Chapter 66: So He Took a Bullet in His Past Life, No Wonder He Looked Familiar!

Xie Zhao finished counting the money, slipped it into his pocket, and looked up. “What?”

“Like investing, doing a bit of business, trading southern goods in the north. Ever heard of it?”

Zhao Wuyi lowered his voice as he spoke.

But the moment Xie Zhao looked down, the smile on his lips faded.

Trading southern goods in the north, to put it bluntly, was speculation and profiteering. What was more, a national crackdown was about to begin. The entire country would be strictly regulated and raided; anyone caught back then would end up eating a bullet.

Xie Zhao obviously had no intention of risking his neck.

At the very least, he did not currently have the capability to pull off something like this.

“I’m sorry.”

Xie Zhao smiled, stood up, and said to Zhao Wuyi, “I just got married, and my child is still small. I’m not cut out for running a trade business.”

He politely declined, then handed Zhao Wuyi an Ashima. “Please don’t take offense.”

Zhao Wuyi’s face stiffened slightly.

But he took the cigarette anyway, waving his hand with a laugh. “Not at all. I was just asking. If it doesn’t work out, then forget it. We can always collaborate next time if there’s a chance.”

With that, Xie Zhao called over Xie Cheng and Sanliuzi, and they left.

On the empty street, none of the three saw Zhao Wuyi’s gaze suddenly turn cold.

Others might not know, but how could he not?

This kid.

He was even smoking Ashima now. He must have made a fortune!

How much could it possibly cost to buy these river snails from the villagers?

At most, a few cents!

With all this back and forth, he was making a net profit of several hundred yuan!

He, Zhao Wuyi, wasn’t a greedy man. If the kid had just given him a hundred or two as a kickback, he would have let this matter slide.

But this kid just had to be blind to his hints!

Wanting to keep it all to himself… did he really think money was that easy to make?

How naive!

*

After Xie Zhao sent Xie Cheng and Sanliuzi on their way, he headed straight for the Dance King Dance Hall in the north of the city.

He had made a point of waking up early to go to the county seat today, so it was only nine-thirty when he arrived at the entrance of the dance hall.

It was during working hours, so there was hardly anyone at the entrance. Wu Liu wasn’t selling sunflower seeds either; he was squatting by the door, smoking, with three other men standing beside him.

Despite the dead of winter, the three men had their collars wide open. They wore cotton-padded jackets on the outside, but underneath were sweaters of various colors. On their lower halves, they wore army-green buckled trousers, and on their feet were blue-and-white rubber-soled sneakers. Their hair was heavily slicked back with pomade.

They were smoking and chatting about something. The stockiest man with a scar on his face, who was leading the group, burst into loud laughter.

“Damn! Did you guys see that girl in the hair salon yesterday? She’s a real looker! Just whistling at her made her face turn red with embarrassment!”

Cheng Gang smacked his lips and took a drag of his cigarette. “Go find out her name for me tomorrow! Keep it low-key, don’t go scaring the girl! I genuinely like her. I want to win her over and bring her home to be my wife!”

Wu Liu nodded with a grin, quickly stood up, and handed Cheng Gang another cigarette.

“Don’t worry, Brother Cheng. Is there anyone I can’t dig up info on?”

Once they finished speaking, the group burst into laughter again.

Xie Zhao stood a short distance away and watched for a moment. He felt the scarred man looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t place him.

Deciding not to dwell on it, he walked over.

“Wu Liu,” he called out.

“Did you bring the Special Supply Fabric Coupons?”

Wu Liu turned around and saw Xie Zhao.

He nodded with a grin. “I brought them. My big brother brought them over himself!”

Cheng Gang noticed Xie Zhao.

He lazily shook his leg, sizing Xie Zhao up from head to toe. “You’re the kid buying the Special Supply Fabric Coupons? Why do you look so familiar?”

Cheng Gang hadn’t come here specifically for this.

He had taken a liking to the new girl at the hair salon and went there every day. Since he had heard Wu Liu asking him for twenty Special Supply Fabric Coupons, he decided to drop by.

He had heard from Wu Liu that this kid was a big spender, clearly someone who wasn’t short on cash.

He was highly curious.

Hudong County was only so big. When did a wealthy new kid pop up?

How come he didn’t know about it?

But the moment he laid eyes on Xie Zhao, he felt the face was familiar, though he couldn’t recall where they had met.

Xie Zhao smiled and said, “We might have crossed paths before. My name used to be Chen Zhao.”

“Chen Zhao?”

Tch!

He remembered!

“So you’re that Fake Young Master from Chen Donghai’s family? No wonder you looked familiar!”

Hudong County was small, and since Cheng Gang didn’t walk a straight path, he had at least a passing familiarity with anyone who had even a bit of social standing.

He had seen Xie Zhao once or twice in the past, but only from a distance, and he hadn’t bothered to say hello.

They weren’t close, after all.

But when the Chen Family had that whole drama earlier this year, he couldn’t have missed it even if he wanted to.

It had been the talk of the town for a while, serving as a minor laughingstock.

Cheng Gang stroked his chin, clicking his tongue as he gave Xie Zhao a thumbs-up. “You’ve got guts, kid. Making a comeback on your own? You can even afford Special Supply Cloth now!”

Xie Zhao smiled and handed him a cigarette.

Just like Cheng Gang, the more he looked at the man, the more familiar he seemed.

He smiled and asked, “How should I address you, Brother?”

Being called “Brother” made Cheng Gang beam with pride. People like him cared about nothing more than face.

“Cheng Gang!”

He waved his hand, took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and pulled a stack of Special Supply Fabric Coupons from his pants pocket to hand to Xie Zhao.

Then he turned to call his two lackeys.

“Let’s go, let’s go! Time to help Zhao the Third collect some debts! That useless bastard can’t even collect a single debt…” he said, turning around.

But the moment Xie Zhao heard the name Cheng Gang, his eyes narrowed!

He remembered!

He remembered why Cheng Gang looked so familiar. It was because he had seen him in the newspaper in his past life!

In his past life, after Lin Muyu left, Xie Zhao had stayed in Hudong County for a period of time.

Back then, he had been in a daze, locking himself in a rented room and spending his days reading newspapers to pass the time and numb his mind.

And the reason he knew about Cheng Gang was because the man’s face had been printed on the front page of the Hudong County newspaper.

It wasn’t for some heinous crime, but because he had been caught smuggling and reselling cigarettes. He was sentenced to death, made an example of to educate the public.

It was hard for Xie Zhao not to notice.

He suddenly turned to Wu Liu and asked, “What’s the date today?”

The date?

Wu Liu paused, then said, “It should be February twenty-sixth!”

The sixteenth of the first lunar month, February twenty-sixth.

Calculating the time, wasn’t the day he got caught tomorrow?

The Lantern Festival?

Xie Zhao’s brow furrowed, a slight hesitation stirring in his heart.

Should he warn him?

Or just remain a bystander?

The thought flashed through his mind for only an instant before he quickly made a decision.

In this dangerous, dog-eat-dog era, he needed Cheng Gang to owe him a favor.

It was best to nip trouble in the bud.

“Brother Cheng!”

He suddenly called out.

Cheng Gang was taken aback and turned to look at Xie Zhao. “What’s up? Need my help with something? Want to buy more coupons?”

He crossed his arms and smiled. “As long as the money is there, your Brother Cheng can get you anything!”

Xie Zhao walked over, staring at Cheng Gang.

His gaze was calm, carrying an unquestionable resolve.

“Brother Cheng, you’re making a delivery tomorrow, aren’t you?”

He suddenly spoke.

Cheng Gang’s face stiffened, and in the next instant, it turned ice-cold.

He stared at Xie Zhao, gritting his teeth, his fists quietly clenching.

“Kid, do you know what you’re saying?! Where did you hear this nonsense?”

“Speak!”