After his conversation with Yu Mingyuan, Tang Baiqing left by car on his own.
Su Tianyu returned to the car, furrowing his brow as he asked Yu Mingyuan, "Brother Yu, what did he say?"
"Tang Baiqing said it wasn't the Wharf Gang's people, but he'll push them to investigate," Yu Mingyuan replied. He then asked, "Tianyu, if it's not the people from the dock, who else could have done this?"
Su Tianyu hesitated before responding, "Apart from the dockworkers, the only other group that has a grudge against us and might be jealous or seeking revenge is Changqing Company, with Lu Feng and his people."
Yu Mingyuan thought for a moment. "Go and have a direct conversation with Lu Feng. Lay it all out. Just ask him if he did it."
Su Tianyu's face turned slightly frustrated. "If I go and talk to Lu Feng, we'll probably end up stabbing each other with knives before the conversation even starts."
Yu Mingyuan glanced out the window. "Tomorrow, I'll send someone with you for backup. We'll handle this with two approaches. We need to figure out where the problem is first."
"Alright." Su Tianyu nodded and started the car. "Brother Yu, apart from this matter, did Tang Baiqing mention anything else to you?"
Yu Mingyuan gave him a surprised look. "He said the Wharf Gang is eyeing our business and might want to invest."
"Ah." Su Tianyu nodded but didn't pursue the topic further.
...
About an hour later, Su Tianyu returned to the garbage yard. He sat down with Su Tianbei, Su Tiannan, Bai Hongbo, and Kong Zhenghui to discuss the situation. However, everyone still knew very little, and they weren't sure who had taken the people and the goods. All they could do was wait and let the higher-ups find the connections and investigate the matter.
In the early morning hours, everyone was still agitated about the lost goods and people. No one could sleep, so they all sat together in the garbage yard, waiting for the day to break.
During this time, Zhang Hao's mother arrived, crying as she asked Su Tianyu where her son was. Su Tianyu didn't have an answer for her either but could only join Su Tiannan and the others in reassuring her, telling her that nothing had happened to Zhang Hao, that connections had been made, and he would be back soon. They promised that the Yu family would handle it.
By the time morning came, around eight o'clock, Su Tiannan had finally located Lu Feng's whereabouts.
After the incident at Fumallou, Lu Feng had been recuperating for more than two months. Since his discharge, he had been in a very low mood, and the company had been handling itself without his involvement. For the past few days, he had been at a temple on Qiushan Mountain, trying to recover his mindset.
Apparently, Lu Feng was a devout Buddhist. Every 1st and 15th of the month, he would go up the mountain to spend a couple of days, eat vegetarian meals, and pray with his prayer beads.
It's ironic that a man involved in shady businesses, running organizations, and dealing in illicit activities, is also a lay Buddhist disciple. It's almost laughable.
...
At around 10 a.m., Yu Mingyuan sent one of his friends to meet Su Tianyu at the garbage yard.
After a brief conversation, Su Tianyu, along with Bai Hongbo, Kong Zhenghui, and the other person, drove to Qiushan Temple to meet Lu Feng, intending to have a heart-to-heart conversation with him.
On the way to the temple, Su Tianyu noticed that Yu Mingyuan's friend had perfect posture while driving, and there were several military passes with unit logos in the lower-left corner of the windshield.
"Are you from the military?" Su Tianyu asked with a smile.
"Yeah," the man replied curtly, showing no intention of discussing the matter further.
Since the man didn't want to talk about it, Su Tianyu didn't press the issue. He continued talking to Bai Hongbo and Kong Zhenghui throughout the journey.
...
Qiushan Temple, nestled against the mountains with a view of the sea, was an incredibly picturesque location. It was Sunday, and many people had come to the temple to pray.
After arriving, they parked the car in the visitor's parking lot. The hot sun blazed down as Su Tianyu followed the others for a few steps before turning to Bai Hongbo.
"You come up with this guy. I'll stay down here, so things don't get heated with Lu Feng."
"What? You're not scared of getting into trouble?" Bai Hongbo asked, his voice incredulous.
"You take the heat; go on," Kong Zhenghui added.
Yu Mingyuan's friend smiled at Su Tianyu's comment and turned to say, "It's fine. I'm here. He won't dare act up."
"Go on, I'll wait here," Su Tianyu added.
Reluctantly, Bai Hongbo joined Yu Mingyuan's friend to ascend the mountain.
Meanwhile, Kong Zhenghui, smoking a cigarette, furrowed his brow and asked, "Do you think it was Changqing Company?"
"It's hard to say," Su Tianyu shook his head.
"I've been thinking, maybe it wasn't the Wharf Gang," Kong Zhenghui murmured. "If they were really jealous, they'd have just talked to us directly, right? Why all the masks and secrecy?"
Su Tianyu fell into deep thought. "I haven't figured it out yet."
As they stood in the parking lot talking, Bai Hongbo and Yu Mingyuan's friend reached the temple's dining hall. The place was busy, filled with tourists who were staying at the temple.
After inquiring around, they found Lu Feng in the courtyard. About ten minutes later, a young monk led Bai Hongbo and the other man to a pavilion.
Seeing Bai Hongbo and Yu Mingyuan's friend, Lu Feng was momentarily stunned.
"What do you want from me?" Lu Feng shot an intense look at Bai Hongbo.
Bai Hongbo, though somewhat intimidated, steeled himself and responded, "We need to ask you something. Su Tiannan sent us with a message."
Lu Feng's lips twitched, and his hair was messy in the breeze. He didn't respond immediately.
"Last night, we hung the cargo out on the sea, and it got taken. There's bad blood between us, so I won't beat around the bush. Was it you who took it?" Bai Hongbo spoke in a direct manner, his words smooth.
Lu Feng squinted at Bai Hongbo but still didn't speak.
"If it was you, let's talk openly and stop hiding behind all these games," Bai Hongbo continued. "You know, this business isn't just ours; there are bigger players behind it. Understand?"
At this point, Lu Feng was seething with frustration. Since the infighting in the sanitation sector in Zhanan, he had not only lost his standing but also lost out on a lucrative deal. The people under him, like Hua Chen and others, had been arrested. After his recovery, Li Hongze and others had started blaming him. The infighting in Changqing Company had also caused more conflicts, so he had been hiding up in the mountains to relax. But now, these people had found him and were speaking in code?
Lu Feng clenched his fists. After a long silence, he trembled as he said, "Get the hell out of here. I don't want to deal with you here in the temple!"
Bai Hongbo eyed him sharply. "Then... you better tell me. Did you take the cargo or not?"
"F*** you, if you don't leave now, I'll kill you!" Lu Feng's anger exploded, and he stepped forward, ready to grab Bai Hongbo's collar.
"Wait."
At that moment, Yu Mingyuan's friend stepped in between them and blocked Lu Feng.
"Get out of my way!" Lu Feng yelled.
"I'm Li Tao, a friend of Yu Mingyuan," the tall man stood firm, looking directly at Lu Feng. "The sea trade has some ties with the military. We're not here to make trouble, do you understand?"
Hearing this, Lu Feng froze for a moment.
"I just want to know. Did you take the cargo?" Bai Hongbo stepped behind the man, his voice unwavering.
Lu Feng glared at the man, his face contorting with anger. After a long pause, he cursed, "I didn't take anything! I came up here to rest after being discharged. How could I have taken it?!"
Li Tao stood stunned for a moment. "So it wasn't Changqing?"
"It wasn't used. We don't work in that circle," Lu Feng replied. "Even if we wanted to, we'd only hijack goods, not mess with people or go into the water."
Li Tao looked at him, still confused. "So you know the details? That means you've heard about it?"
Lu Feng held back his anger, his voice cold. "Last night, Li Xing, that fool, called me too, asking if I was involved. I don't know why you three families keep coming to ask me about it."
Li Tao fell silent.
"The people who work in the sea don't mess around unless they're a rookie," Lu Feng added. "Five or six speedboats go out, and they move freely. Do you really think no one in the sea trade knows about it?"
With that, Lu Feng turned and walked away.
Li Tao stared for a moment before calling out, "Let's go."
"A tough guy, and he's into Buddhism," Bai Hongbo muttered under his breath. "What a waste."
"Go to hell!" Lu Feng shouted back as he descended the mountain.
...
Twenty minutes later, at the base of the mountain.
"It wasn't Lu Feng, and it probably wasn't Changqing either," Bai Hongbo said, turning to Su Tianyu. "When I spoke with him, he was so pissed off, he almost seemed depressed."
Su Tianyu nodded, not saying anything further.
Back at the garbage yard, after Yu Mingyuan's friend left, Su Tianyu called Kong Zhenghui aside and asked, "Let's not focus on who did this yet, but I want to know—why did they hijack the goods and take people away without showing their faces?"
"To make you anxious, so they can talk later," Kong Zhenghui answered.
"Why target us?" Su Tianyu asked.
"You don't need to think too hard. They're after business!" Kong Zhenghui said, his tone a little sarcastic. "If they just wanted money, they would have contacted you already."
"Right now, the split is 30% for our three families, 30% for Tang Baiqing, and 40% for the Yu family." Su Tianyu lowered his voice and added, "If they're after business, who's going to lose out?"
Kong Zhenghui froze for a moment.
"The supplies are from the Yu family, the connections are Tang Baiqing's, and in this business, only the logistics can be replaced." Su Tianyu stared at Kong Zhenghui. "Do you understand what I mean?"
The two exchanged glances for a long while.
"Do you have any connections at the dock?" Su Tianyu suddenly asked.
Kong Zhenghui's face went pale. "Damn, now that you mention it, I remember when the Wharf Gang hijacked from us, you asked me the same thing..."