Chapter Fifty-Seven: Punishment

  Su Tong felt very surprised and said: "What are you doing? Get out of here."

  "Sister, this is all my fault, I shouldn't have let you take the lead. Whatever happens, come at me." Su Lun said firmly.

  Su Tong looked at his younger brother with some surprise, staring at him as if he had just met him. After a long time, he finally said, "You've grown up."

  Su Lun smiled happily and then said to Zheng Zhihu: "This boat was called out by me, at that time my sister was not at home, so it has nothing to do with her. If you want something, come to me."

  "You little rascal, you're quite bold! Tell me, what is smuggling a crime?" Zheng Zhihu said with a smile.

  "This isn't something from my ship, I didn't ask them to buy these things."

  "So you're saying I'm framing you?" Zheng Zhihu said with a glare.

  Su Lun cupped his hands and said: "Of course, the humble commoner dare not say that the adult is wrong, but what I stated are all facts. I just want to ask the adult to understand the truth of the matter before making a conclusion."

  "This thing was indeed found on your boat, and everyone saw it with their own eyes. Isn't that clear enough? You say this boat is yours, the Su family's, and the people on it are also from the Su family? If so, what more do you need?" Zheng Zhihu jumped down from a height of one zhang and strode to Su Lun's front, saying.

  Su Leng was intimidated by the rapid-fire questioning and didn't dare to argue, standing there with his head down, not knowing what to say. The county magistrate came to his side, bowed his head and said to Zheng Zhihu: "Sir, I think..."

  "Scram, I wasn't talking to you, don't interrupt." Zheng Zhihu said angrily.

  The Tongzhi was scolded in front of so many people, and he was very displeased at heart. However, with Zheng Zhilong's reputation there, he didn't dare to argue with Zheng Zhitian, so he could only push him away with a red face and ears.

  Qin Luo Feng finally came to Zheng Zhi Hu's side and said: "Second brother, I don't know how to deal with this matter. Should we send it to the government or...?"

  "Huh, what kind of official are you? In the end, it's just a matter of officials and merchants colluding with each other. Nothing will happen no matter how many times they go back and forth. If you want them to stop committing crimes, you have to teach them a lesson and make them afraid. Do you understand? After living an easy life for several months, you've actually become kind-hearted?"

  "It's not like that, it's just that my boss said, in business, having one more friend is always better than having one more enemy, so..."

  Zheng Zhihu interrupted him and said, "Your words are right, but not entirely right. Do you know why? When dealing with bad people, if you don't teach them a lesson, they will never wake up. Let alone make amends, that's simply impossible. Unless you're stronger than him and he tries to curry favor with you. In today's world, what are so-called friends but relationships based on interests?"

  Qin Luofeng nodded silently. At this moment, a young man walked over from afar, who else could it be but Zhang Lei?

  Zhang Lei arrived, saw Qin Luo Feng, and then looked at the person beside him. Suddenly, his eyebrows jumped, as if he had seen someone he wanted to see very much. He looked around at the others, Tong Zhi, Su Lun, and Su Song were all there. These few people stood on the empty ground, surrounded by hundreds of people in several circles, the scene was extremely lively.

  "Boss, you're here." Zhang Lei hadn't even spoken yet when Qin Luo Feng enthusiastically introduced him, "This is the younger brother of the Admiral of the Navy, his brothers on the road call him Second Brother, Zheng Zhihu's."

  Zhang Lei was really shocked, and it turned out to be someone he had been wanting to meet. Zheng Zhilong's own brother! He happily went forward and said: "I've long heard of your great name, today I finally get to see you, and indeed the reputation is not in vain."

  "We've just heard Qin Mangzi talking about you on the boat. Now that I see you, you're indeed a young man. Have you heard of us?"

  "That's natural." Zhang Lei said: "The story of the two brothers dominating the sea, I've long been familiar with it, thinking about it day and night, hoping to meet you. When I learned that Qin Luo Feng and you have this relationship, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep all night, thinking that if I could get to know you, I would be fulfilled in this life."

  It feels great to be flattered, especially when it's by a big shot. Although Zhang Lei is still not worth mentioning in front of Zheng Zhihu, this doesn't stop Zheng from looking at him with great favor.

  "Indeed, you're quite the talker. By the way, was that hemp rope made by you? I've tried it out and it's very useful. How about we cooperate with the government? Our naval forces have many ships..." Zheng Zhihu said, extending an olive branch.

  Zhang Lei was taken aback, having heard that Zheng Zhihu was a straightforward person, although he was a fierce general, he lacked wisdom and strategy, and compared to Zheng Zhilong, he was even more so, but Zhang Lei did not know that he would be so direct.

  "Now... the national treasury is empty, and even military salaries cannot be paid. Where would we find money to purchase new things? If we cooperate with the government, losses are guaranteed, but if we refuse..."

  As expected, seeing Zhang Lei hadn't spoken for half a day, Zheng Zhihu's sword-like eyebrows furrowed and he glared, saying: "Could it be that Boss Zhang is unwilling to do business with the government?"

  "No, no, no, I didn't mean it that way. Being able to do business with the government is a dream come true for all merchants, how could I not be happy? What I'm thinking is, sir, your fleet is so large, and my workshop is just small, we can't produce that many hemp ropes at once. If you could give us some more time, when our production capacity increases, we'll replace the old ones with new ones for the fleet, it will be faster..." Zhang Lei said hastily.

  Qin Luo Feng also hastily said: "Second brother, this matter should be put on hold for now. The boss has only been doing business for less than half a year, how could he have that ability? You're not trying to harm him, are you?"

  Zheng Zhihu said suspiciously, "Really? Then it's best if the facts are as you say. Oh right, the main reason I came today is about the smuggling of the Su family's ships. I've heard that you two have never gotten along, so I'd like to hear your opinion."

  As soon as they heard this, Su Tong and Su Lun were both shocked and immediately looked at Zhang Lei. The current situation was extremely unfavorable to them, and Zhang Lei had always been incompatible with them, so it was impossible for him to speak on their behalf. He might even kick them while they were down. If Zheng Zhihu got angry, the entire Zheng family would not be able to withstand it - everyone knew what Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Zhihu used to do.

  Zhang Lei also looked at the two younger brothers, and when his eyes met Su Tong's, he suddenly felt a surge of emotion in his heart, which he had thought was strong enough.

  He had never seen such a pair of eyes, not even on Xiaolian's face. Deep to the point where it seemed to be able to see through your appearance and into the depths of your heart, Zhang Lei seemed to have an illusion that Su Tong had already seen through his cross-dresser identity.

  After a long while, Zhang Lei finally said: "How can I say this? As an ordinary citizen, I am not qualified to interfere with official affairs. Are you pushing me into the fire pit?"

  His words made Su Tong and Su Lun both breathe a sigh of relief.

  Zheng Zhihu said: "I didn't expect you to be a man of principle."

  "It's better to let bygones be bygones, rather than to keep grudges. If we both take a step back, things will naturally settle down and become minor issues. But if I were to kick them while they're down now, they'll just come after me again with even more resentment, and this cycle of hatred would continue. What's the point of living in such a state? Why not be magnanimous instead? I can enjoy what I have now and pursue what I want - isn't that great?"

  Su Tong's eyes flashed with an unusual light after hearing this, she came to Zhang Lei's face in front of everyone, bowed and said: "Mr. Zhang's words are like a sudden enlightenment for me, being able to have such profound understanding and such broad-mindedness, I admire you extremely."

  "Haha, little brother said it well, enemies should be resolved not entangled. If everyone thought like you, the world would be much more peaceful. However, this kid just dared to talk back to me, that's unforgivable, I don't have the temperament for that." Zheng Zhihu walked over and patted Zhang Lei's shoulder in approval.

  Su Tong sensed the atmosphere was not right and quickly said: "This humble girl is apologizing on behalf of her younger brother to Your Excellency, he's young and ignorant, hoping that Your Excellency will be magnanimous and forgive him this once."

  "Oh? You're his sister? Not bad looking at all..." Zheng Zhihu said with a smile.

  Su Lun suddenly rushed up and glared at Zheng Zhihu: "Don't even think about hitting my sister. The mistake was mine, come at me with whatever you've got."

  Zheng Zhihu only casually mentioned it, but didn't expect Su Lun to distort the meaning. Suddenly, he angrily shouted: "You're really something, do you think I'm that despicable? Originally, I still wanted to let you off easy, but now it seems like I have no choice but to teach you a lesson. Deputy Li, come out."

  That Deputy Li was also a burly man, standing there gave people an intangible sense of intimidation. He boomed in a loud voice, cupping his fists and saying: "What are your orders, sir?"

  "Go and blow up that ship for me." Zheng Zhihu said.

  "Huh?"

  “！！”

  Zhang Lei was startled, but Su Lun and Su Tong were stunned on the spot. Then, two loud explosions were heard, and under everyone's gaze, the cargo ship of the Su family slowly sank into the water.

  "What's going on?" Zhang Lei asked in confusion, originally thinking it was just a matter of spending some money, but unexpectedly it suddenly turned into this, he even felt that his thinking couldn't keep up with the rhythm.

  Su Leng's face fell, and he kept saying: "It's all over... it's all over..."

  "It's all your fault, just wait and see how the family will deal with you later. Although they don't ask about worldly affairs now... but... just you wait." Su Tong glared at Su Lun and said.

  Su Leng suddenly found some unknown courage and said: "Punish me if you must, I'm willing to accept it, but I won't tolerate anyone else coveting you!!"

  Su Tong stared at his younger brother in shock, unable to say a word.

  Zheng Zhihu said to Zhang Lei, "Nothing, just teach them a lesson and let them learn how to be human. Alright, I have to go to the capital city now. Old Zhang, don't forget our agreement."

  Zhang Lei said: "How can I forget that? Are you leaving now? Why not stay for a while, and let me play the host to entertain you?"