Chapter 3: Cleanup And Targets

Su Pingnan ignored everyone’s expressions, waved for the waiter to bring a bottle of beer, and leisurely began to pour and drink by himself.

Su Wenwen and the others were about to open their mouths to say something, but were glared back into silence by Su Pingnan’s cold stare.

Su Pingnan slowly scanned the faces of the few people, then said in a casual tone, “Someone has been privately lining up to move goods behind my back.” As soon as he spoke, several faces—Monkey Ren included—turned pale with guilt.

Su Pingnan’s gaze turned icy as he stared straight at Monkey Ren and the others. His words remained measured, but his tone grew ever colder.

“We’re all out here to make a living—tell me, do you earn your money by your own effort, or by the reputation of my name, Little Red Robe?” Su Pingnan paused, leaned back in his restaurant chair, stared at Monkey Ren with wide eyes, and his tone turned fierce: “Speak!”

At his core, Su Pingnan was the type who found it easy to respond to the begs of others, but refused to beg others. To him, once he had to beg, it meant he had lost his dignity.

In his previous life, he had once humbled himself to ask favors from this very brother he had helped so often, only to have Monkey Ren trample his last shred of dignity.

Monkey Ren’s face went ashen, cold sweat streaming. But he clenched his teeth and remained silent.

Su Pingnan suddenly withdrew his outward ferocity and said, “People make their own paths. I’ve suddenly realized something: you must finish things thoroughly. Since you’ve made things so ugly today, I won’t leave you a way out.”

No sooner had he finished speaking, the beer bottle he was holding suddenly exploded over Monkey Ren’s head, causing beer mixed with a reddish liquid to drip down his face.

Su Pingnan slowly wiped his right hand clean with a napkin, speaking calmly, “Perfect—today I’ll set a rule. From now on, when we all take a cut together, what I give you you cannot refuse.” He pointed to them one by one with a smile on his face, “And what I don’t give, you must not take.”

Having said that, he single-handedly hoisted the wobbling Monkey Ren, leaned close and whispered in his ear, “Three days’ share—whatever you’ve taken, spit it out. Take your men and get lost. I have a bad temper. Remember that and don’t let me ever see you again at South Station.”

Ignoring the now-slumped Monkey Ren, Su Pingnan coldly said to Yang Qianli, “If you see him again, you know what to do, right?”

Yang Qianli licked his lips, cast a ruthless look at Monkey Ren, and nodded.

In this era, Wucheng’s train station was the biggest hub of opportunity. By doing this, Su Pingnan had effectively cut off most of Monkey Ren’s future paths to making it big.

Regarding Monkey Ren, Su Pingnan didn’t truly want to harm him—he had resolved to live differently and would not do anything too illegal.

After the equally guilty underlings helped Monkey Ren away in a sorry state, Su Pingnan looked at the eager young men who followed him and felt soaring ambition well up inside.

He also understood that these men still possessed this era’s particular sense of loyalty. That was another huge asset for him. What he needed was to use his advantage of being reborn to lead them in building a large business empire. He didn’t want much in this life, but what he did want was difficult: he wanted to make sure that no one would ever make him bow his head again—not even fate itself.

……

The laborers at Wucheng Station’s goods depot suddenly realized that Monkey Ren, who used to boss others around, had vanished without a trace. The dispatcher and manager position had been replaced by Little Red Robe’s younger brother Su Wenwen, and the whole loading schedule became much more reasonable. Soon, Monkey Ren was forgotten; after all, people cared more about working to earn enough and eating their fill every day.

After settling the goods depot’s matters, Su Pingnan returned alone to Changyang County.

For someone like him who had struggled and clawed his way through later years, re-managing and making reasonable arrangements for a small goods depot was child’s play.

On the contrary, Su Wenwen and a few others were somewhat shocked. Their own big brother was clearly very capable and they naturally accepted his arrangements. The depot thus continued operating like this.

Su Pingnan’s reason for returning to Changyang County was simple—two words: make money.

He had no money—adding in what Monkey Ren had returned, it was only a paltry 600 yuan, which left Su Pingnan, who had plans for the next step, feeling a little at a loss.

At that moment, a piece of gossip from fellow townsfolk from Changyang County who had come to Wucheng caught his attention.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank branch in Changyang County had been robbed, reportedly losing up to 60,000 yuan. When people heard the news they first looked incredulous, then with envy and jealousy. In this era, 60,000 yuan was a sum these menial laborers couldn’t even imagine.

Su Pingnan showed no emotion; this news had long been tucked away in a corner of his mind. But the bank robbery was a thing he had heard of only once in his life, so he immediately recalled the whole chain of events.

The case was very simple, and the criminal was quickly caught. At that time, the case had been reported in exhaustive detail, and Su Pingnan knew it very well.

The perpetrator was an insider at the Industrial and Commercial Bank named Li Jie. The reason he was caught so quickly is almost laughable—he actually went back to rob the bank again and was caught on the spot.

The reason for his madness was even more astonishing: he had hidden the huge sum he stole the first time inside his own stove. His clueless mother, worried that after his divorce he wouldn’t have hot meals, would cook for him before he came home and unknowingly burn the 60,000 yuan to ashes.

Watching the money he assumed was safe in his pocket but then seeing it disappear, Li Jie, who had planned to lay low, became even more desperate and risked everything—losing his whole life in the process.

The man was quite a character: he owed a mountain of gambling debts and his wife left him with their child. In his despondency, he had gambled without restraint, and by 1992, his overdue debts soared into the tens of thousands.

Driven to desperation by debt collectors, he actually came up with the bad idea to go after the bank vault. Surprisingly, after some time, he did find an opportunity. Changyang County was a small place after all. At that time the ICBC vault was still a single-story building with its walls just thickened with concrete. One night after overtime, while putting documents into the vault he looked up by chance and discovered that through a roughly seven-inch square opening in the vault’s chimney, he could see the starry sky outside.

Li Jie’s heart started pounding. Keeping his composure, he moved the stacked bills beneath the hole, then shut the door and left.

Back at home, after barely getting rid of the debt collectors at his door, he hardened his heart and decided to risk it all.

He found several bamboo poles, wired them together to extend them, fixed a hook and a net on one end, and that very night, he got the job done.

Su Pingnan had no intention of reporting it, since he wouldn’t be able to explain how he knew. Instead, he set his sights on the 60,000 yuan that was destined to be burned.