Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 65 Just do it and it’s over
In the afternoon, at the intersection of Furong Village.

"Bang, bang."

A red truck drove in, passing through a low-lying area. The swaying of the dump truck's cargo box startled two long-haired young men who were resting at a farmer's house by the roadside.

The first one to run out noticed the car was going from the outside in, observed for a few seconds, and quickly said to the person who came out from behind:

"Quickly grab your phone and call Brother Hua! The car's coming in!"

This road has no forks for several kilometers, leading directly to the other side of the bridge. The road ahead is in bad condition, and the area under the bridge is narrow. Nowadays, no cars are willing to take this route. Even if they want to go to the other side of the bridge, they would rather take a detour of seven or eight kilometers and take another road.

Unless you're going to that construction site.

The person who came out later didn't waste any words. He took out his mobile phone and dialed. After dialing for a long time, even stretching his hand into an antenna to borrow a signal from the sky, he still couldn't make a call. He cursed and got on a beat-up motorcycle parked at the door.

"Wait! I'll go to town to find a signal!"

...

"warehouse!"

The truck carefully drove over the pothole, but still couldn't avoid a scrape between the front axle and the ground.

"Hold!"

The driver opened the window, spat out a mouthful of phlegm, then kept his eyes fixed on the road and carefully drove in.

It took us more than ten minutes to move into the 800-meter road. After passing the 3D project sign, we finally managed to stop in a flat area.

"boom."

Chen Xiaobo got out of the car, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

"Mr. Tan, this road is absolutely terrible! I haven't dared to release the brake the whole way. If I encounter a pothole I can't get over, I don't dare to shift gears! Just now, I bumped into it and thought my teeth were broken. I was so scared I almost peed my pants!"

Large trucks look rough and have high chassis, making it seem like they can go on any road, but that's not actually the case.

You have to drive it carefully, it's precious.

Different road surfaces require different operating methods.

You cannot shift gears downhill, otherwise the speed of the reducer will be too high, causing the temperature to rise too high and lose lubrication, which will damage the bearings and cause the reducer to completely collapse.

Commonly known as "smashing your toothbrush," it can easily result in a loss of several thousand dollars.

Tan Maoshui smoothed his hair and laughed, "This is a special test of your skills! You can't even get through with an empty truck, so what are you going to do with a haul? This road is only difficult if you're fully loaded going uphill... Don't worry, we'll at least level it, and then you'll be able to haul a lot more truckloads!"

Chen Xiaobo's expression softened, and looking at the potholes on the surface, he no longer had any objections.

This is all money!
"Then why did you call me here? To inspect the scene?"

Tan Maoshui waved his hand, said nothing, and stared at the mountain for a while.

After a while, estimating that the car had been in for more than 20 minutes, he turned around and said:
“Come on, turn the car around and take me to town, to your sand quarry.”

Chen Xiaobo tossed aside his second cigarette and asked in a daze, "That's all?"

Tan Maoshui nodded: "Didn't you ask me to go to that sand and gravel quarry to discuss materials? Aren't you going?"

Chen Xiaobo was speechless: "You asked me to take you, so you could have just waited for me outside! The road is in such bad shape, why did you come in here!"

Tan Maoshui smiled mysteriously: "You must come in."

...

As expected, the road was blocked when the truck returned.

At the exit of the rough road, a jeep was parked sideways on the side of the road, with a van placed upright behind it. One person was lying on the hood of the jeep, chewing on a toothpick, looking as leisurely as if he were sunbathing in the Maldives. Seven or eight other people were standing crookedly, looking around at the scenery, as if they did not notice the oncoming car.

Tan Maoshui frowned deeply as he watched this scene.

Chen Xiaobo, unaware of the reason, stuck his head out.

"Excuse me, sir!"

Jiang Ping, sitting up in front of the jeep, spotted Tan Maoshui in the passenger seat and chuckled.
"What do you mean, 'allow'? You're from the construction site down there, right? Who gave you permission to enter the construction site?"

Chen Xiaobo's face fell. He wanted to curse, but after staring at the other person, he looked back and asked Tan Maoshui, "What's going on?"

Tan Maoshui's face darkened: "What else could it be? Do you know those local thugs who robbed the construction site?"

"He looks familiar. He seems to be one of those street thugs. His name is something like Thirteen Eagles. He has some connections in town."

Driving a truck means encountering all sorts of people. After thinking for a moment, Chen Xiaobo peeked out and announced his name: "Brother, this is Liu Laowu's truck from the sand and gravel plant. Can I get out of here first?"

"Liu Laowu?" Jiang Ping wasn't too afraid: "I don't care about any of that! This construction site owes me money! I'm sitting right here, and no one is allowed to take this job!"

"Li Jia Ma..." Chen Xiaobo cursed under his breath, then yelled towards the window, "If you don't move, I'll call the police!"

He opened the car door, intending to get out and argue with them.

He wouldn't normally mess with thugs, but this was a deal that had just been finalized! He wouldn't accept it if told not to.

Tan Maoshui quickly stopped Chen Xiaobo, saying, "I'm not going, I'm not going!"

Then he poked his head out and shouted, "You move aside, we're not coming, okay?"

Jiang Ping smiled as he listened to Tan Maoshui speak, then crossed his arms and said, "Where's your little boss? Wasn't he being incredibly arrogant? Tell him to watch his step; it's dark and the roads are slippery."

"Watch your balls!" Chen Xiaobo couldn't hold back any longer, jumped out of the car and yelled, "Didn't you hear me telling you to move aside?"

"Whoosh." Jiang Ping whistled with an unfriendly expression.

Two people immediately rushed out and kicked Chen Xiaobo.

"Bang!" Chen Xiaobo blocked one kick but couldn't block the second. He was kicked so hard that he was pressed against the door. The pain made him even angrier.

Fuck your mother!

……

It was already late when Chen Xuebing received the call.

Tan Maoshui's voice was filled with extreme indignation.

"We got beaten up! I got beaten up too! We're both at the police station now! Only the two kids who started it were detained, they said they started it themselves, the others ran away! That guy surnamed Jiang ran away too!"

Chen Xuebing stood outside his house, holding his phone, his expression somber.

"Didn't I say I'd just test the waters and then leave? Why did he immediately hit you?"

"How would I know what Chen Xiaobo was thinking, insisting on getting out of the car and arguing with him? Ugh! Never mind, he was the one who got beaten up the most!"

Chen Xuebing's jawline twitched slightly.

half an hour.

"Tell Sister Wu not to go to the petition office, I'll go tomorrow."

"The petition office? What do you want her to do there? Even with all this fighting, we still can't catch that Jiang guy! That son of a bitch has connections in town!"

"Then let's break up his relationship! Damn it!"

Chen Xuebing hung up the phone after he finished cursing.

Today's purpose was to test whether Jiang Ping had actually ordered the road blocked, since things had been calm for the past few days.

He planned to first lure Jiang Ping into blocking the road, then lead Section Chief Huang to take photos of Jiang Ping blocking the road without anyone taking care of it, to gather more clues and evidence, and then have Wu Jiuhong make a scene at the petition office, telling them that reporters from the city were coming to interview about the road.

The petition office knows, the county leaders may not know, but the town will definitely know. They will deal with Jiang Ping, and they will definitely take the initiative to talk about road repairs. Then, they will have Section Chief Huang warn them that there will be follow-up interviews. That would be enough for him to achieve his goal.

He planned meticulously, maximizing benefits without offending anyone unnecessarily, and always thinking about how to solve difficulties at the lowest possible cost.

But he always felt that this mature approach left him with a sense of unease.

Teacher Guo, Manager Ren, Reporter Huang—it seems there are many straightforward people in this era who are doing what they love: drinking, working on projects, acting as heroes, and disregarding the cost. At least they are living their own lives.

Since his rebirth, Chen Xuebing has always felt somewhat depressed, lacking the joy that should come with a new life.

Is it because you're being too cautious that you're not enjoying yourself enough?
Chen Xuebing looked up at the night sky, trying to find the shooting star that had brought him back.

A precious return to youth, twenty years of time under one's own control—if he spends it this way, by the new year of 2024, even with fame and fortune and friends everywhere, he will surely be filled with regret.
What should I do at this moment, when I'm 18?

He's probably a really tough soldier.

Chen Xuebing walked towards the road outside with his hands behind his back. Then, he slowly put his hands down, put them in his pockets, and then took his hands out again, touched the back of his head, and revealed a slight smile.

He briefly forgot about 2024, forgot about the past twenty years, and gradually integrated into this era.

2004.

No, it's already 2005.

Time flies.

……

The following day, a white Jinbei van that had set off in the afternoon didn't enter the town until almost nightfall.

A driver, a cameraman, and a reporter, Section Chief Huang.

A newspaper interview wouldn't normally be this high-profile, requiring a full three-person team, but Section Chief Huang realized it was a valuable overseas trip, so he brought along all his acquaintances.

Chen Xuebing stared blankly out the window the whole way in the car until he came to his senses. Then he took out three envelopes from his newly bought handbag and, in front of Section Chief Huang, put one for five hundred, one for one thousand, and one for two thousand.

He tossed five hundred to the driver, handed one thousand to the cameraman, and slipped two thousand to Section Chief Huang.

Both Section Chief Huang and the cameraman were stunned. It wasn't until they finished packing and handed them out one by one that Section Chief Huang started to make excuses.

"Huh? Huh? Mr. Chen, what's going on here...?"

The driver was driving and didn't pick up the envelope that was thrown at him, and the cameraman kept waving his hand.

"Hey, take it. It's just for your travel expenses. It's not illegal."

Section Chief Huang heeded Chen Xuebing's advice, his smile widening as he said to the driver and cameraman, "President Chen meant well, and everyone has worked hard. Please accept these."

He accepted everything, and the cameraman smiled broadly, offering Chen Xuebing a cigarette and lighting it for him.

Chen Xuebing took it, opened the window, and took a sip.

Section Chief Huang was secretly pleased that he had earned five thousand on this trip. Everyone had also received their travel expenses, and he began to speak more bluntly.

"Mr. Chen, how do you plan to talk to them?"

Chen Xuebing exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "I originally planned to let you stay a couple more days, take you to eat fish, see the sights, and hang out with them for a couple of days, but that deputy mayor has a nephew who is really lawless. Section Chief Huang, I think you should report this truthfully? I can wait for the schedule, it's okay if it's a little late, it depends on your arrangements."

"Nephew?" Section Chief Huang frowned.

Chen Xuebing raised his head towards the road ahead: "You'll see them soon, they're blocking the road at the village entrance."

Section Chief Huang had seen a lot, and without Chen Xuebing needing to say much, he quickly formed his own guess. After a moment, he nodded and said:
"The media coverage is easy to handle, but you're still doing construction here. Aren't you afraid of offending people?"

Chen Xuebing's smile was somewhat unrestrained.

"Just do it and that's it."

(End of this chapter)