Chapter 150 The 150th Day of Not Running Away The 100th Day of Not Running Away...

Chapter 150 The 150th Day of Not Running Away The 100th Day of Not Running Away...

Even Wang Jianquan could tell that Chen Bozheng was in an exceptionally good mood.

He brought over a bill of lading for Chen Bozheng to sign, and joked, "Bozheng, your wife is back in China, and you're that happy?"

Chen Bozheng glanced at the order form, signed it, and laughed, "How could I not be happy? Don't even mention me, your wife celebrated your birthday a few days ago, and you were quite happy too."

Wang Jianquan gave a simple, honest smile and scratched the back of his head.

He felt embarrassed and changed the subject: "Well, I've made some progress with the comrades you asked me to find. I'll have them come over in a few days. They're all top fighters from the army. After retiring, they're having a hard time adjusting to life like me. Their skills are undeniable, and they're trustworthy people."

“Brother Wang, it’s not appropriate for you to come to our place. Your comrade-in-arms is also my friend. Let’s find a place to eat and meet up.” Chen Bozheng said considerately.

Although they paid for the person, he was introduced by Wang Jianquan, and Wen Chan's future safety will depend on his help, so they should be given more respect.

Upon hearing this, Wang Jianquan didn't think much of it. "That's fine too. It's been a while since I ate with those guys. I really miss them. Back in the army, we were all big eaters. We could eat eight ounces of rice in one meal. There was even a comrade who ate twelve big steamed buns in one sitting, which shocked everyone."

The two were chatting when Hua Lingfeng came in from outside, looking somewhat anxious.

Chen Bo glanced at him and asked, "Xiao Hua, what happened?"

Hua Lingfeng threw his wages on the table, leaned on it, and said with a dark expression, "I just went to Jingyang Community to settle the wages of those workers, and two thugs came over and told me that their fellow villager had an accident at the construction site and was hospitalized, and they want us to pay them 200,000 yuan in compensation."

"compensation?"

Wang Quanquan was stunned. "What's going on? We were already doing a good deed by helping that bastard Hu Cheng pay those migrant workers' wages. We didn't shortchange them a single penny, and we settled everything in person today. Who is this guy? Could he be some thug from the neighborhood trying to extort money from us?"

Wang Quanquan went out to work on construction sites and became a contractor; he'd seen all sorts of things, both legitimate and illegitimate.

Running a construction site, thugs come by every few days demanding protection money. It's not just one group; if I didn't stand my ground, I wouldn't be able to keep going.

Wang Jianquan slammed his fist on the table and said, "Did those two leave? Let's take some sticks and go out to confront them!"

Chen Bozheng stopped Wang Jianquan and looked at Hua Lingfeng: "What did you tell them?"

Without a second thought, Hua Lingfeng decisively said, "I just told them to get lost, and those two cowards really did leave as soon as I said they would."

Wang Jian breathed a sigh of relief. "They probably think we're easy to bully and came to test us. Don't worry, we outnumber them. If they really dare to cause trouble, we're not afraid of a fight!"

Chen Bozheng, however, felt that things were not so simple.

Their neighborhood has been under construction for so long and is known for making money. Some people have had their eyes on it before, but anyone who isn't a fool would dare to mess around if they did a little research on its name and background, including Wang Jianquan and Hua Lingfeng.

Chen Bozheng is no longer involved in gangsters, but Lin Zhiyong and his gang have a long-standing relationship with him. Gangsters are the type of people who bully the weak and fear the strong.

They dare to bully small business owners and street vendors, but they would never dare to offend someone with real connections.

Chen Bo thought for a moment, picked up his coat from the chair and put it on, then asked Hua Lingfeng, "Have all the workers over there left yet?"

"There should be a few more. Those few seem more honest, so I gave them an extra thirty yuan to help tidy up over there and check the goods so they can be brought over here later."

Hua Lingfeng said.

Chen Bozheng said directly, "Let's go over and ask about the situation."

Wang Quanjian was stunned for a moment, somewhat confused, but he followed along.

The Jingyang residential area was vandalized by protesting homeowners; the main gate was damaged, and the sales center was left in a mess.

Chen Bozheng hadn't had time to clean up this place before, but Hua Lingfeng was thoughtful and instructed the workers to tidy it up.

Those workers were all honest and hardworking, and they did their jobs very efficiently even without anyone watching them.

When Chen Bozheng and his group arrived, the workers were startled. After learning who Chen Bozheng and Wang Jianquan were, they hurriedly greeted them: "Hello, Mr. Chen, hello, Mr. Wang."

"Don't rush, have a smoke."

Chen Bo handed them a pack of cigarettes, his face all smiles.

The workers were flattered and somewhat at a loss when they saw that the cigarette was still smoked.

The older one, probably in his fifties, was thin and dark-skinned, but clearly the kind of person who worked hard. He asked, "Mr. Chen, is there something you need?"

"Old Wang, Brother Chen, ask them about those two thugs from earlier."

Hua Lingfeng asked, "Do you know them?"

Old Wang and his companions exchanged glances.

Old Wang said, "We're from out of town, and they're not close to us. But those two look familiar; they seem to be Old Yang's two nephews."

"Old Yang, which Old Yang?"

Chen Bo lit a cigarette for Lao Wang. Lao Wang felt a little embarrassed, cupped his hands in greeting, took a puff, and then looked back at the others. "It's that Lao Yang who had the accident, right?"

A rather burly man nodded: "Yes, that's Old Yang's nephew. They even brought Old Yang here to cause trouble before, demanding compensation from Boss Hu. Boss Hu ignored them, and they disappeared a few days later."

"So, he really did fall and get injured at the construction site?"

Chen Bo's heart tightened, and he asked, "How badly did you fall? Which hospital are you in?"

Old Wang and the others shook their heads. "We don't know. We're not familiar with them. They're locals from Beijing and look down on us migrant workers from other places. They hardly talk to us at all."

The burly man said, "Old Yang hasn't worked here for more than a few days. If you ask me, even if he really got injured, he shouldn't ask you for compensation. This construction site didn't belong to you before."

Chen Bo smiled at the man, thanked him, and then led Wang Jianquan and the others back.

Wang Jianquan realized what was happening and went back to Chen Bozheng, saying, "Are you worried they'll use this to cause trouble? You're overthinking it. Just like that guy said, the construction site wasn't ours before. Even if someone got injured or died, Hu Cheng should be the one to compensate and take responsibility. We've been cleaning up their messes and wiping the back of that bastard Hu Cheng's hands. These past few days we've been dealing with the homeowners, paying the migrant workers, and now we have to deal with the suppliers. We've done enough."

Chen Bozheng said, "You're right, but I think those two thugs are asking for an exorbitant amount, 200,000 right off the bat. They wouldn't ask for such a large sum for no reason. Since they asked for it, it means they think they might be able to get it."

Wang Jianquan hadn't taken this matter seriously before, but after hearing Chen Bozheng's analysis, he felt a pang of anxiety.

That makes perfect sense.

He asked, "Then why don't we ask Hu Cheng?"

Upon hearing this, Hua Lingfeng spat out the water in his mouth and looked at Wang Jianquan in disbelief: "Brother-in-law, Hu Cheng probably hates us to death now. There's no way he'd help us!"

Hu Cheng originally snatched this land from them, and because of this, Hu Cheng and Liang Wenxuan fell out. Later, there were many conflicts between the two sides. Now, if Hu Cheng has the opportunity to kill Chen Bozheng and his group, he will not let it go.

Chen Bozheng said, "Let's ask around tomorrow. If there's really no other way, we can try Hu Cheng. He'll probably get a long sentence, and he'll have to spend money in there."

Chen Bozheng's side has already taken this matter very seriously.

Unexpectedly, the other party came prepared.

The next morning, Chen Bo and Wen Chan were having breakfast at home. They didn't cook much at home and usually bought food from outside. The fried dough sticks, sesame cakes, and beef patties were freshly baked and piping hot, and the soy milk was also finely ground.

While they were eating, the monk and Wen Qunshu ran in with newspapers.

Wen Chan was drinking soy milk when she saw them come in and was taken aback. "So early? Why did you all come together?"

The monk handed her the newspaper, saying, "Sister-in-law, look at the news in the newspaper; it's about our construction site!"

Wen Chan glanced at it and frowned. Chen Bo looked over and was also stunned.

The newspaper article featured a reporter interviewing a construction worker who was injured and paralyzed while working on a construction site. The construction site was not concealed; it was directly named Jingyang Residential Area. The worker's surname was Yang. The interview also mentioned that his two nephews went to the construction site owner to demand compensation, but the owner was dismissive and even told them to get lost. The photo posted was clearly that of Hua Lingfeng.

"This is the news that's in all the newspapers this morning!"

Wen Qunshu took out several other newspapers and asked worriedly, "President Chen, will this affect you?"

No impact?

How could it not have an impact?!

Although the residential area is called Jingyang Community, the photos posted are clearly taken yesterday.

To say it was an accidental mistake or a misunderstanding would be to treat people like fools.

Wen Chan frowned. She knew how terrifying the media could be, especially traditional media, which had a great deal of authority. Many people didn't believe their own children, but they would take a single sentence from a newspaper or television as gospel.

These people don't bother to think about whether the news is true or not. When they see the news, they assume it's true and they all imagine themselves as the injured, paralyzed migrant worker who was asked to pay compensation and was humiliated.

Chen Bozheng has arrived at the construction site as soon as possible.

But upon arriving at the construction site, seeing citizens and reporters carrying newspapers still sent chills down my spine.

In this era, many things are very sensitive: the gap between the rich and the poor, migrant workers, private enterprises, and commercial housing are all the focus of public attention.

It's easy to imagine how troublesome and terrible it can become when all these problems come together on one event.

That evening, even all the television programs were discussing and talking about it.

When everyone arrived at Chen Bozheng's house, they watched as the reporter on TV angrily pointed at the Jingyang residential area in the dark and cursed Chen Bozheng and others for being rich but heartless. The atmosphere in the house was deathly silent.

When Hua Lingfeng returned from making a phone call, Wang Jianquan immediately stood up and looked at him: "How did it go?"

Hua Lingfeng shook his head. "Those reporters said they dared not report it, fearing it would provoke public outrage."

"What!" Wang Jian jumped up in anger. "Didn't those reporters say they wanted the truth? We gave them the truth and let them report the truth, so why aren't they reporting it!"