Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 65 Old Chen

Xiao Hui chuckled and pulled out cigarettes to share with the group, saying, "You're overthinking it. Nobody needs that stuff except for firefighters. Besides, would we high-voltage workers dare use a metal ladder? Would you?"

Director Qin saw a glimmer of hope again and said to Xiao Wang, "Xiao Wang, could you help me get the electricity back on? Talk to this young man properly, and I'll settle this score for him. Make Huang Laoliu pay, okay?"

Xiao Wang glanced at him and said, "Wait a minute, I want to help you too. We see each other all the time. I've called, and how it's handled is up to the higher-ups. I'm waiting for a reply. If I didn't want to help you, why would I have come all this way?" He kicked the bamboo ladder and said, "You try it and see how heavy this thing is. Are we going to carry it back and forth for fun?"

Director Qin glanced at the ladder and said, "Alright, brothers, we appreciate the trouble. Tomorrow, Uncle will have something to say. Um, when can we expect any news?"

Xiao Wang frowned and said, "Just wait and see, what's the rush? I'm not trying to be mean, but this market needs to be regulated. With all this scrambling and vandalism, something bad is bound to happen sooner or later. Tell me, when is there ever a day when there aren't fights around here? We all know who's in power, so why don't people from other places have any issues? Don't they have any tough guys to rely on? It's only a matter of time."

At this moment, Director Qin just wanted to get the electricity back on as soon as possible. He bowed and scraped to Xiao Wang, feeling incredibly frustrated. Although he wasn't a high-ranking officer, he had a lot of authority. There were at least eight or ten thousand people in the area who made a living by doing business. Everyone usually fawned over him and treated him like dirt. When had he ever been treated like this before? But he had no choice but to keep smiling and begging for forgiveness.

After standing there for a while and finishing his cigarette, an electrical engineering vehicle drove up from Zhonghua Road and stopped at the street corner. Xiao Wang nudged Chen Hui with his elbow and said, "Your dad's here. Do I have to stop him? He'll definitely beat you up."

The car stopped, the door opened, and three people got out. They stood there and looked around. The power was out in the neighborhood, but not on Zhonghua Road; the streetlights were still on. Actually, the lights on both sides were flickering, so it wasn't that dark in this area even without the power. It was just that buying and selling things was definitely out of the question. One of the three pointed in their direction, and the three of them walked over.

Chen Hui threw down his cigarette butt, rubbed his head a few times, and walked towards the three men, shouting as he went, "Dad, they bullied me. They almost got me arrested. If I hadn't brought my keys, I would have definitely gotten beaten up. You'd probably be at the police station identifying me by now."

The man leading the group was tall and burly, wearing a jacket and sporting a slicked-back hairstyle. He looked quite imposing and resembled Chen Hui; it was undoubtedly Chen Hui's father. Hearing Chen Hui's words, Old Chen frowned and asked, "What's going on? What are you doing now?"

Chen Hui walked up to his father. Needless to say, the two men beside him kept walking over, leaving the father and son to stand there and talk. Old Chen definitely wanted to know the situation; having them listen in was just asking for trouble.

After watching the two walk away, Chen Hui whispered to Old Chen, "I've made two new buddies. One of them lives downstairs from us, in apartment 301. We've been hanging out a lot lately, and today he said he was coming over to the night market, so here he is."

Old Chen interrupted Chen Hui in a low voice, saying, "Get to the point. You don't need to talk to me about your cronies."

Chen Hui said, "Listen to me, the guy living downstairs just moved in. I happened to be there on moving day. Some deputy director of the public security bureau helped move the cabinets, carrying them by hand. I even helped him. Everything in the house was delivered by truck from the Jixian Police Station—TV, fans, everything's perfectly provided. It's all because his wife—no, his girlfriend studies at the engineering college. He just wanted to be close to the school. The apartment belongs to a deputy general manager of a taxi company. Dad, I should befriend this guy, right?"

Old Chen nodded and said, "Yes, that room belongs to Old Liu, I know. Go on."

Chen Hui said, "The other one, the tallest one, his aunt is an official in Beipiao City. I know Xiaowei, oh, Xiaowei lives downstairs from here. He even invited me to his house, saying he wanted to do some business together, it's a serious matter, right?"

Old Chen nodded again and said, "I approve of these two. Finally, I can make a few decent friends. From now on, I'll stay away from those unreliable people and do something worthwhile. What happened today? Do you know how much influence this area has? You'll do anything in a moment of passion."

Chen Hui said, "Dad, this isn't really my fault. We came to the night market, and there were quite a few of us. There was this guy who didn't know much about it, so he tried out a lighter at one of the stalls. And you know how it is, he took advantage of out-of-towners. He wouldn't let us not buy it, and he asked for 300 yuan right off the bat. My buddy, oh, Xiao Wei from downstairs, gave him 100 yuan, but the stall owner wouldn't have it. He started cursing and saying he'd been around here for over ten years, and he even brought a few guys to block us."

"I couldn't just stay silent, right? I said 100 was enough, but that Huang Laoliu, the stall owner, started cursing at me. I just didn't believe him, so I took a few lighters at the normal price and left. Then Chief Qin came and started calling me a hooligan. He was so arrogant, demanding 1,000 yuan or he'd arrest us and take us to the police station. He even called the joint defense team. I was out of options. Luckily, I hadn't returned the office keys after work, so I figured I had to step on Xiao Wei and cut off the power. Otherwise, I'd definitely be getting beaten up at the management office right now. If I was really in the wrong, would I dare cut off the power? I'm not stupid. I had Xiao Wang call home, just in case things got worse."

Old Chen nodded and said, "Don't do these kinds of shady things anymore. You're always bragging about owing us eight lights. Hurry up and get the electricity back on. Where's the power station?"

Chen Hui pointed at Xiao Wang and said, "There it is, all the tools have been brought. Dad, that ladder is too heavy, can't you get a lighter one?"

Old Chen walked over and said, "You're just a troublemaker, you're always here. What's the point of carrying the heavy load? That stuff is all planned out, what? You think you can make the decisions?"

Chen Hui scratched his head and said, "I was just saying it casually. It was Brother Wang and the others who said that the ladder is too heavy and inconvenient to go back and forth."

Old Chen said, "There's no other way. We have to insulate them. It's all for their lives. Everyone knows aluminum alloy is lightweight. Would you dare use it?"

Chen Hui nodded and said, "Yeah, I think so too. Dad, you're not angry with me today, are you? Don't scold me when we get back, okay? I was really in the right today, I haven't been naughty for a long time."

Old Chen looked at Chen Hui and said, "You're all grown up now. You should know how to handle things yourself. I've been taking care of you until now, but do you think I can take care of you forever? Besides, does my son Chen Jianguo think he can mess around with anyone? He's in the right, so what's there to be afraid of? If it weren't for the huge impact this area has, I would have suspended him for a month. This management position has been changed."