Chapter 42 The Forty-Second Day of Not Running Away The Forty-Second Day of Not Running Away...

Chapter 42 The Forty-Second Day of Not Running Away The Forty-Second Day of Not Running Away...

"Brother Zheng, it's getting late, how about we go out for a bite to eat?"

As the year drew to a close and the weather grew colder, Lin Qingfeng and the others returned from a trip to the suburbs with Chen Bozheng, their faces weathered and their hats gray.

These days, they haven't even started to control sandstorms yet. As soon as autumn and winter arrive in Beijing, the air is indescribable. If you go out for a while, you'll come back looking like a little yellow man.

Chen Bo, wearing a mask and with his hands in his pockets, said, "Okay, it's too much trouble to do things at home. Let's call your family, and also Yanzi's family, and go eat hot pot together."

"That's wonderful!" Lin Qingfeng and the monks all showed joy on their faces.

"Fengzi, Zhengge, you're finally back." Chen Bozheng and the others walked towards the west courtyard, chatting and laughing, just as Liu Yan came out of the west courtyard carrying a bucket of water.

Chen Bo was stunned for a moment, looking at Liu Yan, "Yanzi, what are you doing..."

Liu Yan realized what was happening and laughed, "Oh, don't misunderstand, your wife is home. We just finished a big cleaning, so I'm taking this bucket home."

"She's back." Chen Bo's eyes lit up.

Liu Yan laughed and said, "That's right, she came back this afternoon. Your wife bought a lot of groceries, saying we should all have a meal together tonight. I'll come over empty-handed later to freeload."

"You're being too polite," Chen Bo said, exchanging a few pleasantries with Liu Yan while his eyes kept glancing towards the west courtyard.

Liu Yan, seeing this, couldn't help but smile. "Alright, hurry up and go inside. I see your wife has lost weight again."

Chen Bozheng's ears turned red, but he remained frank and open, saying, "Alright, you go ahead with your work, I'll go in and take a look."

The living room in the west courtyard was filled with the things that Fatty Wenchan had brought back. The eight-immortal table was wiped clean, and an enamel bronze incense burner was placed on it. Charcoal was added to the burner, but the water had not yet boiled.

Wen Chan was directing the fat man to take out the mutton and arrange it on a plate, along with the cooked vegetables they had bought, braised chicken, roast duck, and fried shrimp.

The table was piled high with food, and the aroma was irresistible.

Lin Qingfeng and the others couldn't help but swallow their saliva when they smelled the aroma and saw the dishes on the table.

"You're back quite early." Wen Chan heard footsteps, turned around, and saw several mud-covered figures walking in. She couldn't help but smile. "Where did you come from, covered in dust?"

"That's how it is when you come back from the suburbs." Chen Bozheng said, "When did you come back? Why didn't you tell us? I could have picked you up."

He spoke while looking at Wen Chan.

The fat man glanced at him and muttered, "Prioritizing women over friends."

The monk came over and tapped him on the head, then casually picked up a fried shrimp and put it in his mouth. Although the shrimp was a little cold, it was crispy and delicious, and the shell was fried through, making it very salty and fragrant.

“We just thought you were all pretty busy, and you’re not from out of town, so why bother picking you up when you could just take a taxi back,” Wen Chan said. “You must be hungry too, so hurry up and change your clothes, wash your face and hands, and come have dinner.”

Tonight's dinner was very plentiful.

Wen Chan invited Lin Qingfeng's family, Liu Yan's family, and Monk's mother over, filling a whole table.

As everyone ate and chatted, the chubby guy really stole the show, talking about his experiences in Shenzhen and Shanghai, which made his younger siblings, Lin Qingfeng, listen with wide eyes.

The monk's mother exclaimed incredulously, "A hotel room costs over a thousand a night? Really? Fatty, you're not kidding us. We may have never left Beijing, but we're not exactly naive. Hotels in Beijing don't cost that much a night; a hundred a night is outrageous!"

The fat man said, "Auntie, if you don't believe me, ask my sister-in-law. It's absolutely true."

The monk's mother immediately looked at Wen Chan.

"Good girl, you're more honest than him, do you think this is true or not?"

Wen Chan said, "There are only one or two places in Shenzhen that charge such high prices; it's usually not this price."

"See, I wasn't lying," the fat man said smugly. "Compared to Shenzhen, Beijing is really nothing. That place is truly dazzling with wealth."

The meal ended with the fat man boasting.

Fatty may not be good at anything else, but he is quite good at telling stories, especially about Shanghai food, which can make people's mouths water.

Lin Qingfeng's younger siblings couldn't help but swallow hard.

Everyone chatted and laughed, making a ruckus until eight or nine o'clock before packing up and going home.

Wen Chan didn't eat much. She held a cup and leaned against the sofa to rest, watching Chen Bo sweep the floor. When Chen Bo walked over, she kicked him with her foot.

Chen Bo was holding a broom. "What?"

"How exactly is your situation?" Wen Chan asked. "Why did you suddenly move to the suburbs? That place is so remote."

Chen Bozheng said, "It's not particularly remote; there's a highway there."

"Highway? Where?" Wen Chan asked, intrigued.

If we're talking about the most popular projects starting in the 1990s, it has to be infrastructure construction. Starting in 1990, a massive road construction campaign was launched across the country.

The saying "To get rich, build roads first" is absolutely true. Without highways and convenient transportation, how could the economy have developed?

"Do you know Yangcun in Mentougou?" Chen Bozheng asked. "The expressway was just built this year."

Yangcun?

Wen Chan didn't know the name, but if you mentioned Mentougou, then she would know it.

Chen Bozheng said, "The village chief there is willing to cooperate with us and give us land for free, but he asks us to provide some jobs."

Chen Bo put down the broom. "They need at least thirty jobs. I'm trying to figure out what to do."

Needless to say, the majority of the manpower at the auto repair shop comes from Lin Zhiyong's gang. They have the skills and a wide network, so we have to arrange jobs for them.

Otherwise, the other party might have some objections.

But these thirty jobs must be provided to the village. Putting aside everything else, the village gave us land, so it wouldn't be appropriate not to give them something in return.

Chen Bozheng has been troubled by this matter lately. Lin Zhiyong also doesn't know what to do about it, but he hasn't said anything.

Clearly, Lin Zhiyong meant that since Chen Bozheng wanted to be a leader, he had to act like one and do things in a way that satisfied everyone.

"How much land will they give us?" Wen Chan asked curiously.

Chen Bozheng gestured, "Thirty mu."

Wen Chan was drinking water when she heard this and choked. Chen Bo took out a handkerchief and handed it to her to wipe her mouth. As she took the handkerchief, she asked incredulously, "How much more?"

“Thirty mu,” Chen Bozheng said again.

Wen Chan rubbed her chin, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Such a large piece of land, given to you for free?"

"It's not free for me, it's for setting up a factory for us," Chen Bozheng corrected.

Wen Chan rolled her eyes at him, saying that the factory workers were the same.

Thirty acres of land, practically free. They wanted thirty jobs, but they really didn't ask for more.

This kind of thing probably only happens in this day and age. After all, once you leave the Second Ring Road, you're in the middle of nowhere, so nobody cares about the suburbs anymore, and land in the suburbs is even less valuable.

But Wen Chan knew that this land would be valuable in the future.

Putting aside everything else, housing prices skyrocketed after 2008, dragging down prices in Tianjin and Hebei, which are close to Beijing. This 30-acre plot of land is a real gold mine.

"You're really lucky." Wen Chan looked Chen Bozheng up and down, feeling a little envious.

Chen Bozheng was both amused and exasperated. "Is this what you call good luck? I'd rather have land in our district, but there are people blocking me from there."

"Tell me what happened," Wen Chan inquired.

Chen Bozheng simply explained the situation in detail.

Wen Chan frowned. "Is that Young Master Lin a second-generation rich kid?"

“Definitely,” Chen Bozheng said. “Otherwise, that guy surnamed Sun wouldn’t be so fawning over him.”

Wen Chan originally thought that the land in this area would be worth a lot of money in the future. Although it was not worthwhile to invest now, he thought that if he had more money in the future, he could buy a piece of land and build a residential area or office building, and make a lot of money.

But after hearing that she didn't get along with the man surnamed Sun, she changed her mind.

These days, the waters run deep. If you're clearly at odds with someone, investing in this area will likely result in you being ripped off.

"What about the application you submitted earlier?" Wen Chan asked. "Did you tell them you cancelled it?"

Chen Bozheng smiled.

He looked at Wen Chan, who was filled with confusion.

The next day.

China Merchants Group Office.

Sun Yongping was drinking tea and reading the newspaper when he heard a knock on the door. He called out in a loud voice, "Come in!"

Chen Bo and Wen Chan pushed open the door and walked in, each carrying a basket of fruit.

"Oh, it's you again." When Sun Yongping saw Chen Bozheng, his facial muscles stiffened for a moment, and he nodded as a gesture of greeting.

Chen Bo was placing the fruit basket on the table. "Section Chief Sun, it's almost the end of the year, isn't it? We need to find a construction team, so we came to ask when our application for land to build a factory will be approved?"

Sun Yongping held an enamel mug in his hand, glancing at the fruit basket out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that the basket only contained fruit, he curled his lip and showed a disdainful expression: "Hey, you people, really. It's only been a short time. Our Investment Promotion Bureau is busy with so many things every day, entertaining so many foreign investors and overseas Chinese. What's the rush for your little bit of investment? Just wait, the leaders won't be free until the end of January next year."

Sun Yongping's words were clearly meant to make things difficult for people.

Chen Bozheng already knew that Young Master Lin's investment started later than theirs, but now construction has already begun.

He smiled and said, "In that case, please withdraw our application documents."

Sun Yongping didn't react at first, but after a while, he exclaimed "Ah!" and looked at Chen Bozheng in surprise, sitting up straight. "What do you mean by this? Are you sulking with us? Giving us a hard time?"

Wen Chan rolled her eyes.

Otherwise, future generations would have to frequently rectify the situation. There are just too many people like Sun Yongping these days. They have a little power and they lose their bearings. They feel they can't show their official status unless they control the common people.

“We’re not being stubborn, we’re serious,” Chen Bo said. “We’ve thought it over. Building a car repair shop there isn’t really suitable. We were worried that the leaders would approve it, but thankfully you said they’re too busy, so I’m relieved. It’s better if my small investment doesn’t interfere with the leaders’ business.”

"Are you serious?" Sun Yongping raised an eyebrow. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

“Of course it’s true,” Chen Bozheng said.

"Alright, kid, you've got a tough temper. I'd like to see where you're going to build a factory." Sun Yongping took out the document that belonged to Chen Bozheng and his team from the drawer and threw it directly at Chen Bozheng.

Chen Bo was holding the document when he gave Sun Yongping a deep look before leaving with Wen Chan.

"What kind of person is he? A petty bourgeois, he'll never amount to anything in his life."