Chapter 29: Fight for what you can get and enjoy what you deserve

  People always need desires, and when they are not fulfilled, they will suffer. When they are satisfied, they will be bored. The normal state of life is to alternate between suffering and boredom. If people lose their desires, it seems that the reason for survival will become insufficient, and despair will arrive as scheduled. People who see no hope or meaning in life will always understand life this way. When Ye Haodong read this sentence, he rephrased it: People must have desires, strive to pursue when they are not fulfilled, and fully enjoy when they are satisfied. Therefore, the normal state of life should be spent in pursuit and enjoyment.

  Ye Haodong is now enjoying his days with Jiang Lan. With Ye Haodong, Jiang Lan is also happy like a little bird. Jiang Lan is also a person who can put things down and pick them up again, at first when Ye Haodong said that the house was specially given to her, she felt more flustered and uneasy than surprised and touched. If this was Ye Haodong's gift of love, then this feeling was undoubtedly too heavy, even dedicating herself to him in return would not be excessive.

  Later, Jiang Lan was relieved. Ye Haodong was the first man she liked, and she liked everything he did for her. She would also cherish this man in the future, take care of him, protect him, and their future was already tightly bound together. So Jiang Lan enjoyed everything that Ye Haodong brought to her with a clear conscience.

  Jiang Wei returned to his empty home, looking at the notes left by his sister and wife, feeling both wronged and angry. As a top student in the criminal investigation major, he quickly found out that Jiang Lan and his mother had moved into a new house, and even Qi Xin was living there now. At first, Jiang Wei couldn't accept moving into the new house bought by Ye Haodong. It made him feel like he had sold out his sister for a new house. Until one afternoon, Qi Xin let him see his mother lying in a tidy room, sleeping peacefully, with Jiang Lan proudly guarding her with a happy face. At that moment, Jiang Wei suddenly felt narrow-minded, and what was more important than making the three most important women in his life happy? From then on, whenever Jiang Lan went out on dates, Jiang Wei no longer stopped her, only reminding her not to neglect her studies or stay out overnight.

  In just three months, the new green pulp factory has accumulated over 2,500 tons of high-quality paper pulp. The price of paper pulp on the international market has reached an astonishing $800 per ton, and the domestic price is even higher by half! This means that if Ye Haodong sells this batch of paper pulp now, he will immediately become a millionaire. Although the business of collecting scrap metal has formed a monopoly in the local area due to the violent tactics used by Bao Liang and Ding Dawei, resulting in a surge in profits, his current capital chain is still precarious. Zhong Zhimin and Li Weidong have repeatedly suggested that he cash out this batch of paper pulp, but Ye Haodong has consistently refused to sell it. In business matters, Ye Haodong has always been autocratic, and so far, he has not disappointed everyone.

  The reform plan of the He Kou Paper Mill has been revised three times, but it is still being ignored. The Xingu District government's attitude towards the overall direction remains unchanged. Each revised plan only makes minor adjustments to the original plan, which does not address the root of the problem. Although the weather has warmed up with the arrival of spring, the emotions of the He Kou Paper Mill workers are no longer as intense as they were during the Spring Festival, but the long-term livelihood issues have not seen any hope for a solution, and recently, these workers' emotions have become increasingly frustrated, with signs of another potential outbreak. In fact, Ye Haodong has been keeping an eye on the development of this matter. He has already prepared a merger agreement in advance. He believes that as long as the He Kou Paper Mill's problems erupt in the short term, the Xingu District government will be pressured to agree to his new agreement, which looks similar to the original agreement. What he needs to do now is grit his teeth and produce more pulp at full capacity. Only then will he have enough chips for the formal negotiations.

  In the evening, at 8 o'clock, Baixian Bridge Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market. Ye Haodong and Jiang Lan, Bao Ligang and his sister Bao Renna, four people surrounded an outdoor karaoke machine, entertaining themselves. This was a unique scene that was very popular in Gangcheng for two years.

  Not far away in a building, Zhu Saner and Zhu Mingfu were observing the four people singing happily below.

  Zhu San'er: "It seems that Zhangzi and Ye Haodong have a good relationship, our plan may be a bit difficult."

  Zhu Mingfu: "If I'm being honest, what Lao Mao and the others said is just nonsense. We want to make some money, that's not a bad thing, but if we compromise our integrity for the sake of money, it's not worth it. Besides, this kid is not as simple as they think he is. I was locked up with him in the cell for over 20 days, and I know all about him. He's ruthless, daring, and very loyal. Ge Zi and his brother have a relationship with us, but I don't think it's likely that they'll betray Ye Haodong."

  Zhu San'er: "Brothers, we've been fighting and killing together for so many years, through thick and thin, and haven't done anything shameful. But apart from eating and drinking to save face, not a single penny is left. Now it seems that Zhangzi and Wei Dong's brothers have followed this kid for less than a year and have become rich. Everyone has ideas, we can't ignore it. However, what you said is right, Lao Mao's method is indeed too despicable and cannot be done. According to your words, do you have any good methods?"

  Zhu Mingfu: "I think you should take some time to meet with this kid, and reveal our difficulties to him. I reckon he'll voluntarily give us a way out."

  Zhu San'er looked at Zhu Mingfu with a hint of surprise, thinking that his younger brother wasn't some rookie who had just started venturing out. The two brothers had been together for so many years and had seen all sorts of things, they were long past the age where they would easily get worked up over someone's words. And yet, Ye Haodong was able to make him say something so thoughtless, it seemed that he wasn't as simple as he appeared. Perhaps he really should meet this young whippersnapper who was under twenty years old.

  Zhu Sān ér's status on Gang Cheng Road is roughly equivalent to that of Shan Long Jun's older brother, Er Xin Zi. In his eyes, which are approaching forty years old, Ye Hao Dong is still just a young whippersnapper.

  "You're familiar with this kid, so you handle this matter. Also, tell Lao Mao and Xiao Gai to stop looking for Li Weidong for now."

  Jiang Lan has been getting along famously with Ye Haodong for the past few months, but recently she hasn't had much time to spend with him. It's already May, and in just over a month, the highly anticipated and uniquely Chinese college entrance exams will begin. Although her studies have been going well, she's been distracted lately and needs to buckle down and review intensively now.

  Ye Haodong sat leisurely in the office, thinking about the wonderful taste of being with Jiang Lan these days. Jiang Wei's tacit consent allowed the two to untie their knot, determined to grasp the happiness in front of them, and get along without so many worries. Ye Haodong was sentimental and bold, Jiang Lan dared to love and hate generously, not inferior to men. These two people have been together for so long, except for Jiang Wei's dead rules that they didn't cross the line, everything else has been practiced countless times.

  Just as he was thinking about Jiang Lan's tender skin and the sensation it brought, Li Weidong walked in from outside.

  Ye Haodong looked at him and asked, "Something's up?"

  Li Weidong nodded and replied: "Zhu Mingfu has arrived, he wants to meet you."

  Ye Haodong was extremely surprised but very happy: "He's out? When did that happen? Where is he? Quick, I'll go right away!"

  Li Weidong hesitated: "Haodong, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it. If I say it, I'm afraid of being disloyal to my friend; if I don't say it, I'm afraid of being disloyal to my brother."

  Ye Haodong was taken aback by the words, staring at Li Weidong's flickering eyes for a while before his expression relaxed: "Did Zhu Mingfu's third brother send someone to find you?"

  Li Weidong was surprised: "Do you know?"

  Ye Haodong shook his head: "I'm guessing, you're a very efficient person when it comes to doing things, but you can't hide things in your heart. When you have something on your mind, it's easy to show on your face. I'm guessing that Zhu San is planning to stir up some trouble in our business, am I right?"

  Li Weidong: "What's with you staring and listening like that?"

  Ye Haodong stretched his waist, yawned, and said casually: "Zhu Saner has been famous for many years, and among those who are at the same level as him, who doesn't have a lot of money? Only he, except for having a reputation for being chivalrous, has nothing. As a hoodlum, there's no decent way to make money, and it's not beneath him to do some shameful things like pimping, gambling, and bullying the market. His situation is easy to imagine. You and Zhangzi used to follow him, but now you've made it big, and his other brothers can't help but feel uneasy when they see that. It's possible that some brainless people suggested he use you two to scheme against me. I think Zhu Mingfu understands me, so this matter has reached your head, but he stopped it. However, they haven't given up, which is why he came to see me."

  Li Weidong was stunned: "Are you having an affair with San Ge or something? How do you know everything?"

  Ye Haodong: "Your words imply that they know they have ill intentions, which means they've already found you and made their intentions clear. But Zhu Mingfu came directly to me, which means they've changed their minds again. It's not hard to understand the tone of what he said."

  Outside the factory gate, Ye Haodong warmly shook hands with Zhu Mingfu and invited him into the house.

  Zhu Mingfu's face showed a hint of shame, and before he could speak, Ye Haodong interrupted him: "Brother Zhu has come to ask me for a way to make money, right? Let's just talk about the main issue, and forget about everything else."

  "Brother, you can put aside past grievances, I'm really too grateful..."

  Ye Haodong impatiently interrupted him: "In the cell that time, I saw you knocked out teeth and swallowed blood, thinking you were a man. How did you become so soft when you came out? Still the same sentence, don't mention anything else, let's just pretend it didn't happen. You guys want to find a way to make money, right? I'll give you a reliable information!"

  Zhu Mingfu was quite surprised, he thought that even Ye Haodong should have taken some time to consider this matter before giving a reply, and it's not certain whether it would be successful or not. He didn't expect Ye Haodong to agree so readily.

  "Have you got an idea? What's your idea, tell me first."

  Ye Haodong glanced at him, this guy's expression was very urgent, apparently their gang was indeed eager to find a way to make money.

  "I'll have to discuss the specifics with your brother, but I can give you a general idea. We don't want to do scrap metal recycling business anymore and plan to transfer this part of the business out, you guys can take over."

  Li Weidong was shocked: "You're not allowing us to sell pulp now? That's our most profitable business!"

  Ye Haodong waved his hand: "Li Ge, you don't have to persuade me, this matter is settled. The paper pulp business will have results in a few days. At that time, we won't be able to take care of the scrap metal recycling, so it's better to let Zhu Dage and them handle it." He then said to Zhu Mingfu: "Old brother, don't underestimate this scrap collection business. Just around the ore dressing plant, I make at least 700,000 to 800,000 yuan per month from scrap metal recycling alone. Our country has a large population and limited resources, so waste recycling and reuse is a good thing that benefits both the country and the people. If you do this business well, the prospects are not to be underestimated. You have more people and better conditions than me, so you can definitely make this business bigger and better. Don't worry about the initial investment, I'll take care of it. Laozi was originally doing this business, so I'll lend it to you for three months first. Later, I plan to set up a small steel mill to produce steel bars for building houses. At that time, no matter how much you collect, just send it to me and I'll guarantee you'll make money."