Chapter 97: Here to Borrow Money Again

Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Here to Borrow Money Again

"This is why I asked you here," Li Dajiang said, forcing a smile.

He handed over a yellow manila envelope. Li Dajiang posed no physical threat, and it was highly unlikely that a cement factory boss would carry poison around with him. Having nothing to worry about, Zhang Yun took the envelope and opened it. The moment he touched the contents, he knew—it was cash!

Zhang Yun tipped the envelope over the table. Five stacks of cash tumbled out. It looked to be fifty thousand yuan.

"What’s the meaning of this?"

Li Dajiang smiled bitterly. "Consider it a peace offering. Can we just put an end to this whole business with Li Bing?"

"Oh?" Zhang Yun remained noncommittal.

"To be honest, I don’t have any fondness for Li Bing either, but he is my brother’s son. You even beat up my brother. I’m a man of some status in these parts, so I had to step up for them.

"But I underestimated your Energy. The kickboxing expert I pulled strings to hire was no match for you, and he came back advising me to swallow my pride. The lawyer I hired did the exact same thing...

"I’ve been keeping an eye on you these past few days," Li Dajiang continued, feeling incredibly helpless. "You seem to have a good relationship with Vice Director Zhang from the county hospital, and someone even bought a single ginseng root from you for a million yuan...

"Lawyer Gu was there at the time, and she recognized the buyer’s companion as a highly renowned lawyer. Judging by that top lawyer’s deferential attitude, you clearly know his boss.

"I also heard about what happened at Zhang Youcai’s factory today. Xu Jin and a few other kickboxing experts were all respectfully calling you ’Master’! A dozen thugs were beaten up, dozens of people from Gao Village were beaten up, and rumor has it you were tossing motorcycles around with one hand like they were toys..."

As he spoke, Li Dajiang couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear. Even though he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Xu Jin’s identity was indisputable. With so many witnesses at the factory today, the rumors couldn’t possibly be fake.

"If I keep fighting you, you could beat me to death at any time, or sue me into bankruptcy." Li Dajiang flipped through the cash on the table to show there were no fake bills mixed in, then stuffed it back into the envelope and solemnly pressed it into Zhang Yun’s hands. "Let’s not argue about who’s right or wrong. I’m compensating you with fifty thousand yuan. Can we let this go?"

Zhang Yun was slightly speechless after listening to this long, emotional confession. "It’s not even a big deal. Hand on your heart, tell me—have I ever gone out of my way to make trouble for Li Bing, Li Dahai, or you? I’m not one to hold grudges. You guys are the ones who keep coming after me!"

Li Dajiang breathed a sigh of relief. "Right, right, I knew you were a magnanimous person, Zhang Yun!"

Zhang Yun rolled his eyes. "It’s just a measly fifty grand. You could have just handed it to me by the side of the road. Was there really a need to bring me all the way back here? You made me think you’d set up an ambush to jump me!"

Li Dajiang offered a bitter smile. "I just hadn’t prepared what to say. I saw you in such a hurry on the road, and I had only just withdrawn this cash."

"Heh! Life really hinges on a single thought!" Zhang Yun chuckled. "I don’t mind telling you, if you had actually ambushed me with your men, I would have burned your cement factory to the ground tonight."

A cold sweat broke out over Li Dajiang. He didn’t think this was just an empty boast! The news he heard this afternoon said that Zhang Yun had piled up over a dozen motorcycles and blown them up, and the large mob of thugs hadn’t dared to utter a peep. If Zhang Yun really wanted to torch the cement factory, no one would be able to stop him.

He had initially felt a bit of heartache and reluctance about voluntarily handing over the fifty thousand yuan, but now he felt it was entirely worth it! He thought, "Damn it! Just because of my pride, I didn’t speak to this kid earlier, and he is already planning to burn my factory down! Too ruthless... I can’t afford to provoke him! I really can’t!"

"Alright. I see your sincerity. Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t make trouble for your family," Zhang Yun said, taking the bag of money. "Is there anything else?"

"No, no... Would you like to stay for a casual meal?" Li Dajiang offered out of sheer politeness, but immediately regretted it. It was better to keep this kid at a respectful distance. Who knew what kind of trouble might arise during a meal?

Zhang Yun shook his head. "I’ll pass on the meal. Just find a car to take me back. I still have to feed my fish!"

"I’ll immediately—" This time, Li Dajiang caught himself. He swallowed the words "drive you back myself" that were on the tip of his tongue and corrected himself, "—arrange a car for you!"

The round trip to the cement factory had taken quite a bit of time. Even though he took a car, it was nearly dark by the time he returned to the village. Zhang Yun really did go back to feed his fish. Fortunately, he didn’t need to cut grass or prepare feed himself anymore; he just grabbed some giant grains and fruits from the Peach Blossom Spring Space to feed them.

Just like yesterday, a large number of people had gone into the mountains to dig for ginseng. When they saw Zhang Yun, their emotions were complicated. They all desperately hoped he would point them to a spot where they could dig up even just a few hundred yuan’s worth. But seeing Zhang Yun honestly feeding his fish, they figured it probably wasn’t that easy to make money. Perhaps it really did just rely on luck.

It was fully dark by the time he got home. Zhang Fu had already finished preparing dinner.

"Why are you only getting back now? Your friends have been waiting for you for a long time."

"My friends?" Zhang Yun was a bit baffled. However, with so many people contacting him to borrow money over the past two days, and having been so busy today, he hadn’t checked WeChat much. He had no idea who had come over. "Who’s looking for me?"

He walked into the living room and saw three men drinking tea and playing on their phones.

"Zhang Yun is back!"

They immediately stood up to greet him with smiles. Zhang Yun now got a clear look at them—it was Yang Bo, Liu Yu, and Gao Dajin. The moment he saw them, Zhang Yun guessed their intentions. Were they just former classmates looking to reconnect? No, the news of his million-yuan cash windfall yesterday must have reached their ears.

"Oh! What brings you old classmates to our little village?" Zhang Yun greeted them with a smile. Regardless of their motives, guests were guests. He also noticed they had bought some fruit, milk, and other gifts, which were sitting in the corner.

"We’ve always wanted to come and visit your home."

"We didn’t know you were back home; we thought you were still out of town."

"The environment here is really nice, it’s just a bit hard to find."

The three exchanged enthusiastic pleasantries, acting as if they were genuinely thrilled to be at Zhang Yun’s house. Yang Bo didn’t look the least bit embarrassed or ashamed, acting as though he hadn’t badmouthed Zhang Yun behind his back when he failed to borrow money from him before.

Seeing that his dad had dinner just about ready, Zhang Yun didn’t feel it was appropriate to kick them out, so he played along casually. "You guys keep drinking your tea. I’ll go help bring the food over."

"We’ll help, we’ll help. We’ve been here a while and wanted to lend a hand earlier, but your dad wouldn’t let us."

"Yeah, we actually felt quite bad about it."

They all pitched in and brought the dishes to the table. Zhang Fu genuinely believed they were good friends of Zhang Yun and was very happy. His son had gone to middle school in the town and high school in the county, and he had never had high school classmates visit their home before. Of course, he also knew their sudden appearance definitely had something to do with his son’s newfound wealth. Otherwise, they would have visited a long time ago.

With the father and son hosting, and Yang Bo’s trio deliberately trying to please them, the meal was naturally a harmonious and joyous affair.

After dinner, once Zhang Fu had cleared the dishes and gone to the kitchen, Yang Bo immediately spoke up. "Zhang Yun, how about we go sing karaoke later? I’ve booked a private room. If it gets too late, you can sleep in the county town, or I can drive you back."

Here it comes! Zhang Yun smiled inwardly. Drinking, singing, and maybe even hiring some hostess girls to make sure he was well-entertained. Once the mood was set, they would ask to borrow money, banking on the fact that he’d be too embarrassed to refuse and would easily agree in the heat of the moment.

"I’ll pass. I’m not interested, so you guys go ahead," Zhang Yun said. "Besides, what if someone asks to borrow money from me after I’ve had a few drinks?"

"..."

Awkward! Dead silence! They hadn’t even asked yet, and he had already rejected them!

Liu Yu and Gao Dajin quickly tried to smooth things over, mumbling about how it had been a long time since they all hung out and that some other classmates from the county town would be joining them.

"You guys go on ahead. I have to go to the mountains to guard my fish in a bit!" Zhang Yun bluntly showed them the door.

"Guard your fish?"

"Didn’t you just make a million yuan? Why are you still guarding fish?"

They couldn’t help but complain. Wasn’t this excuse a little too fake?

Yang Bo was naturally unwilling to give up after being shut down before he could even ask for the loan. Brazenly, he just came right out with it: "Zhang Yun, to be honest, the reason we came this time is actually to ask if we could borrow a hundred thousand yuan..."