Chapter 140: Meeting Feng Weizhi Again

He was not intimidated by them at all. Having long since made his preparations, he knew that even if things escalated, the root of the problem did not lie with him. At worst, Yang Shan could take his men to cause trouble at Five-Star Village, but Chen Huajiang was certain that the matter would ultimately fizzle out into nothing.

In later years, the jurisdiction of villages straddling two cities or even two provinces was often a chaotic mess; this involved not only administrative management but also the fundamental issue of how a village was classified. Amidst Yang Shan’s noise and "slander," Chen Huajiang stood firm: he sourced his goods from Five-Star Village, and if they were dissatisfied, they should go cut off the source rather than trying to nitpick with him.

In the end, Yang Shan was forced to leave, his face twisted in resentment. Before departing, he shot Chen Huajiang one last venomous glare.

"Brother Chen, what if this guy really goes to cause trouble at Five-Star Village? What if our shop gets smashed?" Er Mao was genuinely concerned, his expression a mix of anger and worry. After all, the shop was registered under his name; nominally, he was the boss.

"Are you stupid? Can’t you go to Five-Star Town when they head over there?" Chen Huajiang rolled his eyes, feeling a bit hopeless about Er Mao's intellect; did such a simple matter really need to be spelled out? "Remember, if they cause trouble, call the police in Laoshan City. Once they leave, move back into Five-Star Village."

At these words, Er Mao’s eyes lit up, clearly understanding how to handle it. Meanwhile, Chen Huajiang took his own precautions, making a special trip to Five-Star Village to see Zhao Hongmei, hoping their Third Labor Brigade would provide some support when the time came. This was a minor favor; the crucial factor was that the villagers of Five-Star Village also drank Laoshan beer. To them, accustomed to the taste of Laoshan, drinking Gushan beer was like drinking urine.

Sure enough, over the next few days, Yang Shan arrived at Five-Star Village with his subordinates from the Gushan Brewery and relevant administrative staff to stir up trouble. Er Mao naturally summoned the authorities from Laoshan City, and after a heated argument between the two sides, Yang Shan left empty-handed. What angered him even more was that, upon leaving, they were intercepted by the villagers of Five-Star Village.

Word had spread among the villagers, evolving into the rumor that the people from Gushan Brewery were trying to stop them from buying Laoshan beer. This was unacceptable; although Five-Star Village was under the jurisdiction of Nanming City, they had always drunk Laoshan beer. Most importantly, Gushan beer tasted terrible!

"You bastards from Gushan Brewery! Your beer tastes like piss, and now you want to force us to drink your piss? Have you no shame?"

"Nobody leaves! You have to explain yourselves today. Why can’t our Five-Star Village drink Laoshan beer? Why do we have to drink your Gushan swill?"

"We’ve been drinking this beer for years! Why shouldn't we? If you think yours is so great, why don't you drink your own piss?"

A crowd swarmed around Yang Shan and his men, shouting loudly. The people Yang Shan had brought along grew nervous, grumbling at him and the Gushan Brewery for insisting on cleaning up the market in this particular area. The situation here was complex—the villagers were all loyal to Laoshan beer. Wouldn't this just blow the whole thing out of proportion?

"Who said it's piss? Who said you can't drink it? You are slandering us! You are slandering our Gushan Brewery!"

Yang Shan was fuming. Having just suffered a setback, being confronted and mocked here left him absolutely livid. In a flash, to the astonishment of his men, Yang Shan strode up to a villager, grabbed the bottle of Gushan beer from his hand, popped it open, and chugged it. The villager was the same man who had just declared their beer as foul as urine; Yang Shan wanted to prove that their product was not urine.

But after two gulps, his expression changed instantly. "Pfft—this is urine!"

He spat it out, eyes wide, staring at the villager in shock and horror.

"It is urine," the villager, an older man, replied, blinking in confusion as he nodded instinctively. The beer bottle had indeed been filled with urine—he had brought it specifically to insult the Gushan Brewery's beer. He was stunned that the man had actually snatched it and started drinking.

"He admitted it! It's urine!"
"Look, he won't even drink it himself, but he wanted us to! What a scoundrel!"
"This is hilarious! The guy actually admitted that their Gushan beer is just like piss!"

The surrounding crowd burst into raucous laughter, pointing at Yang Shan. Yang Shan was so furious he was trembling all over. "Ugh—" Finally, unable to hold back his churning stomach, he began to retch violently.

"Manager Yang, stop looking for trouble. Let's go!" Someone grabbed Yang Shan and, with a grim expression, hauled him into the van, driving away amidst the jeers of the villagers.

Later events unfolded exactly as Chen Huajiang had predicted. Five-Star Village’s unique geographical position and the villagers' deep-seated habit of drinking Laoshan beer meant that Yang Shan’s demands could never be met. This made Yang Shan hate Chen Huajiang to the core, yet for the time being, he was helpless to do anything about it.

Days passed, and soon it was the day of the Red Flag Factory’s annual general meeting.

"Chen Huajiang’s store won't last, and frankly, it shouldn't. He’s been taking advantage of our Red Flag Factory; we’re the ones suffering the loss."

"Exactly. Ninety yuan for three years—that’s completely unreasonable. I heard Boss Feng offered three hundred for one year, not three!"

"The highest bidder wins; that’s only fair. Besides, Chen Huajiang isn't part of our factory anymore, so there’s no need to look out for him."

Because the factory hadn't paid wages lately, and with Wu De and his cronies manipulating public opinion—spreading rumors about how much money Chen Huajiang was making through the factory store and how he was living the high life—it had fueled resentment among the workers. Why couldn't they make money while working, yet Chen Huajiang, who had been fired, was thriving?

"Yo, isn't this Chen Huajiang?"

"Hahaha, didn't expect to see me back, did you? Feng Weizhi is back!"

At the factory gate, Feng Weizhi, accompanied by his bulldog and a group of lackeys, stood smoking a cigarette, intentionally waiting for Chen Huajiang’s arrival. Seeing Chen Huajiang and Lin Jiayin appear, he swaggered over, exhaling a cloud of smoke with a smug expression. He had clashed with Chen Huajiang here once before and had been soundly defeated, but now the tide had turned, and he held the upper hand.

"Boss Feng is in high spirits. Are you waiting here specifically for me?" Chen Huajiang asked with a playful smile. "Looking at your appearance, you've made quite a bit of money lately, haven't you? You even managed to snatch up the store at the neighboring thermos factory."

"But it’s time to drive you away. The East District is my territory. I didn't have time to deal with you before while I was busy with the Gourmet Street, but now that I've cleared my schedule, it’s time to sweep out the flies."

"Arrogant," Feng Weizhi sneered. "I'm afraid you don't have the strength for that, Chen Huajiang. This is the first store of your Kunlun Catering, right? Once I take it over, I'm turning it into a public toilet. Hahaha, let’s see how arrogant you can be then!" Feng Weizhi made no effort to hide his malicious delight, laughing as he exhaled smoke.

"Er Mao, open it," Chen Huajiang said coldly.

Under the curious gazes of Feng Weizhi and his men, Er Mao stepped forward with a suitcase and laid it flat to open it. An immediate silence fell over the scene. Stacks of cash were neatly arranged inside, the top layer consisting of ten-yuan notes. There was at least ten thousand yuan in that case!

"Boss Feng, when you have the strength to back up your bluster, that’s called ability. When you don't, that’s just a dog barking." Chen Huajiang said with disdain. He paused, his gaze turning icy as he raised a finger to Feng Weizhi. "Today, I’ll teach you a lesson: if you don't have the strength, keep your head down and stay quiet. Six months—within six months, I will drive you all out of the East District. And another six months after that, I’ll take the North District."

With that, Chen Huajiang signaled for Er Mao to close the case, then took his wife’s hand and walked toward the Red Flag Factory. Behind them, Feng Weizhi and his men stood with grim, darkened faces.