Insufficient balance

  The next day when Tang Yu woke up, Tang Tianhong had already gone to work.

  I feel like I've recovered from my cold by more than half, and Tang Yu is no longer lying in bed. He gets up to wash his face, eat breakfast, and sits in the living room after getting an IV drip. He casually flips through a book on microeconomics by Frank, which he took from his father's study. With his English level from his past life, he naturally doesn't need a dictionary or anything like that.

  To be able to understand this type of book, it's not enough to just have a six or eight level in English, you also need to have some understanding of economic basics and principles. Tang Yu didn't slack off on this when he was reborn, during his university days he even went to the social sciences institute to learn from a famous teacher, otherwise those thick books wouldn't be something that just anyone could understand.

  It was already noon when I finished hanging the clothes. After eating the lunch prepared by my mother, I took a nap for a while. When I got up at two o'clock in the afternoon, my mother was not at home either. Tang Yu guessed that she had gone shopping with the middle-aged woman from the courtyard.

  He sat at home reading for a while, his mother called back and said that the younger daughter of his second uncle's family was ill, his second uncle was not at home, she had to go over to help take care of the child, and let the two grandfathers solve their own dinner.

  Tang Yu's heart secretly rejoiced when he hung up the phone, and he immediately jumped up excitedly. If not now, then when? He didn't want to stay cooped up at home forever. Reborn, he was eager to take another look at this city where he had lived in his previous life. If his mother were at home, he would definitely be unable to leave the house with his illness.

  It wasn't until he walked out of his house that Tang Yu realized today was already the 6th, and there were less than four days left before the People's Congress meeting.

  Got in the car with the keys, only to remember that I didn't have a driver's license. However, Second Uncle's license plate number "12345" was well-known among the traffic police in Dongling City, and as long as nothing major happened, it was unlikely that any traffic cop would stop the car to check for a license, so there was no need to worry too much.

  Reborn for the first time driving on the road, but in his heart there was no clue, did not know where to go.

  He wasn't familiar with Chen Songwei and his gang in '93, and it wasn't until he read the Dongling City newspaper that morning that he had some idea of what was going on. Now, going out aimlessly like this, he didn't know how to find out about their sinister plot.

  So he drove the car to the old street, and couldn't help but laugh at himself. Yang Hanning, the number one beauty of Dongling City, was indeed as charming as her reputation suggested, and she had tempted him quite a bit.

  Just as I was thinking, Yang Hanning came out of the alley with a big brother in her hand, seemingly talking to someone on the phone. After leaving the alley and walking for a good distance, a light gray Buick drove over from the side of the road and stopped beside her. The window opened, and a man stuck his head out and seemed to say a few words. Yang Hanning hesitated slightly before getting in the car.

  It's a bit far away, Tang Yu can't see clearly, and didn't see who the man driving was, but looking at their mysterious appearance makes one suspicious. Tang Yu's heart moved, and he quietly followed them in his car. Yang Hanning participated in the framing of Su Muru, and played a crucial role, maybe this time something could be found on her.

  Following the Buick, they walked all the way until they passed through the closed Zhongshan Park and saw where they were heading. It wasn't until then that Tang Yu realized that it was one of Chen Songwei's hidden gold vaults in Dongling City from his past life.

  In 1998, when the Dongling City tax evasion case was cracked, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection searched from the basement of two villas near Zhongshan Park and found over 100 million yuan in cash under the swimming pool. One of the villas belonged to Chen Songwei, and the other belonged to Yin Kuangyu of the Taxation Bureau. The two were the top two people in the tax evasion gang.

  After the case was settled in 1998, Tang Yu and his family members even came to visit those two houses. From the outside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but inside they were indeed luxurious and magnificent, a great place to enjoy oneself.

  And at this moment, wasn't Yang Hanning's car heading in the direction of those two luxurious villas?

  Tang Yu's heart slightly chilled, what he saw with his own eyes today made him have to believe that Yang Hanning had indeed come into contact with these people. He couldn't help but sigh again for this beautiful woman, a talented lady who unfortunately followed the wrong path.

  Tang Yu didn't dare drive this eye-catching car over there either. If he followed them, he would definitely be discovered, and that wouldn't be fun at all.

  He found a discreet spot nearby to park the car, and as he was parking, Tang Yu saw a sign not far away that read "Renting Binoculars". He thought to himself, it should be for renting out to tourists visiting Zhongshan Park. Now that Zhongshan Park is closed, naturally there's no business.

  Tang Yu's heart moved, he turned back to the car and took out some money to rent a high-powered telescope with a military emblem on it. After trying it out, he felt it was pretty good, but not cheap at all - just the deposit alone cost Tang Yu 700 yuan. Luckily, his uncle's car always had several thousand yuan in cash stashed away, or else he wouldn't have known where to find the money. Thinking about the money also reminded him of Su Qing's mention of the five thousand yuan from the municipal government, and he thought that if there was an opportunity, it would be good to go claim it, which would also make things more convenient for himself.

  Tang Yu walked around from the back of the park, hiding in a corner, using binoculars to see the entrance of the two villas from a distance. One of the villas had four cars parked in front of it, one of which was the Buick he had just followed, and another was an Audi.

  In 1993, a large part of the Audi was purchased by the government as an official car. Tang Yu adjusted the telescope to take a closer look at the license plate number, which was not too far away and could barely be identified. It was indeed a black-plated car from the Dongling City Municipal Committee. Tang Yu sighed in his heart, the price of 30 yuan for half an hour was worth it.

  It's impossible for such a store to open in later generations. I don't know what kind of connections the owner has, but he was able to get good stuff in '93.

  The other two were BMWs, and Tang Yu also secretly took note of their license plate numbers.

  However, no matter how powerful the telescope is, it can't see what's happening inside the villa. This made him anxious and eager to take a closer look, but just looking from outside wasn't his goal. Just as he was thinking about whether to take a risk and jump over the wall, the villa door opened and two people came out. Tang Yu quickly raised his telescope to take a look, and indeed, he saw something.

  Among the two people who came out, one of them was recognized by Tang Yu. He remembered it very clearly. The man's name was Luo Chuanji, and he was also one of the masterminds behind the tax evasion case back then. His appearance now was almost no different from when he appeared in court in '98.

  This man, although without any official status and still a peasant by birth, was able to move freely among the crowd like a fish in water. It is said that he was the one who first came up with the idea of tax evasion. Of course, at that time in '93, he was still very low-key, and not many people in Dongling City knew him. Tang Yu was only able to recognize him because he had seen him during the trial in '98. The faces of these people who had brought disaster to his family were already deeply etched into Tang Yu's soul, and even if they turned to ashes, he would still be able to recognize them.

  As for the other person who came out with Luo Chuan, he was also about thirty-one or two years old. His gestures and movements seemed to be those of an official. Tang Yu looked at him and felt that he had seen him somewhere before, but couldn't think of where it was for a while.

  When he saw the man opening the car door with his unique posture, Tang Yu's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly remembered that this was the same person who often appeared beside Chen Songwei on the news, opening doors and carrying bags for him. No wonder he looked familiar - it was just this morning's headline news.

  This person is Chen Songwei's full-time secretary, and seems to recall being called Liu Dami by his father, but can't remember the specific name.

  But then, Liu Dami opened the Audi car door and put something inside. He turned around and took the car key from Luo Chuanji's hand, got into the Buick he had just followed, and prepared to leave. Luo Chuanji waved goodbye in front of the villa gate.

  There's no doubt that the car with a government license plate was driven by Liu Daxi, and the bulging thing just thrown inside might be the loot. But why is he driving another car out now? Is it to cover his tracks or...

  Tang Yu felt that there was something fishy going on here, and continuing to look around wouldn't reveal anything about what was happening inside the villa. It would be better to follow this Secretary Liu and see what he was up to.

  He turned back to the original road, and when he got on the car, he took a look at the binoculars in his hand, intending to return them. But after thinking about it, he simply put them into the car instead. After all, it didn't matter that much for the 500 yuan deposit. This kind of good stuff, who knows when it might come in handy again? It would be a hassle to look for it then, and genuine ones aren't easy to find.

  He got on the car, and after thinking for a moment, Tang Yu got off again to remove the license plate and took it inside. This license plate was quite eye-catching and would easily attract attention from people with ulterior motives. Moreover, in 1993, Dongling City's regulation of these kinds of license plates wasn't very strict, so even if they encountered traffic police checking cars, taking out that fake license plate wouldn't be a big deal.

  Looking at the shadow of the Buick in front, Tang Yu hung back far away, keeping a proper distance, neither losing sight nor drawing attention. After driving for about ten minutes or so, they had already reached the outskirts of Fengcheng District. Just as Tang Yu was wondering where exactly Liu Dage was going to drive the car, the Buick in front stopped at a small wine tower by the road, and Tang Yu also hurriedly parked his car far away.

  When Secretary Liu got off the car, he was wearing a big hat and sunglasses that covered half of his face. After getting off the car, he looked around, and Tang Yu became even more certain that Secretary Liu's trip here must be fishy. As Chen Songwei's personal secretary and confidant, it's likely that he's here to take care of something for Chen Songwei. Who knows, maybe this trip will uncover some secrets.

  Just then, another person came out of the wine building, seemingly to welcome the great secret of Ying Liu. After that, Tang Yu saw two people entering the wine building with a mysterious air.

  It seems that this person also looks somewhat familiar, as if I had seen him in person or in a photo before, and not just once. After thinking about it for a while,

  "Is it him?"

  Tang Yu suddenly remembered that the person who came out to welcome Liu Da Mimi earlier was not Cai Mingcai of Wan Jian Real Estate in Dongling City?

  His second uncle said yesterday that if he had bought more land in Hainan in 1991, he would now be the third billionaire in Dongling. The first one is Cai Mingcai, of course, and he also has another identity, which is a representative of the People's Congress of Dongling City, just like Tang Yu's second uncle.

  Chen Songwei's secretary mysteriously arrived at a remote location to meet with Cai Mingcai, what do they want to do?

  As for their identities, they could have met openly and honestly without having to resort to such a secluded place. The more secretive they were, the more Tang Yu believed that there was something fishy going on between them.

  After getting off the car, Tang Yu casually walked around and secretly exclaimed in his heart, "Good guy, don't look at this wine house's remote location, there are quite a few cars parked nearby. Although they're not good cars, it's 1993, an era when private cars aren't even a concept yet." Tang Yu took a closer look and saw that there were at least over ten cars around.

  In a suburban area, for a restaurant of this size, if there are 7 or 8 cars parked outside, that's the best business performance.

  Moreover, Tang Yu also noticed that among those cars, there were several with license plates belonging to municipal bureaus and commissions.

  People inside the city gate, who would casually come to a place like this for dinner? And thinking about it again, Secretary Liu came here mysteriously, and there just so happened to be many more cars than usual on this side. Could it be that these people all came to meet with Secretary Liu?

  Tang Yu did intend to go into the wine house to investigate the actual situation, but the wine house was just that big in scale. Asking a couple of questions casually might be overheard by someone. Moreover, since they chose to meet here, it's possible that the wine house is owned by their own people. If he went there himself, wouldn't he be discovered?

  He glanced at his watch and it was already past four o'clock. He thought that his father would probably be getting off work soon, and these people wouldn't be coming out for a while. Tang Yu casually strolled around the area, and when he saw the dog meat restaurant across from the wine tower, an idea suddenly struck him. With a plan in mind, he turned around and drove towards the municipal government office building.

  In 1993, Dongling City had separate offices for the municipal party committee and government, each with its own office building. During the urban planning and construction in 1994-1995, a new large building was built, after which the municipal party committee and government began to work together in one location.

  Tang Yu drove past when it was time for the municipal government to get off work, parked the car one or two hundred meters away from the government gate, and took out that high-power telescope again.

  His dad's work at the government secretariat was quite busy, and he usually wouldn't leave on time. Tang Yu thought he would have to wait for a while longer, but before long, he saw his dad's figure emerging from the main gate of the government office building.

  If Tang Tianhong, the deputy secretary-general of the government, did not do a good job, at least as a deputy director-level official with real power, he didn't even have a dedicated car.

  Although from a policy perspective, the deputy secretary-general of the General Office is generally not entitled to a car, but there are countermeasures for every policy. According to the convention of the General Office, it is normal to have one assigned. Someone like Tang Tianhong who does not require a car is extremely rare.

  Today, there's not much work on the secretariat side. Although Chen Songwei intimidated Deputy Mayor Xu from the government yesterday, today's tug-of-war with the municipal party committee was significantly reduced, which is why Tang Tianying was able to get off work early. As I walked out of the government gate and glanced around, my gaze swept over that Porsche in the distance, still feeling a bit strange.

  "Isn't that Second Brother's car? Why is it parked here?" He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Is Eastling City so small that only his own Second Brother can buy a Passat, and no one else is allowed to? Shaking his head, he was just thinking of hitching a ride with Deputy Mayor Xu to head back together, when the Passat's open window revealed a head sticking out to wave at him - if it wasn't his own little brother, then who could it be.

  As soon as he got into the car, he pinched Tang Yu's ear, "You little rascal, you're quite bold, daring to secretly start your second uncle's treasure. Wait till your second uncle comes back and deals with you."

  "Dad, you're wrong! Didn't Second Uncle say yesterday that he'd leave the car for me to drive?"

  Tang Tianhong was taken aback, thinking about it, and indeed, his second brother had said so before leaving yesterday. He only remembered that during the winter vacation, his son had learned to drive with his second brother for a few days, but he didn't think that he could actually drive the car out.

  "Where's your mom? Has she gone out? If your mom were at home, would she let you behave like this?" His face didn't show any sign of annoyance.

  Tang Yu was taken aback, "When did Dad become so clever? He's really a worm in Mom's belly." Then he smiled complacently, "The little girl from Second Uncle's house got food poisoning, and Second Uncle wasn't home. So Mom thought of going to help, and she just left me, this seriously ill son, unattended. She even told us to figure out dinner on our own."

  "You little scamp, your mouth is getting smoother and smoother! What's with 'dumping you, this seriously ill person'? Who's ever seen a seriously ill person driving around on the road? Alright, I won't bother with you. Your mom's not home, so let's just go back home and cook ourselves, and let you taste your old man's culinary skills." He teased Tang Yu for two sentences, "It's just that I'm worried about you driving, what if you send your old man to the hospital? Why don't I call a driver from the government's small car service to take us back home?" Tang Tianying himself couldn't drive either.

  "No way, Dad! I can drive the car here, so of course I can drive it back smoothly. Don't forget that your son is a genius, whatever he learns, he masters. You can rest assured, Dad. By the way, I'm more worried about your cooking skills. Remember last time you even managed to get egg on your hands when making an omelette and put sugar instead of salt? And there's nothing to eat at home, we need to go to the market. Who should go, me or you? It's such a hassle. I think, since Mom is not around, why don't we just go out for dinner?"

  Tang Yu was ridiculed, and Tang's father could only awkwardly smile. He really wasn't cut out for cooking, his culinary standards were far inferior to Tang Yu's. Earlier he said he would show off his skills, but in reality, after going home, he would definitely have Tang Yu do the cooking himself. Now looking at Tang Yu's expression, it was clear that he had no intention of entering the kitchen.

  "Alright, you sly thing. Let's take advantage of your mom not being here and go to a restaurant. You little scamp, are you thinking about swindling your old man out of his money again? I'm telling you, your dad isn't made of money, so give up on that idea."

  Tang Yu smiled mischievously, "I heard that the dog meat restaurant in Fengcheng District is quite good. Several of my classmates have been there to eat before. I've been craving it for a long time. Luckily, mom's not home today, so let's go and have a big feast!"

  Tang Yu has already started the car and is on his way, Tang Tianhong can't say anything more. However, he still has some concerns about his son's driving skills in his heart. It wasn't until he saw him drive steadily onto the road with a steady posture that he felt slightly relieved. He wanted to say something but moved his mouth and was afraid of distracting Tang Yu, so he didn't dare speak up.

  Tang Yu secretly smiled in his heart, "Dad, you won't have forgotten to bring money, will you? Don't worry about this, Second Uncle always keeps several thousand yuan in the car, enough for us two to eat."

  "You little glutton, the money your second uncle left in the car is not for you to casually take, be careful or he'll scold you when he gets back?" There's no blame implied, and it seems like there's no shame in spending his family's second uncle's money either.

  After a while, watching Tang Yu drive the car faster and faster, it seemed that the destination was still far away. I couldn't help but feel worried in my heart. "Little Yu, why don't we just find a random restaurant to eat at? We can have dog meat or something, and I'll take you there another day."

  "Don't be like that, we're almost there. It's not easy to get Dad to go out for a meal, can't give up halfway." His goal was to bring his dad to the building next to where Liu Daxin and others were secretly meeting, how could he let his dad back down now.

  He saw that Tang Yu hadn't slowed down at all, and the car was still driving steadily. He couldn't say anything else, so he just reminded Tang Yu to drive slower, which made Tang Yu secretly curse in his heart. A good Porsche was actually being driven at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour, which wasn't slow enough. If it were any slower, it would be no faster than a bicycle.

  Fortunately, the road is not long anymore, and after another ten or so minutes, they arrived near the dog meat restaurant. Tang Yu stopped the car far away, as it was a bit eye-catching, and didn't want to get too close to the wine building, in case someone noticed them.

  Seeing his father get off the car and let out a long sigh, Tang Yu secretly smiled, this whole journey must have worried his father to death.

  When I saw the Buick Rongyu driven by Liu Daxi, I put my heart at ease. As long as they were still there, it would be fine. On the way, I was worried that they might have left and made my efforts in vain.

  As for Tang Tianhong, it was really a heart-pounding and nerve-wracking experience all the way. In his memory, he had only driven a few times with his son driving and running so far, and his heart was racing with anxiety until Tang Yu stopped the car safely before he could put down his worries.

  He, who was still shaken in his heart, naturally wouldn't notice small problems such as why Paiste's license plate was gone and why Tang Yu parked the car so far away.

  When passing by the wine house on the opposite side, Tang Tianhong still sighed, the business here is really good, and it's like those cars are going to the dog meat restaurant for dinner.