Assistant: “I checked the surveillance footage, questioned the doctor who examined Mrs. Qin, and reviewed the medical records stored on the computer. Everything matches the report Mrs. Qin received—the results are identical.”
Hearing this, Qin Yuhe’s expression remained unchanged, calm and unreadable.
The assistant looked at Qin Yuhe with a complicated expression. “President Qin, what are you planning to do?”
“I have my own plan. You don’t need to worry about me.”
The assistant imagined himself facing such a situation and immediately felt as though his brain had been scrambled, leaving him utterly helpless and at a loss.
How was this supposed to be handled?
How were they supposed to live from now on?
Could they even go on living like this?
Abandoning his wife simply because she couldn’t have children would be too cold-blooded and heartless.
But if he stayed with her, then for a man who loved children and longed to have them, spending his entire life without children would surely become a lifelong regret.
What was more, the Qin family was an influential clan. They would never allow the family’s only heir to remain childless.
Should he find another woman to have a child with?
That would violate morality. It would be unfaithful to his wife—betrayal, plain and simple.
The assistant thought through every possible option, becoming more and more confused as he wavered between them, unable to decide what should be done.
But Qin Yuhe had already made his choice.
It had taken him only one second.
Without dwelling any longer on whether his wife could have children, Qin Yuhe brought up another matter. “Arrange for the government officials to conduct the final inspection of Song Xuanli’s project in Magic City as soon as possible.”
“All right. I’ll arrange it after the New Year holiday, once the Spring Festival break is over.”
“Finish the inspection before the New Year.”
The assistant stared at him in astonishment. “There are only seven days left until the New Year!”
Qin Yuhe gave him a cold look. “Are your hands or feet broken? Can’t you work during those seven days?”
“That’s not what I mean, President Qin. You know how it is—no one has much interest in working during the days right before the New Year.”
“If you don’t want to work, then get lost. Work hard, and I’ll double your year-end bonus.”
The moment the assistant heard the words “double your year-end bonus,” he automatically ignored the unpleasant “get lost” that had come before them. His face crinkled into a smile like a blooming chrysanthemum.
“I’ll do it! I’ll go and get right on it!”
Four days before the New Year, Song Xuanli, Li Cuirou, and Zhang Yingying stood nervously by, forcing smiles, flattering the inspectors, and doing everything they could to curry favor as they accompanied them through the final inspection.
If the project failed inspection again, it would be completely finished.
All the enormous sums they had invested would go down the drain, leaving them with nothing but losses.
Song Xuanli went to the bathroom four times in thirty minutes.
Each time, he still felt as though he hadn’t emptied his bladder completely.
He was beginning to think he had developed prostatitis.
Li Cuirou also frequently felt the urge to urinate. Whenever Song Xuanli went to the bathroom, she followed him in.
Zhang Yingying was even worse. She ran to the bathroom eight times in thirty minutes, as though she had developed diabetes insipidus.
Not only had the three of them lost all their savings, but each of them was also buried under a mountain of debt.
During the New Year, while other families received blessings and good wishes, they received calls from debt collectors.
Now, whenever one of their phones rang, they were like startled birds, wishing they could hide inside a cabinet.
But then they worried that the debt collectors might split the cabinet open with an ax.
They were living in constant terror, their hearts suspended in the air, swinging up and down like seven buckets lowered into a well.
After enduring the ordeal for so long, they finally completed the inspection alongside the inspectors.
The result was announced on the spot—
The project had failed inspection.
The sky came crashing down on Song Xuanli, Li Cuirou, and Zhang Yingying.
They wouldn’t be able to celebrate the New Year.
Those debt collectors were going to splash paint all over their homes!
The three of them thought of Song Xinya and went to ask her for money.
Song Xinya was at home making dumplings with her younger brother and sister when the butler hurried over to inform her, “Madam, there’s a man outside claiming to be your father. He wants to see you.”
The moment Song Xuanli betrayed her mother, he had already died in Song Xinya’s heart.
Song Xuanli had abandoned both her and her younger sister, Song Tingyou, and never even bothered to look for the missing girl. A man like that had no right to sully the word “father.”
Song Xinya picked up a dumpling wrapper, placed some filling in the center, and pinched the edges together with both hands. A dumpling shaped like a gold ingot appeared in her palm.
Her expression remained calm and emotionless as she replied, “I’m not seeing them.”
The bitter winter wind howled outside, lashing against their faces with the sting of knives.
Song Xuanli, Li Cuirou, and Zhang Yingying stood at the gate. When the butler told them, “Our madam says she won’t see you,” their hearts turned even colder than the frigid winter wind.
Just then, a phone suddenly began to ring.
All three of them shuddered violently.
Holding her phone as though it were a red-hot potato, Zhang Yingying cried, “Ah! It’s another debt collector!”
Li Cuirou looked at Song Xuanli. “What are we going to do? We can’t possibly spend the New Year sleeping on the streets and begging for food, can we?”
“The only person who can come up with enough cash right now is President Qin.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go find him! I don’t want to live in poverty!”
The three of them arrived at the entrance to Qin Yuhe’s office.
The assistant went inside to ask for permission.
Zhang Yingying anxiously said, “What if President Qin refuses to see us too?”
Her words immediately cast a gloomy shadow over Song Xuanli and Li Cuirou.
Just as the three of them were hanging their heads in despair, the assistant opened the door and came out.
“President Qin says you can go in.”
The three of them were instantly overjoyed. As they entered Qin Yuhe’s office, they moved stiffly in perfect unison, like Uncle Pan Changjiang playing a Japanese soldier in a comedy sketch.
Qin Yuhe sat upright behind his desk, his back straight and his shoulders broad. His sharp eyes settled on the three people standing stiffly before him.
“What is it?”
Zhang Yingying stepped forward and immediately began, “President Qin, we…”
“Have the person in charge of your household speak to me.”
Zhang Yingying promptly stepped back.
Song Xuanli said, “President Qin, our project in Magic City failed inspection. We poured everything we had into it—we practically sold everything we owned and invested all our money, and now we’re drowning in debt.”
“Is there something I can help you with?”
The eyes of all three of them suddenly lit up. Excitedly, they said, “Yes, President Qin! Our funds are temporarily tied up. If you could lend us some money for now, we’ll pay you back as soon as we have the funds.”
Qin Yuhe gave them a faint smile. “I don’t do business at a loss.”
Their joy lasted less than three seconds before their hearts sank again.
The three of them couldn’t help wondering why President Qin had let them in if he had no intention of lending them money.
Qin Yuhe dangled a lure before them. “I won’t lend you money for nothing. But you can give me something in exchange.”
Song Xuanli weighed what he still had left and said, “President Qin, to be honest, all I have now are a few companies on the verge of bankruptcy.”
“Then trade me the companies.”
“President Qin, I can sell you my construction company.”
Qin Yuhe: “The Magic City project was built by this construction company, and it can’t even pass the inspection. What do I need this worthless company for—to run a charity?”
Song Xuanli thought for a moment before saying, “What if I sell Yating Education Technology to you?”
Qin Yuhe leaned back in his chair, folded his arms, and a faint smile curled at the corners of his lips. “Fine.”
