Chapter Ninety-Six: Return

The Gaogang Village incident came swiftly, and it was calmed just as quickly. Yet the village that had been the source of it all did not become the center of public controversy; instead, it gradually faded from view.

Inside Gaogang Village, however, the impact of the affair was far greater than in Zhao Zekun’s former life. In his previous life, the accident had cost the deputy director who truly ran the demolition office his job. This time, both directors were dismissed. The fire in Gaogang Village, though brought about by Ren Jifu’s act of suicide, caused consequences far more severe than before. As the two officials in charge of demolition work, Feng and Qian were found guilty of serious neglect of duty and were removed from their posts and transferred away.

He Dapeng, the obstinate holdout, could be said to have narrowly escaped death. He lived in constant fear, and the house that had given him leverage was reduced to rubble. With no bargaining chip left, he could only obediently accept the standard compensation terms, sign the agreement, and exchange it for a villa. As for the compensation money, after three years of rent amounting to several tens of thousands, not a single extra cent was given.

Zhao Zekun’s Zejian Company had, almost overnight, become the dominant force at the Gaogang Village demolition site. The way the other companies looked at Zejian’s employees was no longer the same as before. There was envy, fear, and even a hint of deference. Whenever they happened to pass near Zejian’s tin shack, the people from the other firms would instinctively lower their voices.

There was no evidence proving that Zejian Company had anything to do with the Song Tianming case, yet within Yijiang’s construction industry, Zejian Company had taken on an air of mystery. Inside the company, all the resentment that had once been caused by Xu Yanping’s bullying vanished without a trace, and Zhao Zekun’s personal prestige within the company rose to an unprecedented height.

As for the explosion in Gaogang Village, Zhao Zekun had thought about it several times and still could not determine the real cause.

Perhaps it really had been an accident. But that did not matter. He was not a criminal investigator, and he had no need to waste energy on such matters. In his former life, an explosion had occurred in the early hours of July 31. In this life, at the same time and in the same place, the explosion had still happened. That was enough.

With Zejian Company once again firmly under his control, Huayang Group withdrew its lawsuit, the company accounts were unfrozen, and the assets that had previously been transferred out were moved back onto the books. The money in the accounts grew day by day, and by the time Zhao Zekun checked the accounts most recently, the company’s profits had already matched the gains he had personally made from buying relocation properties.

By then, the demolition and recovery work had reached its latter stage and was nearing completion.

Just as had been predicted from the beginning, the profits from the demolition and recovery operation were enormous, far exceeding the gains from simply buying houses for relocation.

Of course, in theory, that money belonged to all of Zejian Company. Unless it was absolutely unavoidable, Zhao Zekun would not touch it. Part of the funds kept the company operating normally, and part was used to develop future business and strengthen the company.

In addition, there was also the forty percent sponsorship for the demolition office.

Although the two directors who had handled the matter were already out of office, Zhao Zekun had no intention of pretending this debt did not exist. On the contrary, on a bright and sunny afternoon, he held a small but proper donation ceremony.

The newly risen Zejian Company needed a layer of mystique to intimidate all manner of troublemakers, and it also needed the reputation of honoring agreements and being trustworthy in the industry in order to win future business.

That morning, Zhao Zekun was sitting back in his boss’s chair in the tin shack, working at his desk, when he received a call from his parents.

Everything was calm. His parents had returned to Yijiang and were already at the train station. With them was Zhou Na, his cousin whom he had not seen in many years.

After hanging up, Zhao Zekun notified Ren Bida that in the next day or two he would take his parents to look at houses. Living at the construction site in the tin shack was fine for him, but now that his parents were back, he had to buy a place as soon as possible. They would have lunch together as a family, and then go see houses.

“Jiang Xuan, can you drive?” Zhao Zekun asked Jiang Xuan, who was sitting across from his desk looking over the accounts. “Drive me to the station to pick up my parents.”

“Sure.”

The two of them drove the little minivan to the train station. After parking and walking to the square in front of the station entrance, they spotted Zhao Tao and his wife from a distance.

With them was a young woman dressed in fashionable clothes and tall in stature. The three of them had their luggage beside them and were looking out from the station exit.

“Dad, Mom.” Zhao Zekun walked over.

Zhao Tao nodded to Jiang Xuan, while Zhou Ya took the fashionable young woman by the arm and smiled as she asked, “Na Na, it’s been more than ten years since you last saw your cousin, hasn’t it? Can you still recognize him? Between these two young men, which one is your cousin?”

Jiang Xuan and Zhao Zekun both laughed. Zhou Na first glanced at Jiang Xuan, then shook her head and said, “My brother isn’t that handsome.” Then she looked at Zhao Zekun, staring hard for a moment before saying with certainty, “You’re my brother. Brother, you probably can’t recognize me now, can you?”

“I vaguely remember your features, but if I met you on the street, I probably wouldn’t dare to greet you.” Zhao Zekun also studied the girl from head to toe, then tilted his chin toward Zhou Ya and said with a laugh, “She used to be fat as a barrel when she was little!”

Zhou Na would not let that pass. Her face turned red as she clung to Zhou Ya’s arm and complained, “Auntie, look at him. He starts bullying me the moment we meet! Just like when we were little!”

“Your cousin is only saying you’ve grown prettier and slimmer,” Zhou Ya said with a smile, patting Zhou Na’s hand.

“Yes, yes, let’s get in the car.” Zhao Zekun and Jiang Xuan picked up the luggage and walked toward the parking area.

Once they were in the minivan, Jiang Xuan and Zhao Zekun sat in the front, while Zhao Tao and his wife took Zhou Na in the back. Zhou Ya patted Zhao Zekun on the shoulder. “Your sister doesn’t get to come to Yijiang very often. Don’t spend all day cooped up in the company. When you have time, take her out to have some fun.”

Then, before Zhao Zekun could respond, she asked Jiang Xuan, “Xiao Jiang, what happened to your leg? I saw you limping just now.”

“This? I was lazy at work, and Boss Zhao broke my leg for it,” Jiang Xuan said with a smile as he drove. His leg had not fully healed yet, so his gait was still a little unnatural.

Neither Zhao Tao nor Zhou Ya took it seriously, but Zhou Na was startled. “My brother really hit you?”

“Mm!” Zhao Zekun nodded solemnly. “The company has rules. If you’re disobedient, men get their legs broken, and women get their asses beaten!”

“You child, you’re scaring your sister the moment you meet her!” Zhou Ya laughed as she pushed Zhao Zekun lightly. Zhou Na finally caught on as well. She shot him a pretty glare and muttered to Zhou Ya, “My brother is really hopeless!”

The joke did, however, ease some of the awkwardness that comes from relatives not seeing one another for years. After talking for a while about high school, college entrance exams, and Zhao Zekun’s business, they gradually grew familiar again. Then Zhou Na patted the minivan seat and said, “Brother, aren’t you supposed to be rich? Why don’t you buy a better car? This thing rides so rough.”

“How about a big car worth more than two hundred thousand? If you like it, I’ll take you for a ride next time,” Zhao Zekun asked.

Zhou Na’s eyes lit up. “Really? A classmate of ours has one at home, an off-road vehicle, much taller than a sedan. Riding in it feels so cool!”

Jiang Xuan and Zhao Zekun held back their laughter. Zhao Zekun said, “All right. Tomorrow I’ll take you to ride in one.”

From the rearview mirror, Zhou Na saw the strange expressions on Zhao Zekun and Jiang Xuan’s faces and asked Zhou Ya in confusion, “Auntie, is my brother lying to me again?”

“Don’t listen to his nonsense. This boy’s mouth is full of wild stories,” Zhou Ya said with a laugh.

When people are in good spirits after happy news, they feel no fatigue at all after a meal. Zhou Na was young and energetic, and after a family discussion, they went straight to look at houses.

Ren Bida had long since made all the arrangements. When he heard that Zhao Zekun’s parents were coming too, he borrowed a Crown and was already waiting in the hotel parking lot. He personally drove them around, taking them one by one to see the houses they had previously selected.

Ren Bida made his living in real estate. The names Song Tianming, Zejian Company, and Gaogang Village were all familiar to him. This time, when he saw Zhao Zekun, his attitude was markedly different from before. Every gesture and every word carried a clear attempt to curry favor.

Even little Zhou Na could see it. Despite her cousin arriving in a beat-up minivan, this Manager Ren, who drove a luxury car, seemed almost like a hired lackey in front of her cousin.

It seemed this cousin of hers was not only truly wealthy, but also a local power.

According to Zhao Zekun’s standards, Ren Bida had prepared a total of five houses. In the end, Zhou Ya and Zhao Tao jointly chose a secondhand apartment.

It was a six-story low-rise building, on the second floor, with a construction area of 115 square meters. Because it was a low-rise building, the shared area was small and the usable space was quite large. It had three bedrooms and two living rooms, with good ventilation from south to north.

The apartment was fully renovated and had only been occupied for two or three years. Once purchased, they could move in immediately, which saved a great deal of trouble.

“It’s just that the price... isn’t it a bit high?” Zhou Ya was a little reluctant to let it go. The asking price was twenty-two hundred per square meter, nearly half again as much as the city average.

“Old Ren, what do you think?” Zhao Zekun asked.

Ren Bida said cheerfully, “Boss Zhao, since you’re here to buy a place, I’ll be honest. I bought this apartment from someone last year and was holding it to resell at a high price. When I bought it, it was seventeen hundred. Uncle, Auntie, just make me an offer.”

Zhao Tao and his wife did not know what would be an appropriate price. If they offered too much, they would be spending their son’s money; if they offered too little, it might seem as if they were taking advantage of the man. Besides, Ren was certainly not going to reveal the real price at which he had bought it, so it was hard to tell whether that seventeen hundred was high or low.

Zhao Zekun smiled and said, “Pay two hundred thousand in one lump sum. Let’s handle the paperwork today.”

“Whatever Boss Zhao says, that’s what we’ll do!” Ren Bida laughed heartily.

Watching from the side, Zhou Na was somewhat stunned. A two-hundred-thousand-yuan apartment, and they were just buying it like that? It all felt so unreal, as if they were merely playing house.