Chapter Ninety: Frozen Accounts

Outside the tin-roofed office, machinery roared, yet within the room there was an almost uncanny stillness.

After a long while, Zhao Zekun lifted his head and looked at Junzi, who had been waiting anxiously nearby.

“There’s some money in the desk drawer. Take it. Go to your place and to Jiang Xuan’s, and have your parents leave town for a while on a trip. Don’t ask where. Anywhere is fine. They cannot keep living at home. Right now!”

Junzi understood the gravity of it, took the money, and hurried off.

After seeing him out, Zhao Zekun drew a deep breath and, as calmly as he could, sent his father a text message, saying that he was swamped lately and that they should not come back to River City for the time being. A midnight phone call would only make his parents suspicious; a text would seem more normal. After all, they knew he was a night owl.

He checked the time. It was already half past two in the morning. He called Liang Shi.

Zejian Company did not yet have a dedicated accountant; the clerical, administrative, and logistical work was all overseen by Liang Shi.

He gave Liang Shi a solemn briefing over the phone, telling him to get up at daybreak and, the moment the bank opened, transfer every last cent out of the company’s account.

Finally, phone in hand, he considered it for a few minutes, then dialed the mobile number of Zheng Yuan, general manager of Huayang Group’s River City branch.

“Hello, Mr. Zheng. I’m terribly sorry to disturb your rest so late. I’ve run into some trouble and want to ask you for a favor.”

At the other end, Zheng Yuan’s voice was very calm. In a low tone, he asked, “Mm. What kind of favor?”

“I’d like you to send someone to court tomorrow to file suit against our Zejian Company for fraud, or for breach of contract, and ask the court to freeze our accounts so that money can go in but none can come out. I’ll cover all the costs,” Zhao Zekun said.

“That’s simple enough.” Zheng Yuan was silent for a moment, then said, “But you have to tell me why. Why freeze your own accounts for no reason?”

Since Zhao Zekun had made this call for help, he had not intended to hide anything from Zheng Yuan. But he also could not make the situation sound too urgent, lest the other man think Zejian was about to collapse and refuse to lend a hand. He had long since settled on his wording.

“There are some people on the street who want to get their hands on my company’s finances. I have to keep the company’s funds frozen for a while, to prevent money from leaking out. This came up suddenly, so I hope Mr. Zheng will think of our partnership and help Zejian through this.”

Zheng Yuan did not answer at once. Instead, he said, “All right. Wait a moment. I’ll call you back.”

“Okay.”

Less than five minutes later, Zheng Yuan called back.

“Huayang can file suit against you and freeze your accounts as quickly as possible, but we will not take part in any of the other disputes surrounding your Zejian Company. Also, you owe our Chairman Wang a favor.”

“Thank you, Mr. Zheng. Please move as quickly as possible to freeze them. I’ll have Liang Shi fully cooperate with Huayang. Also, please give my regards to Chairman Wang.”

...

Zheng Yuan was not asleep on the other end of the line; he was in a conference room in the provincial capital, hundreds of miles away.

Huayang Group’s chairman, Wang Yan, was there too. Several plates sat before him; it seemed the meeting had just ended and they were having a late meal.

As he ate, Zheng Yuan smiled and said, “Chairman Wang, what sort of standing does he have, and what sort of standing do you have? Making him owe you a favor is already flattering him. Since you think so highly of him, why don’t I step in and smooth things over for him? There isn’t any heavyweight figure on the streets of River City.”

With his head lowered, Wang Yan shoveled big mouthfuls of plain white rice into his mouth and said indistinctly, “His own affairs, he settles himself. If he can’t even handle this much, then he’s not worth much.”

“You really are...” Zheng Yuan had been with Wang Yan since the earliest days, so he was more relaxed speaking in his presence. He shook his head and said, “You’re almost forty now, and you’re always worrying about other people’s children. You should get yourself married first. Then Huayang will have a successor in the future, and all us old brothers can rest easy.”

Wang Yan set down his chopsticks, casually wiped his mouth with a napkin, leaned back in his chair, and gave Zheng Yuan a sidelong glance. With a smile that was not quite a smile, he said, “What, is someone in the group starting to feel uneasy?”

Zheng Yuan’s expression stiffened at once, growing serious, though he did not know what to say. In the end he could only say, “The group is bigger now. It’s not like the old coal mine. So many interests are tangled up in everything that it’s only natural for people to have one idea or another.”

“Having ideas is a good thing.” Wang Yan smiled in a meaning that was hard to read, then patted Zheng Yuan on the shoulder and said, “Old Zheng, you should have some ideas too. It’s been hard on you, keeping watch in River City these past two years. Don’t stay cooped up there anymore. Come to the provincial capital and help me.”

Zheng Yuan said in a deep voice, “All right.”

“Fine. Don’t be so tense. Ants climbing a locust tree, mayflies trying to shake a tree—just a few flies buzzing and making noise. What big thing could they possibly accomplish?”

Zheng Yuan stood and stretched, then looked through the floor-to-ceiling window on the twelfth floor at the endless stream of traffic below. Completely unconcerned, he said, “See? Everyone has a pile of troubles under their own seat. Same as always: your own affairs, you settle yourself.”

...

Early the next morning, Liang Shi went to wait by the bank door. The moment it opened, he was the first to take a number and transferred every bit of money from Zejian Company’s account into Zhao Zekun’s personal account.

After finishing the transfer, Liang Shi went straight to the court. A legal representative from Huayang Company was already waiting there. After the two met, each called his respective boss, and then they entered the district court together.

The court staff had never before encountered a plaintiff as cooperative as Zejian Company, as though it were eager for the other side to freeze its accounts immediately.

Liang Shi also got to witness the operating efficiency of a truly powerful company. Even though Huayang had only an unremarkable branch in River City, its legal representative enjoyed an almost open-road passage through every procedure at the court. What would ordinarily have taken ten days or half a month to complete was, through the concerted efforts of all parties, already in process in less than half a day. From that point on, Zejian Company’s accounts could be frozen at any time.

Zhao Zekun told Junzi to wait in the office while he went to the relocation office to handle the transfer of the property deed. He needed that money in hand as quickly as possible; if things came to the worst, it would be life-saving money.

He stayed busy until noon before returning to the tin-roofed office. Unexpectedly, the people Song Tianming had sent still had not arrived. Zhao Zekun waited patiently for another hour or so, and just as he could no longer resist calling to ask what was going on, a Santana pulled up outside the demolition site.

Four people got out of the car. Three men and one woman. The woman looked to be in her thirties or forties, with the large curls that were fashionable at the time, dressed in a gaudy, seductive manner. Two broad-shouldered hooligans stood on her left and right, each supporting one of Jiang Xuan’s arms, and the four of them came directly to the outside of Zejian Company’s tin-roofed office.