Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Wang Chao: Alas~ I Have a Plan
"Let me tell you, Jiangsan City..."
"That place is no place for humans!"
"That place is terrifying! Three fatal cases in just half a month. I was only there for a little over two weeks, not even a full month. My god, people were dropping like flies, as if their lives were worthless..."
In the service hall, a man sat on a public bench, speaking with great earnestness and a look of deep emotion on his face.
"That can’t be right. Isn’t Jiangsan City supposed to be a booming city? I heard their security is pretty solid."
A young Police Officer spoke up hesitantly.
"Are you calling me a liar?"
Wang Chao’s face was filled with lingering fear. "That place is seriously cursed. There were dead bodies everywhere."
"I can’t even imagine what the people of Jiangsan City go through day in and day out!"
He had lived in Jiangsan City for less than a month, and it had transformed him from an ambitious man into a coward with his tail between his legs.
Wang Chao was genuinely impressed by the people of Jiangsan City.
After all, they could live there for decades while he couldn’t stand it for a month. You had to admit, the locals were tough as nails.
"Have you heard of the Corpse Repository case?"
"Do you know about the mad old man?"
"Ever seen a corpse at a crossroads?"
"Ever experienced a midnight fright!?"
Wang Chao’s expression was grim, and the police officers listening to him were completely dumbfounded.
"You haven’t seen any of it?"
A disdainful look appeared on Wang Chao’s face. "Let me put it this way: the bombing case in Linlan City... if you ignore the fact that it was an explosion and just go by the scope and impact, it would only rank second among those cases!"
The Linlan City case would only rank second!?
The officers’ eyes widened, and they subconsciously gasped.
Linlan City and Hanhai Province were swamped because of this incident. As for them, a few junior officers, just a few glances at the crime scene were enough to make them physically sick.
And that only ranked second!?
"Do you know what a Corpse Repository is? Have you ever thought about how many bodies you can hide in a basement?"
Wang Chao felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
Although he hadn’t experienced it firsthand, he had seen the police photos.
"Think about it yourselves!"
The officers exchanged glances, then looked at Wang Chao with a newfound respect.
"Break it up, break it up! The case is wrapping up. You all got nothing better to do, huh?"
Suddenly, a voice barked out. Everyone turned to see two figures, one of whom was the familiar Qian Hua.
The young officers who had been listening to Wang Chao’s tall tales immediately scattered.
Wang Chao, however, brightened up.
"Brother Huo! Brother Huo, I’ve missed you to death!"
With that, Wang Chao tried to move in for a hug.
Xu Huo looked slightly disgusted and kept his distance.
"What do you want? You look like you’re in a huge hurry..."
"It’s nothing huge, I just wanted to tell you, Brother Huo—I have a new business idea!" Wang Chao said excitedly.
A new business?
Xu Huo froze. He drew in a sharp breath, looking at him in shock.
"Brother Huo, let me walk you through my thinking."
"I’ve been looking into it, and I realized that the current meat industry is still pretty pathetic, but its growth potential is huge!"
"Twenty years ago, when I was a kid, we’d barely eat meat a few times a year. But now, we can have it every few days. I guess it’s related to our country’s rapid development."
A gleam shone in Wang Chao’s intelligent eyes.
His voice grew progressively wiser.
"I dug a little deeper and found that, while it’s not explicitly stated, our currency’s anchor can definitely be represented by the fastest-growing industries."
"Real estate! I found it—real estate! That stuff is developing way too fast, Brother Huo!"
"In other words, its rapid development means the average standard of living will also skyrocket!"
Wang Chao said excitedly, his brilliant mind telling him this was a business opportunity.
"Twenty years ago, I barely ate meat all year, but now I can have it from time to time."
"And in twenty years, we’ll absolutely be eating meat with every meal... No, it might even be like that in ten years!"
"But right now, the meat market is a barren wasteland. Besides the state-owned enterprises, there are hardly any big companies."
"It’s an untapped oil field!"
Chao Zi calmed himself, then looked at Xu Huo and spoke with sincerity.
"I’m planning to get into this industry."
"If I can get it off the ground, I’ll sell the company around ’18 or ’19, and then move into the internet sector!"
Xu Huo: ?
Xu Huo paused, staring blankly at the man before him.
’Sell the meat company in ’18 or ’19, then move into the internet sector?’
"Why?" Xu Huo asked.
"As society advances, product quality inspections will inevitably get stricter. At the same time, the market will be saturated by mid-stage entrants, and competition will get fiercer. The market will race to the bottom, devolving into price wars and quality wars... I might not be able to compete with everyone else, so it’s better to just cash out."
"The internet is just budding right now. I can see its future potential, but I don’t have the resources to get involved at this stage."
"Besides, the meat industry has a ceiling—the population size. Competition will only get more and more intense!"
"The internet, on the other hand, has limitless potential!"
Wang Chao began to envision his bright future.
"So, it’s better to build up some capital first, then move into the internet sector when it has a solid foundation and its growth trend is obvious. It’s a safe and secure plan!"
"Of course, I’ll also open a mask factory that just breaks even, to serve as an anchor for my assets."
"Yeah, I don’t need it to be profitable, as long as it doesn’t lose too much money."
Wang Chao said modestly.
’Start a meat business after ’03, sell it in ’18, buy a mask factory, then enter the internet industry in ’19...’
A few question marks popped up in Xu Huo’s mind. He was silent for a long moment.
"So, what do you need from me?"
"The plan sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?"
"No! I’ve learned from my previous failed ventures. I realized the crucial mistake was that I never told you my plan or my starting location, Brother Huo. That’s why some accident always happens midway through!"
Wang Chao’s expression was dead serious.
"I call it ’Schrödinger’s Accident!’"
He had been reflecting long and hard on his mistakes ever since the night of October 4th, when a bloody, severed finger—cooked rare—had nearly flown into his mouth.
"So, Brother Huo, I’ve decided to ask you beforehand this time. And I plan to go check out the location with you!"
"Once we’ve confirmed it, then I’ll get started."
As he spoke, Chao Zi broke into a cheeky grin and pulled out a few hundred yuan. "This is your service fee!"
"Forget it. Consider this bit of money my advance investment."
Xu Huo silently pulled out fifty thousand yuan and stuffed it into the other man’s hand.
’A plan like this was hard not to fund.’
"Bro, you’re the best!"
Wang Chao was stunned. He stared at the fifty thousand yuan as if it were a gift from the heavens and was immediately moved beyond words.
"Alright, I won’t bother you then! When you get off work, we’ll go take a look after dinner!"
he said excitedly, tightly clutching the money as he waved goodbye.
"Yeah, just give me a call."
Xu Huo nodded, watching him leave.
He wasn’t technically on the clock, but he still needed to cooperate with the wrap-up work, even now. So it wasn’t much different from a regular workday.
Nearby, Qian Hua, who had been standing there the whole time, glanced in the direction Wang Chao had left, then looked back at Xu Huo.
"Who was that?"
Qian Hua asked, puzzled.
Xu Huo was about to answer but was cut off by Qian Hua, who stroked his chin and said thoughtfully:
"Your pet?"
Xu Huo: ???
Xu Huo faltered, looking at him in disbelief. After a moment’s thought, he offered a tactful reply.
"A police dog."
"Well, now. This police dog of yours is quite an interesting young man."
Qian Hua chuckled.
Looking at him, Xu Huo smiled too.
’The guy clearly had no idea how serious the situation was.’
’I’ll just wait until after work, then.’
In the office.
Zhang Jian stood by the windowsill, a kindly expression on his face as he looked out the window at the peaceful scene he shared with Liu Shaokun.
"Whew... the case is over. It’s good to have a calm and peaceful Linlan City again."
Liu Shaokun smiled too, letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Yeah. Now that the higher-ups are gone, the pressure is finally off."
"Counting the time, they should be almost back by now."
"Mmm, probably about halfway there."
The two middle-aged men exchanged a smile, then sat down in their chairs, sipping their tea.
’Ah, this is the life... Truly relaxing.’
...
「Afternoon, six o’clock.」
After the police station closed for the day, Xu Huo had just stepped outside when he saw an eager face pop into view.
"Hey~ Brother Huo..."
"I have a plan!"