Chapter 224 Nemesis
"Old Zhang, I should have been responsible for what happened last night..." Song Yuanchao said to Zhang Yong. Yesterday's incident was caused by Song Yuanchao and his friends, but in the end it was Zhang Yong who got hurt. Song Yuanchao felt grateful but guilty at the same time for this.
"Don't talk about this, it has nothing to do with you." Zhang Yong interrupted Song Yuanchao before he could finish his words, "Even if you didn't do anything yesterday, this jerk might have caused other troubles. I didn't choose the right person from the beginning. I shouldn't have rented this store to him. It's my fault for not judging the person clearly, so he didn't retaliate against the wrong person."
At this point, Zhang Yong smiled at Song Yuanchao and said, "But this jerk is unlucky. Fortunately, you were there at the time. If he had waited until you were gone before he made his move, I guess there would be a memorial service for me now. So I should be the one to thank for this."
Although he said this, Song Yuanchao understood what was going on. Zhang Yong said this just to let Song Yuanchao not take it to heart.
"Okay, I won't mention this anymore." Song Yuanchao nodded, and then asked Zhang Yong seriously, "Old Zhang, I want to ask you something."
"Ask me something? What?"
"Let me ask you, have you thought about the future? Are you going to continue like this?"
Zhang Yong paused while smoking and looked at Song Yuanchao with some confusion.
"You managed to get away with what happened yesterday, but have you ever thought about what to do if something like this happens again?" Song Yuanchao said seriously, "You've been in the underworld for a long time, and you know more about society than I do. Being in society is not a long-term solution, and there's no need for you to continue doing it now. Isn't it better to just do business in peace? Just like what happened yesterday, although it was just an accident, it's still related to your being in society if you think about it carefully, what do you think?"
Zhang Yong's eyes gradually became sharp. He looked at Song Yuanchao carefully, but saw that Song Yuanchao's expression was calm, but also had a hint of concern for him.
With a sigh, Zhang Yong nodded: "Actually, I understand what you said, but many times, understanding the truth is one thing, but doing it is another."
After taking a puff of cigarette, Zhang Yong looked out the window with helplessness, "I have been hanging out with a few brothers since I was in school. Because I dared to fight and risk my life, I gradually became famous in my hometown. I have more and more brothers under me. I have been from Shanghai to the southwest, and then from the southwest back to Shanghai. These brothers have been following me for so many years. Although they are not blood brothers, the relationship between them and me is closer than that between blood brothers."
"Being in society is not a good way out. I understand this truth, but to be honest, if it weren't for these brothers, I, Zhang Yong, would have died long ago. It is with their help that I have reached this point today."
Retracting his gaze and looking at Song Yuanchao, Zhang Yong grinned and said, "When I came back, I knew that this was not a long-term solution, so I took them to do some business. At that time, the idea was just to make some money, find a way out for everyone, and live a good life in the future."
"I'm pretty lucky, and my business is going very smoothly. Of course, you've helped us a lot. Especially the review materials business, which directly helped me open up the situation. I remember the first time we divided so much money, we were all very happy, especially when Xiao Fan brought the money home, his parents were so happy that they cried, holding Xiao Fan's hand and saying that he finally grew up and had a promising future..."
As he spoke, Zhang Yong turned his head away, but Song Yuanchao saw a drop of crystal in the corner of his eye.
Perhaps in Zhang Yong's heart, he was also thinking about his parents when they were still alive, and seeing that he could create wealth with his own hands and earn money for the family to make his parents happy, instead of being the ignorant son who only knew how to fight and get into trouble in his parents' eyes.
"Later, our business gradually grew, the stalls became bigger and bigger, and we made more and more money. Now I am not short of money, and most of my brothers have money too. Especially after the clothing business took off, many stores on Maiyang Road were managed by them, in order to give them a way out, a way that is different from before..."
Zhang Yong took another puff of the remaining cigarette butt, then threw it on the ground and stomped it out. "I am their big brother, and as a big brother I have to take care of them. Plus, with what happened to us in the past, it is impossible to completely sever ties with them. Besides, doing business like ours is also related to the underworld, and many things are still connected. Even if I want to completely sever ties, I can't do it."
Song Yuanchao nodded silently. He knew very well that Zhang Yong was telling the truth.
In fact, it is not only Zhang Yong, but also Luo Yang. In Yanjing, Luo Yang's business in Dashilan is also inseparable from his connections with the underworld. To put it bluntly, Luo Yang had a lot of connections with the underworld when he was doing black market. However, Luo Yang is different from Zhang Yong. Luo Yang's family status makes him more detached, so he is not deeply involved in this aspect.
Zhang Yong's success today is inseparable from his social connections. As he said, it is not only due to his own reasons, but also to the reasons of his brothers. Therefore, it is more difficult and harder for Zhang Yong to completely break away from these than Luo Yang.
"No matter what, you have to get rid of the underworld as soon as possible. Many things are better the sooner they are done. It will be harder to let go after a long time. Besides, to put it bluntly, your brothers are a mixed bag. Can you be sure that there is no one among them who will cause trouble? What if your brothers cause a big trouble outside in the future, and you can't cover it up, but it will implicate you. Have you thought about the consequences?"
Song Yuanchao asked Zhang Yong seriously, and Zhang Yong showed a trace of confusion. He admitted that Song Yuanchao was right, and he was indeed the kind of person who valued his brotherhood. If such a situation really happened, Zhang Yong would definitely not stand idly by.
Sighing, Song Yuanchao handed another cigarette to Zhang Yong, lit it up, and said earnestly: "Let go, you have to walk the road by yourself after all. You are their big brother but not their parent. You don't have to carry all the things on your shoulders, and you can't bear it anyway!"
"For some brothers who want to live a decent life, you can give them a hand and pull them out, that's fine, but for those guys who only know how to cause trouble and never change, you have done your best. Let go early, get out of it early, and be a decent businessman in the future, so that you can go further . Brother, I don't want something like last night to happen again. If that happens, who can you be responsible to? How are you going to explain to your parents when you get there?"
"Let me think about it... Let me think about it carefully..." Zhang Yong murmured. He had listened to Song Yuanchao's words, but he had not yet figured out what to do next and to what extent. This was a big deal and he had to think about it carefully.
Having said that, there was no need for Song Yuanchao to continue. He just let Zhang Yong think about it carefully. He hoped that Zhang Yong could figure it out and completely change himself. Otherwise, Song Yuanchao really didn't want to suddenly hear the bad news about Zhang Yong that day.
Time passed minute by minute, Zhang Yong and Song Yuanchao were smoking in the toilet, and neither of them spoke.
I don't know how long it took, but Li Xiaoyun's voice suddenly came from outside: "Hey, where are Brother Yong and Brother Yuan Chao? How come they disappeared in the blink of an eye?"
"Maybe he went to the toilet?" Lin Yan's voice could be heard faintly.
"Toilet? Yes, I'll go look for it." Li Xiaoyun suddenly realized. Then a burst of footsteps came towards the toilet, followed by Li Xiaoyun's shouting voice: "Brother Yong! Brother Yuanchao! Are you in the toilet?"
Hearing Li Xiaoyun's voice, Zhang Yong, who was usually calm, suddenly panicked. He quickly threw the unfinished cigarette butt into the toilet, then ran to the faucet, turned on the tap and put his head over it.
Zhang Yong poured water into his mouth from the tap, and while doing so, he put the fingers of his intact hand into his mouth and rubbed them randomly. After a while, he turned around, raised his hand and blew a few breaths on his mouth to smell it. After sniffing twice, he was still not satisfied, so he blew on Song Yuanchao and asked, "Quick! Help me smell it, is there any smell of cigarettes in your mouth?"
Zhang Yong's look almost made Song Yuanchao collapse. He never thought that Li Xiaoyun could be so lethal to Zhang Yong. Zhang Yong, who was always fearless, was almost like a mouse seeing a cat when he heard Li Xiaoyun's shout. What was going on?
"Brother Yong! Brother Yong! Are you in the bathroom?" At this time, Li Xiaoyun's voice sounded outside the men's bathroom door.
"Xiao Yun! I'm here! Your brother Yuan Chao and I are inside! Wait a minute!" Zhang Yong hurriedly turned around and shouted at the door.
"Oh, you are really in the bathroom. Are you done? Come out quickly!" Li Xiaoyun seemed relieved and then urged Zhang Yong and the others.
Zhang Yong quickly responded again, then deliberately pulled his trousers down to make it look as if he had just pulled them up. Then he looked at Song Yuanchao, and without saying a word he stepped forward and untied Song Yuanchao's belt. Before Song Yuanchao could react, the belt loosened, and fortunately he was quick enough to grab it and prevent his trousers from falling down.
At this time, Zhang Yong ignored Song Yuanchao who was still busy tying his belt and pushed Song Yuanchao towards the door. When he opened the door from the inside, he saw Li Xiaoyun standing outside the toilet looking around without being afraid of the smell.
"You're too pushy. Look, your brother Yuan Chao rushed out without even having time to fasten his pants. What's the matter? You're urging him while we're just going to the toilet." Zhang Yong said seriously, as if nothing had happened.
Li Xiaoyun's eyes instantly fell on Song Yuanchao who was fastening his pants, and her face immediately turned red: "We went back to the ward and saw that you were gone, so we were in a hurry to find you."
As she spoke, Li Xiaoyun suddenly sniffed twice and looked at Zhang Yong with a serious expression: "Brother Yong, did you smoke secretly? Didn't the doctor tell you not to smoke? OK! You lied to me! You said you were going to the toilet, but you were obviously hiding in the toilet to smoke."
"No! Absolutely not!" Zhang Yong said firmly, "Your brother Yuan Chao smoked it. He had diarrhea and went to the toilet to smoke a cigarette to get rid of the smell. I definitely didn't smoke it."
"You didn't smoke? Why do you smell like cigarettes if you didn't smoke?" Li Xiaoyun asked in disbelief.
"That's the smell of your brother Yuan Chao's cigarettes. I really didn't smoke. If you don't believe me, smell my mouth to see if there is any smell of cigarettes. Yes! See, there is none, right? I'm not lying to you, it's all your brother Yuan Chao's cigarettes. I told him not to smoke but he didn't listen to me..." At this time, Zhang Yong was just like a student who was caught smoking secretly by the teacher. He swore and swore, and deliberately got close to Li Xiaoyun and blew a few breaths. Seeing that Li Xiaoyun was doubtful and unsure, Zhang Yong became more confident and insisted that he definitely didn't smoke!
