Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 659

Chapter 659: Chapter 659

Wei Jin and Old Zhou’s unexpected visit had already surprised Yang Fan greatly, but when Wei Jin said those words, Yang Fan was momentarily stunned, his first reaction being that this favor seemed a bit too big to repay.

Since Wei Jin went out of his way to seek out Old Zhou and have him find this place to discuss the matter in person, Yang Fan could be certain that the matter was nearly settled.

People with little real power tend to make empty promises, treating things that may not, and sometimes definitely will not, be accomplished as if they certainly will.

However, for someone like Wei Jin, even if things are almost a sure bet, he might still leave some room for flexibility. Therefore, when he offers such a definitive answer, no matter how mysterious the process has been, it’s a done deal.

Wei Jin really gave Yang Fan full face with this.

He smiled and said, "Boss Wei’s words suddenly make me feel that my good tobacco and liquor are a bit too modest. Because of Chen Zhong, I’ve been in all sorts of trouble these last few days. Yesterday, I was even accidentally slashed by someone he sent."

He did not mention how to repay the favor. Sometimes, it’s not good to rush such things out.

"You got hurt?" Wei Jin asked, surprised.

Old Zhou also turned his head sharply to look.

Yang Fan casually smiled and waved it off, "It’s not serious, just accidentally got nicked on my waist. That guy launched a surprise attack, and I wasn’t cautious for a moment and got slashed. At the time, I hadn’t even realized I was wounded until after I’d taken that guy down. Then suddenly, I felt some pain and saw that I had been cut."

"Fanzi, you’re still pretty skilled," Wei Jin gave Yang Fan a thumbs up, "I’ve heard that Chen Zhong has a few good-for-nothing ruffians who risk their lives for money, and it seems they all have criminal records. Those guys can be pretty ruthless. It’s impressive, Fanzi, that you could take down those people and only suffer a minor injury."

Yang Fan playfully joked, "Although I got some injuries, it’s actually a profitable business, the money comes much quicker than running my shop. Just yesterday, in a short while, I made two hundred thousand off those four guys. If every day brought such good fortune, I really wouldn’t mind getting cut a few times."

Old Zhou snorted with laughter, "You really are reckless with your life for money. Don’t even think about such fortunes again. This money is truly earned at the risk of your life. You think you’ve won now, but if you always walk by the river, you’re bound to get your shoes wet. Don’t even think about it."

It seemed Old Zhou was genuinely afraid that Yang Fan would get hooked on this dangerous way of making money and gave him a serious warning.

"I’m just kidding. I might make it once, but that doesn’t mean I could do it a second time," said Yang Fan.

Old Zhou nodded, "That’s the truth."

Then, turning to Wei Jin, he said, "Old Wei, tell Fanzi exactly what’s going on to give him some reassurance, help him feel more settled."

Wei Jin tapped the cigarette ash into the ashtray beside him, tucked one leg over the other, leaned back into his chair, and said with a faint smile, "Fanzi, this matter is actually not that complicated. I just tweaked the excuses I originally prepared for Chen Zhong a little."

"I won’t tell you specifically who it is, let’s just add a bit of mosaic as a hint. Originally, Chen Zhong offered a generous reward, and my intention was to earn his money and plunge him into that enormous pit. Although Chen Zhong still had a slim chance, no matter how small, it was up to him whether he could seize it."

"But then he mentioned your situation, and I realized something was off. You and I are brothers who have carried guns together; how could I betray you? I had a tough time swindling a small ten thousand from Chen Zhong, and then I led him down a path with no return."

"The man he sought hadn’t changed, but after adding you into the equation, I told Chen Zhong that he needed to rearrange the order of operations. Originally, he had to spend a hundred thousand or more, squander all his wealth to seek favors from that number two man, asking him to get his superiors to downplay and trivialize his issue."

"However, after he spoke of wanting to kill you, my brother Fanzi, and his former wife, I told him that dispersing all his wealth would surely not be enough. Because it involved blatant hiring of a hitman and nurturing a killer—serious crimes at their worst, that number two man would not risk execution over Chen Zhong’s one or two hundred thousand and some property."

"There was some illegitimate dealing between Chen Zhong and that number two man. Although I’m not completely clear about it, I do have a rough idea. With that as a basis, I told Chen Zhong, he needed to threaten, to coerce that man into compliance and then disperse his wealth to make amends after the deed was done. Otherwise, if he was still relentless with his plans against you two, nobody could save him. He believed these words, and once he believed, he was as good as dead."

Yang Fan listened as if he were hearing a story, utterly dumbfounded.

Wei Jin continued, "The most interesting part of this is that Chen Zhong’s hope was indeed vested in that number one man. That is to say, if he had really dispersed all his wealth and thrown in his lot with that man, he might have actually had a chance to extricate himself from this mess, ending up with a serious matter diminished and trivialized, albeit losing his official position, but with his life spared."

"But by changing the order like this, the outcome became absolutely deadly. Not only would Chen Zhong die, but he would die very quickly. I’m quite familiar with that number two man, and if he felt threatened by Chen Zhong, he would want Chen Zhong dead before dawn, without waiting for daylight."

"You must be wondering why Chen Zhong would believe what I said. I think it’s necessary to talk about this."

"Firstly, I have given Chen Zhong several pieces of advice before, calculated moves, not once have they been wrong. He’s smoothly avoided disasters and achieved success and profits, that’s an undeniable premise. For me, a businessman who’s been keen on building a good relationship with him, he has no reason to doubt me."

"Secondly, this rearrangement is based on the premise that he was harboring a fugitive and conspiring to commit murder. He may disregard the law and act fearlessly, but that doesn’t mean he’s unaware of how serious the consequences of his actions could be."

"Is this the reason you firmly believe that Chen Zhong will do as you’ve instructed?" Old Zhou asked.

Wei Jin elaborated clearly, so despite some doubts, Yang Fan didn’t ask outright.

Seeing how meticulously Wei Jin had explained, it wouldn’t be proper for him to nitpick and express doubt with such an attitude.

With a subtle smile at the corner of his mouth, Wei Jin nodded and said, "There are some other reasons that are not so important, such as telling Chen Zhong that if he didn’t trust my judgment, he was completely free to figure it out himself or seek another expert’s opinion."

"However, there is only one chance. This was essentially a do-or-die situation. Any hesitation, and everything changes. I told him bluntly, should anything go awry due to his actions causing failure, it would have nothing to do with me."