Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Jinjiang Solo
"Happy New Year's Eve."
Under the steaming smoke, everyone raised their glasses.
As the new year arrives, I hope everyone will be successful and blessed with good fortune.
After the Spring Festival, compared with the booming business before the New Year, the business of the hotel has declined.
However, Zhang Mengzhi had already considered all this, so he was not upset about it. Instead, he had more time to design his own restaurant.
By the way, I also went to the provincial capital and the neighboring city to see if there were any suitable shops to buy.
While there are few people with money to buy shops now, he has to act quickly to buy a suitable shop so that he can rent it out even if he doesn't open a shop for the time being, so that he won't be unable to find a suitable shop to open a shop when he really needs it.
This was a very forward-looking idea, which was unanimously agreed upon by the Zhang family.
So Zhang Mengzhi took two bags and went to the provincial capital for inspection. After the provincial capital inspection, he went to the next city. As for the Gu family, don't worry about them for the time being, they will be finished on their own. Of course, there must be someone watching them. If there is any problem, let them go to Zhang Deming, and he will help to deal with it.
There are some things Zhang Mengzhi won't tell his parents, but he will tell Zhang Deming.
The parents are too honest and not cut out for this. Zhang Mengzhi should not let them worry, and the same goes for finding Zhang Deming if there is anything.
I took a slow long-distance bus to the provincial capital. I got on the bus in the middle of the night and didn't arrive until noon the next day.
This road was easier to travel than the one they took from the countryside to the city. At least it wasn't a muddy road. But even so, it still took twelve hours to get there.
If it were in later times, it would only take more than an hour by train to get there.
Although he was not prone to motion sickness, the smell in the car was not very pleasant. For convenience, he bought two seats and barely slept on the chairs for a night. The next day, he was able to stretch his legs on the chairs.
After getting off the bus, I ignored the tricycles and went to a public toilet to take care of my physiological needs. Then I washed my face and hands and went to find a restaurant to eat.
He was starving after not eating for twelve hours.
"Hello, give me a bowl of pig's trotters and a bowl of rice."
Zhang Mengzhi went into a small restaurant that specialized in selling pig’s trotters. The entire store was not even half the size of his spicy hot pot restaurant.
"Okay, do you want a large or small bowl?"
The proprietress lifted the lid of the pot and asked while taking a bowl.
"A big bowl please, and another bowl for the soup."
Zhang Mengzhi said while holding his stomach.
"Okay, sit down for a moment, I'll be right there."
Seeing that he didn't look very well, the proprietress immediately scooped up some pig's trotters and rice with her quick hands.
"Your pig's trotters and soup, and a bowl of rice, this is the chili dip."
The proprietress placed all the dishes and chopsticks on the table, then returned to the stove and continued working.
"Thank you, Madam Boss."
Zhang Mengzhi first took a sip of the pig's trotter soup. The warm soup made his stomach feel a little better.
Only after his appetite was fully whetted did he pick up the rice and start eating.
The pig's trotters are stewed until soft. Pick up the meat, put it in the dipping sauce, dip it in some chili, put it on the rice, and eat it together. It is really delicious.
In addition to the skill of stewing the pig's trotters, the dipping sauce for the soul should not be underestimated. If any of them is missing, the dish will not taste good.
A bowl of rice, a bowl of pig's trotter's flower, and a bowl of pig's trotter's flower soup was Zhang Mengzhi's first meal in the provincial capital.
"Give it to me, boss lady."
Zhang Mengzhi handed the money to the boss lady, but didn't ask the price because the boss lady wrote the prices on the blackboard. The prices of the big and small bowls were different, and the rice and dipping sauce were free, as was the soup.
"Welcome to come again next time."
The proprietress saw the guests off warmly.
After Zhang Mengzhi had lunch, the next step was to find a guesthouse.
With the letter of introduction, I booked a single room in the guesthouse.
I took out my clothes and took a shower. After my hair was dry, I fell asleep.
I was in the car last night. I was afraid that my luggage would be stolen, so I couldn’t sleep the whole night. I woke up at the slightest movement.
I slept until the evening, then went out to find a restaurant for dinner. When I came back, I took out a book and started reading.
Reading is his hobby, even after graduation he will still read some books. Now is the time when martial arts novels are popular, and the one in his hand is exactly the popular martial arts novel nowadays.
In fact, he has read it in later generations, but what he is reading now is the first edition, which is somewhat different from what he read in later generations.
As he was reading, he fell asleep and the book in his hand fell onto the bed.
Under the warm desk lamp, Zhang Mengzhi suddenly saw the ending of the Zhang family in his previous life.
However, this time, after the Zhang family was gone, he followed General Zhang and his family and only ended when they returned to their hometown.
When Zhang Mengzhi woke up in the morning, he pressed his forehead. Was the dream hinting at something?
Knowing that he had to visit his grandmother's relatives, Zhang Mengzhi went out early, had breakfast, found a tricycle, and took himself to his relatives' house.
"Uncle, I am Zhang Mengzhi, the grandson of Lin Shuizhen."
Zhang Mengzhi stood in front of the old man and saluted him.
"Sit down! I know you. Your grandmother called me before you came."
My uncle pointed to the sofa opposite and said.
"Thank you, uncle."
Zhang Mengzhi sat upright on the sofa with his hands on his knees.
"At the beginning, your mother called me and told me that your engagement was cancelled. But your mother was not very clear on the phone about the cancellation of the engagement, and I still don't understand why. Since you are here today, tell me the details."
My uncle asked with a serious face. He was a man who valued promises very much. In his opinion, suddenly canceling the engagement for any reason was a breach of promise.
"Uncle, this is a long story..."
Zhang Mengzhi's visit this time also had the purpose of telling the old man the truth.
"I see."
Half an hour later, after listening to Zhang Mengzhi's explanation, my uncle's expression became less serious.
"Since it was the woman who asked to be released, it's not you who broke your promise."
The uncle had no intention of blaming the woman. Of course, he had never had a good impression of the Wang family, but considering the engagement, he did not have any ill feelings towards them.
After knowing the truth about the cancellation of the engagement, he began to hate the Wang family.
"Yes. I am sorry to have caused trouble to you, uncle. I asked you to be the witness, but I failed to live up to your expectations."
Zhang Mengzhi said with great guilt.
Because of his old age, this uncle was not implicated by the Zhang family. But after learning about the tragedy of his cousin's family, he fell ill out of grief and died within a few months.
Fortunately, the old man didn’t know that the Zhang family was killed by the Gu family because of the Wang family, otherwise he would have felt even more guilty before his death.
It was he who persuaded his cousin's husband to accept the marriage proposal, because the Wang family had already talked about the favor. He was a very reasonable person, and he would repay the favor! The woman asked for an engagement to repay the favor, so he arranged a marriage between my cousin's grandson and the woman.
As a result, my cousin's family was devastated by this engagement. How could the old people accept the truth? They would definitely be angry to death.
Fortunately, my uncle didn’t know.
Zhang Mengzhi said quietly in his heart.
My great uncle is a very stubborn person. He did have his reasons for the original marriage, but most of the reasons were agreed to by the Zhang family themselves.
If the Zhang family and Zhang Mengzhi didn't agree, the marriage wouldn't be finalized. So Zhang Mengzhi didn't blame the old man for this. If he knew that the consequence of this marriage would be the destruction of the family, the old man wouldn't have agreed to the marriage.
It’s only because of the Gu family’s unhuman behavior that the Zhang family is in such a miserable state.
He had already taken revenge on Zhang Mengzhi of the Gu family, so he would not let the Wang family go either. But he was not in a hurry to do it, because the Wang family was having a hard time without him.
And Wang Lingya, since she likes Gu Yan so much, then she should be with him forever! If you want to separate, don't dream.
He wanted to tie them together for their entire lives. As the male and female protagonists, how could they be separated?
How can they still be the male and female protagonists if they break up? So Zhang Mengzhi will not allow them to break up, and they have to wait until Gu Yan graduates before they can get the marriage certificate!
Don't agree? Then die.
Zhang Mengzhi suppressed the hatred in his heart, but that didn't mean he didn't hate them anymore. Once the two of them didn't want to get entangled anymore, he would be forced to take ruthless action.
If he doesn't resolve the resentment in his heart, he will not be able to completely let go of the events of his past life, which will also have an impact on Zhang Mengzhi's future growth.
"Mengzhi, I'm the one who should say sorry."
My uncle was not a person who would not change his mistakes. His persistence was ridiculous in the face of the truth. He just wanted to live a good life with the Zhang and Zeng families. Once he found that the Zhang family could not make them live a better life, he quickly gave up the engagement.
"Fortunately, the engagement was cancelled, otherwise my uncle would have harmed you."
Uncle Gong looked at the young man opposite him with guilt. Was Zhang Mengzhi the only one who suffered because of his stubbornness? He began to reflect on his behavior over the years and decided to investigate what he had done in the past to see whether the consequences were good or bad.
If it’s good, it’s fine. If it’s not good, he has to find a way to make up for it.
"Uncle, don't think too much. Everything is over."
Zhang Mengzhi comforted.
"Maybe!"
As an old man, he became more cunning. My uncle did not completely believe Zhang Mengzhi's words. Maybe he himself did not feel it, but my uncle saw the hatred in his heart.
Maybe there is something he doesn't know, but he believes that his cousin's grandson is not a bad person and will not do anything illegal.
The two chatted for a while before Zhang Mengzhi said goodbye.
"I'll come visit my uncle next time I have the chance."
Zhang Mengzhi stood at the door and said goodbye to his elderly uncle.
"Okay, uncle will wait for you."
A smile appeared on the old man's serious face.
This child is nothing like the Zeng family. Compared with his great-grandfather and great-grandmother, he is more resourceful and ambitious. Although he chose to do business, he did not act on impulse, but took steady steps. Now he has his own restaurant. How can this not be a success?
Looking at the fruits Zhang Mengzhi brought on the table, in addition to oranges from his hometown, there were also apples and bananas suitable for the elderly.
As for those expensive fruits, Zhang Mengzhi did not buy them. After all, his uncle was a public official. It was okay to give some fruits when visiting relatives, but it would be a problem to give expensive fruits.
The provincial capital was more prosperous than Guocheng, and even a few foreigners could be seen occasionally. The houses on both sides of the road were better than those in my hometown, but they could not compare with the high-rise buildings of later generations.
Maybe because Zhang Mengzhi arrived early, there were still many empty shops in the provincial capital, and the location was also very good. There was even a two-story storefront.
Zhang Mengzhi immediately paid the full amount and used most of his assets.
"stop."
Just when he had completed the transfer of ownership and was about to leave the provincial capital to investigate in the next city, he was stopped by several thugs.
"What's up?"
Zhang Mengzhi looked at them. Before he could even warm up the property deed in his hand, someone coming to cause trouble arrived.
"Hand over the property deed in your hand."
Sure enough, it was heading towards the house in his hand.
"What if I don't hand it over?"
Zhang Mengzhi calmly looked at the five or six thugs in front of him and asked back.
"If you don't want to hand it over, then leave your hands and feet behind."
Several thugs had knives in their hands and seemed to be planning to attack him violently.
"Aren't you afraid of the police when you do this?"
Zhang Mengzhi touched his chin and asked, "Didn't these people ask about his identity before intercepting him?"
"If I'm afraid, I won't come to see you."
As the thugs spoke, they raised their knives and tried to attack him.
"stop."
A middle-aged man appeared in front of everyone with a dozen policemen.
"The police are here."
The thugs immediately squatted down, and looking at their skillful movements, it was obvious that they had done this more than once.
"Is Mengzhi okay?"
Zhang Dexuan walked over quickly and gave Zhang Mengzhi a full body check. Do you believe that if something happened to him on his own territory, his father and grandfather would beat him to death when he returned?
"Dad, if you don't come, I'll be in trouble."
Zhang Mengzhi shrugged his shoulders. Since he came to the provincial capital to buy a house, he was obviously prepared.
Nowadays, society is a bit chaotic. Many unemployed people in the city have become gangsters and collect protection fees everywhere. The provincial capital is not Guocheng, and the surname Zhang is of little use here. However, since he deliberately chose the provincial city next door, it was naturally not a random choice.
In addition to being more prosperous than Guocheng, he also has a backer in these two cities! The current chaos will be much better after the country cracks down on it. At least few people dare to do something like this, where someone dares to chop someone with a knife in broad daylight.
"Nonsense, you'll be fine."
Zhang Dexuan is the director of one of the district police stations in the provincial capital, and this area is under his jurisdiction.
When my nephew came to the provincial capital, he would naturally visit my family. I knew that he would come to transfer the ownership of the shop today, so I had already led the police to patrol this area. When I didn't see my nephew at the appointed time, I immediately brought people over and happened to see the gangsters using a knife on my nephew.
At that moment, Zhang Dexuan was so frightened that his soul almost left his body.
If something happened to the Zhang family's treasure in his territory, not only would his father and grandfather not forgive him, but all the Zhang family members who wanted to hold him accountable would line up to find him.
"You are Director Zhang's nephew, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
The handcuffed thugs cried like dogs. They never expected that they would hit a wall today and stop all their nephews.
"You didn't ask me, did you? And I asked you, aren't you afraid of the police when doing this kind of thing? Do you remember what you said? You said: If you were afraid, you wouldn't do it. Did you say that?"
Zhang Mengzhi had no intention of hiding it for them and told them everything.
"It's over."
The thugs looked desperate.
Because it was different from fighting for protection money, they used knives, even if no one was hurt, but a group of police witnessed everything. With their confessions, the person behind the scenes was also arrested. The country is going to start a severe crackdown, and they may not be able to get out for more than ten or twenty years.
"Mengzhi, let us uncles accompany you next time!"
Zhang Dexuan said after he sent his nephew out of the police station.
"Okay, when I get to the mountain city, I'll look for the German uncle."
The Zhang Dejun that Zhang Mengzhi mentioned is serving as an armed police officer in the mountain city, and his military rank is not low!
"Yes, go find him."
Zhang Dexuan nodded vigorously. This kid has so much money on him, and he would feel uneasy without an elder to look after him!
"good."
Zhang Mengzhi did not refuse. What happened today also reminded him that if he wanted to be a dragon in the river, he had to have someone to back him up.
So after Zhang Mengzhi arrived in the mountain city, he first looked for Zhang Dejun.
Zhang Dejun had served in the army before and had even been to the battlefield. Later he was assigned to the armed police force, so his position was not low.
"Mengzhi, do you know that when I heard that you were almost stabbed by a knife, I broke out in a cold sweat on my back?"
Zhang Dejun waited for his nephew outside the train station and said with a look of fear on his face.
"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't expect someone to be so bold as to attack me with a knife in broad daylight!"
Zhang Mengzhi had a bitter face. He still underestimated the darkness in people's hearts and the chaos in society today.
"Forget it, learn from your mistakes! Remember to be more careful next time. If you have any problems, just go to us elders. Don't take everything on yourself. We elders are not here to do nothing."
Zhang Dejun picked up his luggage and brought him back to the compound where he lived.
"Meng Zhi is here."
Aunt Liu Hong heard the door open and came out of the kitchen. When she saw Zhang Mengzhi, she immediately wiped the water off her hands and came over to greet her.
Since everyone knew that the Zhang family had such a precious college student, they got a photo of him. Even those who had not been back for many years knew what Zhang Mengzhi looked like.
"No wonder the old man recognized me at the first sight. It turned out to be it who did this."
Seeing the photos on the table, Zhang Mengzhi had nothing to understand.
"Hahahaha, the main reason is that we're afraid of not knowing each other when we meet!"
Zhang Dejun laughed. He placed this photo on the table specially for his grandson to worship every day so that he could make progress in his studies.
"Brother Shilin is not here?"
Zhang Mengzhi was sitting on the sofa and asked curiously because she didn't see anyone else in the room.
"No, he and your sister-in-law are at work, and the child has been sent to school."
Zhang Dejun shook his head. His son was a young policeman, as was his daughter-in-law, and his grandson was about to go to junior high school. Otherwise, he would not have let his grandson worship his nephew.
"You won't be back at noon?"
Zhang Mengzhi asked curiously.
"No. It's too far from home. They eat lunch at school or work and come back to stay at night."
Zhang Dejun shook his head.
"I see."
Zhang Mengzhi expressed his understanding that it is true that most people who work in an industry far from home now choose to have lunch at the company.
"By the way, uncle, these are the oranges from our hometown, and the beef jerky I made."
Zhang Mengzhi took out the gift.
He had made the beef jerky at home and brought it with him, as well as the oranges.
The luggage he brought out this time, apart from a few sets of clothes, was filled with oranges and beef jerky. He only made four pounds of beef jerky, half for Zhang Dexuan and half for Zhang Dejun.
My uncle is old, and the beef jerky is too dry for him to eat, so I spent money to buy fruits that he can eat. Fruits are not cheap in this season, anyway, they are more expensive than the beef jerky he made.
“It smells so good!”
As soon as Zhang Dejun smelled the beef jerky, he immediately took it and opened it.
"This beef jerky is delicious! I heard about your cooking skills a long time ago, but I didn't expect that the beef jerky you made would taste even better."
As a carnivore, Zhang Dejun immediately took out a piece of beef jerky and started eating it. His impatient look made his wife glare at him.
"Can't you be a little more reserved? The juniors are still here!"
Zhang Dejun’s wife Liu Hong said unhappily.
"It's okay, Auntie. This shows that my cooking skills are really good, which is why you couldn't help but eat it."
Zhang Mengzhi waved his hand to show that he didn't care.
"That's right. Normally you wouldn't allow me to eat meat. Now that I finally have beef jerky to eat, you still scold me."
Zhang Dejun complained carefully, not daring to speak loudly.
"puff."
Zhang Mengzhi had sharp ears and heard his complaints.
"Zhang Dejun, what did you say?"
Liu Hong lowered her voice and asked her husband.
"No, I didn't say anything."
Zhang Dejun shook his head quickly. He was afraid that if he denied it any later, he would lose his ear.
"Hahaha."
This time, Zhang Mengzhi couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.
"Don't be surprised, Mengzhi. I'm used to quarreling with your uncle, so I didn't react for a while."
Hearing their nephew's laughter, the couple felt awkward, and Liu Hong quickly said.
"It's okay, it's okay, I'm used to this kind of situation."
Zhang Mengzhi said that this was nothing. He had seen couples fighting each other. Although the husband did not beat his wife in the end, the level of excitement was much higher than that of a quarrel.
"Pfft, that's right."
Liu Hong couldn't help laughing. This situation happened more often when she was in her hometown.
They live in the city, so people tend to be restrained when they quarrel, but in their hometown, many people would jump up and down and quarrel.
"Mengzhi, take a rest today and go find a shop tomorrow. Then let your aunt take you there, so you don't have to wander around by yourself."
Zhang Dejun instructed his nephew.
"good."
Zhang Mengzhi had no objection. The roads in the mountain city were different from those in the provincial capital and were indeed difficult to find, so he didn't make things difficult for himself.
So after lunch, Zhang Mengzhi slept in the guest room for the whole afternoon. In the evening, Zhang Dejun's son and his family came back, and the room suddenly became lively.
"You are my dad!"
Zhang Shilin's son Zhang Yeyuan squatted in front of Zhang Mengzhi, looking curiously at the man his grandfather called "a talented youngest father."
"Yeah, why don't you believe it?"
Zhang Mengzhi looked at the young man in front of him. He had standard Zhang family facial features, not delicate at all.
"Believe me. Grandpa said that in the Zhang family, only my father looks so handsome."
Comparing it with the photo on the table, I find myself better looking than in the photo, but it’s also clear that it’s the same person.
"I heard you're going to junior high school?"
Zhang Mengzhi pulled him to sit next to him and asked him about his studies.
“Yeah, studying is so hard!”
It's really the Zhang family, all of them have learning difficulties. Are the Zhang family's genes really that stable? Nine and a half out of ten people can't study well.
"Take out the questions you don't understand and I'll teach you."
Zhang Mengzhi has great patience with children and is willing to take care of them.
"good."
Zhang Yeyuan took out his homework.
"Dad, I don't know how to do these."
The little guy was not polite at all and pointed out all the things he didn't know.
Zhang Mengzhi took it and looked at it, and was immediately speechless.
My goodness, he doesn’t know any of them! I don’t know how this kid learned it? Zhang Mengzhi was helpless and picked up a pen to explain them one by one.
Maybe Zhang Zhiyuan was not so stupid that he was beyond help. After Zhang Mengzhi's explanations, he finally understood.
"I understand."
He picked up the pen and started writing.
"Yes, that's it. Next question."
Zhang Mengzhi continued to explain only after the child could do it. By the time she finished helping her nephew with his homework, Zhang Mengzhi's throat was almost hoarse.
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