Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

"Sixty percent? Who are you trying to disgust?!" Zheng Zhongyi, who had been listening outside for a while, kicked the door open and yelled at Qin Laishun as soon as he entered, "Secretary Qin! What's your status in the village? With you here, is there anything that can't be done? You can't just take the money and not do anything!"

Anyone with eyes could see that Butcher Zheng was deliberately looking for trouble. There were three reasons why he didn't get along with Qin Laishun: First, he thought Qin was a country bumpkin, while his Zheng family were established locals in the town; second, he was afraid that Qin Laishun would interfere and take away his power; and third, and most importantly, he felt that Xiao Hongjuan should have been his lover—although the woman had never given him a straight answer, Butcher Zheng had long considered her his own wife.

The hatred of having his wife stolen was ingrained in his bones. At this moment, this ugly man with a fleshy face and a round, pot-lid-like face was truly going head-to-head with Qin Laishun.

Faced with Zheng the Butcher's provocation, Qin Laishun was not to be outdone. Without even raising his eyelids, he smiled at Lao Chengxi and said, "Chengxi, you have so many capable men under you, why do you insist on recruiting me? Here's what we'll do: you let this 'Big King Kong' keep order in the village, and I'll have some peace and quiet!"

These words made Zheng Zhongyi's eyes turn red, and he rolled up his sleeves, ready to pounce. Just as he was about to strike, Lao Chengxi grabbed his arm and turned to Qin Laishun with a fawning smile: "Uncle Laishun, you're too kind. With you and Old Hai here, this matter is almost certain to succeed!"

Lao Chengxi was certainly good at handling things, but he couldn't stand the panting Zheng the butcher on the left and the sarcastic Qin Laishun on the right. With those two around, the atmosphere was bound to be tense.

At this moment, Qin Laishun frowned and replied in a pretentious manner, "Chengxi, now that we've come this far, I'll be frank with you. If you want to get things done in the village, you'll have to convince my second uncle first."

"Hey! You've brought up your second uncle again after all this time!" Butcher Zheng grumbled, puffing out his beard and glaring. "I called you here to settle things! You're no good at this or that, what are you good for? So all that drinking these past few days has been for nothing?"

There was no point in arguing, and Qin Laishun, too lazy to deal with Butcher Zheng, was just about to find an excuse to vent his anger on Xiao Hongjuan when the woman came in carrying a plate of braised fish and clutching a file folder: "Oh, what's going on? These dishes don't taste right today? Why isn't anyone eating them?"

He placed the fish on the table, then whispered in Lao Chengxi's ear with a smile, "Boss, Director Gao had something come up, so these are some important documents he sent over. Want me to put them here for you to take a look?"

Who is Director Gao? It is naturally Gao Shumin from the County Land Bureau. Presumably, the "information" he sent must be of great importance.

In front of everyone, Lao Chengxi opened the manila file folder, and his eyes immediately lit up.

What was inside was none other than a mining permit stamped with a red seal! You could count the number of private business owners in the entire Yanghe County who could obtain such a permit on your fingers!

"Old west, you're really something, managing to get a mining permit!"

Qin Laishun hurriedly stepped forward, staring at the document and clicking his tongue. He knew better than anyone that Yang Dalin had been caught mining without a license back then. Now, with this protective charm in hand, many things wouldn't matter anymore.

"Hmph! Now you're convinced, aren't you? With this thing, even if those mountain folks cause trouble all the way to Beijing, we won't be afraid! Hahaha!" Butcher Zheng's tone remained arrogant. That's just how he is, saying whatever comes to mind without any regard for other people's feelings.

Before Qin Laishun could say anything, Xiao Hongjuan, who was standing to the side, became unhappy. She glared at Zheng the butcher and said, "Hey! The way you talk makes me angry! What do you mean by 'mountain dweller'? Go back a generation, weren't you a villager yourself? You just sell meat at the town gate, and you think you're so great!"

If Qin Laishun had said these words, Zheng the butcher would definitely have attacked, but since Xiao Hongjuan said them, nothing happened. Sometimes, women have a natural advantage in communication, especially beautiful women.

At this moment, Butcher Zheng replied with a grin, "Juan'er, I didn't mean you and Lao Xi are from the mountains. What I meant was that with our certificate, those peasants won't dare to cause trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Laishun couldn't stand it anymore—Oh, if you're not talking about Xiao Hongjuan and Lao Chengxi, then you must be targeting me, huh? Hey! You bald bastard, you dare to talk about us mountain folk? You think I'm being too nice to you?

"You rascal! You can't even keep your mouth shut! One minute you're talking about 'mountain folks,' the next you're calling them 'mud-legged folks.' What? Are the villagers inferior to you? Let me tell you, you can sell meat with a good pound and ounce, but things in the village aren't as simple as you think! There's a lot more to it than that! If you think you're so capable, go try it out and see who pays you any attention in the village!"

When Qin Laishun opened his mouth, he went all out.

Realizing he'd lost face, Butcher Zheng immediately jumped up and roared, "Fine, let's try! I don't believe anyone would turn down money! Throw a wad of bills in his face and see if he dares to stop us again!"

"Look at you! You'd come into the village standing up and come out sideways!" Qin Laishun continued to stir things up.

"You fucking think you can just raise the price?! If you piss me off, forget about your little Qin Family Village, believe me? I'll set your whole mountain on fire!"

"You dare!" Qin Laishun pointed at Zheng the Butcher's nose and cursed, "You bald bastard! If you dare to do anything reckless, I'll chop you up alive first!"

"Damn it! Come on! Show me right here!"

……

Seeing that Qin Laishun and Butcher Zheng were about to roll up their sleeves and start fighting, Lao Chengxi quickly pulled Qin Laishun back, while Xiao Hongjuan stood in front of Butcher Zheng. Both of them were masters of controlling the situation and managed to calm things down after a while, thus averting a conflict.

The atmosphere eased slightly, and Lao Chengxi quickly gave Xiao Hongjuan a wink. The woman understood, patted Zheng the Butcher's arm, and said, "Hey, stop causing trouble here. There are so many pretty girls out there, you're too busy for that. Come on, I'll take you out to find Xiao Hong..."

"Juan'er, don't say that. My heart is entirely with you!" Butcher Zheng was indeed a shameless man. He pledged his loyalty while scurrying away with the woman.

After the two left, Qin Laishun had a thought to himself: "Could this guy have been deliberately sent by Lao Chengxi to annoy me? To test my limits? Or did he have some other purpose?"

Just as he was pondering this, Lao Chengxi smiled and put his arm around his shoulder, first persuading him to sit down, then lighting a cigarette, pouring wine, and starting to haggle again.