Retired for A Hundred Years: Re-Employment for the Apocalypse Bigshot!-Chapter 287 - 282: No Action Taken, But Words Were Spoken
Gu Shuangcheng didn’t answer, everything was unspoken.
"The Gu Family also has its own concerns. We just want to do clean business." Gu Shuangcheng’s face showed helplessness.
Ji Ning sneered.
Clean business?
For a business as large as the Gu Family, it wouldn’t be all that clean.
This time with Chang Ru’s matter, the Gu Family is already involved, they might as well get involved till the end. She’s curious to see who’s fueling the flames behind the scenes.
Gu Shuangcheng pretended not to notice the sarcasm on Ji Ning’s face, thick-skinned enough, "But the Huang Family has always been reckless. I’ve advised my family not to cooperate with the Huang Family before, but the Huang Family controls one-third of the Hua Continent’s maritime routes, making it difficult to bypass them. So the Gu Family has always been courteous to the Huang Family and never gets involved in personal matters other than business, but even so, the Huang Family still dares to try to drag the Gu Family down..."
"Have you found out who’s behind Huang Laosan?" Ji Ning interrupted Gu Shuangcheng.
Gu Shuangcheng nodded slightly, "The Hosman Family from the West Continent."
Ji Ning thought about the name, having no impression of it, showing it doesn’t have deep roots, probably a newly risen family.
"What do they do?"
"Biomedical. The Hosman Family isn’t very famous in the West Continent, but they have a powerful marriage tie, which is the Qiao Family from the West Continent..."
When Ji Ning heard about the Qiao Family, her pupils shrank slightly, her fists clenched reflexively.
She knows the Qiao Family too well.
During the chaotic times, John Josen was the top figure in the West Continent.
The two never faced off because of the distance issue during the chaotic times, but outsiders say their strengths are on par.
"You might not know the Qiao Family well. They are an old nobility in the West Continent with great influence, hence they have many marriage ties. The Hosman Family is the least noticeable among the Qiao Family’s many ties, and the blood connection is quite tenuous. But the Hosman Family is very good at networking, always maintaining friendly relations with the Qiao Family, gaining a lot of resources as a result."
Gu Shuangcheng paused, looking at Ji Ning, noticing she still had no apparent emotion on her face, he couldn’t help but be curious, "You know the Qiao Family?"
Ji Ning didn’t hide and nodded slightly, "I know a bit."
Gu Shuangcheng assumed she learned from the Security Bureau, didn’t think much, and continued, "The Hosman Family is engaged in the biomedical industry, thus acquiring medicinal herbs globally, especially from the Pollution Zone, with very high purchase prices. The Hua Continent is vast and rich, vegetation abundant, and its Pollution Zone is the largest in the world, with many poisonous plants and herbs. The Hosman Family had long set sights on the Hua Continent market, but Hua Continent has strict control over the Pollution Zone, especially poisonous plants, which are regulated by the International Alliance, prohibiting private collection or mass sale to the Outer Continent, making large purchases difficult for the Hosman Family. Thus, there is smuggling involved... Mr. San uses maritime transport to secretly smuggle purified poison liquids from Hua Continent’s poisonous plants to the Hosman Family..."
Ji Ning, after Gu Shuangcheng finished speaking, suddenly exclaimed, "There’s no Hosman Family on the International Alliance’s most-wanted smugglers list. Your Gu Family being able to find them is quite capable."
Gu Shuangcheng’s expression changed slightly, "The Gu Family has some friends internationally."
Ji Ning chuckled, "Because you investigated and found the Hosman Family is not easy to provoke, you decided to tackle Huang Laosan to entirely rid this matter, right?"
"The Gu Family didn’t make a move on Huang Laosan." Gu Shuangcheng emphasized again with a serious demeanor, even his gaze sharpened.
Ji Ning looked at him, her smile unchanging, "Didn’t make a move, but spoke out."
"..."
Gu Shuangcheng felt stifled. The matter with Huang Laosan was handled very cautiously by the Gu Family, so no one would suspect them; yet this young woman before him uncovered the truth, nearly compromising him earlier.
Really tricky...
"Ji Ning, some words require evidence. Do you have evidence?"
Ji Ning smiled, "No."
Gu Shuangcheng was relieved but tensed again hearing Ji Ning’s next words, "But I will find it. Every action leaves a trace; it’s impossible not to have any traces if it was done. Don’t you think?"
Gu Shuangcheng’s pupils contracted, his lips pressed into a line.
Their eyes exchanged silent struggles in the air several times, eventually, Gu Shuangcheng conceded first, taking a sip from the cold coffee on the table, expressionless.
Ji Ning subsequently also took a sip of her coffee, the corners of her lips smiling.
Suddenly, she asked, "I heard the Gu Family’s liaison with the Sun Family is Chang Ru?"
Gu Shuangcheng glanced up at her, then lowered his gaze to the coffee in his hands, "I don’t really get involved in business matters."
"Chang Ru is Bai Xiaotang’s cousin, considered half Bai Family. Is the Gu Family planning to cooperate with the Bai Family?"
Gu Shuangcheng’s spoon stirring the coffee paused, his brows slightly furrowed, then he suppressed his emotions and calmly said, "Is that so? I’m not sure, I’ll ask my elder brother when I return."
But his heart was unsettled.
What did Ji Ning mean by that sentence?
Has the Bai Family also set sights on the Sun Family?
So they sent Chang Ru to approach the Sun Family and Gu Family?
Gu Shuangcheng became tense, thinking to call home soon and have them send Chang Ru back to the Bai Family, definitely should not interact with her anymore.
Chang Ru unknowingly had all her efforts over the past half month go down the drain because of Ji Ning’s words.
***
Afterward, Ji Ning and Gu Shuangcheng went separate ways at the airport.
Gu Shuangcheng returned to Beijing, while Ji Ning flew to the fourth station on the Huang Family’s maritime route, the border city of Hua Continent and the South Continent.
Huang Liu’s ship will stay here for about a week for final border inspection before leaving Hua Continent’s territory.
When Ji Ning arrived, Huang Liu’s ship was due to reach here in one more day.
She then checked into a hotel and had Lin Yuanyang alter her identity information.
She is now called Bai Ning, a freelance photographer.
For this identity, she specially retrieved the Bai Family’s photography equipment worth hundreds of thousands from her space.
This was borrowed from Bai Yusen, just for this identity.
Ji Ning, carrying a massive photography bag, went to the seaside where the port was located, taking photos as she walked.
Since it is at Hua Continent’s border, maritime staff were visible everywhere, and many places prohibited photography.
Ji Ning was allowed to take photos one kilometer away from the harbor.
She wasn’t impatient, after taking some photos, she began her return, strolling through a street named Lotus Sea Lane.
The place had a strong local atmosphere, lined with seafood restaurants, seafood stalls, life supermarkets, and other shops.
Behind the shops were six-story old buildings, some of which had aged.
The street was crowded with pedestrians, mostly residents living nearby.
Ji Ning passed by restaurant after restaurant, eventually stopping at a restaurant named Liu Lianxiang Seafood Buffet Hotpot.
Directly across was a seafood shop.
The owner inside had a crippled leg.
