Lu Ming and Jiang Mengxin's shared insights were both valid, and at this moment, Su Wanran felt a pang of jealousy.
What else could one expect? They were a couple, after all, and always thought along the same lines.
Su Wanran felt a sourness well up inside her.
Suddenly, the conference room door opened, and Bian Ru walked in. As the head chef of Mingyue Zhai, he shouldn't have been present at such a meeting, but his expression was grave, indicating he had something important to say.
He entered the conference room and began, "I overheard your discussion just now. Actually, regarding the Wu family's channels, I might be able to provide some clues."
Oh?
No one had expected Bian Ru to have any leads.
After all, from what they could see, this matter didn't seem to involve him much.
Su Wanran asked, "Bian Ru, do you have any special clues? Let's hear them."
Bian Ru replied, "As you all know, although Hu Zimin of the Wu family and I are fellow disciples, we have an irreconcilable enmity. Ever since I left the mental hospital, I've been keeping an eye on him. Recently, I've noticed some unusual behavior; he keeps visiting meat processing plants. These are places where substandard meat is processed and disposed of. Logically, Hu Zimin shouldn't be going there; he should be heading to places with high-quality meat. I didn't understand why before, but after listening to your discussion, I realize what's going on—this guy is making ill-gotten gains!"
This was an unexpected bonus.
Lu Ming asked, "Do you know the specific meat processing plants Hu Zimin has been visiting?"
Bian Ru nodded confidently, "There are three in total, and I know all of them. I can give you the exact addresses right now."
"Good!"
Lu Ming handed Bian Ru an A4 paper and a black pen, asking him to write down the addresses.
After receiving the detailed addresses, Lu Ming said with confidence, "Give me one night. By tomorrow morning, I'll have evidence from these three processing plants."
Meanwhile.
Jiang Mengxin said, "I actually have a few ideas about the dual accounting. I'll be taking action tonight as well, aiming to get the accounts by tomorrow morning."
Tsk tsk.
Lu Ming glanced at Jiang Mengxin. "What ideas do you have?"
Jiang Mengxin chuckled. "I can't tell you that. Just wait and see."
She was being quite mysterious.
Once everything was discussed, Lu Ming and Jiang Mengxin parted ways, and a counterattack against the Wu family and Wu Lingxuan officially began!
Watching them leave the conference room, everyone was filled with admiration.
"Truly, when a couple is of one mind, their strength can break through metal."
"With the help of Mr. Lu and the Jiang family head, our Su family is truly blessed. What great fortune this is."
"They are the perfect golden couple, making one envious just by looking at them."
These people lavished praise, completely disregarding Su Wanran's expression, which was turning green!
She was angry, furious.
But there was nothing she could do.
Su Wanran had a sense of foreboding. She vaguely felt that Lu Ming was drifting further and further away from her, as if an irresistible force was binding Jiang Mengxin and Lu Ming together.
What is not yours, you can never possess.
...
Ten o'clock at night, in the northern part of the city, a meat processing plant.
Even at this late hour, the processing plant had not stopped working. The sounds of machinery processing could still be heard. However, they weren't processing substandard meat; instead, they were giving the meat special treatment, making it appear normal.
The first step to making ill-gotten gains began here.
A black sedan stopped at the entrance of the processing plant. The door opened, and Lu Ming stepped out. Listening to the busy sounds of the machinery, he chuckled.
"Still so busy at this late hour, quite diligent."
"It makes one wonder how much more garbage meat will flood the market, poisoning innocent disaster victims."
Closing the car door, Lu Ming walked towards the main gate.
Before he reached the gate, he was stopped by two security guards.
"Who are you?"
"Halt!"
The two security guards blocked Lu Ming's path, scrutinizing him from head to toe.
"It's the middle of the night, what are you doing at the processing plant? Trying to steal something?"
Lu Ming glanced at the processing plant and had no intention of wasting words with the two guards. He directly stepped forward to barge in.
"Hey, what are you doing? Stop!"
"You dare to force your way in? I'll beat you to death, you scoundrel!"
The two security guards each pulled out their electric batons and swung them towards Lu Ming. But before the batons could hit Lu Ming, the two guards felt a powerful force on their stomachs.
With no time to react, they were both violently kicked away by Lu Ming.
With a clang and a bang, the two security guards slammed hard against the main gate, writhing in pain.
Lu Ming pushed the gate open and continued inside. At the same time, one of the guards triggered the alarm, alerting those inside to the intrusion!
Soon, a large group of people armed with weapons rushed out.
Iron bars, shovels, steel rods, chains, machetes – they had all sorts of weapons. Most terrifyingly, the leader had a handgun tucked into his waistband!
This was clearly a setup to kill Lu Ming.
Before they could act.
A figure appeared on the second-floor corridor of the processing plant – the factory manager.
He sized up Lu Ming and sneered, "I've seen plenty of fools, but this is the first time I've seen one as foolish as you. Who are you? What are you doing at my processing plant in the middle of the night? Come to die?"
The manager was genuinely curious about Lu Ming's intentions.
Lu Ming looked up towards the second floor, his eyes meeting the manager's.
Lu Ming said calmly, "I'm here to seek the truth."
"Truth?" The manager was taken aback, not understanding.
Lu Ming continued, "After the earthquake, disaster victims keep falling ill. I suspect there's a problem with the meat provided by the food stations. According to my investigation, a large portion of the Wu family's meat is sourced from your processing plant. But as far as I know, all the meat from your processing plant should be substandard and meant for disposal. Why is it being sold to the Wu family? What kind of shady deal do your processing plant and the Wu family have?"
After he finished speaking, an silence fell over the scene.
How could this hidden operation be discovered by Lu Ming? This person was not simple!
However...
The manager suddenly burst into laughter. "I don't know whether to call you smart or foolish. The fact that you could uncover so much indicates you're not unintelligent; but you actually charged into a dragon's den alone. Isn't that seeking death? As stupid as a pig. Do you expect to persuade me to abandon the evil and embrace the good, to voluntarily give up the profits of our cooperation with the Wu family and turn myself in to the police?"
Whether he surrendered or not was a separate matter.
What Lu Ming cared about most now were two words: the truth!
He asked sternly, "So, what is the truth?"
The manager spread his hands. "Do I need to say? The Wu family buys garbage meat from me at a low price, then uses it to deceive disaster victims, pocketing the donation money."
Lu Ming pressed on, "You're cooperating with the Wu family like this?"
The manager smiled. "It's meat that needs to be disposed of anyway. We might as well sell some of it. It's like picking up free money. After selling it, we also save the cost of disposal. And the Wu family promised us a substantial kickback afterward. Killing three birds with one stone, why wouldn't we?"
So that's how it was.
Everything was clear now.
Lu Ming nodded and said, "Alright, now I understand everything. Manager, since you've truthfully explained the situation, I'll give you a way out. You should go to the police station with me and surrender now. If you do, your sentence will be lighter, and you'll be out in four or five years."
Huh?
The manager acted as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, laughing so hard he was almost doubled over.
The other employees were all roaring with laughter.
"Are you sick? You want me to surrender?" The manager clutched his aching stomach. "Do you think I told you all this because I had a change of heart? Hahahaha. I just pity you, letting you know the truth so you don't die with regrets, you idiot. The moment I told you the truth, I never intended to let you leave my processing plant alive!"
It wasn't just about not letting Lu Ming leave.
The manager grinned maliciously and said, "You said my processing plant's meat was substandard and would make disaster victims sick? Fine, I'll listen to you and change things."
He pointed at Lu Ming. "Tonight, I'm going to dismember you, chop you into pieces, put you in the blender, and make meat dumplings to send to the food stations for the disaster victims to eat! You're such a righteous person, your meat must be very healthy, right? The disaster victims will be full of energy and vitality after eating your meat, won't they? Hahahaha."
The manager waved his hand. "What are you all standing around for? Take this fool who doesn't know his place and kill him!"