Chapter 39: This Is What It Means to Owe
A small tavern somewhere in Heyue City.
Two middle-aged men sat casually in a corner.
“Sir, Commander Lu was killed in Mengyang County!”
The voice came from the middle-aged man on the right.
“Forget about him. What news do we have from the direction of Nanhe Province?” asked the man on the left.
Hearing this, the voice from the right replied, “The attack on Sixth High School successfully drew attention from all sides, and things are going smoothly on the other end.”
“A mere high school, and we lost a loyal missionary. The other operation must not fail!”
...
Though five newcomers had joined, since each had some foundation in martial arts, Ren Fan did not start training from scratch.
For the entire morning, the ten-person squad practiced the two martial techniques they’d learned earlier: the Thrust Kick and the Clenched Fist.
Half a day’s training ended, and it was time for lunch.
Qian Qian hurriedly sat beside Zhang Ze.
He snatched a piece of beef from Zhang Ze’s bowl and said, “Aren’t you curious about the five half-wits who just joined our team?”
Zhang Ze chuckled, stole Qian Qian’s chicken leg, and replied, “What’s so curious? Do they have two noses or four legs?”
He muttered as he took a big bite of the chicken leg, making Qian Qian wince in pain.
“Hearing you say that, I’m actually more curious about the uncle in our team~” Qian Qian grumbled.
“Him!”
“I know him. He’s almost thirty and still dreams of becoming a martial artist. Doesn’t even have a wife.”
Fatty clearly had no interest in the uncle. Seeing Zhang Ze join in, he quickly said, “Look at those two guys on the left—they’re Jin Long and Jin Yu, twin brothers.”
“Jin Long and Jin Yu?”
After a moment’s silence, Zhang Ze suddenly asked, “Their family sells soybean oil, don’t they?”
“Huh?”
“How did you know?”
“You said you weren’t curious?”
Qian Qian’s reaction surprised Zhang Ze. He glanced at the twins not far away and thought, “Did I really guess right?”
“These two brothers actually have higher cell strength than me. They’re both preparing for breakthroughs these days.”
“Forget them. Do you know the name of the guy on the far side?”
Following his gaze, Zhang Ze saw a young man on the far right, dressed in a black suit jacket.
The youth had a buzz cut, and from behind, his broad shoulders and thick waist suggested his cell strength exceeded 160S.
Zhang Ze didn't reply, but Qian Qian could carry on by himself.
“His family used to be in agriculture. The Peng family owns hundreds of hectares of farmland on the outskirts of Bangqing City.”
With a slight raise of his eyebrow, Zhang Ze took another piece of Qian Qian’s pork belly and asked, “Is agriculture so profitable?”
Seeing his plate growing emptier, Qian Qian hurriedly shoveled food and muttered, “You don’t know, agriculture really isn’t that lucrative.”
“But Bangqing City’s surroundings have been heavily developed in recent years. Several pieces of their farmland were requisitioned, and I heard they made a huge sum.”
“A nouveau riche, then?”
“More than that! Look at his suit jacket—Armani, you know. Two or three hundred thousand a set, and he wears it so casually!”
Qian Qian’s eyes sparkled as he spoke, surprising Zhang Ze. “What, are you planning to sell yourself?”
“Pfft~”
“If the Peng family takes a fancy to me, I might not say no.”
Zhang Ze, hearing Qian Qian’s sarcastic tone, didn’t want to banter further and smiled, “I might not know what his family does, but I can guess yours.”
“Intelligence work?”
“Your family acts in spy dramas, right?”
He laughed as he picked up his tray and left.
“Next time you want to chat, order more dishes. It’s not enough for me.”
He hadn’t walked far when he shouted back to Qian Qian.
“Damn~”
“There’s nothing left at all!”
...
Evening.
After half a day of training on an empty stomach, Fatty was nearly wiped out.
Ren Fan had just left, and the five newcomers immediately surrounded Qian Qian.
Watching from the corner, where he was horse-stepping, Zhang Ze was surprised.
“This guy really is a social butterfly!”
He thought to himself as Qian Qian led four of them over to Zhang Ze.
“Bro, it’s our treat today. Let’s eat together?”
True to his name, Qian Qian grinned cheekily at Zhang Ze.
Thinking about the change to every-other-day training at the martial arts school, Zhang Ze was ready for some relaxation.
“Alright~”
...
Everyone tidied up and left the martial arts school together.
During their banter, Zhang Ze got to know the newcomers.
Among them were the Jin Long and Jin Yu brothers, and a young man named Cai Hu whom Zhang Ze still didn’t know well.
He soon learned that Jin Long, Jin Yu, and Cai Hu were classmates, all seniors at Heyue City First High School.
All three would participate in the September Anqing Martial Bureau exams.
The one who didn’t come was named Jia Zhengyi, and he wasn’t very close to the group.
As for Peng Fei, he looked rather simple and honest.
In Qian Qian’s words, “Peng bro only just got his money. The aura hasn’t kicked in yet.”
Considering Peng Fei’s family background in agriculture, Zhang Ze felt at ease.
...
“Peng bro, tell us, how much did your family get for those fields?” Qian Qian, elbowing Peng Fei, asked with a mischievous grin, as the group, all eighteen or nineteen years old, quickly became familiar.
“Not… not much.”
Interestingly, Peng Fei stammered as he spoke.
“The money… my old man… he handled it all…”
“I don’t… know…”
“Alright, alright, listening to you is exhausting.”
After waiting a while and hearing less than ten words, Qian Qian lost interest.
“Just pay for us later, no need to speak.”
With that, Qian Qian had somehow drifted over to the Jin brothers.
“Peng Fei only stammers when talking to strangers,” Jin Long explained.
“Jin bro, guess how much Peng bro’s family got for those fields?” Zhang Ze frowned, annoyed. “Why are you so cheeky? Is this something to discuss in front of him?”
“It’s… it’s fine.”
“Actually… actually… my training…”
Jin Long, clearly familiar with Peng Fei, interjected, “Peng Fei really doesn’t know. His own training fees came from a lottery win!”
“What?”
“You can win the lottery?”
Qian Qian was unsettled; he’d been buying tickets for years, but the most he ever won was ten or twenty yuan.
“Heh~”
“Believe it or not, Peng Fei is almost a second-class martial artist now, and all his training expenses came from the fifty million he won.”
“Wait, wait, you mean Peng bro won fifty million in the lottery?”
“Right!”
Jin Yu, shocked when he heard it himself, could relate to Qian Qian’s feelings.
“And it wasn’t a single fifty million win. Peng Fei bought the lottery ten times, and each time he won five million.”
Listening to the Jin brothers, Qian Qian was instantly unsettled.
He sidled back over to Peng Fei and said, “Bro, do you think we look alike?”
The more he spoke, the more shameless he became. “Did our dad do business in Heyue City twenty years ago, in the northern suburbs…”