Sweeping Mouse Ridge – Chapter Six : 6

Just as Guo Xiaofen had predicted, after the training, Xing Qixian insisted on having Guo Xiaofen stay for a “simple meal.” Guo Xiaofen had been waiting for this opportunity, and after a few feigned refusals, she agreed. To her surprise, the restaurant was on the third floor, located at the other end of the corridor. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary staff canteen: glass partitions for kitchen food preparation, blue plastic tables and chairs, etc., but pushing open an inconspicuous, light-colored wooden door in the corner revealed a completely different world.

A thick, crimson Persian-patterned carpet, soft and supple underfoot, adorned a European-style dining table with antique mahogany and gilded details. A circle of cold dishes was already laid out: roast goose with vegetarian filling, shiitake mushrooms and chestnuts, honey-glazed eel, and sweet snails in fermented rice wine. A tapestry on the opposite wall depicted a pool of clear water and several enormous koi carp.

Below, on a long table, sat several uniquely shaped bronze and sandalwood incense burners, wisps of smoke rising gently. A beautiful waitress in a pink cheongsam stood in the corner, serving red wine, almost like a decorative element of the room. A lotus-shaped chandelier, crafted from pure bronze and jade, radiated a warm, gentle glow, illuminating the entire room in a dreamlike atmosphere. Everyone’s face seemed to have been edited with beauty filters, their sharp edges and wrinkles softened, creating an ethereal and harmonious ambiance.

“Reporter Guo, please take a seat!” Xing Qixian greeted Guo Xiaofen, who then sat down.

Guo Xiaofen sat down, staring in disbelief at the dishes the waiter brought out one after another: braised shark fin with crab roe, pan-fried lobster, grouper in black bean sauce, and braised goose liver in abalone sauce. Xing Qixian smiled and said, “The checks are too strict now, so we won’t go to a restaurant. We’ll just have a simple meal at home. Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality!”

Cui Wentao, Zhai Qing, Old Dou, Old Liao, the plump woman surnamed He, Zheng Gui, and others also sat down around the table. Soon, three more people arrived. One was Xing Qisheng’s son, Xing Yunda, a thin man with a particularly pale face who drank incessantly from the moment he sat down. Another was the director of Love Hospital, surnamed Li, a middle-aged man with a well-proportioned build. The third was Cui Yucui, the deputy director of Tongyou Nursery. This middle-aged woman seemed to have deliberately worn a tight-fitting dress, making her breasts and buttocks appear particularly large, attracting lewd glances from the other men at the table. During their drinks, the conversation turned to both risqué and suggestive topics. Only Xing Qixian stayed with Guo Xiaofen, serving her food, pouring her drinks, and occasionally inquiring about the “rules” of the media.

“I think the foundation’s handling of the media is still too backward overall. They always adopt an ostrich policy when faced with problems, which only makes the problems worse,” said Guo Xiaofen.

Zhai Qing, having drunk a little, became bolder again. Swirling his glass, he sneered, “Reporter Guo, I said a few things during the training that weren’t very pleasant to hear, and Vice President Xing interrupted me and gave me a lecture. That’s only right; he’s the leader, so it’s only right that he reprimands me. But now that the training’s over, let me be frank: we aren’t really afraid of public opinion. From ancient times to the present, money, power, and influence are what really matter. What’s public opinion anyway? What can they do? They can’t do anything!”

“Zhai Qing, if you can’t control your stinking mouth, get out of here!” Xing Qixian’s face changed drastically.

“Look at you, look at you, Vice President Xing, give me some face in front of outsiders…”

“What face do you want? You don’t even care about your own face; why should I give you one?”

“Why should I? Because I, Zhai Qing, have followed Chairwoman Tao for years, working tirelessly for her. I deserve all the credit and hard work!” Zhai Qing said, tearing open a button on his shirt, revealing a tuft of black hair on his chest.

Just as the atmosphere in the private room was growing increasingly tense, the small wooden door was pushed open, and a bald old man walked in. He might not actually be very old; his well-maintained face was smooth and radiant, but his back was slightly hunched, and his eyes were always fixed on the ground, giving the impression of someone suffering from dementia who couldn’t find his way home.

Xing Qixian called out, “Old Tao is here,” and then led the way in standing up. Everyone else in the room also stood up.

Guo Xiaofen knew that the old man must be Tao Bing, the honorary president of the Love Charity Foundation.

“He didn’t even invite me to dinner,” Tao Bing muttered discontentedly, then walked inside and stood next to Xing Qixian’s seat. Xing Qixian had to move aside, forcing everyone to shift seats. After a lot of clattering and adding chairs and cutlery, it took quite a while before everyone was seated again.

As Xing Qixian introduced Guo Xiaofen to Tao Bing, Tao Bing nodded and began to eat with his chopsticks. His hands trembled violently, but to Guo Xiaofen’s surprise, this didn’t affect his eating efficiency at all. He practically used his chopsticks like a catapult, his tongue flashing out the instant the chopsticks touched the food, tossing it in, twirling it, and landing it precisely in his mouth—swift, decisive, and without fail. When drinking sea cucumber porridge, he practically buried half his face in the bowl, slurping down the black and yellow pieces in a few mouthfuls. When he looked up, a few grains of millet clung to his stubble… Since seeing a wild boar rooting in bamboo shoots in his hometown of Longyan as a child, Guo Xiaofen hadn’t seen such a savage and greedy way of eating for at least twenty years.

“Eat slowly; don’t choke,” Xing Qixian advised with a smile.

“Slow down? If I eat any slower, I don’t know whose stomach it’ll end up in.” Tao Bing wiped his mouth with a tissue and looked at Guo Xiaofen, saying, “Are you a reporter?”

“I used to be, but I’ve left,” Guo Xiaofen said.

“Good riddance, good riddance…” Tao Bing slowly raised his glass of wine. “Ultimately, it’s detrimental to unity.”

Xing Qixian adjusted his glasses and smiled. “Mr. Tao, for the sake of the foundation’s unity, don’t you think it would be good to have Zhuoyao return as soon as possible?”

“I’d love for her to come back sooner, too.” Tao Bing took a big gulp of wine. “She didn’t even tell me before suddenly running off to Paris, and now I can’t find her!”

“If you want to find her, you can always find her,” Xing Qixian said.

“Why are you in such a hurry to bring her back?” Tao Bing narrowed his eyes at him. “Hoping she’ll make way for you sooner?”

Upon hearing this, Guo Xiaofen noticed that the old man’s gaze was unusually sharp and cold, as if two knives had suddenly been drawn.

However, Xing Qixian showed no fear: “Old Tao, I’m doing this for the foundation. These past few days have been tumultuous. Outsiders see us as a rock, but ask any of our brothers and sisters—isn’t everyone under immense pressure? From any perspective, Zhuoyao should return as soon as possible. If the case involves her, she’ll have to explain things to the police sooner or later; if it does not, she’s the leader of the foundation, and she has to shoulder the responsibility for our brothers and sisters—”

“Shoulder the responsibility, shoulder the responsibility! Count on your fingers how much I’ve shouldered for you all these years!!” Tao Bing’s cheeks trembled. “Take your elder brother, for example; if I hadn’t settled things for him in the province back then, he’d still be in jail!”

“He’s dead; why bring up old stories!” Xing Qixian avoided eye contact.

“Of course, you don’t want to bring it up, but I’m going to. Putting everything else aside, just this time you’ve caused such a huge mess. You keep telling people it’s because Little Zheng didn’t supervise his employees properly, but don’t you have any idea why your elder brother ended up like this?” Tao Bing pointed at Cui Yucui. “Ask her; she knows best!”

Cui Yucui dropped a piece of meat she was holding with her chopsticks into her plate. Her mouth was half open, poised to eat, her eyes darting around in a panicked manner.

Guo Xiaofen initially thought that Tao Bing’s words were clearly an attack on Xing Qisheng and that Xing Yunda, listening nearby, would definitely react violently, perhaps even overturning the table. However, to her surprise, Xing Yunda simply drank, one glass after another, without uttering a word, his face contorting and twitching incessantly.

“Mr. Tao, please have some more.” Old Liao stood up, took the red wine from the waiter, walked to Tao Bing, and poured wine into his glass while seemingly casually glancing at Guo Xiaofen. Tao Bing suddenly realized that in his excitement, he had forgotten there was an “outsider” in the private room. He quickly cleared his throat and asked Xing Qixian in a gentler tone, “Qixian, after all, the deceased should be respected. When will Qisheng’s funeral be held?”

Xing Qixian replied, “I went to the police station today. They said that after the criminal case is filed, the family can cremate the body if they have no objections. I’ve discussed it with Wentao and Old Zhai, and we’ll cremate the three children’s bodies first. As for when to cremate my brother’s body, we’ll see.”

Tao Bing naturally knew that “will see” meant Xing Qixian was using his elder brother’s corpse as leverage to bargain with the foundation. If they didn’t agree to his conditions, he would rather let the body rot until he completely ruined his reputation as honorary chairman. A sudden pang of panic gripped him. He took a sip of wine to calm himself, then sighed deeply, “Sigh, let’s cremate him as soon as possible, then pick a decent burial plot. The foundation can pay for it, so Qisheng can be laid to rest sooner. When he was alive, he would always get drunk whenever he came back to the province to see me. These past few years, whenever he was drunk, he would say the same thing: ‘Besides weddings and funerals, there’s very little that can bring us all together anymore!’ This time, we’ve finally managed to get together, so let’s all go and see him off!”

These words brought silence to the private room. After a moment, a low sigh and sobbing were heard—it was Cui Yucui, gently wiping the inner corner of her eye with her middle finger.

Only Xing Qixian wore a cold smile.

Tao Bing pretended not to notice and turned to Li, the Director of Love Hospital, asking, “Old Li, will this incident affect your hospital’s upcoming external publicity work?”

“It’ll definitely have some impact, but it isn’t a huge problem. After the incident, Vice President Xing immediately instructed us to sever ties with Tongyou Nursery, and we did as he said. Several children are coming from the province by train; they’ll arrive tomorrow… It’s just a pity that we probably won’t be able to find someone as eloquent as Little Wu anytime soon.”

“It’s alright. Children are very malleable; we’ll soon produce new Little Wus.” Tao Bing nodded and said to Cui Yucui, “You’ve worked hard these past few days. The nursery’s currently under investigation. Even if things calm down after such a big incident, it won’t be easy to resume operations. Go get some money from Old Zhai to settle the staff, and then you can come and work here!”

Cui Yucui was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. Sitting next to her, Zhai Qing couldn’t resist pinching her thigh, for which she slapped his hand hard.

At this moment, Zheng Gui said tremblingly, “Mr. Tao, you see, our Mingyi Company…”

Tao Bing looked at him and slowly said, “Young Zheng, no matter how you look at it, this matter is caused by your failure to manage your subordinates. Our foundation has been established for so many years, and the reason it has always gone smoothly is that any conflicts have always been resolved internally so as not to be a laughing stock for outsiders. But this fire by Sweeping Mouse Ridge is like burning our own people in front of the world—a disgrace! From my personal perspective, I certainly hope that you and Mingyi Company will continue to work normally under the leadership of the foundation. Of course, we must also be prepared for special circumstances.”

These words were cryptic, and Zheng Gui seemed to understand, yet also seemed to understand nothing at all. He stammered, “Mr. Tao, you’re right, you’re right, but I really didn’t expect Zhou Liping to be that kind of person…”

“If you can’t imagine it, you’ll have to bear the consequences!” Cui Wentao suddenly bared his buck teeth and cursed, “Do you even know that Sweeping Mouse Ridge’s fire has burned half the foundation’s sky down! Don’t you have any idea whether your own dog is a purebred or a mixed breed?!”

“Cui Wentao, I’ll fuck your mother!” Xing Yunda suddenly glared and roared, “Who the hell are you calling a mixed breed?!”

Cui Wentao blinked for a long time, still not understanding why he was being scolded. Xing Yunda was Xing Qixian’s nephew, a relationship he dared not offend. However, he was, after all, a government official with a position; to let a mere youth insult his mother without retaliation would damage his reputation in official circles. So, he stubbornly retorted, “I insulted Zhou Liping—”

Before he finished speaking, Xing Yunda hurled a wine glass at him!

Cui Wentao dodged to the side, and as fate would have it, Xing Yunda, having drunk too much, misjudged the situation, spilling the wine right on Guo Xiaofen, who was sitting next to Cui Wentao!

A gasp rippled through the private room. Xing Qixian and Cui Wentao rushed to hand Guo Xiaofen tissues, while Zhai Qing even jumped in to wipe her face. Guo Xiaofen, saying “It’s okay,” ran out of the room and into the hallway.

The other employees had already left. The empty hallway was eerily quiet. The motion-activated lights flickered on with each step, making the corridor seem even darker.

Guo Xiaofen found the restroom, went in, and closed the door. She tried to wipe the wine stains off her clothes with tissues, but after a long time, she couldn’t get them clean; it looked like a patch of blood… She thought it was lucky it was nighttime; no one would notice. She could just change when she got home.

She turned around, opened the bathroom door, and took only one step outside when she saw someone standing against the wall.

Startled, she screamed, “Ah!”

The scream instantly turned on all the lights in the hallway!

It was Xing Yunda, his hands in his pockets, his face pale, his eyes red: “I’m sorry; I just came to apologize to you.”

“It’s alright.” Guo Xiaofen suddenly felt a pang of pity for him. “What’s wrong with you? Zhou Liping is your father’s killer, and you’re still protecting him?”

“I drank too much…” Xing Yunda reeked of alcohol, his expression pained and dejected. “I still can’t believe Brother Zhou killed my dad. Brother Zhou was a righteous and upright man; in all my years, he’s the only person I admire… My dad was a bad guy; that’s true. He’d get his comeuppance sooner or later, but why Brother Zhou? Why Brother Zhou…?”