20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 598 The Demon King of Confusion
Jiang Lianheng looked at the pair of gold bracelets in Park Tae-hoon's hands and couldn't help but grimace. After hesitating for a moment, he finally shook his head.

"Brother, I can't do your business."

"Why?" Park Tae-hoon was stunned, then he touched the two bracelets together, making a crisp sound, "Mr. Jiang, this is gold, pure gold!"

"I know." Jiang Lianheng leaned back in his chair, waved his hand lazily and said, "The things are good, but this is not about the money."

Park Tae-hoon was a little embarrassed. When he was about to withdraw his hand, he couldn't help but fight again: "Mr. Jiang, if you are worried about the transaction being leaked, I can assure you that this matter is limited to you and me. I won't tell even other members of the Righteous Group."

"you promise?"

"I promise!"

Hearing this, Jiang Lianheng couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly, not knowing what to say for a moment.

This kind of verbal assurance is worthless.

But this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is that, for the Jiang family, receiving members of the Righteous Corps was originally a favor. Now they are going to trade someone's old mother's relics, which is to ruin the favor for the sake of a tiny profit.

What's more, the Jiang family doesn't lack this business at all.

After pondering for a while, Jiang Lianheng finally said, "Brother, this is your mother's legacy, why don't you keep it as a souvenir?"

Park Tae-hoon shook his head and said, "My mother is not a country woman. She is well-educated and understands righteousness. If she were still alive, she would be pleased with this."

As he spoke, he suddenly became a little emotional and tears welled up in his eyes. He hurriedly picked up the teacup and took a sip to hide his tears.

Jiang Lianheng turned his face away, feeling a little hypocritical. After thinking for a while, he said, "Although your thing is good, the spray is not cheap. These two bracelets together can only be exchanged for three second-hand goods at most. It doesn't help at all. Why bother?"

"Even if I can only exchange one bullet, as long as I can use it to kill the Japanese, it will be worth it."

Park Tae-hoon's tone was particularly firm, which made people wonder whether his attitude towards the little East was not just national hatred and ethnic hatred, but also mixed with many personal grudges.

Jiang Lianheng had no intention of delving into this, but he could understand why. He tapped the table with his fingers and continued to ask, "Do you want a rifle or a pistol?"

Park Tae-hoon was delighted, as if he saw hope, so he quickly replied: "It's all right, as long as it's a gun, any gun will do."

"Don't do anything. I need to know clearly, why are you coming to me to buy a gun? What exactly are you going to do?"

"This...Mr. Jiang, didn't I just say that I bought the gun to help the Independence Army?"

"Are you sure you're not using it yourself?" Jiang Lianheng stared at the young man in front of him and whispered, "I have no ill intentions, but you... look a little dazed."

Park Tae-hoon suddenly panicked, like a thief caught in the act. After thinking for a moment, he muttered to himself, "I want to be a soldier, too."

"Soldier?" Jiang Lianheng suppressed his laughter and shook his head, saying, "Brother, I really mean no harm to you, but you..."

"Mr. Jiang, are you doubting my determination?"

It's not that I doubt your determination, but that I doubt your ability.

This was what Jiang Lianheng was thinking, but he didn't say it. Instead, he sat in the chair sullenly, seeming a little hesitant and a little conflicted.

There is nothing wrong with aiding the Independence Army. After all, they are just scattered soldiers in the mountains. The transaction can be very covert. Even if it is exposed, there are thousands of excuses to cover it up.

But Jiang Lianheng was a little worried about this young man in front of him. Park Tae-hoon looked like an extremely unstable person who was very likely to do something stupid.

At this time, Fang Yan suddenly looked around and saw that his boss remained silent. He knew that it was time for him, the assistant, to speak up.

"Mr. Park." He walked to the table and said with a smile, "It's like this, Boss Jiang has to go to a meeting this afternoon, so time is tight. How about... you come back another day?"

Park Tae-hoon remained unmoved and continued to sit there, asking, "What is Mr. Jiang's final decision on this deal?"

Fangyan couldn't help but smack his lips, thinking that this man was too stupid and didn't know how to advance or retreat.

"Uh...Mr. Park, this matter is a bit sudden. We have to check the inventory later. Why don't we wait until we have checked it out here before sending someone to find you?"

Fangyan evaded the question with some reluctance.

As he was speaking, Jiang Lianheng suddenly interrupted and said, "I can consider aiding the independence army, but this matter cannot be handled by you. Tell me their base and I will find someone to contact them. If you want to restore your country, you don't have to be a soldier. You can do other things, such as making money."

There was a hint of disappointment in Park Tae-hoon's eyes, but he was helpless, so he stood up, looked at the pair of gold bracelets in his hands, put one of them on Jiang Lianheng's desk, and whispered, "Then this... is considered a deposit."

"Take it back. I don't want your two bracelets."

"How can that be possible? Business is business."

Park Tae-hoon pushed the gold bracelet forward again, but Jiang Lianheng didn't even look at it.

Fang Yan looked at his boss's expression from the side, then hurried forward, picked up the gold bracelet, and stuffed it into Park Tae-hoon's hand.

"Mr. Park, take it back quickly!" He whispered, "You just mentioned business, do you know how big Boss Jiang's business is?"

Park Tae-hoon was stunned and seemed a little confused - after all, he was just a student who had just graduated from the ivory tower.

Fang Yan said, "Boss Jiang is talking to you about personal relationships, but you are talking to Boss Jiang about business? You have to know that if we really treat this as a business, let alone your two gold bracelets, even if you bring a string of gold bracelets, you can't enter this door. The Jiang family's arms business has long stopped retailing, so... take this back quickly!"

After hearing this, Park Tae-hoon's face immediately turned red. He turned to look at Jiang Lianheng with gratitude in his eyes. Finally, he bowed his hands and apologized repeatedly.

"Please forgive me, Mr. Jiang. I was... presumptuous just now."

"It's okay!" Jiang Lianheng smiled generously, "You just graduated from school, you will be fine in two years."

"Shame on me, shame on me!" Park Tae-hoon was ashamed.

Jiang Lianheng raised his hand and pointed at the pair of gold bracelets, then said, "Put the things in your pocket and go back to do what you are good at. If you have any difficulties in the future, just... go find him!"

"Yes, yes, yes, if you have any problems in the future, just come to me, you don't have to see the boss to tell him." Fang Yan quickly took over the conversation. Park Tae-hoon thanked him repeatedly, and then told him about the bases of the Independence Army that he knew about. He didn't know how much time he spent talking, and finally left the office.

As soon as the Korean bandits left, Jiang Lianheng breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Yan closed the door, turned around, and also shook his head repeatedly, laughing softly: "This person...really, he has no sense at all!"

"What's the matter? You've been working at the docks for so many years, and you've never seen this kind of person?" Jiang Lianheng asked.

"I have seen him before, but not as exaggerated as he did. Although he said 'business is business', it sounds as if we owe him something."

"Maybe he doesn't know how to express it. After all, Far Eastern dialect is a foreign language to him."

Fang Yan nodded, then walked to the table and asked in a low voice: "Boss, if you don't really want to help them, why did you agree to do it just now?"

"It's not that I don't want to help them, I just don't want that guy to do it." Jiang Lianheng sighed, and said, "Giving away a few guns and a ragtag army is not a loss. It's not all free. Maybe it can become a long-term business in the future. Just help them to the end and send them to the west!"

Fang Yan was a little hesitant after hearing this. After a moment's hesitation, he finally said, "Boss, be careful that a favor may turn into an enemy!"

Jiang Lianheng nodded immediately.

A little bit of rice is a favor, a big bit of rice is a grudge - the boundary between gratitude and resentment is actually never clear.

Of course, he already understood the reason behind this.

If you ask for help from someone in the underworld, if you don’t help, then don’t do it. But if you do help, it’s best not to give up halfway - especially when the other party knows that you are capable of continuing to help.

Otherwise, no matter how great the favor is, it may turn into a complaint in the blink of an eye.

Although this statement is inevitably suspected of "judging others by one's own mean character", the human heart is unpredictable and people often act on the line. The most taboo thing is to think too highly of others.

However, when he thought of Li Jae-soon's severed finger, Jiang Lianheng stopped hesitating and just muttered a few words to himself.

"It's easier to invite a god than to send him away. I hope I'm not mistaken about him!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Yan seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "Boss, it is easier to invite a god than to send him away. Your words remind me that these Koreans are relatively easy to deal with. There is another person who is a real god!"

"Who is it?" Jiang Lianheng was stunned and frowned, "Except for those Koreans, I haven't hired anyone else to my home recently?"

"Well, sir, I'm not talking about anyone else, but General Zhang from the Military Police Battalion. He..."

While talking, Fang Yan suddenly walked to the bookshelf and pulled out a thin booklet. Then he came back and handed it to Jiang Lianheng, saying with a sad face, "Boss, you...you should read it yourself!"

Jiang Lianheng was a little confused. He took the booklet and opened it, only to see more than a dozen IOUs inside.

I checked them one by one, and found that the amounts were large and small, the largest being one thousand dollars in cash, and the smallest being one hundred silver dollars. The creditors were classified into different categories, including those from Huifangli, Heshengfang, Songfengzhuyun, Chunqiu Opera House, and Huiyou Club... The debtors all had the same name:
Zhang Xiaokun!
He splashed ink with his brush and wrote three big characters with great momentum.

When Jiang Lianheng saw these words, he could already imagine in his mind the great poet Zhang bragging in front of his friends, and then he burst into laughter.

If nothing unexpected happens, Zhang Xiaokun will definitely wave his hand, pat his chest and boast to others: "You don't have to worry about the money, this is my brother's place, I will take care of everything!"

After hearing what Jiang Lianheng described, Fang Yan's eyes widened and he asked in surprise, "Boss, how did you know? Did you see it?"

"I'm just guessing." Jiang Lianheng smiled and flipped through the IOU receipt.

"Amazing!" Fang Yan muttered to himself, "No wonder General Zhang always says that you are his confidant!"

"How much money are there in total on these IOUs?"

"A total of four thousand five hundred dollars, and that's not all. There are still a lot of miscellaneous credits that are not counted in it!"

"Does your family know?"

"I don't know if Manager Xue has told Madam about this, but the other managers haven't told Madam yet. Now it's almost the end of the year, and all the managers are preparing to pay Madam, but they haven't received the IOUs yet. So they asked me to tell you first, so that Madam won't blame them later."

"You're overthinking it!" Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and put the stack of IOUs into his arms. "My wife isn't that blind. Just tell her the truth."

"Boss, that's true, but spending four or five thousand dollars in two months, this... this is not just spending money, this is obviously a waste of money!"

Even though it is not his own business, Fangyan still can't help feeling a little distressed.

Four or five thousand dollars in cash is just a drop in the bucket for the Jiang family today, but it is only limited to the short term. After all, there is no such thing in business. If it goes on for a long time, although it will not bankrupt the Jiang family, it will be uncomfortable enough. After all, in the business world, cash flow is king, otherwise it will be an empty shell.

During the time when Jiang Lianheng was away from Fengtian, managers from various counters came to Fangyan one after another and asked him to convey their complaints to their bosses.

Fang Yan recounted the story truthfully: "Boss, he really doesn't do that. He eats, drinks, gambles, and does everything without paying for anything. If he only eats and drinks, it's fine. Anyway, no matter how much he eats, it won't cost much. But he is a man who does whatever he wants. If he is in a good mood today, he will slam the table and ask for a private dinner. This has happened several times.

"That's not all, the worst hit are the gambling dens in various places.

"As soon as General Zhang brings his men here, the whole day's work will be considered in vain. All the money won will be taken away, and no mention will be made of the money owed. If anyone asks him about it, he will immediately slam the table and curse, and when he gets angry, he will pull out a pistol. He is completely a devil. When the leader leaves, he always emphasizes that he and you are good friends, so he won't embarrass us.

"The other managers don't dare to say anything. They are all waiting for you to go and talk to him!"

Jiang Lianheng was a little embarrassed. He lit a cigarette and said thoughtfully, "I understand. I'll keep the IOU for now. How often does he come?"

"Not necessarily. It happens every now and then. There's no pattern to it." Fang Yan said, "But every time his old subordinates from Beijing, Tianjin, and Shandong Province come to him, he will definitely bring them to our place to have a meal. He will take advantage of us and make all the favors his own."

Jiang Lianheng frowned and asked hurriedly, "A lot of his former subordinates are here?"

Fang Yan curled his lips and said, "They are in groups of three or four. They say they are officers, but I have seen them twice before. They don't look reliable. They are probably bandits under imperial order!"

Jiang Lianheng nodded, then stood up, straightened his clothes, checked the time, and then walked out the door while instructing Fang Yan, "Call home for me and tell them I'm not going back for dinner tonight. I'm going to talk to someone about poetry."

(End of this chapter)