis and walk on the right path.
When Qin Sheng went to Shanghai to study, Jiang Xianbang had always been taking care of him, so the two of them were very close. It was only because Qin Sheng’s grandpa enjoined him something that he had no other interactions with Jiang Xianbang.
Jiang Xianbang’s office was luxurious and grandiose. The huge ground window shew the whole sight of Pudong Finance District. The office was filled with purple sandalwood furnitures, as tacky as ever. Behind the desk, there was a wall of books, which were filled with Chinese historical records, classics, and biographies of famous people from around the world. However, these books were just facades. He probably had not read even a few of them.
“Xiao Li, bring my best Pu’er Tea from Tong Qing Hao.” Jiang Xianbang called for the female secretary to prepare some tea. The secretary was even prettier than the two at the front desk, and when she walked, her butt was almost twisted into the air. Jiang Xianbang did not mind Qin Sheng being there. He slapped hard on the female secretary’s butt, while she reacted with her pout.
Qin Sheng knew that he had a lust for woman. After all, he was still not married or had any children. He said that he had done lots of bad things and didn’t want the effects to fall on his wife or children, thus he better stayed single.
“Now tell me, when did you return to Shanghai? Are you looking down on a nouveau riche like me?” Jiang Xianbang had never treated Qin Sheng as an ordinary person. He had met countless people, and when he first saw Qin Sheng, he felt that the kid was filled with spirituality. Besides, the kid had the old man behind him, so he naturally dared not to underestimated him.
“I just came back for a few days and finished settled some matters. Then I came to you right away. I am just about to stay in your place for some free food for a few days,” Qin Sheng giggled.
“Help yourself. I have nothing but money. I cannot take these money with me after I die, and I don’t have any children to inherit, so I have to spend it.” Jiang Xianbang lit up a cigar and laughed loudly. His lifestyle and attitude were extremely open-minded. He had long seen through everything.
“How about you call me dad and I’ll leave all these things to you?” Jiang Xianbang’s eyes suddenly flashed as he asked.
Qin Sheng blanked out for a moment before replying, “Hahaha, you want to take advantage of me? You won’t get me!”
With regards to Qin Sheng’s tactful rejection, Jiang Xianbang did not mind at all. He had only mentioned it out of the blue. Actually, he did not think that he deserved to be Qin Sheng’s dad.
“How is the old man? I haven’t seen him for many years. It’s a pity that the old man doesn’t allow me to visit him.” Jiang Xianbang sighed. He also knew that he was sinful.
Qin Sheng was a little disappointed as he slowly said, “my grandfather passed away two years ago!”
Jiang Xianbang was a little shocked when he heard that. He stared at Qin Sheng blankly. The cigar in his hand was almost extinguished, then he trembled and asked, “did you say that he passed away?”
Qin Sheng nodded without a word. He had grown up with his grandfather, and had long understood his grandfather’s words about many things. Everything was doomed. Anyone would die, soon or later.
“If the old man had gone, what do you plan to do?” Jiang Xianbang owed the old man a favor after all, so he could only return this favor to Qin Sheng.
“I’ll stay in Shanghai, and I may bother you a lot. I’ll need you to get me out of trouble if it’s neccesary.” Qin Sheng said half-jokingly.
Jiang Xianbang disapprovingly said, “Don’t be so courteous. It’s my duty to help you out of troubles. By the way, how about you come to work in my place? I can make you the general manager and introduce a girl to you. I won’t make the old man disappointed.”
After the secretary served the tea, Qin Sheng picked up the teacup and took a sniff. It was really impressive, but it was a pity that the people who made the tea wasn’t peaceful enough and wasted the tea.
“I’ve heard that the old tea from Tong Qing Hao worth thousands or even millions. I am really impressed.” Qin Sheng purposefully changed the topic.
Jiang Xianbang slapped the table and said, “Brat, I’m asking you a question.”
“No, thanks. I’m afraid that your company’s beauties will all be harmed by me by then. Besides, I have another work to do that will be much better than staying here with you,” Qin Sheng said meaningfully.
“What kind of work? Tell me!”
“To protect the daughter of a big boss. She is a great beauty!”
“A big boss? Tell me who he is. Maybe I know her and I can help you if you are really interested in that girl.” Jiang Xianbang asked curiously.
“His name is Han GuoPing,” Qin Sheng said slowly, staring straight at Jiang Xianbang.
Sure enough, after Jiang Xianbang heard this name, his expression immediately changed and his eyes became a little sinister. He put away his smile and said majestically, “Qin Sheng, you must be here for this matter, right?”
Jiang Xianbang was wily, an old cunning fox. Qin Sheng was still too inexperienced comparing to him. Furthermore, he knew who Qin Sheng was. Qin Sheng would not come to him for easy matters.
Now that he had been exposed, Qin Sheng no longer held anything back. He said, “I owe him a favor, so I agreed to protect his daughter.”
“Qin Sheng, stay away from Han GuoPing. He’s really screwed up this time. He offended a big figure and if that person wants to kill him, he’ll probably be doomed. Don’t provoke any trouble,” Jiang Xianbang said sincerely.
Qin Sheng raised his head to drink a cup of tea as he said, “I might have. Old fox, I just want to know who he messed up with?”
Jiang Xianbang pondered for a few seconds, then replied, “It’s An old fox who has been floating in Yangtze River Delta for many years. He is very powerful in Shanghai, and coincidentally, Han GuoPing was involved in a crisis, which gave him the chance to strike when Han GuoPing was down. If you are interested, you can ask Third Lord Wu. I advise you to stay away from him, and withdraw your hand as soon as possible.”
“Do you think I would?” Qin Sheng chuckled.
Jiang Xianbang sighed helplessly and continued, “Forget it, you brat is just like that. I have some sort of relationship with him. If you were to really get into trouble, mentioning my name, he probably won’t make things difficult for you.”
With these words from the old fox, Qin Sheng had some confidence. He continued to ask, “Is Han GuoPing really hopeless?”
Jiang Xianbang lit up his cigar again, shook his head and said, “His backer has already collapsed. There’s no more chances for him.”
“Got it!” Qin Sheng said with a heavy heart.
After chatting with the old fox for half a day, they had lunch at a nearby restaurant. The old fox originally wanted to give Qin Sheng a welcoming dinner, but he refused, saying that they would meet again another day. The old fox knew that Qin Sheng had something else to do, so he did not insist.
But after Qin Sheng left, Jiang Xianbang immediately made a phone call, “Brother Wen, help me make an appointment with Third Lord Wu. I have an old thing that he should be very interested in.”
Regardless of his intentions, he had to ensure that nothing happened to Qin Sheng. In front of that old cunning fox, Qin Sheng was nothing more than an ant that could be trampled to death at any time.
What Jiang Xianbang was worried about the most was that Qin Sheng would ask him to help Han GuoPing. It was not that he did not have the ability, but that he can’t get involved in this mess.
When Qin Sheng returned to Han Bing’s company, it was already 4 p.m. Because he was injured last night, Han Bing did not make things difficult for him. She asked Qin Sheng to rest in her office while she was in a long meeting.
Since he had nothing better to do, Qin Sheng casually flipped through a book. At the same time, he thought about the impact of Han GuoPing’s matter on him. He did not have the power to help Han GuoPing tide through the crisis, and the only thing he could do was to protect Han Bing.
Also, should he tell Han Bing about it?
“What are you daydreaming about?” Han Bing laughed when she saw Qin Sheng staring outside the window in a daze.
Qin Sheng returned to his senses, chuckling, “Think about what the great beauty will treat me today.”
“It depends on you. I will pay for it anyway.” Han Bing was in a good mood. She pursed she lips and laughed, “By the way, you definitely didn’t take any medicine today, did you? I asked someone else to buy some more. It’s right on the table, hurry up and eat it!”
Qin Sheng stared at Han Bing in disbelief.
“What?” Han Bing asked with some doubt.
Qin Sheng smirked, “Did the sun rise from the west? Why are you suddenly so good to me? I’m a bit not used to it. Could it be that since I saved you, you plan to repay me with your body? ”
“When a hero saved a beauty, the beauty will marry him if he looks good and will say thank you if he does not. You are the latter kind.” Han Bing rolled her eyes and said unhappily.
Qin Sheng gritted his teeth, “Damn you!”
“Are you going to take the medicine or not?” Han Bing’s face immediately changed as she said that.
Qin Sheng could only reply jubilantly, “I am!”
However, he furtively thought that he was so cheap to get himself humiliated.