Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

While Zhang Zhiwei was talking with the Tang Clan Master and the Elder.

Liu Mang, who was at the Liziba Mansion, also learned of Zhang Zhiwei's return. He immediately arranged for someone to invite Zhang Zhiwei over for a meeting, but the guard was called back as soon as he left.

"Forget it! Forget it, don't go looking for Zhang Zhiwei," Liu Mang rubbed his temples in frustration. "Go and fetch Fan Ha'er here!"

"Yes, Commander!" The guard acknowledged the order and left.

Not long after, Fan Pengju, dressed in a crisp military uniform but still exuding a fierce air, grinned and walked in with a cheerful smile.

"Laughing, damn it, you're still grinning like that!" Liu Mang was already furious and had nowhere to vent his anger. Seeing his expression, he immediately started cursing.

"Hey, Commander Liu, who's offended you this time?" Fan Pengju laughed nonchalantly. "The Chairman is about to lead everyone to fight the Japanese pirates. Such a joyous occasion, and you won't even let me smile?"

"What the hell do you know? Don't you know I'm already overwhelmed?" Liu Mang cursed.

"Why are you so upset about this?" Fan Pengju said. "Besides, haven't you made a fortune these past few months? Enough to fill several German-equipped divisions. What are you so upset about? If anyone should be upset, it should be those nouveau riche!"

“Yes, they’re scorching, but they’ve come after me. Damn it, they’re like flies buzzing around me every day, wanting me to deal with Zhang Mazi. Didn’t you notice them outside when you came in?” Liu Mang asked.

"What's going on with getting rid of Zhang Mazi?" Fan Pengju's smile vanished. "A few days ago, didn't we take down a bunch of gangsters and announce that we'd wiped out Zhang Mazi? Was that all settled? Zhang Mazi's been eliminated, so why are they still bothering you?"

“They don’t believe it!” Liu Mang said, “They say Zhang Mazi is elusive and can’t be killed or eliminated. They think I’m messing with them, trying to swindle their money, and then using the money to wipe out a few gangs of ordinary thieves to complete the mission. In reality, I didn’t even bother to cause trouble for Zhang Mazi.”

"They finally realized what was happening," Fan Pengju muttered to himself.

"Fan Ha'er, what are you saying?" Liu Mang glared at him.

"I say, why don't you just ignore them?" Fan Pengju said. "In a few months, if Zhang Mazi doesn't make a move, won't they know that they've really been wiped out?"

"Fan Ha'er, you make it sound so easy. Do you think they're all like you?" Liu Mang said irritably. "They're starting to realize what's going on. They're saying I take money and don't do anything, that I'm just keeping a bandit around for my own benefit. There are even a few people discussing in small groups that I'm working with Zhang Mazi to make money off them."

Upon hearing this, Fan Pengju's eyes sharpened. Although he appeared rough and uncouth, he was no fool to have risen to his current position. He replied:

"Although this is true, we can't let this get out. Most of the landlords we haven't touched yet are our base. We can't afford to offend them too much, or we'll be deserted by everyone."

Liu Mang said, "That's exactly the point. That's why I secretly sent people to deal with those gossips. But that's just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. In the end, it's because I've been too ruthless lately and have lost credibility. I have to put an end to this matter as soon as possible, otherwise, if this continues, it will be impossible to get out of control!"

"I understand, Commander!" Fan Pengju said, "The situation is that you say you've dealt with Zhang Mazi, but those landlords and rich folks don't believe you have the ability to do so. They think you're lying to them and trying to get their money."

"And if Zhang Mazi really doesn't show up, they won't think that you really killed Zhang Mazi. They'll think that you actually lured Zhang Mazi here, and that the two of you were working together to steal his money."

"Ultimately, it's because Zhang Mazi is too amazing. They think you can't handle him. If you can, then either you're lying or you're in cahoots with Zhang Mazi."

Upon hearing this, Liu Mang said, "That's right! Fan Ha'er, you're a real genius! Now tell me, what should we do?"

"I know nothing!" Fan Peng spread his hands and said, "We still have to wait for the Little Celestial Master to come back and ask him to solve it. You know, he really is something. We just asked him to pretend to be a bandit who robbed the landlord, but he made it seem like a heavenly soldier descended to earth. He can't handle the situation at all."

“I think so too. We have to find him to settle the score. If he can’t, I’ll… I’ll… not pay him the balance.” Liu Mang said through gritted teeth.

He and Zhang Zhiwei agreed that the money Zhang Mazi planned to obtain would be split 50/50. The protection money he extorted from the landlords was still being calculated because a large portion of it was used to suppress bandits, so he did not pay it to the Tiantong Church.

"General, are you trying to renege on the Little Celestial Master's debt? You're going to be in a bit of a mess this day!" Fan Pengju said.

“What do you mean by defaulting on a debt? I just want him to help me clean up this mess. If he does it well, I’ll gladly hand it over.” Liu Mang said, “Perfect timing. Little Celestial Master has just returned. Come with me to see him. I’ve already told you everything I needed to say. Go and tell him later.”

Fan Pengju's face immediately fell: "General, you're not being honest anymore! So, after all this time, you called me here to take the blame?"

"Nonsense! Don't give me that tirade. What's the point of having a subordinate if you don't share the burden with your boss?" Liu Mang said loudly and confidently.

Fan Pengju curled his lip, thinking to himself, "Who's yelling? If you're going to compete in who can shout the loudest, you're the commander who eats the best food!"

…………

…………

The two then called their guards and drove to the Tiantong Steel Plant.

When they arrived, Zhang Zhiwei and Tang Menzhang had finished their conversation, and he was visiting the penicillin-making equipment that had just been imported from the United States with Wang Ai.

Manufacturing penicillin is quite complicated now. Although it's a small vial of medicine, it involves a wide range of things and requires a lot of equipment: solid surface culture equipment, liquid submerged fermentation tanks, filtration equipment, solvent extraction systems, crystallization equipment, freeze-drying equipment, etc.

Most of these devices can be bought directly with money, but the "liquid deep fermentation tank" and the matching "centrifugal extractor" are the two most technologically advanced and high-end devices that you can't buy no matter how much money you have without some connections.

They were also obtained through John's connections, in the form of "scrap".

Looking at the "high-tech products" in front of him, Zhang Zhiwei thought that these two things were not high-tech at all, and could even be described as crudely made.

The deep fermentation tank is a "vertical steel drum" with a diameter of nearly three meters and a length of more than six meters. It is made entirely of stainless steel without any fancy paint, retaining the original silver-gray color of the metal. There are valves and dials on one side, and three layers of agitators at the bottom, each with four curved blades, like a miniature version of a ship's propeller.

The centrifugal extractor resembles a "horizontal metal cannonball," possessing a small yet sophisticated mechanical feel. It is two meters long, sixty centimeters in diameter, and weighs approximately one ton, with a motor located beside the machine body...

"Do you know how to operate it?!" Zhang Zhiwei asked.

"Before bringing it back, I arranged for a group of people to study it, so it should be fine. However, the maintenance of the equipment is a big problem. There are no substitutes for the whole set of equipment in China. Even if a few screws are broken, it is difficult to find matching parts!" Wang Ai sighed.

“This is indeed a problem!” Zhang Zhiwei thought for a moment and said, “When equipment is running, wear and tear is inevitable, and we can’t expect it to be problem-free.”

“The other equipment is fine; we can arrange for people to come and repair it from abroad. But we got the fermentation tank and extractant as ‘scrap’ equipment, so there’s no after-sales service,” Wang Ai said.

Zhang Zhiwei pondered for a moment: "How about we try finding someone from Tiangongtang?" "Are they skilled in weapon crafting?" Wang Ai was very skeptical.

"Give it a try!" Zhang Zhiwei said.

"Then shall we place this pharmaceutical laboratory in the steel mill? Or somewhere else?" Wang Ai asked.

“It’s convenient and safe to travel here,” Zhang Zhiwei asked. “Or do you have a better option?”

"No, it's just that I saw you sent out several batches of medicine, so I was wondering if we should change the location?" Wang Ai asked.

Zhang Zhiwei thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "There's no need. Transportation in those areas is not very convenient. Building it there would be going the long way around. Besides, we're fighting the Japanese pirates together, so we should treat everyone equally. Let's build it here."

Just as the two finalized their agreement, Liu Mang and Fan Pengju came to visit.

Zhang Zhiwei and Wang Ai exchanged a glance.

“We’ve already distributed the money we robbed to Liu Mang, but he hasn’t paid us the money he extorted,” Wang Ai said.

"They want to renege on their debt?" Zhang Zhiwei asked, somewhat surprised.

"Not really. He's been having a lot of trouble lately, and he's probably dragging this out so he can hold onto some leverage and ask Senior Brother Zhang for help," Wang Ai said.

"Let's go see him!"

……

Afterwards, Zhang Zhiwei met with Liu Mang and Fan Pengju in his office.

Upon meeting, before even exchanging pleasantries, Fan Pengju began to wail and shout:
"Little Celestial Master, my dear Little Celestial Master, you've finally returned! If you hadn't come back, those nouveau riche landlords would have torn down Marshal Liu's mansion!"

"Alright, alright!" Zhang Zhiwei replied in his Sichuan accent, "Don't put on the cloak, let's talk this out!"

Fan Pengju gave an awkward smile and explained his current predicament.

After listening, Zhang Zhiwei laughed and said, "It means that the tree wants to be still, but the wind won't stop. We've calmed down, but they don't want to believe it, right?"

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s just that the tree wants to be still but the wind won’t stop.” Liu Mang said, “Little Celestial Master, you see, we’ve made a lot of money using ‘Zhang Mazi’s’ name before, and we’ve dealt with most of the troublemakers in the country. Now the whole country is united in fighting the Japanese pirates, and I can’t afford to have trouble in my backyard! What do you think… we should do to stop this wind and have a perfect ending?”

“That’s easy!” Zhang Zhiwei said. “Since they don’t believe us, we’ll grant their request and give them a spectacular exit. But…”

Zhang Zhiwei said, enunciating each word clearly, "Okay! Add! Money!"

"Again?!" Liu Mang's eyes widened. "Is this even feasible?"

Zhang Zhiwei calmly said, "What's wrong with it? Let them bleed even more. We need to make them feel that this is the last resort. They won't feel at ease if we don't do this."

“But how can we make them feel that this is the last resort?” Liu Mang asked.

“Simple!” Zhang Zhiwei laughed. “Just spread the word that you went through all sorts of hardships and finally managed to persuade me to personally take action to wipe out ‘Zhang Mazi’.”

Liu Mang was taken aback at first, then his eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he excitedly continued, "Then I'll tell them, Little Celestial Master, your magical power is boundless, but the 'merit money' you charge... isn't cheap! I'll make each family contribute another 'demon-slaying merit money' based on their strength? I'll squeeze them for one last big sum!"

Zhang Zhiwei gave a thumbs up: "That's right! With the money in place, Zhang Mazi will definitely be brought to justice."

"Brilliant! Little Celestial Master!" Liu Mang slapped his thigh excitedly. "This way, we can not only legitimately make 'Zhang Mazi' disappear, but also raise another sum of military funds! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!"

While the two were talking, Fan Pengju, who was standing next to them, was stunned. Previously, Commander Liu was worried that the Little Celestial Master would not care about after-sales service, so he planned to have him play the bad cop and use the funds that were being held in his hands to give his side more confidence in negotiations. But he never expected that not only would this plan not be used at all, but he would also have to squeeze those landlords out of them again.

Fan Pengju inwardly lamented the stupidity of those landlords; they refused to accept the end when it was time to end it. Well, now it's time to continue bleeding them dry.

He also marveled at the ruthlessness of Zhang Zhiwei, this monk. How could he be a monk? He was more like a gangster, even more like a gangster than he was, the leader of the Gelaohui (a secret society).

In his opinion, the title of head of the underworld should belong to Little Celestial Master, not that Chen Yulou the Ground Rake.

“We’ll talk about quality later. Let’s talk about money first. Since we’re going to do this, we should do it properly, so…” Zhang Zhiwei looked at Liu Mang and said slowly, “We need to add more money!”

"As expected, he's a gang leader..." Fan Pengju thought to himself.

"I understand, I understand!" Liu Mang asked, "Since you personally took charge of closing this matter, how you say we should divide the 'merit money' is what we'll do."

“I’ll take seven, you take three! Do you agree or disagree?!” Zhang Zhiwei asked.

As expected of the underworld boss, his aura overwhelmed even the commander-in-chief with hundreds of thousands of troops the moment he opened his mouth. I need to learn from him... Fan Peng raised his chin slightly, mimicking Zhang Zhiwei's expression, and mentally imitated Zhang Zhiwei's tone, asking, "Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

Zhang Zhiwei and Liu Mang were talking and didn't notice Fan Pengju's expression, but Wang Ai did. He looked at Fan Pengju with a puzzled expression, wondering what the fat man was up to and why he was making such strange movements. His chin was piled up in three layers of flesh.

After listening to Zhang Zhiwei's request, Liu Mang pondered for a moment, realizing that he indeed needed to rely on Zhang Zhiwei's prestige and ability to achieve a perfect outcome, and readily agreed:
“Last time, when we cleaned up my fifth uncle’s household, I got seven and you got three. This time, you contributed the most to the finale, so you get seven and I get three. It’s fair!”

"Great!" Zhang Zhiwei laughed. "Commander Liu is a straightforward man. Our cooperation has always been pleasant, and I hope it will continue to be so in the end!"

"It must be a pleasant occasion. We're a brotherhood, and we never back down!" Liu Mang knew that Zhang Zhiwei was implying something, so he pointed out, "The previous payment was because there were some accounts that hadn't been settled yet. Once this final 'merit money' arrives, I'll send it to you, Little Celestial Master, along with the money. I promise you won't lose a single penny."

“I can definitely trust what Commander Liu says,” Zhang Zhiwei said with a smile.

After saying this, the two looked at each other and burst into laughter. (End of Chapter)