Chapter 20: The Story Shocks

  Author: Please cast your recommendation votes, during this new book period, I need everyone's support!

  Please provide the text you want me to translate.

  "Hey... Tang Sheng, why do I feel like you're being overly arrogant?"

  Ning Meng felt that something was off, and Tang Jin felt the same way. Indeed, Tang Sheng's words were too mature, but they couldn't deny how attractive it was, just like a knowledgeable professor standing on the podium giving them a lecture, with vast knowledge as boundless as the ocean that could drown them.

  "Ning sister, since you've come, I should at least take out something to entertain you. It wouldn't make sense for you to enter Baoshan empty-handed. And I don't want to miss the opportunity for you to speak on my behalf to Ning Daqu. So let's take these two female envoys for a stroll through Old Tang Alley. Besides, it's not possible for me to hold hands with Jin sister and Meng sister, is it? Only by holding your hands can I find that kind of transcendent feeling when telling old stories..."

  Tang Sheng said, without being polite, stretching out both hands, one to the left and one to the right, he took Tang Jin and Ning Meng's soft hands.

  Tang Sheng's boldness gave Tang Jin, Ning Xin and Ning Meng a new understanding. His unbridled and heroic spirit was unparalleled, that one part of his carefree and composed demeanor wasn't put on, "It's great, sisters! Holding your hands I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience in old Tang's alley, in ancient China having three wives and four concubines is the face of a successful man. Today let me be successful too."

  Tang Jin and Ning Meng simultaneously rolled their eyes, Ning Xin walked to the right of Ning Meng, she was sandwiched between Tang Sheng and her sister Ning Meng, Tang Jin was on the far left, the four people lined up in a row, heading into the narrow alley, stepping on the morning sun, walking in the old alley where smoke was rising.

  "...It's said that several decades ago, a famous figure emerged in Jiangling City. His surname was Tang, his name was Jing, and he went by the courtesy name Chongguan, with the nickname Ajiu. He was indeed the founder of the Jiangling Chamber of Commerce. Everything else is fine, but I must admit that I envy him for having nine wives..."

  Hehehe, the three girls couldn't help but laugh. Tang Jin covered her mouth with one hand and giggled lightly, while Ning Meng snorted softly, "So naughty!"

  "Cough... let's get back on track... this dilapidated and worn-out old alley was once the feng shui treasure land of the wealthy Tang merchants. The Tang merchants were once famous throughout the country, and during the Qing dynasty, the Republic of China, the warlord era, the Anti-Japanese War, the Civil War, the construction of New China, the Great Leap Forward, the special period, and the reform and opening-up, there was always a shadow of 'Tang merchants'. Their ancestors had been rooted in this old alley for generations. This is our Old Tang Alley's pride. Jing Jie, your great-grandfather was also a famous figure, but you don't remember much about it... After the 1980s, the 'Tang merchants' exited the historical stage and gradually declined. They scattered across the globe, although every year some descendants of the Tang merchants would return to Jiangling to pay their respects and visit Old Tang Alley, everything is now in the past."

  "...from the 1990s to the beginning of this century, it was the descendants of these Tang merchants who, with nostalgia for their ancestral land, made repeated investments in Jiangling, hoping to make the city more beautiful and prosperous. They also hoped that 'Old Tang Alley' could be preserved forever like a famous historical site, but this is just an extravagant hope, not allowed in the overall urban planning of modern cities, as these dangerous buildings pose a serious threat to the lives and property safety of the people."

  "What to do? Demolish it? Push it? The municipal government is in a dilemma, the district government is in a dilemma. Those Tang merchant descendants from other provinces who invested in Jiangling City have different opinions, should we consider them or not? If we demolish and push it, will it hurt their feelings? It's certain that it will hurt, because the city needs to develop and progress. The municipal party committee and government need to consider the overall situation. Some old cadres and party members who have dealt with the Tang merchant descendants before are holding back tears and yielding to the greater good. No one can stop the progress of society, no one can block the pace of the times..."

  "...all these problems can be solved, they are not problems, can be dismantled, can be pushed, dismantled can be rebuilt, pushed can be re-covered, dangerous houses can become new houses, dilapidated can change into new looks. The problem is who will do it, how to do it, do people want to make money? What role does the government play in this? What role do contractors play? Is supervision in place? Are there any problems with the resettlement plan? Does every participant in the Lao Tang Alley project have a sense of responsibility? From the perspective of society, livelihood, principle, conscience, law, policy, and everything reasonable...have the leaders of the urban area considered all these?"

  Several people walked a big circle, Tang Sheng's voice gradually became louder, brighter and angrier, and the faces of the two Ning sisters also changed.

  Many people around couldn't help but stare at the young man who had smashed Tang Yu's Mercedes-Benz a few days ago, wondering who he was going to clash with this time.

  Suddenly, Tang Sheng stopped in his tracks, turned around and gazed coldly at Ning Xin, staring deeply into her eyes.

  “…Xin Jie, go home and ask your father who is the district head, can the government do nothing? Can the district head do nothing? Don't be afraid of losing your official hat, justice is in people's hearts, ordinary people's eyes are bright, being afraid of offending this one and that one, if you were afraid from the beginning, then don't take office, hiding in the district government, ignoring public sentiment, only knowing how to sit and listen to reports, only caring about personal gains and losses, isn't it tiring? I'm still young, just a kid, but I know this, if the relocation case of Lao Tang Alley causes an incident, the municipal government will be held accountable, the secretary and district head will be the first to take responsibility and lose their official hats.”

  "...I no longer dare to smash the district head's car, wait until he becomes a commoner, then I'll lead dozens of households from Lao Tang Alley to shatter his windows. You go back and tell your dad that... actually these simple folk don't have many demands on the officials, they just want to face them and say a few heartfelt words, but this is harder than ascending to heaven... you can leave now, I'm just a poor devil who can't even afford lunch for you today. You're imperial envoys, so I put on this ugly face, another day when our roles are reversed, I'll treat you with enthusiasm!"

  In the end, Tang Sheng's mind flashed back to the scene of Tang Lao and his wife being buried alive. His eyes were filled with tears, but he held them back and didn't let them fall. He tightly grasped Tang Jin's hand and pulled her away, leaving behind the stunned Ning sisters and a street full of Tang villagers.

  Ning Xin was deeply shocked by Tang Sheng's words, the young man's words were not spoken from a young man's mouth, his tone was too mature and even surpassed that of many adults, the things in his mind shouldn't have belonged to him, and vaguely, one could sense the upright and righteous aura emanating from him.

  Ning Meng was also shocked for the first time, and it was as if she had met Tang Sheng for the first time. In the end, his eyes were filled with tears, which moved everyone's heart, including Ning Xin, Old Man Tang, Old Master Tang, Tang Wangping, Li Guizhen, and others who were quietly standing at the gate of the quadrangle courtyard.

  They all saw this scene and heard the last words that Tang Sheng said to the Ning sisters.

  The two old men of Tang's family held their canes with trembling hands, and the couple, Tang Wangping, showed a bitter smile, while others were stunned.

  "Sister... this guy is probably a radical youth, I didn't fully understand what he was saying, did you?"

  Ning Meng held her sister's hand and asked in a low voice.

  Ning Xin nodded slightly, and the beautiful eyes behind her sunglasses swept across the old alleys of the city, where ordinary people stood still. Each face was simple and honest, each pair of eyes helpless, and the white-haired elderly people trembled in the wind, their faces etched with the vicissitudes of life, their eyes a dull yellow and hazy...

  Suddenly, a surge of unprecedented enthusiasm rose from the bottom of Ning Xin's heart. Perhaps he should advise his old father to 'make a big fuss', just for this pair of expectant eyes, just for the most basic survival guarantee of the poor people in this alley, which is not excessive at all.

  Pulling her sister's hand, she slowly returned along the original road. Ning Xin didn't say a word, but her heart was turbulent.

  Tang Sheng also pulled Tang Jin's hand to the front of their courtyard house, Tang Jin's hand was shrinking back, crying out in a low voice, "......Let me go!"

  At this time, Tang Sheng's mind was not here, he was planning to call Tang Yu, the old Tang alley demolition wanted to proceed smoothly, and Tang Yu was still the most critical person, if he couldn't be dealt with, even if Ning District Director was willing to show up, it would not play the most crucial role.

  At this time, he saw Li Guizhen's gaze stopping at his hand holding Tang Jin's, and he suddenly came to his senses, hurriedly letting go of her.

  ……

  Ning Tianyou paced back and forth in the study with his hands behind his back, his thick eyebrows tightly furrowed, his eyes gleaming with a sharp intensity.

  Ning Xin looked at her old dad like this, as soon as she got home, she reported the situation in the morning to her dad.

  To be honest, she was really moved by Tang Sheng's 'story', in fact what moved her was Tang Sheng's scorching heart, he was only seventeen years old, just a high school student, but he was so sensible, his heart actually cared about the people's livelihood and hardships...

  This is a kind of extraordinary and lofty faith that is extremely inconsistent with his age, unlike what he should have at this age.

  Although she only spent a little over an hour strolling through Old Tang Alley in the morning, her feelings during that one hour were extremely deep. The dilapidated and outdated appearance of the alley, the pleading eyes of the poor people, the passionate and indignant words of the young people, all pierced her heart.

  "Dad, I know... there are a lot of things involved here, but I think..."

  Ning Tianyou waved his hand, interrupting his daughter's words. "Ning Xin, Dad has a plan in mind, but this pool of water is very deep..."

  "Dad, I understand you have difficulties, but if you go down and take a look, maybe your views will change..."

  "Girl, do you think I haven't been there? I've been there more than once. My understanding of Lao Tang Alley is deeper than that young whippersnapper's. But things in the officialdom aren't so simple. Tang Yu's 'Jiangling Real Estate' has obtained the relocation rights for Lao Tang Alley, and his attitude is crucial. Even the district government can't control him, because he has that person backing him up. I don't dare to mess with him!"

  As he spoke, a faint worry crept into Ning Tianyou's deep eyes. That person was Tang, the secretary of the municipal party committee!

  "Dad, as a parent and an official, you can't just sit back and let Tang Yu do whatever he wants, can you?"

  Ning Tianyou smiled wryly and shook his head, "For now, Tang Yu doesn't buy the district government's account, we can't come to an agreement..."

  "Maybe he can, Dad, Tang Sheng may be able to, why don't you try?"

  Thinking of Tang Sheng smashing Tang Yu's car, he didn't even get angry, it can be seen that this young man is different from others, and he must have a background.

  "Give it a try... You have to give it a try, girl. You and this kid interact again, listen to his ideas."

  "Alright, I'll go again. Anyway, I have nothing to do this afternoon." Ning Xin nodded in agreement.

  Ning Tianyou took a deep breath and puffed out his chest. Could I just watch Tang Youhu come? No, absolutely not!

  P.S: Floating and sinking will continue to bless the second sister of Qin for good fortune and peace until she is discharged from the hospital!

  …………