Chapter 63 Eternal Peace

  Zhuo Xiao Fei knew from the start what Hei Zi was going to do. As they got closer to the train drivers, they simply gave them a clear price tag - 25 yuan per car. If anything went wrong, Hei Zi and Zhuo Xiao Fei would take care of it.

  At first, the drivers did not believe they had the ability to calm down, and later someone spread the word that Heizi and others were related to Mengchu, and some people said that Heizi and others were sent by Mengchu, and gradually some drivers believed it.

  The miners were delighted. They are ordinary people who want to earn more money but fear accidents. Since someone has taken responsibility for the accident, everyone can now boldly make money with peace of mind.

  It started with just a few daring drivers, and when nothing happened for over a month, about 70-80% of the drivers began to transport coal to Hei Zi.

  Of course, everyone won't be too blatant either. They usually do these things at night and less during the day. The daytime is used to transport the ore away.

  The first month went smoothly, and after a month, Heizi made over 600,000 yuan, earning a profit of nearly 300,000 yuan after deducting the investment.

  Hei Zi attaches great importance to credibility, so he called Meng Fei to explain the situation and transferred 100,000 yuan to Meng Fei's card.

  The second month arrived, and some people started looking for trouble with Hei Zi.

  Hei Zi didn't take it seriously at first, as those who came were just some small-time hooligans. Every day, Hei Zi's place was like a revolving door, with people coming and going, eating and drinking, and when they left, he would slip them a couple of packs of cigarettes. These small-time hooligans who came to cause trouble didn't even know who Hei Zi was before being sent packing by Zhuo Xiao Fei and the others.

  One night, a group of people with long knives came and claimed that this was the territory of Xinglong County, telling Hei Zi and others to leave immediately.

  Hei Zi stood at the door of the simple house, looking at these men holding long knives and thought that there must be someone behind this, he had to find out who was behind it.

  These men holding long knives were also mixed in society, they came just to extort some money. At the time when these people and Zhuo Xiaofei's group confronted each other, Heizi stepped forward slowly and asked: "What kind of people are you? Do you know what this place is for?"

  A man carrying a knife smiled and said: "Of course I know, Cheng Heizi brought people here to pick up the mine, we came to pick some too."

  Hei Zi burst out laughing and said: "You can't pick it up, I've contracted the entire slag field, it's a signed contract, it's normal business, and those who steal mines are completely different. If we also stole mines, we would follow the rules of stealing mines. Now that we have contracted the slag field, this rule has changed."

  The men holding long knives listened to Hei Zi's theory and thought it made sense. These people can fight and kill, but they are not bandits, they are just a group of thugs. They need to find targets that break the law, they don't dare to cause trouble for legitimate units. If they dared to rob banks, they would have done so long ago.

  Hei Zi took out the contract and these people were stunned. The smarter ones realized that Hei Zi had a powerful backer, and they began to waver.

  "Hei Zi didn't miss the opportunity to ask: 'Who is your eldest brother? In a few days, I'll have time to find him and sit down with him. It seems we need to have a good talk.'"

  A young man of seventeen or eighteen years old came out from the crowd and said: "Our elder brother is Yongping."

  Yongping, also known as Qian Yongping, is a big hoodlum in Xinglong County. In recent years, he has made a fortune from the mines and keeps a group of people under his control. These people spend their days extorting money from others, and all the mining pits and ore dressing plants in the area have been extorted by him. The owners of private mines can't even mention his name without gritting their teeth in anger.

  Hei Zi smiled at the young man and said: "Pass a message to him, tell him that I, Cheng Hei Zi, have some free time and would like to sit down with him."

  These mixed children were persuaded by Heizi and hastily ended.

  The mixed-bloods in Xinglong County are not a big threat to Heizi, as he says that what I'm doing here is legal. If someone causes trouble, I'll call the police, but Heizi still doesn't want anyone to come and harass him, after all, he's been picking up minerals and stealing things like this.

  Heizi met Yongping at the Bao Ta Restaurant, which was the largest restaurant in Xinglong County, decorated with gold and jade, like a nouveau riche.

  Xinglong County is a poor county. Since the iron ore price rose, people have been mining everywhere and some people have gradually become rich. The county-affiliated units used to be unable to pay the full-year salary, but later, toll stations for mineral taxes were built on several highways leaving Xinglong County, making the Xinglong County government a local tyrant.

  Bao Ta Restaurant is a place where people with heads and faces in Xinglong County often come. Hei Zi waited for Yong Ping in the hall for more than half an hour before he arrived. Hei Zi came alone to show his sincerity, while Yong Ping brought more than a dozen men. When he entered the door and saw Hei Zi alone, he was stunned, never thinking that Hei Zi would dare to come alone.

  Hei Zi, one of Yong Ping's subordinates, recognized a few people and easily guessed which one was Yong Ping. He stood up and walked towards Yong Ping.

  Yongping had too many acquaintances, so he nodded and greeted the people around him as he walked towards Heizi. When they faced each other, Heizi smiled and extended his right hand, saying: "You're Yongping, aren't you? Nice to meet you, I'm Cheng Heizi."

  When the two hands clasped together, Yongping felt a kind of aura on Heizi that ordinary people didn't have. This aura made him feel a chill run down his spine. Having mixed with all sorts of people for many years, Yongping couldn't help but think of a hitman he had met before who killed people for money.

  "Hei Zi brothers, what did you used to do?" Yong Ping's tone was involuntarily very gentle.

  Yongping's sudden change left the people behind him wondering what had happened, and they did not expect that Yongping, who was usually arrogant and domineering, would suddenly become harmonious with Heizi after shaking hands.

  "Hei Zi smiled and said: 'I was a soldier for three years, I just returned last year after retiring from the army.'"

  What kind of soldier was he? He didn't ask, but he knew that Hei Zi belonged to the kind of soldier who had killed people before. Otherwise, he wouldn't have this particular aura about him.

  Entering Yongping's pre-arranged elegant room, Yongping became increasingly polite to Heizi, addressing him as "brother" or "younger brother", just like an old friend they hadn't seen in years.

  Hei Zi also felt strange, why Yong Ping was so good to him. When drinking, Hei Zi and Yong Ping talked about each other's situation. In fact, what Yong Ping did had no conflict with Hei Zi at all. Soon, Hei Zi also had some good feelings towards Yong Ping, and the aura on Hei Zi that made Yong Ping's heart beat faster disappeared without a trace.

  Yongping felt the pressure from earlier was gone, Heizi was just an ordinary young man, he also started to chat and laugh, after a few cups of wine, Yongping asked: "Heizi brother, have you ever killed anyone?"

  Yongping's question made his subordinates nervous, and they still treated Hei Zi as an enemy.

  Hei Zi raised his wine glass and took a sip, as if entering a memory, saying: "Killed, when you're being chased by more than ten people holding assault rifles, what would you do, kill them or wait for death?"

  "Of course I killed them." Yongping said with both hands wrapped around his wine cup.

  Hei Zi nodded and said, "That time our small team was captured except for me. They had twenty or thirty people, we only had eight. They sent out over ten people to chase and kill me. The order we received was not to give them an excuse, if captured then commit suicide. It would take three or four days for them to bring my comrades back to their country. I must kill those twenty or so people in three or four days to rescue my comrades, otherwise they would be dead for sure."

  Kuroko's story was so fascinating that Akashi's subordinates were completely absorbed in it. A young man asked, "What happened next?"

  "Later, none of these people were left, they were all killed by us."

  Hei Zi finished speaking and fell into contemplation, as if he had returned once again to the icy skies and snowy lands of the south, back to his comrades' side.