Shen Mingde slowly followed behind Xiao Jing. The drink he ingested at lunch made him a little drowsy. He unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt collar and loosely wrapped his tie around his neck. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and tried to pull them up. However, when he saw the scratch on his right wrist, he obediently lowered the long sleeve of his shirt.

Shen Mingde followed behind Xiao Jing and walked towards the parking lot at the entrance of the village in the southwest direction. He didn't understand why such a simple village as Yushugou Village would build a parking lot with 20 or 30 parking spaces at the entrance of the village. Parking lots are on the left and right sides of the village entrance. This layout reminds Shen Mingde of the architectural forms of some tourist areas.

Shen Mingde walked behind Xiao Jing, and the cool breeze of the evening made him sober up a lot. Once again, they walked through the stage that had been set up for tonight's celebration. The first time was when I went back to Uncle Zhou's house after lunch in the square on the east side of the village. The second time was when I was about to go up the mountain to the drama school. The third time was now, when they turned back from the gate of the Wang family's old mansion on the north side of the village, because Xiao Jing insisted on returning to the car and replacing the high heels on her feet with casual shoes.

Shen Mingde saw that four sets of stepped iron frames were placed at the bottom of the stage, a bit like the audience seats on the sports field. Just behind the auditorium is a platform made of wooden planks with the words "Rostrum" on it. Behind the big stage are several white RVs, from which staff are unloading equipment. Someone is adjusting the lighting on stage, someone is testing the sound effects, and some actors have already changed their costumes. However, what puzzled Shen Mingde was why a medical vehicle with a "Red Cross" painted on it would be parked near the stage. A group of young girls lined up outside the medical van, as if they were going to have a medical check-up before the show. Shen Mingde shook his head, he couldn't figure it out. So I walked through the audience between the stage and the rostrum, and walked to the main road leading to the entrance of the village.

At the end of the road leading from the entrance of the village to this stage venue stood a group of people. With their backs to Xiao Jing and Shen Mingde, there were several middle-aged and elderly men and women facing the direction of the village. They all wore crisp formal suits and tried to keep their waists as straight as possible. In this group of black people, Shen Mingde saw a tall thin old man in a white outfit with white hair also standing in the crowd, very conspicuous. On either side of the road stood elementary and middle school students in school uniforms. They each stood upright, holding brightly colored bouquets in their hands, with false smiles on their faces. Shen Mingde sneered. He has always been very disgusted by the use of children as tools to flatter the so-called "big guys". He understood that he could not change this phenomenon, but in order not to grovel to those who "held high positions", he kept trying to climb himself to the top of the "social pyramid". Several young men in short-sleeved white shirts, trousers and leather shoes, holding walkie-talkies, stood scattered behind the group. They watched their surroundings alertly, occasionally reporting on the intercom. These people are presumably engaged in careers such as bodyguards. It seems that tonight there will really be a "big man" coming to Yushugou Village.

Xiao Jing and Shen Mingde bypassed the group of people and walked from the path to the entrance of the village. When they were about to walk out of the village, they were unceremoniously stopped by a bodyguard and took them to the side of the road. Just as they were about to step forward to theorize, a voice mixed with a lot of noise was heard over the bodyguard's walkie-talkie. Shen Mingde has been curious since he was a child, how these people filter out useful information from the kind of walkie-talkie full of noise. After the bodyguard replied with a few words, he said to them, "The convoy will pass through here immediately." And then you're walking."

The construction of the village entrance of Yushugou Village is relatively chic. On both sides of the road into the village stand a thick vermilion wooden pillar. The wooden pillars are based on white Chinese stone, and at the top are a canopy carved from wood that resembles a glazed tile roof. At the bottom of the shed, there is a long horizontal plaque engraved with the words "Elm Ditch". Four bodyguards stood at the entrance of the village, on both sides of the wooden pillars outside. There was also a bodyguard who stopped Shen Mingde and Xiao Jing behind him. Just a moment after the walkie-talkie sounded, the sound of a group of cars moving from far and near. Beyond the wooden pillar at the entrance of the village, Shen Mingde looked outside the village, only to see several black cars driving off the road and driving along the winding country road towards the entrance of the village. The first limousine, with its twin flashes, slowly passed through the two pillars at the entrance of the village. Then, the second and third cars also crossed the entrance of the village at turtle speed. The strange thing is that the first car did not drive directly along the road to the venue, but stopped in the open space next to the road about ten meters away from Shen Mingde and them. The four sedans that followed behind remained in formation and continued to drive forward.

The car parked on the side of the road attracted everyone's attention. All of a sudden, a series of noisy conversations rang out from the walkie-talkie in the hands of the bodyguards. Shen Mingde looked curiously at the license plate of the limousine. When he saw the row of numbers like "straight flush" on the license plate, Shen Mingde couldn't help but smile. He had just taken a step to walk towards the car, but was grabbed by the bodyguard closest to him. The other four bodyguards also looked very nervous, and they hurriedly stood in front of the two of them, separating them from the sedan.

In a moment, the door on the back seat side of the black sedan slowly opened. A young man in a white shirt with eyes in a gold frame got out of the car and ran towards Shen Mingde's position. The young man dismissed the bodyguard, then shook hands with Shen Mingde cordially, and said, "Hello Mr. Shen, my father invites you to come over and speak." At the same time, he also looked at the beautiful woman beside Shen Mingde suspiciously. Shen Mingde briefly introduced Xiao Jing to the young man, and introduced the young man to Xiao Jing is the eldest son of the wealthy Chen Yongyi, Mr. Chen Huaizhi. Xiao Jing politely shook hands with Chen Huaizhi and greeted him, and then followed Chen Huaizhi to the car with Shen Mingde.

There are many legends about Chen Yongyi. Most people in the city have probably heard of this name. However, very few people have actually met him. He keeps a low profile, never gives interviews to reporters, and rarely appears in the media. It is said that just 20 years ago, Chen Yongyi was just an unknown "horse boy" of the city's real estate developer. Twenty years later, he became one of the richest businessmen in the region. No one knows what kind of craft he relied on and how he made his fortune. Some people say that this Chen Yongyi is a well-known "tomb robber" under the pretense of real estate development, some people guess that he is a "drug lord", and some people think that he is the "big brother" of the local underworld. However, after so many years, no one has grabbed Chen Yongyi's handle. No one knows how much property Chen Yongyi has, and no one has counted how many industries he has. People just know that this "local tycoon" has investments in almost every industry in Woo Ninh City. And he is indeed a "local tyrant", because his investment never seems to be out of the city. People want to earn a good reputation when they make more money, so hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, schools, and various public welfare institutions invested by Chen Yongyi are also common in the city. Especially in the past ten years, Chen Yongyi has changed from a "local tyrant" to a well-known "great benevolent".

Xiao Jing walked to the car, and the scholar Shen Mingde looked like a respectful bow to Chen Yongyi, who was sitting in the car. In addition to being polite, she also wanted to get a glimpse of the legendary figure in this way. However, to Xiao Jing's surprise, Chen Yongyi is not a gray-haired old man, and he does not have a "kind eyebrow" face. He was a burly, middle-aged man. On the bare head is a face covered with meat. The drooping cheeks with the accumulation of fat pull the corners of the mouth down on both sides, creating an expression that is always "unhappy", "unhappy", and "not satisfied". A pair of wolf eyes narrowed because of a smile could not cover the "greed" and "cruelty" that shot out of his gaze. This gaze contrasted with the cunning of the eldest son, Chen Huaizhi, who hid behind Kings' glasses. It's really a father and son who "Lao Tzu is like a wolf, and the eldest son is like an embarrassment".

Shen Mingde briefly introduced Xiao Jing in a respectful tone and answered Chen Yongyi's question. From the brief conversation between them, Xiao Jing learned that Chen Yongyi was the most important investor in Shen Mingde's company. During their conversation, Shen Mingde always hunched his back and bent over, completely changing the image of "unyielding" in Xiao Jing's impression. Xiao Jing never participated in the activities of Shen Mingde's company, because she did not see the image of her husband groveling in front of Shen Mingde. Finally, as the brief meeting drew to a close, Mr. Chen extended his thick right hand to end the conversation with a handshake. Shen Mingde also stretched out his right hand to greet him. The two men's right hands were clenched in the air and shook heavily. Suddenly, Chen Yongyi's sharp gaze focused on Shen Mingde's right wrist. Instead of relaxing the hand he was holding, he pulled Shen Mingde's right arm closer to him, and then gently lifted the cuffs of his long-sleeved shirt with the back of the fingernails of his left hand. As the demonic scratches like "cherry trees" were gradually revealed, Chen Yongyi also stared at a pair of "wolf eyes" at the same time.

Shen Mingde immediately retracted his right hand in panic and hurriedly fastened the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt. Before Shen Mingde could make a "reasonable explanation", a thunderous burst of laughter erupted in the luxury car. This burst of laughter shocked Xiao Jing and stunned Shen Mingde. Xiao Jing couldn't help but clasp her hands in front of her chest and make a "prayer gesture". At the same time, her right foot stays in place, while her left foot pushes back a small step and props up her toes in a posture ready to escape. However, even after the laughter ended, there was no such horror as she had imagined. Seung-yong-il became more enthusiastic about them. He put away the "businessman-style" hypocritical and polite face just now, and became like a bold big brother and pulled Shen Ming into a luxury car. At the same time, he also let his son, Chen Huaizhi, kindly invite Xiao Jing to get in the car.

The three of them sat in the wide back seat of the limousine, Chen Yongyi sat in the middle, Shen Mingde with a puzzled face sat on his right hand, and Xiao Jing sat close to the car door on his left. The eldest son, Chen Huaizhi, sent away the secretary and the driver who were originally sitting in the co-pilot seat, and sat in the driver's seat himself. When the four doors of the sedan were closed, and after watching the driver and secretary walk into the village, Chen Yongyi shouted in a surprised tone with a wild laugh: "It turns out that they are all my own people!" Hahaha......"

Chen Yongyi intimately took Shen Mingde's right hand, and kindly patted the back of his hand twice. At this time, Chen Yongyi's title to Shen Mingde has changed from "Little Shen" to "Brother Shen". He said to Shen Mingde in a loud voice: "Brother Shen, this job of leading the way is not easy. However, I do business like my name, by bravery and perseverance. You must also use courage and perseverance to push through. After a while, I'll promote you to my board! ”

Xiao Jing seemed to hear some clues from Chen Yongyi's words. She crossed over Chen Yongyi, who separated them, and looked at Shen Mingde. Seeing this, Shen Mingde didn't react, just nodded obediently. However, the flattering smile that hung on Shen Mingde's face just now had been swallowed up by coldness.

Immediately, Chen Yongyi let go of Shen Mingde's hand and turned to Xiao Jing. Some words of encouragement were also spoken. When Chen Yongyi asked about her husband Zhou Tengfei, Xiao Jing deliberately hid the concept of "hometown". This made Chen Yongyi believe that Zhou Tengfei was a native of Yushugou Village. Moreover, Xiao Jing also cleverly answered Chen Yongyi's question with the sentence "Zhou Tengfei went to do something". At the same time, the tone of the word "errand" was also emphasized. At this moment, Chen Huaizhi, who was sitting in the driver's seat, talked about his acquaintance with Zhou Tengfei and how capable Zhou Tengfei was. So, Chen Yongyi showed a knowing smile.

Chen Yongyi asked casually, "Did Old Man Gao ask you to pick me up?" ”

Shen Mingde immediately replied: "I heard that Mr. Chen will come tonight, so I must come over to greet you." ”

Chen Yongyi then spat out the word "good", and then fell silent. Everyone suddenly felt that the atmosphere in the car began to be solemn.

After a long silence, when Chen Yongyi spoke again, Xiao Jing felt a noticeable change. The low, serious voice said: "Mingde, although we have a cooperative relationship with Gao Bowen. But you can score inside and out. ”

Shen Mingde immediately understood what Chen Yongyi meant, and hurriedly replied, "Of course. If it weren't for Mr. Chen, my small company wouldn't be able to run for a day. ”

Chen Yongyi didn't answer, just nodded slightly. After a while, Chen Yongyi said in the tone of an elder to a child: "Mingde, you tell Uncle Chen the truth. The surname Gao pulled you in, did he want to talk to you about the project of Yushugou Resort? ”

Xiao Jing immediately saw the mystery, it turned out that the so-called "own people" were actually two groups of people who "looked like gods". But how can this question be answered? If Shen Mingde directly answered "yes", would Chen Yongyi, who was like a "god" in front of him, go directly to Gao Bowen to question? Then, Gao Bowen will definitely deny the identities of Shen Mingde and Xiao Jing. In the end, it was discovered that she and Shen Mingde were not the so-called "own people" at all. Although Xiao Jing thought that Shen Mingde was not a fool, she still couldn't help but look at Shen Mingde and reminded him with an imperceptible shaking of her head.

Shen Mingde seems to have gotten smarter this time. He also crossed Chen Yongyi, who was separated in the middle, and looked at Xiao Jing. He seemed to understand Xiao Jing's intentions and made up his mind on his own. So, Shen Mingde gave an answer like "I don't know about Old Man Gao's plan yet". At the same time, he thinks that if his answer is simply "no", for example: Old Man Gao definitely doesn't have such thoughts, or how can Old Man Gao and I have such strength to fight against you. Shen Mingde is likely to push himself to the side of Gao Bowen's camp. Therefore, the best answer is "I don't know".

Just when Shen Mingde wanted to add a few words after his answer to clear up the relationship, Xiao Jing said in a somewhat coquettish voice: "Oh, Mr. Chen." Since Tengfei invited our Mr. Shen here, that old man didn't tell us anything. However, Mr. Chen is really like a god. If Old Man Gao didn't have any ideas at all, what did he invite Mr. Shen to do? ”

Xiao Jing's words made the hearts of the men in the car itch. At the same time, Xiao Jing's flattery of Chen Yongyi also seems to be very useful. Chen Yongyi narrowed his wolf eyes and said in a triumphant tone: "Hmph! From the moment I saw Brother Shen, I knew it in my heart. Old man Gao is planning to monopolize this business. I think he has a gun pinned to his waist as a mouse, and he wants to rebel. ”

The atmosphere inside the car seemed to ease for a moment. Chen Yongyi changed his name again, patted Shen Mingde's thigh twice, and then pointed out the car window and continued: "Brother Shen, this business is a good business with no profits......

Before Chen Yongyi could continue, Chen Huaizhi, who was sitting in the driver's seat, coughed deliberately twice, and then said, "Dad, it's not too early, shouldn't we go in?" ”

As if his words were interrupted by his son, Chen Yongyi first did not hide his impatience, and then there was an expression of sudden realization. With a little embarrassment, he said, "Ah...... Ah, I understand, I understand. Don't rush into the village, it's still early for the celebration. Let them wait. Don't worry, I've been working with Brother Shen for so many years. I believe that Brother Shen is definitely his own person. Even if Mingde doesn't lead the way, I have a plan to pull him in after a while. Aren't we short of talents like Brother Shen? In a few years, I want to develop this treasure piece of Yushugou into a resort, a nursing home, a nursing home, an orphanage, and a school. At that time, I will hand over all these businesses to you, and Brother Shen will run them. ”

Xiao Jing pondered in her heart, this Chen Yongyi is really an old Jianghu, and the conversation is really fast. And Shen Mingde instantly replaced that concentrated expression with a flattered face, which made Chen Yongyi's face full of pride.

Seeing that Shen Mingde ate the big cake he painted, Chen Yongyi said very happily: "But now, you have to help me keep an eye on that old man." He has no money on hand, no one, but he has land. We have money, we have people, but we don't have land. If this old man does anything else, you must inform me. ”

"However, without the help of the troupe, this business would not be easy to do." Xiao Jing's words once again shrouded the haze in the car. Since Chen Yongyi's topic about "business" was interrupted by Chen Huaizhi just now, Xiao Jing has been haunted. She believes that this "unprofitable business" will not be as simple as a resort or a nursing home. If Chen Yongyi is willing to cooperate with an old man in a village like Gao Bowen, and this old man is related to the lake and the village by the lake, then this "business" must be related to "sacrifice". In the end, Xiao Jing guessed that it was the "opera troupe" that could connect the lake, the lakeside village, Yushugou Village, the sacrifice, Gao Bowen, and Chen Yongyi's "business".

Judging from these conversations in the car, Xiao Jing thinks that Chen Yongyi's words are true and false. When Gao Bowen murdered the Wang and Zhao families, he may have used "sacrifice" to start a business. Later, he found Chen Yongyi to work with him. During a period of cooperation, Chen Yongyi seemed to understand the inside story, and he had the ambition to monopolize this "business". However, he could not do this "business" by himself, nor could he let his son do it, perhaps out of consideration for family and personal safety, or perhaps the "business" itself was illegal. So he must find himself a suitable "front desk" partner. If Shen Mingde had not been involved in this matter, Chen Yongyi might not have found him. He may find a "cannon fodder" that is easier to control. However, Shen Mingde's appearance surprised and delighted Chen Yongyi. What makes him "happy" is that Shen Mingde may have the conditions to become his "cannon fodder". In addition to the understanding he has learned about the years of cooperation with Shen Mingde, at least for now, the capital flow of Shen Mingde's company is still in the hands of Chen Yongyi. However, what made him "worried" was that Shen Mingde's appearance tonight made Chen Yongyi, a Gao Bowen, monopolize the "business" by himself. When Chen Yongyi talked about this "business" just now, he used the word "no capital and ten thousand profits". In other words, the temptation of this business for businessmen is still very great. Once Shen Mingde cooperates with Gao Bowen, Chen Yongyi will lose control of Shen Mingde and lose this "business" that has no money and no profits. Since it is a "business without capital", since Chen Yongyi thinks that even Shen Mingde, whose financial strength is very different from him, will threaten him if he cooperates with Gao Bowen, then what will this "business" be? Xiao Jing thought about it for a long time, but still couldn't understand the mystery. However, there is one thing she can be sure of. That is the value of Shen Mingde in Chen Yongyi's heart, just like the status of "Han Xin" in the eyes of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. Therefore, Chen Yongyi insisted on pulling Shen Ming to his side.

Isn't Chen Yongyi afraid that Shen Mingde will betray him and monopolize business? What capital does an old man in a village have to cooperate with a wealthy businessman? Why hasn't Chen Yongyi kicked out Gao Bowen and monopolized this business? These questions lingered in Xiao Jing's mind until Chen Yongyi once mentioned the term "leader". Xiao Jing recalled Gao Shanxing's letter, the old slip rescued by Zhang Baoshan's father and son, the strange scratch on Shen Mingde's right wrist, and Chen Yongyi's change of attitude when he saw that scratch. People in the lakeside village can't come out on their own, so there must be a "guide" to bring them out. That troupe was brought out by the Wang family and the Zhao family. The troupe carried out some kind of "sacrifice" for the Wang and Zhao families, and Gao Zhongchen saw the benefits. After that, Gao Zhongchen murdered the two families and established contact with the troupe. The Yushugou Village Opera School should have also been established under the guidance of the opera troupe. Later, Gao Zhongchen became Gao Bowen, and cooperated with Chen Yongyi to start this "business". At present, the person she knows to be in contact with that troupe is Gao Bowen. Chen Yongyi may know how the "business" is run, but he does not have an important "trade secret". From this point of view, "opera troupe" and "sacrifice" are the "hole cards" that Gao Bowen cooperated with. And, judging from Shen Mingde's experience, the position of "leader" should be held by someone who can't see the lake. Gao Bowen must be the better with the drama troupe, who will be the "leader", and this person must be the person selected by Gao Bowen. The "guide" can't see the lake, so he doesn't know the secret. Therefore, it is impossible for Gao Bowen to reveal too much information to the "leader". At the same time, Chen Yongyi is also sure that the so-called "leader" served by Shen Mingde is still only half-aware of this "business".

After deep thought, Xiao Jingchai said this sentence that caused the car to be shrouded in haze again. As soon as these words came out, Xiao Jing began to regret it. Chen Yongyi's smile stopped abruptly, and the muscles on his face twitched a few times. He turned his head slowly, staring into Xiao Jing's eyes, but was silent. Suddenly, Xiao Jing felt a terrifying feeling of being watched by a pack of wolves. Facing Chen Yongyi's wolf eyes, she leaned on the car door and stalemate, hiding her left hand behind her back and fumbling for the handle of the car door.

Suddenly, another burst of wild laughter broke out from Chen Yongyi's mouth, and said, "This girl has gone to my heart." ”

With Chen Yongyi's wild laughter, the other three people in the car also accompanied the smiling faces. After laughing for a while, Chen Yongyi gradually softened and said, "That hillbilly thinks I don't know anything. Actually, I already know everything. However, I just can't handle the people in the village. The group of brainless people seemed to have an agreement with Old Man Gao, so they were willing to cooperate with him, and they recognized the 'guide' sent by Old Man Gao. If you can get the people inside for me, then we're done with this business! ”

Shen Mingde said: "Then let's observe and see what kind of benefits Old Man Gao can give to the people in that village......"

"Humph! The benefits that the master gave to others are not all the benefits I provided to them......" When Shen Mingde was halfway through his words, he was taken over by Chen Yongyi.

However, before Chen Yongyi could finish speaking, his son coughed twice more and said, "Dad, it's not too early." Look at our ......."

Chen Yongyi said with a smile: "Okay, okay, don't say it." Brother Shen, and Xiao Jing, you must stick to your own position. Whatever Old Man Gao promises you, it's an unrealistic fantasy. Without me, the business would have been half of its income. Without my connections, he would at most pull a few rich people from the countryside as customers. However, you also have to be careful with this tall old man. This old fox is very good. ”

As soon as Chen Yongyi's words fell, Chen Huaizhi's voice came from the driver's seat of the car: "Dad, I have an idea, I don't know if it's feasible or not?" ”

This phrase captured the attention of everyone in the car. From the rearview mirror of the car, Xiao Jing saw Chen Huaizhi's upward pick, as well as a hint of cunning in his eyes.

Seeing that the car was quiet, Chen Huaizhi said: "Although Brother Shen and Sister Xiao Jing are already in the car, I guess this news has already been in the ears of Gao Bowen." So we might as well just plan and give Gao Bowen a 'knock on the mountain and shock the tiger'. Let Brother Shen and Sister Xiao Jing sit in the same car with you and enter the village together. In the meantime, if you two are fine, stay with you. Let Gao Bowen see that even his 'leader' is Mr. Chen's person. In this way, you can remind Gao Bowen not to do anything wrong. ”

Chen Yongyi slapped his thigh heavily and shouted, "Huaizhi! What a great idea! That's it. ”

Before Shen Mingde and Xiao Jing could refute, the high-end car slowly drove towards the meeting place in the village.