20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 685 Coercion and inducement

Boys all like to wield guns and sticks. Even weak scholars may have dreamed of traveling around the world with a sword.

Hai Xinnian was no exception. When he heard that there was a chance to touch a gun, he immediately stood up and was about to speak, but suddenly he became a little worried and asked, "Fourth Uncle, is this not a problem?"

Zhao Zhengbei knew clearly that the Jiang family adopted this boy as their adopted son, not to treat him as a mere decoration like a vase, but to let him get involved in Jiang and Hu affairs in the future.

So, he said calmly: "What's the problem? It's just target shooting for fun. It's always good to have many skills!"

Hai Xinnian rubbed his hands and murmured, "Fourth Uncle, I don't have a gun."

"It's okay. Guns are easy to get. You underestimate your godfather." Zhao Zhengbei smiled. "By the way, what kind of guns have you used before?"

"My family's armed forces have Hanyang rifles, but I've only fired homemade rifles, which are junk. You have to fill them with gunpowder."

"Oh, that's a technical job. It requires experience."

"Yes, if you put too little gunpowder, the bullet will be weak when it is fired, and too much gunpowder will easily explode." Hai Xinnian suddenly pointed to his right eye, "There is a person in my hometown who had a gunpowder explosion when he was shooting. His eyes were blinded. It was very scary. My second brother would not let me load the gunpowder myself. He would load it before letting me shoot."

"That kind of spray gun won't work, and it's not practical either." Zhao Zhengbei stepped forward and teased him with a smile, "Tomorrow, I'll let you try the one with a sharp point."

"When?" Hai Xinnian couldn't wait any longer.

"I can't do that in the next two days. I just returned to the Military Academy. I have to pretend and behave myself for a few days, right?"

Zhao Zhengbei winked at Hai Xinnian, causing the boy to nod repeatedly and say that there was no rush.

After all, Beifeng is the youngest backbone of the Jiang family.

The smaller the age difference between uncle and nephew, the closer they will naturally be.

Then, the two chatted for a while.

Hai Xinnian was very curious about the war and couldn't help asking his fourth uncle about the various situations on the battlefield.

However, Zhao Zhengbei seemed unwilling to talk more.

People who have truly experienced the baptism of war often find it difficult to poeticize or dramatize it, and it is often a torment when they recall it.

The stench in the trenches, the flying limbs, the rolling smoke and dust...

So many comrades had died in the battle, but the survivors were still talking about it. To Bei Feng, this was tantamount to blasphemy.

Seeing this, Hai Xinnian stopped asking questions and just asked, "Fourth Uncle, do you regret joining the army? After all, my godfather is so rich, you won't have to worry about food and clothing when you come back!"

"This is not a problem," Zhao Zhengbei said. "Whether I regret it or not, I am already a soldier. It is my duty. As a man, how can I back down?"

Hai Xinnian nodded and said, "My father always says that."

"That's enough!" Zhao Zhengbei leaned back on the sofa and glanced at the grandfather clock. "It's getting late. You have to get up early tomorrow. Go to bed. I'll review some more."

Hai Xinnian stood up tactfully, said goodbye to his fourth uncle, and turned back to his room.

There were still traces of Xifeng's life in this room. Song Ma only changed the bed sheets and quilts, and the furnishings in the room were extremely simple. But for Hai Xinnian, it was already an eye-opener.

He walked to the table and sat down, took out the red envelope given by his godmother, counted it carefully again, then stood up and searched around, and finally tucked it into the bedding roll he brought with him. After hesitating for a moment, he took out another note, put it in his pocket, and patted it twice.

The night deepened silently.

After a while, I saw a ray of light under the crack of the door go dark, and the sound of a door closing came from next door. I guess my fourth uncle was ready to go to bed.

About half an hour later, the lights in the mansion went out one after another.

Suddenly, everything was quiet, as if the house was deserted and as lonely as a tomb.

The laughter and joy just now were like the shock of waking up from a dream. There was only the picture, but all I could hear in my ears was my own heavy breathing.

It was the first time I lay on a spring mattress, which made it even harder to get some stability. I felt as if the bed was going to collapse at any moment, and I tossed and turned on the bed like a pancake. I tossed and turned until midnight, but I still couldn't fall asleep.

After thinking it over, he simply spread out the bedding he had brought with him, got out of bed, and slept on the floor, muttering to himself:

"This bed needs to be harder so it will be more comfortable to sleep on!"

This was indeed the case. The boy had just laid down and before he could even count, he suddenly felt sleepy.

Hai Xinnian lay on his back, pursed his lips, and was about to fall asleep, but for some reason, he suddenly opened his eyes as if he was frightened by something.

He held his breath and listened carefully for a while, then sat up. The hard-earned sleepiness just now was instantly swept away.

Hai Xinnian frowned, stood up in confusion, walked to the north and south walls respectively, listened carefully, but did not hear any unusual sounds.

After walking around for a while, he finally locked his eyes on the bottom of the bed. His mind was full of random thoughts and goose bumps appeared on his arms.

After a moment of suspicion, Hai Xinnian swallowed his saliva, clenched his fists, slowly squatted down, suddenly lifted the bed sheet, tilted his head and looked inside - of course there was nothing under the bed!

The boy secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But at this moment, he suddenly thought of another possibility, so he leaned over and laid his ears tightly on the floor...

……

……

The next morning, on the north bank of the Shenshui River.

The morning sun is soft but not bright, like a layer of orange gauze, gently covering the turbid river surface.

There were no water birds circling in the sky. There were only a few shabby wooden boats moored on the shore. They were riding the waves of the river, rising and falling, colliding with each other, and making a "clattering" sound.

"Wow--"

Two hairy legs broke through the surface of the river and came out from the shore. They walked forward tentatively, then bent down and scooped out a handful of mud from the riverbed with their bare hands.

In autumn, the river water has become very cold.

The man scooped up the mud, turned around quickly, and walked towards the shore with a "splashing" sound.

Shenshui is not a big river. Usually, apart from fishing boats, there are no large cargo ships sailing here. Therefore, the banks are overgrown with weeds and look particularly desolate. Even if you stand on tiptoe and look to the north, you can only see a row of short earthen houses.

At this time, there were more than twenty people standing on the north bank, divided into two groups.

The man walked over barefoot with mud in his hands, stopped in front of a boss who was dressed richly, and smiled in a flattering manner.

"Boss Jiang, take a look at this. This is the river sand we usually dig. After washing it with water, drying it and sieving it, we can sell it for money." Jiang Lianheng looked down at the pile of mud, snorted twice, waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, throw it away!"

The man did not dare to delay, and quickly left the river sand and retreated aside in shame.

There were two groups of people on the shore. On one side were Jiang Lianheng, Nanfeng, Xifeng and several "Xiangzi"; on the other side were the gang leaders who often stole river sand in Shenshui.

There is no doubt that this negotiation was arranged by Li Zhengxi.

Jiang Lianheng stepped forward, faced the river pirates, cleared his throat, and said, "We are all in the same team, so I won't make it difficult for you. Stealing river sand is not a serious crime, but it is enough to sentence you if you are caught. You won't be able to do this for long. Now I have a permit from the government. Do you want to form a partnership, or what?"

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes.

Although most of these scoundrels who illegally mined river sand were a bit shabby, the people who were elected to be in charge were dressed quite nicely.

The man in charge was named Wang, he was in his forties, wore a royal blue gown and was nicknamed "Old Boat". He was also in the sand and gravel business, but because he had no permission from the government, he could only steal river sand, so his business was naturally not on a large scale.

Hearing this, he immediately clasped his hands and said with a smile: "Hey, Boss Jiang, look at what you said. If you want to do sand and gravel business, just tell me, I will give you the way. What's the point of talking about partnership? At most, you can give me a hand, but if it comes to partnership, I'm not good enough."

"Hey, we're all online, can we make money together?"

"Don't dare to take it, don't take it!"

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and said, "Okay, old captain, don't say you don't deserve it. I've heard that you have a lot of influence in Shenshui. Even the boatmen who fish have to show respect to you during festivals. Why are you being so modest in front of me?"

"It's because you, Boss Jiang, let me make a living here. Otherwise, how could I dare to act rashly?" Lao Chuan was unsure of the Jiang family's intentions, so he naturally didn't dare to agree to it casually.

"Okay, okay, stop flattering me." Jiang Lianheng was a little impatient. "I came here today just to say hello to you. In the future, when my employees come here to mine sand, please give me some face and be gracious and don't embarrass them."

"Well, after all this fuss, it's just a small matter?" The old boatman slapped his thigh, "If it's about this, why don't you just ask the third master to tell me something? Why bother to come here in person?"

As he said this, he suddenly stepped forward and said, "Come on, Boss Jiang, please allow me to be so arrogant for once. Let's draw a line today. If anyone dares to embarrass your employees in the future, don't worry. I will take care of everything."

Having said that, this is not something you can dwell on.

Since the Jiang family has permission from the government, they naturally have nothing to worry about when mining sand, and the output is therefore greater.

Over time, the people in Laochuan had only two options: either be acquired by the Jiang family, or be squeezed out of the sand and gravel business.

The Jiang family is here to steal food, and Lao Chuan knows it very well, but he is angry and dares not say anything.

The old ship has reason to be afraid.

If the Jiang family continued to act according to their previous practice, he would "mysteriously" disappear or die in an "accident" within a month.

Especially at this time, the Jiang family would still send people to express condolences and sympathy, which clearly made everyone on the line feel insecure.

There is no other way. The Jiang family’s backing is too strong. Instead of snatching food from the tiger’s mouth, it is better to retreat as soon as possible.

After all, losing to the Jiang family is not shameful.

Thinking of this, the old boatman couldn't help but sigh, then quickly put on a smile and said, "Boss Jiang, to be honest, I have been doing a lot of work in the past two years. How much is considered a lot? I don't have permission from the government, so I can only do small things. I am thinking of changing my career and making a living!"

However, he didn't know that the Jiang family had already decided to make adjustments and were ready to do their best to ease the relationship online.

Seeing that he was saying one thing and thinking another, Jiang Lianheng simply spoke frankly, "Old Ship, I didn't tell you those useless excuses, otherwise would I have come to see you in person?"

"hiss--"

The old boatman frowned, still not daring to believe it, but said: "Boss Jiang, I have wasted the past twenty years. What did you mean just now? Why didn't I understand?"

"What's not to understand?" Jiang Lianheng asked, "You mine sand just to make money, right? From now on, you can take your people to mine sand upstream. You can do whatever you want, but you can only sell the river sand you mine to me, and the price must be halved. At the same time, I don't want to see other river pirates mining sand in Shenshui anymore, understand?"

Lao Chuan understood that the Jiang family was planning to use him as a gun.

However, halving the price is tantamount to forced buying and selling. How can it be called cooperation?
"Don't worry, I won't let you work hard and lose money. You won't lose anything if you help me." Jiang Lianheng said with a smile, "Old Captain, don't forget that I have the government's permission. You can clean up the river surface for me, and then you can mine river sand at will. If the government gives you trouble, just say you are my employee."

At this point, Wang Zhengnan stepped out to persuade him, "Master Chuan, my boss is not here to divide the cake, but to help you find a way to make this cake bigger. This is a rare opportunity, so you have to think about it carefully. Of course, if you really want to quit, let's talk to someone else."

Li Zhengxi also chimed in: "Old Ship, there's no rush for this. The Jiang family's factory hasn't been built yet. You can go back and think about it slowly." Then he turned around and led Jiang Lianheng north, "Boss, let's go check out the site first?"

"Hey, Third Master, don't worry!"

Lao Chuan was anxious, knowing that this opportunity was precious, so he quickly walked around to Jiang Lianheng and said with a laugh: "Boss Jiang, there is no need to think about this matter. I have the opportunity to cooperate with you. Don't say I want to quit. Even if I am going to die, I will get up and help you get things done!"

Jiang Lianheng said calmly, "Old Captain, don't worry, go back and discuss this."

"Well, no need to discuss, half price is half price, as long as we can get the permission from the government and the production is increased, I can make a profit even if it's half price!" The old boatman immediately said, "Don't worry, give me some time, I will definitely clear the sunken river surface for you, do you want me to help you run the two factories on the south bank as well?"

"Old boat, this is your business, not mine." Jiang Lianheng looked across the Shenshui River. "But I don't think it's necessary. If those two gravel plants can't even get river sand in, how can they continue to operate, right?"

"That's right, that's right."

"The factory isn't built yet, but I'm not in a hurry anyway. You can handle it as you wish. As for business, take your time. If you take too big a step, you'll easily get into trouble!"

"Hahaha, Boss Jiang is so humorous!"

"When you are cleaning the river surface, if you have any difficulties, you can come to me at any time, but this matter cannot be made public. The provincial government has made too many adjustments recently, and I want to keep it quiet!"

"I understand, I understand." The old boatman was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. "Boss Jiang is a big businessman. How can you dirty your hands with such a thing?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded, and hurriedly pulled the old boat aside, patted his shoulder, and said earnestly: "Old boat, Xifeng told me a long time ago that you have to be the leader of Shenshui. I think... we can cooperate for a long time in the future. I won't say more, just do your best."

"Of course, I'll ask Boss Jiang to support me when the time comes!"

"Okay, that's it. I still have to check out the venue. I won't say any more."

"Boss Jiang, I'll take you there!"

The old boatsman, carrying a royal blue robe, walked quickly to Jiang Lianheng and opened the car door for him.

Jiang Lianheng clasped his fists to express his gratitude, then led Nanfeng and Xifeng into the carriage.

The engine started, but the car was not going fast. The rest of the "noisy guys" all took small steps and jogged along with the car.

Lao Chuan stood on the dirt road not far from the river bank, watching the Jiang family go away with a smile, and did not turn around and leave for a long time.

The car was bumpy all the way. Li Zhengxi sat in the back seat and looked out the rear window toward the river bank.

"Xifeng..." Jiang Lianheng suddenly reminded him, "Keep an eye on the old boat. When he clears the river, we'll stab him."

(End of this chapter)