Chapter 232: Good Deeds

Sitting in the car, Bridge looked at the streetscape outside the window. Honestly, the prosperity of New Jincheng was not inferior to that of the federal capital at all; in some places, it was even more prosperous.

However, it was clear that the streetscape on his left (the north) was a bit more prosperous, while the streetscape on the right (the south) did not look as prosperous, because the right side was the Imperial District.

Even though this area was adjacent to the city center, it was still slightly worse.

"We are going to the Starlight District next; that is one of the liveliest places in New Jincheng at night."

"One of?" Bridge had been working in the company during this time. He was not clear about the administrative divisions of the entire New Jincheng, nor did he know which places here were lively and which were deserted.

However, he had heard that the Starlight District was the most prosperous and lively place in New Jincheng, where there were opera houses, cinemas, nightclubs...

Every place for entertainment was there!

But why was it only "one of"?

He didn't quite understand.

The young man driving the vehicle in the driver's cabin smiled and said, "There is another place that is also very prosperous, which is that area in the middle of the Port District."

"But the people playing there are... you know, upper-class people like you. Going to such a place would make you feel uncomfortable because it is surrounded by poor people."

"But it cannot be denied that it is a bit livelier there."

"If you want to go over and take a look to experience the life of ordinary people, we can take a detour from the expressway."

It wasn't that it was livelier there; in fact, there were just more poor people. If there were as many poor people as there were rich people, perhaps both sides would be equally lively.

But in this city, there were ultimately more poor people and fewer rich people, so some people would feel that the Port District was livelier.

Bridge leaned back in the rear seat and loosened his tie a little. "I haven't really strolled around here much. We can go over there and take a look. It won't delay your rest time, will it?"

"Of course not. I am very happy to serve you, Mr. Bridge!" the driver replied quickly and pleasantly.

Afterward, he turned the car around and drove onto the expressway.

Although it was already nine o'clock in the evening, there were still quite a few cars on the expressway, from which one could glimpse the prosperity of New Jincheng.

Ten minutes later, the car drove out from the expressway exit of the Port District, and a Port District completely different from the daytime appeared before Bridge.

It was very lively—not referring to the streets themselves, but to the small stalls and vendors on both sides of the road.

There were people selling food, people selling secondhand goods, and some girls in need of help standing together in groups.

When tourists approached them, customers would touch and pinch them as if selecting goods, and then pick one they liked to take away.

Right into the small hotel not far away.

After everything was over, they would return here again.

The whole street was full of people, so much so that the speed of the car slowed down quite a bit. However, this liveliness could not cover up the fact that the ground was covered in trash, which made Bridge, who had originally intended to go down and take a look, make a different decision.

Actually, the capital had them too, but that world was already too far away from Bridge, making him feel like a stranger.

Bridge had no intention of getting out. He just sat in the car and watched it once, like an observer outside an ant farm.

They liked to watch the ant farm, but that didn't mean they had to live inside it.

"Let's go. There's nothing worth seeing."

The young driver quickly chose to head to the Starlight District via Highway 13, which was the fastest road.

When the car was about to leave the Port District, the young driver suddenly noticed warning signs placed on the street in the northeast corner, and the outer side of the wall looked like it had some damage.

He suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but complain, "The government of New Jincheng is the worst I have ever seen. Do you see that corner of the wall over there?"

Bridge leaned forward slightly and looked in the direction the driver was pointing. "Yes, a corner of the wall seems to have been destroyed by something. What's wrong with it?"

The young driver explained, "A car accident happened here the month before last. That broken wall plaster was already there at that time."

"But two months have passed, and they haven't even planned to repair it!"

"I'm not saying it's not good here, but I believe that if it were in the capital, they might have already repaired it a month ago."

He knew that Mr. Bridge behind him came from the capital, and saying such things was clearly to curry favor with Bridge.

The larger the company, the harder it was to climb up.

Externally, he claimed to be a manager, but in reality, there were more than a dozen managers like him on one floor.

If there was no great opportunity, then he would very likely only be working here in his thirties or even forties.

This was not the life and existence he wanted. He also hoped to be able to carry a briefcase, wear a crisp suit, greet others while smiling, take the elevator served by others, and then watch the envious and jealous gazes of others be blocked by the elevator door.

He had to seize this opportunity.

Bridge had a smile that wasn't quite a smile. He understood too well what this young man wanted to do, because he had come up that way himself.

Just as he was about to say something, suddenly a beam of light illuminated his eyes, and the intense light made him unable to even open his eyes.

In an instant, many things he had already forgotten echoed in his brain.

When he was a child, his parents bought the bicycle his older brother wanted because his brother had better grades, while he was told he wasn't allowed to touch that bicycle because it was his brother's.

He thought of how he studied hard and did chores hard, trying to win his parents' praise and affirmation, only to be disappointed after they took his performance for granted.

He thought of how he clearly received an invitation to university, but because his brother thought he would only waste the family's money by going to university, he ultimately lost the opportunity to go to university.

He thought of many regrets. The first half of his life was almost suppressed by his brother; no matter how he struggled or resisted, he couldn't get ahead.

But he also thought of later, when he entered society and, through his own efforts, became a salesman for the Lianbang You Bao Group.

His job was to go to remote places to resolve disputes with farmers.

Those farmers often had conflicts with the company because the company's acquisition price was significantly lower than the market price.

The more peaceful ones would refuse to sell things to the company, or even contact surrounding farmers to refuse to sell together.

And those with more intense means of resistance would contact many farmers to refuse to let company people approach their farms, and would even destroy some of the company's vehicles and equipment.

These farmers... they didn't know at all that for the company, they were the most basic cells providing nutrients for the entire company. Their only value was to transfer the benefits they obtained from their labor into the hands of the company, so the company would not allow them to destroy the company's interests.

At first, Bridge wasn't quite used to this unscrupulous job, because you had to find a way to persuade the farmer to sell you things worth one hundred dollars for fifty or even forty dollars.

This persuasion wasn't just you standing together, communicating face-to-face to persuade him; it also included deception, intimidation, threats, and other means.

Things like cutting off water and electricity were the most basic. The company had a whole set of procedures to deal with these people, but some salesmen weren't unscrupulous enough; they might not be able to bring themselves to be ruthless to those old farmer couples in their fifties or sixties.

At first, he couldn't either, but as other salesmen's performance improved and they gained the attention of the head office, he knew he had to step it up.

He used many despicable, shameless, and even criminal means, eventually becoming the top-performing salesman. He handled all the farmers in his jurisdiction, making them accept the ultra-low quotes, which earned the company a large sum of money.

In the following years, he always maintained a leading level, and eventually, he was promoted to work at the company's headquarters.

He still remembered that day, when all the employees of the entire department stood on both sides of the office door to welcome him.

They applauded enthusiastically, and there were even young girls offering passionate kisses...

Those beautiful scenes all appeared in his mind. He saw his parents' tears of regret, and saw his brother clearly unwilling, but ultimately bowing his head to him under the pressure of life.

He thought of the smooth skin of those girls or ladies in the office, and their strong craving for protein, even if the smell was strong.

He thought of many things, and finally, all the images turned into intense light!

Intense light that made people unable to open their eyes!

"Boom!"

People living nearby almost felt like there was an earthquake. An old man living on the first floor sat up abruptly from his bed, and he stuck his head out to look outside the car, somewhat hysterically.

A ray of light shone onto his windowsill from not far away. He already had some premonition, and he prayed to God in his heart, hoping that what he guessed hadn't happened.

He walked to the window, pulled back the curtain, and could only see half of a truck head.

"Fuck!"

"Damn it! Fuck!"

In an instant, his face turned red, and profanity spewed out from his mouth crazily, like a bladder that had been held all day and could no longer be held back!

The picture frame that had already tilted on the wall ultimately couldn't hold on, and it fell to the ground with a crash, and even the wall cracked a bit.

The old man threw on a piece of clothing and turned to run out. He stood on the sidewalk, his face full of disbelief!

In the same place, at almost the same time, another truck, another small car!

The wheels of the small car were still spinning with a whir!

He didn't care about these; what he cared about was...

"My house!"

Some pedestrians around had already approached. They looked at the tragic car accident scene with faces full of shock. Some people had already gone to call the police, and some had called the fire department.

Soon, police cars and fire trucks arrived, as well as an ambulance.

The truck driver was snoring; he had already fallen completely asleep. Without a doubt, it was another night truck driver who thought "drinking a little alcohol can refresh you."

This kind of truck driver was very dangerous and often appeared. Many news reports had covered them. People would only see this as a... joke. They felt that someone was too stupid to actually think that drinking alcohol could refresh you!

The firefighter took a look at the crushed and deformed small car. The driver in the driver's cabin was already finished; it looked as if he was about to "explode."

The guy in the back seat was slightly luckier—

"Slightly luckier" didn't mean he was still alive, but that his state of death was slightly more peaceful, just relative to the driver.

"Another car accident caused by alcoholism. Reporters will have new news to report tomorrow."

The police officer in charge of the scene finished surveying and directly reported the response of a "car accident" to the station. This wasn't murder, not a premeditated killing; this was just an ordinary car accident.

Even the Hazardous Materials Bureau and those big shots hoped more that it was just a car accident, because only then would they have real content about "alcoholism harming health and life safety" to report!

A dozen minutes later, Laini arrived at the scene. He watched Bridge, who had already been put into a body bag, with cold sweat pouring down.

He even forgot to answer the police officer's question until the police officer pushed him. "Hey, is this the Bridge you know?"

"Ah?" Laini looked at his expression somewhat blankly, and then, as if he understood what the other party was asking, he nodded hurriedly. "Yes, yes, this is Bridge. I know him."

He said, unable to help himself, "What happened?"

The police officer was recording the deceased's identity information. After writing it down, he used the hand holding the clipboard and pen to point at the intersection. "Your friend was driving from south to north, and this car was driving from west to east. It hit it from the side and pushed it here."

"Both of them are dead. The driver drank alcohol, and he was already asleep when we arrived..."

Laini swallowed a mouthful of saliva. "This... is it possible that it wasn't an accident?"

The police officer glanced at him and put his hands on his hips. "You had better be responsible for what you say. Leave your identity information, and we will arrange for officers to follow up."

Laini thought of Lanse, thought of some other possible, potential avengers, and his cold sweat poured down. "I... I didn't mean that. I just... sorry, I was shocked, I said the wrong thing."

Only then did the police officer nod slightly and tap his chest with the clipboard. "It's best to use your brain before you speak next time. This kind of thing isn't something you can just talk nonsense about. Do you understand?"

Besides nodding, what else could Laini do?

Soon, the two cars were moved away. The police officers searched the car and found a gold watch, but they put it into their own pockets.

There was also some cash, which was the same.

There was nothing else. If it weren't for the fact that they didn't like ties stained with blood, perhaps Bridge's tie would have been taken off by them too.

The driver only realized he had accidentally killed someone when he woke up. However, his truck had insurance—drunk driving wasn't considered an illegal act during this period; it was a moral issue, not an illegal one, so the insurance company would very likely haggle with him.

As for how much money to compensate?

Perhaps around fifty thousand dollars. Life has actually always had a price, and it was written in places where people could see it, but people rarely noticed it.

The only busiest person at the scene might be that landlord, who kept asking who would compensate him for the money to repair the house this time...

The next morning, Laini called Lanse early in the morning.

"Mr. Lanse..." The call really got through, but Laini didn't know what to say. Neither of them spoke, and they just maintained this somewhat inexplicable state.

After about a dozen seconds, Laini said, "Mr. Bridge had a car accident last night. The situation is very bad. He died on the spot."

It took two seconds for Lanse's voice to come through the receiver, somewhat indifferent. "Is that so?"

"It's a pity to hear this news. Is he being buried in New Jincheng or sent back to his hometown?"

"If he is buried in New Jincheng, remember to notify me. I will go and offer a flower. At least we can be considered friends who have met."

Laini tried several times, and finally gathered his courage. "Bridge's death..."

He ultimately couldn't continue, and Lanse said after waiting for a few seconds, "This has to be asked of the police. Perhaps the police have some different views on his death."

"If you have nothing else, I have other things to do."

Laini opened his mouth, and ultimately could only say goodbye to Lanse and hang up the phone.

Bridge had already handled the vast majority of the contracts. The remaining ones were either for lawsuits or waiting for breach of contract. Even if a new specialist were arranged to come over, they wouldn't change these strategies.

Let alone the death of one Bridge, even if ten died, or one hundred died, they wouldn't change this decision.

You have to know that this could bring them at least millions in profit. Even if one hundred people died and the company paid compensation, they would still have millions in profit left!

So don't expect that just because one specialist died, the company would let up. Once the company bites into meat, there is no escaping.

Laini wasn't sure if it was Lanse's doing, but he had some premonition that perhaps this had something to do with Lanse.

After Lanse hung up the phone, he took several stacks of money out of the drawer and placed them on the table. There were five thousand dollars in total, with five-dollar denominations, ten-dollar denominations, and twenty-dollar denominations.

In front of him was a woman. When she saw this money, she clearly showed an expression of joy.

"Your husband fulfilled his promise. These are yours."

The woman thanked him while walking over, intending to take the money into her hands, but Lanse suddenly pressed down on the money. He looked at the somewhat stunned woman. "I don't want more people to know about this matter."

"Don't tell anyone. Don't spend all this money at once. Spend it slowly. After all, your children are still young, and they need money to grow up, don't you think?"

The spark in the woman's eyes quickly extinguished. She nodded somewhat nervously. "Yes, Mr. Lanse, I..."

Lanse let go of his hand, took a kraft paper bag from the side, put all the money into it, and then handed it to her. "I will have someone send you back."

The woman no longer had any worries and thanked Lanse repeatedly.

Her husband was a truck driver who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. The doctor told them he wouldn't live much longer.

He had already started to feel pain all over his body, to the point where he couldn't sleep, and then Lanse found him and gave him a job he couldn't refuse.

A car accident, five thousand dollars, enough for his children to grow up healthy! ===== CHAPTER 233 =====