Chapter 14: Three Years

The Hexagon could be said to be a rather upscale restaurant near the station.

The exterior had a somewhat antique style, the eaves decorated like ancient flying eaves, and the interior décor was considered quite good for this era.

Wei San’s intention to get close to Su Pingnan was plain to see from his choice of meeting place.

He was long past the days of picking fights. Ending up with only one crippled leg despite all the terrible things he had done was probably thanks to the merits accumulated in his past life.

Su Pingnan brought a few men who had been performing well recently to the meeting. These were the guys he’d recently observed as having potential and intended to give greater trust to.

Upon entering, Wei San, who had been waiting, immediately came forward and said warmly, “Brother Red Robe, I will be your host today. One is to thank you; two is to attach myself to you, haha!”

Su Pingnan shook Wei San’s hand with a broad smile: “Brother San, you’re too kind. Everyone knows that you have the widest connections in Wucheng! From now on, we’ll be counting on you to make money.”

Wei San immediately put on a humble posture, but Su Pingnan, who’d become cunning from his previous life, naturally wouldn’t take the bait. Wei San was surprised too. To him, someone who had gotten rich so quickly at such a young age would usually be very arrogant. But Little Red Robe was unexpectedly so composed, which made him think higher of him and speak all the more warmly.

Wei San now essentially lived off his connections. Little Red Robe was now clearly on the rise, so he naturally wanted to cultivate a good relationship.

After a few cups, the table’s atmosphere grew even more lively. Su Pingnan’s men naturally didn’t dare push him to drink, so their attention turned to Wei San. Wei San drank generously, refused no offer, and was extremely witty, making the table rowdy and cheerful. Su Pingnan watched and nodded inwardly—indeed, society winnows the strong, and everyone who could make something of themselves was not simple.

Wei San truly drank heavily. In no time, he had downed nearly two bottles of baijiu, yet his complexion remained unchanged, though his speech slowed considerably.

“They say Brother San’s connections outnumber Wucheng’s railroad tracks. Could I ask you for a favor?”

Su Pingnan suddenly remembered that they’d be getting the vehicles soon, yet nobody even had a driver’s license. So, he looked at Wei San and mentioned it.

Wei San burst out laughing. His main purpose today was to use this meal to win more business from Little Red Robe through this vehicle purchase, but it turned out that the ones assigned as drivers of these vehicles were even licensed to drive them.

“Pingnan, leave the vehicle paperwork to Brother San and there’s no problem,” Wei San immediately agreed.

“Good, thanks Brother San. Not only for me and Wenwen and the few of us, I don’t want to bother you too many times over the same thing, so help settle things for my three brothers here too,” Su Pingnan pointed to the three men who’d come with him.

Li Jijun, Zhang Ruhai, and Wang Chenguang were selected by Su Pingnan. It was hard to say if it was on purpose or not, but these three were each very close to Su Wenwen. They could be said to be the trio’s most capable assistants.

When the three heard they’d get licenses too, their gazes at Su Pingnan burned. Drivers were now a scarce, sought-after profession. Getting a driver’s license was a huge boon.

They exchanged a look and thought, “Everyone says Brother Red Robe is magnanimous, and it’s true.” Knowing they had entered Su Pingnan’s inner circle, they pressed down their excitement, stood up together and bowed in unison. “Thank you, Brother Red Robe.”

Sober enough despite being drunk, Wei San was amazed at Su Pingnan’s generosity. He priced a license at 3,000. For the three, it would be nearly ten thousand, yet the other party didn’t mind at all. Seeing their excited looks, he figured if Su Pingnan later told them to jump off a building, these guys would not even furrow a brow. This Little Red Robe was formidable—he knew when to advance and retreat, and had deft methods. In the future, Wucheng would definitely be dominated by him.

Su Pingnan had no idea Wei San held such a high opinion of him. He smiled, had the three sit down, and offered each of the three a glass of wine, then turned to Wei San with a smile and said, “Brother San, I’ll entrust the household registration and license matters to you so I’ll feel at ease. Give your brother a

People are strange like that. Once the deal was settled, Wei San lost interest in the money itself. His intuition told him befriending Su Pingnan was far more important than earning this sum.

He was decisive too; he gritted his teeth and quoted a base price: “Thirty thousand.”

Su Pingnan was somewhat taken aback by the price, but when he saw Wei San’s expression, he immediately understood his intentions.

“Go, I’ll write you a note. Go find Sister Zhang and get fifty thousand yuan.” Su Pingnan waved at the three still excited men.

At the same time he looked to the most perceptive of the three, Wang Chenguang, and quietly pointed at the table with a slight nod.

……

Zhang Tong couldn’t hold himself back in the end, and with that breath, slammed a full plate of braised pork onto his own brother’s head and then went out the door.

Only after the cold wind hit his face and helped him calm down did he remember what his boss had told him. He couldn’t help but scratch his head.

There was no way he was returning to the house right now. In any case, his boss just wanted to find someone capable, right? A person suddenly appeared in his mind.

“Yes, I’ll go look for him. He’d definitely know someone.”

Zhang Tong got excited and didn’t care that it was already late. He ran to a small shop to buy some gifts and went straight to knock on that person’s door.

Wei San looked at the five bundles of bluish hundred-yuan notes before him, then at Su Pingnan’s insistent expression, sighed, lifted his cup and drained it.

“Brother Red Robe, ten years. Within ten years, you will absolutely be this in Wucheng.”

Wei San raised his thumb.

Su Pingnan sat upright in the main seat, the three burly men standing quietly behind him.

His face was calm and his tone gentle, as if speaking of something trivial. “Three years.”