Chapter 6: The Angel Walks Among Humans - Freedom is Priceless

  Such small fry had never been noticed by this noble young master. Zhang Tianpeng was a bold and clever person since childhood, he learned to flirt with women at the age of 14 and got his university degree at 20. Unlike most of his peers from official families, he had no interest in politics and was not an arrogant and ignorant second-generation rich kid, but he had a special passion for business.

  Business matters are not enough to be passionate about. At first, he followed his friends to do international trade, mainly operating in the direction of the former Soviet Union that had just disintegrated into the Russian Federation. The buying and selling was smooth at first, and he also made a lot of money. However, in the past two years, the chaotic voices on Russia's political scene have been disappearing, replaced by gradual stability, and their legitimate business has also declined with the political trend. So he started thinking about smuggling again, and over the course of two years, it became more and more rampant, eventually catching the attention of his father's political enemies. This led to the later Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang provinces' joint police capture of a cross-border smuggling group, which encountered fierce armed resistance from thugs, resulting in the police being forced to shoot and kill 11 armed thugs on the spot. In that case, only one policeman was shot by the core figure of the smuggling group at the last moment. That core figure was naturally Zhang Tianpeng.

  From the day Zhang Tianpeng arrived at Sifangtian Prison, He Kui received countless calls from all sorts of gods. In short, these people were all beyond He Kui's control. So on his first day here, this young master Zhang became a big shot in No. 1 Ward, a privileged prisoner who had the final say.

  He Kui gathered them to discuss the New Year's arrangements. Every year at this time, it is a period when people's emotions are most difficult to control. He Kui's original intention in creating these activities was also to better stabilize the prisoners' emotions. Not only did the prison guards and armed police soldiers responsible for monitoring need to be mobilized, but also the special prisoners in each department were required to participate. During this period, he needed to grasp all the prisoners' ideological fluctuations and whether there were any abnormal phenomena in their daily activities.

  The mobilization meeting was very successful, except for Zhang Tianpeng, everyone else spoke enthusiastically and expressed their determination. Each department has selected its own players to participate in various competitions. Among them, the list of No. 2 Department is most concerned by He Kui, while Zhang Tianpeng paid special attention to the wrestling contestants of No. 6 Department. In his heart, Bao Ligang was the person who could pose the greatest threat to Yang Junhu.

  After others left, He Kui held the list of No. 2 Courtyard and asked Guo Dabao in doubt: "Is this list made by you?"

  Guo Dabao smiled brightly and nodded hastily.

  He Kui's face sank as he asked, "Are the people inside participating in the competition voluntarily?"

  Guo Dabao understood the implication of the prison governor's words and quickly replied, "These lists were decided by me and Ye Haodong from the 17th group."

  He Kai put his heart at ease: "It's good this way, remember, you are the second prison inmate Da Nao is not fake, but some things still need to be learned with people more communication, don't cover the sky with one hand and get used to it, thinking that he has grown a huge palm, everywhere comparing and drawing."

  Kuo Da-chu's face was covered in cold sweat. It was clear that the warden knew everything, including the fact that he had clashed with Ye Hao-dong.

  The real end of the year in Chinese people's hearts is always the Lunar New Year. Those who have been in prison feel it more deeply. The content of spending the Spring Festival in a four-sided shop prison can't be considered rich to outsiders. It's just a few big items, improving food and eating dumplings, having fun, visiting on New Year's Day, sending warmth, and leaders from outside coming for inspection.

  Boiling dumplings is a relatively fun thing. One yard and one yard are rotating to boil, from wrapping to boiling, all are self-service. Most people are from the bottom, few are pampered, and almost everyone can wrap. Ye Haodong's family background is not obvious, but Wang Lin has never let his brothers do any kitchen work at home, this is his first time doing this.

  On the thirtieth day of the year, Ye Haodong didn't have to do any work in prison. He had developed a habit of taking a nap after lunch from following Old Man Zhong Maosheng. Since it was New Year's Day and they didn't have to go out to work, the cell block was very lively, but Ye Haodong didn't think it was anything special and took his usual nap. When he woke up, he heard the lively voices inside the seventeenth cellblock, which had a strong festive atmosphere. Ji Chenggang was busy making dumpling fillings, Lin Hongwei was kneading dough, and the others were gathered around waiting for their turn to help out. Seeing Ye Haodong wake up, Ji Chenggang politely said: "Haodong's awake, it's okay, you can sleep some more, we'll be done soon, just wait a bit and you can have some ready-made food."

  Yehao Dong smiled: "Don't even think about it, what day is today? It's New Year's Day! Which day do you sleep in late? Today doesn't work either. Besides, I haven't wrapped dumplings with my own hands before, so today is a good chance to learn from you guys, and when I go out, I'll show off my skills to my old mother."

  Ye Haodong walked over to take a look and found that the dumpling filling and dough were not much, guessing it was not enough for these green-eyed cellmates to eat, asked: "Why is the filling and dough so little?

  Hou San'er: "Just now when we were making the dumpling filling and dough, it was that 'Firecracker' from No. 1 courtyard who divided it up. That son of a dog said their Tigerzi can eat as much as two of our groups combined, so they didn't give us much. If the people from each group who went to make the filling and dough got a bigger share, they could bring back a bit more; if not, they had to bring back less. Our group was just me and Seasoned Brother, but they didn't give us any face, so we got a bit less. Don't worry, though - I'll make sure you eat your fill first."

  Ye Haodong curled his lip: "What the hell's cannon, it's supposed to be given to us in abundance without any problem, yet they dare to give less, what the hell are they doing? Take me to see."

  Ji Cheng scolded Hou Saner: "You clearly know that Hao Dong values loyalty, but you still want to stir up trouble. I told you not to make a sound, but you can't control your stinking mouth."

  Yehao Dong pulled Hou Saner: "Go on, it's nothing, I don't blame you for stirring up trouble, I just like the excitement, take me over to see."

  Dividing the dumpling fillings and white flour is a delicate task in prison, it's required to be fair and distributed evenly to each cell, but in reality, it's hard to avoid favoritism. Firecracker can do this job because he's in the same cell as Zhang Tianpeng. There are sixty cells in total, and it takes more than two hours to distribute everything one by one. When Ye Haodong came over with Hou San'er, he hadn't finished yet. Seeing Ye Haodong walking over with a smile, this kid immediately understood, and his gaze fell on Zhang Tianpeng sitting aside, who was leisurely munching on a luxurious dried cucumber.

  Ye Haodong took a glance at the scene at the entrance of the dormitory, ignored Huo Paoer, and rushed to Zhang Tianpeng, stretched out his hand and smiled: "Ye Haodong, from Gangcheng."

  Zhang Tianpeng extended his hand in a gesture of courtesy and shook hands with him, smiling: "Zhang Tianpeng, also from Gangcheng."

  Hou Saner held the basin behind him, watching. Ye Haodong turned his head and looked at him, saying: "The filling is less, and the noodles are not too much, trouble Tianpeng to give a shout, add some more."

  Zhang Tianpeng waved his hand and Huo Pao hurriedly filled a full bowl. Ye Haodong bowed with his fist: "Thank you." He turned to leave.

  Zhang Tianpeng said from behind: "Wait a minute, I want to talk to you about something."

  Ye Haodong stood still and didn't move, shaking his head at Hou San'er, who carried the basin himself and left.

  "Tianpeng brother has something to say."

  Zhang Tianpeng scratched his ear and then shook his hand: "Brother, your name is as loud as thunder, it's made my ears itch all day. You're like my brother Yang Junhu, who keeps talking about you all day long, almost as if he wants to worship you as an ancestor! If this rascal were to meet you in a wrestling match, wouldn't he just concede defeat directly?"

  Ye Haodong smiled and shook his head, saying: "Tianpeng brother is speaking without thinking, others care about my little reputation, but to you, Tianpeng brother, this little reputation of mine is not even worth a fart. Hu Zi is close to me, but he has spent more time with you, if you think he respects me more than you, then you should think clearly whether your attitude towards him is also treating him as a close brother like I do."

  Zhang Tianpeng narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ye Haodong, nodding slightly, with a hint of mutual understanding. He smiled faintly: "Among all the prisoners in this cell, our cases are the biggest. My case killed eleven people on the spot, and your case eventually executed eight people by gunfire, plus the two you personally killed, which is equivalent to ten lives. It can be said that in this cell, you are my only opponent. You say if we just waste time here for a few years, what's the point? Why don't we play a game together, how about it?"

  Ye Haodong: "Brother Zhang thinks highly of me, Haodong, and has high expectations for me. However, since you have this intention, please draw a line, I'll follow suit."

  Zhang Tianpeng thought for a moment, nodded his head and said: "Hmm, not bad, it's a good idea! Let me think about it, I'll make the rules. Our sentences are almost the same, you're in for 10 years, I'm in for 15 years, but I came in October last year, you came in on New Year's Day this year, so we're off by more than a year. If we don't count that extra year, let's just compare who will be here for less time from now on, how about it?"

  Ye Haodong didn't expect him to come up with such a method, and suddenly became interested, asking: "Are there any rules? For example, are you allowed to give the opponent a handicap or not?"

  Zhang Tianpeng nodded: "Of course, I've inquired about your situation. You're a rare talent, with both sentiment and strategy, and you're ruthless enough. To be honest, I'm interested in you and want to join forces with you to conquer the world. I plan to tame you for this goal, and I'll definitely use some tactics. Let's set a time limit of one year for our bet. Whoever has fewer convictions after that will win. The loser will become the winner's deputy and follow them to conquer the world!"

  Ye Haodong shook his head: "This bet is a bit unrealistic, people like us are hard to fulfill when we lose. You can propose this because you feel confident, and I can agree with you for the same reason."

  Zhang Tianpeng nodded: "What you said is not wrong, but I can add one more thing. If I lose, the bet remains unchanged, but if you lose, you can use your new green supplies to offset the debt. What do you think?"

  Ye Haodong said with relish: "Good, that's exactly what I'm saying."

  Zhang Tianpeng: "That Bao Li is not bad either, his skills are not inferior to Tiger's, and he has a good mind. What's important is that he is loyal. You're really a big brother who knows how to lead younger brothers, just for this point, I think highly of you."

  Ye Haodong cupped his fists: "Brother Zhang is overpraising me, if there's nothing else I'll take my leave."

  Zhang Tianpeng returned the courtesy: "Slow down, I won't see you off."

  Ye Haodong walked a few steps before suddenly turning his head back to confirm: "It's a one-year term, whoever leaves this place first is considered the winner, right?"

  Zhang Tianpeng burst out laughing and asked in return: "Isn't that right? With this betting method, do you have any other ideas, Haodong?"