Reborn in 1991, I opened supermarkets all over the world.

He Cheng was so frightened that his legs went weak.

"Jiang...Jiang Ce, you tricked me?"

Jiang Ce's expression gradually softened: "I had no choice, Brother Cheng."

He Cheng said, "Give me half a day, and I'll borrow some money from my uncle."

He knew his parents couldn't come up with 800 yuan right away, but Wu Fucheng had embezzled so much money that there shouldn't be any problem.

Jiang Ce shook his head slightly: "Brother Cheng, don't be silly. If Director Wu finds out about this, your future is over. I'm only telling you this because we're brothers."

He Cheng thought about it carefully and realized that this made sense.

Eight hundred yuan is not a small amount, and Wu Fucheng will definitely ask him where all that money went.

If you buy a large item, you need to see it in person first.

Even if he didn't tell the truth, with Wu Fucheng's influence, once he found out that he had gambled, would he still dare to give him an important position?

They might not even lend me money, fearing I'll gamble it away again.

In short, her image was ruined in front of this influential uncle.

Without his uncle's support, could He Cheng succeed on his own?

Therefore, this matter must be kept from Wu Fucheng and his family no matter what.

"Then where do you suggest I get the money?" He Cheng looked like he was having a difficult childbirth.

"How would I know?" Jiang Ce wouldn't leave any grounds for "inciting crime," so it was up to He Cheng to figure it out himself.

He Cheng had a flash of inspiration and quickly came up with an idea: "I have a way. If I'm lucky, I can get the money tonight."

Jiang Ce feigned ignorance and asked, "What method? Is it reliable?"

Under duress from Jiang Ce and his men, He Cheng hastily explained, "This afternoon while playing cards, I met a boss. He..."

He Cheng suddenly stopped speaking halfway through his sentence.

He felt that the fewer people who knew about this kind of thing, the better.

"Brother Ce, believe me, just for one night," He Cheng pleaded.

"That won't do, I need someone to follow you."

Lu Zifeng had specifically reminded Jiang Ce that when He Cheng was raising money, someone needed to keep an eye on him, but that person absolutely could not be Jiang Ce.

Otherwise, if He Cheng falls into misfortune, Jiang Ce might be implicated.

Those who live the life of a gangster rely on ruthlessness, loyalty, and having many brothers – this was said by a later film character named Chan Ho-nam, but it doesn't feel out of place here.

Jiang Ce sent a friend he had invited from out of town to accompany He Cheng, while he himself went to report the progress to Lu Zifeng.

In Lu Zifeng's plan, progress is extremely important, and not a single step can go wrong.

Besides Jiang Ce, Lu Zifeng had another plan.

Judging by the time, it should be almost time.

"Lu Zifeng, registered mail!" A postman outside the door waved the letter in his hand.

Lu Xiaoye rushed out immediately, took the letter from the postman, but before he could even enter the house, his father intercepted it.

How could someone send a registered letter to a street urchin?

Could it be a court summons?

Prejudice is a mountain; it's not easy to completely change the way people around you view you.

Lu's father was a man of principle; he wouldn't open someone else's mail without permission. But he was determined to stay by Lu Zifeng's side and watch him open the letters.

Lu Zifeng didn't try to hide anything; there was nothing shameful about the registered letter.

He opened the envelope in front of everyone, held it by both ends, and shook it downwards.

Two ten-yuan bills floated out first.

"Why are people still sending you money?" the Lu family asked, puzzled.

Next, Lu Zifeng reached his fingers into the envelope and took out a newspaper and a letter.

The letter was written in a text format, with lines of blue ink penmanship. The last line, written in red ink, read "Proposed for use, see fourth edition".

"Lightly packed backpacking for a thousand miles"

Fully armed

Wearing steel helmet and armor

Armed with weapons

Live up to your youth

Dressed in military uniform

Hiding his beloved

Strategizing within the command tent

"We will safeguard peace..."

"Brother, is this...is this a poem you wrote? Is it praising the border guards?" Lu Zhenzhen read the whole poem aloud, then stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Yeah, I always wanted to join the army. I didn't make it, so what's wrong with writing a little poem?" Lu Zifeng said shamelessly.

He clearly plagiarized the lyrics of the later military song version of "Treading Mountains and Rivers," and only copied a section of it, yet he insisted that he wrote it himself.

Suddenly, Mr. Lu adopted a forceful tone: "Go! One person joining the army brings honor to the whole family. When it comes to conscription this year, I will definitely sign you up. We can't delay any longer."

"Ahem," Lu Zifeng said, feeling a little embarrassed. His father's thinking had gone a bit off track.

Lu Zifeng sent this short poem to the newspaper not to join the army, nor to earn the twenty yuan in royalties; it was simply a means for him to connect with the media.

The editor who intended to use this short poem was his breakthrough in opening the window to the media.

Fortunately, Lu's mother stepped in to smooth things over: "What will happen to Xiaoling if Zifeng joins the army?"

Mr. Lu looked completely bewildered: "Which Xiaoling?"

Just as Lu Zifeng was about to explain, Jiang Ce rode his bicycle all the way to the Lu family's door: "Brother Feng!"

"They're here!"

From inside the house, Lu's mother called out, "Jiang Ce, have you eaten yet? Come in and have something to eat!"

"I've already eaten with Auntie!" Jiang responded, grabbing Lu Zifeng's arm and whispering, "He Cheng has taken the bait. We'll move tonight."

He placed one person next to He Cheng to prevent He Cheng from escaping, and arranged for another person to follow He Cheng from a distance.

According to those who followed He Cheng, He Cheng went to the place where he played cards and then to the hospital, without causing any trouble throughout the trip.

Lu Zifeng nodded and said, "Okay, I remember your family has a Seagull brand color camera, right? Take it with you."

That night, He Cheng used sleeping pills prescribed by the hospital to knock out the gatekeeper of the cannery, then used a tricycle to haul a load of canned goods out of the warehouse and head to the place he had arranged with Qi Bo to deliver them.

Two three-wheeled motorcycles met on a side road near the exit of Dongxian County.

Qi Bo had made it clear beforehand that he wouldn't accept stolen goods; he required proper delivery slips so that the goods could be sold legitimately.

He got the delivery note, but he couldn't get the warehouse stamp, the finance stamp, or the company stamp.

"Boss Qi, I went to great lengths to get my hands on this, and now it's right in front of you. If you don't want it, plenty of others will." He Cheng even added a threat and provocation.

Qi Bo wasn't buying it. Holding the delivery slip in his hand, he said, "This document doesn't have any proof. What am I supposed to do if you say I stole it? I think you should just take it back."

After saying that, Qi Bo started his tricycle and was about to leave.

"Boss Qi, can I leave my fingerprint?" He Cheng made his final concession.

With He Cheng's fingerprint on it, he can't escape responsibility for this matter.

Qi Bo thought for a moment and said, "Okay, but this procedure isn't exactly formal, so you'll have to offer a discount on this batch of goods."

He Cheng snapped, "Take it or leave it!"

Qi Bo turned the car around and drove away.

The out-of-town thug who had been following He Cheng coldly reminded him, "Brother Cheng, if you don't get the money today, you won't be able to explain it to Brother Ce."

Helpless, He Cheng could only shout "Boss Qi, please wait!" while driving his tricycle to catch up.

Just as He Cheng and Boss Qi were exchanging money and goods, a flash of light appeared in the otherwise dark night.

Then, it flashed again.