As Zhang He vanished from this world, it seemed as if everything had come to an end.
Xincheng Group's business expanded ever more. Mr. Huang acquired one company after another that had opposed him in the past, and most of those business owners didn't meet a good end.
Before long, Xincheng Group became the largest real estate enterprise in the city.
Xu Min and I reaped plenty of benefits from this. I started living a semi - retired life, while Xu Min gradually faded out of the public eye and began traveling far and wide.
After that, Xincheng Group's operations grew increasingly standardized. Its construction quality was solid, and not a single tax payment was missed.
...
Sometimes, I think of Zhang He. I feel a bit of admiration for him, but more so, regret. He was like an egg crashing against a stone, reckless in a way. Now, when I recall the day he died, it's rather tragic. Even as he rolled his eyes and took his last breath, he still didn't give up leaving clues to the world. Yet, after that day, the taxi was sent for scrapping, and he left no evidence behind.
In the years that followed, that uncompleted building became a persistent worry for Mr. Huang. It was built with shoddy materials, and no one could tell when it might collapse. But Mr. Huang never addressed it, as he didn't know how to. Until 2022, when Mr. Huang's son returned from studying abroad and brought up the issue of the uncompleted building. Mr. Huang wanted Huang Xian to take over Xincheng Group, and he knew that if this uncompleted building wasn't dealt with, he couldn't feel at ease letting his son take the reins. So in October 2022, Mr. Huang declared Xincheng Real Estate bankrupt. Soon after, he hired a construction team to demolish the uncompleted building and compensated all homebuyers based on the prices in the original contracts. The compensation was meager, but it was better than nothing.
...
It seemed as if everything had ended like this. But one day, there was a knock on my door. I opened a crack and saw Wang Changping at my doorway. I quickly opened the door, ready to let him in. But when the door opened, I saw police officers all behind him. It turned out he had cancer in Malaysia and had very little time left. Before dying, he wanted to see his daughter, so he contacted the embassy. And then, I was arrested.
...
"Officer, that's all I know."