Urban Martial Saint

Zhao Chengshuang helplessly glanced at Li Lianshan and said, ”But they believe it’s because of Ye Zi that they were captured by Wang Tian’an. They feel that it’s the grudge between Ye Zi and Wang Tian’an that implicated them, leading to this outcome.”

”What the hell kind of reasoning is that!” Li Lianshan’s eyes widened as he exclaimed, ”So if they got into a car accident on the road, are they going to blame the car manufacturer? Because of the car manufacturer, that’s why they had an accident. If no one made cars, then they wouldn’t have accidents?”

Zhao Chengshuang didn’t respond to Li Lianshan, just gazing at Ye Qing. Li Lianshan was too impulsive, and there was no point in trying to explain to him. The current issue isn’t whether they should blame Ye Qing or not; it’s that they have already started blaming him, and the question is how Ye Qing should deal with this situation. After all, the results of their investigation will directly affect the Ye Qing Orphanage, which is of great importance to Ye Qing.

Ye Qing’s expression was calm, knowing what Zhao Chengshuang meant. Indeed, he was already prepared in his heart. After all, the arrests were undeniably linked to him.

”Let’s go.” Ye Qing took the lead walking upstairs, and Li Lianshan followed closely behind, anxiously saying, ”Ye Zi, what are you planning to do? These so-called leaders from the province are clearly here to give you a hard time, and perhaps they’re looking to gain something from it. Should I find someone to send some money over first?”

”Better not,” Ye Qing shook his head and said, ”I’m building the orphanage for the good of the children, I haven’t done anything shameful, nor do I plot anything improper. If they come for the inspection, I’ll let them see the truth, I have nothing to hide. If I bribe them with money, it would only suggest that I have something to hide.”

Li Lianshan urgently said, ”It’s not about that. Though you’re doing good deeds and there’s nothing dishonorable about it, the current social climate is what it is. Offering money can grease the wheels. If you want the orphanage to continue, you need to go with the flow. Spending some money to please these people may give us hope for the orphanage. For the sake of those children, what’s wrong with doing something against your conscience?”

Li Lianshan’s words plunged Ye Qing into silence once again. To be honest, he really was hesitating. For the sake of the children, he could indeed do many things against his conscience, including offering gifts and bribes. But he was still unwilling at heart; he was doing a good deed, so why must he bribe others to do it? Is it truly so difficult to do good deeds in this society?

As Ye Qing hesitated, the elevator doors suddenly opened, and several men and women walked out. Leading them was a man in his twenties, short in stature. However, his eyes were always looking sideways; from the moment he left the elevator, he never looked directly at anyone, as if no one was worth his attention.

This man behaved so arrogantly, yet the people around him were very respectful, always following beside him. The way they forced smiles showed how much they fawned over him.

While Li Lianshan was persuading Ye Qing, Zhao Chengshuang saw these people coming down and his expression changed; he quickly raised his voice and said, ”Young Master Huang, you’ve come down!”

Li Lianshan’s words were interrupted by Zhao Chengshuang, and as Ye Qing and Li Lianshan turned to look, Zhao Chengshuang hastily walked up to them and smilingly introduced, ”Come, come, come, Ye Zi, let me introduce you. This is Leader Huang Boxiong from the provincial inspection team, and the others are leaders of the inspection team. Young Master Huang, this is Dean Ye Qing I’ve mentioned to you, who founded the orphanage single-handedly!”

Seeing Huang Boxiong, Li Lianshan immediately clammed up, as the matter concerned Ye Qing’s orphanage. Although he was angry, he dared not say anything rash to avoid ruining Ye Qing’s important matters.

”Leader Huang, hello!” Ye Qing walked over and extended his hand with a smile, saying, ”Welcome to Shenchuan City to provide guidance!”

Huang Boxiong seemed not to see Ye Qing at all, completely ignoring Ye Qing’s extended hand and turning his head away, completely disregarding Ye Qing.

Zhao Chengshuang’s face showed a change of color; this Huang Boxiong was a Rich Second Generation from the province, often hanging out with other second-generation officials, rarely taking anyone seriously. Now that he had come down here, he was even more arrogant and despotic. Not to mention Ye Qing, even Zhao Chengshuang had little status in Huang Boxiong’s eyes, so how could Huang possibly give face to Ye Qing?

”What Dean Ye, what orphanage? The province hasn’t officially approved it yet; all that is illegal construction, it’s all illegal!” A man next to Huang Boxiong stepped forward, speaking with disdain, ”Don’t speak nonsense, whether your orphanage is legal or not hasn’t been officially determined yet. If the province doesn’t approve it, all of it will eventually be demolished, and your so-called Dean Ye will be left with nothing!”

As these words were uttered, the others around immediately laughed out loud, and a mocking smile passed over Huang Boxiong’s face as he glanced sideways at Ye Qing.

Li Lianshan’s face turned pale, about to erupt with anger, but Zhao Chengshuang pulled him back. Zhao Chengshuang knew Li Lianshan’s temper, hence he was always keeping an eye on him.

Ye Qing remained relatively calm, saying, ”The province hasn’t approved it yet, everything is pending. But, since you’re here to guide us, you’re our guests. My main goal for coming here was to invite you all for a meal and also report our work to you guys. I wonder if...”

”No need to say more, we don’t have time for that!” The man from before waved his hand, saying, ”Moreover, although the province hasn’t approved it, it’s not just ’pending’ as you claim. The result of our inspection can determine whether or not your orphanage gets approved. So, whether it’s pending or not, we have the say, do you understand?”

Ye Qing slightly furrowed his brows, feeling a surge of anger in his heart. However, since it involved the orphanage, even though he was outraged, he couldn’t lose his temper.

Ye Qing took a deep breath and said, ”Everything at the orphanage has been handled in accordance with the state’s regulations. I believe that all of you will definitely be satisfied with the conditions there!”

The man immediately laughed and said, ”Whether we are satisfied or not, it’s not up to you to decide, it’s up to us. Do you still not understand that?”

Li Lianshan could no longer hold back and said, ”What do you mean ’it’s up to you to say’? We have followed the national standards in everything we do, and, what’s more, our standards are even higher than the national requirements. Are you still going to say that we don’t meet the standards?”

”I...” Zhao Chengshuang was suddenly at a loss for words, looking over at Li Lianshan, but unexpectedly, he couldn’t keep things under control. It seemed that Li Lianshan’s statement was about to cause trouble.

Indeed, several people looked at Li Lianshan at the same time. The man who had spoken before even frowned more deeply and turned to Zhao Chengshuang, asking, ”Director Zhao, who is this? Is he also in charge of the orphanage?”

”No, no, he’s a friend of Dean Ye,” Zhao Chengshuang hurriedly waved his hands and said, ”He’s a local businessman from Shenchuan City, and he is very passionate about public welfare.”

”If you’re not in charge of the orphanage, then why are you running your mouth!” The man glared at Li Lianshan and demanded, ”What business do you have here? If it’s none of your business, why are you butting in?”

Li Lianshan became furious and, pointing at the man, shouted, ”How the **** do you talk to people? Damn your ancestors, dare to say that again and see if I don’t make sure you can’t leave Shenchuan City!”

The intimidating demeanor of the angry Li Lianshan was indeed frightening. The man had been quite arrogant before, but he was actually the kind of person who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Seeing Li Lianshan’s reaction, he really got scared and couldn’t help but quietly step back a bit.

”Director Zhao, look... he’s threatening me...” the man hastily called out to Zhao Chengshuang.

Zhao Chengshuang felt helpless and turned to look at Huang Boxiong, saying, ”Young Master Huang, Dean Ye is a good friend of mine. Actually, I often check on the orphanage myself. To be honest, the construction standards and all other standards there exceed the national requirements, and there definitely won’t be any problems. Could you perhaps make an exception this time? Ye Zi is just trying to do some good deeds. After all, if the orphanage were to be shut down, what would happen to all those children?”

Finally, Huang Boxiong turned his head to glance at Zhao Chengshuang, his gaze drifting away from Li Lianshan and eventually settling on Ye Qing. Staring at Ye Qing for a long while, Huang Boxiong then turned his head back towards Zhao Chengshuang and said, ”Director Zhao, whether the standards are met or not is not the key issue. Even if the construction doesn’t meet the standards, the worst-case scenario is to demolish and rebuild it according to the requirements. But for our inspection team, the key issue is that your friend’s background is not clean!”

As soon as this statement was made, Ye Qing, Zhao Chengshuang, and Li Lianshan were all taken aback.

”How... how is it not clean?” Zhao Chengshuang asked anxiously.

”Director Zhao, do I really need to spell it out?” Huang Boxiong slightly furrowed his brows and said, ”He’s right here in Shenchuan City. How he made his fortune, what business he’s in, and who he associates with – you can’t possibly be unaware, right?”

Ye Qing looked at Huang Boxiong and said, ”Yes, it’s true that I run a nightlife business. But I can guarantee that there is nothing illegal or criminal happening in my establishments.”

”Exactly, the clubs in Shenchuan City are all very legitimate, absolutely free from any illegal activities. Besides, the money Ye Zi has made from these businesses and directed towards charity, that’s even more commendable. Shouldn’t our country encourage such actions?” Zhao Chengshuang hastily said.

Huang Boxiong shook his head: ”What worries me is not what he does, but his enemies. What if one day, someone with a vendetta against him storms into the orphanage and causes trouble? What about the safety of those children?”

Ye Qing fell silent at once; Huang Boxiong’s words had hit the nail on the head. Incidents like these had already occurred twice, causing Ye Qing to place great emphasis on the safety of the orphanage. But even with this vigilance, it was impossible to guarantee that similar incidents wouldn’t happen again. After all, given the path Ye Qing was on now, he truly had no shortage of enemies!