sinovels Chapter 1656 Wang Meilan, the Most Ruthless Woman in Lingxi
Chapter 1656 Wang Meilan, the Most Ruthless Woman in Lingxi
Chapter 1656 The Most Ruthless Woman in Lingxi - Wang Meilan
In Zhao Jun's area, the process of gathering people for a group fight is called "code people".
The Pang family is the largest ginseng gang in Yong'an. Pang Zhendong is the leader, and Pang Gaoming is the second leader.
Pang Gaoming didn't get his position as the second-in-command through connections. In the process of ginseng hunting and searching for ginseng in the mountains, the most experienced leader stands at the head of the group, and the second-in-command stands at the end.
Pang Gaoming was the one who stood at the very end; he was truly the second-in-command of the Pang family gang.
Today, Xie Sunshi and Li Tongyun joined forces and took down two of the most important figures in the Pang family gang, which made Pang Gaosheng furious when he returned from work.
Hearing Pang Gaosheng clamoring to recruit more people, Pang Zhendong, whose head was wrapped in bandages, quickly stopped him, saying, "Second brother, you can't just do this recklessly."
"What's wrong, Dad?" Pang Gaosheng stared wide-eyed at Pang Zhendong, asking in confusion, "Why don't we go find him after he beats you and my older brother like this?"
"What are you looking for?" Pang Zhendong said with a frustrated look in his one eye. "Do you think we can mess with the Zhao family? Didn't you see what a scene it was like when their child got married the other day?"
On the day the Zhao family held their event, neither Pang Zhendong nor Pang Gaoming, who had been beaten up today, went; instead, Pang Gaosheng did.
After returning from the Zhao family, Pang Gaosheng told Pang Zhendong and Pang Gaoming about the leaders who had gone to the Zhao family to handle matters.
The five villagers hadn't arrived yet, but Chu Anmin's mere presence was enough to intimidate anyone.
When Zhou Jianjun married Zhao Chunming, the entire Pang family went to the wedding banquet. At that time, Zhou Chunming was already the production manager, but Director Chu did not show up.
This time, Chu Anmin came all the way to the mountain valley to attend Zhao Jun's wedding and even personally officiated at the wedding. This is something that the Pang family can't afford to do.
Pang Gaosheng was a forestry worker, and he naturally knew that the Zhao family was not to be trifled with. But seeing his father and brothers beaten up like that, Pang Gaosheng said indignantly, "So what if they're powerful? We didn't do anything to them, so why are they beating us up?"
To be honest, when Pang Zhendong and Pang Gaoming went there today, the father and son really didn't intend to cause trouble. They just wanted to discuss with Xing San whether they could buy the ginseng seedling from him at a relatively low price.
Unexpectedly, Xing San had a bad temper, and Pang Gaoming couldn't control himself and pushed Xing San. Then the father and son were beaten up.
"I'm not going to work tomorrow!" Pang Gaosheng was a bit out of control at this point. He slammed his hand heavily on the kang table and said, "I'm taking people to Yong'an. I'm going to find Zhao Youcai and ask him what's going on! Why did they beat us up like this? Does the Zhao family think they're big shots? Or are they armed with knives and guns?"
“Exactly! Go find them!” As soon as Pang Gaosheng finished speaking, Pang Zhendong’s wife chimed in, “There’s nobody here!”
Zhao Chun had said the same thing that morning, and both sides were holding their breath.
……
"Alright, Jun, don't be angry." At the Zhao family dinner table, Zhou Jianjun saw his brother-in-law with a long face and quickly advised, "Tomorrow when I get to work, I'll go find Pang Gaosheng and ask him what happened."
“Brother-in-law, you don’t need to worry about this,” Zhao Jun said. “I’ll go to Yongsheng to find them when I get back from the mountains tomorrow.”
"Oh, it's not that serious!" Xing San actually tried to persuade Zhao Jun, saying, "Alright, kid, I didn't lose anything, so let's just let it go. I already told your parents today that as long as they don't cause any trouble, we'll just leave it at that."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jun looked at Xing San in surprise. The first time he met Xing San, Xing San had almost stabbed Tao Ersheng and Tao Sansheng with a knife. At that time, no matter how Zhao Jun tried to persuade him, the old man was still angry and cursing.
Later, Xing San fought Qin Qiang for a large leather nest, and Qin Qiang stabbed him again. When Zhao Jun learned of this, he rushed to persuade Xing San. But at that time, the old man was still shouting and cursing.
For some reason, the old man has changed his demeanor.
Seeing Zhao Jun looking at him strangely, Xing San smiled and said, "Kid, why are you looking at me like that?"
As he spoke, Xing San pointed to the copper pot and said, "Hurry up and scoop out the meat to eat, or it will get tough."
Seeing that Xing San truly didn't take today's conflict to heart, Zhao Jun's anger subsided somewhat. But even if he didn't go to Yong Sheng to find Old Pang's family, Zhao Jun still felt he couldn't let them off the hook.
……
It's been a while since we've had hot pot with mutton. Zhang Yuanmin's family didn't come today, but there were exactly thirty people from the Zhao family. They ate a whole sheep, leaving only its head and four hooves.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the women helped Wang Meilan clean up the mess, and the men finished watching tonight's news broadcast.
Afterwards, the diners went home as families.
Zhao Jun, accompanied by Ma Ling, traveled the same route as Xing San. Taking this opportunity, Xing San whispered to Zhao Jun, "Kid, that blind man Pang is here for my Miao stick."
"What?" Zhao Jun's eyes widened. He only knew that a conflict had broken out, but he didn't know why it had started.
No matter who asked at the dinner table, Xing San only said that Pang Zhendong and Pang Gaoming were causing trouble.
Upon hearing Xing San's explanation, Zhao Jun frowned and said, "This has something to do with the Shao family!"
At this point, Zhao Jun recalled the uninvited guests from the Shao family at his wedding, which further confirmed his judgment.
“That’s what I was thinking too,” Xing San said, and the three of them arrived at his small courtyard.
"Girl," Xing San called to Ma Ling, "why don't you come over to your grandpa's house and get acquainted with the place?"
"Hmm?" Seeing Zhao Jun and Xing San whispering to each other, Ma Ling didn't go forward and obediently followed behind Zhao Jun.
Hearing Xing San call her to come inside and familiarize herself with the house, Ma Ling looked at Zhao Jun.
"Let's go." Zhao Jun took Ma Ling's hand and said, "Let's go sit at Uncle San's house for a while."
Knowing that the two had something to say, Ma Ling followed them into Xing San's house.
Although Xing San's house is not big, the family used to live a proper life, so the house is very tidy.
Zhao Jun led Ma Ling into the east room, felt the temperature inside, and then said to Xing San, "Uncle San, this room isn't cold."
"It's not cold," Xing San laughed. "Once the kang (heated brick bed) is heated, it's very warm."
In Northeast China, especially in Heilongjiang Province, centralized heating won't be available until May 1st. The forest areas are even colder, so people use stoves and heated brick beds in their homes until June.
Xing San usually spends the whole day at Zhao's house. But every afternoon around three o'clock, he would come back and heat the kang (a heated brick bed). That way, when he came back after dinner, the house would still be warm.
At this moment, Ma Ling, being very sensible, went to the outer room and picked up a broom to sweep up the cigarette butts that Xing San had thrown on the floor.
"Kid." Actually, Xing San didn't intend to hide it from Ma Ling. Seeing Ma Ling leave, Xing San said to Zhao Jun without any pretense, "Why don't you sell him to that idiot sometime?"
"Huh?" Zhao Jun was taken aback, then heard Xing San say, "I already said, no matter how much it sells for, it's all yours. After that, you can see if you can order a few more train cars of five-pound cars."
“Uncle, we won’t charter any more train cars,” Zhao Jun said. “We’ve already spent a lot of money, and with my Uncle Zhao’s share, we’ve chartered two more train cars. We’ve already secured the timber transport for these forest farms around here. I haven’t even considered taking on any more distant ones.”
After his rebirth, Zhao Jun had lost all ambition. He just wanted to stay home, protect his family and friends, and live a simple, down-to-earth life. As for money, Zhao Jun felt he had enough to live on now, and that was sufficient.
At this time, the regular timber customers' truck and freight services hadn't started yet, and he could handle the entire timber transportation business of the Shanhe Forestry Bureau. But that would take up too much of his energy, and seeing that Zhao Weipeng had settled down in Yong'an, Zhao Jun didn't want to travel all over the world.
But then Zhao Jun added, "Third Uncle, we'll do whatever you say about the club. If you say we'll sell it, we'll sell it..."
"No, kid," Xing San raised his hand to stop Zhao Jun, saying, "Whether you sell it or not, it's all yours. What I was thinking was..."
At this point, Xing San paused slightly before continuing, "I remember clearly what your great-grandmother said back then. What did she say? She said it's not that we're afraid of thieves stealing, but that we're afraid of thieves eyeing us. We're people who live our lives; we can't argue with them about that."
The phrase "people who live their lives" sounded somewhat ridiculous coming from Xing San's mouth, but Zhao Jun's attention wasn't on it at the moment. He thought about Xing San's words and felt that they made sense.
Thinking back to his previous life, wasn't Bai Sanzhi's family wiped out because of a conjoined ginseng?
Thinking of this, Zhao Jun's expression grew even more solemn. After all, one can only be a thief for a thousand days, not a thief for a thousand days, and he didn't think the Shao family gang or the Pang family gang were any good people.
Seeing that Zhao Jun remained silent, Xing San gently patted Zhao Jun's knee and said, "Kid, what do I mean? I've already told you. Whether you sell this club or not is up to you. Whatever price you make, it's all yours; I don't want a penny. And you don't need to give me anything; I won't take it even if you do."
At this point, Xing Sanyi spread his hands and said, "Let's not talk about anything else. As for my current life, if I can enjoy it for another two years, I'll have made my money's worth."
"What are you talking about?" Zhao Jun chuckled upon hearing this. Then he noticed the two large bundles on the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked Xing San, "I heard my dad say the other day, what's this? Are you packing your things to leave?"
"Hehe..." Xing San chuckled, not mentioning that he had wanted to stab the Pang family father and son back then.
Seeing that Xing San didn't speak, Zhao Jun didn't dwell on the matter. He simply said, "Don't go anywhere, just stay here peacefully. There are plenty of people going up the mountain tomorrow, so we'll go and pick out some pine wood for you and bring it back. We'll put it in the shed to dry in the shade. Once it's completely dry, I'll find someone to split it into planks."
"Okay, you can arrange it, hehe..." These days, old people don't mind these things; on the contrary, they're happy if their juniors take care of these matters for them. Listening to Zhao Jun helping him figure out his coffin, Xing San smiled with a kind, gentle expression.
"Kid, let me tell you something," Xing San instructed Zhao Jun. "On the day I leave, you don't need to arrange anything for me. Just pack up and send it out."
As he spoke, Xing San pointed out the window and said, "Don't you know where my third aunt lives? Just bury her there and it'll be fine."
"Let's talk about that later," Zhao Jun shook his head, interrupting Xing San. He wanted to bring Xing San's coffin over because he was afraid that if the old man really ran away one day, he would have nowhere to look for him. With the coffin here, even if the old man wanted to run away, he would have to find someone and a vehicle to transport the coffin for him first.
As soon as Zhao Jun finished speaking, Ma Ling, who had just finished sweeping the floor, asked from the outer room, "Uncle, I see your thermos is empty. Shall I boil some water for you?"
"No need, daughter." Xing San quickly replied, "I have a thermos in my room, I filled it with water this morning."
After speaking with Ma Ling, Xing San said to Zhao Jun, "I've told you everything I needed to tell you. Now that it's time, you two should hurry home."
"Alright, then you can tidy up and go to sleep." Zhao Jun got up and instructed Xing San, "Put away all the things from those two big buns."
"Okay," Xing San replied, "I won't see you two off. Take care."
Zhao Jun and Ma Ling left the courtyard and arrived home in less than two minutes. Throughout the journey, Zhao Jun appeared somewhat worried.
He was considering Xing San's suggestion to sell the wild ginseng hidden in the jar.
The Zhao family isn't short of money right now, so they can choose whether or not to sell the ginseng. If they do sell it, it's to prevent those two groups from eyeing it.
Then they need to know that he sold the ginseng. Since Zhao Jun knows the ginseng trade, whether he sells it in Lingnan or goes down the mountain to Daohua County, the two ginseng gang leaders can find out as soon as they investigate.
But in doing so, they knew that the Zhao family was wealthy. Although the entire Lingxi region now knew that the Zhao family was rich, they only thought that the Zhao family had tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of yuan. No one expected that the Zhao family already had assets of several hundred thousand yuan.
If Zhao Jun really sold the club for several million, and the Shao and Pang families found out, it would probably cause even more trouble.
"No way!" Zhao Jun sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and muttered to himself, "I can't admit to this no matter what. If it doesn't work, then do it! Damn it!"
"What are you muttering about?" Suddenly, Ma Ling's voice interrupted Zhao Jun's thoughts.
Zhao Jun looked up and saw Ma Ling carrying in a basin of water for washing feet.
With a wife like this, what worries could I possibly have?
"It's nothing," Zhao Jun said, but Ma Ling pressed on, "Then why did I hear you swearing?"
"Oh dear!" Zhao Jun sighed softly, and said with a wry smile, "I have some worries."
"What's wrong?" Ma Ling sat down next to Zhao Jun and asked, "Wait, something feels off about me today. It's like something's happened at home?"
"It's nothing serious," Zhao Jun smiled and said, "It's just that we have too much money at home, which is a bit of a hassle."
Ma Ling: “…”
Hearing Zhao Jun chuckle, Ma Ling knew he was teasing her, so she immediately punched him twice with her small fists.
It's great to be young; the young couple bickered and teased each other, and then ended up in bed together.
……
At 10 p.m., Zhao Jun and Ma Ling were fast asleep. Only Zhang Yuanmin's house had its light still on in the entire village.
In the outer room, Yang Yufeng and Xiaolingdang were washing the dishes. It was past eight o'clock when the Yang family's relatives finished eating, and they still had to walk back to Yongfu Village, so Yang Yufeng didn't ask the women in the family to help clean up and just let them go.
These days, any woman who lives a decent life doesn't leave the dishes to be washed the next day; she washes them immediately after eating.
Seeing so many bowls, chopsticks, cups, and basins piled up in the big pot, Xiao Lingdang couldn't bear to see Yang Yufeng doing the work herself, so she came out to help, leaving Zhang Yuanmin alone lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) having a seizure.
The last time Old Yang's family invited Zhang Yuanmin's family of three over for a pork stew, their attitude towards Zhang Yuanmin's family changed.
Needless to say, today, at the dinner table, all of Old Yang's relatives were praising Zhang Yuanmin and chatting with him, which greatly satisfied Zhang Yuanmin's vanity. He couldn't help but sigh: No wonder my aunt is so happy to show off.
But after the guests left, when Zhang Yuanmin lay alone on the kang with his legs crossed, a sense of emptiness welled up in his heart again.
For some reason, Zhang Yuanmin felt empty inside and couldn't help but sigh.
Then tonight, Zhang Yuanmin had a very long dream. At the beginning of the dream, he was carrying a chainsaw and went up the mountain with Chen Dalai. Chen Dalai shot a black bear to death in its cave. Then he used the chainsaw to cut down the tree, revealing the black bear's carcass. The two of them successfully gutted and removed the gallbladder, and grinned at each other.
The scene then shifts to him stuffing detonators and explosives into a cave in a rocky area.
As soon as the fuse was lit, there was a loud "boom" and the ground cracked and rocks collapsed. A large brown bear had just climbed to the cave entrance when its lower body was blown away.
No matter how resilient a bear is, a large brown bear without half its body is helpless. Chen Dalai shot the bear in the head, then opened its abdomen and took out its gall bladder. Chen Dalai then held the gall bladder in both hands and respectfully handed it to Zhang Yuanmin.
When Zhang Yuanmin received the bear gall, Chen Dalai, who had been empty-handed, gave a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "The Little Zhuge Liang of Yong'an truly lives up to his reputation!"
Amid Zhang Yuanmin's loud laughter, the scene changed.
Black Tiger and Little Bear lay to one side, Zhao Jun sat lazily in the distance, while Zhang Yuanmin and Xie Chen were diligently sticking large wooden sticks into the ground under a tree.
The large wooden stick had sharp points at both ends, with one end stuck into the ground and the other end pointing upwards.
Three trees stood side by side in front, with the middle tree at waist height. A black bear was hugging the trunk, constantly tilting its head left and right to look down.
After setting up the traps under the trees, Zhang Yuanmin and Xie Chen each took a stick and nimbly climbed up the trees on the left and right sides.
In the blink of an eye, the two appeared on either side of the black bear, and they began to beat it with sticks.
The black bear clinging to the tree waved its paws to defend itself, but inadvertently fell from the tree and landed right in the trap set by Zhang Yuanmin.
Sharp wooden skewers pierced the black bear's body, pinning it firmly to the ground. Zhao Jun was dumbfounded by the sight.
Next, Zhao Jun held Zhang Yuanmin's hand as he climbed down the tree and said sincerely, "Brother, from now on, everyone in the Zhao family gang, including myself, will obey your orders!"
Upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Xie Chen, who was standing next to him, nodded emphatically in agreement.
……
The next morning, after having breakfast, Zhao Jun and Ma Ling went to the Zhao family's old house to meet up with Wang Meilan and others.
Before the mountain worship ceremony today, we must first pay homage to Zhao Dazhu, Zhao Mushi, Wang Changfu, and Wang Zhangshi.
As a new bride, this was Ma Ling's first time visiting the graves of the Zhao family elders.
After visiting the graves, instead of going home, they head straight to Zhangguangcai Ridge to perform the mountain worship and opening ceremony.
For this reason, almost the entire Zhao family gang was mobilized. Zhao Jun, Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, Xie Chen, and Li Ruhai all gathered at the Zhao family's house waiting to set off.
As for the members of the Zhao Family Hunting Gang, Li Dayong and Lin Xiangshun had both gone to work, so only their leader, Zhao Youcai, attended the event alone today.
Zhao Youcai looked around and wanted Xie Zhong to come with him, but Xie Zhong said he wanted to wait for the results at home.
Yesterday, he and Xie Sunshi visited Liu Tiezui with gifts. The mother and son said a lot of nice things and offered two hundred yuan as a matchmaker's fee, which finally convinced Liu Tiezui.
Early this morning, Liu Tiezui went to the Zheng family in Yongfu to act as matchmaker for Xie Chen. Xie Sunshi, Xie Zhong, and Liu Lanying all took this matter very seriously and decided to wait at home for the result.
With Jie Zhong not going, Zhao Youcai really had no one to take him in.
As soon as everyone stepped out of the courtyard, they saw more than seventy people arriving from the west.
"Oh my god!" Wang Meilan was taken aback when she saw these people and asked, "Why are they here?"
Those who came were all mountain runners from Xishantun. Yesterday, Wang Meilan sent Li Baoyu to Xishantun to deliver an imperial edict, saying that they would be leaving by car today and would pick them up on the way.
But for some reason, they came on their own.
Wang Meilan looked at Li Baoyu, who quickly said, "Auntie, I told them to wait in the village."
Wang Meilan then looked at the people of Xishantun and listened to them complain about Zhang Xinglong.
They came all the way from Xishantun, all thanks to Zhang Xinglong's high profile.
Wang Meilan glanced at the old man and, though she didn't say anything, she had the idea of taking him down and replacing him with someone else.
This matter is not suitable to be discussed at this time. Wang Meilan invited everyone to get into the car.
The people from Xishantun climbed onto the Liberation truck, and Wang Qiang, Zhang Yuanmin, Li Baoyu, and Li Ruhai followed them onto the back of the truck.
The Jiefang truck was driven by Jie Chen, with the passenger seat empty, in preparation for picking up Xing San.
Zhao Jun drove the jeep, with Zhao Youcai in the passenger seat and Wang Meilan, Ma Ling, and Zhao Chun holding a child squeezed into the back.
As they set off from home, Pang Gaosheng was leading thirteen people past the Zhao family compound, heading towards the Zhao family's old residence.
These people didn't know where Xing San's house was, but they hadn't gone far when they saw Xing San hanging clothes out to dry in the yard.
They were all mountain runners from Yong'an and knew each other. The moment Xing San saw Pang Gaosheng and the others, he turned around and ran into the house.
"Hey?" Pang Gaosheng saw Xing San run into the house and thought Xing San was scared, so he immediately shouted, "Old Xing, you come out here!"
As soon as Pang Gaosheng finished speaking, a jeep turned the corner and drove this way, followed closely by a Jiefang truck.
Seeing more than ten people blocking Xing San's door, Zhao Jun instantly became furious.
"Isn't that Pang Gaosheng?" Zhao Chun, who also lived in Yongsheng, recognized Pang Gaosheng at a glance.
"Dad, don't get out of the car." At this moment, Zhao Jun instructed Zhao Youcai, "Don't show your face."
Zhao Youcai and Pang Gaosheng have been colleagues for many years, but Zhao Jun is not familiar with Pang Gaosheng, so he doesn't need to consider Pang Gaosheng's feelings.
Upon seeing the jeep approach, Pang Gaosheng knew that Zhao Jun was inside. This was because it was the only privately owned jeep in the entire Yong'an forest area.
Although Pang Gaosheng was angry, he wasn't stupid. He knew he couldn't fight a losing battle, so he came to reason with Zhao Jun. After all, his father and brother hadn't done anything wrong, yet one had his head cracked open and the other suffered multiple soft tissue contusions.
The jeep stopped in front of Pang Gaosheng and the others. As the door opened, not only Zhao Jun got out of the car, but Wang Meilan also got out.
Just then, Xing San ran out of the house with a sharp knife in his hand.
As soon as Xing San came out of the house and saw Zhao Jun, his expression changed immediately. He tucked his knife behind his back as he ran. When he reached Zhao Jun, Xing San grabbed Zhao Jun's arm with one hand and pointed at Pang Gaosheng and the others with the other, saying, "Kid, they're looking for trouble with me!"
Xing San himself didn't realize that at this moment he was like a child complaining to his parents.
"What are you doing?" Zhao Jun asked. Pang Gaosheng retorted, "What were you doing yesterday? Beating my dad and my older brother like that? Who did it? Tell him to come out here, I want to see."
Pang Gaosheng wanted to take the initiative, believing that Zhao Jun was completely in the wrong. He thought that Zhao Jun and his men should say something conciliatory to beg for his forgiveness.
To Pang Gaosheng's surprise, before Zhao Jun could speak, Wang Meilan turned around and shouted at the Jiefang truck, "What are you looking at? Get out of the truck!"
(End of this chapter)