438: Chapter 432 Xiaoyu 438: Chapter 432 Xiaoyu Vice County Magistrate Zhao’s call of “godfather” left several people in the room dumbfounded.
The driver following her had already rolled up his sleeves, fully prepared for action.
As soon as Vice County Magistrate Zhao gave the order, he was ready to pounce like a hungry tiger and pin down the Chen Hai before him.
But now, the Vice County Magistrate Zhao, who had come down from Capital City with quite a reputation, was actually calling this young man godfather?
What was this all about?
He exchanged puzzled looks with the secretary named Xiaofen.
In their minds, probably a myriad of thoughts were wildly running amok.
“You are…” Chen Hai was equally baffled and a bit lost.
The Vice County Magistrate Zhao in front of him did look vaguely familiar.
After hearing the term “godfather,” he took another good look at Vice County Magistrate Zhao, and tentatively asked, “Xiaoyu?”
The Xiaoyu he mentioned was naturally Bai Xiaoyu, one of Bai Baoshan’s children.
In his memory, Bai Xiaoyu was still a child, immature and youthful.
However, the woman before him, Vice County Magistrate Zhao, bore the surname Zhao instead of Bai and, in terms of age, was already a middle-aged woman.
Women change considerably by the time they turn eighteen, and after a long gaze at Vice County Magistrate Zhao, Chen Hai could only see a faint trace of Bai Xiaoyu from his memories.
Although he had called out this name, he wasn’t quite certain whether they were the same person.
“Hai, Hai’s come back, I must quickly make him braised pork; it’s his favorite…” Among the few people in the room, only Jiang Meixian still had a vacant look, her expression unchanged.
As soon as she saw there were strangers present, she began muttering mystical phrases and prepared to get up to go to the kitchen.
Hastily pulling her back, Chen Hai consoled her with a few words and finally managed to have her sit back down on the sofa obediently.
Vice County Magistrate Zhao opened her mouth as if to say something.
However, suddenly remembering there were others present, she didn’t continue, merely sweeping her gaze with a hint of authority over the few people beside her.
“Vice County Magistrate Zhao, please go ahead with your work.
Sister Mei, Brother Zhang, let’s go out and take a walk…” Xiaofen, the secretary who had been following Vice County Magistrate Zhao for several years, naturally understood her intentions.
She quickly beckoned to Wang Dimei and the driver, and they all walked out.
Not until the door shut and their figures completely disappeared did Vice County Magistrate Zhao speak again, “Godfather, you guessed right, I am Bai Xiaoyu.”
“But now, my name is Zhao Yu.”
“I couldn’t help it.
After I graduated from college and wanted to pursue a political career, I took my mother’s surname because my father had a criminal record.”
“Of course, the main reason I got into politics was that godmother helped me pave the way…”
Talking about this matter, Bai Xiaoyu, who was now Zhao Yu, couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
The Chen Hai before her eyes hadn’t changed much from the godfather Chen Hai in her memory.
With just one glance, she recognized him.
She didn’t understand why, after so many years, her godfather Chen Hai was still so youthful.
Why hadn’t the passage of time left any mark on his face?
But as a junior, she was very well-behaved and didn’t ask about things she didn’t understand.
After all, she knew that her godfather had always been enigmatic and profound and seemed to possess many magical skills that others did not know.
Something like unchanged appearance happening to others might be shocking.
But when it came to her godfather Chen Hai, Zhao Yu felt that she could reluctantly accept it!
“Where’s your dad, Xiaoyu?” Chen Hai asked upon hearing Zhao Yu’s explanation and nodded.
Her age, graduating from university and starting a career in politics, rising to the position of a deputy county magistrate, was quite normal.
Her biological father, Bai Baoshan’s affairs, even with Ye Qingqing’s assistance, were still a stain.
This stain had actually determined that Zhao Yu couldn’t rise too high in her political career.
Otherwise, with a little effort from her godmother Ye Qingqing, her position would be more than just a deputy county magistrate.
When the subject turned to her father Bai Baoshan, Zhao Yu fell silent.
After a while, she finally continued, “Working for you, our family, at that time, was actually living quite well!”
“But my dad just couldn’t stay put.”
“The second year after you disappeared, he and Brother Xiaohang went to Xiangjiang, claiming they were robbing the rich to help the poor, planning to do something big!”
“But in the end, not much time had passed before we received the terrible news that he and Brother Xiaohang had died in Xiangjiang.”
“They said that during that incident, a group of ruthless bandits kidnapped Richest Person Li’s eldest son and successfully extorted one billion.”
“My dad and Brother Xiaohang were planning to go after that money.”
“But the bandit leader was quite heartless, putting a large number of bombs in the vehicle with the cash.”
“My dad and Brother Xiaohang were caught off guard when the bandit leader detonated the bombs, and they all died together.”
…
Talking about her father Bai Baoshan, Zhao Yu was filled with sorrow, but her words clearly contained a hint of resentment for his ambition.
Perhaps it was her dissatisfaction with her father that led her to change her surname to Zhao and not continue as Bai.
Hearing Zhao Yu put it that way, Chen Hai sighed a few times and fell into silence.
Zhao Yu mentioned the notorious gang leader in question was unmistakably Zhang Zihao from Xiangjiang, the most fearsome thug there was.
This guy had been thwarted by Bai Xiaohang twice, each time left to desire both heaven and death.
Without needing to guess, it was clear that deep down, he harboured an intense hatred towards Bai Xiaohang and his associates.
After finally pulling off a big score and acquiring a billion, Bai Xiaohang and Bai Baoshan had the audacity to attempt an interception midway and target this sum of money?
Given Zhang Zihao’s ferocity, losing his mind and triggering an explosion to annihilate both himself and the Baos alongside him was within the bounds of reason.
Following their fortune in Hao River and Xiangjiang, Bai Xiaohang had become somewhat overconfident, clearly underestimating the heroes of the underworld.
Little did they know that when they worked with Chen Hai, their tasks, though seemingly easy and relaxed,
were preceded by Chen Hai’s numerous divinations.
He already had a deep understanding of the adversary’s every move and all the potential responses.
With such preparation, Bai Xiaohang’s endeavors naturally met with instant success.
Without Chen Hai, even though one had good marksmanship and the other possessed incredible strength, rushing in recklessly like this could easily lead to mishaps!
“Tian Mingjian and Xiang Dong didn’t go with Bai Xiaohang to Xiangjiang?”
“What’s the current situation with the two of them?
Xiaoyu, do you have any idea?”
After a long moment of silence, Chen Hai asked again.
In the Capital City, he only had a few brothers under his command.
Now that Bai Xiaohang and Bai Baoshan were confirmed dead in Xiangjiang, he naturally desired to know the condition of the remaining two.
“More than a decade ago, Uncle Tian had a conflict with the child of some influential figure.”
“In a fit of anger, he killed that person and became wanted.
Despite being hunted, he eventually escaped abroad.”
“And what about Uncle Xiang?”
Glancing at Chen Hai with a hint of peculiarity, Zhao Yu added, “Didn’t you have some land, with plans to build a club?”
“After your sudden disappearance, Uncle Xiang and my father successfully built that place up, naming it ‘Heaven and Earth.'”
“The club’s business was always managed by Xiang Dong, and initially, the business was indeed booming.”
“But later on, due to some issues, the club was shut down, and Uncle Xiang took on all the blame, getting sentenced to life imprisonment…”
What kind of business was the club involved in to be taken so seriously, leading to a life sentence for Xiang Dong?
Zhao Yu didn’t go into details.
But even without her saying, Chen Hai could guess.
Private clubs like that were only involved in a few things: prostitution, gambling, and drugs.
They probably wouldn’t dare meddle with drugs, but as for prostitution and gambling, that was less certain!
“As long as one is alive, all is well…” Knowing the situation of Xiang Dong and Tian Mingjian, Chen Hai stayed silent for a while before heaving a sigh.
Perhaps it was because of him that the fates of these people had drastically altered.
In the two or three decades of his absence, none of their outcomes seemed favorable!
One’s power is ultimately limited, faced with such a situation, even Chen Hai couldn’t help feeling a profound sense of helplessness.
“Dad, where have you been all these years?”
“Mom has always been worried about you, waiting for you with such hardship.”
“Grandpa Chen and Grandma Meixian are getting old and their health isn’t good, mom is very concerned about them.”
“Because her status doesn’t allow her to come here easily, originally, I worked at the Ministry of Commerce.
It was mom who sent me to Liuyuan County to take care of the elderly.”
…
Finally, Zhao Yu mentioned her godmother, Ye Qingqing.
In fact, recognizing her, Chen Hai knew that her presence in Liuyuan was Ye Qingqing’s doing.
“I am the one who failed Qingqing, I am the one who let her down!”
“Now she is the wife of a vice president, knowing she is well makes me feel somewhat relieved!”
Speaking of Ye Qingqing, a bitter taste suddenly filled Chen Hai’s heart.
While his heart was filled with remorse, his words seemed uncontrollably infused with a trace of bitterness.
“Mom married Vice President Li also out of force, with no other choice.”
“Her family could lavish upon her all the glories, but she was equally helpless in some matters.”
“You don’t know how hard her family pressed her at that time.”
“In fact, I can see that in mom’s heart, from the beginning to the end, there has only ever been you…”
Zhao Yu continued to speak, explaining.
To be truthful, she didn’t have much interaction with her godfather, Chen Hai.
On the contrary, her relationship with her godmother, Ye Qingqing, was definitely much closer.
As a woman herself, she could feel how much her godmother suffered during the two or three decades of Chen Hai’s absence.
In this moment, she naturally spoke as much good as she could on behalf of Ye Qingqing.