Chapter 29: Dissolving Grudges and Enmities

  Wang Haodong grunted and turned around, walking out of the gate. He headed towards Lao Xiao's restaurant at the village entrance, with Wang Kai following him. Meanwhile, Liu Lele started up her three-wheeled vehicle and drove it to the restaurant first.

  Wang Haodong and Wang Kai remained silent for the time being, he only handed a cigarette to Wang Haodong, who lit it up and took a puff, suddenly stopping in his tracks and saying: "Wang Kai, what exactly did you want to see me about?"

  "Ah?" Wang Kai seemed to be caught off guard, and after a brief pause, his face showed a hint of hesitation before he said: "I've come to ask for your help."

  "Help?" Wang Haodong smiled, "We're not friends, to be exact, we were just in conflict this morning, with a personal vendetta between us, you're asking me for help? Are you kidding me?"

  "There's a saying in the jianghu, that there are no eternal enemies. What happened between you and me is just a small matter, nothing to make a fuss about. Besides, there's another saying that men can create bonds through fighting, we've exchanged blows, I admire your skills, I think we can be friends."

  Wang Haodong puffed on his cigarette and said slowly: "Even if we can laugh off our past grievances, why should I help you?"

  "I'm not asking you for free help, but I want to cooperate with you."

  Not free? Then it's paid?

  Wang Haodong came out to run this time, with not much money on him, and he also owed Wang Peng a sum of money. Previously, he was considering making money, but there was no clear way.

  "What's the specific cooperation model?"

  Wang Kai didn't rush to speak, but said: "There's no hurry, let's go to the restaurant and chat while we eat, how about that?"

  "Good." Wang Haodong also nodded with relish.

  Two people walked quickly towards the restaurant and soon arrived at the place. The business in Lao Xiao's restaurant was not very good, and at this time there was only Liu Lele alone in the store. Lao Xiao was watching TV and occasionally chatted with him. Seeing Wang Haodong and others coming in, he hurriedly stood up to greet them and pour water.

  Liu Lele pointed at the dishes on the table and said: "Two brothers, I've ordered the cold dishes, you order the hot ones."

  Wang Kai drank a cup of tea and shouted: "Boss, first bring us two packs of cigarettes."

  "I only have 5 yuan and 10 yuan bills here, which one do you want?"

  Liu Lele discontentedly shouted: "What the hell are you asking? Just get on with it."

  Lao Xiao is an outsider, and it's not easy to run a restaurant here. Liu Lele's scolding made Wang Haodong feel uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but frown.

  Wang Kai hastily said: "Hey, Lele, don't be so rude." After scolding him, he said to the boss: "Two boxes of 10-yuan cigarettes."

  "Okay, wait a moment."

  Lao Xiao went to get the cigarettes, and then they started ordering food. Wang Kai handed over the ordering power to Wang Haodong, who had just eaten and wasn't hungry, so he casually ordered two vegetarian dishes.

  Liu Lele also ordered two dishes. When it was Wang Kai's turn, he ordered two meat dishes. After Old Xiao went to the kitchen to busy himself, Liu Lele poured wine, first filling a full cup for Wang Haodong, then one for Wang Kai, and finally one for himself.

  "Hao Dong brothers, please allow me to call you that, I'm a rough man and not very good at speaking, but I, Wang Kai, am also considered a real man, who appreciates and likes making friends with other men. This morning we had some conflict, but now we can sit together, I think this is fate. So after this cup of wine, let's forget those unpleasant things."

  Wang Kai said after, just looked at Wang Hao Dong like this.

  It's Wang Haodong's turn to make a statement. If he wants to be friends with Wang Kai, he will drink with him when the other is drinking, specifically following his heart's desire. If he doesn't want to be friends with the other party, then he won't drink.

  Wang Haodong picked up his cup and said, "I also like making friends. I think you're a straightforward person too, which suits my temperament. Let's be friends."

  "Good." Wang Kai laughed and drank up the wine in his cup, while Wang Haodong accompanied him with half a cup of white wine.

  Liu Lele is Wang Kai's younger brother. When the two of them were drinking, he didn't have equal conversation rights. Only after they had drunk some wine did he scatter some snacks and call out: "Come on, eat something! The dishes at this restaurant in our village are really not bad, you'll know once you try them."

  Lao Xiao's craftsmanship was indeed good, Wang Haodong had eaten it before and thought it was very appetizing, so he picked up his chopsticks and started eating slowly. Before long, the hot dishes arrived, but because he had just finished a meal and wasn't hungry, he only tasted them lightly.

  Lao Xiao finished cooking and then squatted at the kitchen door, silently smoking a cigarette. He didn't enter the main house in order to avoid suspicion.

  "Hao Dong, I'm a few years older than you, so I'll just call you younger brother. I hope you don't mind."

  Wang Hao Dong smiled slightly and nodded, Wang Kai continued: "I am a townsman, my family has no land, my parents can only support the family by doing business. In recent years, with economic development, people in the town have also become richer, but competition has become increasingly fierce, business is difficult to do, and from time to time there are phenomena of quarrels and fights."

  "Is what you're looking for related to this?" Wang Hao Dong keenly sensed the core of the problem. He wasn't familiar with Wang Kai, and the only thing that could have caught his attention was his fighting skills. The mention of quarrels and fights in his words clearly had another meaning.

  Wang Kai and Wang Haodong clinked glasses and took a big swig, saying: "Right, I'm looking for you to help me take care of this."

  Wang Haodong smiled and asked: "What's the trick?"

  "It's not necessarily you who has to take action."

  "Stop beating around the bush." Wang Haodong directly interrupted Wang Kai's words, this person was straightforward and hated it when others were vague with him, if there was something to say, just say it.

  "I plan to open a casino in town."

  Wang Kai was choked by Wang Haodong's words, and it took a long time to reorganize his language before he said briefly: "Now in the town there is a comprehensive venue called Taoyuan Entertainment Club, where you can take baths, sing songs, and play cards."

  "The guy who started the trouble is quite wealthy, his dad has a coal mine contract and is very good at socializing. If I were to start something, there would definitely be conflict, so I want to ask for your help."

  Wang Haodong was deep in thought. Nowadays, many rural people have also become rich, and young people like to play some entertainment, go sing a song, take a bath, find a little girl, play a few cards, and so on. Opening an entertainment venue can make money, but before the situation is clear, he won't casually agree, saying: "Doing business with you is possible, but I don't have any capital."

  "Don't spend money, just contribute manpower." Wang Kai hastily said: "Now the superior control is strict, even if there are contradictions, nothing can be done with hot weapons, only human power can be used. Simply put, it's a matter of who can beat whom. I admire your skills."

  This sentence is already very clear, Wang Kai has taken a liking to Wang Haodong's skills.

  Wang Haodong asked: "You're preparing for a rainy day, aren't you? The scene hasn't even started yet, the contradictions haven't begun, and you've already found me."

  "To be honest with you, brother, I've always had some conflicts with that guy. Whatever I do, he'll always stick his nose in and try to mess it up. If I start a business, he'll definitely think of ways to sabotage it."

  "Alright, I'll think about it and get back to you in a few days." Wang Haodong didn't respond immediately. After finishing speaking, he nodded his head, picked up the cup, clinked it with him, and downed it in one gulp. Then he said: "It's getting late, I have to go. Leave your phone number with me, I'll call you when I've thought about it."

  "Alright." Wang Kai brought over a pen and paper, wrote down his phone number, and said sincerely: "Hao Dong brother, I really want to be friends with someone like you, work together to make money, and hope we can do something together.

  "Okay, wait for my reply."

  Wang Haodong smiled and nodded, striding out of the restaurant.

  On his way back, Wang Haodong was deep in thought.

  Wang Haodong is now really short of money, if there's a way to make money, he'll do it. Although running a casino doesn't seem like the right path in ordinary people's eyes, this line of work, just like brothels, has been banned repeatedly since ancient times but still exists. At most, it's just a change in wording; if he doesn't do it, someone else will.

  "Let him be for a few days, I'll secretly investigate the background of Taoyuan Entertainment Club again. If things are feasible, I'll do it with Wang Kai."

  With his mind made up, a faint smile appeared on Wang Haodong's face.

  When he returned home, Zhang Qian's house had already turned off the lights and was clearly asleep. Zhang Shufang hadn't slept yet and was watching TV in the living room. When Wang Haodong came in, she asked what Wang Kai wanted to find him for.

  "It's nothing big, making amends with me and wanting to do some business together." Wang Hao Dong didn't hide anything from Zhang Shu Fang either, simply stating in a few words what Wang Kai's intentions were.

  Zhang Shufang hesitated for a long time before saying, "I know someone is doing this line of work, but Haodong, you'd better not do it. This is a black path and it's too dangerous."

  "There's no danger, since Wang Kai wants to do it, he must have already established a connection with the higher-ups." Wang Haodong smiled and comforted Zhang Shufang, "Don't worry, I didn't directly agree, I'll think carefully and give him another reply."

  Zhang Shufang said with a worried face: "I think things are not that simple, you'd better consider it carefully."

  "You care about me?" Wang Haodong smiled and said.

  "Me... " Zhang Shufang was stunned by Wang Haodong's words, and then said: "Wang Xin handed you over to me, I, I also want to worry about your safety, this is normal concern for friends, don't, don't think too much."

  "I didn't think much of it either, haha." Wang Haodong said this, his eyes fixed intently on Zhang Shufang, whose face gradually turned red, and she didn't dare to look him in the eye.

  Wang Haodong savored her blushing appearance, truly delicate and lovely. He restrained himself from going forward to hug her, saying: "It's getting late, take a rest."

  "Uh-huh, goodnight." Zhang Shufang responded with a barely audible "en", her voice softer than the hum of a mosquito.

  Wang Hao Dong turned around and went back to his room, took out his mobile phone and looked at it. Wang Peng had sent him a text message, asking if he was getting used to being here and if anything had happened.

  Wang Hao Dong was too lazy to reply to the text message, so he directly called him and told him about his life here and what had happened. He heard that he had found a woman here, Wang Peng chuckled: "You little devil, your luck with women is still so good, finding a beautiful woman to accompany you here, you must be having the time of your life!"

  "Hmm, it's not as exaggerated as you said."

  Wang Peng asked: "You little rascal, your mind is always wandering and you never focus. This time something happened again because of your love for playing around. Tell me, were you just fooling around with that girl or was it serious?"

  "Of course, I'm playing for real." Wang Hao Dong criticized him with a serious tone: "Every time I'm in love, I devote myself wholeheartedly, unlike you, who always deceive those little girls."

  "Alright, don't talk about yourself so nobly. If you're serious, then take it to heart." Wang Peng said with a smile, and continued: "I have friends coming over, I'll hang up first, we can chat on the phone when we're free."

  "Goodbye."

  Wang Haodong hung up the phone, looked at the time and it was already late, so he hung up the phone and lay down on the bed to sleep.