Chapter 64: Life Choices
Zhang Nianzu was speeding on the road, he was going to find someone. In order to carry out the next step of the plan, he had to figure out his identity as much as possible. However, regarding his identity, he now deeply understood what someone said.
“I don’t have a strong sense of my racial identity.”
He wanted to find Lao Jiang, after all, he was the only fellow tribesman he could contact.
When he arrived at Dick's Bar, Zhang Nianzu looked around the alleys and didn't see anything unusual. It seemed that after such a long time, the people blocking him had relaxed a lot. But even if there was, he didn't care at all.
At this time, night fell and there were already quite a few people in the bar. Zhang Nianzu strode in and saw Lao Jiang at the bar counter at a glance.
Jiang Zhicheng was surprised to see Zhang Nianzu appear so openly, and said, "You..."
Zhang Nianzu smiled and said, "Here I am again."
Lao Jiang subconsciously looked around and whispered, "I haven't heard from you for so long. I thought you were hiding away."
Zhang Nianzu shook his head and said, "I came here today just to tell you a piece of news."
"What news?"
"I found my grandfather."
Lao Jiang was surprised and asked, "Where is he?"
Zhang Nianzu pointed at himself and said, "That's me."
"Are you crazy?"
"Uh... no..." Zhang Nianzu suddenly found himself in an awkward situation. He had no way of proving that he was the grandfather.
With a whoosh, Chiang Kai-shek suddenly punched Zhang Nianzu in the face.
Zhang Nianzu was completely different at this time. He stretched out his palm almost instantly and wrapped Chiang's fist tightly and stopped it in mid-air. The two of them briefly competed with each other, but in the end, neither of them could move forward at all.
Zhang Nianzu smiled and said, "Cloth wrapped around stone, I win."
Seeing this, several of Lao Jiang's followers came over. Lao Jiang withdrew his hands and motioned them to disperse. He said in surprise: "Good boy, you have improved a lot in the past few days." But he immediately said, "But this doesn't prove that you are the grandfather."
Zhang Nianzu reached out and grabbed a handful of iron spoons from the bar, held them in a row in his left hand, and then broke them one by one with his right index finger.
"This move is called the Midas Touch. Do you remember the last time I was fighting with someone in front of a bar, and that person suddenly broke his arm?"
Lao Jiang thought for a moment and his expression gradually changed. "You...are you really the grandfather?"
Zhang Nianzu said: "I just found out about this too."
Old Chiang subconsciously took a big step back, knocking the wine rack behind him. This was the first time Zhang Nianzu saw him showing a fearful expression. Old Chiang asked vigilantly, "What do you want to do?"
Zhang Nianzu said helplessly: "I have to understand some of the circumstances before I can decide what I should do--" He felt that after revealing his identity, Chiang Kai-shek's previously secretive information might be revealed to him.
Lao Jiang asked, "What else do you want to know?"
Zhang Nianzu sighed and said, "Well, let me tell you what I know first." He saw that Lao Jiang suddenly became deeply wary and hostile towards him. In the past, Lao Jiang could always talk and laugh calmly when facing dozens of thugs, and he still owed Lao Jiang a favor, so he didn't want the relationship between the two to deteriorate.
Zhang Nianzu briefly recounted how he was severely injured by the big guy at the hospital gate, and then told Lao Jiang exactly what Liu Laoliu and the other ants had said to him.
"So it seems that -" Zhang Nianzu concluded, "a huge amount of public funds of our clan disappeared in my father's hands. As the heir, I have to track down its whereabouts and give an explanation to the clan members."
"So your father embezzled my father's money?" Lao Jiang said with his eyes wide open.
Zhang Nianzu smiled bitterly and said, "That's what it looks like at the moment, but I think there must be something fishy going on here."
Lao Jiang froze there, muttering, "Now that you put it that way... no wonder..."
Zhang Nianzu asked, "What's the wonder?"
Chiang was about to speak, but he stopped talking. Zhang Nianzu looked him in the eye and said, "Do you trust my character?"
Lao Jiang gritted his teeth and finally said, "I can trust you!"
"Then tell me, what did your father say to you before he died?"
Lao Jiang said, "In fact, I have already told you that the main point of his last words was not to let me go to Zuye. But I will never forget the indignation and fear in his eyes when he was dying. Now that I think about it, it was because your father, the Zuye of the previous generation of the Qiangren Clan, embezzled the public funds of the clan. My father was unwilling but did not dare to go to your father to settle the account. Maybe he still felt guilty about me, but for my safety, he still did not reveal more information about Zuye."
Zhang Nianzu was moved and said, "If this is true, I will definitely give you and your son an explanation on behalf of my father."
Lao Jiang said sadly: "I never thought that your family might be the indirect murderer of my father."
Zhang Nianzu patted him and said, "Don't say that before you make a conclusion. Besides, no matter what, I still recognize you as my big brother."
Lao Jiang sighed and said, "In short, there is a grudge between you and me."
Zhang Nianzu said: "Fortunately you are not a woman, otherwise we would have to perform a bloody romance drama."
Lao Jiang also laughed, and the atmosphere suddenly became relaxed.
Zhang Nianzu asked, "Didn't your father leave you some inheritance before he died?"
Lao Jiang spread his hands and said, "Do you think I look like a rich second generation? In your words, why would I jump into a cesspool if I had any other options? A few years ago, I had a thought, I wanted to save up some money to buy this bar outright, but later I realized it was impossible. Although this place is not a prime street, such a big bar is not something that ordinary people can buy just because they want to."
Zhang Nianzu was surprised and asked, "Isn't this bar yours?"
Lao Jiang said, "You can tell the difference between a shopkeeper and a boss, right? I am just a manager, and this bar is the property of the society."
Zhang Nianzu said: "I've made a note of this. If we figure out our business, I will help you fulfill this wish."
Lao Jiang said: "Then you better hurry up, I don't have many years left to live."
Zhang Nianzu was a little surprised, but he immediately realized that he was talking about the fact that soldiers only had a lifespan of 45 years. He interrupted and said, "You have to help me."
Lao Jiang said, "How else can I help you? You are no worse than me in fighting now."
Zhang Nianzu said, "By the way, didn't you say you knew someone from our clan? Can I meet him?"
Lao Jiang said: "I can only try to make an appointment for you. I have only met that brother once, and he doesn't seem to care much about this matter."
Zhang Nianzu said, "Thank you." He suddenly felt a little lonely. From what Liu Laoliu said, the Qiangren tribe was once a powerful and intimidating race, but now the tribesmen have become so distant and indifferent to each other. This may be because of the absence of the grandfather, or even dereliction of duty. He asked Lao Jiang, "Did the Black Panther Gang cause you trouble later?"
Lao Jiang said, "I've said it before, they have no evidence." He pulled open his clothes on his shoulders to show Zhang Nianzu where he was injured last time. There was a swelling there, and it seemed that the bone was still repairing itself, but the skin and flesh were already intact. Lao Jiang suddenly said, "Speaking of looking for someone, there is a woman who comes to my place every day to look for you."
"It's Ting..." Zhang Nianzu stopped abruptly after saying two words. He quickly realized that it couldn't be Lei Tingting. Firstly, Chiang knew her, and secondly, she must not be free now.
Lao Jiang chuckled and said, "Did you owe a debt of love somewhere?"
Zhang Nianzu was completely at a loss. Who else would come to him if not Lei Tingting? As for the romantic debt, it was completely false.
Chiang Kai-shek suddenly winked at Zhang Nianzu and said, "Here they come!"
Zhang Nianzu turned around and saw the woman that Lao Jiang was talking about was right behind him. The two of them suddenly came face to face.
Speaking of this woman, her skin was fair, the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes were piled up, and her hair was gray - this was actually a woman in her fifties and approaching sixties! Zhang Nianzu turned around and glared at Lao Jiang, but found that Lao Jiang was smiling mischievously.
The old lady, holding a glass of lemonade in her hand, asked, "Young man, do you know Zhang Nianzu?"
Zhang Nianzu had no choice but to turn around and say, "Auntie, I am Zhang Nianzu."
The aunt was stunned when she heard this, then she compared Zhang Nianzu's height with her hand, and judged his age, muttering: "It's almost the same as what you said--" She said coldly, "Smile a little."
"I laugh..." Zhang Nianzu said awkwardly, "Auntie, what on earth are you going to do?"
"Smile!" the aunt said persistently.
Zhang Nianzu had no choice but to force the corners of his mouth upwards, revealing a perfunctory smile. However, this smile still moved the muscles on his face, and the dimple-like scar also blossomed.
When the aunt saw him, she was immediately excited and said, "Yes, you are Zhang Nianzu!"
"Auntie, you are..."
The aunt said: "I am Lei Tingting's nanny, you can call me Aunt Wang."
"How is Tingting?" Zhang Nianzu asked anxiously.
Aunt Wang said word by word: "She is very bad. She talks about you every day and is almost depressed. I watched this child grow up and never thought she would worry about someone like this."
Zhang Nianzu felt a pain in his heart and asked, "Where is she now?"
"She has been imprisoned by Tiger Lord at home, and there are people watching her every day when she goes out for exercise." Aunt Wang slapped Zhang Nianzu coldly and said, "Didn't you say you were going to look for her?"
Zhang Nianzu hesitated and said, "I was delayed by some things... and..."
Aunt Wang said, "Then go now!"
Zhang Nianzu said depressedly: "I can't go find her."
Aunt Wang looked at Zhang Nianzu with a sidelong glance and said contemptuously, "Tingting has chosen the wrong person after all. If you are so afraid of death, stop bragging. She thinks about you every second and is almost going crazy, but you are drinking here."
"I..." Zhang Nianzu had no way to explain and didn't know what to say. His face was so red that it seemed to be bleeding, not sure if it was because he was slapped or because he was so excited.
At this time, Lao Jiang leaned over and said, "My dear sister, you must know the background of the Lei family. If this kid goes to find your eldest lady alone, he will die there, right?"
Aunt Wang said domineeringly: "Then die together with Tingting, what's the point of living like this?"
Lao Jiang said with amusement and helplessness: "You are really talking without any pain. It seems that these two children are not your own, so you are willing to let them go."
Aunt Wang said angrily, "Although I am just a servant, I have always treated Tingting as my own daughter. Seeing her become more and more haggard day by day, I feel so sorry for her!" She pointed at Zhang Nianzu and said, "Give me a straight answer, boy. Are you going to look for Tingting or not? If you are scared, I will go back and make her give up!"
Lao Jiang poked Zhang Nianzu and whispered, "Even a nanny in the Lei family is so awesome, do you dare to go?"
Zhang Nianzu clenched his fists and said to Lao Jiang, "Tingting followed me and survived many dangers. At least she is safe in the Lei family. You should know that among those who are chasing me, there are people from our clan!"
Old Chiang stopped laughing. He had just been thinking about watching a joke, but only now did he understand what Zhang Nianzu was thinking.
Aunt Wang stared at Zhang Nianzu and said, "Hey, I'm asking you a question, so go ahead and answer it."
Lao Jiang lay on the bar and said hesitantly, "Either die with the girl you love, or let her hate you for the rest of her life. It's your choice."
Zhang Nianzu said depressedly: "Do you have any suggestions?"
Lao Jiang said: "No, no matter what you choose today, you may regret it later."
Zhang Nianzu said angrily: "Aren't you talking nonsense?"
Lao Jiang shrugged: "Life is like this. Sometimes not having choices is not necessarily happier than having choices."
