PCJ – Chapter 376 The Street Rat

“Liu Guocai, you’re something else! In just a few years, you’ve become a big boss.” Zhang Qianlong wanted to subcontract the construction of his house to someone else.

When Liu Guocai saw it was Zhang Qianlong, he smiled awkwardly, chuckling, “Who doesn’t know that you, Zhang Qianlong, have gone to Guangdong to do big business? Us less capable ones can only scrape by back home. What brings you here, Boss Zhang?”

“Of course, I’m here to discuss business with you, Boss Liu.” Zhang Qianlong smiled, dragging a chair over to sit in front of Liu Guocai.

“Oh. How could I dare to talk business with Boss Zhang?” Liu Guocai didn’t want to deal with Zhang Qianlong.

“My house hasn’t been built yet because of some issues last time. This time, I want to subcontract the construction. I heard from the villagers that Boss Liu’s construction team is well-known in Gezhuping Town, so I’d like to give the project to you,” Zhang Qianlong explained. However, Liu Guocai’s attitude displeased him.

“I’m sorry, Boss Zhang, but I just signed a small project and won’t have time for other jobs in the short term. You should look for someone else,” Liu Guocai flatly refused.

“Really? You don’t want money coming to your door? I heard your construction team doesn’t have any projects lately,” Zhang Qianlong was quite surprised.

“There’s nothing I can do. I only have this much capability, so I can only take on what I can handle,” Liu Guocai said vaguely.

“Is there another reason for this?” Zhang Qianlong stared at Liu Guocai.

Liu Guocai felt uncomfortable under Zhang Qianlong’s gaze and smiled awkwardly. “To be honest, your house site just started construction and almost caused a big incident. Who knows if it’s an issue with the site? Besides, even if there’s no problem with the site, I wouldn’t dare take on your family’s work. It’s better to earn less and spend less, but I’m afraid of being criticized by the whole village. It’s not just me; no one in Meizitang will take on your family’s work.”

“Is it because Shicai threatened you?” Zhang Qianlong’s anger flared at Liu Guocai’s words.

“Zhang Shicai isn’t a fortune teller. How would he know you’d come to me about building a house? What you did a few years ago was really unscrupulous. If I were Zhang Shicai, I wouldn’t just let it go. I really admire Zhang Shicai for being so magnanimous,” Liu Guocai sneered, not hiding his disgust for Zhang Qianlong.

Not willing to give up, Zhang Qianlong sought out other contractors in the village, but when they saw it was him, they didn’t even bother talking. Even when Zhang Qianlong offered high prices, no one paid him any attention.

It was even more impossible to hire someone to build a house; besides Zhang Qianlong’s parents, no one in Meizitang wanted to talk to them.

Zhang Jiujin happily went to find boys his age to play with, but before long, he came back crying.

“Everyone in the village is bullying me; no one wants to talk to me!”

Li Yujun originally planned to give Zhang Qianlong more time, but now that her precious son was suffering, she could no longer tolerate it. “Zhang Qianlong, that’s enough! I’ve had enough! Living like pigs and eating like pigs is one thing, but Jiujin can’t suffer like this with us. Now, the villagers guard against us like we’re thieves. Even if you hire someone to build the house, what difference will it make? I’m not staying here any longer. Jiujin, let’s go to the guest house!”

“Okay, let’s go back!” Zhang Jiujin jumped up happily.

Zhang Qianlong was helpless and had to follow his wife to Shayang Village.

The Zhang family left in disgrace, and the households in Meizitang were practically celebrating.

“Hey, Jiaohua, Jiujin ran away with his parents with their tails between their legs!” the mute quickly ran to Zhang Jiaohua’s house to share this good news.

“Let them go; people like that can’t stay in Meizitang,” Zhang Jiaohua had no good feelings for Zhang Qianlong’s family, but he didn’t care much about people like them. He had originally thought about giving Zhang Qianlong a taste of hardship, but thinking about how Zhang Shicai hadn’t taken any action himself, he was too lazy to do anything. Now that Zhang Qianlong’s family had left in disgrace, it wasn’t bad.

“Jiaohua, I think their sudden return must have some ill intentions. They might be up to something,” the mute said.

“What could they be up to?” Zhang Jiaohua thought the mute had a point. Zhang Qianlong hadn’t been in touch for years; suddenly coming back and shamelessly apologizing to Zhang Shicai while trying to continue building the house that hadn’t even had its foundation laid was hard to believe.

“In my opinion, he must have seen that everyone in Meizitang is making money and wants to come back to profit too. Jiaohua, you must tell your parents not to give Zhang Qianlong’s family any opportunities. This person is completely rotten; he might even be thinking about the tea leaves,” the mute casually mentioned, not realizing his words were spot on.

“That’s unnecessary to say,” Zhang Jiaohua replied.

After seeing that staying in the village wasn’t working, Zhang Qianlong immediately turned his attention to Xintian County.

Zhang Youping was the president of the Tea Industry Association. Now that the tea industry in Xintian County was developing well, Zhang Youping’s job was getting busier. He had just returned from receiving an inspection team from another province and was exhausted.

As Zhang Youping walked to the door, someone suddenly called out, “Youping!”

He turned around and saw it was Zhang Qianlong. “You son of a b****!”

Zhang Youping rushed up and threw a punch, knocking Zhang Qianlong off balance and causing him to bleed from the corner of his mouth. Zhang Youping wouldn’t pity Zhang Qianlong and kicked him several times, making him roll on the ground in pain.

Initially, the people from the Tea Industry Association thought Zhang Youping was fighting with a thug and were preparing to help, but upon seeing Zhang Youping had the upper hand, they just stood by and watched the show.

“President Zhang, should we call the police?” a colleague from the association asked when Zhang Youping finally stopped.

“No need. You all go back. I have personal matters to handle,” Zhang Youping’s eyes remained fixed on Zhang Qianlong.

“Youping, go ahead and hit me. As long as it lets you vent, I won’t fight back!” Zhang Qianlong had blood on his lips and several tears in his clothes, but he still smiled.

“Zhang Qianlong, don’t think that just because you’re putting on this pitiful act in front of me, I’ll let you go. Ever since you ran away and didn’t care about Shicai and me, I decided that I would beat you every time I saw you. But I don’t want to hit you now because I’m afraid of getting my hands dirty!” Zhang Youping picked up his briefcase and headed straight for the tea factory.

“Youping, I’ve regretted what happened back then. I’ve always thought that once I made money, I’d definitely come back to make it up to you and Shicai. But I was wrong; I shouldn’t have just walked away without saying a word. I should have been clear with you,” Zhang Qianlong slapped himself several times, making loud sounds, then cried out, “I’m not human! How could I just leave?”

“Zhang Qianlong, you haven’t changed at all over the years. But now, no one in Meizitang will believe your words anymore. I’m not the same Zhang Youping from back then; no matter how well you act, you can’t fool my eyes. Save your breath; I don’t want to pursue the past anymore. Just leave, as far away as possible, because I can’t help but want to hit you when I see you,” Zhang Youping pushed Zhang Qianlong away and quickly left.

Zhang Qianlong scrambled to his feet and chased after him.

But when he saw Zhang Youping walk into the tea factory, he tried to follow, only to be stopped by the factory’s security guard.

“I’m a fellow townsman of your boss. I came with him,” Zhang Qianlong hurriedly said.

The guard looked at Zhang Qianlong skeptically and said, “You wait outside; I’ll go ask.”

“Forget it, I just happened to see your boss on the street. I have something to take care of first; I’ll come back after I’m done.” Zhang Qianlong realized that even if the guard asked Zhang Youping, he wouldn’t let him in. He felt that everything was still in his plan, so he didn’t rush to present himself to Zhang Youping’s fists.

Zhang Youping lived in the staff dormitory of the tea factory with Liu Qiaoye. When he got home, he still hadn’t fully relaxed.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen with the Tea Industry Association again? I told you, you’re not a government official; why do you care about so much? We just need to manage our own tea factory well,” Liu Qiaoye didn’t fully support Zhang Youping’s involvement with the association.

“It’s not about the industry association; it’s about a person I just ran into,” Zhang Youping replied.

“Who?” Liu Qiaoye was curious; who could make a man so angry?

“Zhang Qianlong!” The three words escaped Zhang Youping’s teeth, revealing how much he loathed the man.

“Zhang Qianlong? That short-lived ghost still dares to find you?” Liu Qiaoye also hated the man who almost harmed her husband.

“This person is very scheming. This time, he delivered himself to me to get beaten; he must have ulterior motives. But I can’t figure it out. Does he really think I’m that easy to fool? He almost got me killed, and I’d fall for his tricks again?” Zhang Youping scratched his head.

“That’s hard to say,” Liu Qiaoye laughed. “You’re sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. If Zhang Qianlong sweet-talks you a bit, he might just manage to fool you. But I want to make it clear, you can do whatever you want normally, but our family must not have any ties with Zhang Qianlong again. You and Shicai almost died at his hands.”

“Got it, do you think I’m really that foolish?” Zhang Youping chuckled.