Velvet Chains of a Tycoon

The next morning at nine o'clock, Jian Qin arrived at the construction site and located the project manager. He then showed him the surveillance footage that Ran Qin had sent earlier that morning. The phone he was using was an old smartphone discarded by Du Xiaomei during the Spring Festival. Although the resolution was somewhat low, the blueprints in the video were still clearly visible.

The project manager glanced at the blueprint in the video and chuckled, "Yes, this is indeed the blueprint our company provided, but you didn't follow it, did you?"

Jian Qin replied firmly, "That's impossible. I made copies of the blueprint and distributed them to the workers, instructing them to follow it precisely."

The project manager grew impatient, snapping, "Can't you see for yourself? Go back to the site and check if the gas pipes were installed according to this blueprint!"

Jian Qin took the video to the site and, after comparing it with the actual installation, his face turned ashen. The blueprint in the video matched the one provided by the site manager, which meant Sun Guoping hadn't tampered with it. But how could his trusted team have made such a grave mistake?

These workers had been with him for years—the longest for six or seven years, and the shortest for over two. They were experienced and wouldn't misread a blueprint, no matter how complex.

Sun Guoping arrived shortly after, taking one look at Jian Qin's pale face before erupting in anger. "You're always suspicious, thinking I'm out to get you. Now that you've seen the surveillance footage, you should know I didn't do anything wrong, right? You're too arrogant, neglecting the project, and now when something goes wrong, you want to pin the blame on me. What grudge do I hold against you? Why would I sabotage your work?"

Jian Qin's four workers chimed in defensively, "When we were installing the pipes, the blueprint wasn't the one in the video!"

"Yeah," another added, "we've installed so many pipes; there's no way we'd misread a blueprint."

"I gave you this exact blueprint," Sun Guoping retorted coldly. "Why you chose to use a different one is your problem. Take responsibility for your own actions!"

With that, Sun Guoping climbed into his car and drove off. He had no time for these "losers," as he muttered under his breath, and he needed to interview a new project supervisor. Jian Qin's stubbornness and inability to adapt were the reasons he was failing, Sun thought smugly.

Jian Qin's five workers stared at him, their expressions a mix of confusion and concern. "Brother Jian, we really followed the blueprint," one of them said hesitantly.

"Brother Jian, what's going on?" another asked. "If Manager Sun's blueprint was correct, why did you give us the wrong one?"

"Brother Jian, where did your blueprint come from?" a third worker pressed.

Jian Qin felt a lump rise in his throat. His blueprint was the one Sun Guoping had given him! He tried to recall the events of that day. Sun Guoping had handed him the blueprint, and because it was raining, he had taken shelter in the security booth and briefly reviewed it. Since they needed to bury underground pipes and install pipes in separate buildings, he had gone to a nearby copy shop and made three copies. Could the copy shop have made a mistake?

Jian Qin rode his electric bike to the copy shop and showed the owner the blueprint from the video, asking about the copying process. The owner, visibly confused, insisted he had copied the blueprint Jian Qin provided and returned both the original and the copies. Unfortunately, the shop had no surveillance cameras inside, so Jian Qin couldn't prove the owner had switched the blueprint.

Meanwhile, Ran Qin had arrived early at Ren'an Clinic to meet Zhao Lin and inspect a shop for rent. The shop was in an excellent location, part of a well-established residential complex with a decent occupancy rate. The two storefronts had previously housed a small supermarket, but with the rise of online shopping, the business had struggled. The owner wanted to sell, but the transfer fee was exorbitant—300,000 yuan, plus a two-month deposit and a quarter's rent, totaling around 150,000 to 160,000 yuan. On top of that, they'd need to renovate, which would cost approximately 100,000 yuan. These costs were far beyond what Ran Qin and Zhao Lin could afford.

The shop owner explained, "I paid that much to take over the shop. I ran the supermarket for two years, lost money, and now I can't afford to lose more on the transfer fee."

They understood the logic, but the financial burden was insurmountable. Dejected, Ran Qin and Zhao Lin left the shop. As they were walking, Jian Qin called.

"Ran Qin, the blueprint in the surveillance video is the one Sun Guoping gave me..."

Jian Qin recounted the morning's events, his voice trembling with frustration and despair. Ran Qin was stunned, "What? Are you absolutely sure you followed the blueprint?"

"Maybe the copy shop made a mistake, but there's no surveillance footage to prove it..."

The copy shop only had a camera outside, and the owner adamantly denied switching any blueprints. Without evidence, Jian Qin, as the project supervisor, was held accountable for the 500,000-yuan loss. The gas company not only terminated his employment but also blacklisted him in the industry, effectively ending his career in gas pipe installation.

Ran Qin told Zhao Lin to continue searching for a suitable shop while she rushed to the gas company to support her brother. At the company's office, Sun Guoping was berating Jian Qin, his tone dripping with disdain. "How many times do I have to tell you? The 500,000 yuan isn't my calculation—it's from the site. We've already done our best to reduce your fine. If not for us, they would have demanded 700,000 yuan."

Jian Qin pleaded desperately, "Could you please ask the site manager to reconsider? Some of the pipes are still usable, and only part of the installation is incorrect. Not all materials need to be replaced..."

"What good does that do? Talk to the site manager yourself!" Sun Guoping snapped, his voice sharp and dismissive. "Did I make the mistake? You were careless, and the company is already being lenient by not pursuing damages for reputational harm. How dare you ask us to cover part of the cost?"

"Leave now," Sun Guoping ordered coldly, "or when Manager Zhang arrives, you'll have to pay even more. Don't say I didn't warn you."

With that, Sun Guoping had Jian Qin forcibly removed from the hall. "Pay the 500,000 yuan within three days, or the company will take legal action. And trust me, it won't just be 500,000 yuan then."