Chapter 43

When Jiang Chen told Hu Zhenzhen about it when he got home, Hu Zhenzhen's hand trembled and she drew a long line on Jiang Chen's dictation book.

"Are none of you injured?"

“No,” Jiang Chen said, her eyes still sparkling as she recalled the incident. “Tong Shuai was really something back then; he even went to the police station to testify!”

Ever since he betrayed his own father and reported him, Tong Shuai has turned on his courage.

He suddenly became a regular at the police station, helping lost dogs find their owners one day and helping elderly people with dementia find their families the next.

In short, when you encounter trouble, head to the police station.

He became a witness again, and in a short period of time, he went to the police station almost more often than the officers on duty.

Hu Zhenzhen was both amused and exasperated.

Since Tong Shuai is so fond of doing good deeds now, one of the times we should suggest to Wen Li that he learn self-defense techniques.

Whether it's boxing, taekwondo, or even track and field, if you ever encounter a situation where you can't win a fight, being able to run fast is a good thing.

But now, looking at Jiang Chen with eyes full of admiration, Hu Zhenzhen only praised him in accordance with his words.

"Luckily he saw it; he really helped me out this time!"

She stroked the head of Wangcai, the dog crouching at her feet, and suggested to Jiang Chen, "How about we give Tong Shuai a gift to thank him?"

Jiang Chen nodded and began to recall Tong Shuai's preferences.

The two children had only been friends for a few days, and he didn't know much about it.

After thinking for a long time, Jiang Chen vaguely said, "He seems to really like my coin purse."

"Um?"

Hu Zhenzhen's gaze shifted and landed on the cartoon coin purse she had bought for Jiang Chen.

A cartoon monkey is printed on the pure white leather bag.

Um--

Sure enough, no matter how old the child is, they can't resist the charm of the Monkey King.

"Then let's choose a similar gift for him."

**

Have you heard?

As it was almost time to close up shop, the stall owners next to Aunt Li came over, eager to gossip.

The customer traffic was so high that we were busy all day. It was almost midnight, and Aunt Li was exhausted. She drank half a bottle of water in one go before asking, "What did you hear?"

"It's about what happened today."

Seeing that she didn't know, the stall owner next door started sharing gossip with great interest, "You don't know yet? Something happened in the alley this afternoon."

"Something happened?"

Aunt Li really didn't know. "I've been too busy. I didn't hear anything. What happened?"

The stall owner next door was just waiting for her to ask that question.

"I heard someone maliciously urinated on the free mung bean soup."

"Ugh? That's disgusting."

Aunt Li lost all interest in drinking water. "Who's so heartless? Madam Zhenzhen was kind enough to prepare mung bean soup to cool us down in the summer, and now it's all been wasted!"

"Who can argue with that!"

The stall owner next door also lived on Xijingmen Street and shared the same grievance with the aunt. "But that person has already been caught. When the police took him away, it made quite a commotion. I even saw it."

If a stall is doing good business, it will be surrounded by people, and you won't be able to see outside.

Aunt Li was so focused on frying the noodles that she didn't notice what was happening outside.

"Luckily he was arrested, otherwise our food festival would have been in trouble after only one day."

The people around him strongly agreed.

"Isn't that right? The food festival is a fantastic thing. Mrs. Zhenzhen provided the venue and didn't take a cut. Isn't that just doing charity?"

The stall owner to Aunt Li's right was slowly packing up his stall. Hearing the two's discussion, he chimed in.

"You should know the people who were arrested this afternoon, right?"

"Who is it?" Aunt Li really didn't know.

"I heard his surname is Wang. He used to run a night market in that unfinished building area, but he caused trouble and was rejected when he applied."

When he said that, Aunt Li remembered something.

When the unfinished building incident first came to light, it seemed that there was someone who kept instigating people to cause trouble.

However, at that time, few people paid attention to him, and only a handful of people followed him.

"It was him!"

The stall owner next door exclaimed in surprise, "I heard about it last time. He caused trouble and was taken to the police station by those employees. I didn't expect him to dare to come back this time."

The stall owners, who were packing up, didn't know much about it and chatted with them while tidying up their things.

"Anyway, this week of the food festival is a huge opportunity to make money. If he really ruins it, I'll be the first to rush up and beat him up, even without the police."

People who set up stalls are simply after money.

Hu Zhenzhen gave them a free opportunity to make money, and everyone was very happy. The goods they bought filled the refrigerator. If someone really ruined it, all these raw materials would rot in their hands, and everyone would be furious.

Aunt Li agreed with this statement.

"That's right, this person is really wicked. He can't come by himself, so he's going to smash all our pots and pans too."

"It's just that the police arrested him first, otherwise I would have definitely shown him how painful it is to be hit with an iron pot."

These words made the two people next to him laugh.

Everyone was in a good mood because of the high income today, and there was an atmosphere for more chatting.

I don't know who started it, but they learned about the trivialities of life.

"My second child has exams coming up soon, and he's been studying really hard every day. When I get home from work, I can still see him burning the midnight oil."

"That's good. Your son is good at studying and will definitely be successful in the future. My son is a good-for-nothing. I can beat him three times and he still can't read a single page of a book. I've given up on him."

Aunt Li chuckled, "Don't say that, brother. These kids each have their own strengths. As they say on TV, there are 360 ​​professions, and every profession can produce an expert."

"Top scholar? I think that's out of the question. I'll be lucky if this kid doesn't cause me any trouble."

The stall owner was quick and efficient; he had almost finished tidying up and was sitting on his own little stool chatting with the two of them.

"You have no idea how difficult it is to manage teenage boys. Last time he went out to learn to ride a motorcycle with someone, he came back with a broken arm. Then he wanted to try skateboarding and broke his leg too."

He slapped his thighs with both hands and sighed helplessly, "I'm just afraid that kid will really ruin himself one day."

"Oh dear, you really have to be careful," Aunt Li said, as she began to pack up her stall. "My daughter didn't break any bones, but she strained the tendons in her arm a couple of days ago and couldn't lift it. She's just recovered."

Speaking of this, she suddenly thought of Hu Zhenzhen again.

"It's all thanks to Mrs. Zhenzhen's Xijingmen Hospital. The doctor there knew what was wrong at a glance. He didn't even prescribe any medicine. He just told us the cheapest medicine and suggested we go to a pharmacy to buy it for a lower price."

"If we went to other hospitals, just getting an X-ray would cost several hundred yuan, and with the medicine, it would easily go up to four figures."

“Yes,” someone next to me chimed in, “I went there to get my herniated disc treated. The doctor was young, but his acupuncture skills were quite good, and I felt better in just a few days.”

As they chatted, Aunt Li suddenly lowered her voice.

“I noticed this gentleman doesn’t live far from Xijingmen Street. We’re both from Xijingmen. Something strange has happened recently. I don’t know if you’ve heard about it?”

"What?"

The older man who was packing up his stall was about to leave when he heard Aunt Li's words, so he let go of the accelerator and stopped to chat.

"Haven't you heard? I thought everyone was talking about it lately, you know, the ghost car in the middle of the night."

"Ghost car?"

The older brother wanted to laugh but held it back. "Don't talk about that. I'm so old, I stopped believing in that a long time ago."

Although he wasn't mocking her, the smile on his face made Aunt Li feel a little embarrassed.

“I’m not trying to scare you. Let’s stick to the facts. I’m not into any superstitious or feudal beliefs. If I hadn’t actually seen it, I wouldn’t believe it either.”

"You really saw it?"

The older brother stopped laughing and said, "Tell me what happened."

Having piqued their interest, Aunt Li slowly began to speak, "I've heard about this for a while now. At first, it was just the children spreading the word, but then even the adults started to believe it and became suspicious."

"At first I didn't believe it, but my kids believed it, and they didn't want me to set up a stall during that time."

"It happened to be drizzling that night. I remembered what the child had said, so I packed up my stall early and took a shortcut home. I never expected that I would actually run into that ghost car."

The older brother swallowed nervously. "Could you have seen wrong?"

"I had my doubts, but what kind of car is that strange? Only ghosts and monsters would come up with such a weird thing."

Aunt Li still feels lingering fear when she recalls that night.

"The car was twice the size of an ordinary sedan, and its entire body emitted a hazy red light, except for a large green cross painted in the middle."

Aunt Li licked her dry lips. "There's some religion abroad that believes in this. Anyway, from what I can tell, it's definitely not a local ghost. Local ghosts don't bully locals."

“Yeah,” the older brother chimed in, “or else it wouldn’t be called a ghost car.”

"That's what I thought too. I was terrified at the time. I turned the accelerator to the maximum, but I couldn't shake off that car. It just followed me around."

As Aunt Li recalled her fear at the time, she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine.

The stall owner next door was engrossed in listening. Seeing her stop, he urged, "And then what? How did you escape back?"

"Thanks to my thoughtful daughter, she went to the temple to pray as well, and even brought me a talisman. I feel that the talisman worked and protected me from a disaster."

“There are some things I can’t say. When I got home, I found that my amulet was gone. I reckon that without it, I wouldn’t have been able to get home that night.”

"Is it really as scary as you say...?"

The stall owner next door muttered something, still not quite believing it.

What kind of ghost car glows red at night? Could it be that some car owner has a weird fetish and painted their car with red fluorescent paint?

As it got late, the stall owners gradually packed up and left.

Aunt Li and her friends chatted for so long that they fell behind the others and became the last group to leave.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

She muttered something, glanced at the time, and without arguing with the stall owner next door, she turned on the gas and drove off.

People who run food stalls year-round usually use vehicles that can drive on the road; they are essentially large tricycles with the accelerator on the handlebars.

Aunt Li had just started driving when she heard her older brother, who was walking in front of her, scream in alarm.

"A ghost car, a ghost car!"

She tilted her head and looked, and sure enough, that was it.

It was entirely red, with a large green cross painted on it. In the darkness, this car was the only source of light, making it impossible to ignore.

"ah!"

The stall owners behind them also started shouting, and Aunt Li, stuck between the two of them, appeared to be the boldest one in comparison.

However, both ends were blocked, so even if Aunt Li in the middle wanted to escape, she had nowhere to run.

"What are you waiting for? Keep going!"

She shouted a warning to the man in front of her, but it was better if she hadn't shouted at all.

The guy in front got so excited that he didn't start driving, but he started talking. I don't know what he was chanting, but he said over a hundred words a minute. It sounded like he was talking nonsense, but it was pretty impressive.

Aunt Li peeked out with great anticipation.

In just one second, he withdrew his head in disappointment.

"Brother, is what you're saying even useful? That ghost car didn't move an inch and it's blocking the intersection."

The last stall owner's voice trembled as he stammered, "Could it be that the foreigner doesn't understand Mandarin? Brother, why don't you try speaking a foreign language?"

"If I knew how, I wouldn't be setting up a stall here!"

The stall owner in front of me got furious and interrupted me in the middle of his rapid chanting.

Aunt Li thought about it and realized he was right; if he had that skill, he wouldn't be selling fried dough sticks here.

"Then reverse, let's go from the back!"

“No way,” the stall owner at the very back denied her in a trembling voice, “This alley is practically a dead end, with only one small door that can fit one person through.”

"This won't work, that won't work, are we really going to stay here and wait to die?!"

Aunt Li was so anxious that her eyes were practically spitting fire. She simply jumped out of the car and said, "I'm not going to wait here to die. Even if I have to run, I'm going to get out of here today."

In a car not far away, Zheng Xing was attracted by the sound.

He peeked out and saw that it was a small stall cart, and immediately laughed.

"I didn't expect there would still be people here selling their wares. It was worth coming all day."

He got out of the car decisively and pressed the lock button.

The red ambient lights automatically turned off, plunging the surroundings back into darkness.

"Did I see wrong?" Aunt Li asked cautiously. "Did that ghost car leave?"

The eldest brother at the front saw it more clearly: "They left, but before they left, it seemed like something jumped off the car."

These words made the two people behind him uneasy.

"Don't scare us, brother. It's so late at night, and we need to get home safely."

Without the car, Aunt Li was less afraid and took the initiative to comfort the two of them.

"The rumors are all about cars, not monsters or anything, so let's not scare ourselves unnecessarily."

"What rumor?"

"It was me just now—"

Aunt Li's words came to an abrupt halt as she suddenly realized that the speaker was not one of the three of them, and she broke out in a cold sweat.

Zheng Xing was puzzled, and seeing that no one spoke for a long time, he took the initiative to break the silence.

"Fine, if you don't want to tell me, then. Auntie, are you still selling fried noodles?"

Aunt Li didn't dare to speak, but the older man in front of her spoke up tremblingly, "If you eat fried noodles, you can't eat us anymore."

Zheng Xing: ? ? ?

What do these people take him for?

Zheng Xing laughed out loud, turned on his flashlight and shone it on himself, "Auntie, it's me, Zheng Xing!"

He thought that would explain it clearly, but he didn't consider what it would look like if the flashlight shone from below.

Suddenly, a pale face illuminated by light appeared in the darkness.

Aunt Li almost fainted from fright.

Her heart was pounding at 180 beats per minute, and she felt like her heart was about to jump out of her throat. She had no time to think about who Zheng Xing was.

The stall owner next to him recognized him, but unfortunately, he wasn't quite thinking straight.

"Zheng Xing, we're all neighbors. We've never wronged each other or had any recent grudges. Even if we missed the news of your death, we would never have thought of disrespecting your spirit. Please let us go!"

Aunt Li subconsciously echoed, "Let them go, let them go!"

"Huh? I'm not dead!"

Zheng Xing helplessly stretched out his hand, "If you don't believe me, touch it. It's still warm."

Even if he said that, no one dared to reach out and try.

The situation reached a stalemate. Zheng Xing turned the flashlight beam in a different direction. "This is the light from the phone. You've never heard of ghosts using phones, have you?"

"It seems not," Aunt Li said with a hint of doubt. "Are you really alive, Zheng Xing?"

“It’s genuine, there’s no reason to lie about it.”

"Did you see the ghost car from earlier?"

"A ghost car?" Zheng Xing was full of questions. "What ghost car? Don't scare people like this in the middle of the night."

Aunt Li was still in shock. "Just now, that ghost car with the red glow at the intersection!"

Glowing red light...

Zheng Xing gave an awkward laugh, a bad feeling creeping over him.

"Auntie, is there a green cross painted on that car?"

"Yes, yes, the color is neither yellow nor green, but it's definitely a cross drawn on it, you saw it too, right?"

"I saw it, and I see it every day."

Zheng Xing was even more embarrassed. "That's my car, not some ghost car, Auntie."

"Your car? Aren't you a living person?"

Well, we've come full circle again.

Zheng Xing scratched his head and helplessly pressed the car key.

The sound of unlocking the vehicle could be heard, and the ambient lights around the RV turned on, instantly revealing it in the night.

It was a cloudy night, and the clouds hid the moonlight, making the night exceptionally dark. The vendors relied entirely on the small lights on the front of their vehicles for illumination, which could only light up a distance of two or three meters.

In the distance, shrouded in darkness, red lights suddenly shone from all around the car, startling Aunt Li once again.

She realized what was happening belatedly.

"Are you kidding me? Is this really your car?"

"Yes, I am a real, living person. There are just a few red lights around the car."

Still reeling from her fear, Aunt Li's anger flared when she heard him speak so casually.

"Who's the kind person who installed red lights around the car?! You little rascal, you've been scaring people to death lately!"

The man in front echoed weakly, "Yeah, you're already famous on Xijingmen Street. If this ghost car thing drags on for a few more days, it'll be on 'Approaching Science' all over the place."

Zheng Xing scratched his chin guiltily, "Well, it's just that adding a red light makes me more visible at night. I'm worried that other cars won't be able to see me, which could easily lead to an accident."

"You're really smart," the aunt couldn't help but complain, "but you didn't care about the lives of other people."

“Yeah,” the stall owner behind him chimed in, “If I come a couple more times, I’ll get a heart attack.”

Surrounded and criticized by them, Zheng Xing quickly admitted his mistake, "I was wrong, I'll change the light tomorrow."

"But Auntie, could you make me some fried noodles? I'm really hungry."

Aunt Li was startled by him twice and refused him in a bad mood.

"We've all closed up shop, we can't make anything else. Go find something else to eat."

"No, Auntie, it's so late, there's nothing to eat around here. I finally managed to find you. I really changed, I promise, I'll replace all these lights tomorrow."

Zheng Xing begged for a long time before Aunt Li reluctantly agreed.

The other two stall owners left first, leaving only the two of them.

Zheng Xing's request was simple: he just wanted something to eat, and he didn't want Aunt Li to move out all her things.

Aunt Li wasn't actually familiar with Zheng Xing; she only occasionally passed by him and knew this neighbor.

While frying noodles, she chatted with him casually for a few minutes.

"Why are you still wandering around outside so late? Although the security situation has improved now, it's still dangerous to be out so late. It's best not to wander around like this."

"Don't mention Auntie."

Zheng Xing, ever the friendly type, sat down in the front seat of the tricycle. "I've been busy with a big project for the boss lately, looking for a suitable location. I'm constantly driving around the suburbs, and I don't get back to the city until midnight each time."

"Boss? You're not a detective anymore?"

“It’s not that I’ve given up,” Zheng Xing said, perking up at the mention of this. “Now I’m a private detective, and my car was even given to me by my boss.”

Aunt Li was in a bad mood whenever the car was mentioned.

Recalling Zheng Xing's past detective exploits on the street, Aunt Li couldn't help but sigh.

"Your boss has quite a discerning eye."

To be able to take a liking to Zheng Xing and even give him such a strange car shows that one's taste is truly exceptional.

Zheng Xing even took these words as a compliment.

"I also think that there is no boss in the world with a better eye for talent than Mr. Hu."

Mr. Hu?

There aren't many wealthy people with the surname Hu. In Aunt Li's memory, there was only Mrs. Zhenzhen.

She tentatively asked, "Your boss isn't named Hu Zhenzhen, is he?"

Zheng Xing knew how popular his boss was on Xijingmen Street, and proudly puffed out his chest.

"right!"

Aunt Li glanced at him again, and couldn't help but doubt her own opinion.

I haven't noticed anything particularly outstanding about Zheng Xing before. Could it be that he really has some merits that ordinary people can't see?

"What did you just say? Help Mrs. Zhenzhen find a place?"

This is not a secret. Zheng Xing has been busy for many days and still hasn't found a suitable place. He also wants to ask someone for information.

"We need to find a large, sparsely populated open space, preferably at a low price."

"The vacant land in S City, I only know the area that borders H City, but over there..."

Zheng Xing looked distressed. "Yeah, it's a mess over there. Someone bought it, and they're planning to ask for an exorbitant price. It's going to be tough."

*

The story begins with Xiao Jin's third-stage mission.

To become the most wealthy mother in S City, Hu Zhenzhen needs to be known by most people in S City.

This goal may seem small, but it is actually quite complex.

S City's development is not very good; it can barely be considered a third-tier city.

Aside from young people who are familiar with the internet, television remains the primary way for older people to access information.

Compared to Hu Zhenzhen's previous life where the internet completely overwhelmed television platforms, the situation here is much better.

Television, with its ease of use and the right to premiere TV dramas, is still able to rival the internet.

After discovering this situation, Hu Zhenzhen had a new idea in her mind.

The fastest way to make everyone in S City know her is to appear on television.

But given Hu Zhenzhen's status, she could only appear on interview programs at most.

The audience for this kind of program is mostly young people. It's not very useful for Hu Zhenzhen.

Rather than gradually building a reputation, she prefers to go straight to something that will truly leave an impression on the public.

Hu Zhenzhen set her sights on the prime-time slot on the local television station.

Jiang Chen is destined to be a movie star, so perhaps as his mother, she can get involved in this industry in advance and start with high-quality dramas.

In this way, when Jiang Chen wants to enter the entertainment industry, Hu Zhenzhen will have more confidence and be able to protect her son.

However, this project needs to start with building a filming base, and at the same time, suitable directors and scripts need to be found.

Zheng Xing is currently in charge of finding a suitable place for Hu Zhenzhen.

And the most suitable place he mentioned is also being discussed by a group of people.

"Mr. Zhang, are we really not going to make a move?"

"What's your rush?" The man behind the desk said lazily, sipping a cigar and shuffling the cards in his hand. "S City is only so big. Right now, it seems like our area is the most suitable. It's her turn to come begging to us."

The man picked up a card, looking dejected. "I was just worried she wouldn't buy it. I heard that Mr. Hu is a wealthy man whose family has been in business for five generations. He's loaded. What if he doesn't like what we have?"

"stupid."

The man with the cigar in his mouth lazily exhaled a smoke ring, "It's precisely because she's rich that we can't sell to her so easily."

He threw down two cards, "A pair of Kings, waiting for the right price, understand?"

"But this land is useless. If we don't sell it now, it will probably become a burden on us."

The man was still worried and couldn't concentrate on playing his cards.

Mr. Zhang impatiently stubbed out his cigar. "As long as one person needs this land, it's valuable. Since Hu Zhenzhen wants it, she'll have to pay some price."

He casually tossed out a three-on-one deal, saying, "I don't need much, just two hundred million."

On the other side.

Hu Zhenzhen's attitude was also very clear.

Upon receiving Zheng Xing's message, she glanced at General Manager Zhang's quote and casually tossed her phone aside.

"Two hundred million? He's dreaming."