Chapter 388 Darkest Hour
The ground was shrouded in darkness and the rain fell heavily.

Mercedes-Benz cuts through the wind and waves all the way across the land of Hunan.

When we arrived at Baizhupo in Lijin, the sky was still dark.

Zhang Yunqi stopped the car, looked at the time, and it was just past four in the morning.

Ji Ling was sleeping soundly in the passenger seat, with her legs curled up and her hands clasped in her arms. In the dim light, her delicate little face was peaceful, with two shadows left by her long eyelashes.

Zhang Yunqi took off his coat and covered Ji Ling with it, then got out of the car first.

The door of the Ji family was still closed. He squatted under the eaves, lit a cigarette, looked at the drizzling rain in the dark night, deep in thought, waiting for dawn.

He didn't know how much time had passed. Seeing the sky gradually turning gray, Zhang Yunqi thought it was about time. He stood up and touched his pocket, and suddenly found that his cell phone was not on him.

Last night he gave a phone to Ji Ling, who didn't have one yet, to play with. He turned around and opened the passenger door. His phone was on the seat, pressed by Ji Ling's legs.

Zhang Yunqi bent down and reached out to take the phone.

Ji Ling turned over in a daze, his head tilted along the car seat and leaned into his arms.

At this time, a "creaking" sound came from behind.

Zhang Yunqi turned his head and saw that the door of the Ji family was open. Ji Ling's mother Zhang Jing appeared at the door. She was wearing a loose cotton home dress, with her thick long hair piled high. Her eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Ji Ling.

He whispered, "Aunt."

Then he reached out and gently patted Ji Ling's shoulders in his arms. After the girl's breathing became steady, he put her soft body back into the rocking chair.

Zhang Jing had received a call from Ji Ling before, so she was not surprised to see Zhang Yunqi appear at her doorstep. It was just that Ji Ling said he would arrive at around six o'clock, and it seemed that the two of them had been waiting outside for a while.

Seeing her daughter lying in Zhang Yunqi's arms, Zhang Jing didn't show any obvious emotions on her face. She just waited until Zhang Yunqi put Ji Ling back in the car seat before saying to Zhang Yunqi, "Come in."

Zhang Yunqi closed the car door gently, followed Zhang Jing through the living room and went straight into the study.

In the ancient study room with a faint fragrance, Zhang Jing made a cup of tea for Zhang Yunqi, sat down and said, "Ji Ling said you have something to talk to me about. What is it?"

Zhang Yunqi then told her the purpose of his visit, which was very simple. He wanted her to introduce him to a meeting with the leaders of the Xiangnan Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China and the Xiangnan Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Zhang Jing did not ask Zhang Yunqi why he wanted to meet these people, nor did he ask what he wanted to do with them.

She only said three words: "Anything else?"

Zhang Yunqi shook his head: "No more."

Zhang Jing asked again: "Really?"

Zhang Yunqi nodded: "No more."

Zhang Jing sighed, put down the teacup and said, "You know your limits. Over the years, you basically didn't ask your uncle to do anything for you. Because you know the power relationship here, but what time is it now? The people in Jiangchuan City are fighting to the death. Do you think that if you fall, your uncle can still stay out of trouble?"

Zhang Yunqi was about to speak.

Zhang Jing waved her hand to stop him from talking, stood up and looked at the drizzling rain outside the window. After a while, she said, "Even if it turns out that you have nothing to do with each other, it will be difficult for him to move on. This is the human heart, this is the situation. It has nothing to do with whether you want it or not. From the moment you get up, your uncle is tied to this boat with you."

******
It was already seven o'clock in the morning when Zhang Yunqi came out of the study.

Ji Ling had obviously woken up once, but he had been so exhausted on the journey last night that he fell asleep again with his arms and legs spread out on the leather sofa.

He was still wearing Zhang Yunqi's clothes.

Zhang Jing didn't wake up Ji Ling until the nanny prepared breakfast.

"Xiao Zhang, have you finalized the deal?" Ji Ling turned over, lay on the soft sofa and rubbed her eyes. A strand of thin and soft bangs swayed in front of her, so beautiful that it was frightening.

"It's settled." Zhang Yunqi said.

"Is your aunt very fierce? Don't be afraid of her! American imperialism is a paper tiger, and the Ji family's imperialism is also a paper tiger." Ji Ling crossed her legs and saw Zhang Yunqi sitting alone on the chair, looking a little at a loss. She couldn't help but want to tease this boy who seemed to be under tremendous pressure all over his body.

Zhang Yunqi did smile. Zhang Jing handed a cup of hot milk to Zhang Yunqi and said to Ji Ling: "You are the biggest imperialist in this family. Why don't you go wash up and prepare for breakfast?"

"Okay, okay, there's no such thing as an imperialist who can be ordered around like me." Ji Ling pouted, got up from the sofa, and went to the bathroom barefoot to wash up.

After breakfast, Zhang Jing spent the whole morning taking Zhang Yunqi to financial institutions including the Xiangnan Branch of the Agricultural Bank of China and the Xiangnan Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Zhang Jing has been working in the financial system of Lijin City, the provincial capital, for so many years, so it was not difficult for her to meet with several leaders of the same industry. However, she herself did not participate in the communication between Zhang Yunqi and the leaders of banking institutions. She didn't know what Zhang Yunqi was going to do, nor did she want to care.

It's not that she is afraid. Given the current relationship between her daughter Ji Ling and Zhang Yunqi, the relationship between her husband Ji Zhong and Zhang Yunqi, the fact that she and Zhang Yunqi are from the same place, and the weight of what Zhang Yunqi has done for his hometown Yunxi, she, Zhang Jing, has no reason to be afraid or avoid risks. It's just that everything should be done with propriety, especially in these precarious times.

At noon, after finishing her work, Zhang Jing left alone.

After Zhang Yunqi and Ji Ling, who insisted on coming with him, had a simple meal on the roadside, he walked straight into the gate of the Xiangnan Daily newspaper office.

The person who picked him up was his old acquaintance Lin Shiyu.

The two talked for the whole afternoon.

It was past five o'clock when Zhang Yunqi came out of the newspaper office.

At that time, the sky suddenly darkened. He looked up and saw huge leaden clouds hanging from the sky. The wind was blowing hard and cold. It had been raining heavily for several days. He didn't know when the rain suddenly became as big as fingers, like a pillar, covering the entire street.

Ji Ling was waiting for him at the door of the newspaper office at this time.

She was alone, leaning against the wall with her hands in her pockets, listening to music with earbuds in her ears. Her black and white eyes looked at the heavy rain on the street, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Until he saw Zhang Yunqi coming out, Ji Ling turned his head and asked: "Are you done with your work? Are you thirsty?"

Zhang Yunqi shook his head.

Ji Ling put his hands behind his back: "But I'm thirsty."

Zhang Yunqi said: "Then I'll buy you a cup of coffee."

Ji Ling narrowed his eyes and smiled: "I want to buy two cups."

Zhang Yunqi smiled and said yes. He looked up and saw a vintage coffee shop diagonally opposite. He crossed the road with Ji Ling holding an umbrella and went into the shop to buy coffee.

At this time, the mobile phone rang.

Zhang Yunqi took it out and saw that it belonged to his elder brother Zhang Yunfeng.

Zhang Yunqi told Ji Ling that he was going out to answer a phone call, then turned around and went out to a stone pavilion not far from the coffee shop to shelter from the rain before answering the phone.

Zhang Yunfeng's voice on the phone was already very confused: "Yunqi, this morning, Li Jilin and Wang Guibing were both taken away! Huo Jianzhong might be involved. Are you okay?"

Zhang Yunqi was silent for a moment, then said, "Not bad."

Zhang Yunfeng said, "That's good, that's good. Let's not talk about family matters first. As for the company matters, Zhang's Catering and the Yuxianli Night Market project, a large number of merchants are now blocking the office and making trouble, demanding refunds! The situation at Liansheng is even worse..."

"Go find Yu Lin." Zhang Yunqi wanted to say a few more words, but at this moment he suddenly saw a black official car appear on the side of the road.

The car door opened, and two men in black stand-up collar men's suits got out and walked towards him in the rain.

"Brother, take good care of the family." Zhang Yunqi hung up the phone.

At this time in the coffee shop, the coffee is already ready.

Ji Ling thanked the waiter and was about to go out with two cups of hot coffee when she saw two strange men not far from the door. They showed their ID cards to Zhang Yunqi and said a few words. Then, Zhang Yunqi was sandwiched between the two men on the left and right, and quickly crossed the street in the pouring rain and got into a black sedan.

The coffee in Ji Ling's hand fell to the ground.

She seemed to have suddenly lost all feeling and walked out into the pouring rain.

******
(End of this chapter)