Chapter 48: Good days are coming

Li Jiaci stared, then couldn't help wanting to laugh.

This brother‑sister pair is rather interesting.

Because he had once been cellmates with Wang Zhen, he also knew a lot about Wang Zhen.

Wang Zhen's parents died early.

He single‑handedly raised his sister, who was still in swaddling clothes at the time.

He had worked as a factory apprentice, waited tables in a restaurant, and later carried bricks on a construction site.

If you wonder how he rose so quickly to become a figure who can call the wind and rain in Zhongcheng Qu, you must thank that layoff wave.

Starting in the mid‑1980s, state‑owned enterprises carried out several rounds of reform, causing more and more laid‑off workers to return home and the number of idle people in society to grow.

And as the idle population grew, unlawful activities were bound to appear.

There were lone petty thieves, as well as gangs that gathered to cause trouble elsewhere, extorting businesses, leaving people panic‑stricken.

The construction site where Wang Zhen worked at the time was also affected, with people coming almost daily to steal, rob, fight, and smash, leaving the site unable to operate.

At that time Wang Zhen was twenty‑six and already a minor boss on the site.

Unable to bear the pressure any longer, he brought over a large group of youths from his hometown, roughly his age, who did nothing else but spend all day fighting those who came looking for trouble.

After a while he made a name for himself, and the thugs dared not provoke him.

Seeing this, the real‑estate bosses all rushed to cooperate with him, and even the government contracted some projects to him.

Thus Wang Zhen grew from small to great, from low to high, progressing from a foreman to forming a work crew, then a construction company, step by step becoming a leader in the industry.

Of course, if you look closely, his rise to wealth was certainly not glorious, filled with bloodshed and violence.

But in those times, how could one earn others' respect without bloodshed and violence?

As for his eventual capture, it was just bad luck for that guy.

During the crackdown, everyone tried to stay as low‑key as possible, praying not to be noticed.

Yet at that moment his underlings suddenly erupted in an internal fight; although it was quickly quelled, it also drew Maozi's attention to him.

The end result was his arrest and imprisonment, receiving a life sentence.

And the prison where Li Jiaci was later detained happened to be the very place where Wang Zhen was serving his sentence.

The two lived in the same cell for nearly two and a half years.

Later, Li Jiaci's verdict was announced, and the execution date was set.

That final night, he rarely pulled Li Jiaci aside for an all‑night chat about the past, and in the end he talked himself into tears.

If one asks, what exactly did he do wrong to bring about such an end?

Perhaps it was that, in an age when violence ought not be used, he never gave up his old tricks and kept resorting to violence.

……

The next morning.

After Li Jiaci got up, he first called a few brothers to rise, then went back to call Wang Yingna.

Wang Yingna now clearly shows the first signs of withdrawal.

She feels listless, like she has a cold, with tears and snot flowing, and she keeps yawning.

When they arrived at the office of Mu Cai Chang, she simply sat by the stove, refusing to move.

Seeing her like that,

Li Jiaci couldn't help but recall his own withdrawal ordeal.

It was truly worse than a beast.

Li Jiaci sighed inwardly and said to Wang Yingna, "This is only the first gate; it will only get harder from here—are you sure you want to quit?"

"Hehe."

Wang Yingna smiled, glanced at Li Jiaci, and said, "Are you looking down on me, or are you using the goading tactic?"

"The goading tactic."

Li Jiaci replied frankly.

"Then you've succeeded."

Wang Yingna cupped her water cup, trembling, and said, "I will definitely quit it."

"I wish you success!"

Li Jiaci said, "If anything comes up, go shout for me right away."

"Mm."

Wang Yingna nodded.

Watching his retreating back,

Wang Yingna's eyes gained a touch of amusement.

This man really is a bit out of the ordinary, and unlike any of the men she has seen before.

On the other side.

Leaving the office,

Li Jiaci went to greet the timber dealers who had lined up early that morning.

To be honest,

Li Jiaci had only thought that this business would be easy.

But he truly hadn't expected it to become this booming.

The twenty original workers, plus the dozen‑odd that Liu Jiang later brought back, all working at full tilt, still couldn't keep up with the shipping pace.

In just one morning they processed over seventy tons of raw timber.

But by the time lunch came around,

The place for stacking timber still had no timber left.

Besides that, from the moment they opened the timber yard's gate in the morning, timber merchants coming to purchase never stopped.

Basically, as soon as they produced a piece of timber here, they immediately loaded it onto a truck.

Seeing this bustling scene, Li Jiaci slowly curled the corner of his mouth.

"Everyone, put in some effort, good days are coming!"

……

In the afternoon.

Hong Bo also came to Li Jiaci's timber yard with his own driver.

Seeing him approach, Li Jiaci directly told Zhang Chuqiang to bring out the notebook for recording heads.

"Brother Hong!"

"Yesterday, there were a total of twelve trucks that said you, Brother Hong, introduced them."

"As we agreed, as long as someone comes over and mentions your name, I'll give Brother Hong a hundred yuan as tea money."

Li Jiaci directly slapped a stack of bills into Hong Bo's hand: "This is twelve hundred, take it!"

"Eh eh eh!"

Hong Bo pushed the money back: "Boss Li, don't be so polite; we're all friends, introducing you a few customer flows is also appropriate."

"Besides, if your timber weren't good, nobody would rush over to buy from you."

"One thing for one thing."

Li Jiaci simply stuffed the money into Hong Bo's pocket: "This is what we agreed on before; it can't change."

"Eh yo."

"Boss Li really..."

Hong Bo lowered his head to glance at his money-filled pocket, then lifted his head to look at Li Jiaci again, his eyes now showing a hint of admiration.

Before, he also helped other timber yard bosses recruit people.

But those bosses either kept making excuses not to pay, or tried every way to deduct his referral fee.

Few are as generous as Li Jiaci, directly slapping the money into his hand.

Consequently, he couldn't help but think highly of Li Jiaci.

This person before him, though young, really knows how to do business.

And seeing him accept the money.

Li Jiaci's face also broke into a smile.

"From now on, we'll follow this rule."

"As long as someone mentions your name, I'll record it; when you come, we'll settle together."

Li Jiaci leaned close to Hong Bo and said: "Brother Hong, you should trust me, right? If you don't, it's fine—see if your sister-in-law or little nephew has time, and have them come to my yard to listen."