BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 174 Grand Hotel

Fortunately, the journey wasn’t long. Just over an hour later, the plane landed at Hangzhou Airport. However, Sun Desheng was reluctant to take a taxi, and Che Qianzi didn’t have much cash on him either. The two of them could only wait for the airport shuttle bus, and after waiting another half hour, they finally boarded a bus heading into the city.

Not long after getting on the bus, Sun Desheng received another bank spending notification.

The black card taken by Kong Dalong had been charged with over twenty million again. Because the transaction details were encrypted, Sun Fatty had no idea what the money was being spent on. He was never a generous person to begin with, and now he kept sighing repeatedly.

After arriving in the city center by bus, Sun Desheng chose to get off in a commercial district near West Lake. He couldn’t bear to take a taxi, so he and Che Qianzi dragged their luggage and walked for more than half an hour. Finally, they found the address on the business card—a small Jiangnan-style courtyard.

The courtyard looked modest in size, but being located beside the extremely expensive West Lake already proved its value was extraordinary. A sign hung outside the gate:

“Hangzhou Jiao Lang Silk Culture Co., Ltd.”

From outside, they could see several young women inside chatting and laughing.

Both of them were drenched in sweat from dragging luggage for half an hour, but they had finally found the place. They walked in together.

However, just as they entered the courtyard, a woman in her twenties came out from the building and said, “What are you two here for? This isn’t a hotel. Don’t get it wrong.”

“We know it’s not a hotel,” Sun Desheng said with a grin as he took out the business card and handed it over. “We’re here to see Chairman Jiao Dalang. Please tell him—an old friend, Wu Rendi, has arrived. Ask him to come out and greet us.”

“You’re here to see the chairman?” the woman said, surprised. She then continued, “You’ve come at a bad time. Our chairman isn’t in the company. He hasn’t been feeling well and hasn’t shown up for several days. If you want to find him, you should go directly to his home.”

After traveling such a long distance, they hadn’t expected the person they came to see wouldn’t even be at the company.

Che Qianzi sighed and said, “Is that Jiao guy really not here, or is he hiding because he knew we were coming? Tell him to come out.”

Before Sun Desheng could speak, he quickly grabbed Che Qianzi and smiled at the woman. “The kid doesn’t understand. Miss, could you tell us where Chairman Jiao Dalang lives?”

The woman glanced at them and shook her head. “That, you’ll have to ask the chairman himself. Aren’t you his friends? Then you should know where his residence is.”

With that, she ignored them and went back inside, rejoining the other women who were chatting and laughing.

Che Qianzi still wanted to press further, but Sun Desheng stopped him.

“Forget it, brother. She won’t tell us. And it’s inconvenient to walk around with luggage anyway. Let’s find a place to stay first, then figure out how to find Jiao Dalang.”

Sun Desheng had previously booked a Home Inn but still found it too expensive and canceled it. Now finding an affordable place nearby wasn’t easy.

Che Qianzi couldn’t help saying, “Fatty, we don’t have to live like this, right? Can’t we use the Investigation Bureau account? If not, I’ve got money—when we get back to Beijing, I’ll repay you from my fifty gold ingots.”

“Brother, I just returned to the bureau. There are a hundred pairs of eyes watching me,” Sun Desheng said with a smile. “This is private business, can’t use public funds, can’t ask friends for help. As for your gold, even more can’t touch it. I gave it to you—how could I spend it?”

He chuckled and continued, “I checked the map. Two streets down there’s a small inn. If we bargain, it should be around fifty a night.”

Che Qianzi, who had gotten used to luxury these past few months, was a bit uncomfortable being suddenly brought back to reality. But there was no choice—he could only follow Sun Desheng.

However, when they arrived at the inn, they found it had just burned down and was now a pile of ruins.

Helpless, Sun Desheng asked nearby residents for another budget option.

“You’re looking for a place to stay?” a nearby shop owner said, pointing at the burned inn. “When they’re busy, they send guests to the rooms above my shop. There’s air conditioning, windows, and a private bathroom. One hundred fifty a night.”

“Why one hundred fifty? That inn was only fifty,” Sun Desheng said, shaking his head. “This isn’t even a proper hotel. Any new bedding? A proper bathroom? Nothing and you still dare charge 150? I’m telling you, 150 is enough to stay in a real hotel.”

Hearing that only fifty was acceptable, the shop owner shook his head.

“Then you should go stay in a hotel. The fifty-yuan rooms don’t even have windows, air conditioning, or a private bathroom. Don’t even think about bathing. West Lake is right there—where else can you find such cheap rooms for 150?”

“Big Saint, forget fifty, forget 150,” Che Qianzi said, squatting down and pulling out his wallet. “I still have about a thousand yuan. Let’s get a 300–400 yuan place. I’ll treat you… and we can eat something decent too.”

Sun Desheng took the wallet from him and said to the shop owner, “Final price, 120. Deal or we go find a 300–400 hotel.”

The owner, likely not used to bargaining much, immediately agreed.

“120 it is. Pay first, I’ll take you up. If you want water, go downstairs and buy it. When we eat later, if you join, it’s 25 per person.”

After going upstairs, Che Qianzi couldn’t believe his eyes.

The room was filthy. There was only a single large bed. The bedding was so dirty its original color was unrecognizable, and the cotton stuffing was exposed. The whole room smelled of mildew.

And they were charging 120 for this?

The owner knew he was being dishonest and slipped away after taking the money.

Che Qianzi wanted to chase him down and beat him, but Sun Desheng stopped him. After closing the door, Sun Desheng narrowed his eyes and smiled as he looked toward the downstairs shop owner.

“This is more like it…”

Seeing something off about Sun Desheng, Che Qianzi frowned. “Fatty, what kind of act are you putting on now? What is this, ‘The Fallen Bureau Chief’s Struggle in the City’? You were perfectly normal earlier—now suddenly you’re scrimping over a few million?”

Sun Desheng chuckled. “Sharp eye, brother. Time to tell the truth.”

“After I sent you home last night, I reviewed all of Director Wu’s surveillance footage in Hangzhou. He never went to that company at all. After wandering nearby for a bit, he came here instead…”

“This room. Exactly the same as ours now.”

Che Qianzi shook his head repeatedly. “Wait—you’re saying Wu Rendi stayed here? Didn’t you say he’s a cleanliness freak? If he really is, seeing this place would’ve killed him…”

While Che Qianzi was speaking, Sun Desheng began searching the room.

Then, in the bedside drawer, he found a button—an ink-black jade button.

And besides that, on the wall, he discovered a name written there:

Wu Rendi