Chereads / Chasing Wealth: GoldenEye / Chapter 51 - Persuasion

Chapter 51 - Persuasion

Lin Qiang suppressed his anger and opened the file belonging to Hao Wei. This matter was enough to convict Hao Wei. United Bank had always cracked down hard on this kind of behavior since its establishment.

As long as this unexplained amount appeared in Hao Wei's account, it would be decisive evidence. At that time, they would only need to ask Ling Chen to provide copies of the real documents, and they could report it up through Xia Xin's internal channels.

If they could get the regional office manager to personally look into it, even Rosa wouldn't be able to protect him.

Lin Qiang opened the last file, staring intently at every transaction on it.

"No problem..."

"No problem..."

"Normal..."

"Damn it!"

Finally, Lin Qiang slammed the table hard again.

Hao Wei's accounts were all normal. He only had two accounts domestically, with United Bank, everything was normal, withdrawals were few and scattered, all for daily expenses. As for overseas banks, Liu Ming had also made an effort and found his account at Citibank, but there he only occasionally remitted US dollars for his son, the amounts were normal and could all be matched with Hao Wei's normal income, with nothing suspicious at all.

Lin Qiang closed his laptop and held his head in thought.

"Could I... have been wrong..."

"Is Zhang Jiaming a gambler?"

"Does Zhang Jiaming owe high-interest loans?"

"Was Wang Jiaxin just using company money to buy insurance for himself?"

"..."

There was another knock on the door, and Zhang Jiaming's fat face peeked in again.

"Manager Qiang, you don't look well, are you alright?" Zhang Jiaming said with a grin, "Our audit team colleagues have some more troublesome questions."

Lin Qiang slowly raised his head, staring at Zhang Jiaming, considering all possibilities.

Should he threaten him? 

Would he be scared? Would he confess? Would he become a witness? 

Or would he alert them and give them a chance to destroy the evidence?

"Manager Qiang, what's wrong?" Zhang Jiaming felt a bit unnerved by the stare, "I... haven't done anything wrong, have I?"

"Huff..." Lin Qiang let out a long breath, stood up slapping the table, "It's nothing, I'll go to the meeting room and take a look."

He ultimately held back.

In fact, after the news of Hao Wei's arrest spread, Zhang Jiaming was prepared to confess, but he had obviously received some information and stopped just before. And now the situation was increasingly favorable to Hao Wei, making it almost impossible to threaten Zhang Jiaming into compliance with the material at hand.

"There must be... there must be something I've overlooked." Lin Qiang sighed inwardly.

In the corridor, Lin Qiang, whose clues had just been shut off, felt like he had hit a dead end, frustrated he activated GoldenEye again.

"One more time... I just need a small clue."

[Zhang Jiaming, Liquid Assets: 28,600 yuan.]

[Still owes alimony after divorce, long-term outlook is bearish.]

[Loss of main income, short-term outlook is bearish.]

[Fortune: None, Hao Wei.]

[Risk Factor: Accepting money, Lin Qiang.]

"Finally I can see it clearly..." Lin Qiang was secretly shocked.

Recently, he had been paying more attention, thinking through big and small matters, always ensuring to accumulate virtue without disregarding wealth, and now GoldenEye could finally see more details.

Accepting money... this had many interpretations. It could be in various forms; real estate, investments; debt collection, receiving accounts; it could be receiving gifts, or bribes. In any case, according to the system, this aspect of things was a risk factor for Zhang Jiaming. Whether it would become a setback or a success was uncertain.

However... what does the "Lin Qiang" after accepting money mean? What does the "Hao Wei" after none, in Fortune mean?

"After all this, is Hao Wei the God of Wealth, and I'm some kind of Jinx?" Lin Qiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a moment.

"Manager Qiang, what's wrong?" Seeing Lin Qiang's expression changing from bright to dark, Zhang Jiaming thought he was overly tired and gloated while advising, "Manager Qiang, don't work yourself too hard. If you really can't take it, go back and rest during the day."

"My energy is fine, I just need a place to shower," Lin Qiang scratched his neck, not having changed clothes or showered for two days, it seemed his body had started to smell.

"Well..." Zhang Jiaming had a thought and leaned in to whisper in Lin Qiang's ear, "I was just chatting with Team Leader Zeng, he's a bit tired too. At this time, we could all go out together to take a bath, get a foot massage or something."

Lin Qiang didn't know whether to scold him or praise him. Zhang Jiaming might not be good at other things, but he was an expert at figuring out ways to have fun. It was clearly audit time, with the audit staff working busily, and yet their leader was planning to go bathe —what a joke.

Zhang Jiaming continued to persuade, "Manager, actually, Team Leader Zeng is quite easy to get along with. How about I set up a meeting for you?"

Faced with Zhang Jiaming's suddenly softened attitude, Lin Qiang couldn't figure out what he was up to for a moment, and could only probe, "Zeng Baichuan and I don't seem to have much to talk about, right?"

"Hey!" Zhang Jiaming slapped his thigh hard, "Team Leader Zeng just looks fierce, but if you go along with him, he's actually quite nice."

"Go along? How?"

"Well..." After pondering for a moment, Zhang Jiaming lowered his voice, "Manager, you know best, this inspection has already achieved its purpose, it could end earlier. What I'm about to say... is just my personal speculation..."

Zhang Jiaming continued, lowering his voice even more: "Manager... sometimes our audit team targets people, not issues. If you retreat gracefully, wouldn't all the troubles be gone? I've inquired, Zeng Baichuan used to be Branch Manager Zhu Fengshan's subordinate. If you say a few nice words to him, let him put in a good word with Zhu Fengshan, maybe you won't have to go to Jiaoting, you could be transferred towards the city center. How is that not better than the current tense situation?"

Zhang Jiaming opened up and very "kindly" started planning for Lin Qiang: "Manager Lin, your outstanding ability is well-known... but let's think about it, why have things been so unfavorable recently? Leaders, it's all because of the leaders! Leaders do look at ability, but more crucially, they look at whether you listen or not! Think about it, no matter how capable a subordinate is, if they don't listen, how can the leader trust them! Rather than having such a threatening and disobedient person hover around, they would definitely want to get rid of them! So, Manager, sometimes you just need to go along with the leader's intentions, don't worry about right or wrong, and wouldn't everything be fine?"

"Oh..." Lin Qiang nodded, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and replied with a smile, "Zhang Jiaming, you're really working hard, starting to plan for me now."

"Not at all!" Zhang Jiaming said with an awkward smile, "I... know myself, I'm just a servant. I'm not like you, Manager. In this life, I just want to live peacefully, I just hope for national peace and prosperity, not stirring up too many things. Manager, to be honest, do we have any grudges? No! In the end, it's just one thing... you have your motives, I have my motives! Go along with the leaders, do what needs to be done, forget what you shouldn't know, and everything will be fine!"

"Hehe, since you've said so much, I won't hide it anymore." Lin Qiang's expression suddenly changed, squinting his eyes and smiling, "Who arranged for me and Zheng Shuai to stay in the basement on the first day we came?"

"I was working well here, and who tried every means to transfer me away?"

"Although I have thick skin, being transferred twice within a month, this level of insult is unacceptable, right? After such a humiliating experience, where else would dare take me in the future?"

"There are indeed many things I can turn a blind eye to. But who pushed me step by step towards a dead end?"

Lin Qiang said, patting Zhang Jiaming's shoulder: "Taking a step back, if I were a person who just muddled along, I wouldn't have been transferred here in the first place. My previous leader was someone who was much more outstanding than Hao Wei, and we had worked well together, but human nature caused many things to happen, causing him to no longer tolerate me."

"Previous leader... Manager Qian?"

"Yes, I wanted to work well at the Financial Street office." Lin Qiang said nostalgically, "Unfortunately, I have principles and won't unconditionally sacrifice my career."

"Manager Lin, what do you mean by that?"

"One day, you'll understand." Lin Qiang stared at Zhang Jiaming again, "At this point, it's you who should be thinking about an escape route. Whether it's the taxes Wang Jiaxin evaded, or the money you contributed to Hao Wei, I've found it all. After marketing sales reach a 100 million yuan, I will submit this evidence to the bank through personal connections. If the bank doesn't accept it, I'll give it directly to the Audit Office and the Banking Regulatory Commission. If that doesn't work, I'll give it straight to the media. Be prepared to face it."

"?!!!!"

Zhang Jiaming's pupils suddenly dilated, his feet went weak, and he staggered a few steps, trembling as he leaned against the wall. He thought Lin Qiang was at a dead end, which was why he said all those things he shouldn't have said.

But now he finally understood that Lin Qiang never rested. He was like a wild dog, biting and not letting go, with the momentum of mutual destruction.

"What are you talking about?! I don't understand... what tax evasion... what contributions?"

"Hehe." Lin Qiang chuckled, "Don't be afraid, you're not the mastermind, just an accomplice."

Lin Qiang said, frowning himself: "Wait... if he wants to, turning you from an accomplice into the mastermind doesn't seem too difficult, does it?"

"The bank representative when Wang Jiaxin bought the insurance plan was you, Zhang Jiaming, right?"

"This is really not easy to handle..." Lin Qiang muttered, pursing his lips, "If something goes wrong, Hao Wei can pretend to know nothing and push everything onto you. Also, you better think carefully about how to explain that disappearing bonus every month."

"Bonus... even that you..." Zhang Jiaming was already in a complete mess, speaking incoherently.

Fear and self-preservation, these were Zhang Jiaming's weaknesses. He was a person who hoped to idle in the bank for a lifetime, and what he feared most was nothing more than losing this job.

"Hehe, Hao Wei's hidden account was really quite well-hidden. It took me quite a long time to find it." Lin Qiang raised his eyebrows at Zhang Jiaming, "That account is quite interesting, isn't it?"