Chapter 93: Zhao Jianlong

“What kind of show?” Gu Bing asked curiously.

“Zhao Jianlong’s arcade is hosting gambling, and there are many minors involved—it’ll be in the papers tomorrow.” Zhou Andong’s lips curled into a smile. “This time, if Zhao Jianlong doesn’t die, I’ll peel off a layer of his skin.”

Saying this, Zhou Andong turned and walked out.

“Where are you going?” Jian Qiu asked.

Zhou Andong said: “I’m going to find Yao Jun. I asked him to handle something earlier—I wonder how it’s going.”

Jian Qiu said: “The kitchen light is broken. I bought a new one. Go fix it for me tonight.”

“Alright!” Zhou Andong replied and left the office.

Gu Bing grumbled: “I can fix the light too. Why are you asking him? Late at night, alone with a woman?”

“I want to. What’s it to you?” Jian Qiu also left.

Gu Bing felt utterly defeated. Cheng Dadan looked down on him, and this girl didn’t take him seriously—he felt his whole life was dark.

Sitting on the chair, he moodily lit a cigarette, then stared at the phone, lost in thought. After a long while, he gritted his teeth, grabbed the phone, and dialed a number.

“Raise some U.S. dollars. I’ll give you thirty percent annual interest.”

The other side hesitated: “Who is this?”

“Fuck!” Gu Bing cursed. “You can’t even recognize my voice?”

“Oh!” The other side chuckled nervously. “What kind of business are you in? You can give me thirty percent interest in a year?”

“Don’t ask what business,” Gu Bing said. “Just raise as much money as you can—U.S. dollars only. You can offer them twenty percent interest. The more you raise, the more you earn.”

The other side said cautiously: “It won’t be a loss, right?”

“Fuck, you’re really dragging your feet. Is there any business that doesn’t risk loss?” Gu Bing cursed. Then he started mimicking Zhou Andong’s wild talk: “But this time, the chance of losing is low. The bigger your ambition, the greater your harvest. Whether you eat meat or drink broth depends on your courage. If you’ve got no guts, I’ll find someone else.”

“Don’t!” the other side said. “Can I think about it?”

Gu Bing said: “Fine. Tell me tomorrow. Time is tight—I don’t want you to delay my profits.”

Zhou Andong arrived at Workshop Two and found Yao Jun: “How’s the thing I asked you to handle before the New Year?”

Yao Jun blinked: “What thing?”

Zhou Andong said: “The families of the kids cheated at the arcade.”

Yao Jun said: “Only three agreed. The others are too afraid of Zhao Jianlong’s power to say yes.”

Zhou Andong smiled: “Three is enough. Come see me early tomorrow morning. Follow the plan.”

Yao Jun nodded: “Got it!”

“Cheers!”

At the Seafood Grand Restaurant, Huo Xing and over a dozen brothers raised their glasses to celebrate Zhao Jianlong being named one of the province’s Ten Outstanding Youth. That night they’d head to the provincial capital; tomorrow they’d record the award ceremony, and the broadcast would air the day after.

Zhao Jianlong tilted his head back and downed his glass in one gulp. The man was riding high—reform and opening-up had been officially endorsed, and he was ready to unleash his ambitions. This “Ten Outstanding Youth” title would bring him countless advantages.

“Brothers, once I bring back the award tomorrow, we’ll drink again properly.”

“Wish Brother Long all the best!” One guy raised his glass. “Come on, let’s drink another round with Brother Long.”

“Wish Brother Long all the best!” The dozen or so men raised their glasses together and clinked them loudly.

“Alright, I’ve got to go,” Zhao Jianlong called out—the man sitting quietly aside, gnawing on a chicken leg, who hadn’t touched his drink.

“Brother Long, let us see you off,” Huo Xing and the others stood up and escorted Zhao Jianlong out of the restaurant.

Zhao Jianlong looked at his newly bought Tiger Head Ben, and his whole demeanor turned triumphant. His Santana had crashed into a tree, so he’d replaced it with this big Ben. Though it cost him over a million, it had hurt to spend it—but now, looking at it, the million was worth every penny. With his current status, only a big Ben was worthy of him.

“I’m off. Keep drinking,” Zhao Jianlong got into the car.

Huo Xing watched the Tiger Head Ben vanish into the night. For some reason, a sudden unease gripped him. This unease made him think of Zhou Andong again.

Since that encounter with Zhou Andong, he’d investigated everyone around him—but found nothing. Only a few people knew about his wife and children, and they were all his trusted men—impossible to betray him.

Yet that confused him: how did Zhou Andong know about his wife and children? Zhou Andong’s impression on him was simply too damn sinister. Even after moving his wife to another apartment and transferring his child to a different nursery, just thinking of Zhou Andong still filled him with dread.

“Star Brother, come on—it’s too cold outside. Let’s go back and keep drinking,” someone called out.

Huo Xing shook his head sharply, trying to shake Zhou Andong’s name from his mind—but the more he tried, the stronger the unease grew.

“Fuck!” Huo Xing muttered under his breath. “Could something really happen?”

“Star Brother, what’s wrong?” the man asked.

Huo Xing looked up at the night sky: “Da Biao, drive. We’re going to the provincial capital too.” He couldn’t rest easy about his wife and child—he had to see them himself.

But he never imagined the danger wasn’t at his wife and child’s location—it was at the arcade, Zhao Jianlong’s lifeline.

The next day, February 22nd, Fengjing’s weather was unusually clear. Zhao Jianlong woke up, took a shower, put on a suit he’d spent over ten thousand on, and stepped out, fresh and alert, driving his Tiger Head Ben straight to the provincial TV station.

At the same time, Zhou Andong and Yao Jun appeared at a household. Once inside, Zhou Andong understood why this family wasn’t afraid of Zhao Jianlong’s retaliation.

The place was utterly destitute—no furniture except a kang bed and a shattered mirror. A child, barely six or seven, gnawed on a cornmeal cake, with not even a bowl of egg soup.

Think of a family like this—nearly starving to death—who cared about Zhao Jianlong’s revenge? The other two families were probably the same. And their current state? They’d surely lost everything to Zhao Jianlong.

“Big Brother Sun, do you remember me?” Yao Jun asked a middle-aged man.

“I remember!” Sun Dahai nodded, licked his rolled cigarette, and struck a match to light it.

Yao Jun glanced around the room: “Where’s your eldest son?”

Sun Dahai said coldly: “Don’t know. Haven’t come home in days. Probably dead outside.”

Yao Jun didn’t press further: “Remember what I told you last time?”

Sun Dahai’s eyes lit up: “That benefactor you mentioned—has he really stepped in to help us?”

Yao Jun smiled and handed Sun Dahai the newspaper he’d bought that morning: “Take a look.”

Sun Dahai took it, read it, and leapt to his feet in excitement: “It’s really reported! It’s really reported!” His eyes turned bloodshot. He gritted his teeth and snarled: “Let’s go. Do exactly as you said. I’m going to make a scene—I won’t stop until I bring down that bastard Zhao Jianlong.”