Chapter 93: Director Zuo, You’re Too Impolite
“Ho, the man himself has come to the door.”
A smug smile appeared on Director Zuo’s greasy fat face.
It was as if a fat sheep was right in front of him, just waiting for him to step forward and slaughter it hard.
“Little Treasure, invite the guest up. Remember, be polite. After all, he’s a Shanghai tycoon.”
When Director Zuo said “tycoon,” he deliberately emphasized the tone, with a hint of mockery.
“Yes.” Zhang Zixian grinned and saluted, then dashed out in a flash.
Clack clack clack, the sound of leather shoes stepping on the floor came from far to near.
“Boss Zhang, this way please.”
“You all stay outside…” Zhang Zixian politely ushered a middle-aged man into the office.
The visitor wore a purple embroidered dragon jacket on his upper body, paired with Western trousers and British calfskin leather shoes on the lower body. The outfit was neither fully foreign nor fully native, but his countenance was exceptionally remarkable…
A pair of hawk eyes shot out heavy, piercing light like weights as they turned, as if they could instantly gauge the weight of the person or object before him.
Perhaps due to middle age and prosperity, his nose tip was broad and thick, with deep knife-carved nasolabial folds on both sides of his nostrils extending down to the drooping corners of his mouth, giving him a somewhat stingy appearance.
His hair was specially groomed, combed sleek and glossy, tightly against the scalp, firmly fixed with hair wax, not a strand out of place, clearly revealing a broad and full forehead.
A pair of large, thick, protruding ears, with especially plump earlobes, quite resembling the “auspicious features” in the words of a physiognomist.
But none of this was enough to attract attention; almost everyone, upon first seeing him, would be drawn to the jade thumb ring on his left thumb.
This emerald thumb ring had excellent water quality, vividly green and lustrous.
Just this one thumb ring was enough to let a middle-class family in Shanghai live worry-free for a lifetime.
Director Zuo’s gaze sharpened slightly. Although it was his first time seeing Zhang Xiaolin in person, he had long heard of this Shanghai tiger.
When Zhang Xiaolin became a Shanghai tycoon, he, Zuo Mingquan, was still just a hooligan on the streets of Nanjing.
After his gaze lingered on the other man for a moment, Director Zuo stood up and said, “Boss Zhang, I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Director Zuo, you’re too kind.”
From the start, neither side showed any tension; instead, they were polite like old friends meeting after a long time.
“Little Treasure, serve tea to Mr. Zhang.”
Zhang Zixian acknowledged and hurriedly took tea leaves from the back cabinet, then poured boiling water.
Director Zuo slightly raised his hand and said, “Boss Zhang, I don’t have anything good here. Make do with it.”
Zhang Xiaolin frowned but still lifted the tea bowl, skimmed off the foam on top, and took a symbolic sip.
“Director Zuo, let’s not beat around the bush. I’m not here today just to drink tea.”
“I just want to know what I’ve done to offend Your Excellency, that Your Excellency wants to smash my venue.”
“Boss Zhang, you’re overthinking it,” Director Zuo smiled faintly. “I’m just carrying out official duties.”
“Someone reported that your subordinate Tian Darong was harboring Communist Party members. Lieutenant Asano from the Special Higher Police Affairs personally ordered that all personnel related to the Communist Party must be severely punished.”
“Enough,” Zhang Xiaolin’s face darkened. “If Tian Darong really had some shady dealings with the Communist Party, summon him at will.”
“Why bother smashing my venue and ruining my tobacco stall.”
Director Zuo shrugged and said, “Then you should ask your subordinate why he resisted when we arrested him.”
“Boss Zhang, it seems the purpose of your visit today isn’t just a courtesy call. You’re here to hold me accountable.”
“I wouldn’t dare call it holding you accountable.” Zhang Xiaolin said flatly, “I have a letter here. Director Zuo, you might as well take a look.”
Director Zuo was slightly stunned, took the letter from Zhang Xiaolin, and after opening it, his face became somewhat peculiar.
The letter was from Minister of Finance Chen Jintao of the Nanjing Restoration Government to Zhang Xiaolin.
The gist was that the Nanjing side hoped he would serve as an official in Zhejiang Province to stabilize the situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
After reading the letter, Director Zuo smiled and said, “Congratulations, Boss Zhang. However, I’m a bit confused—what do you mean by showing me this letter?”
“Your promotion and wealth are your business. This is the Special Affairs Committee’s office, which has nothing to do with you.”
“When you become the director of the Special Affairs Committee one day, then you can order me around.”
Zhang Xiaolin apparently didn’t expect Director Zuo to give him no face at all.
He immediately frowned and said sinisterly, “Director Zuo, don’t go too far.”
“In officialdom, dealings are all about giving face. What you’re doing isn’t very proper.”
“Who isn’t proper?” At that moment, a mild voice came from outside the door.
Zhang Xiaolin and Director Zuo both looked out, only to see Chen Yang strolling in leisurely.
“Oh, Director Chen, how do you have time to come to my place?” Upon seeing Chen Yang, Director Zuo hurriedly stood up to greet him, much more enthusiastic than with Zhang Xiaolin.
“Director Zuo, I’m also entrusted by someone and have no choice but to come.” Chen Yang smiled and replied, his gaze stopping on Zhang Xiaolin. “This must be Boss Zhang.”
“You have quite the influence, actually able to persuade Minister Chen.”
Zhang Xiaolin seemed to know what had happened, stood up and cupped his hands toward Chen Yang. “Officer Chen, I’m really sorry to trouble you.”
“Before coming, I specially called Minister Chen, and he specifically instructed that if there’s any matter, I could ask you to step in and mediate.”
“So, I had no choice but to trouble you to make a trip.”
Upon hearing this, Director Zuo’s face became even more peculiar. This old guy really doesn’t know what’s going on.
Doesn’t he know that it’s Director Chen who wants to target you, yet he still goes begging him to step in.
In fact, Zhang Xiaolin really didn’t know that Chen Yang wanted to target him.
Chen Jintao had only instructed him that if there was any matter, he could ask the Director of the Economic Department to step in, but the specific reason wasn’t convenient to say over the phone.
These big shots never let people easily grasp their handles when speaking, especially since telephone operators manually connect calls at this time. Zhang Xiaolin could only obey and had someone ask Chen Yang to step in before coming here.
Who would have thought that this was inviting the wolf into the house?
Chen Yang said hypocritically, “Director Zuo, we’re all working for the Jinling Government. Do you have evidence or not? If not, let him go.”
Director Zuo quickly nodded and said, “Since Director Chen has spoken, of course there’s no problem.”
“Little Treasure, go bring Mr. Tian up.”
Zhang Zixian hurried downstairs upon hearing this to fetch the man.
Less than three minutes later, two Nanjing agents supported a severely deformed person on either side as they entered the office.
His body was covered in bloodstains, his clothes long torn to shreds by the leather whip, and a pungent smell emanated from his lower body, clearly a sign of incontinence.
To torture someone into this state in just one day and night, one had to admit that this Nanjing Special Affairs Committee was truly professional.
“Ah Rong, Ah Rong.” Zhang Xiaolin hurriedly pushed through the crowd to check Tian Darong’s injuries.
Seeing this, Chen Yang shook his head on the side and said, “Director Zuo, you were too impulsive. That’s so rude. Look at how badly you’ve beaten him.”
“Boss Zhang, sorry about this. It was a misunderstanding. Brother, does it hurt?”
