139: Chapter 139: The Game Begins.

The Qin Family residence was brightly lit that night. Qin Lang sat in a custom-made rosewood armchair in his study. The back of the chair was inlaid with a solid piece of Hetian jade carved with a relief of "Pines and Cranes for Longevity," and a black silk velvet blanket was draped over the armrest.

The three-meter-long Hainan yellow rosewood desk had a grain pattern as fluid as flowing clouds, its edges polished smooth and lustrous by the passage of time. There were few items on the desk: an old Duanxi inkstone, two Hu brushes weighing down an open copy of the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, with the pages turned to the "Reign of Zhenguan" chapter.

The only modern item on the desk, an ashtray, was already stuffed full of cigarette butts.

Qin Qitian knocked lightly on the study door, then pushed open the heavy rosewood door and entered, carrying a bowl of white fungus and lotus seed porridge.

He glanced at the floor-to-ceiling curio cabinet against the north wall. On the upper shelves were scattered Song Dynasty porcelain plum vases, a Ming Dynasty Xuande incense burner, and a Qing Dynasty bamboo-carved brush pot, each accompanied by a custom rosewood base. The lower glass cabinet was neatly stocked with thread-bound volumes of the Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature and manuscripts from famous historical figures, all covered in a thin layer of dust. Usually, when his father was troubled, he would take these collectibles out and wipe them down slowly, but this time, he hadn't.

"Dad, you haven't eaten all day. I had Aunt Zhao cook a bowl of white fungus and lotus seed porridge; please, have a little."

As he spoke, he placed the bowl on the desk.

Qin Lang extinguished his half-smoked cigarette in the ivory ashtray and looked at his eldest son with bloodshot eyes.

His voice, raspy from too much smoking, squeezed out a sentence:

"Put it down, then sit. I have something to tell you."

Qin Qitian's heart trembled. The memory of the beating he received last week was still fresh. He looked left and right, and upon not finding the Seven Wolves belt, he let out a sigh of relief, sat slowly in the rosewood armchair, and behaved properly.

Seeing his father's tired, aged face and bloodshot eyes, his heart sank slightly. In his memory, the last time Qin Lang looked like this was on the eve of the national crackdown. The entire Qin Family had nearly collapsed then, and even though they had survived, they still hadn't fully recovered to this day.

Qin Lang didn't look at the porridge Qin Qitian had brought; instead, he looked at Qin Qitian with weary eyes and said slowly:

"Qitian, my previous judgment was wrong. This Su Ye is not a normal person; he is a madman, a complete and utter madman."

"Last night, the third brother reported something to me: Yuanda Logistics is contacting our legitimate liquor distributors, and Hongxing Chain also seems to be preparing for some major move recently."

After speaking, he didn't wait for Qin Qitian to voice his confusion; he was in no mood to lecture his son right now.

"If I'm not mistaken, this Su Ye never intended to reconcile with our Qin Family from the very beginning; he is completely bent on destroying our Qin Family. The previous small moves were just smoke screens. Otherwise, after so much time has passed, and with us reaching out through the Liu Family time and again, for Su Ye to keep making excuses to decline—it simply doesn't make sense."

"Combined with the current actions of Yuanda Logistics and Hongxing Chain, it's clear that Su Ye only agreed to reconcile with us to buy time."

Qin Qitian was a bit flustered and asked, at a loss for what to do:

"Then what do we do now?"

Qin Lang glared at Qin Qitian and growled:

"What are you panicking for? Has the knife been plunged in yet?"

Seeing his son, who was a bit stunned by the fright, he softened his tone slightly:

"Don't panic about the liquor supply chain. I have good relationships with the Greater China regional heads of those few brands, and I've slipped them plenty of benefits over the years; there won't be any problems. As long as the supply chain doesn't have issues, I don't see how they can compete with us across industries just by relying on a Hongxing Chain?"

Qin Qitian followed up by asking:

"What about the official side? Dad, if we keep letting officials investigate like this, nearly half of our hotels, karaoke bars, and nightclubs won't be able to stay open. What about Uncle Zhang and Mayor Liu? Didn't they say they would exert influence?"

Qin Lang's face darkened. The reason he was so anxious was precisely because of the official issues. The moment Qin Lang received the news last night, he realized Su Ye intended to strike a fatal blow in secret, so he immediately called Old Zhang and Mayor Liu.

As it turned out, Old Zhang was willing to help, but he wasn't confident. As for Mayor Liu, he stated outright that he had questioned the plan submitted by Yan Zheng at the standing committee meeting a couple of days ago, but the Number One's attitude was firm, and there was nothing he could do, after which he hung up the phone.

"You don't need to worry about official matters; I have my own arrangements. Now, go immediately and inspect all the venues below. I told them to restrain themselves before, but some are still doing it. I had the third brother notify them again last night to cut off all those unclean things recently, but I'm afraid they are just paying lip service."

As he spoke, Qin Lang stood up, slammed his hand on the desk, and cursed:

"Really, a bunch of idiots who can't see the situation clearly."

Perhaps because of his age and lack of rest for too long, combined with not having eaten for a long time, Qin Lang suddenly felt dizzy and was about to collapse.

"Dad!"

Qin Qitian quickly stood up to support him.

After a few minutes, Qin Lang felt a bit better. Once he steadied himself, he said:

"Alright, I'm fine. You go quickly, don't let anyone actually catch us in the act."

Qin Qitian glanced at Qin Lang with concern and said:

"Dad, take care of yourself. Eat the lotus seed porridge later and get some sleep. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things."

Qin Lang waved his hand and said weakly:

"Go, go, be thorough with the inspection."

After Qin Qitian left, Qin Lang looked at the white fungus and lotus seed porridge still steaming on the desk, feeling no appetite at all. He pulled a cigarette from the pack, lit it, and paced to the west wall, looking at the Map of Mountains and Rivers by a contemporary master of traditional Chinese painting hanging there. On both sides of the scroll were couplets in the running script of Mr. Qigong: "The ocean admits all rivers to be vast; a precipice of a thousand fathoms stands tall due to having no desires."

He murmured:

"I've washed my hands of the underworld for so many years, so why can't I have any peace?"

——————

At this moment, in the Chairman's office of Future Technology, Zhang Jing, Zhang Hua, Liu Jianjun, and General Manager Dong Hong were standing in front of the desk, watching Su Ye, who was gazing into the distance through the floor-to-ceiling glass, without speaking.

After a long time, Su Ye finally turned around and asked:

"Is everything ready?"

The three looked toward Zhang Jing.

Ever since Su Ye introduced Zhang Jing to the three of them the day before yesterday and said that Zhang Jing could fully represent him before leaving, Zhang Jing had called each of them into the office for an hour-long discussion. No one knew what was discussed, and the three of them hadn't exchanged any information among themselves.

However, for the past two days, the senior management below could tell that the three general managers were now very convinced by this Mr. Zhang, who had appeared out of nowhere, as docile as little lambs.

Zhang Jing had a warm smile on his face, took a small step forward, and said:

"Boss, everything has been arranged properly; we can begin."

Su Ye nodded in satisfaction, then narrowed his eyes slightly, and a cold, sharp light seemed to flash in them:

"Then let us stir up a stormy sea that will destroy the Qin Family."

After speaking, he turned his head and continued to look out the floor-to-ceiling window, murmuring:

"The game has begun."