59. Disappointed Gro

The person blocking their way was Lian Haiping, the village chief’s son. He stood in the middle of the road leading a group of villagers, each armed with whatever they could find—mostly hoes, but also shoulder poles, machetes, and even rolling pins.

Li Mingjiang frowned and got out of the car.

“Haiping,” he called out, “what are you all doing?”

Lian Haiping feigned surprise. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Li! What wind blew you back to the village?”

He deliberately raised his voice. “These days, you see, the moment there’s any money to be made, some people swarm like flies to a dung heap!”

Li Mingjiang paid no mind to his sneers, having long grown indifferent to such jibes. Especially now, when the situation clearly favored him—why would a giant stoop to argue with ants?

With this sense of superiority, Li Mingjiang simply dismissed Haiping’s words as hot air.

“Move aside. We’re headed to the construction site. The boss of the development company is in the car. If you offend him, neither you nor your father could bear the consequences. This concerns the interests of the whole village.”

Not waiting for a response, Li Mingjiang climbed back into the car. He knew Lian Haiping well enough: all bluster and bluff, never daring to truly go against the whole village.

As expected, seeing Li Mingjiang ignore him, Lian Haiping lost interest and waved his hand, signaling his group to let them pass.

Li Mingjiang chuckled coldly, glanced at him through the windshield, and continued forward.

Then—he slammed on the brakes.

Gelo’s cigarette flew onto the windshield.

Li Mingjiang had forgotten! Lian Haiping might not dare, but his father, Lian Zongxu, was a lawless rogue!

Ahead, a massive pit yawned open in the only road into the village. From the car, you couldn’t even see the bottom.

Li Mingjiang got out again, this time fuming.

“Lian Haiping, did you dig up the road?” he demanded.

“On my honor!” Lian Haiping replied with a cheeky grin. “It was Old Fifth Lian’s family digging a canal—they undermined the roadbed. I’m just here with some folks to fill it in! Li Mingjiang, don’t go blaming the innocent!”

Li Mingjiang’s cheeks trembled with rage. The pit was smack in the middle of the road, with the dug-up rocks and dirt piled along the sides. Most glaringly—someone was still digging!

Did they really think he was a fool?

“Lian Haiping, even if your father is the village chief, he can’t go against everyone’s interests! Delaying construction means delaying everyone’s earnings. All of you are villagers—you all share in the profits. Can’t you see that?”

Li Mingjiang had always believed that as long as he reasoned with money, people would come around. But the result stunned him. The villagers simply stared at him, unmoved, and slowly gathered together to block the road completely.

“What are you all doing?” Li Mingjiang shouted anxiously.

“Mr. Li, let’s just head back,” Gelo called from the car.

Li Mingjiang shot a resentful glare at the now-smug Lian Haiping, got back in, and turned the car around, defeated.

“Mr. Li,” Gelo said, lighting another cigarette, “didn’t you say that once you became director of the development office, there’d be no more problems in the village?”

His tone was tinged with accusation and clear displeasure.

“Now you’re director, but the problems haven’t just persisted—they’ve gotten worse.”

“Mr. Gelo!” Li Mingjiang replied, then fell silent. Who was he supposed to ask for help? He was already seething with frustration.

These wretched villagers... Didn’t they want to make money? Why were they letting that old fox Lian Zongxu lead them around by the nose?

“Do you have any other ideas?” Gelo pressed.

Li Mingjiang was at a loss. He shook his head in defeat. “I’ll try to contact more people in the village. I’ll do everything I can to get construction back on track…”

“If you had a solution, you’d have used it by now,” Gelo said icily. “Mr. Li, let’s not beat around the bush. If you can’t resolve this soon, I may have no choice but to hold my nose and work with Lian Zongxu, much as I dislike him.”

“Mr. Gelo! You can’t!” Li Mingjiang panicked. “You know what kind of man Lian Zongxu is—he’s greedy, he’ll demand far more than I ever would…”

Gelo shook his head slightly, disappointment written all over his face. He thought to himself that he had truly misjudged Li Mingjiang this time.

No longer bothering to conceal his anger, Gelo continued, “According to the plan, the first and second buildings, which started earliest, are nearly topped out. But what about buildings nineteen and twenty? The foundations haven’t even been dug! Nearly half a year—this is your answer, Li Mingjiang?”

Flustered, Li Mingjiang blurted out, “Maybe we could ask Director Liu for help and put some pressure on Lian Zongxu. Maybe…”

“Favors like that aren’t meant for trivial nonsense!” Gelo wanted to slap him. Useless! All cunning and scheming, but nothing else. Compared to Chen Ling...

Wait—Chen Ling!

At that thought, Gelo calmed himself and said, “Book a private room at the Huanglong Hotel and invite Chen Ling to dinner tonight. See if he has any good ideas.”

“Why invite him?” Li Mingjiang was taken aback and deeply reluctant. At the mention of Chen Ling, he always felt a vague, inexplicable jealousy.

If it weren’t for getting close to Liu Xuefeng’s daughter, how could a penniless student like him even dream of sharing a table with me?

If not for Liu Xuefeng’s deliberate support, how would Chen Ling dare to challenge me? And that business about not touching the village’s money... Now, even if I wanted to, I probably couldn’t!

“I know what you’re thinking,” Gelo said slowly. “If you’d stop being so narrow-minded and pay attention to him, you’d realize he’s already way beyond your reach.”

Li Mingjiang blinked. “Mr. Gelo, what do you mean by that?”

“Heh, don’t you keep tabs on your future business rivals?” Gelo sighed and explained, “After that little phone credit business, Chen Ling started a real estate agency. His license covers real estate brokerage, sales, finance, even network services. That alone shows his ambition.”

“He also helped Zhicheng Company resolve a three hundred million debt crisis, which means he’s officially entered the inner circle. I’ve heard several companies are already trying to contact him.”

“He’s new to the industry, so he’s still building connections, but at his level, I’d wager he’ll land a major partnership any day now.”

Li Mingjiang fell silent.

“I’m telling you this so you understand: the broader your horizons, the greater your prospects. Stop fixating on your little patch of land. If you really want to make waves in real estate, you’ve got a lot to learn.”

Though his heart bristled with unwillingness, Li Mingjiang could only resign himself to booking a private room and calling Chen Ling.

—

Around six in the evening, Chen Ling arrived as promised, bringing Zhang Peng with him.

At this point, there was no need to hide anything. For one, the two had already made a pact. Besides, after much consideration, Chen Ling felt it best for Zhang Peng to handle day-to-day management. With a formidable father to guide him, few problems would be insurmountable—and Chen Ling himself needed the freedom to pursue other matters.

So, it was necessary to introduce Zhang Peng into the circle.

Yet to Li Mingjiang, this painted a very different picture…

That kid probably hadn’t eaten at the Huanglong Hotel before—now he was just bringing someone along for a free meal, wasn’t he?