Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 117 You don’t understand

Liu Zhennan's home.

Cleaver Liu's real name is Liu Zhennan. In fact, he changed his name a few years ago. His previous name was Liu Yuejin. Each name represents a part of his life experience.

In the living room, Liu Zhennan sat imposingly in a chair, drinking the tea served by his underlings, smoking the Daqianmen cigarettes they offered, and exhaling a long puff of smoke to calm the tension in his chest.

Liu Zhennan pondered for a while. His men didn't know the specific reason for Xiao Bian'er's accident, nor did they know the background of the group surnamed Li. He deliberately probed, "Brothers, what should we do if those vegetable vendors from out of town don't cooperate with us?"

The guy with the middle part was seething with anger today. First, he was teased by the bald guy, and then he was tricked by Ji Hongbin. He had been wanting to vent his anger on someone for a long time. He stepped forward and was the first to speak: "Boss, just say the word, and I'll take some men and deal with them right away!"

Liu Zhennan squinted at him: "What if they still won't submit after we fight?"

The man with the middle parting replied, "If he's still not satisfied, just steal his vegetables! We have a ready-made market; we can just grab them and sell them. After a few rounds of this, he'll naturally give in!"

When the man with the middle parting spoke, the other henchmen also shouted:

"That's right, fuck them!"

"Damn it, a bunch of outsiders think they can mess with us!"

"If the vendors at the market knew about this, they'd be ecstatic. They'd love for us to come and steal our vegetables, and they might even help us cover for us, hahaha..."

Hearing his underlings' words, Liu Zhennan's face darkened. He thought to himself, "Damn it, Director Wei was right. You're having a good time stealing vegetables, but you've got me killed in the process. Are you really stupid? Or are you trying to climb over me to get ahead?"

No, they climbed to power by stepping on my dead body! Liu Zhennan grew angrier the more he thought about it, and his gaze toward his underlings became somewhat hostile.

The bald man, despite his burly appearance, was actually quite shrewd. Noticing his boss's displeasure, he quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "The boss hasn't even spoken yet, what are you dogs yelling about? As for what to do, we'll have to listen to the boss!" He turned to Liu Zhennan with a fawning expression, "Boss, what do you suggest?"

At least there's someone with a brain. Liu Zhennan stroked his chin: He had to admit he was a coward, but he couldn't let people see him as one, especially in front of these underlings; he had to be a coward in a respectable way, so cowardly that no one could find fault with him. He sorted out his thoughts and said, "Do you know why Director Wei asked me to go?"

The bald man chimed in: "Is it because of Little Braid being arrested?"

Liu Zhennan said solemnly, "Director Chen of the Municipal Public Security Bureau made a special call to Chief Wei, asking him to invite me over for a talk. I can't disclose the specific content of the talk, but I can tell you one thing—those out-of-towners have very powerful connections, so we can't touch them, and we absolutely cannot touch their territory."

The bald man swallowed hard: "Boss, this matter has even alarmed the bureau chief?"

The other underlings also looked shocked. He's just a vegetable seller, how could he have connections with the bureau chief? With such connections, what couldn't he do?
Liu Zhennan stubbed out his cigarette. "Nonsense! If it weren't for Director Chen's sake, would I have gone to the police station myself?"

The underlings looked at Liu Zhennan differently now. Their boss actually knew the bureau chief—what a huge connection! They didn't think their boss was cowardly; on the contrary, they thought he had deep connections and was very powerful.

He received admiring glances from his underlings, but Liu Zhennan remained calm. He understood these hotheads all too well—he had been through that age himself.

The boy who used a kitchen knife to punish the "vegetarian bully" is long gone.

He's someone important now, with status and influence, but he's lost the courage to fight for his life.

Barefoot people aren't afraid of those wearing shoes, but if barefoot people have money, they'll buy shoes too.

Just then, one of the henchmen ran in: "Boss, Old Dog Wu is here!"

"Let him in." Liu Zhennan clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking. To be honest, Wu Laogou was the one who started this whole thing.

If it weren't for Wu Laogou, Xiao Bian'er wouldn't have been arrested, and he wouldn't have been reprimanded by Director Wei. He now even suspects that Wu Laogou's motive for doing this might not be money, but rather that he was acting under the orders of other gangs.

If I were to be arrested for looting vegetables, my men would likely be arrested or scattered as well, and the Chongwenmen vegetable market would be taken over and swallowed up by others.

The thought of this possibility fueled his hatred.

"Master Liu!" Old Wu bowed as he entered the house, his expression somewhat apprehensive, yet his tone carried a hint of joy.

In his view, a group of out-of-town vegetable vendors were no match for Liu Zhennan, the local tyrant. The matter had probably been settled, and the reason he was called over was likely to sell vegetables.

Yesterday, he rode the donkey he had just bought over there and parked it outside the door.

Upon seeing Wu Laogou in person, Liu Zhennan was furious. He quickly went up to him and kicked Wu Laogou in the stomach.

"Ah!" Old Wu screamed as he was kicked two meters away, clutching his stomach in pain like a shrimp.

"Old Wu, tell me the truth. Did someone bribe you to deal with those out-of-town vegetable vendors? What's your purpose in doing so?"

Wu Laogou was stunned by the kick and it took him a while to come to his senses: "Sixth Master, what purpose could I have? I just felt that those outsiders didn't know the rules and I couldn't stand their behavior. I also wanted to earn some errand money. No one else encouraged me; it was all my own idea!"

"Alright, you've got a tight tongue." He turned to the bald man beside him. "I'm leaving him to you. Get to the bottom of this. As long as he's breathing, that's all that matters!"

The bald man chuckled, "Boss, you've got to be right. I'll make sure this old dog Wu tells me all about how he wet his pants as a kid!"

The bald man waved his hand, ordering several of his underlings to take Wu Laogou out of the house. Wu Laogou struggled and begged for mercy, "Master Liu, I'm innocent! I really meant well, I had no bad intentions at all, please spare me!" "Gag me! Gag me, you bunch of good-for-nothings!" the bald man shouted, and then Wu Laogou's voice was no longer heard.

……

The backyard of No. 7 courtyard in Suzhou Hutong.

In the evening, Ji Hongbin, wearing an overcoat, paced back and forth in the courtyard, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the surrounding walls.

Seeing that her son seemed preoccupied, Old Mrs. Ji came out and asked, "Hongbin, what's wrong?"

"Mom, it's alright, you should go back inside, it's cold outside," Ji Hongbin said dismissively.

"Although Mom's eyesight is failing, she's still very perceptive. You can't fool Mom. Tell me."

"Mom, I'd like to get a dog, what do you think?"

"Why keep a furry animal? It's filthy. Besides, haven't you always been afraid of dogs?" Grandma Ji still felt something was wrong. "Hongbin, tell me the truth, what's wrong?"

"I outsmarted that thief today. I'm worried he might bring his accomplices to retaliate against our family, so I thought getting a dog might cause some trouble. What do you think?"

"If you ask me, we don't need to keep a dog. Once we have the money ready, have your sister help us with the immigration process. After we're abroad, we won't have to worry about them retaliating."

“Mom, I specifically asked. You're my sister's direct relative, so you'll definitely have no problem going. But I'm a collateral relative, so the waiting time will be very long. Some people have been waiting for seven or eight years and still haven't gotten a spot…”

Grandma Ji lowered her voice: "Hongbin, you're just too kind. Rules are rigid, but people are flexible. Rules are meant to be broken. Your sister said that as long as we raise the money, she'll take care of the rest."

"How much money did my sister say it would cost?"

"We need at least 3 RMB. It's better to be prepared for a tough journey, the more we prepare. We need to settle down and live there. We can't rely on your sister for everything; she's had a hard time all these years."

“Thirty thousand…” Ji Hongbin looked thoughtful. He had only gotten a little over 4000 yuan from selling the gold bars today. “Mom, where are we going to get so much money? You still have gold bars hidden away?”

"There are no more gold bars." Old Mrs. Ji opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything more. She had already sold most of her gold bars to raise 2 yuan for Ji Hongbin's business, and the remaining gold bars, which were originally meant for emergencies, were all sold by Ji Hongbin today.

"What if we don't have gold bars?" Ji Hongbin responded, as if remembering something, "You also have antiques?"

The old lady didn't answer directly. After pondering for a long time, she said, "I'm thinking of selling this house."

"What? This is our ancestral home, how can it be sold?" Ji Hongbin was shocked, staring at the old lady with an incredulous look on his face.

“Hongbin, we’re going to immigrate, not go on vacation. What’s the point of keeping this house? Besides, your sister said that in America, there are two-story villas that are bigger and more impressive than our house. We can buy a better house there.”

Ji Hongbin's face showed his disapproval: "Mom, if you want to go abroad, I can go with you, but we can't just sell the house. It's our fallback plan, and it's the foundation of our Ji family!"

“Where family is, that’s where our roots are. I just hope our family can be together forever. A house is just an external thing. When you make a lot of money in America, you can buy it back. Hongbin, Mom believes you have the ability, and your sister feels the same way.”

After hearing this, Ji Hongbin wavered: "Mom, this is too sudden. Please let me think about it some more."

"Alright, give me a definite answer tomorrow morning. I'm going back to my room, you should go to sleep early too." Old Mrs. Ji went into the room. Tan Jingya brought over a pot of hot water for her to wash up.

Grandma Ji glanced at her and said, "Hongbin is tired today. Give him a head massage and relax his shoulders so he can get a good night's sleep."

"Okay, Mom." Tan Jingya finished packing and went back to her room to sleep when she saw Ji Hongbin sitting in a chair, lost in thought.

Tan Jingya poured a cup of hot water and placed it on the coffee table next to him: "What's wrong? You seem distracted. Is something on your mind?"

Ji Hongbin thought for a moment and said, "The old lady just told me that she wants to sell the house."

"What?! You sold the house! Why would you sell a perfectly good house?" Tan Jingya was genuinely shocked. "What happened?"

“Mom wants to take us abroad, but the cost is a bit high. We’ll have to sell this house to make ends meet.”

Tan Jingya was somewhat bewildered: "Sir, is America really that good? Is it worth it for you to abandon your family and career there? Have you thought about it? What if life isn't good there? When we come back, we won't even have a place to stay."

“I’ve thought about it, of course I’ve thought about it. America must be great, otherwise so many people wouldn’t be so eager to go there. Mom’s idea is that we sell the house and go abroad first, then we can make money overseas and buy the house back. It’s much easier to make money there than here.”

“If you want to buy it back, the seller has to be willing to sell it first.” Tan Jingya glanced at the east room and lowered her voice. “We can’t just listen to the old lady’s opinions. You have to make the decision.”

Ji Hongbin gazed out the window, his eyes somewhat lost in thought, yet also filled with reluctance. After two minutes, he said, "You're right, we can't sell this house." Then, as if struck by a thought, he added, "But how can we go abroad if we don't sell the house?"

Tan Jingya retorted, "Sir, why do we have to go abroad? Aren't we doing just fine now?"

Ji Hongbin smiled, his eyes filled with longing, and his tone was somewhat high: "You've never been abroad, you don't understand."

(End of this chapter)