After suffering a crushing defeat on the long-awaited major day, You Jianyuan returned to his office and slammed the door shut with a bang, instantly knocking a stack of documents and a teacup off the desk.
Clattering sounds rang out one after another, mirroring his current chaotic and disordered emotions, intertwined with anger and helplessness.
Cheng Lang was a ruthless man, and You Jianyuan had always known that; otherwise, he would not have been on guard against him and dreaded him.
Memories from the past flooded his mind in an instant.
Three years earlier, there had been a major accident in the Liberation Mine District. A critical failure in the mining equipment nearly caused a collapse when they reached a key position.
The equipment had already malfunctioned and could not be stopped with the button. It was about to swing its arm one last time to dig through the support pillar, triggering a larger collapse. Several miners below, who had been knocked down and injured by falling rocks, were in dire peril.
You Jianyuan had just arrived at the mine district not long before and was inspecting the mining site for the first time when this happened. He was naturally terrified and fled in a panic. But he saw a tall miner block the malfunctioning equipment that ignored the control buttons, preventing the final deep dig. Blood slowly flowed from his arm, but the miner seemed oblivious, merely directing the other miners to quickly organize coverings and transfer the injured miners below.
In that life-and-death moment, the half-minute he bought changed the course of the accident. None of the on-duty miners suffered severe injuries or death; instead, the miner who went down to rescue them had multiple injuries on his arm.
To this day, You Jianyuan could still remember Cheng Lang’s fierce gaze, mixed with dripping blood, which sent chills down his spine.
Later, You Jianyuan accompanied his second uncle, You Changgui, as representatives of the mine district leadership to personally visit and console Cheng Lang, who had saved the day. While smilingly delivering the condolence money at the hospital, he secretly cursed the fool inwardly.
He had always looked down on people who acted out of such great kindness. What was the point of self-sacrifice? It would only be a joke if he died for it.
But as a mine district leadership representative, You Jianyuan feigned great praise for such heroic deeds. When he extended his hand to shake Cheng Lang’s, he saw a hint of a mocking smile in his eyes.
Cheng Lang’s awe-inspiring presence without anger was blended into his phoenix eyes. In that moment, You Jianyuan almost thought he had been seen through, nearly breaking out in cold sweat. He barely managed to compose himself before leaving with his second uncle.
Later on, since the accident caused no major casualties, Captain Qian, the person directly responsible for the untimely maintenance and replacement that led to the old equipment’s failure, was merely criticized at a meeting, wrote a self-criticism, and had three months’ wages deducted. This sparked private dissatisfaction among many workers but did not escalate.
You Jianyuan naturally spoke up for Captain Qian at the meeting, after all, the man was a distant relative of Mine Chief Tong. Choosing whom to support was also an art.
But half a month later, You Jianyuan heard that Cheng Lang, who had been commended by the mine district, still had not recovered from his hand injury. When Captain Qian visited him, they got into an argument. Not long after Captain Qian left, Cheng Lang’s hand injury worsened, nearly crippled.
The workers could no longer tolerate the hero who saved lives being beaten by the person directly responsible for the accident, worsening his injuries. They protested en masse, and the situation grew serious— no longer something the leaders could suppress with a few words. Mine Chief Tong and Deputy Mine Chief You had no choice but to yield to public opinion and dismiss Captain Qian.
You Jianyuan had secretly thought Captain Qian was a fool for picking that moment to argue with the lifesaver they had never gotten along with, even resorting to violence. Wasn’t that asking to die?
But half a month after Captain Qian was dismissed and left, You Jianyuan ran into him on the street. While drinking together, he learned a shocking piece of news from Captain Qian’s mouth.
“That kid Cheng Lang isn’t human. You think I cursed at him and beat him in the hospital?” Captain Qian, drunk and red-eyed with rage, said, “I’m not an idiot! That day, several leaders specifically named me to visit him, to coax him and say nice things. But this guy kept talking to provoke me. I have a bad temper and ended up cursing a few times after he provoked me. Then this guy, he actually, he actually… smashed his own hand right in front of me! He framed me! He wanted me out of the mine district!”
You Jianyuan was greatly shocked. The fool he had thought was selflessly heroic turned out to be someone so ruthless that he was even harsh on himself!
But no matter how ruthless, Cheng Lang was ultimately a man without backing or connections. Such tactics could at most deal with someone like Captain Qian, whose background was mediocre. You Jianyuan could still rely on his powerful family background to steal their credit.
You Jianyuan’s mind was in turmoil, swaying between deep dread and self-consolation. But today’s events were truly infuriating. He slammed his fist heavily on the desk with a thud, and suddenly, a knock came from the door.
Liu Lei entered the office under You Jianyuan’s furious glare to report the situation. “Director, the district leaders have already left. About that Ma Ji matter, should we report it to the District Committee?”
He had originally planned to use Ma Ji to curry favor with the District Committee, but now… You Jianyuan only felt a headache. “How do you all handle things? We stole the secret recipe, but what you made is still not as good as Feng’s? Didn’t you see the expressions on the leaders’ faces when they drank Feng’s milky white fish soup!”
Liu Lei had skimmed off a layer of profit, and You Jianyong had skimmed off another layer, so there was naturally a difference. At this point, he could only explain, “Director, thinking back, even if it’s the secret recipe, there might have been some reservations. Maybe some key parts weren’t written on that paper.”
That was possible. You Jianyuan’s head hurt even more and he casually said, “How much money has the stall made lately? If it’s passable, keep it open; if not…”
“Director, how could it make money? We sold at half the price of Feng’s, and there were really too many buyers. We lost six hundred yuan in a week.”
You Jianyuan glared furiously. “Six hundred in a week?”
Liu Lei knew You Jianyuan was clueless about this and had no idea about the costs of various dishes, so naturally he did not mention the two hundred he had pocketed. “After all, we sold cheap, and there were too many buyers.”
You Jianyuan was in a foul mood and waved his hand. “Shut it down, shut it down. Don’t go out there embarrassing yourselves!”
Ma Ji became the most shocking legend among the stalls near the mine district—the one that closed the fastest.
When Feng Man heard this news, her eyes curved in a smile, though her laughter was not as loud as that of Dong Xiaojuan and Yuan Qiumei beside her.
In the afternoon, after seeing off the District Committee leaders, the group simply held a celebratory banquet right there in the Red Star Mine District.
Cheng Lang had the head chef of the Mine District Canteen prepare a special table of fine dishes. Around the round banquet table sat more than ten people: Feng Man’s family of six, plus Yuan Qiumei and her husband Zhou Yuejin, as well as He Chunsheng, Song Guodong, and a few others who had come to support Feng’s in the past few days.
There was actually another meritorious contributor who had made outstanding efforts in this matter, but since he was still needed as a mole, he really could not be invited to the celebratory banquet.
Before the meal, Feng Man had mentioned to Cheng Lang that they should send some food to Slim Monkey sometime, as a sort of medal.
In the center of the table was a large pot of chicken soup stewed with codonopsis, astragalus, and goji berries. Surrounding it were colorfully glazed braised fish, tender and flavorful braised pork belly, garlic-stem pork shreds, winter bamboo shoots braised beef brisket, glutinous rice, scallion-fried eggs, stir-fried phoenix tails, and stir-fried baby bok choy.
Countless chopsticks busied themselves, and cups filled with beer, baijiu, and soda clinked together. Everyone took a sip and sighed comfortably, “Today we really pissed off You Jianyuan! Satisfying!”
He Chunsheng looked at the man and woman across from him with admiration. “Master, Mistress, you two really didn’t hold back.”
Feng Man slightly raised her chin. “When dealing with such people, don’t be soft-hearted.”
Song Guodong nodded. It seemed Sister-in-law Feng Man had truly been influenced by Brother Lang; she had even learned not to be soft-hearted.
But the next second, he heard Feng Man continue, “Comrade Cheng Lang is soft-hearted; I won’t be.”
Song Guodong, who had been listening on the side: “…”
Did Comrade Feng Man have some misunderstanding? Was Brother Lang the soft-hearted type?
Fan Zhenghua, Dong Xiaojuan, and Cheng Lang drank baijiu. The three clinked glasses alone and took big gulps. “This matter was handled cleanly. We owe a lot to Old Zhou’s help.”
Zhou Yuejin waved his hand, his mood complicated. “Just this once. I won’t work for Feng’s anymore.”
Yuan Qiumei, listening nearby, wanted to laugh. She did not know what this man was still hung up on and was too lazy to argue with him.
After all, as direct participants in such a major event, Yuan Qiumei and Dong Xiaojuan gossiped about today’s grand scenes, their hearts still not quite settled. But from stealing the secret recipe to competing with Ma Ji, Zhou Yuejin had contributed quite a bit.
Holding her soda cup, Yuan Qiumei wanted to clink glasses with her husband. “Come on, let’s clink one too.”
Zhou Yuejin had not wanted to come to this celebratory banquet at all. As the number one anti-Feng’s activist, was he suited for a place like this? But his wife insisted on dragging him along.
The soda cup was right in front of him, and Yuan Qiumei did not withdraw it. Helpless, Zhou Yuejin raised his hand to clink with his wife, then tossed back the remaining baijiu in one gulp.
The large round table was lively everywhere. Even Cheng Yulan ate with a better appetite, downing two liang of baijiu to warm her stomach.
Feng Man was not used to baijiu; it was too spicy and not suited to her. Seeing that her aunt had a good tolerance, when they dispersed and headed home under the starry moonlit sky, she still kept an eye on the old lady to make sure she did not stumble after drinking.
Cheng Yulan pursed her thin lips and scolded her. “What do you take me for? I’m not that fragile!”
“Yes, yes, yes.” Feng Man supported the old lady, coaxing her like a child. “You’re amazing. Otherwise, how could you scold the village secretary and his bunch into submission?”
Cheng Yulan chuckled lightly and let Feng Man support her. In the night, the moonlight was faint and quiet, gently spilling over the young woman, her brows and eyes tender and bright. Especially these days, with her calm handling of changes and quick wit, anyone who saw her would be moved.
Her gaze wandered over the several older men walking with them. Cheng Yulan caught her nephew Cheng Lang glancing lingeringly in this direction, a faint look passing over Feng Man before he turned to speak with others the next instant.
The matter between her son and daughter-in-law back then had been handled well.
Cheng Yulan sighed inwardly.
“Arlang has a stubborn temper and a bullheaded personality. If there’s anything that doesn’t suit you, just tell him straight.” Cheng Yulan walked with Feng Man on the street side, keeping a not-too-close, not-too-far distance from the others.
“Auntie, I know. But Arlang seems cold and hard on the outside, but inside, he’s a bit different.”
This remark stirred Cheng Yulan’s memories, and she sighed softly.
“Back then, Arlang’s dad was no good. Everyone in the village wanted to beat him—he stole chickens and dogs, loved drinking and gambling. After Arlang’s mom ran away, no one cared for Arlang. By then, I had married far away, thousands of li apart, and it wasn’t easy to keep in touch with the family. I did not know about these things until the village head mentioned it later.”
Cheng Yulan fell into recollection, thinking of the hardships her nephew had suffered as a child.
Because of Cheng Yufeng, Cheng Lang was not well-liked in the village. After all, with a father of such poor character who offended people, how could the other villagers give Cheng Lang a good face?
Children loved to band together, and types like Zhao Gang loved to bully others, often taking the initiative to beat and scold Cheng Lang.
But Cheng Lang was different from the others. He fought back. If he did not win once, he waited for the next time. Gradually, no one dared to proactively hit him anymore because no one could beat him.
But force could solve some problems but not prejudice.
“Once, the village had collected money to buy phosphate fertilizer and urea, held by the village secretary. But when it was time to go to the city, the money was gone, nowhere to be found. Some suspected a group of kids who had come in and out of the village committee that day, and Arlang was among those suspected.”