Chapter 135: No One Can Take What Is Mine

“How is this possible!?”

“Are you kidding me? Are you two in cahoots?”

“Chen, how on earth did you figure it out?”

Liang Long and the others were baffled, staring at Chen Huajiang in disbelief, astonished as they asked.

“No, no, no—it’s not like that.”

“I didn’t say it; it wasn’t me who said it.”

Xu Xie also panicked, realizing he had accidentally revealed what his father forbade him to say.

Yet, these confirmations only strengthened Chen Huajiang’s deduction, leaving everyone both speechless and admiring as they looked at him.

“Just lucky—pure luck.”

“Because you all were so confident, I guessed the amount wouldn’t be a round number; otherwise, you might have guessed it correctly by chance.”

“So I figured it would be a mix of whole and fractional amounts—and turns out, I was right.”

Chen Huajiang shrugged with a smile.

“This is—damn good luck.”

“No kidding. How to put it… you just have to admit it.”

“Two hundred one, two hundred three, two hundred four, all sorts of guesses—yet Chen nailed two hundred two. That money must belong to him; there’s no escaping that.”

Liang Long and the others shook their heads wryly, never expecting to lose out on sheer luck.

But Chen Huajiang wouldn’t really demand the money from them; after all, the Red Flag Factory couldn’t even pay wages now.

Of course, he couldn’t just let it go either—that would be disrespectful and hurt their friendship.

“Let’s just note this down for now. I was planning to ask for your help anyway, and you’ll be compensated for your trouble.”

Chen Huajiang smiled as he explained the situation.

He had intended to take on the Wu family before, but the timing wasn’t right; at that time, the factory only delayed wages for new workers, while senior workers still got paid.

Now the entire factory was behind on wages—even Liang Long and Lin Jiayin hadn’t been paid. The moment was ripe.

“All right, we’ll keep an eye out for you, Chen. I think some skilled workers will take up the jobs; after all, if the factory isn’t paying, they’ve got to eat.”

“I know a few friends in the shutter workshop; they should help out.”

Upon hearing this, Duan Dawei and Li Bing confidently slapped their chests, promising to run errands—it was just a small matter.

Liang Long glanced at Chen Huajiang with curiosity. His family was well-off, so five yuan was nothing to him.

“Chen Huajiang, what are you planning? Are you thinking of making coal stoves too?”

He pondered and began to guess Chen’s plan, since the workers Chen wanted to recruit were from the coal stove workshop.

The shutter workshop specialized in ironwork—they made iron barrels, water buckets, and also the outer casing for coal stoves.

Chen Huajiang didn’t hide it; he nodded directly.

Liang Long’s eyes brightened, instantly realizing Chen was targeting Wu Lei.

“What are you all doing here?”

At that moment, Da Guang spoke angrily at the door.

Everyone turned to see Wu Lei swaggering into the shop with two henchmen.

“What’s wrong? You open the shop for business so people can come and spend money, right? Why can’t we come? Move aside!”

Wu Lei strutted in, pushing Da Guang aside who was about to stop them.

“Tsk, I thought you wouldn’t open today. Didn’t expect you did—this must be your first customer.”

Wu Lei sneered, scanning the crowd until his gaze landed mockingly on Chen Huajiang.

He had learned Chen was here and came to provoke him.

He also held a trump card, intending to strike a blow and flaunt his power.

Da Guang, as a restaurateur, believed in welcoming all customers, good or bad.

“If Wu Lei and his gang want to eat, then serve them.”

Chen Huajiang told Da Guang.

Da Guang shot them a resentful glare, slammed the menu on the table, and grumbled, “Say what you want. If you don’t eat, get lost.”

“Really rude. No wonder business is bad.”

“Just bring a plate of fried skewers.”

Wu Lei deliberately belittled them, pulled out a stool, and sat down, taunting Chen Huajiang.

“By the way, Chen Huajiang, the factory’s doing poorly. My uncle, for the sake of all Red Flag workers, made some suggestions at the last assembly.”

“Our factory wastes a lot of resources; some people abuse their power, some are distracted, some are greedy and sneaky, renting out factory resources at extremely low prices. These must be fixed.”

“Take your shop’s rent, for instance—it’s a typical case of getting a huge discount from the factory. This is a key target for reform. Some pay three hundred yuan rent—not for three years, mind you, but per year.”

Wu Lei glanced at Lin Jiayin and Chen Huajiang, nodding smugly and raising a finger.

“So? My shop has a contract.”

Chen Huajiang looked at him coldly, already sensing this lease might be lost.

Though he no longer cared about the shop financially, sentimentally it still meant a lot.

As Lin Jiayin had said earlier, this was his first shop since leaving the factory.

“What contract? We at Red Flag won’t recognize unequal deals! Besides, the factory reviewed your contract thoroughly—there’s no penalty clause for breach.”

“Hahaha, Chen Huajiang, the factory will re-lease this place on the first of next month. If you want to keep operating here, you’ll have to pay the back rent—or get lost!”

Wu Lei grew ever more arrogant, laughing heartily.

With a slap, Da Guang placed a plate of fried lamb skewers on the table.

“Ugh, I’ve lost all appetite.”

“You’re lucky. Let’s go!”

Wu Lei sneered, slapping a yuan on the table, waving his hand, and leaving with his men.

“Stop.”

Chen Huajiang’s voice rang out, calm and cold.

Liang Long, Duan Dawei, and Li Bing stood up immediately.

“What’s the matter? You wanna lay a hand on me? Oh, I’m so scared.”

“Liang Long, I’ve hated you for a while. You’re from Red Flag, yet you help outsiders.”

“Today, I, Wu Lei, want to see if you dare lay a finger on me. I won’t fight back—I’ll just deal with you troublemakers!”

Wu Lei crossed his arms, full of disdain and mockery.

“I’m not afraid of you!”

Liang Long retorted disdainfully and moved to confront him.

“Liang Long, don’t be reckless.”

Chen Huajiang stopped him, then approached Wu Lei, poking his shoulder with a finger and staring coldly.

“I, Chen Huajiang, tell you this shop belongs to me—now and forever. No one will take it away. If you don’t accept that, just wait and see.”

Wu Lei stared back coldly; the two locked eyes.

Finally, Wu Lei sneered, “Fine. We’ll see if you’re still so cocky on the first of next month. Just don’t run away like a beaten dog then!”

“Let’s go!” He left with his men.

“Damn it, cocky nothing. I’ll find a chance to stuff a burlap sack over his head and teach him a lesson.”

As Wu Lei and his gang departed, Liang Long spat on the ground with disdain.

“By the way, Chen, I heard about the factory assembly. This time it’s really troublesome.”

“If it were before, the factory would keep face and not break contracts. But now—”

Liang Long recalled Wu Lei’s words and worriedly told Chen Huajiang.

Times have changed. The Red Flag Factory is now behind on wages. To make money, they might drive Chen out and rent the shop to a higher bidder.

Unless Chen Huajiang throws money to keep the shop by paying more rent. But would that help? The shop isn’t doing business now; the more he invests, the more he loses.

“I know about it. I’ll handle it.”

“Liang Long, you and the others hurry up and contact the workers. If the Wu family wants to play games, I’ll play them to the end.”

Chen Huajiang patted Liang Long’s shoulder resolutely.