Chapter 292: Chapter 289: [True Colors of a Hero]
Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine: A Better Tomorrow
Zhang Linsheng’s holiday stretched on for an entire week.
The days were leisurely and relaxed.
Well, not just leisurely and relaxed, but rather blissful.
Young men, once mere fledglings, now having tasted the sweetness of intimacy, felt as though a new door to the world had swung open before them.
Furthermore, young men, brimming with vigor, were like energetic hounds, ready to leap three feet high at the slightest incitement.
Those with experience understood.
Not to mention, Xia Xia was a little demon, the kind that would cling to you relentlessly.
Zhang Linsheng felt that after this week, he had shed several pounds, and his legs felt like jelly.
Initially, they had planned to see a movie on the first day. They strolled around the streets near the cinema, found a restaurant for a meal, and bought some snacks, intending to eat them while watching the film.
But in the end, after wandering around outside the cinema, Xia Xia declared that the movies currently showing weren’t any good.
Dragging Zhang Linsheng away, she insisted it was better to rent some DVDs and watch them at home than go to the cinema.
Indeed, they went to a DVD rental store.
They rented some Hong Kong action and cop films.
Only after renting the DVDs did Zhang Linsheng suddenly remember that the apartment in the residential complex behind the car dealership didn’t have a DVD player!
No problem! Brother Haonan’s place might not have one, but Xia Xia’s home did!
So, they went straight to Xia Xia’s house.
At first, they feigned propriety, sitting on the living room sofa to watch the movies.
But as they watched, things began to get out of hand.
When a man and a woman are mutually attracted and have already crossed a certain threshold, inhibitions naturally fade.
Let’s just say, they had rented seven or eight DVDs.
Zhang Linsheng later recalled that they only watched the first movie.
The first was the classic film *A Better Tomorrow*. In fact, when renting, they had gotten the entire trilogy, planning to spend a whole day at home revisiting this classic Hong Kong saga—all three parts.
So what happened?
They only watched a tiny bit of the first part of *A Better Tomorrow*.
They didn’t even get to the part where Mark Chow says his classic line: "I’ve waited three years, just for an opportunity! Not to prove I’m the best, but to show everyone that I will take back what I’ve lost..."
Yeah, they didn’t get that far.
Zhang Linsheng only remembered seeing the classic scene where Mark Chow lights a cigarette with a burning banknote.
And then they couldn’t watch anymore!!!!!!
Why?
Because at that moment, the little demon beside him stretched out a long, slender, snow-white leg, waving it tantalizingly before him...
And after that, there was no "after."
On the television screen, gunshots rang out ceaselessly; in the living room, passions flared like a battlefield...
They stayed in Xia Xia’s home for three whole days, never once stepping outside!
All their meals were ordered takeout.
In this era, there was no Meituan or Eleme, but there was McDonald’s and KFC.
After three straight days of Western fast food, the two young people finally tired of it.
They really didn’t want to go out to eat, unwilling to waste their intimate time on something as dull as eating in a public place.
So, they went together to the supermarket downstairs from Xia Xia’s apartment, bought some groceries, and planned to cook themselves.
Zhang Linsheng, having grown up in a poor family, knew a little about cooking. Xia Xia claimed she knew how to make a couple of dishes.
But when they actually started cooking, it was a different story.
The kitchen quickly turned into a war zone.
Brother Haonan proclaimed his innocence. —She started it!
Who wears an apron while cooking in the kitchen?!
Ah, spit! No, that’s not right!
It’s, who cooks in the kitchen wearing *only* an apron?!
On the fifth day, Zhang Linsheng did go out in the morning.
He went to train with his master, Old Jiang.
Truthfully, he felt a bit apprehensive going, because he hadn’t shown up for several days. Zhang Linsheng had lied to his master, calling to say he had a cold and needed to rest for a few days.
Good heavens, Old Jiang had also taught Zhang Linsheng when he was a student at No. 8 Middle School. Back then, he had never felt such trepidation, even when skipping Old Jiang’s classes.
When he had called Old Jiang a few days ago, lying about being sick and unable to attend morning practice, he had felt genuinely guilty.
So, when he finally went to the small grove to train with Old Jiang this morning, Old Jiang’s expression changed the moment he saw his most promising disciple!
Old Jiang was an experienced man; he had mastered ancient martial arts and also had a good understanding of pharmacology.
One glance was all it took. Seeing Zhang Linsheng’s pale complexion, unsteady gait, and lifeless eyes—what else was there to misunderstand?
Old Jiang was so angry he was tempted to grab a stick and give his disciple a sound thrashing.
But after some thought, he ultimately put the stick down.
"Got yourself a girlfriend?" Old Jiang asked his disciple.
"...Yeah," Zhang Linsheng mumbled, looking down.
"Sigh!"
Old Jiang sighed, looking at his disciple with a mix of disappointment and exasperation.
After all, he was a teacher and understood the psychology of young people; he wasn’t some purely rigid, old-fashioned martial arts master.
After composing himself, Old Jiang patiently said to Zhang Linsheng, "You’re young, and this is your first girlfriend, so it’s normal not to know restraint. However, you are a martial artist, and still young. I’ve told you about the importance of consolidating your foundation and cultivating your origin. Today, I’ll teach you a few mnemonic phrases: ’Embrace Wholeness, Guard the One’... You’ve only just started making some progress in cultivating your Qi; this is the crucial time to build your foundation. You absolutely must not ruin your cultivation for the sake of indulgence!"
Zhang Linsheng turned crimson with embarrassment and hung his head, saying nothing.
Normally, for such a delicate matter, a master would offer a word or two of admonishment, and that would be the end of it.
Dwelling on it would be unseemly and might make the disciple lose face.
But, as ill luck would have it, someone else was there!
Zhu Dazhi, that tactless fellow, was practicing his horse stance nearby. Hearing Old Jiang’s lecture and seeing his senior brother’s silence, he couldn’t help but pipe up.
"Hey! Senior Brother! Master is reprimanding you! Why are you silent, pretending not to hear? Master said you shouldn’t neglect your training by sleeping with women, that you need to exercise restraint... Master, did I understand that correctly? Look at Senior Brother! He’s being so disrespectful, not even making a sound when you’re reprimanding him!"
My goodness! Zhang Linsheng had heard Brother Lei and Chen Nuo mention before that this lunkhead had a big mouth, but he’d never paid it much mind. This time, he genuinely wanted to strangle him on the spot!
That day during practice, Old Jiang didn’t have him do anything else but breathing exercises for the entire morning before letting him go.
Before he left, Old Jiang personally wrote out a prescription and gave it to Zhang Linsheng, telling his disciple to get the herbs from a Chinese pharmacy when he had time—this prescription was for replenishing vital energy.
Zhang Linsheng was a good disciple who listened to his master. After finishing his practice, he went straight to the pharmacy to get the herbs.
On his way back, he kept reciting the mnemonics Old Jiang had taught him.
Embrace Wholeness, Guard the One; Consolidate the Root, Cultivate the Origin...
But... his body, as if acting on its own, led him back to the building where Xia Xia lived.
When he opened the door, Xia Xia looked as if she had just woken up—they had been up until past three in the morning.
Sleepily, she opened the door for Zhang Linsheng and saw her boyfriend holding a large bag of Chinese herbs.
"What’s this?"
"..." Zhang Linsheng remained silent.
When Xia Xia came over, hugged Zhang Linsheng’s arm, and started nuzzling him, his mind finally went blank.
What "Embrace Wholeness, Guard the One"... Embrace... Embrace what was it again? Kissing, cuddling, and being lifted high?
Brother Haonan wasn’t exactly overindulging—every young man goes through a phase like this after his first time, having tasted the fruit and becoming completely captivated.
It was just that a girl like Xia Xia was too potent, and she used every trick in her arsenal to please Zhang Linsheng, leaving Brother Haonan, the greenhorn, utterly bewildered and infatuated.
But after a few days, that initial fervor and obsession gradually subsided.
A week later, Zhang Linsheng received a call from Brother Lei.
"We can open for business. See you at the shop tomorrow morning."
After a closure of eight days, Hengfa Auto Shop reopened!
At eight o’clock in the morning, Zhang Linsheng was the first to arrive, opening up the shop.
The employees soon arrived for work and quickly bustled about, giving the shop, which hadn’t been cleaned for days, a thorough tidying.
At eight-thirty, while Zhang Linsheng was sitting behind the counter, Brother Lei walked in.
Zhang Linsheng glanced behind Brother Lei and was somewhat surprised to see he had come alone.
"Brother Lei?"
"What’s up?"
"...Nothing," Zhang Linsheng said after a moment’s thought, shaking his head.
He had originally thought that for today’s reopening, they were planning a direct confrontation, and had assumed Brother Lei would bring reinforcements.
But since he hadn’t... it didn’t matter.
Zhang Linsheng’s skills were quite formidable by now. He could handle several street thugs; seven or eight of them wouldn’t even be able to get close—and that was if he held back and didn’t use lethal force.
If a conflict erupted today, as long as the other side didn’t show up with a truckload of men, Zhang Linsheng was confident he could handle them all by himself.
"Nuo Grandmaster said we should change our approach. Anything done overtly must be handled in a completely legitimate way."
Truth be told, Brother Lei then pulled something out of his briefcase, slapped it on the counter, and looked at Zhang Linsheng with a broad, amiable smile.
Zhang Linsheng looked at it and was stunned.
Around eleven in the morning, those troublemakers, having gotten word, indeed showed up.
It couldn’t be helped. Even gangsters liked to sleep in!
Who ever heard of gangsters getting up at seven or eight in the morning?
As usual, a group gathered at the entrance, including two elderly men and women hired to specialize in staging falls, who also unfurled banners.
There were also two megaphones.
And so, the performance began.
Zhang Linsheng and Brother Lei remained unperturbed, allowing the crowd by the roadside to grow larger. They watched as the two hired ’victims’ outside spouted their nonsense, grabbing passersby and tearfully recounting how they had been swindled by this ’crooked shop’...
Zhang Linsheng and Brother Lei remained as calm as seasoned anglers, smoking and watching with smiles.
The gold-chained man leading the group in the crowd felt increasingly uneasy as he watched.
Finally, unable to contain his impatience, he was about to incite the crowd to cause a disturbance and rush into the shop...
SCREECH!!
Two police cars screeched to a halt at the entrance!
Several police officers jumped out.
The gold-chained man wasn’t scared in the slightest; he was clearly experienced with such situations. Seeing the police approach with stern faces, he immediately went up to them. "Officers," he began, "we’re not causing trouble! We’re legally asserting our rights..."
Just as he was about to launch into his usual shameless rhetoric...
"Take them all away!" the leading police officer ordered, glaring coldly at the gold-chained man.
Instantly, several police officers and auxiliary police swarmed forward, swiftly subduing and apprehending several of them.
The others started to make a commotion, and some even tried to flee.
"Yu Erxiong, run if you want! But if you evade arrest, you’d better be prepared for the consequences!" the leading police officer, who was clearly familiar with the local beat, shouted coldly.
The gold-chained man, Yu Erxiong, instantly froze, but he was still defiant. "What have we done? We haven’t hit anyone, smashed anything, or robbed anyone! We bought counterfeit and shoddy goods; can’t we even defend our rights?"
Usually, this tactic had some effect on the police.
But today, the police seemed completely unmoved. They didn’t even bother to argue, just moved in to apprehend them.
"Alright, alright, alright. Don’t use force, I’ll go with you," Yu Erxiong still refused to back down. "I haven’t broken any laws or caused any trouble. I’ll go with you to accept criticism! I’m telling you, the most you can accuse me of is disturbing public order. What else can you do to me!"
What else could they do? This question churned in Yu Erxiong’s stomach.
But as the police car drove further and further away, he began to feel that something was wrong!
They weren’t going to the local neighborhood police station!
The police car drove straight to the District Sub-Bureau!
The entire group, including the two hired actors who had staged the falls, were all taken into the sub-bureau and locked in separate interrogation rooms.
What truly made Yu Erxiong anxious was when he was brought out alone to meet the police officers responsible for taking his statement. He was utterly flabbergasted!
Why? He knew them!
Yu Erxiong was experienced. This level of troublemaking wasn’t usually considered a major offense. Generally, when the police took you in, it meant a trip to the neighborhood police station for mediation, followed by a lecture and release.
Taking a statement was an inevitable part of the process.
But...
The two police officers in front of him, about to take his statement...
"Captain Zhang! Well, well, what wind blew you here..." Yu Erxiong instantly deflated.
The two officers before him weren’t ordinary beat cops.
They were from the District Criminal Investigation Detachment!!
Criminal investigators!
The two detectives wore cold smiles and paid no attention to his flattery. They sat down directly in front of him. One spread out paper and a pen, while the other said coldly, "Alright, let’s talk."
Yu Erxiong’s heart lurched.
Yu Erxiong had been mentally prepared for the shop owner to call the police. In the past, when they pulled these stunts and the owners called the police, his group had a well-rehearsed routine to handle it.
But this time, it wasn’t the neighborhood police station!
It was the District Sub-Bureau!
And the ones handling the case weren’t ordinary police officers, but criminal investigators!
This was a serious problem!
"So, our shop is foreign-owned now?" Zhang Linsheng asked Brother Lei as they sat in a noodle house across from the auto shop, eating eel noodles.
"Not foreign-owned. Nuo Grandmaster said it’s a joint venture," Brother Lei replied, scratching his head with a wry smile. "Don’t ask me; I don’t really get the ins and outs of it. I didn’t have much schooling. Anyway, over the past few days, Nuo Grandmaster handled all the paperwork and even found a foreigner to act as the investor. I’ve met that foreigner. When he sees Nuo Grandmaster, he’s like a dog seeing its master—incredibly respectful. Moreover, he has an overseas company, and they’re investing directly under that company’s name. Nuo Grandmaster explained the general situation of our auto shop to me. I don’t understand the specifics, but the gist is... that foreigner’s overseas company invested and injected capital into our company. Our auto shop is now an asset under this joint venture company. The paperwork was processed so quickly thanks to the help of those foreign women around Nuo Grandmaster. They are already foreign investors themselves and are very familiar with the people in the investment promotion department, so it was all processed very quickly..."
"And then?"
"And then? That foreigner wrote a letter to the district’s investment promotion office and foreign affairs office, airing his grievances. And he told the absolute truth! About how those people extorted us, collected protection fees, and caused trouble. He didn’t make anything up; he just laid it all out. Afterward, I heard that a deputy district chief in charge of attracting investment slammed his hand on the table in anger. He said the investment environment must be cleaned up to ensure economic development and construction, and that these ’demons and monsters’ wouldn’t be allowed to disrupt our economic progress. And then... well, this is the current situation."
Zhang Linsheng was stunned.
"These troublemakers are a real headache, always involved in shady dealings. Usually, they aren’t dealt with because their cases are often a tangled mess, and the authorities focus on bigger fish. The grassroots police also find them problematic. Arresting them usually means dealing with petty offenses, and they have to be released after just a few days. Investigating each one individually would strain police resources too much. It’s a tough situation. But when a higher-up personally oversees the matter... It’s about concentrating resources to handle major issues. It’s just that this time, our issue was defined as ’major’ by the higher-ups, so... You get it!"
Actually, Chen Nuo hadn’t initially thought of resolving this matter in such a way.
Privately, he would have just dealt with this gang himself.
Previously, when he was on his own, he would just put on a motorcycle helmet and a leather jacket and go sweep them aside.
But now, things were different; he was running a legitimate business.
You can’t just bury a whole group of people for trying to collect protection money, can you?
If you can’t use lethal force and just beat them up, what if they aren’t cowed and come looking for revenge later?
Not that he was afraid, but it was troublesome and distasteful.
Suddenly, he recalled an amusing anecdote from over a decade in the future.
A big shot in the film industry, notorious for all sorts of plagiarism and copying, had been condemned for years. He had countless victims, and many writers and screenwriters whose work he plagiarized sued him, yet this big shot always remained unscathed.
Then, one day, an author whose work he had plagiarized wrote a letter...
It was because the author who wrote that letter of grievance was an elderly lady from across the Taiwan Strait, a writer of romance novels.
And just like that, things quieted down!
The reunification of the motherland is a paramount national interest! United front work with compatriots across the strait is also a paramount national interest! In the face of such paramount interests, anything that obstructs them must be swept aside!!
And now it was 2001.
Economic construction was the primary focus of development. Safeguarding economic progress and the investment environment was also a major policy!
It truly wasn’t about so-called kowtowing to foreigners!
That Brother Ping, still mulling over his ’first strike, second strike’ strategy, heard around noon that Yu Erxiong and his gang had been arrested.
Initially, he didn’t take it seriously. He assumed it was like before: they’d be taken to the police station, go through the motions, get a lecture, and then be released. They were proficient in these matters and hadn’t crossed any lines, so the police had no real grounds to hold them.
But by afternoon, he heard things weren’t right!
By evening, his mahjong parlors and his company office were raided.
People were caught gambling on the spot, and about a dozen of his men stationed at the company were also taken away.
He heard they wouldn’t be getting out anytime soon.
Brother Ping instantly realized he had messed with the wrong people!!
But... damn it, you should have said something! Anything can be negotiated!!! You’re powerful, you have deep connections and strong backing—you could have sent someone to give a heads-up! I would have respectfully stayed out of your way!! To just come in and uproot me completely like this?! That’s totally against the code of the underworld!!
That night, Brother Ping frantically went into hiding. He desperately tried to contact people, hoping to find someone influential who could mediate and get a message to the other side.
I surrender! I apologize! Just tell me what you want! I’ll follow the underworld code, kowtow in apology. If that’s not enough, I’ll kowtow until my head is in the dirt! Surely that’s enough?
At two o’clock in the morning, hiding at his mistress’s house, Brother Ping watched in despair as his mistress, the one he kept because she ’knew how to please a man,’ willingly opened the door and let in several burly men.
"Brother Ping, is it?"
The leader, a middle-aged man in a jacket, looked coldly at Brother Ping.
"I work for Hall Master Li Qingshan. You should have heard of me; friends call me Old Qi. Our Boss Li has sent me to invite you for a visit."
Brother Ping blinked.
He had naturally heard of Hall Master Li.
Although they weren’t from the same district, and Hall Master Li was more successful than him, he hadn’t paid him much mind.
He had also heard the name Old Qi. Word was that he was Hall Master Li’s most capable enforcer and had handled many things for Li Qingshan over the years.
Ordinarily, even if Brother Ping encountered Old Qi, he wouldn’t have backed down.
He had his own turf and about twenty or thirty men who depended on him for their livelihood.
But at this moment, Brother Ping had a chilling realization.
Between Yu Erxiong’s group during the day and the gambling raid at night, almost all of his operational men had been arrested.
Now he was practically a general without an army!
"The car dealership... it’s Hall Master Li’s business?!" Brother Ping suddenly felt a surge of indignation.
"Damn it! If it’s Hall Master Li’s business, why the hell didn’t you say so earlier! According to the underworld code, if you’d sent word, I would have definitely shown him respect!! To attack me so ruthlessly without a single word? What kind of deep-seated grudge does Li Qingshan have against me?! I refuse to accept this!!"
Knowing it was over, Brother Ping shot a resentful glance at his mistress before being led away.
"I treated you well, and you fucking betrayed me?"
The woman cowered and said nothing.
"Come now, Brother Ping," Old Qi said with an amiable smile. "You’re not unaware of your girlfriend’s origins, are you? Our Hall Master Li is practically the founder of this line of work around here! This beauty used to work at our Wind Shelter Hall. In a way, she made her start under us."
Brother Ping sighed. "Damn... I guess I can’t complain about how this turned out!"
He glanced at Old Qi. "It’s not going to be a life-or-death matter, is it? At worst, I’ve offended someone I shouldn’t have. It’s not a crime punishable by death, right?"
Old Qi smiled and waved his hand. "We live in a society governed by law! All this talk of life and death... Brother Ping, you’re joking. We’re just asking you to come with us to clarify a few things. Once everything is clear, I’ll personally drive you to turn yourself in. The state has its laws; we wouldn’t dare act recklessly."
Brother Ping looked at Old Qi’s amiable face, a torrent of unspoken words welling up inside him. They were all curses, of course.
Chen Nuo sat on the sofa, carefully watering a potted plant before him with a small amount of water.
The lush green asparagus fern was thriving.
Chen Nuo gently touched its fronds, then moved the pot to a cabinet, placing it carefully.
He set it just below the framed portrait of the old woman on the wall.
In the living room, Ou Xiuhua was doing needlework.
She was working on a yellowish-gray work uniform. She had probably tried it on, as the sleeves were a bit long, and she was shortening them herself.
"So, your job is settled then?"
"Yes, it’s settled." Ou Xiuhua looked up at her son. "I officially start the day after tomorrow. I think it’s pretty good. The pay isn’t low, and most importantly, it’s not too far from home. I calculated it; it’s only a twenty-minute bike ride to work each day. Being a cleaner is fine too; the work is simple and doesn’t require much thinking. I also spoke to the person in charge of scheduling at the company about my situation, and they agreed to try and arrange my shifts to accommodate the times I need to pick up and drop off my child."
Chen Nuo nodded and said no more.
The pay indeed wasn’t high.
Six hundred yuan a month.
In Jinling, in 2001, this was a relatively low salary.
But, at least it gave Ou Xiuhua a sense of self-reliance from ’earning her own keep.’
In Ou Xiuhua’s words, "If I want to buy my son a new pair of shoes for the New Year, and I have to use my son’s money to buy them for him... what dignity would I have as a mother?"
This reasoning was profoundly true!
In this second life, Chen Nuo’s guiding principle was to ensure the comfort and well-being of those around him.
This applied to brothers like Brother Haonan.
Chen Nuo wasn’t short of money; he could have easily given them mountains of gold and silver.
The same went for his mother, Ou Xiuhua. She didn’t need to work. He could afford to give her a life of daily shopping sprees, spa visits when bored, chauffeured luxury cars, a mansion, and the finest food and clothes...
But... such a life might not necessarily bring comfort to his brothers like Haonan, or even to a ’mother’ like Ou Xiuhua.
After all, people need to live in a way that feels right and comfortable for them.
For Ou Xiuhua, staying at home every day, sheltered from the elements and living a life of leisure, would only make her feel increasingly uneasy.
But having found this job—paying only six hundred yuan a month and requiring hard work through all kinds of weather—Ou Xiuhua’s eyes actually lit up.
This, indeed, was living!
He sat quietly in the living room, watching his mother shorten the sleeves and alter the hem of a work uniform...
He watched quietly for a long while, then Chen Nuo’s phone rang.
He picked it up, glanced at the caller ID, and answered.
"Lord Yanluo!" Captain’s voice was very serious.
"Mm."
"I... I’ve received an official private message, from Octopus Monster. Someone named ’Vanel’ has contacted me."
"Mm, let’s not discuss this over the phone. Proceed with the mission preparations according to the official request. We’ll talk about the details when we meet in person."
[Requesting monthly votes!! THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!]