Chapter 37 (1/2)
Double Kings or Four Twos
It may be out of curiosity but Xia Lei’s left eye twitched and the cleaning lady was pulled forward 20 or 30 metres to him and he could see everything clearly.
Xia Lei looked at her hands – they were pale, soft and lacked calluses. She also had a multi-functional watch with good workmanship and quality materials on her wrist; it was definitely an expensive outdoor watch.
Xia Lei’s curiosity grew greater, ‘It’s unusual for a cleaning lady to wear such an expensive watch.’
The cleaning lady, on the other hand, was not aware of the curious young man observing her. She pushed the cleaning trolley towards the Rolls Royce Phantom.
Xia Lei suddenly had a thought, and at that thought, the cleaning lady’s clothes vanished instantly and she stood naked under the sun.
The cleaning lady’s skin was pale and tender, making the black object hidden around her waist contrast greatly and catch his eye – it was a gun!
Xia Lei shifted his gaze to the cleaning trolley and saw that there was something hidden there too. It had several fuses bundled together to make an explosive device and a mobile phone was taped to the top, connected to the fuse with an electrical lead.
The sight of the gun and bomb made it clear to Xia Lei that this woman was not a cleaning lady for East Wind Heavy Industries but a killer. She made her way towards the Rolls Royce Phantom, making her target obvious – Shentu Tian-Yin!
Xia Lei stopped using his eye and moved towards the workshop.
The woman turned to look at Xia Lei but it was just a passing glance and she did not seem to have found anything suspicious, as though she was sure she was hidden well. The far-away Xia Lei could not possibly have seen what secrets she was hiding. She pushed the trolley to the side of the Rolls Royce Phantom, then used the tongs to get the bomb out of the plastic pail. She pretended to be picking some rubbish and squatted…
This did not escape Xia Lei’s eye either and his pace quickened. A few minutes later, he found Ning Yuan-Shan and Shentu Tian-Yin’s group in the workshop.
“Our company is a government-owned enterprise; our strength and reputation are solid. You can rest assured, Miss Shentu. I can guarantee if you choose us that your wind power plant will be up and running, and bringing your Vientaine Group great profit,” Ning Yuan-Shan said as he showed Shentu Tian-Yin around the workshop. He had a smile on his face and had a friendly manner.
Shentu Tian-Yin spoke softly, “Chairman Ning, is beyond reproach in terms of size or strength. However, we have heard that your company has experienced a halt in an important project due to the restrictions that have been put in place by Europe and America. Is this true?”
Xia Lei was about to walk up to them and heard her. ‘Isn’t she talking about the precision parts which I processed? Even I have no idea what those parts I’d worked on will be used for but it sounds like she knows it very well from the way she speaks. Her sources must be deep. What is she planning by mentioning it now?’ he thought.
Ning Yuan-Shan gave a small laugh, “Heh heh, Miss Shentu is well-informed. Europe and America have indeed placed a stricter technology blockade on us and affected us to a degree. However, it was not impossible for someone in our vast nation to solve the problem. I’ll tell you truthfully, Miss Shentu, that we have solved that problem.”
“Oh?” Shentu Tian-Yin was disbelieving, “From what I’d gathered, there aren’t any equipment nor any skilled person who can do it. How did you manage to solve the problem?”
“Our company has an excellent engineer craftsman. He is young but definitely an outstanding talent. It was him who solved our problem. In fact, we’ve just paid him a million yuan for his work,” said Ning Yuan-Shan.
“I see. Your company has a great pool of talent indeed.” A faint smile of satisfaction appeared on Shentu Tian-Yin’s lips.
This flower-budding smile of hers made Xia Lei space out for a bit. He’d intended to walk up to them but Ning Yuan-Shan’s words made him hesitate. It was him who had helped them solve their problem but Ning Yuan-Shan had claimed that one of East Wind Heavy Industries’ engineers had and neglected to mention his name. Ning Yuan-Shan must have done that so that he could show off East Wind Heavy Industries’ strength to Shentu Tian-Yin and get a huge purchase order from Vientaine Group. Shentu Tian-Yin was also testing the strength of East Wind Heavy Industries by bringing up the matter of the blockade.
Xia Lei thought quietly to himself, ‘Shentu Tian-Yin is still in here so there is no danger for now. I’ll follow them and find an opportunity to tell her about the situation in the car park. It would be bad if I spoilt Uncle Ning’s plans by showing up at this juncture.
Having decided, Xia Lei did not stand idle. He took out his phone and sent a message to Jiang Ru-Yi: I’m at East Wind Heavy Industries. I’ve discovered someone placing a bomb in the car park. It’s super urgent! Come quick!’
At that moment, Shentu Tian-Yin spoke, “Our company is in contact with a German manufacturing company and they have presented us with two proposals, both of which are very good. How about this, Chaiman Ning? I’ll hold a meeting after I return and we shall discuss this, then inform you of our decision.”
“Of course,” said Ning Yuan-Shan, “However, Miss Shentu, let me say more. I am not boasting that my company’s strength and ability is greater than the German companies. I am just reminding you that the German’s proposals may be good but their cost is much higher than ours. You know too how expensive German manpower is. If you accept the proposal from the German company, the equipment maintenance, repair and replacement will add up to a large amount in the future, lowering your profit margin. Of course, I won’t interfere with your decision. I would like you to just consider matters after the construction of your wind power plant. Here, I can guarantee that our company can not only provide top-grade equipment but perfect after-service.”
Shentu Tian-Yin gave a faint smile, then extended her hand and shook hands with Ning Yuan-Shan, saying, “Thank you for your opinion. I will give it some consideration. This is it for today and I will contact you when there are results. Goodbye.”
“Have a pleasant day, Miss Shentu,” said Ning Yuan-Shan politely.
Talk concluded, Shentu Tian-Yin and her four stone-faced bodyguards turned to leave and that was when Shentu Tian-Yin noticed Xia Lei standing not far off. She looked at him but her gaze only stayed on him for less than a second.
Ning Yuan-Shan had also seen Xia Lei and he started to get a little nervous.
Xia Lei knew why he reacted that way – Ning Yuan-Shan had lied to Shentu Tian-Yin and his appearance could reveal his lie.
After discovering Xia Lei, Ning Yuan-Shan did not see Shentu Tian-Yin to the door; he walked towards Xia Lei and spoke in a low tone, “What are you doing here, Little Lei?”
“I have something very important to tell Miss Shentu.”