A small plot of land in a mountain village

Zhang Niu shook his head and looked up at the sky. "No, why would I buy a car? I'll stay home most of the time. Let's talk about buying a car later. It's still too early now."

"Whenever you want to learn to drive, you can borrow my work car to practice. It's a beat-up car anyway, and I'll be your instructor. My driving skills are absolutely top-notch, and I guarantee I can teach you well." When he started talking about this, the fat man began to boast and brag.

Unexpectedly, the fat man was quite kind. However, Zhang Niu really doesn't want to learn to drive anymore. He used to really want to buy a car, but now he feels like he's lost his dream.

Actually, the fat man's family also has a nice car. They usually use this work vehicle when driving to the countryside and mountainous areas. It's not afraid of bumps, has a high chassis, and won't wear out.

If Zhang Niu doesn't buy one this year, he'll probably have to buy one next year.

The doors of the county town's conference hall were wide open, and many people came out one after another, their faces filled with joy.

"Secretary Zhu, the lunch arrangements have been made." Walking next to Secretary Zhu was County Head Liu Tao.

Old Zhu waved his hand and said, "Let's go! I'm going to visit a friend for lunch, I'll make up for this meal next time."

Liu Tao was surprised to find that when Secretary Zhu came down for an inspection, his accommodation had already been arranged.

"Then I'll notify them and have someone evacuate immediately," Liu Tao said hastily.

The secretary following behind had already taken out her phone, walked to a corner, and made the call.

"The work in the county town is not bad, but..." Old Zhu said slowly.

The first sentence certainly made Liu Tao happy, but then a "but" suddenly appeared, which made things a bit intriguing.

"But last time, your public security department really made arbitrary arrests, which had a bad influence. I hope you will do a better job in this regard in the future, or your position will be over." His expression suddenly turned cold.

Old Zhu wouldn't normally say something like that, but Liu Tao's connections are not simple. She helped him when he was in trouble before, otherwise Liu Tao wouldn't have just given him a simple punishment and considered it over this time.

Liu Tao was sweating profusely. He realized that these guys had really gotten him into trouble this time. Luckily, he had found someone to help him. He nodded repeatedly and said, "Secretary Zhu's criticism is very correct. I have already instructed the department to investigate and handle this matter carefully. This will not happen again."

"Alright, work hard and you'll get promoted." He said calmly.

Liu Tao has indeed achieved a lot. If it weren't for this incident, her promotion spot would have been arranged, which is a pity.

Liu Tao saw Secretary Zhu all the way to the door before wiping the cold sweat from his brow. Secretary Zhu's words were very pertinent, and the thought of Police Chief Liu Tao filled him with anger.

A promising career advancement opportunity has slipped away like this; all that hard work I put in recently has been for nothing.

Watching Secretary Zhu's car drive away, he shook his head and turned back to the office building.

"Secretary, where are we going next?" asked Xiao Dong, who was driving.

"Go to Happy Abode in Zhangjia Village. The address is on the bus."

Lying back in the seat, I closed my eyes to rest. There were so many meetings, especially regarding that incident from last time, which is only now coming to an end, and quite a few officials have been removed from their posts.

I turned down all the lunch invitations; I'm starting to hate socializing. I wonder what that place Lao Zhang mentioned is like, though Lao Zhang did look better than before last time.

Taking advantage of this inspection trip, Old Zhu went to see the place, but he didn't bring any of his people with him, only this young Dong accompanied him.

The black sedan merged into the sea of ​​cars.

At midday in the county town, traffic was still quite heavy, but it didn't prevent cars from getting on the road.

The car had only been on the road for a short while when it broke down and had to be pulled over to the side of the road.

Xiao Dong usually maintains this car regularly, so he was quite puzzled as to why it suddenly broke down.

The car was parked on the side of the road. Old Zhu, who was in the back seat, opened his eyes and asked, "What happened? Are you alright?"

Hearing the noise, Xiao Dong ran back inside, carrying repair tools. He smiled and said, "It's okay, it should be fixed in a bit."

"Okay, I'm free this afternoon, no rush."

Although Lao Zhu said that, Xiao Dong still didn't dare to be negligent. The car needed to be repaired as soon as possible. When you're unlucky, even the car can cause you trouble. If you encounter this kind of thing on another day, you might as well quit driving.

Old Zhu lay back in the back seat and closed his eyes to rest. He figured Xiao Dong's matter would be resolved soon, so there was no need to worry.

Finally, the owner of the flower shop bought the cycad.

"Finally I can go back. I would never come again, even if you killed me. It would have been better to leave it at home." Zhang Niu stood up and stretched his limbs. His legs were starting to go numb from squatting for so long.

"I've never seen anyone like you. You complain about selling ironwood. People will laugh their heads off if they find out. You're making money without a job." Hearing Zhang Niu's nagging, the fat man couldn't help but say a few words.

Not many people buy cycads. Not only are they expensive, but they're also generally not popular. These few cycads were bought by middle-aged and elderly people. Nowadays, many people prefer to buy common and inexpensive flowers such as orchids, roses, and lilies.

Zhang Niu naturally knew this, which is why he brought out a small number of cycads to test the market. If he had the fat man call a truck to transport them out, but they couldn't be sold, and he had worked for nothing, that would be really frustrating.

"We've sold out of cycads, so why don't we go to the flower market?" Fatty suggested as they were about to leave.

My phone showed it was only a little past ten o'clock, still early. Liangshan in the village was probably cooking. I just happened to be short of flower seeds for my flower bed, and there was a flower garden right in front of me, so I didn't have to make two trips back and forth.

"Alright, I also need to buy some flower seeds, I almost forgot," Zhang Niu said with a smile.

The two stepped into the flower garden together.

A group of young people walked out from the east gate, led by a man named Gangtou who was over 1.8 meters tall.

"Brother Gang, you've made quite a haul this morning. A quick fine and he's handing over the money right away," his henchman chuckled.

Steel Head remained silent, continuing to smoke. He was doing well before he went to jail, but now he was in this tiger skin uniform. He had to ask a friend to help him get a new job as the head of the urban management team. Although he no longer had the police uniform, he was still living a comfortable life.

Even now, Gangtou still doesn't know how he got into trouble. He's lucky he didn't end up in jail and came out alive.

Now I just grab the street vendors every day, squeeze some money out of them, and then we all have a good time together at night.

"Let's go to the South Gate Flower Market. I heard there are a lot of vendors setting up stalls outside recently. Let's catch a few more to take back," Steel Head shouted.

"Okay!"

"You can't go wrong by listening to your older brother."

Gangtou was a brave and ruthless man. He quickly built up a large group of friends in the urban management team, and he was ruthless in fighting and arresting people.

From the East Gate to the South Gate, Gangtou and his gang simply crossed the road, ignoring the traffic and showing no concern whatsoever.

This stretch of road is exactly where Xiao Dong's car broke down.

A group of men dressed in urban management uniforms, led by a steel-headed man, passed by the broken-down car with great enthusiasm.

The urban management team only bullies unlicensed street vendors. They won't do anything rash if you have money, and they can't afford to offend those.

Gangtou, who was passing by, glanced at Xiao Dong and then led his men toward the south gate.

Old Zhu, who was in the car, had just woken up and saw a group of urban management officers passing by. Not knowing their background, he thought they were on their way to a fight.

What have the urban management officers become? They're swaggering around the city like this, really disgracing the urban construction department.

This matter wasn't thoroughly cleaned up at the lower levels. Old Zhu had encountered it in many places. Several meetings were held, but it always resurfaced after the storm had passed.

After a quick look, Xiao Dong continued to focus on repairing the car. He found the problem; it was a minor wiring issue that would be resolved quickly.

"Damn, these flowers are really expensive. You have a lot of empty space, why don't you grow some yourself?" Looking at a simple little cactus, it costs fifty yuan. This price is really outrageous.

"Forget it, what kind of flowers can I grow in my area? Wouldn't it be better if you opened a flower nursery?"

The fat man clapped his hands and said, "You don't need to tell me that. I bet a lot of flowers are about to bloom now. I set up a flower garden last year. I'll take you to see it sometime."

"You've kept this a secret pretty well, no wonder you're so relaxed now." The fat guy has quite a few things going on.

"What's so great about him? If he were that great, he'd be a multi-millionaire by now, not still like this." The fat man immediately put on a mournful face.

Zhang Niu noticed that the fat man's facial expressions changed very quickly. "If that's how it is, then I'm not even worthy of being discussed here."

"Times have changed, and there's less and less money available now."

Zhang Niu felt the same way; the changes were too great.

The two passed by many shops and people, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers.

The prices at the flower market are basically the same, and sales are good. Many passersby are carrying fresh flowers.

"Brother Gang, there should be quite a few people coming and going in this area today."

Steel Head and his gang arrived at the South Gate, the Flower Nursery, and stood at the entrance.

This is Gangtou's first time at the South Gate Flower Nursery Market. He hasn't been the head of the urban management team for long, and he usually just catches up with vendors at the East Gate.

I wouldn't have come here if my friend hadn't told me about it. After all, all the businesses here are licensed and legitimate, unlike the roadside vendors in the East Gate area who are mostly unlicensed.

Urban management officers are like the biggest bandits. Street vendors are most afraid of them in the morning. Confiscating their equipment is easy, but they usually can't escape being fined.

When Gang Tou came over today, the vendors outside the flowerbed, having heard the news, all packed up and ran away. Only a fool would continue to set up a stall here and get fined.

"Let's go, let's go inside and take a look." Steelhead waved his hand, and the people behind him followed in unison.

Many passersby quickly made way for the approaching urban management officers.

"Let's go back! There's nothing to see anymore," Zhang Niu said to the fat man, looking at him with a bored expression.

The fat man was excitedly inquiring about the price of a potted plant when Zhang Niu suddenly interrupted him, much to his displeasure.

After asking about the price, the fat man quickly caught up with him, saying, "Why are you walking so fast? I haven't even asked about the price yet."

"Why are you asking about the price out of the blue? You're not planning to buy it." someone asked, puzzled.

"It's because the flower nursery needs to ship their produce. We need to check the market price so we don't lose money," he said with a chuckle.

Damn it, this guy came into the flower nursery to ask about prices. Zhang Niu finally understood why the fat man was at the market – he just wanted to ask about prices! It was truly speechless.

"This flower market is truly a wonderful place, filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers," Steelhead said cheerfully. (To be continued. For more chapters and to support the author, please log in and read the original version!)