Chapter 138: Encounter with Zhou Chen Again (Fifth update, seeking monthly votes)_1
Trantor: 549690339
“Nie Jiamin gave a mysterious smile, looking quite disdainful. “Brother, I feel like you’re getting more and more out of touch. You can’t even keep up with what’s happening here.”
With a regretful shake of his head, Nie Jiamin led Nie Zhenbang into the factory. As soon as they stepped into the abandoned building, two men dressed in army coats emerged from a small iron-walled house nearby. They studied Nie Zhenbang for a moment and on seeing Nie Jiamin, one of them smiled and said, “So it’s young master Nie. Pleasee in, the show is about to start.”
Next to the small iron house, the ground was pulled back to reveal a hidden underground tunnel. A staircase led downwards introducing an entirely new world beneath.
Within the huge foundation, a wide hall was built with concrete support frames. In the middle of the hall was a tform one meter high. Around the tform, there were chairs, and at the front, there were rows of sofa sets and coffee table booths.
The room was extremely bare; in fact, there was no decoration at all. At this moment, many people had already arrived in the hall.
Nie Jiamin seemed very familiar with the ce and soon found a booth with the help of a waiter and made himselffortable.
“Brother, tell me, what is this ce for?” In the center was a stage-like tform, and the air was permeated with the scent of blood. With a frown, Nie Zhenbang asked.
Smiling, Nie Jiamin exined, “Brother, see over there? Yes, those cages. This is a ce for dog fights. Nowadays, those mischievous men of Jingcheng are into this. It’s bloody and thrilling. You can also gamble around. It’s quite the pastime.”
Nie Jiamin was speaking the truth. The mischievous men of Sijiucheng were experts in all sorts of things. Over time, they likely experienced a void in their lives that needed to be filled. This brutal and bloody sport of dog fights hit just the right taste for these men. It was indeed cruel, unbearable to people with a kind heart, or those with a weak mental capacity. Not to mention, dog fights werergely condemned by animal rights activists overseas as it meant torturing dogs.
At that moment Li Hua, Wen Jiange, Liu Kun, and others also approached,ughing and joking. They evidently were regrs at this venue.
“So, even Brother Nie is here. Just in time, I was just thinking of inviting Brother Nie to join. Despite you’re a leader now, you cannot distance yourself from us, themon people,” Wen Jiange joked as he saw Nie Zhenbang.
Li Hua joined in with a smile, “Great leaders have said we shoulde from the masses to serve the masses. Brother Nie returning to the grassroots level is an honor for us.”
“Guys, you joke among yourselves, but Brother Nie now feeds me. Mypany Farmer Welfare is in Brother Nie’s hands. If any of you upset Brother Nie, causing a catastrophe for me, don’t me me for being ruthless,” Liu Kun chimed in looking worried.
Nie Zhenbang also responded with a smile, “Kun, if you’re so scared, there’s an opportunity for you tonight. Cover all our expenses and consider it under the bridge, how about it?”
No matter what Nie Zhenbang felt, you should enjoy when youe out to y. Now that he was out, Nie Zhenbang decided to let go and enjoy. Everyone wasn’t pleased seeing him keep a long face.
At this point, Nie Zhenbang recognized quite a few familiar faces. Yun family’s eldest son was sitting with Zhang Xu and others. And on the other side sat Li family and Zhao Xinglong from the Zhao family, talking andughing. Zhao Xinglong was deemed one of the most mysterious wealthy young men in Jingcheng. The Zhao family kept a low profile in Jingcheng, but had significant connections in the official and military circles. Zhao Xinglong grew up studying overseas and had formally returned home this time.
“Hua, pretty ssy here. What’s the background of this boss, and how did he snatch this lucrative business? You guys don’t seem interested,” Nie Zhenbang teased wondering about the owner of the dog fighting business. Anyone able to run this in Jingcheng was certainly brilliant, at least in understanding the minds of these wealthy young men.
Li Huaughed off thement, shaking his head, “It’s not that simple. The ones who are valued by the boss aren’t afraid, and the ones that the boss is afraid of, wouldn’t be interested in this ce.”
At this moment, Zhang Xu and Zhao Xinglong were heading towards Nie Zhenbang. At this moment, Zhang Xu was feeling a bit conflicted. The woman of his dreams, the one he has been pursuing, had been taken by Nie Zhenbang. And now, their rtionship seemed unclear, which really annoyed Zhang Xu.
“Third, we meet again! You’ve be quite spectacr after all these years we haven’t seen each other.” Zhang Xu’s tone was filled with irritation as soon as he began to speak.
Nie Zhenbang smiled at this. Zhang Xu was indeed a devoted lover. Nie Zhenbang didn’t know if Zhang Xu and Dong Wan had ended up together in his past life. But in this life, he had a good impression of Zhang Xu. Coming from a militarypound, Zhang Xu had a straightforward and unrestrained military personality. He loved who he loved, and disliked who he disliked, with no other options. This type of person had both good and bad aspects in politics.
However, the Zhangs had always stayed away from politics, focusing solely on military advancement. Nie Jiamin whispered to Zhenbang, “Third, Zhang Xu and I are in the same military region now. He’s better than me; he’s already a major, and he’s rumored to be in the Tiger Battalion of the Northwest Military Region and might be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel soon.”
Upon hearing Nie Jiamin’s words, Nie Zhenbang chuckled. It was true what they say, life is full of unexpected encounters. Nie Zhenbang didn’t take Zhang Xu’s aggressive attitude seriously, and even replied with a smile, “You seem to be doing quite well in the army. Seems like you’ve found your ce in this melting pot. When you get back to the base, send my regards to the ‘devil’. Tell him that the ‘Crown Prince’ misses him.”
Nie Zhenbang’s words shocked Zhang Xu. How did Nie Zhenbang know the internal nicknames of the Tiger Group? The ‘Devil’ was a codename for Yao Yuan, the Battalion Commander, earned due to his cruelty and strict training of new recruits. And, as for the ‘Crown Prince’, this name was used by Yao Yuan and ‘Sun’, signifying a legend and a myth within the Tiger Battalion of the Northwest Military Region —a soldier king bestowed with more talent than the Devil. It was something even the Devil himself had admitted. Zhang Xu had not expected this person to be Nie Zhenbang.
Suddenly, Zhang Xu’s attitude changed. He stared earnestly at Nie Zhenbang and said, “Brother Zhenbang, even though you are my senior in the military and I’ve long heard of your renowned name, I still have something to say. The military is the military. Feelings are feelings. Dong Wan has chosen you, and I regret nothing; it’s her choice. However, I hope you don’t make Dong Wan feel heartbroken or shed tears. Can you do that?”
Now that’s a real man. Nie Zhenbang appreciated Zhang Xu for his outspoken nature. Once this kind of person became your friend, he would be loyal for a lifetime. Maybe it was the sense of belonging that came from being in the same unit. Nie Zhenbang formally replied, “Zhang Xu, you just rx, I will do that.”
At this moment, Zhao Xinglong next to Zhang Xuughed and said, “Don’t make the atmosphere so tense. This must be ‘Third Young Master’, right? I’ve heard so much about you but never met you since you were always overseas. Now, I get to meet you in person.”
Zhang Xu had adjusted his state of mind by now. Anyone who could enter the Tiger Group definitely had strong psychological endurance and the ability to adjust. Heughed and introduced, “Crown Prince, let me introduce you. This is Zhao Xinglong. He also came out of our militarypound, but he is an anomaly. He’s never liked military affairs and lived abroad since primary school, onlying back to the country this year.”
The Zhao family was also a core part of the militarypound, but this current generation of the Zhao family had few offspring and had gradually shown signs of leaving the military.
Zhao Xinglong seemed to be around twenty-three or twenty-four. With his sword-like brows, twinkling eyes, and a height of one meter eighty-three, he was a strikingly handsome man. When he smiled, he emanated an elegantly schrly demeanor.
Just then, another group of people walked in, led by Zhou Chen and Ou Zheng. Ever since the retirement of Comrade Xuri, the Ou family had fallen from grace. Ou Zheng’s father, Ou Huajun, had been assigned to the National Political Consultative Conference for leisurely retirement. Thus, in Jingcheng, Ou Zheng was just amoner today. Compared to the veteran families like Nie Zhenbang and Yang Anbang, he had much to improve. But as the Ou and Zhou families had shared a simr plight, Ou Zheng naturally gathered with Zhou Chen.
“Today is indeed lively. It seems all have returned from their vacation.” Zhou Chen’s voice was already heard before he reached the group.
After his term in Chunan Province, Zhou Chen had matured a lot. But as the saying goes, ‘Jiangshan is easy to change, but nature is hard to change’, Zhou Chen’s innate character couldn’t be changed.
Now, Zhou Chen had been transferred back from Chunan Province and had been appointed in a ministry, making him an assistant minister.
Upon scanning the room and spotting Nie Zhenbang, Zhou Chen’s face instantly turned gloomy. Then almost immediately, he smothered it with a smile, saying, “I was wondering why it was so lively. Turns out Jingcheng’s renowned ‘Three Young Masters’ is back. Have youe here just like us after being highlighted as an outstanding cadre by ‘Daily at Seven’?”
PS: 461 votes, we’re getting close to our goal of 470. Brothers and sisters, keep up the good work. Each ticket is creating a new history for us. I look forward topleting the goal at 11:10 pm. Tomorrow, there will be an assured burst of 12,000 words.