"Exactly, exactly!" The daughter-in-law hurriedly said: "If you find the sofa uncomfortable, I can let Jiang'er sleep with us. Worst case scenario, we can divide our room into two, wouldn't that solve the problem? Why move out when everything is fine? If you move out, what would our neighbors say about us? How would that let us stand firm in the factory?"

The daughter-in-law had a look of quiet resentment, yet she completely failed to recall how she had once driven Uncle Liu out with similar urgency. At that time, why hadn't she considered what the neighbors would say?

"No need," Uncle Liu said with a smile: "The house is small, and Jiang'er is growing up; he really does need a room of his own. I understand all these points."

"Dad..." The daughter-in-law became anxious.

"Stop saying anything more," Uncle Liu cut her off. He then took out a bundle of cash from his pocket, counted thirty notes, and said: "This is the 5,000 yuan wages Lin Chuan advanced to me as a pre-payment. Here are 3,000 for you, to buy something for Jiang'er. The remaining 2,000 will cover my expenses for moving out."

After speaking, Uncle Liu stood up and went back to his room to pack his things.

On the table, the thirty bright red banknotes were especially glaring.

The woman nudged her husband's arm and said: "You should hurry up and persuade him."

"Persuade what?" The husband said helplessly: "It was you who told him to leave initially, and now it's you who wants him to stay!"

"Oh, in the past, he had to depend on us. Now that he has a salary of 5,000 yuan, shouldn't you be clinging to him?" The woman's words were quite forthright.

The husband immediately became alarmed: "What are you getting at? Eager to peel off some money from him?"

"What else?" The woman waited for her husband's response: "Both of us toiling the whole month don't make as much as your old man in a month. If he could stay, our family's income would be nearly 10,000, and we could consider buying a house."

The husband shook his head and said: "Forget it. I'd rather leave my dad's money for him to use. I don't want people to criticize my backbone again."

"You!" The woman flared up angrily: "What do you mean by that!"

"What I mean is, let my dad move out," the husband stood up and then went back to his room to continue playing online games.

"You... you're infuriating me." The woman's combative temper flared up again.

At this moment, Uncle Liu, carrying a woven bag stuffed with his belongings, was heading out. The woman quickly chased after him and urgently said: "Dad, please... don't go. If you leave... Jiang'er... Jiang'er will miss his grandfather!"

In her helplessness, she could only resort to mentioning Uncle Liu's beloved Jiang'er.

Uncle Liu paused for a moment, then laughed and said: "It's okay, I'll come to see Jiang'er often."

With that, Uncle Liu went straight downstairs.

The daughter-in-law watched Uncle Liu's shaky figure disappearing, feeling uncomfortable. She clenched her teeth in frustration, profoundly aggrieved. Yet, there was overwhelming helplessness – who would have thought the old man would suddenly transform from a pile of dead ashes into a blazing fire? Had she known this would happen, she would definitely have treated him better back then, almost worshipping him as a deity.

Regrettably, it's no longer possible to start over.

At the entrance of Changlin Factory, Uncle Liang was also holding a bag. With a cigarette in his mouth, he saw Uncle Liu from afar and hurriedly called out: "Old Liu, finally coming out?"

"Yeah!" Uncle Liu nodded: "I've finally gotten free."

"Exactly!" Uncle Liang sighed deeply: "Finally free from that suffocating place. By the way, didn't your daughter-in-law try to keep you? Haha, my wife almost knelt down and begged me to stay."

"No, she didn't try to keep me," Uncle Liu shook his head.

"How can that be?" Uncle Liang was shocked to hear that.

"She was pulling for the money," Uncle Liu said with a smile.

"Exactly, exactly! You hit the nail on the head!" Uncle Liang eagerly gave a thumbs up: "To hell with it, when we had no money, they treated us like a piece of shit; now that we can earn money, they're worshipping us like gods. Who the heck needs that? Let's go!"

"Let's go!" The two set off together.

Their accommodation had already been arranged, located at the transport market, where there were many affordable houses for rent. Living there would not only make going to work convenient but also eating would be easier. Nearby there were many restaurants, and also options for communal dining. After all, as long as you have money, why worry about not having food or drink?

The two elderly men, carrying their luggage, walked slowly towards the direction of the transport market.

In the darkness, two figures emerged.

"Brother Chuan, you really called it." Zhou Kai exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah!" Lin Chuan took a drag of his smoke, squinting his eyes and said: "If you don't perish under oppression, you explode because of it."

"Sigh, if it were me, I would probably move out too," Zhou Kai sighed: "Who wants to face ungrateful offspring who only care about your money every day?"

"Moving out was the right choice." Lin Chuan glanced at the backs of the two elderly men.

In fact, whether it was right or wrong, probably only they themselves knew.

......

Since Feixiang Company signed the agreement with the Glory Group, the business of Feixiang Transport Company had been booming. They purchased a few new small transport trucks, which were responsible for delivering sand and cement to neighborhoods in the eastern district of the city every day. Meanwhile, those five eight-wheeled trucks delivered sand to the construction sites owned by the Glory Group every day. As for the repair shop of Feixiang Company, it also brought in a considerable profit due to its good location, situated right in the transportation market, meaning that many trucks from the transportation market would stop directly at the repair shop's door for maintenance, saving them the trouble of looking for another service station.

Seeing the business of Feixiang Company flourishing, and the business at Haiqing Pool gradually warming up, Feng Taibao became restless.

"It seems like it's time for us to make a move," Feng Taibao gathered his subordinates and once again huddled together in the tea room to discuss.

"Hmm," Long Wu nodded and said, "Master Bao, when will the Feiying Gang be in place?"

"They can be in place at any time," Feng Taibao frowned and said, "As soon as we give the order, they'll immediately come over from the provincial city."

"Then that's easy," Long Wu's eyes flashed with a hint of murderous intent, "Let's gather our forces and deal a destructive blow to Lin Chuan's crew. I refuse to believe they can withstand it."

"This time, we must reclaim the dignity we have lost at all costs," Feng Taibao squinted his eyes, a jade cigarette holder in his mouth.

"Master Bao, give the order," Long Wu slammed the table and said, "Just give the command, and I, Long Wu, will rush to the forefront."

"Good, there's no better day than today; let's do it tonight," Feng Taibao's eyes glinted sharply, "Tonight, we gather forces from all directions, and we must take over the turf of Haiqing Pool and the transportation market!"

"Yes!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

The night was calm with a gentle breeze. At the end of April, the temperature had risen sharply, and Jiangbei City was already abloom in the warmth of spring. The rise in temperature had brought out even more women in the streets dressed in cool spring attire, with black sheer stockings, light camisoles, and short skirts...

In the streets, there was a bustling flow of people and unceasing traffic. Despite the tranquil night, the faces of the passersby were adorned with brilliant smiles.

Although the night was quiet, beneath its quiet backdrop, there were surging undercurrents.

At the highway intersection, five or six silver-grey vans headed straight towards the city. In the first silver-grey van, a young man with a nose ring sat in the passenger seat, legs propped up on the dashboard. He glanced at a sign ahead and asked, "Are we in Jiangbei now?"

"Yes!" A follower next to him quickly nodded and asked, "Brother Hong, why did the boss send us to Jiangbei City to help the Thirteen Grand Protectors this time?"

"How would I know?" Brother Hong shook his head and responded, "We just follow the orders of the boss; why question it?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The followers eagerly nodded.

Soon, the five or six vehicles stopped at the Eight Horses Tea House.

Feng Taibao greeted them at the door with a group of people. Seeing the visitors arrive, some fifty or sixty people squeezed out of the vehicles. Feng Taibao quickly stepped forward to welcome them, "Brothers, you've had a long journey. After tonight's battle, it's my treat—you can eat whatever you want and play whatever you want!"

"Master Bao is too polite," Brother Hong smiled and said, "Let's get to work first. We can go back to report to the boss after we're done."

"That's right," Feng Taibao nodded and said, "Tonight's plan involves a divided operation."

"Let's hear it," Brother Hong, with a cigarette in his mouth, a tuft of purple hair on his head, a skull necklace around his neck, and a nose ring that made him stand out as feeling very out of place, like a person of punk or non-mainstream subculture.

Feng Taibao quickly pulled Brother Hong aside and began discussing in whispers.

......

The transportation market was generally locked up tight at night, leaving only a few of the brothers to manage the office and Feixiang Company's on-duty shift.

It was past nine at night, and Zhou Rui had not yet finished her work. For some reason, this girl had become remarkably dedicated recently. If it had been in the past, she certainly wouldn't have been so committed. Before Lin Chuan agreed to her conditions, she would leave work punctually at five every afternoon. But now, she stayed until after eight every night, as if there were an endless amount of work to do every day. Who knew that this girl was actually preparing an ambitious proposal?

"Mr. Zhou, haven't left work yet?" Li Qiang asked curiously.

"Hmm," Zhou Rui shook her head, "I haven't finished the work at hand. Why don't you all go first?"

"No, I'll stay," Li Qiang quickly said, "Brother Chuan told us to take care of your safety. If anything happens to you, we're done for."

Pfft...

Zhou Rui covered her mouth and laughed, "Do you all really listen to him that well?"

"Of course!" Li Qiang nodded quickly, "What kind of person is Brother Chuan?!"

"Tell me, what kind of person is he?" Zhou Rui asked curiously.

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