Haitong Catering Company.
This is a small, no-name company. Whether it has proper licenses or not, nobody knows. But it's true that a bunch of thugs gather here.
"Damn it, that kid won't open the door, he doesn't know what's good for him!" The bald man returned looking annoyed. He felt very embarrassed that he hadn't been able to get things done.
Ahead of him sat a gloomy middle-aged man, holding a glass of wine, who said calmly, "It's alright, tomorrow will be the same!"
"Ming, why not just have someone shut that shop down? Why go through all this trouble?" The bald man asked, puzzled. In his experience, there were plenty of ways to create trouble and force people to comply.
Ming is quite influential in this area, with more than thirty men under his command and connections in both legitimate and illegitimate circles.
But Ming insisted that he go talk to the shop owner about some business.
"What do you know? You think I haven't investigated? That kid's source of goods is very secretive, untraceable. Besides, the people he associates with all drive cars worth millions. He's not simple!" Ming gave the bald man a disappointed look and snorted coldly. "Harmony brings wealth, remember those four words!"
The bald man nodded blankly. He muttered to himself, "Harmony brings wealth? There must be a next line, right? Think about it, none of Ming's actions are honorable, are they?" But whatever Ming says goes; at least his idea is to give those who don't know their place a chance.
The next morning at ten o'clock, the bald man arrived as promised with two brothers, this time carrying a brand new file bag under his arm.
"Hey guys, remember this: watch my eye and do what I say!" the bald man instructed the two. "Ming-ge said, peace brings wealth; avoid trouble if you can—"
"Brother Meng, is this the only shop? It's just a vegetable stall, why are we making such a fuss?" One of the underlings looked at Green Treasure Pavilion and was puzzled to find that it only sold vegetables and seafood.
Bald-headed Meng Ge slapped his underling on the forehead and scolded, "What do you mean by 'making a big fuss'? The task assigned by Ming Ge must be completed, understand? Keep your eyes open in a bit!"
The younger brother hurriedly replied, "Yes."
"Alright, come in with me, we're here to 'discuss business'!" Bald-headed Meng Ge, putting on a refined air, puffed out his chest and led his two henchmen into the Green Treasure Pavilion.
"Where's the boss? We've got a customer!" one of the henchmen immediately shouted.
Hearing the sound, Zhang Guodong quickly came downstairs, only to find the bald man from yesterday, accompanied by two shady-looking henchmen, resembling thugs. Indeed, a thug is a thug; no matter how much they try to act refined, they're still a thug, and that kind of temperament is hard to change.
"Choose your own, the prices are marked on them!" Zhang Guodong glanced at the three of them and said casually.
"Ha!" One of the underlings burst out laughing.
Bald-headed Meng glared at his underling before forcing a 'smile' and saying, "My name is Liu Meng, and I am the manager of Haitong Catering Company. I would like to discuss a big business deal with your restaurant!"
“Zhang Guodong!” Zhang Guodong shook hands with the bald man and said briefly.
Seeing that Zhang Guodong seemed to be getting the hang of things, the bald man smiled.
“Mr. Zhang, Haitong Catering is very interested in your vegetable and seafood wholesale business. From now on, Haitong will cover all the vegetables and seafood provided by Green Treasure Pavilion. What do you think, Mr. Zhang?” Bald Meng said in a refined manner.
In his mind, anyone who couldn't refuse a profitable business was a fool.
"Sorry, I'm not interested in cooperation right now. I don't have that much stock!" Zhang Guodong said, shaking his head directly.
Suddenly realizing that someone was eyeing his business, Zhang Guodong silently warned himself to be more careful in the future. He didn't have a good impression of these three people.
Bald-headed Meng Ge didn't expect Zhang Guodong to refuse so decisively. The words he had racked his brains for suddenly became useless, and his face darkened: "Mr. Zhang, why don't you reconsider? Let's all make money together and make money peacefully!"
Zhang Guodong shook his head again: "No need to consider it. There aren't enough supplies. Otherwise, I would have expanded too!"
"Kid, don't be ungrateful. Nobody in this area dares to—" one of the henchmen jumped out and threatened.
The bald-headed man glanced at his underlings, gave Zhang Guodong a sinister smile, and said, "Boss Zhang is a smart man. This is my business card. Call me before 6 PM, and it will still be valid!"
The bald, fierce man left behind his business card, which listed many titles, but the only useful thing was his phone number. Zhang Guodong frowned as he looked at it. Was this some kind of ultimatum?
"I'll take my leave now!" The bald man left Green Treasure Pavilion with two of his underlings.
Even in the provincial capital, some local thugs still exist. What used to be blatant robbery and extortion has become more civilized; they resort to trickery, coercion, and threats.
After thinking for a while, the fat man couldn't come up with a good idea.
Having once been a member of the lowest rungs of society, Zhang Guodong witnessed many dark things through the provincial TV station's Channel 2 news program, "Metropolitan Express," where some people acted with impunity.
Therefore, precautions are necessary.
"Hey, Fatty, got some time? Want to come out for a bit?" Zhang Guodong thought for a moment and then made a call to Fatty.
The fat man was puzzled. What was wrong with this guy so early in the morning? Going out to sit? Wasn't that too early? He'd only been in the office for a little while, and now he had to leave early again. That wouldn't leave a good impression on the boss.
However, since his other subordinates were doing the work, he, as the deputy section chief, wasn't very busy; he didn't have much power, after all.
"What's going on? Don't expect me to come out if there's nothing wrong. It won't give the boss a good impression!" the fat man said.
Zhang Guodong explained the situation, and the fat man immediately frowned upon hearing it: "They're probably some thugs from some area. Haitong? I've never heard of them. Wait a minute, let me ask my friend!"
After a while, the fat man called back.
"Go to Datang Bar on Friendship Street, room number ten, the waiter will escort you up!"
Friendship Street wasn't far. Zhang Guodong closed the shop and drove there. It only took six or seven minutes to get there. As soon as the waiter heard that it was room number ten, he immediately led him up.
After Zhang Guodong entered the private room, he noticed a young man in a police uniform next to the fat man.
"Xiao Ye, this is my brother Zhang Guodong, and this is Captain Ye Hui from the Public Security Bureau, whom he borrowed from Director Jiang!" the fat man introduced them. "What's going on with Guodong?"
I didn't explain it clearly on the phone just now, so Zhang Guodong repeated it.
Fatty and Zhang Guodong looked at Ye Hui. Calling him captain was an understatement; he was really just a small squad leader, the kind who could be dismissed at any time, with few subordinates to manage. Ye Hui thought for a moment and said, "Wang Ke, there really is a Haitong Catering place in this area, but what kind of catering is that? It's run by a bunch of idle thugs. They call him Brother Ming, and the entertainment venues in this area give him a lot of face. I heard he has connections at higher levels! Without evidence, it's not easy to handle, is it?"
The fat man was immediately displeased: "I don't believe a bunch of thugs haven't done anything illegal. Now they're threatening my brother. You deal with it. I told Director Jiang the same thing!"
Xiao Ye was immediately embarrassed, only then remembering that Director Jiang had sent him. He was to obey orders and do his job properly. The person in front of him was the deputy section chief of the secretariat of the government office, the kind who could be promoted at any time.
But this is something he really can't do. First, he has no evidence, it's just empty talk, and second, even with his power, he can't do it.
"Wang Ke, don't worry. My idea is that since those three came to our door with a deadline, they'll definitely take action. Once they do, catching them red-handed will make for an ironclad case!" Xiao Ye immediately said. "We can set a trap for them and wait for them to come to our door!"
Upon hearing this, the fat man's expression softened. Zhang Guodong remained calm, thinking to himself that investigations required evidence and this was proper procedure. He thought to himself, "This fat man really does have some airs."
"Then let's file a case!" the fat man nodded.
"Wait a minute, Wang Ke, don't rush to file a case. It'll be troublesome if we alert them!" Xiao Ye hurriedly advised. Seeing his hesitant expression, it was clear that there was something going on. The fat man understood immediately.
If there are insiders or someone in the bureau, they might know as soon as a case is filed.
"Alright then, we'll do it your way. I'll borrow you from Director Jiang, and bring a few others with you. They'll be in plainclothes. If this is done well, you'll get the credit, but of course, we'll treat it as a chance encounter!" the fat man said with a satisfied smile.
"Thank you, thank you, how could I dare to take credit? Wang Ke, how could I not do my best when you're handling things!" Xiao Ye said modestly.
Using Fatty's identity to temporarily transfer a few police officers is a piece of cake; Deputy Director Jiang can easily grant it. He'll definitely give Fatty that much face. Besides, Director Jiang and Fatty are on good terms these days.
Zhang Guodong was initially confused by their conversation, but eventually he understood. Xiao Ye clearly knew Ming Ge and probably knew people in the bureau, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to dissuade them from filing a case.
Xiao Ye left alone.
Fearing that Zhang Guodong would worry, the fat man immediately comforted him, "Actually, it's a small matter. No matter how big a gangster is, he can't be bigger than the government. But sometimes you still have to be careful and not be careless. Your business has attracted the envy of others!"
"But to be honest, I'm really curious where you got your supplies? If you partner with big companies and expand your business, I don't think anyone would dare mess with you!"
Zhang Guodong scratched his head and said, "As for the source of the goods, I actually got them from an honest farmer friend. I helped him unintentionally, and that's how we established our relationship. However, my friend also said that the production capacity is limited, and we can't do large-scale production. I'm quite satisfied! Otherwise, if the clean environment is disrupted, my friend will get angry, and I won't be able to continue doing business!"
Zhang Guodong told a small lie: Taoyuan was a place he couldn't tell anyone, not even his relatives, otherwise, it could lead to big problems.
"No wonder you never expanded your business, even though it was a good one!" the fat man laughed, suddenly realizing. "Some eccentric people are just eccentric, but that's understandable!"
"By the way, I took the things you gave me back yesterday, and my parents praised you a lot. They've actually eaten the vegetables and seafood you sell before. My sister brought some back and really liked them, especially that live wild ginseng. It's hard to find even in the market now; it's usually only good for farm work. My parents said they'd like to take you to their house sometime!"
“Okay, but it will have to be after the New Year!” Zhang Guodong nodded.
"Then it's settled. I have to go to work. Sigh, just a few more days until the holiday. I need to make a good impression on my boss!" The fat man got up, stretched, and left the private room with Zhang Guodong.
Zhang Guodong drove back to the store and reopened it.
Surprisingly, nothing happened at Green Treasure Pavilion all night. Zhang Guodong had thought that the other party would come and smash up the store at night or in the middle of the night.
As it turned out, he slept soundly, with Old Green guarding him, while the four little Greens and Big Black and Two Black were led into Peach Blossom Spring. Old Green was a Green Wolf with extremely keen hearing; he could immediately sense any disturbance in the shop.
On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year was celebrated. On the 25th, the family saw Ye Wan off at the airport as she returned to her hometown in Hunan for the Spring Festival. Before she left, Zhang Guodong prepared a large black carp, five grass carp, five common carp, five catties of river shrimp, five catties of crabs, and some wild game for her—a total of five, for good luck. Zhang Guodong, his father Zhang Zhengrong, and his mother Ye Cuihua even gave Ye Wan a 1,000 yuan red envelope each, clearly treating her as a sister-in-law and daughter-in-law.
By the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, Green Treasure Pavilion's stock had been almost completely sold out, and then Zhang Guodong closed the store and nothing else happened.
The day before, Xiao Ye and her three colleagues had to leave. Zhang Guodong expressed his gratitude and gave each of them half a basket of vegetables and seafood. Judging from the price, it was quite expensive. The four were delighted and immediately promised to call anytime if needed.
Green Treasure Pavilion gradually gained fame in this small area, attracting wealthy customers. Zhang Guodong would often give away gifts worth thousands of yuan, a considerable token of his appreciation.
P.S.: Bonus chapter, third update! Please vote, add to your favorites, and give rewards! I'm off to write more.
Oh, I forgot to mention, the rankings will be refreshed after midnight. Since I won't be able to access the internet then, I'd appreciate it if anyone online could vote for this book. It's *The New Urban Farmer*!
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