Chapter 292: Uncle Xiao Takes Good Care of My Family
If it had been anyone else, Mei Chao would have hung up immediately.
But Yan Liming was a captain in the economic crimes unit. Mei Chao had a use for him, so he could only look apologetically at Cheng Yuan. "Brother Yuan, excuse me, I have to take this call."
Cheng Yuan nodded, indicating it was fine.
Mei Chao didn’t try to hide it from Cheng Yuan, answering Yan Liming’s call right in front of him. "Captain Yan, what can I do for you?"
On the other end of the line.
Xiao Ziqiang’s birthday party had ended. Yan Liming had called for a designated driver to take Xiao Yating home.
At Xiao Yating’s repeated urging, Yan Liming had no choice but to bite the bullet and call Mei Chao.
Fortunately, Mei Chao was gracious enough to answer right away, which allowed Yan Liming to breathe a small sigh of relief. ’Maybe this will work out,’ he thought.
"Young Master Mei, here’s the situation. My girlfriend’s family’s company, Self-Improvement Decoration, is a partner of Xing’an Group, responsible for your high-end interior finishing projects. Self-Improvement Decoration is under a bit of financial pressure recently. I was wondering if Xing’an Group could be flexible and settle a portion of the project payment in advance?"
Mei Chao curled his lip in disdain. ’Xing’an Group has so many partner companies. If I made an exception for every one of them, the group’s cash flow would collapse.’
’As for whether Self-Improvement Decoration lives or dies, what does that have to do with me?’
’There are plenty of decoration companies out there. We can just find a new one!’
Of course, Yan Liming was a captain in the economic crimes unit. He had to give him some face.
Adopting a bureaucratic tone, Mei Chao said, "Captain Yan, if anyone else had made such a rude request, I’d have spat in their face. But since you’re the one asking, I’ll have to see what I can do. I’ll have our finance department settle a payment of one hundred thousand for Self-Improvement Decoration. I’ve got something going on here, so I’m hanging up now."
’One hundred thousand?’
Yan Liming was thoroughly vexed. He knew Mei Chao was just giving him the runaround.
’What damn good is a hundred thousand yuan?’
’It’s not even enough to cover the interest on the bank loans!’
Just now at the birthday party, Xiao Ziqiang had said himself that Xing’an Group was holding back over eighteen million yuan in project payments! A large portion of that was from bank loans.
To partner with Xing’an Group, Xiao Ziqiang had truly gone all out, using every bit of leverage he could.
Beside him, Xiao Yating asked with an expectant look, "Liming, what did Young Master Mei say? Did he agree to settle the payment?"
Yan Liming had already bragged about his connections, so naturally, he didn’t want to lose face in front of his girlfriend. He said vaguely, "Young Master Mei agreed to settle a portion of the payment tomorrow."
"Liming, you’re amazing! I have to tell Dad this news right away! He’ll be so happy! He definitely won’t interfere with our relationship anymore!"
Yan Liming felt a headache coming on, but he couldn’t let it show.
He planned to contact Mei Chao again after taking Xiao Yating home and ask him to release a bit more—at least a million yuan to solve their most urgent problem.
Soon, they arrived at Xiao Ziqiang’s home. The moment Xiao Yating got out of the car, Yan Liming called Mei Chao, but the call was rejected.
Undeterred, Yan Liming tried calling again. This time was even worse—Mei Chao had turned off his phone.
Yan Liming was incredibly frustrated. Mei Chao was being completely disrespectful. ’If only one hundred thousand yuan is paid out tomorrow, my future father-in-law will definitely be furious, won’t he?’
...
「Back with Cheng Yuan.」
Cheng Yuan had excellent hearing and recognized the voice on the other end of the line as Yan Liming’s.
Seeing Mei Chao hang up impatiently and then turn off his phone, Cheng Yuan asked with a smile, "Xiaochao, whose call was that? Why so annoyed?"
Mei Chao pursed his lips. "Some section chief who thinks he’s a big shot. He asked me to settle the payment for his girlfriend’s family’s decoration company ahead of schedule! If we did that for everyone, how could we at Xing’an Group even operate?"
Cheng Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Was it Self-Improvement Decoration Company?"
Mei Chao was taken aback. "Brother Yuan, how did you know?"
"The owner of Self-Improvement Decoration Company is an old army buddy of my father’s."
Mei Chao asked cautiously, "Are your father and Xiao Ziqiang close?"
"Uncle Xiao has always looked after our family. Back when I had that legal case, he was the one who paid for my lawyer. My dad doesn’t have any siblings, so you could say Uncle Xiao is like a brother to him. His daughter, Yating, and I grew up together. I consider Yating a little sister."
Mei Chao looked completely exasperated. "President Xiao is so close with you, Brother Yuan, why didn’t he say so sooner? If he’d just mentioned your name, how would we at Xing’an Group dare to withhold his payment? First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll let finance know and have them transfer the money to Self-Improvement Decoration."
Cheng Yuan asked with a gentle smile, "Xiaochao, won’t this break Xing’an Group’s rules?"
Mei Chao laughed. "I can’t speak for other places, but at Xing’an Group, what I, Mei Chao, say *is* the rule!"
Cheng Yuan smiled faintly, downed three drinks in a row with Mei Chao, and then said with a grin, "Xiaochao, I need to have a word with Director You."
"Of course, Brother Yuan. Go ahead. I’ll go mingle with the other leaders."
Cheng Yuan gave a slight nod, then walked toward You Baquan with his glass in hand.
You Baquan was the director of the political and legal affairs department. He was the perfect person to investigate Yan Liming.
You Baquan was in the middle of a lively conversation with several wealthy businessmen when Cheng Yuan approached and asked in a soft voice, "Director You, is now a good time to talk?"
The businessmen, perceptive enough to take the hint, excused themselves. You Baquan said with a broad smile, "Young Master Cheng, please, just give the word. I am at your command."
"I wouldn’t dare give a command. I’d just like to ask Director You to help me with a small personal matter."
"Please, Young Master Cheng, instruct me."
"I have someone I consider a sister who is dating a man named Yan Liming from the West City Patrol Bureau. I need you, Director You, to run a check on him for me."
You Baquan asked cautiously, "To what extent should I investigate?"
"I don’t want my sister to get hurt in the slightest."
"Understood! I’ll dig up everything there is to know about this Yan Liming! If he’s got any dirt, he won’t escape my grasp!"
"I’m counting on you."
...
While Cheng Yuan and You Baquan were having a warm chat, Shen Manwen was sulking off to the side.
’That big jerk Cheng Yuan is acting like I’m invisible. He hasn’t said a single word to me all night!’
’Am I really that unappealing?’
She had taken great care in dressing up just to make a good impression on him.
Shen Manwen couldn’t hold it in any longer. She approached them and asked with a sweet smile, "Director You, I’m not interrupting, am I?"
You Baquan, ever so perceptive, quickly excused himself. "Miss, of course not. Old Bear and I have something to discuss. Young Master Cheng, I’ll take my leave now!"
As soon as You Baquan left, the atmosphere instantly became a little awkward.
Shen Manwen was wearing a low-cut evening gown that was quite eye-catching.
Cheng Yuan didn’t know where to look and could only stare down at the tips of his own shoes.
Shen Manwen was not pleased. "Cheng Yuan, am I that scary? Is there really a need to be so terrified of me?"
Cheng Yuan sighed. He had just barely managed to get rid of Hu Shishi; he didn’t want to get tangled up in another messy romance.
"Manwen, you know I’m already married to Ruoxi. I only see you as a sister."