Bad news from afar

  The next day at noon, after lunch, Zhang Jin finally sent away the various satisfied 'uninvited guests'. Of course, with the departure of the crowd, the stock in the wine cellar also decreased a bit.

  After watching the car disappear around the mountain road, Zhang Jin weighed the thick stack of money in his hand and shook his head with a bitter smile. Due to the limited space in the car, the two cars took away more than a dozen jars of wine. Originally, Zhang Jin wanted to use this wine as a return gift for the full car of gifts when these people came, but these old men refused one by one with righteous words. They didn't want Zhang Jin's gift, but instead insisted on "buying" it at the price of 3,000 yuan per jar! In their words, this jar of wine weighs a full 15 kilograms, which is equivalent to only over 200 yuan per kilogram. For such good wine, they have already taken advantage of a great bargain!

  The stalemate ended with the victory of all the old masters who relied on their age. Zhang Jin was not a newcomer to society, and at this moment, he was as clear as a mirror. These old men were all cunning and treacherous, who could take tens of thousands of yuan with them when they went out? It's obvious that these old men had planned ahead!

  They knew that if it was 'sent', they could at most occasionally get three or two jars; the interruption would definitely happen. However, if it was 'bought', then coming to ask for wine later would be much more justified!

  After decades in office, even without resorting to lowly means of getting rich through corruption and bribery, just relying on the information they control and the connections they've accumulated would be enough for them to help their family members do business and count their money until their hands are numb. Not to mention these old guys who held powerful positions while in office and after retirement still have a network of former subordinates who are now high-ranking officials in various regions. So, it's true that these old men don't lack money, and for them, buying such good wine at this price is really a bargain.

  Unless it's a sudden change of heart, even if Zhang Jin had seen through the old masters' plot, he would still be powerless. After decades of fighting in the mountains and seas, struggling in the intrigue, these old masters had honed their language skills to perfection, leaving Zhang Jin no choice but to admit defeat. Compared to the officialdom, the language artistry of the business world is really not on the same level!

  Zhang Jin, who had no choice but to accept the large sum of money, could only comfort himself by saying: "It's okay, it's okay. At least this way, even if I'm just a cat in the village and don't go out, I won't be left with nothing. It's still some income, isn't it?" Zhang Jin also knew that he was extravagant, and those 'meager' savings wouldn't last long. After all, although Zhang Jin had made a lot of money while working in the pharmacy department, it was only for six years, and after buying a house and a car, and then messing around in this seaside village again, how much would be left?

  Until the two cars disappeared from view around the bend at the foot of the distant mountain, Zhang Jin and Qi Bing didn't turn back into the house, throwing themselves onto the sofa in the living room on the first floor, sprawling there without any image. Although receiving these guests was not a tiring thing for Zhang Jin nowadays, having a group of strange old guys wandering around his own home was still not as comfortable and relaxing as when he was alone at home.

  "Ah, it can be said that they've been sent off. Looking at their excited expressions when you tried to persuade them to stay, I was really afraid they'd end up staying for good!" After sending off a few people, the chubby student Qi Bing also let out a heavy sigh of relief. For this young high school student, although these old men had put on a friendly and approachable facade, they were still accustomed to being in high positions and unintentionally exuded some official aura, which made him uncomfortable.

  "Live here for a long time? That won't happen. These people I don't know, running to my house to freeload, already shows that their faces are thick enough from being in the official circle, I'm not running a restaurant. Besides, I'm not their grandson-in-law, even if they had thicker skin, they wouldn't dare come to me and let me support them in their old age?" Zhang Jin said with a smirk. From his expression, it was clear that Zhang Jin wasn't as hospitable as he seemed the past two days, but rather just taking care of Wei Feng's face. Who made him, Zhang Da Xia, have such bad luck to end up with this brother?

  Qibing didn't continue the conversation, but instead glanced at Zhang Jin's thick stack of red tickets on the coffee table and changed the subject. "Actually, it's not bad this way. At this price, even if you just sit at home brewing wine, you can still make a fortune without too much trouble. No wonder you don't even want to do lucrative business like weight loss clinics!"

  Seeing Qi Bing's mercantile appearance, Zhang Jin stretched out his foot and kicked Qi Bing on the other side of the sofa, laughing and saying: "When you were in school, you should have studied hard, don't always think about making money. This kind of thing, it's not too late to think about after you graduate from university and start working."

  The two brothers snuggled up on the sofa, chatting occasionally until their voices grew softer and softer, and they both fell asleep.

  "You're so poisonous, you're so poisonous, you're so poisonous...... poisonous...... poisonous......" The familiar ringtone of his mobile phone woke up Zhang Jin who was sleeping soundly.

  Zhang Jin didn't even open his eyes, took out the phone from his pocket and put it to his ear, lazily saying: "Hey! How does Director Ye have time to call me?"

  Without looking at the caller ID, he could tell from the ringtone that it was his ex-wife, Comrade Ye Hong.

  Before Zhang Jin's words had fallen, a somewhat unfamiliar female voice interrupted him in a flurry of flames, "Hello? Are you a relative of Director Ye Hongye? I'm her colleague, and I have some bad news to tell you!" The words were spoken hastily and quickly, with an obvious panic in the tone.

  Zhang Jin suddenly sat up with a start, the remaining drowsiness instantly disappearing, and asked in a tight voice: "What's going on?"

  "Director Ye had just gone to the bank across from the company to take care of some financial business, and it just so happened that she ran into a group of robbers robbing the bank. The police have already surrounded the bank across the street, but Director Ye still hasn't come out. I'm afraid she's been taken hostage!" The woman's voice on the other end of the phone was clearly trembling with sobs.

  Zhang Jin only felt a buzzing in his head, which made his eyes turn black. It took him a while to react, until the woman on the other end of the phone shouted "Hello? Hello?" for half a day, and he replied with a somewhat expectant dry voice: "You... aren't joking, are you? This kind of joke isn't funny at all."

  The woman on the phone was also at a loss for words, and after hearing Zhang Jin's question, she said dejectedly: "I hope this is a joke! Director Ye left her mobile phone on her office desk when she went to the bank. It wasn't until just now that we confirmed something had happened to her that I thought I should at least notify her family and friends. Coincidentally, your number was the first one in her address book, so I called you first. Hold on while I call the others."

  "No, absolutely not! You also know that the people in Director Ye's phone book are all in the country. Even if you tell them, they can't do anything except worry. So it's better not to tell them for now. If you must let them know, it's best to wait until things have a result." After hearing the woman's words, Zhang Jin hastily stopped her. If Ye Hong's parents or his own parents were to find out about this matter, the elderly folks would be worried sick. His own father had high blood pressure, and Ye Hong's father had heart disease. If something were to happen because of a phone call, it would be a huge trouble!

  "But..." The woman's voice still hesitated a little.

  "No need for courtesy, I'm her husband, this matter listens to me. Whatever the consequences, I'll take them." Almost shouting after finishing, Zhang Jin pressed the hang-up button.

  He slammed down the phone and paced back and forth in the spacious living room, feeling like a huge boulder was pressing on his chest, suffocating him. His ears were filled with the buzzing of flies, gunshots, and screams, even though Qi Bing, who had been awakened by his own shouting, asked him several times, he didn't hear a thing. In his mind, one after another, terrible scenes flashed before his eyes: broken bodies, dark red bloodstains, skin that was blue and bruised from being brutally abused...

  After a few minutes, Zhang Jin, who was almost driven mad by various emotions, finally realized that he couldn't continue to wait in vain like this. He needed to do something. So, he suddenly stopped his restless footsteps and quickly walked to the desk, picked up the phone, car keys, and bag hanging on the coat rack at the door, ignoring the shouts of Qi Bing behind him, and rushed out.