The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Inside the department office, Wang Hao, Xu Qing, and the others stared at each other, dumbfounded.

They'd never imagined the company had so many uncollected debts.

The group looked overwhelmed as they each picked up a few files. Chen Dong didn't join them; instead, he opened his computer, ready to continue slacking off, as if it had become a habit.

Before long, Xu Qing and the others were glaring at Wang Hao. "Brother Hao! Why on earth did you take on this job?"

Wang Hao looked dejected as well and said in a low voice, "I've just been messing around for so long. I want to prove myself. This is just an opportunity to do that."

He then looked up at his department colleagues. "It's alright. You guys can keep slacking off. I'll just take my time and do this myself."

Xu Qing and the others were stunned for a moment, then laughed indignantly. "Brother Hao, what kind of talk is that?!"

"Exactly! Your work is our work!"

"You want to prove yourself all alone? No way! You have to include us!"

"That's right! It's only one-third of the debts. We can definitely do it! When we're done, we'll make that Xuan Kexin wear a maid outfit and apologize while she pours our tea!"

Wang Hao was deeply moved.

Chen Dong closed his computer, casually plucked a file from the pile, and said nonchalantly, "I just want to see Xuan Kexin in a maid outfit."

Wang Hao, Xu Qing, and the others were instantly energized. "With Brother Dong helping us, we'll definitely succeed!"

Chen Dong glanced over the files, picked two with the largest amounts owed, and headed out.

As he was leaving, he added, "Debt collection is never easy. Make sure you go in pairs. If you run into anything you can't handle, give me a call."

Outside the company, Chen Dong glanced at the bills in his hand. Xiaolong Construction Company owed thirty million. The debt was already four years old. They had subcontracted a project to the Li Group, but after the work was completed, they refused to pay the balance and had been stalling ever since.

The other bill was from a subsidiary of the Huang Company. It owed forty million, and the debt was even older—six years. Furthermore, that subsidiary had filed for bankruptcy two years ago and no longer existed.

The Huang Company was now the Li Company, so who was he supposed to collect this debt from? Chen Dong was completely baffled.

He casually stuffed the Huang Company's bill into his pocket and turned his attention to the other one: Xiaolong Construction Company.

Chen Dong followed the address to a large courtyard where a decaying sign read "Xiaolong Construction..." The rest of the characters were illegible.

In the yard, aside from a three-story Western-style building, sat two rusty excavators.

The courtyard was empty. Chen Dong walked into the small building and peered through a window. Inside, dozens of burly men were gathered—some playing mahjong, others playing cards.

Pushing open the main door, Chen Dong called out, "I'm looking for President Wang."

Without looking up, one of the men casually asked, "And who might you be?"

"From the Li Group. I'm here to collect a debt."

Hearing this, the men burst out laughing. "President Wang lost tens of millions betting on soccer and skipped town ages ago! Who do you think you're collecting from?"

"How long has he been gone?" Chen Dong asked, refusing to give up.

The men roared with laughter. "He took off during the last World Cup and still isn't back for this one. What do you think?"

"Then what about this land and the building?"

A man with a dragon tattoo on his shoulder spoke up. "That bastard owed me ten million, so he signed this place over to me as collateral. You're too late!"

Chen Dong felt a headache coming on. 'An inauspicious start,' he thought.

He returned to the company right away. Back in the department office, only Xu Qing was there, sorting through the bills. The others had already gone out.

Chen Dong pulled out the two bills and shook his head with a troubled expression.

Xu Qing was surprised. She hadn't expected even Brother Dong to be met with failure.

Chen Dong said, "This company went bankrupt, and this guy skipped town. There's nothing I can do."

Xu Qing said indignantly, "It's despicable of Xuan Kexin to give us these bad debts and hopeless cases." She pointed to a thick stack of bills. "Those are all bad debts and uncollectible accounts. There's no way to get that money."

"These are the ones I've sorted through," she said, "The ones we might actually have a chance with."

Chen Dong flipped through a few, once again pulling out two bills for large amounts, and headed out again.

One was for Jianghua Factory. The Li Group had built their factory building, but they hadn't paid a single cent of the twenty million owed.

Chen Dong arrived at Jianghua Factory, walked right past the gate guard, went to the director's office, and strode straight in.

The director was a horse-faced, middle-aged man. From the bill, Chen Dong knew his surname was Zhuang.

Chen Dong got straight to the point. "Director Zhuang, I'm from the Li Group. Is it possible to settle your outstanding payment now?"

Only then did Director Zhuang notice someone had entered his office. He tore his eyes away from his computer, put on the airs of a leader, and said, "Wait a moment." He then picked up the landline and dialed an internal number. "Is security eating shit over there? You don't even know when someone walks in..."

After chewing out the security department, he turned to Chen Dong and said, "We'll handle this outstanding payment. You can go back and wait for an update."

Chen Dong chuckled, then brought his fist down, shattering the heavy ashtray on the desk. "Do you take me for an idiot?" he asked in a cold voice.

Director Zhuang's expression changed. "Wait a moment!" he said again.

He then pulled out his cell phone and made a call. "Uncle! Someone from the Li Group is here trying to collect a debt... Uh-huh, yeah, they are... Okay, okay."

During the call, Director Zhuang asked for Chen Dong's name. After hanging up, he stared at Chen Dong with a smug look, as if waiting to see him get put in his place.

The person on the other end of the line was none other than Zhuang Zhongjia. His face was a mask of fury. After hanging up, he cursed, "So this is the Li Group! For a measly twenty million, they actually go to my nephew's factory to collect a debt, and even resort to threats of violence."