dkrc Chapter 6 Secret Investigation
Chapter 6 Secret Investigation
As Lin Chen descended the mountain, Sun Wukong squatted on the highest rock, his eyes narrowed into slits, watching the figure walk further and further away along the mountain path.
The night wind rustled through the treetops of Flower Fruit Mountain!
He didn't really believe in this mortal.
Five hundred years ago, on his journey to the West, he encountered too many mortals who could talk. Some said they would build a temple for him, but then forgot about offering incense; some said they wanted to learn his skills, but after three days they said they were tired; and then there were those officials who said "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven is renowned far and wide," but behind his back they wouldn't even part with a single peach.
The mouths of mortals are deceitful ghosts.
But this Lin Chen...
Sun Wukong scratched his cheek, a glint in his golden eyes flashing across his hairy face. He was indeed quite capable, especially since he had mortgaged the house his mother had given him for the sake of Flower Fruit Mountain!
But who knows if this is just another trick? They'll fool you first, and once you sign the contract, they'll sell Flower Fruit Mountain for money.
Those old foxes in Heaven have done this kind of thing countless times.
The Great Sage jumped down from the rock, landing silently. After thinking for a moment, he transformed into an ordinary sparrow, flapping his wings and flying down the mountain.
He has to go and see for himself.
Lin Chen was unaware that a pair of eyes were watching him from behind.
After descending the mountain, he didn't go straight home. Instead, he went to a supermarket and bought two packs of instant noodles and a bottle of the cheapest liquor. The cashier recognized him and, seeing him pull out a wad of crumpled change, sighed, "Xiao Lin, eating instant noodles again?"
"Saving money." Lin Chen grinned, revealing a set of white teeth. "Saving money for big things."
The older sister shook her head, clearly not believing it.
Lin Chen didn't explain. He carried his things out of the supermarket and wandered through the alleys of the urban village, finally entering an old building whose exterior walls were half-fallen off. Three lights in the stairwell were broken, with only the one on the fourth-floor corner still barely functioning, emitting a crackling electrical sound.
He rented a room on the top floor, the sixth floor!
Sun Wukong was squatting on the rooftop of the building opposite, about twenty meters away!
Lin Chen entered the house, but instead of boiling water to make instant noodles, he walked to the wall and pulled open the curtain covering the entire wall.
Sun Wukong almost lost his footing.
The wall was covered with things... A3 printed paper, hand-drawn sketches, construction site photos, copies of approval documents, bank loan progress charts—densely packed, layered upon layer, like a wall made of waste paper. At the very top, in large marker letters, were written: "Huaguoshan Cultural Tourism Renovation Project, 17th Version Plan."
Version 17.
The Great Sage blinked.
Lin Chen stood in front of the wall, head tilted back, his gaze slowly sweeping over the papers, finally settling on the hand-drawn rendering in the very center. The drawing depicted what Flower Fruit Mountain would look like in the future!
The mountain gate was rebuilt, the gravel road was replaced with bluestone slabs, a glass walkway was built on the cliff next to the Water Curtain Cave, a viewing platform was built on the top of the mountain, a visitor service center was built at the foot of the mountain, and a small train was painted to run around the foot of the mountain.
Then I saw him turn around, pick up his phone from the table, open WeChat, and enter a group called "Mingguang Old Folks".
There were more than twenty people in the group, all of whom were members of the team he used to lead at Mingguang Real Estate. Lin Chen scrolled up through the chat history; the most recent message was from three months ago, where someone asked in the group, "How's Mr. Lin doing lately?", but no one replied.
He thought for a moment, then typed and sent: "Brothers, I have a new project and need some manpower. Anyone interested?"
After sending the message, he stared at the screen for two minutes, but no one replied.
Lin Chen smiled wryly, put his phone on the table, and started boiling water to make instant noodles.
The water boiled, the noodles were ready, and he lifted the lid, the white steam blurring his face. He ate with his head down, and halfway through, his phone vibrated.
Someone in the group replied to the message.
It was none other than his old accountant, surnamed Wang, who had started the business with him at Mingguang Real Estate. He was in his fifties, always wearing reading glasses and doing accounts, and always had a smile on his face. Accountant Wang only replied with one sentence: "Mr. Lin, is your project... reliable?"
Before Lin Chen could even type, a second message popped up: "I heard you're in debt again, and people say you're being chased all over the city. If you need money, I have some retirement savings saved up; you can use it to tide you over."
Lin Chen's finger hovered over the screen, remaining motionless for a long time.
Then someone else popped up in the group: "Brother Wang is right. If you're short of money, Mr. Lin, don't force yourself. Although we brothers don't have a lot of money, we can still scrape together a few tens of thousands."
"Yes, yes, Mr. Lin never cheated us when he was in charge. Now that you're in trouble, we can't just ignore you."
"Mr. Lin, where are you? I'll come see you tomorrow and bring you two bottles of good wine."
Lin Chen held his instant noodle bowl, looked at the words on the screen, and suddenly laughed! It was a genuine, heartfelt laugh, tinged with a touch of bittersweetness.
He picked up his phone and sent a voice message: "No money required. The project is real. When have I, Lin Chen, ever cheated anyone with a fake project? Once it's up and running, you can all come and support me."
The group chat buzzed a bit more. Someone said, "I trust Mr. Lin to handle things," and someone else said, "Okay, let's wait for the drinks." Lin Chen looked at these messages, finished the last mouthful of instant noodle soup, and then threw the bowl into the trash can.
Sun Wukong saw all of this clearly.
An ordinary man, chased all over the city by creditors and so poor that he can only afford instant noodles, refuses the kindness of several former employees who try to chip in money for him.
interesting.
The Great Sage squatted on the rooftop for a while longer, just as he was about to fly back, when he suddenly saw Lin Chen pick up his phone again!
The call was quickly answered, and a man's voice came from the other end: "Hey? Mr. Lin? Is something wrong calling so late?"
"Old Zhang, I remember you're still working in Mingguang, right?" Lin Chen asked casually. "I want to ask you something."
"you say."
"Do you know Chen Shaojie, the young master of Hengyuan Real Estate?"
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then the man called Old Zhang lowered his voice: "How could I not recognize him? That kid's been having a terrible time lately. I heard he went up the mountain today to do some kind of development project, got terrified by a bunch of monkeys, and came back with a high fever. His dad's furious. Mr. Lin, don't tell me this has anything to do with you?"
Lin Chen didn't respond to that question, but instead asked, "How's Hengyuan's financial chain going?"
"Why are you asking this... Fine, I'll tell you, Hengyuan looks glamorous on the surface, but it's actually drowning in debt. Old Chen is keeping it afloat entirely through his political and business connections; he gets approvals quickly, but the money never comes back. What are you up to?"
"It's nothing, just asking." Lin Chen smiled. "Thanks, Lao Zhang. I'll treat you to dinner another day."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, looking up at the moldy water stain on the ceiling with a bright look in his eyes, as if he was plotting something.
Sun Wukong looked into those eyes and suddenly remembered something.
He recalled five hundred years ago, when he was still a stone monkey, the first time he set foot on Flower Fruit Mountain, looking at the mountain full of flowers and fruits, and the surge of energy in his heart.
This mortal is different from those swindlers.
The Great Sage spread his wings and flew up, circling in the night sky, heading back towards Flower Fruit Mountain.
Halfway there, he suddenly stopped on a big tree, transformed back into his true form, sat among the branches, and gazed at the brightly lit city below the mountain in a daze.
He recalled his days in Heaven.
Back then, he was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, majestic and awe-inspiring, and everyone who saw him had to call him "Great Sage Lord." But what happened later? On the journey to the West, he was used as a pawn, and after becoming a Buddha, his salary was reduced, and he could barely afford to pay the monkeys for their bananas.
Who remembers those who once called him a "peerless hero" now?
But Lin Chen is different.
Sun Wukong lowered his head, looking at his hairy hands. Those hands had once wielded the Golden Cudgel, wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, and vanquished demons on the journey to the West. But these hands could barely afford to buy bananas for the monkeys.
He suddenly felt a little ridiculous.
The mighty Monkey King was actually moved by the character of a mortal.
But then again, this person's character is actually quite good!
For the first time, a genuine smile appeared on that hairy face.
Meanwhile, Lin Chen was packing his things in his rented apartment.
He carefully peeled down the plans from the wall, stacked them neatly, and put them into an old file bag. As he packed, he muttered to himself, "Tomorrow I'll get the approval! Go to Huaguo Mountain, sign the contract with Brother Sun. Then it's just a matter of raising money, building roads, developing the scenic area, recruiting people..."
He paused, then suddenly smiled: "I'm quite busy."
My phone vibrated again. It was a voice message from someone in the "Mingguang Old Folks" group.
Lin Chen clicked on the app, and it was Accountant Wang's voice. The old man's tone was unusually serious: "Mr. Lin, I have something to tell you. I just looked through our savings books, and I've discussed it with my wife, and she agrees. If you really need start-up capital, I have 150,000 yuan here. You can take it and use it first; there's no rush to pay it back."
After the voice message finished playing, the group was quiet for two seconds, and then it exploded.
"Brother Wang, are you serious?"
"Then I won't pretend anymore, I'll offer 80,000!"
"I'll give you 50,000, don't think it's too little."
"Mr. Lin, you name a number, and the brothers will chip in!"
Lin Chen stood in front of the wall that was half empty, looking at the messages flooding his phone screen. His lips moved, but he didn't say anything.
He took a deep breath, pressed the voice button, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Alright, alright, stop trying to raise money. I don't need it. Once my project is up and running, anyone who wants to come work here can do so anytime. The salary will be 10% higher than the market rate, and the year-end bonus will be separate."
After posting this, he put his phone in his pocket, unscrewed the cheapest bottle of liquor, and took a swig from the bottle.
The spicy liquor burned his throat, making his eyes feel hot.
"Damn, it's so spicy!" he muttered under his breath.
But the corners of her mouth were turned up, and her heart was warm!