Chapter 138 Another "Black Fish Head" Appears

Liu Meijia sat in her office with a complexion that could not have looked any worse. Having weathered plenty of storms in her life, she had never encountered someone so arrogant and unreasonable. Not only had he broken someone's legs for no reason at all, but judging by his attitude, he was determined to fight to the bitter end.

Though Liu Meijia felt no remorse over the death of the old village chief of Fish Head Village, the incident genuinely had very little to do with her. She had never instructed her subordinates to target Zhang Desheng, and she had even wanted to communicate with him to see if some money could smooth over the conflict between Fish Head Village and Qiangyuan Company.

By that time, however, Zhang Desheng was already dead!

Zhang Desheng's death was partly due to his injuries, partly due to sheer anger, compounded by his advanced age and generally poor health.

Regardless of the circumstances, Liu Mingming was a man belonging to Qiangyuan Company and had some distant familial ties to Liu Meijia. Tang Long's persistent disruptions made her lose a tremendous amount of face, and if she failed to handle it, who would ever be willing to risk their lives for her in the future?

Yet the problem now was that this punk Tang Long was completely impervious to reason—soft approaches failed, and tough measures failed just as well.

When it came to diplomacy, he simply ignored you!

When it came to force, he was completely unafraid of you. What was she supposed to do with a situation like this?

In the end, Liu Meijia was truly out of options. If there had been a viable way to get rid of him, she would have devised a scheme long ago. What she feared most was failing to finish him off, only for him to turn around and bite her back, which would make the losses outweigh any potential gains!

She had hired assassins and stirred up trouble, and the last time she sent a notoriously tough subordinate over, the man had almost been frightened out of his wits by this fellow.

Word had it that he was still on medication, had completely withdrawn from worldly affairs, and was honestly holding down a steady job while chanting Buddhist sutras every day, acting like an entirely different person. It was all a result of being terrified out of his senses!

"Boss, there is something I need to discuss with you!" Left with no other choice, Liu Meijia had to place a call to the big boss, hoping to find out if he had any good solutions.

The primary boss of Qiangyuan Company resided long-term in the Imperial Capital and rarely returned to the county town. Even when he did come back, he stayed within the city limits. Because Qiangyuan Company had gone public and accumulated massive capital, he had washed his hands of the underworld in recent years and rarely interfered in underworld affairs anymore.

Generally speaking, all matters in Taoyuan County were left to Liu Meijia to manage!

"Speak!" A steady voice came through the receiver.

Liu Meijia sighed inwardly. When she first met this man, he was merely a penniless young man. Twenty years had flashed by in the blink of an eye, and looking at him now, he had already broken free from the quagmire and stepped into the upper class.

If she had chosen to leave Taoyuan County with him back then and head to the Imperial Capital, would she have avoided becoming who she was today?

It was true that Liu Meijia's heart was as venomous as a serpent's, but she was still a woman, possessing the softest of vulnerabilities deep within. To abandon her home, forsake her enterprises, and head to a major metropolis was something she could not bring herself to do—neither the accumulated power nor this hard-earned foundation could she bear to relinquish.

In this little corner of Taoyuan County, she could boast quite proudly that she could do whatever she wanted and target whoever she pleased. But if she were to leave Taoyuan County and go out into the wider world, she would instantly become the one whom anyone could trample, completely stripped of even the slightest ability to protect herself!

Therefore, Liu Meijia could not bear to let go of everything right in front of her eyes.

She briefly recounted her feud with Tang Long and Fish Head Village to the man on the other end of the phone, and then asked helplessly, "What should we do?"

The man on the other end of the phone remained silent for a moment before finally speaking: "I have told you more than once that this is a special period. Do not stir up trouble, do not provoke trouble, and do not make trouble. Was I not clear enough?"

"..." Liu Meijia was momentarily speechless. Was she the one trying to stir up trouble? It was the other party who wanted to make trouble for them, wasn't it?

"Wait until the stock exchange concludes its investigation into Qiangyuan Company before discussing anything else. Surely I don't need to instruct you on how to behave before this matter is settled, do I?"

After the call was disconnected, Liu Meijia's chest heaved up and down as if the pressure was choking the breath out of her. Damn it, when had she ever endured such grievance?!

Yet Liu Meijia knew all too well that if Qiangyuan Company ran into any mishaps, eighty percent of the wealth in her hands would not only evaporate, but catastrophe might even befall her personally.

Taking a deep breath, Liu Meijia forced herself to calm down. Everyone had their own vulnerabilities, and she believed Tang Long that fellow was no exception!

***

"Master, why don't I go with you to the carving factory this afternoon? It will be a great chance for me to get familiar with the environment!" Ren Yingying said with a mischievous roll of her eyes. She simply did not want to go to school for classes, finding them rather pointless.

Gou Yuniang seemed quite tempted by Ren Yingying's suggestion; otherwise, she wouldn't have turned her head to look at Tang Long.

"Brother Ren, Sister-in-law Ren, how about we ask for a leave of absence for Yingying? It will also be a great opportunity for you both to visit the carving factory and Yuniang's living quarters!" Tang Long smiled as he suggested this to the couple, Ren Qiang and Zhou芳 (Zhou Fang). He was confident that as parents, they were well aware of their daughter's academic performance.

Zhou Fang looked slightly displeased; she did not want her daughter skipping classes. However, Ren Qiang nodded, feeling that since Ren Yingying was going to learn carving from Gou Yuniang in the future, schooling took a secondary position, especially since his younger daughter's grades were genuinely poor.

Ren Xiaobao clapped his hands in delight, chiming in that he also wanted to skip school in the afternoon and visit the carving factory, only to be given a sound beating by Zhou Fang, after which he behaved himself.

Ren Lingling actually wanted to go as well, but she didn't dare voice it. Unlike her younger siblings, her grades weren't necessarily stellar, but they weren't bad either; she ranked in the upper-middle tier of her grade, and getting into a university would pose no problem at all!

"Why don't you drive Lingling to school, and we can take a taxi back to Baofeng Carving Factory?" Gou Yuniang said to Tang Long.

"Alright!"

Tang Long raised no objections and readily agreed with a smile.

Saying goodbye to Gou Yuniang, Ren Yingying, and the couple Ren Qiang and Zhou Fang, Tang Long drove Gou Yuniang's Audi A6 to drop Ren Lingling off at school.

Along the way, Ren Lingling asked with curiosity, "Did you really beat up Chen Xiaoming?"

Without answering directly, Tang Long smiled and said, "Chen Xiaoming mentioned that you two were classmates all through primary and middle school. He likes you, and you must have sensed it, right?"

Ren Lingling's pretty face flushed red. She lowered her head and murmured an "affirmative," then shook her head and said, "I know, but I don't like him."

"Why don't you like him?" Tang Long asked with an amused smile. "Don't girls around your age usually idolize little punk-types?"

Blushing, Ren Lingling defended herself: "That's not it at all! I think he's mentally handicapped, completely immature, and... he loves showing off. Aside from being reckless and boorish, he has zero redeeming qualities!"

Tang Long couldn't help but chuckle and said nothing more. Liking or disliking someone was their own business and had nothing to do with him. If Gou Yuniang hadn't taken a fancy to Ren Yingying and gotten entangled with Ren Qiang's family, they would never have crossed paths in the first place.

"Chen Xiaoming is always coming to school to stir up trouble; he's super annoying!" Ren Lingling added, probably fearing that Tang Long wouldn't believe her.

Tang Long nodded, smiled, and changed the subject: "Let's drop that little hoodlum. What about you? Do you have any plans for your future? If you do, you can tell your Master. Whether you want to continue your studies or pursue something else entirely, we will support you all!"

There was no helping it—who told Gou Yuniang to take a liking to Ren Yingying? Playing the role of such a proactive "Master" wasn't an easy task.

Moreover, his impression of the Ren family today was quite favorable. Ren Qiang was honest and diligent, Zhou Fang was a dutiful woman, and both children were quite endearing.

Ren Lingling shook her head and whispered, "I don't know what I want to do in the future either!"

Tang Long smiled and said, "If you don't know, just think about it more. Besides, at your age, there's no rush to worry about these things!"

Lifting her head, Ren Lingling looked at Tang Long curiously and asked, "Is carving easy to learn? My sister says that once you finish your apprenticeship, you can make tens of thousands of yuan a day?"

When it came to money, adults and children alike shared a very concrete concept. There was no avoiding it, because people nowadays lived in a monetary society where making even half a step forward was impossible without funds.

Tang Long smiled and replied, "I don't know how much you can make in a day, but just two days ago, a large company came to us with a piece of jade raw material, asking your Master to carve it. The price they offered was... one hundred million!"

"One hundred million?!" Ren Lingling widened her eyes in astonishment. Can carving masters make that much money?!

Tang Long nodded and smiled warmly: "Yes, one hundred million. But your Master turned down that job because sometimes, while money is important, people are even more important. We prefer to put people first rather than money first. Therefore, I hope you can adopt this mindset in the future as well.

Money can always be earned back if it's lost; money flows like an endless stream. But human lives? Once they are gone, they are gone forever, with no possibility of a do-over. Do you understand?"

Ren Lingling nodded and said softly, "I understand. Lots of people work themselves to the bone just to make money, and then use that money to try and buy back their lives. My parents are like that—they toil from dawn till dusk every day simply to earn enough money to cover the educational expenses for us siblings."

Pausing for a moment, she raised her head to look at Tang Long and continued, "But you truly cannot survive without money. For rich people like you, you can afford to put people first. But for poor people like us, it is always money first. Without money, you can't accomplish a single thing!"

Tang Long did not refute her words. He simply nodded and said flatly, "What you say is also true. Just remember not to forget your original intention when you eventually become wealthy!"

Ren Lingling curled her lips into a bitter smile and said, "Then how long will I have to wait before I become rich?!"

Tang Long laughed. When would she become rich? That was hard to say. Everyone's fate was different; whether one's life was impoverished or affluent, it was your own life, and no one else could live it for you or prevent you from walking your path. In truth, the only person capable of changing yourself is yourself.

"Here, take down my number. If you ever need anything, call me anytime!" Tang Long dropped Ren Lingling off at the school gates and, just as she was getting out of the car, gave her his personal phone number for easy contact in the future.

Happily recording the number, Ren Lingling waved goodbye to Tang Long, hopped out of the car, and ran off.

Tilting his head, Tang Long gazed through the car window at Ren Lingling as she ran into the school gates. Youthful, radiant, in the prime of her age and the most vibrant chapter of her life—how wonderful!

He turned the car around and drove toward Baofeng Carving Factory.

As soon as Ren Lingling ran through the school gates, she glanced back over her shoulder, her face flushed and her eyes flickering. Although she wasn't as lively as her younger sister Ren Yingying and tended to be a bit quieter, what seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl's heart didn't harbor romantic daydreams?

"Lingling, who was that driving you here just now?"

Several of her close girlfriends in class hurried over, asking with curious expressions. They had happened to catch sight of Ren Lingling stepping out of the vehicle.

Never assume that girls of this age lacked their own schemes and little ideas. Their bodies had already matured while their minds were still somewhat naive, but that did not mean they lacked thoughts of their own.

"A friend!" Ren Lingling replied with a smile, offering no further explanation.

As Tang Long drove back to Baofeng Carving Factory, he received a phone call from Wang Feiyue!

"Brother Wang, what's up?" Tang Long asked with a smile. When Wang Feiyue called him, it was rarely about his own affairs; he assumed Wu Zhengyao must be looking for him.

Wang Feiyue said, "I have some news, and you'd better brace yourself for it!"

"What news?" Tang Long asked, startled and curious.

With a helpless tone, Wang Feiyue said, "Someone has bought up several mountains on the east side of Fish Head Village and is planning to develop tourism there!"

"What?" Tang Long's brows instantly knitted together. This was the exact scenario he wanted to avoid the most. "Didn't I tell Mayor Wu that a ten-kilometer radius around Fish Head Village should be reserved for the village?"

Wang Feiyue sighed helplessly. "Don't panic just yet. There are some matters even Mayor Wu might not have the authority to decide. The news isn't entirely confirmed yet; I only caught wind of a rumor. We'll have to wait for the official notification for specifics!"

Tang Long knew that the moment Wang Feiyue made this call, it meant... nine times out of ten, this had already become an irreversible fact.

First there had been a "Flowery Fish Head," and now... another "Black Fish Head" was on the way!