Chapter 19

After Jin Yunhao and Li Xiaoran left, the room was left with only the three brothers, Li Jingju, Li Jingmin, and Li Jinghong.

"Second brother, Third brother, what do you think?" Li Jingju asked while sipping his tea.

"That young man is quite impressive. He's calm and composed, I like him a lot," Third brother Li Jinghong replied with a hearty laugh.

Compared to Li Jinghong, Second brother Li Jingmin's response was much shorter: "He's acceptable."

Li Jingmin was a senior prosecutor, known for his strictness and few words. Years of investigative work had made him a difficult person to get along with. To receive his "acceptable" evaluation was truly no easy feat.

Moreover, Li Jingmin's "acceptable" also carried another meaning.

Jin Yunhao had completed the case, and it was time for him to receive his reward. Initially, the promise made to Jin Yunhao was that his promotion would be based on the speed of solving the case, with the minimum being a promotion to a Level 4 Chief Prosecutor and the maximum being a promotion to a Level 3 Prosecutor.

Before Jin Yunhao arrived, Li Jingju and Li Jingmin had already discussed the "reward" for Jin Yunhao. Solving the case within 24 hours through covert investigation deserved the highest level of reward.

After meeting Jin Yunhao, Li Jingmin's "acceptable" indicated that he agreed to the reward of a three-level promotion.

Third brother Li Jinghong, who was also familiar with the prosecutor ranks, knew that promoting Jin Yunhao by three levels would require a significant amount of resources. He interjected, "Isn't that too high?"

Li Jingmin shook his head, "You don't understand the difficulty. In a covert investigation, many methods can't be used. Even if my students were to handle this case, the fastest they could solve it would be at this speed."

Hearing this, Li Jinghong was quite surprised.

He knew that his second brother's students were all elite prosecutors, many of whom were Level 1 Prosecutors and held important positions in the Supreme Procuratorate. If they were to handle this case, the fastest they could solve it would be at this speed.

Li Jinghong now had a clear understanding of Jin Yunhao's investigative abilities—he was a capable investigator.

"But, promoting him by three levels will require a lot of resources, right?" Li Jinghong expressed his concern. His second brother was about to retire, and the resources in the prosecution system were limited.

Li Jingmin smiled bitterly, "You don't understand. Li Xiaoran knows too little about the prosecution system. The most difficult part of her promise is the 'Level 4 Chief Prosecutor.' This position requires a lot of work experience, and he is only 25 years old. Putting him in this position would be too conspicuous."

Li Jingmin glanced at his eldest brother and saw that Li Jingju, who doted on Li Xiaoran, remained unperturbed. He continued, "In fact, I had already ruled out this option and made a plan. Either promote him by one level or by three levels. As for the resources, we'll use them if we need to. If we don't use them now, they'll expire."

"Since you've already made up your mind, I won't say more. That young man will benefit from it," Li Jinghong said.

The eldest brother, Li Jingju, who had been silent, spoke up, "Since we've gone this far, we might as well put in more effort. If we want to win someone over, we need to show the greatest sincerity."

Li Jingmin, the senior prosecutor, thought for a moment, "Understood. I will promote him to a Level 3 Prosecutor and transfer him to the Criminal Investigation Department."

He gritted his teeth, as if making a big decision, and added, "Finally, I will leave a position for him in the Anti-Corruption Department. This favor, I'll leave to you, eldest brother."

Li Jingju was very satisfied with his second brother's decisiveness, "That's right. When you see the potential, you must be willing to invest." Then he looked at his third brother, Li Jinghong, "As for the favor you mentioned, let's leave it to the third brother."

"Huh? What does it have to do with me?" Li Jinghong asked in confusion.

"The young man has great potential. Since we've invested in him, we need to ensure the safety of our investment. There's nothing safer than becoming family. Your granddaughter is just the right age," the eldest brother Li Jingju said in a business-like tone, but his tone left no room for refusal.

"Hehe, alright, I'll be the matchmaker. But, eldest brother, why don't you be the matchmaker? Li Xiaoran hasn't found a husband yet," Li Jinghong said with a smile.

Li Jingju played with the purple clay teapot in his hand and shook his head with a cold laugh, "Marrying into our family's eldest daughter? Heh... he's not worthy!"

...

On the other side, after leaving the suite, Jin Yunhao bid farewell to Li Xiaoran.

He was well aware of his status, at most, he was just a high-level enforcer for them. Li Xiaoran had already gone to great lengths to show him respect, and he couldn't afford to waste her time any longer.

Sure enough, as the banquet was about to start, important guests began to arrive. As the hostess of the evening, Li Xiaoran was busy greeting various guests.

After the banquet started, Li Xiaoran was never short of admirers. The seat beside her was highly sought after, but among those vying for the position, there was no Jin Yunhao.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he simply didn't have the qualifications!

Just as the head of the Li family, Li Jingju, had said, if he wanted to pursue and marry Li Xiaoran— he was not worthy!

The focus of the scene was always the dignified Li Xiaoran and her male companion.

As for Li Xiaoran's former companion, Jin Yunhao? People had long forgotten about him.

"At least I had the experience of walking beside her tonight, even if it was just before the banquet started."

Jin Yunhao consoled himself.

But deep inside, another voice was growing: "One day, I will stand there, beside Li Xiaoran, and receive the attention of others."

He turned and left.

...

After leaving the Lotte Hotel, Jin Yunhao returned to being a poor boy. Among the luxury cars gathered at the entrance, not one belonged to him.

His mode of transportation was just his own two legs.

Perhaps feeling a bit stimulated, Jin Yunhao indulged in a rare luxury today. Instead of taking the bus, he chose to take the subway.

The starting fare for both the bus and the subway was the same, but the bus didn't charge extra, while the subway did after 10 kilometers. Therefore, Jin Yunhao usually chose the bus for personal travel.

This time, after riding the subway for a short while, Jin Yunhao regretted it. When he paid for his fare, he realized he had spent twice as much as usual.

Damn, it hurt.

Even after leaving the Jiulao District subway station, Jin Yunhao couldn't shake off the pain.

Next time, I can't be so impulsive. I'll never take the subway again.

Around 10:30 PM, Jin Yunhao was walking alone on the street, reflecting on himself. Unconsciously, he passed by the Jiulao District police station.

"Seems like that guy in the tank top is locked up here, right?" Jin Yunhao suddenly remembered the thugs he had encountered in the evening.

Feeling very down, he wouldn't be able to sleep if he went home, so he decided to take a walk and check on the guy in the tank top.

Jin Yunhao thought the guy in the tank top was quite righteous and had a good impression of him, so he decided to go see him.

An hour later, when Jin Yunhao came out of the police station, he was accompanied by a man in a tank top, covered in tattoos, the same guy from before.

"Hehe, I never thought you were Sanmao," Jin Yunhao shook his head and laughed bitterly.

It turned out that Jin Yunhao had known the guy in the tank top before.

The guy in the tank top was nicknamed 'Sanmao,' and Jin Yunhao had given him this nickname. It was because he used to have a strange hairstyle with three tufts of hair on the back of his neck.

Sanmao was also a poor person from Old Jiulao District. He had grown up in the streets of Old Jiulao District, but as he grew older, he learned to be ashamed and didn't want to be pointed at by his neighbors, so he moved to other districts.

They hadn't seen each other for many years, which was why they didn't recognize each other.

If Jin Yunhao had recognized Sanmao, he wouldn't have sent him to the police station. And if Sanmao had recognized Jin Yunhao, he wouldn't have come to cause trouble for him.

In fact, they had a pretty good relationship in the past.

Seeing Jin Yunhao laugh, Sanmao finally dared to speak. He patted the back of his head and said with a simple smile, "Hehe, I didn't expect it to be you, boss. If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have had the guts to take on this job, even if you gave me a hundred lives."

Sanmao was in his thirties, clearly older than Jin Yunhao, but he called Jin Yunhao "boss." This unusual title dated back 18 years.

...

When he woke up in the morning, he saw that his followers had increased by several dozen. Upon closer inspection, he found that he had made it to the Urban New Book Chart. Brothers, you guys are awesome!

...

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