Chapter Eighty-One: The Promotion Plan

“What exactly is the nature of the company’s business, where are its strengths, how is publicity handled, and what direction should development take?”

Han Ning’s machine-gun questions struck every sore spot in Yang Jiekai’s mind. He sat there stunned for a long while before putting down his chopsticks and laughing with delight. “Damn, babe, you’re a real expert. If I weren’t afraid you’d hit me, I’d have grabbed you and kissed you, hahaha!”

“Mother Wang, I’m full. I need to go out for a bit!”

And just like that, Yang Jiekai seemed to have been injected with adrenaline. He sprang up from the table and rushed out.

On the way to the company, he called Old Cane and the others, telling them to come over at once.

When everyone arrived, Yang Jiekai planted himself in a chair with grand ease and said, “If we want the company to grow, we first have to decide what kind of business we’re in, where our selling point is, how we’re going to develop in the future, and the top priority is to do a proper publicity campaign...”

He repeated Han Ning’s words almost without missing a syllable, then found a print shop and had several hundred promotional posters made overnight.

The poster read: Professional debt recovery, small loans, missing persons searches, private investigation, escort services, quotations available by phone: 159...

After that, Yang Jiekai had Qin Feng and the others plaster those tacky little advertisements everywhere through the night.

Once that was done, he called Zhang Hua and told him to come immediately.

By then, Zhang Hua had sunk completely into despair. His embezzlement had been exposed; not only had he lost his job, but if he could not repay the money within a short time, he might also face prison.

More importantly, if he went in, what would become of his younger sister?

Yang Jiekai arranged to meet Zhang Hua at a barbecue stand.

“Minister Zhang, let me toast you.”

Zhang Hua wore a face full of gloom. He drained his cup in one gulp and said, “Don’t call me Minister Zhang anymore. I’ve already been fired.”

Yang Jiekai set down his glass, smiled, and went straight to the point. “I’ve started a company, and I want you to come help me.”

Zhang Hua gave a bitter laugh. “In a little while, I’ll be headed to prison. What use could I possibly be?”

Unhurriedly, Yang Jiekai refilled his glass. “How much public money did you embezzle?”

“Five hundred thousand!”

Yang Jiekai touched his nose. “And if I can help you pay it back?”

Zhang Hua froze. His hand jerked, and the cup slipped from his fingers, smashing into pieces on the ground. He stared at Yang Jiekai for a long while before suddenly getting to his feet and dropping to his knees with a thud.

“As long as you can cure my sister, my life is yours!”

“We’re brothers. No need for that. Get up. I’ll explain the work to you slowly.”

After covering some initial expenses, Yang Jiekai had only a little over six hundred thousand left. The reason he did this was not because he was generous. He was no fool; after hearing Han Ning’s words, he understood the principle of drawing inferences from one case to another.

Starting a business, startup capital and the like were only the foundation. What truly mattered in the end was talent. It was not that Old Cane and the others were useless, but that every kind of task required the right person. A company had to have someone like Zhang Hua in charge, so he spared no expense in bringing him under his wing.

When Zhang Hua learned that it was a private detective agency, he hesitated at first. But thinking of his sister still bedridden, he agreed at once. He valued his sister’s life even more than his own; at that moment, even if Yang Jiekai had told him to kill or set fires, he probably would have done it.

Zhang Hua had risen step by step from a penniless country boy to an executive in the company’s most important department. He must have had real ability. After hearing Yang Jiekai’s introduction, he immediately proposed several plans, leaving Yang Jiekai deeply impressed.

Yang Jiekai promptly appointed him head of the company’s marketing department, stationed him in the office, and put him in charge of the company’s rear lines.

As for publicity, Zhang Hua proposed a highly practical method: print more leaflets and business cards, hire people to paste them everywhere, and also pay the local motorcycle taxi riders to slap the ads on their bikes.

The effect was immediate. The very next day, the company received its first order.

A fat woman dripping with gold and silver came to ask Yang Jiekai to investigate whether her husband was fooling around outside.

Yang Jiekai handled the job beautifully. He assigned Gongsun Tiedan to the case, and in only a few days Gongsun Tiedan returned with a stack of photographs proving that the fat woman’s husband was indeed carrying on with several women.

The woman was thunderously furious, yet also extremely satisfied with Yang Jiekai’s efficiency. She slapped ten thousand yuan onto the table on the spot.

With the first deal sealed, the company soon landed several more contracts in succession, most of them involving investigations into extramarital affairs. These were all handed to Gongsun Tiedan, who was appointed head of the investigation department.

Gongsun Tiedan had once been the renowned Saint Thief of the martial underworld. Spying on people was child’s play to him. Though for some unknown reason he had later retired from the trade, his skills were still intact.

One day, a middle-aged man in a suit suddenly came to the company.

“Hello. What service would you like to apply for?” Chen Shishi greeted him politely.

The middle-aged man glanced around and said in a low voice, “I suspect my wife is seeing another man outside. I’d like you to gather evidence.”

“Certainly, no problem. We have the best investigators here. Please fill out this form and pay the deposit, and we’ll begin the investigation immediately.”

Chen Shishi had once worked the front desk, so reception was second nature to her.

At the time, Gongsun Tiedan was playing cards with Old Cane and Qin Feng. The moment he heard there was work, he quickly grabbed the file and scampered out the door.

Yang Jiekai had set the rule that, in addition to the base salary, there would be extra bonuses every month. The more jobs one handled, the larger the bonus. So the moment he heard there was work, Gongsun Tiedan was instantly pumped up like he’d been injected with adrenaline.

But by late afternoon, Gongsun Tiedan came back black and blue.

“What happened to you?” Qin Feng had been dozing in a chair. Seeing him like that, he jumped up at once.

“Damn it, I got beaten up!” Gongsun Tiedan’s chin was so swollen it was hardly recognizable. “They found out I was tailing them. A bunch of guys suddenly rushed out and gave me a beating.”

Yang Jiekai also walked over. Judging from Gongsun Tiedan’s appearance, he had clearly been beaten hard. “You mean they noticed you?”

Gongsun Tiedan nodded.

Yang Jiekai frowned, sensing something odd. Gongsun Tiedan had once been a master thief; his tracking skills were first-rate. How could he have been discovered?

“Tell me the whole thing from the beginning.”

Gongsun Tiedan said with a mournful face, “Today I was staking out the woman’s house. I followed her into an alley, and then for some reason several big guys suddenly jumped out and started pounding me.”

Yang Jiekai’s brows tightened. After a moment’s thought, he roughly understood what had happened.

Sure enough, not long after, that man in the suit came storming in with a crowd behind him, cursing and shouting that they were to compensate him for his losses.

“What kind of job is this? Didn’t you say it was foolproof? Now look at this: you found nothing, and instead exposed me. My wife wants a divorce and a share of my property. What am I supposed to do about that!”

The suited man was livid, stomping and slamming the table.

“Sir, please don’t get excited...”

Chen Shishi stepped forward to mediate, but the suited man shoved her aside. “Get lost. Who’s in charge here? If you don’t hand over one hundred thousand in damages today, this is not over.”

“Fuck your mother, what the hell are you doing!” Qin Feng exploded the moment he saw Chen Shishi being shoved.

“What, the job failed and now you want to hit people too?” The suited man cast Qin Feng a contemptuous glance. “If you don’t have the skill, don’t take the job. You screwed things up, and if you don’t give me an explanation today, I’ll smash this place to pieces!”

Just as Qin Feng was about to lose it, Yang Jiekai raised a hand to stop him and said to the suited man, “I’m the person in charge here. This time, we were negligent. How about this: give us one more chance. If we still fail, then it won’t be too late for you to come smash things.”

“All right, I’ll give you one more chance. If you mess this up again, you’d better shut your doors for good!”

With that, the suited man swept his sleeve and left in a fury with a dozen-odd people in tow.

“Damn it!” Qin Feng cursed. If Yang Jiekai hadn’t stopped him just now, he definitely would have gone up to beat them senseless.

“Shishi, are you all right?” Qin Feng had spent some effort chasing her, and seeing her being shoved just now made him both angry and heartbroken.

Gongsun Tiedan, still in the dark, apologized miserably. “I’ll go again. This time I’ll definitely get it done right.”

Yang Jiekai waved a hand. “You stay here. Qin Feng and Old Cane will handle this one.”

Then he turned and smiled at Old Cane. “Old Cane, you know what to do, right?”

Old Cane had rough, dark skin and drooping eyelids, forever looking like a heavy opium smoker. Especially when he smiled, not a sound came out, making him seem even more unsettling.

But that did not mean he was stupid. On the contrary, he had a very sharp mind. From Gongsun Tiedan’s description earlier, he had already guessed most of what was going on.

This suited man had clearly come to pick a fight on purpose.

After leaving the office, the suited man took out his phone and dialed a number.

“Brother Hu, those kids are still trying to... yes, understood. I’ll make them get lost by today.”

Qin Feng drove, while Old Cane sat in the passenger seat looking as though he had never fully woken up.

Ahead of them was a red Audi TT. Qin Feng and Old Cane followed at a steady pace.

Soon the Audi TT stopped at the mouth of an alley. A woman got out and walked straight into the lane.

Qin Feng pulled over as well, then quietly followed after her.