Chapter 31: The Young Punk with a Mouthful of Gothic Lectures

  Ye Haodong turned back, puzzled.

  Xiao Yalong smiled and said, "Considering you are the new legal representative of the He Kou Paper Mill, with no previous bad records and this time having an excellent performance record, I can take the initiative to provide you with a commercial loan not exceeding 10 million, with interest rates calculated according to national regulations. Do you need anything else?"

  Ye Haodong was overjoyed and thought to himself: "Damn! This guy is really good at playing with people!" He quickly nodded in gratitude.

  Another month passed and Jiang Lan finally completed the college entrance examination. Ye Haodong's new green steel plant also came into being after a small setback.

  At first, the boss of that factory was afraid he would default on payment and refused to transfer it to him. Later, after Zhu San'er took people to visit twice, this boss who had once broken a 16-year-old child laborer's arm and shouted: This is what happens when you run away from me! finally showed his true cowardly face and signed the acquisition contract honestly. Ye Haodong only knew that the scoundrel not only owed workers several months' wages but also his "heroic deeds" after meeting with the original factory workers for the first time. Ye Haodong was furious, grabbed the kid and beat him in public, finally breaking his arm too, then told him that he would pay the 180,000 yuan balance of the factory purchase price to the workers as their wages and medical expenses.

  His arm was broken, and this kid naturally didn't want to give up easily. He first thought of finding someone on the road to clean up Ye Haodong, but as soon as people heard that there was something about Zhu Saner involved, they all shook their heads and refused to get involved. Some even scolded this brother, saying "Third Brother is such a righteous hero, you must have done something wrong to offend him." Since the dark way didn't work, he decided to find the light way to deal with it, so he came to the Xinguang District Branch Bureau Criminal Police Team to report the case. Jiang Wei personally handled his report and was furious after hearing it. Within twenty minutes, Ye Haodong appeared at the bureau, sweating profusely. Jiang Wei seriously questioned Ye Haodong in front of that brother, but the answers he got were vastly different from what the brother had said. So, he summoned witnesses again. At the time, Zhu Saner, Bao Lijian, and others who had a special relationship with Ye Haodong couldn't be used as witnesses. More than 100 employees of the Yuexin Steel Factory, which was now part of the Xingguang Steel Factory, testified to what they saw at the scene. The testimonies of over 100 people unanimously pointed out that this guy had tried to extort Ye Haodong and his broken arm was self-inflicted with a stick. From then on, the facts of the case were clear, and the situation was clarified. Jiang Wei patted the shoulder of the brother who reported the case: "I didn't expect you'd have the guts to self-mutilate like this. Don't try it again, you can go now."

  As Ye Haodong walked away, Jiang Wei's voice came from behind: "If there is another time you are reported to the bureau and I find out, you don't have to come looking for Lanlan again. This time, consider yourself lucky."

  Ye Haodong responded to this sentence of contempt with action. This kid left the police station and went straight to Jiang Wei's house.

  These days, Zhu Saniu has been urging him to go out and hide for a few days. Ye Haodong also had the intention of going out in his heart. This time he went out mainly to investigate the domestic paper market and see what kind of market his new green paper factory's two piles of inventory in the warehouse were. One person going out is not as happy as two people together, Jiang Lan applied for the lawyer major at Shencheng Southeastern University of Politics and Law this time, and finally waited for the admission notice. Ye Haodong was also about to go out on this side, so he became the only choice to send Jiang Lan to school with great joy.

  The train rumbled southward, and in the sleeper car, Ye Haodong was tirelessly doing ideological work on a young man who shared the same compartment as Jiang Lan. The other occupants of the compartment were a family of three: a young couple and their one-year-old child, who had been crying since they boarded the train, with the adults coaxing them to calm down, while the child laughed and the adults smiled, filling the space with warmth. Ye Haodong analyzed the situation and realized that it was impossible to separate the two, so he could only focus on the young man now. Jiang Lan watched from the side, stifling a smile as she saw him struggling.

  Ye Haodong: Brother, let's discuss something.

  Boy: What's up?

  Ye Haodong: If it's convenient for you, let's swap beds. Mine is the upper berth in the adjacent carriage and there are three beautiful women there right now.

  The young man was very honest: "No exchange, it's not allowed on the train, who will be responsible if there is a problem."

  This guy seems to have received a lot of safety education before going out. Ye Haodong didn't give up and continued: You look like you're a student on your way to school, right?

  The young man retorted: "Aren't you?"

  Ye Haodong: To be honest with you, I really am not.

  It was the peak season for transporting students by train, and most of the young people on the train were freshmen going to college this year. When Ye Haodong said he wasn't a student, the youngster looked surprised and curiously asked out of habit: "Then what are you going there for?"

  Ye Haodong pointed at Jiang Lan: I sent her to school, this time I didn't do well on the exam, planning to retake it next year.

  Young man, if you have realized something: You took a vocational course?

  Ye Haodong exaggeratedly: "Aren't you even attending a specialized school? What are you waiting for?" I actually didn't get accepted into anything, huh, which school did you take the exam for?

  Boy: Fudan.

  Ye Haodong was surprised and admired: Famous university, not easy, I admire students like you the most, humble and elegant, otherwise, you can show off your style, let's swap seats.

  The young man fell silent, his eyes gazing out of the window, with a stubborn and proud expression.

  Ye Haodong finally returned with his head hung low in defeat, while Jiang Lan followed behind him with a smile, hand in hand, sitting together in the aisle.

  The big door of the train carriage was opened, and five young men with a strong accent from Gangzhou rushed in, asking everyone: "Do you have any tickets to exchange?" They were buying sleeper tickets from people at a higher price.

  Ye Haodong and Jiang Lan sat hand in hand, witnessing these people open the door of the sleeping car where Jiang Lan lived. Before long, that proud and arrogant young man walked out from inside with a red face, Ye Haodong noticed his abnormally red face, with five finger prints clearly visible.

  Ye Haodong recognized that one of the five people was called Si Kui, who was the younger brother of Er Kui, a friend of Ding Dawei. He didn't expect this kid to be on this bus too, and it seemed like he was going to school.

  Ye Haodong quietly pulled Jiang Lan into the car, where a family of three was already shrouded in smoke. The man looked frightened and angry, while the adorable little baby kept coughing.

  Ye Haodong opened the window and turned back to Si Kui with a smile: Get out!

  Si Ke finally recognized him and was so scared that his face turned pale, wanting to explain a few words. A young man who didn't know Ye Haodong on the side couldn't hold back, opened his mouth and scolded: "Your mother's cunt, you pretend to be a chicken!"

  Ye Haodong ignored him and smiled at Si Kui: "Is this your friend?"

  Si Qi was already pale with fear, from his brother, he had heard many rumors about Ye Hao Dong. The biggest feature of Jianghu rumors is that they are always effective and exaggerated. In Si Qi's heart, Ye Hao Dong was a demon king who could kill people without blinking an eye.

  Si Kuai was still quite robust and didn't look intimidated, nodding in acknowledgement: "His name is Er Bao, he's my classmate." He then turned to Er Bao and said: "Quickly call him Hao Dong Ge, he's the big brother of my second brother."

  "Cut the courtesy, I'm a narrow-minded person who can't tolerate anyone scolding my old mother. If you want to call me 'brother', wouldn't that be a joke for me to put up with you?"

  Si Kuai Nuonuo said: "Hao Dong Ge, look at my friend, he's still a kid, they really don't know you're here, so why not forgive him this time?"

  Ye Haodong looked at him and finally nodded: "The matter of Shan Longhu, your brother didn't exert himself less, until now I haven't given him any reward. Today's matter is for the sake of your brother's face, spare him, and you pay twenty to burn incense yourself, I want to hear it clearly."

  The Second Treasure was no longer arrogant as before, and after hearing this, he slapped himself in the face, which was crisp and loud. Ye Haodong didn't like to look at him, turned his face towards the window, and when he heard the second slap, Jiang Lan quietly pulled his sleeve. Ye Haodong's face sank: "Stop hitting, I have a few words for you, listen carefully, then go out and close the door, don't come back."

  Si Kuai said sincerely: "Hao Dong Ge, you say."

  Ye Haodong gave him a sideways glance, his expression slightly softer than before: "I don't care if you're going to be university students or gangsters in the future. First and foremost, you need to learn how to be human beings. As university students, you should know that one should have good manners to stand out with their personality. Everyone likes to show off, but this shouldn't become a reason for others to dislike you. And as gangsters, your first lesson is to respect your seniors, follow the rules, and bullying people to show off your strength will only speed up your way to prison, nothing else. In fact, while you intimidate others, you'll also deeply offend them, and these people may give you a fatal blow on some day in the future. So, we gangsters have a principle: always leave a thread, don't go too far."

  The smell of smoke in the carriage has dissipated. Jiang Lan and the young woman were teasing the little baby, while Ye Haodong chatted casually with the young man.

  The young man's performance just now was not weak at all. He immediately protested against the rudeness of Si Kui and others, but unfortunately, they were a group of people who would rather believe in slapping than listening to his protests. The little episode that happened earlier with Ye Haodong's previous behavior sparked great interest in this young man. The fear of those bastard teenagers towards Ye Haodong made him realize that Ye Haodong had another identity as a high-ranking gang leader. A young man with the identity of a big gang leader, full of Goethe-style preaching, thoughtful and considerate, (the smoke smell has dissipated, and it's just right that Ye Haodong closed the window in time, seemingly worried about blowing the child a cold.) ruthless and cunning, yet broad-minded and humorous, such an extraordinary grassroots youth, how could he not be of interest to this young man from a prestigious family?

  The young man rose up wanting to understand Ye Haodong's desire, so he took the initiative to chat.

  Young man: "Little brother, you are called Haodong? But I don't know your surname?"

  Ye Haodong smiled politely: "My surname is Ye, what's your honorable surname, big brother?"

  The young man said confidently: "Hu Jianping, you can call me Hu Ge, I want to make friends with you, can we have a good chat?"