What? You're a notorious bandit? What a coincidence, me too!

"Mr. Lin is joking. It's just 50,000. I, Shen Jiangliu, am not so bad as to go back on my word. This money is rightfully yours."

Shen Jiangliu shook his head and poured Lin Chang'an more tea. "I just think that Mr. Lin is a rare talent, with such good skills and courage. To be honest, we really have to thank you for today's incident, otherwise the company would have suffered a great loss."

"Mr. Shen, you flatter me. I'm just doing my job because I'm paid to do something."

Lin Chang'an could feel Shen Jiangliu's gaze constantly scrutinizing him, not with malice, but more like an examination.

Shen Jiangliu didn't ask any more questions, nodded slightly, and looked at Zhang Shaodong: "Shaodong, bring the money over."

Zhang Shaodong quickly grabbed a thick file bag and handed it to Lin Chang'an: "Brother Lin, here's 50,000 yuan. Please count it."

Lin Chang'an squeezed the file folder; it was thick enough. He stuffed it directly into his pocket. "Thank you, Boss Shen. I've received the money, so I won't disturb your tea any longer. Goodbye."

Shen Jiangliu nodded.

After seeing Lin Chang'an off, Zhang Shaodong returned to the private room.

Shen Jiangliu had his legs propped up on the tea table, looking at the winning bid documents in the file folder.

"Mr. Shen, the person has been seen off." Zhang Shaodong walked to the tea table.

Shen Jiangliu nodded slightly: "Have someone investigate his background. Someone who only cares about money and has some skills might come in handy in the future."

He paused, then changed the subject, tossed the documents onto the table, frowned, and took off his glasses.

"With this commotion today, and the Dongtantou project starting tomorrow, Ge Sanbao from Sanjiang Village is bound to cause some trouble again. The start of construction probably won't go too smoothly."

"You're right. We never expected the people of Sanjiang Village to be so unreasonable. They're practically a bunch of bandits."

Zhang Shaodong's face was also grave: "Do you think we should call the police first?"

"Calling the police is acceptable, but you can't expect to solve the fundamental problem that way."

Shen Jiangliu shook his head, pressing his brow: "Ge Sanbao has always been ruthless in his dealings, I've already experienced that during the bidding process. It's useless if we don't catch them in the act; it will only provoke them and make them escalate their harassment and disruption."

He wiped his glasses and put them back on, took a sip of tea, and continued, "Security at Dongtantou needs to be strengthened tomorrow. Contact the security company and have them divided into three shifts for 24-hour shifts."

Closely monitor the material storage area and construction entrance, and absolutely prevent them from having the opportunity to damage construction equipment or obstruct workers from entering the site.

Zhang Shaodong nodded.

"Then go to the municipal government first thing tomorrow morning and talk to the heads of the bidding office and the housing and construction department."

Shen Jiangliu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said in a calm tone, "Tell them the truth about what happened in Sanjiang Village today, so they know what's going on. It's a good way to prepare in advance."

Although the Dongtantou project isn't considered a key city project, it has received official attention, which I suspect will make Ge Sanbao somewhat hesitant.

"Don't worry, I will make all the arrangements," Zhang Shaodong said.

Shen Jiangliu waved his hand, and Zhang Shaodong left.

The private room returned to silence, with only the gurgling sound of boiling water remaining.

…………

"We ordinary people are truly happy tonight..."

Lin Chang'an rode his motorcycle back, humming a familiar song as the evening breeze brushed against his cheeks, bringing a sense of indescribable comfort.

He held the handlebars firmly with one hand and pressed the file bag in his arms with the other.

Fifty thousand yuan is not a lot, but it's not a small amount either.

In an era when monthly wages are generally only a few hundred yuan, this is definitely a substantial sum of money.

Lin Chang'an did some mental calculations. If he were still working at the Second Machinery Factory, working twelve hours a day from dawn till dusk, and saving every penny, it would take him at least seven or eight years to earn that 50,000 yuan.

It seems the system's earlier "good fortune" prediction really came true.

He opened the panel and looked at it; the taskbar was empty.

He had already made up his mind that he would try his luck at the lottery again when he had more merit points. He was filled with anticipation, wondering what he would get next.

With this 50,000 yuan, there's more than enough money to buy hardware for Fang Qingzhu, and all the expenses for the wedding can be arranged perfectly without any worries.

Then he thought of his cousin Lin Shengnan. Just thinking about the way that girl looked at him made Lin Chang'an feel a chill.

That child was introverted and didn't like to talk. He must have resented me for a long time, but just hadn't said it out loud.

I've lived a muddled life and owe my third uncle's family so much; I'll try my best to make up for it in this lifetime.

With that in mind, Lin Chang'an drove his motorcycle towards his third uncle's house.

After parking his car outside his third uncle's house, he was about to knock on the door when he discovered that the door was ajar and not closed properly.

As soon as I went inside, I heard the sound of arguing coming from inside; it was my third uncle and third aunt.

Lin Chang'an stopped in his tracks, instinctively halting at the doorway, not daring to go in rashly.

The details of the argument kept leaking out, but they were mostly about him.

"...You're the same, always talking about your older brother's son... Our Hongbin will have to get married in a few years, where will we get so much spare money?" Auntie's voice was tinged with grievance and dissatisfaction.

"Hongbin is only in the third year of junior high school. Who knows when he will get married? Poor Chang'an kid. My older brother died early, and the kid has no one to rely on but me as his only relative."

Uncle San's voice carried a hint of helplessness, "He's now determined to turn over a new leaf, so how can I, as his uncle, not lend a hand?"

"It's not that I don't want you to help, but it depends on the situation! Don't you know what he was like before? He was idle and lazy. Who knows if he's just messing around again this time?"

"What if we give him the money and he squanders it all? Do you think it's easy for us to earn money?" Auntie's voice rose a few decibels.

Lin Chang'an stood at the door, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

I never realized how annoying I was.

Thinking back to his past life, he realized he had gone astray and ended up being wanted nationwide. He wondered what his third uncle thought of his nephew back then.

Perhaps all I can say is, "I'm disappointed in you for not living up to your potential."

He also knew that although his third aunt complained, she had never said a harsh word to him over the years, which was more than enough.

He quietly retreated to the gate and knocked three times on the iron gate, not wanting his third uncle and aunt to know that he had been eavesdropping at the gate for a long time.

"Third Uncle!" he called out.

The arguing inside stopped abruptly, followed by footsteps. Uncle Lin Jianguo pushed open the door to the inner room and peeked out.

"Chang'an? What brings you here at this hour? Did something happen?"

Lin Chang'an sighed softly to himself. Sure enough, this was the impression he had always left on others.

He tugged at the corners of his mouth and smiled, "It's nothing, I was just passing by and came in to take a look. Let's go inside and talk."

Lin Jianguo stepped aside to let him in.

Third Aunt sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her face showing no sign of having argued. She even picked up a glass from the table and poured Lin Chang'an a glass of warm water: "Chang'an's here? Please sit down, please sit down."

Lin Chang'an sat down, took the water glass, and took a sip.

Auntie sat down opposite him, and Uncle sat down next to her. They both looked at him with a hint of curiosity and a subtle probing in their eyes.

"Is everything prepared by Xiao Fang?"

My third aunt spoke first, breaking the brief silence, "Have you chosen the wedding dress? Have you looked at the hardware?"

"I've chosen it. The wedding dress is ordered today, and I plan to buy the hardware in the next couple of days," Lin Chang'an answered truthfully.

"Are you still short of money to buy jewelry?" Lin Jianguo asked, seeing that his nephew was coming over at this time, probably still short of money.