Chapter 138: Encounter with Zhou Chen Again (Fifth update, seeking monthly votes)_1

Translator: 549690339

“Nie Jiamin gave a mysterious smile, looking quite disdainful. “Brother, I feel like you’re getting more and more out of touch. You can’t even keep up with what’s happening here.”

With a regretful shake of his head, Nie Jiamin led Nie Zhenbang into the factory. As soon as they stepped into the abandoned building, two men dressed in army coats emerged from a small iron-walled house nearby. They studied Nie Zhenbang for a moment and on seeing Nie Jiamin, one of them smiled and said, “So it’s young master Nie. Please come in, the show is about to start.”

Next to the small iron house, the ground was pulled back to reveal a hidden underground tunnel. A staircase led downwards introducing an entirely new world beneath.

Within the huge foundation, a wide hall was built with concrete support frames. In the middle of the hall was a platform one meter high. Around the platform, there were chairs, and at the front, there were rows of sofa sets and coffee table booths.

The room was extremely bare; in fact, there was no decoration at all. At this moment, many people had already arrived in the hall.

Nie Jiamin seemed very familiar with the place and soon found a booth with the help of a waiter and made himself comfortable.

“Brother, tell me, what is this place for?” In the center was a stage-like platform, and the air was permeated with the scent of blood. With a frown, Nie Zhenbang asked.

Smiling, Nie Jiamin explained, “Brother, see over there? Yes, those cages. This is a place for dog fights. Nowadays, those mischievous men of Jingcheng are into this. It’s bloody and thrilling. You can also gamble around. It’s quite the pastime.”

Nie Jiamin was speaking the truth. The mischievous men of Sijiucheng were experts in all sorts of things. Over time, they likely experienced a void in their lives that needed to be filled. This brutal and bloody sport of dog fights hit just the right taste for these men. It was indeed cruel, unbearable to people with a kind heart, or those with a weak mental capacity. Not to mention, dog fights were largely condemned by animal rights activists overseas as it meant torturing dogs.

At that moment Li Hua, Wen Jiange, Liu Kun, and others also approached, laughing and joking. They evidently were regulars at this venue.

“So, even Brother Nie is here. Just in time, I was just thinking of inviting Brother Nie to join. Despite you’re a leader now, you cannot distance yourself from us, the common people,” Wen Jiange joked as he saw Nie Zhenbang.

Li Hua joined in with a smile, “Great leaders have said we should come from the masses to serve the masses. Brother Nie returning to the grassroots level is an honor for us.”

“Guys, you joke among yourselves, but Brother Nie now feeds me. My company Farmer Welfare is in Brother Nie’s hands. If any of you upset Brother Nie, causing a catastrophe for me, don’t blame me for being ruthless,” Liu Kun chimed in looking worried.

Nie Zhenbang also responded with a smile, “Kun, if you’re so scared, there’s an opportunity for you tonight. Cover all our expenses and consider it under the bridge, how about it?”

No matter what Nie Zhenbang felt, you should enjoy when you come out to play. Now that he was out, Nie Zhenbang decided to let go and enjoy. Everyone wasn’t pleased seeing him keep a long face.

At this point, Nie Zhenbang recognized quite a few familiar faces. Yun family’s eldest son was sitting with Zhang Xu and others. And on the other side sat Li family and Zhao Xinglong from the Zhao family, talking and laughing. Zhao Xinglong was deemed one of the most mysterious wealthy young men in Jingcheng. The Zhao family kept a low profile in Jingcheng, but had significant connections in the official and military circles. Zhao Xinglong grew up studying overseas and had formally returned home this time.

“Hua, pretty classy here. What’s the background of this boss, and how did he snatch this lucrative business? You guys don’t seem interested,” Nie Zhenbang teased wondering about the owner of the dog fighting business. Anyone able to run this in Jingcheng was certainly brilliant, at least in understanding the minds of these wealthy young men.

Li Hua laughed off the comment, shaking his head, “It’s not that simple. The ones who are valued by the boss aren’t afraid, and the ones that the boss is afraid of, wouldn’t be interested in this place.”

At this moment, Zhang Xu and Zhao Xinglong were heading towards Nie Zhenbang. At this moment, Zhang Xu was feeling a bit conflicted. The woman of his dreams, the one he has been pursuing, had been taken by Nie Zhenbang. And now, their relationship seemed unclear, which really annoyed Zhang Xu.

“Third, we meet again! You’ve become quite spectacular after all these years we haven’t seen each other.” Zhang Xu’s tone was filled with irritation as soon as he began to speak.

Nie Zhenbang smiled at this. Zhang Xu was indeed a devoted lover. Nie Zhenbang didn’t know if Zhang Xu and Dong Wan had ended up together in his past life. But in this life, he had a good impression of Zhang Xu. Coming from a military compound, Zhang Xu had a straightforward and unrestrained military personality. He loved who he loved, and disliked who he disliked, with no other options. This type of person had both good and bad aspects in politics.

However, the Zhangs had always stayed away from politics, focusing solely on military advancement. Nie Jiamin whispered to Zhenbang, “Third, Zhang Xu and I are in the same military region now. He’s better than me; he’s already a major, and he’s rumored to be in the Tiger Battalion of the Northwest Military Region and might be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel soon.”

Upon hearing Nie Jiamin’s words, Nie Zhenbang chuckled. It was true what they say, life is full of unexpected encounters. Nie Zhenbang didn’t take Zhang Xu’s aggressive attitude seriously, and even replied with a smile, “You seem to be doing quite well in the army. Seems like you’ve found your place in this melting pot. When you get back to the base, send my regards to the ‘devil’. Tell him that the ‘Crown Prince’ misses him.”

Nie Zhenbang’s words shocked Zhang Xu. How did Nie Zhenbang know the internal nicknames of the Tiger Group? The ‘Devil’ was a codename for Yao Yuan, the Battalion Commander, earned due to his cruelty and strict training of new recruits. And, as for the ‘Crown Prince’, this name was used by Yao Yuan and ‘Sun’, signifying a legend and a myth within the Tiger Battalion of the Northwest Military Region —a soldier king bestowed with more talent than the Devil. It was something even the Devil himself had admitted. Zhang Xu had not expected this person to be Nie Zhenbang.

Suddenly, Zhang Xu’s attitude changed. He stared earnestly at Nie Zhenbang and said, “Brother Zhenbang, even though you are my senior in the military and I’ve long heard of your renowned name, I still have something to say. The military is the military. Feelings are feelings. Dong Wan has chosen you, and I regret nothing; it’s her choice. However, I hope you don’t make Dong Wan feel heartbroken or shed tears. Can you do that?”

Now that’s a real man. Nie Zhenbang appreciated Zhang Xu for his outspoken nature. Once this kind of person became your friend, he would be loyal for a lifetime. Maybe it was the sense of belonging that came from being in the same unit. Nie Zhenbang formally replied, “Zhang Xu, you just relax, I will do that.”

At this moment, Zhao Xinglong next to Zhang Xu laughed and said, “Don’t make the atmosphere so tense. This must be ‘Third Young Master’, right? I’ve heard so much about you but never met you since you were always overseas. Now, I get to meet you in person.”

Zhang Xu had adjusted his state of mind by now. Anyone who could enter the Tiger Group definitely had strong psychological endurance and the ability to adjust. He laughed and introduced, “Crown Prince, let me introduce you. This is Zhao Xinglong. He also came out of our military compound, but he is an anomaly. He’s never liked military affairs and lived abroad since primary school, only coming back to the country this year.”

The Zhao family was also a core part of the military compound, but this current generation of the Zhao family had few offspring and had gradually shown signs of leaving the military.

Zhao Xinglong seemed to be around twenty-three or twenty-four. With his sword-like brows, twinkling eyes, and a height of one meter eighty-three, he was a strikingly handsome man. When he smiled, he emanated an elegantly scholarly demeanor.

Just then, another group of people walked in, led by Zhou Chen and Ou Zheng. Ever since the retirement of Comrade Xuri, the Ou family had fallen from grace. Ou Zheng’s father, Ou Huajun, had been assigned to the National Political Consultative Conference for leisurely retirement. Thus, in Jingcheng, Ou Zheng was just a commoner today. Compared to the veteran families like Nie Zhenbang and Yang Anbang, he had much to improve. But as the Ou and Zhou families had shared a similar plight, Ou Zheng naturally gathered with Zhou Chen.

“Today is indeed lively. It seems all have returned from their vacation.” Zhou Chen’s voice was already heard before he reached the group.

After his term in Chunan Province, Zhou Chen had matured a lot. But as the saying goes, ‘Jiangshan is easy to change, but nature is hard to change’, Zhou Chen’s innate character couldn’t be changed.

Now, Zhou Chen had been transferred back from Chunan Province and had been appointed in a ministry, making him an assistant minister.

Upon scanning the room and spotting Nie Zhenbang, Zhou Chen’s face instantly turned gloomy. Then almost immediately, he smothered it with a smile, saying, “I was wondering why it was so lively. Turns out Jingcheng’s renowned ‘Three Young Masters’ is back. Have you come here just like us after being highlighted as an outstanding cadre by ‘Daily at Seven’?”

PS: 461 votes, we’re getting close to our goal of 470. Brothers and sisters, keep up the good work. Each ticket is creating a new history for us. I look forward to completing the goal at 11:10 pm. Tomorrow, there will be an assured burst of 12,000 words.