Chapter 13: Busy And Going Home

Dozens of cargo trucks blocked the narrow road in front of the food factory, turning it into a complete jam. The company’s cashier, Xiao Zhao, counted money until her hand cramped. Su Pingnan put a stool on the curb, stood on it with a megaphone and shouted to direct the inspection and loading. After shouting for so long, his voice had grown hoarse. He showed none of his usual calm, unflappable, commanding manner.

It was Zhang Tong who spotted Wei San. Zhang Tong was about to collapse from exhaustion but Su Pingnan was on the verge of flying into a rage, so Zhang Tong had to quell the fire. Spinning around in a daze, he saw Wei San standing there with his mouth agape.

“Brother San! The cars are here?”

Zhang Tong had been green with longing over the purchase, and upon seeing Wei San he immediately called out to him.

Wei San was still reeling in shock from the scene before him and kept murmuring to himself, “Oh my goodness, how much money are they earning on a daily basis?!”

Everyone had said Little Red Robe had turned over a new leaf, grown timid, and stayed hunkered down in the freight yard, afraid to come out. Who knew he had quietly staged such a big operation.

After Zhang Tong tugged at him several times, Wei San finally came to his senses.

“Y-yes, they’re here. Good heavens, how much money has Little Red Robe made?”

Wei San was still dizzy, while Zhang Tong had already excitedly run over to Su Pingnan.

“Can’t leave now. Tell Wei San I’ll pick up the vehicles tonight.”

Tiandu was about a seven-plus-hour drive from Wucheng. If they went at night they could be back by the next morning.

Even after getting Zhang Tong’s reply, Wei San awkwardly squeezed up to Su Pingnan and said with a grin. “Brother Red Robe, no hurry — you handle things here first. I’ll bring some fine wine tonight and wait for you at The Hexagon.” He’d been in the scene long enough to know how much clout a wealthy Little Red Robe could hold, and naturally slipped into calling him Brother Red Robe.

Su Pingnan nodded; he too was an old hand in the scene and knew how to speak smoothly.

They worked until seven in the evening before the dozens of trucks were loaded and finally left. A brother who guarded the goods depot ran over to tell Su Pingnan that another 170,000 jin of pine nuts had arrived. Su Pingnan bristled inwardly. “Hire people and quickly promote some smart, reliable managers — if this continues I’ll be stuck here forever. That won’t do.”

Glancing at the exhausted Zhang Tong, Su Pingnan brusquely kicked him to his feet.

“Boss, are we going to The Hexagon now?” Zhang Tong cheerfully climbed up and brushed the dust off his clothes.

“No. You go home. Ask your old man if he can recommend someone who can manage this kind of scene,” said Su Pingnan. The last time he asked Zhang Jianguo for a recommendation, he got someone as talented as Zhang Lihua, so he thought that Zhang Jianguo might be his lucky star and couldn’t help but wonder if he had anyone else to recommend.

Seeing Zhang Tong’s reluctance, Su Pingnan patted his shoulder.

“Your old man isn’t exactly living easy — go to my office, get two nice packs of cigarettes from Xiao Zhao, and take them home to show filial respect.”

Su Pingnan treated these loyal brothers extremely well. Each month he allocated them two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes, partly to keep them from squandering money, and partly to elevate their status.

Zhang Tong naturally obeyed Su Pingnan’s words. Though he was unwilling inside, he complied fully.

Zhang Jianguo had been living well lately; the pine nuts carried on his truck brought him an extra thirty to fifty yuan a day, his subordinates were earning a good amount too and obeyed him. It made him waver on his plan to retire early and let his eldest son take over.

Su Pingnan was shrewd: all the extra pay went only to the train captains, and the reputations of Zhang Jianguo and the other captains rose day by day. With money in their hands they naturally made more friends, and the Wucheng–Fengcheng Line’s train division at Wucheng station saw its overall status quietly rise.

The atmosphere at Zhang Jianguo’s home had become delicate recently: Zhang Tong’s eldest brother, Zhang Gang, had already found a girlfriend, and her family was waiting only for Zhang Gang to secure his father’s post before they married.

With the year-end approaching and his father never even mentioning any intention to retire, Zhang Gang felt conflicted. Their father had been taking in a lot of money lately, so if he stepped down, the money would stop flowing in. And for Zhang Gang to wait until he himself reached train captain would take ages. Zhang Gang was worried that his father started to regret leaving this post for his son and had decided against retiring early. At this rate, Zhang Gang felt that his girlfriend might end up breaking up with him over this.

Zhang Tong’s mother, who rarely saw her second son return, happily laid out a full table of lavish dishes. Zhang Jianguo knew that Su Pingnan’s business had grown huge in just a few months — he was no longer the roughneck who chatted with him on the train, but a local strongman with hundreds of people under him.

The younger son now had more face than he did, following Su Pingnan every day and becoming something of a figure at the station. Seeing Zhang Tong return with two packs of good cigarettes made him very pleased. He even took out a treasured bottle of wine to drink a few cups with his successful son.

One time, some rowdy drunks caused trouble on the train and refused to stop. Zhang Jianguo almost called train security when one of them respectfully asked if he was “Brother Tong’s father”. He stood confused for a few minutes before realizing that the “Brother Tong” they spoke of was his own son. After he nodded, the men immediately bowed and apologized — the incident was over. Only then did he realize his son had finally grown up.

At the table, Zhang Jianguo for once raised his glass and drank several cups with Zhang Tong. Zhang Tong’s mother was also all smiles. She had long been pricked by the fact her younger son couldn’t take over the job, so seeing him doing well now made her overjoyed. She couldn’t stop smiling and kept piling rice into Zhang Tong’s bowl.

“Son, I heard your boss, Mr. Su treats you well? He values you, so you must work well and not let him down.”

Zhang Tong was still a young man and recently felt that he would never feel prouder than he was right now. He stopped being upset about not taking over his father’s post, and when his mother mentioned his Brother Red Robe, he immediately began to beam and excitedly recount things.

When they heard his monthly pay was actually 1,500 yuan, the other three family members were too stunned to even speak. Upon learning he received two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes a month and had been given an apartment, Zhang Jianguo and his wife were struck speechless.

The more Zhang Gang heard, the worse he felt. He was unemployed at home and hesitated even to spend ten yuan on a date, yet his younger brother already owned a home — an apartment in a high-rise building no less!

The more he listened the more uncomfortable he grew, and an anger welled up inside him. Zhang Gang suddenly slammed his cup down and sneered, “Boss Su, Boss Su — he’s nothing! A profiteering punk, that’s all he is! Sooner or later he’ll get shot in the head by someone!”

At those words the table fell silent. The grinning look on Zhang Tong’s face turned murderous, his gaze fixed on Zhang Gang, his tone vicious and deliberate. “Zhang Gang, if you’re a man, say that again.”

Su Pingnan was truly a godlike figure in Zhang Tong’s mind now. His heart was filled with violent fury when he heard his own brother speak that way about his boss.