Chapter 1062 - 1060: Old Friends
Li Huaishan laughed and said, "Alright, I was just planning to visit the village."
Li Huaishan's secretary, who was also his driver, had gone to the bank with Luo Guoqing and two village chiefs, so he took Tang Yumeng's car and went with Xiao Xue to Zheng Dayong's village.
At the village entrance, they stopped the car, and Xiao Xue led Tang Yumeng and Li Huaishan directly to the school.
The students had already been dismissed, and as they walked into the yard, Xiao Xue called out, "Teacher Su, are you here?"
Su Bingyan came out of the small room, saw Xiao Xue, and happily greeted her.
Xiao Xue pointed at Tang Yumeng and Li Huaishan, smiling as she said, "Teacher Su, this is Secretary Tang Yumeng from Jiangbei City, and this is County Secretary Li Huaishan from West River County. They have come specifically to see you."
Su Bingyan was somewhat flattered and shyly said, "Secretary Tang, Secretary Li, you're too kind."
Tang Yumeng said, "Teacher Xiao Su, we should be the ones feeling sorry. You, a university student from Beijing, are teaching our children in this remote and poor mountainous area without taking a penny. On behalf of these children, I, Tang Yumeng, express our gratitude to you."
Su Bingyan smiled and said, "Secretary Tang, you're too gracious. This is what I should do. I just hope the city can pay some attention to the village school and not let the children study in dangerous conditions anymore."
Tang Yumeng turned to Li Huaishan and said, "Secretary Li, don't you think this school should be renovated?"
Li Huaishan hurriedly smiled and said, "Secretary Tang, I will arrange for this work as soon as I return."
After walking around the school for a while, the three of them headed back into the village, coincidentally meeting Zheng Dayong and Luo Guoqing returning. Zheng Dayong was carrying a black plastic bag with two years' worth of compensation funds inside.
"Quickly distribute this money to the villagers, and then we should be on our way," Tang Yumeng said to Zheng Dayong.
Zheng Dayong looked gratefully at Tang Yumeng and the others and said, "Secretary Tang, Secretary Li, you've helped our village a lot. You must say a few words to the villagers; I'll gather them right away."
Tang Yumeng waved slightly and said, "Village Chief Zheng, that's not necessary. Just distribute the money to the villagers in full, then go find Secretary Li, and he will handle the school issue for you."
With that, he turned around and left the village with a few others. Zheng Dayong watched Tang Yumeng and the others' backs, muttering to himself, "Such good people, Secretary Tang is truly a good person."
...
During the next two days, Lin Chuan protected Ma Ling while waiting for the person General Chen Zhenguo sent to meet him.
On the morning of the third day at ten o'clock, the person sent by the General finally arrived. Upon seeing this person, Lin Chuan smiled. It was none other than Li Xiangguo from the National Security Department.
The General sent Li Xiangguo to join him, showing the importance attached to Mu Zhengqing.
In the room, Lin Chuan introduced Helen to Li Xiangguo, who chuckled and said, "Lin Chuan, who would have thought that Her Majesty the Queen would send such a beauty to assist you, you're quite lucky."
Lin Chuan deliberately put on a bitter face and said, "Minister Li, don't even mention it, I'm almost annoyed to death."
Li Xiangguo laughed heartily and said, "You just keep pretending."
They spoke in Chinese, so Helen couldn't understand what they were saying, but seeing them so cheerful, she seemed quite happy too.
After exchanging pleasantries, Lin Chuan went back to his room with Li Xiangguo, shut the door, and handed him the disc. Li Xiangguo inserted the disc into the computer and, after carefully reviewing the documents on it, seriously said to Lin Chuan, "Lin Chuan, this disc is very important. It involves some key officials, so you must not reveal any information."
Lin Chuan replied with equal seriousness, "Don't worry, I understand."
With Ma Ling around, it was a bit of a burden, and Lin Chuan initially wanted Li Xiangguo to take her back to the country. However, Li Xiangguo said Ma Ling couldn't be sent back yet, as they needed to use her to lure out Mu Zhengqing.
Mu Zhengqing was very cautious and would generally not appear in public. To find him quickly, another approach seemed necessary.
Lin Chuan remembered what Sophis had told him that day: someone like Mu Zhengqing would show up as long as he ran out of money.
According to the data provided by Li Xiangguo upon arriving in New York, when Mu Zhengqing fled, he had transferred about over four hundred million US dollars abroad. Ma Ling mentioned that approximately two hundred million dollars had passed through her hands, meaning that aside from the portion Ma Ling handled, Mu Zhengqing still had nearly three hundred million US dollars.
As long as they could track the whereabouts of Mu Zhengqing's funds and then freeze them through diplomatic means, Mu Zhengqing would be left with no options. Figuring out the exact location of these funds was the challenge Lin Chuan and Li Xiangguo faced.
The United States has many banks of various sizes, and major international banks have branches in a metropolis like New York. At a loss of where to begin, Lin Chuan was reminded by something Helen said.
While chatting with Helen, she casually mentioned being honored by Omama and said offhandedly, "Lin Chuan, you're friends with the Americans now, right? Why not ask the CIA for help finding someone?"
This sentence immediately alerted Lin Chuan, that if the CIA could find Rat hidden deep in the mountains, they would certainly find Mu Zhengqing.
The Director of the CIA, Everson, has some ties with Lin Chuan. If Lin Chuan went to Everson, he wouldn't refuse to help.
Washington, Central Intelligence Agency.
Everson was in his office on the phone with President Omama, discussing how to handle the second-ranking member of the base, Murray Hand. According to Omama's intention, Murray Hand should be directly imprisoned in Montana Prison.
Montana Prison is located on an isolated island overseas, where many notorious terrorists are held, as well as being a secret place where the US holds political prisoners.
Everson disagreed with Omama's proposal; he believed that if Murray Hand were imprisoned in Montana Prison, opposition forces would definitely retaliate against the United States, and it should be handled cautiously.
After discussing for a long time without any result, Omama had to tell Everson not to move against Murray Hand for the time being.
Just as the call ended, the secretary came in to say Lin Chuan wanted to see him.
Regarding Lin Chuan, Everson felt both love and hate. Don't get the wrong idea; the reason Everson "loves" Lin Chuan is because Lin Chuan has helped him quite a bit, especially recently when he successfully took down the Sanhe Gang, thwarting the Iraqi opposition's plan to attack the US.
If it weren't for Lin Chuan, once the opposition got hold of that unknown scary weapon, the US might have suffered numerous terrorist attacks by now.
He "hates" Lin Chuan because Lin Chuan has caused him quite a few troubles, at one time making him so busy that he was reprimanded multiple times by Omama.
"Let him in," Everson pondered for a moment and said to the secretary.
Not long after the secretary left, Lin Chuan pushed open the door and walked in. Upon seeing Everson, he smiled and greeted him: "Director, we meet again."
Everson tried not to show any expression on his face, saying blandly: "You and I should meet as little as possible; every time I see you, I will have trouble."
Lin Chuan chuckled and said: "Director, we might as well be old friends, aren't you going to invite me to sit down and have a cup of coffee?"
Everson replied: "We are not friends; if anyone had you as a friend, they certainly would have a lot of trouble. I think it's better to forget it."
Lin Chuan took the initiative to sit down, saying: "Director, I'm here this time to ask for a favor."
Everson furrowed his brow and said: "What do you want me to help you with?"
Lin Chuan said: "Help me find someone; he's called Mu Zhengqing. Here's his photo." He finished speaking and took Mu Zhengqing's photo out of his pocket, handing it to Everson.
Everson merely glanced at it and didn't take the photo, saying: "What's in it for me if I help you?"
Lin Chuan paused for a moment, thinking that he was getting played, but he was the one asking for help, so he said: "Director, as long as you help me find this person, I promise to help you with something."
Everson's eyes lit up; he knew all too well Lin Chuan's capabilities, immediately smiling as he took the photo from Lin Chuan's hand, saying: "Alright, deal; I'll give you a reply in three days."
Looking at Everson's somewhat smug smile, Lin Chuan suddenly felt he had fallen for his trick.
"Then I leave it to you, Director. I still have some affairs to attend to, so I'll take my leave." Lin Chuan said, stood up, and left.
Everson stopped him, saying: "Lin Chuan, wait a minute, what's with just giving me a photo? You should provide some information about this person."
Lin Chuan laughed, saying: "Just a photo. If you're not going to agree to help, let's pretend our deal was never made."
Everson was taken aback, realizing Lin Chuan had turned the tables on him, saying: "Alright, we'll investigate on our own, you can go."
If he had known this earlier, he should have brought it up to Omama, now ending up owing Everson a favor, making Lin Chuan feel somewhat regretful.
Leaving the CIA, Lin Chuan hailed a taxi, heading toward the US division of Jvyi Gang.
Huang Bo and Taozi had been immensely busy these days, ever since Sichuan University Group's US division was established, Lin Chuan had used some special connections to facilitate cooperation between the Olma Chain Group and Sichuan University Group. The first batch of seafood products reached Washington, and hundreds of subordinates were instructed by the two to deliver goods in batches to various Olma chain stores.
Xiao Feng has completely changed from before, now her face is brimming with joyful smiles, and she has become a quality inspector for Sichuan University Group's US division.
When Lin Chuan arrived, Huang Bo and Taozi were directing a group to load cargo onto a truck. Seeing Lin Chuan, they were so delighted that they almost jumped in the air, rushing toward Lin Chuan together.