At 3:40 PM, Qin Chuan left the police station and continued driving to his next destination.
However, as he got into the car, Qin Chuan secretly cursed, "Old fox!"
Earlier in the office, Zhou Zongrong neither agreed nor refused. From Qin Chuan's experience as an insider, how could he not see that Zhou Zongrong was clearly suspicious?
He was even sure that Zhou Zongrong would immediately arrange for someone to investigate the truthfulness of his words.
After all, this matter was of great consequence. The head of a county suddenly inviting guests for a meal without any warning, and involving two-thirds of the important units in the county.
The deeper meaning behind this, anyone with a brain would proceed with extreme caution, guessing what this new county head was trying to do, perhaps gathering his own faction and building his power?
If that were the case, then no one who received the invitation would dare to ignore it, because the stakes were truly high.
Especially since this County Head Ye's background was very strong, and those who were paying attention might have already caught wind of something.
Qin Chuan was not worried either. Ye Qingping and Wang Ping'an knew that he was leveraging their authority. After all, they were already in the same boat, sharing prosperity and adversity.
Moreover, in a way, his actions this time also helped Ye Qingping and Wang Ping'an.
After tomorrow night, they would know how many people in this county were willing to stand on their side, how many would choose neutrality, and how many were aligned with the other party.
In fact, it was exactly as he thought. While Qin Chuan was visiting various influential figures, Wang Ping'an already received the news.
Upon learning that Qin Chuan was using their names without authorization, Wang Ping'an immediately went to report to Ye Qingping.
"This guy, he really dares to treat a chicken feather as an arrow!"
"His audacity knows no bounds!"
After hearing this, Ye Qingping threw away his pen and was furious.
He had been very curious about how Qin Chuan would gather so many people, knowing that it was by no means a simple task.
He never expected Qin Chuan to play such a trick, which infuriated him.
"He's clearly counting on the fact that we won't do anything to him!"
Wang Ping'an was also angry because Qin Chuan hadn't given them any heads-up beforehand.
"Heh!"
Suddenly, Ye Qingping, who had been angry, let out a light chuckle, which confused Wang Ping'an. He didn't understand how his superior, who was furious one moment, was now smiling the next.
"I know!"
Ye Qingping slammed the table heavily and stood up. "I know why Qin Chuan dares to be so reckless. What we discussed above is only part of the reason!"
"There's another reason!"
"What reason?"
Wang Ping'an's curiosity was piqued.
"Ping'an, do you think it benefits us for Qin Chuan to suddenly pull off this stunt in our name?"
Wang Ping'an pondered for a few seconds, then his head shot up, his eyes gleaming.
"After tomorrow night, we'll know which people in these various units are willing to stand with us, who will remain neutral, and who are beyond our reach..."
"Qin Chuan anticipated that we would understand his intentions, and that's why he dared to do this!"
Ye Qingping snapped his fingers, a smile playing on his refined face.
"This kid is really smart!"
"However, he's a bit too impulsive, which deviates from my original intention!"
Wang Ping'an chuckled, "He was forced into a corner, after all, he's facing Han Shifei this time, not some ordinary riff-raff."
"It's somewhat understandable!"
Ye Qingping looked at Wang Ping'an with a surprised gaze, "You're actually speaking up for him. It seems this kid really pleases you!"
Wang Ping'an sheepishly scratched his head, "It's not that I like him particularly, I just find this young man very interesting and compatible with my temperament!"
Time flew by, and it was already the next day.
Today, Qin Chuan acted out of character and stayed at the construction site, chatting with his elder brother over tea, and also supervising the progress of the real estate project.
Because he had visited all the necessary places yesterday afternoon, whether those people would attend was no longer within his control.
Around noon, he received a call from his second brother, Qin Er.
"Xiao Chuan, it's done!"
"Boss Yue from the sand quarry here is willing to cooperate with us!"
Qin Chuan's expression relaxed considerably, and he praised with a smile, "Well done! Be careful on your way back!"
In the afternoon, Zheng Chengdao also sent news. They had gathered basic intelligence on the three individuals.
Zhang Wenbo was Han Shifei's housekeeper and also served as his bodyguard.
Zhou Yitong, one of Han Shifei's mistresses, is thirty-four years old and the director of the Grain Bureau in Yongnan County.
Han Shihong, Han Shifei's brother, is also Han Shifei's confidant and is responsible for the usury projects.
In addition, Zheng Chengdao investigated and found that Han Shifei had five children. Three of them were abroad, and his original wife was also abroad.
In the county town, there was a third daughter named Han Yue, and the youngest son born to his current mistress, Zhou Yitong.
"This old fox, he probably made all sorts of preparations in advance!"
Upon hearing that Han Shifei had three children abroad and only a third daughter and the young son born to his current mistress, Zhou Yitong, in the country, Qin Chuan couldn't help but curse.
"There's another issue that doesn't add up, Brother Dao!"
Suddenly, Qin Chuan realized another problem.
"You said Zhang Wenbo also serves as Han Shifei's bodyguard. How old is he? Even if he knows martial arts, it must be very degraded by now, right? Could he really be a peerless master like in martial arts novels, with his inner energy deepening with age?"
On the other end of the phone, Zheng Chengdao was amused by Qin Chuan's words.
"Boss, where are there any peerless masters in this world? Let alone inner energy. The idea that inner energy deepens with age is pure nonsense!"
"However, while Zhang Wenbo may not have inner energy, he possesses a very formidable skill."
Qin Chuan asked curiously, "What skill?"
"Marksmanship!"
Zheng Chengdao slowly uttered two words, "This old man Zhang Wenbo is extremely skilled with a gun. His marksmanship is rumored to be excellent, and he's known as the 'Divine Marksman'."
"Divine Marksman?"
Qin Chuan was startled by this answer, it was too unexpected.
But he quickly calmed down and regained his composure.
Because Qin Chuan had already witnessed many people in this era who knew martial arts, such as his elder brother Qin Yang, Zheng Chengdao, Yao Dong, Bai Xiaoguang, and even he himself knew a few moves.
The appearance of a Divine Marksman now was really not worth being surprised about!
Zhang Wenbo was in his sixties. Calculating the time, the era he was born in was a truly chaotic period.
It was not strange that Zhang Wenbo, who survived, had some skills. It was even more normal for him to know how to use a gun.
The only thing to be aware of was that in the future, if he encountered a special situation, he would need to be cautious of this old man.
After all, bullets were too deadly. No matter how formidable you were, you couldn't withstand a small bullet.
"Besides this intelligence, is there any other information about Han Shifei?"
Qin Chuan asked again.
"For example, what relatives does he have, where are they employed? Are they also involved in Han Shifei's underground business?"
"Boss, I'm having people investigate that situation."
Zheng Chengdao replied.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"Instruct the brothers to be extremely careful and not to be discovered."
Qin Chuan said.