True Solution of the Sword Dao
Chapter 90 - 90 84 Silent 2

Chapter 90: Chapter 84 Silent 2 Chapter 90: Chapter 84 Silent 2 “Back then, there was also Wang Hu who pursued big sister. Now, he’s at the Electric Power Bureau, earning a high salary every month, with great benefits and an easy job. If big sister had married him, life would probably be much better now,” the fourth uncle continued.

The aunt-in-law also chimed in, “The Lin Jianguo’s family was originally from the county town.”

“It’s mainly because big sister is too pitiable. Do you know why I don’t lend them money? If Lin Jianguo was capable, why would he wait until now to make a move? A small bookstore, if he had the ability, should have developed long ago.”

“That’s not entirely true; Jianguo really cares for big sister,” the second uncle retorted.

“You can’t just look at the surface. Many things are not that simple. I’m very clear about Lin Jianguo’s abilities. Lending him money now is to harm them. Not to mention that it’s sure to be money down the drain, the current bookstore might not even be able to sustain itself. Once the branch starts operating at a loss, it’ll become a money pit, a fatal one,” said the fourth uncle with certainty.

“So you’re saying there’s no hope for them?” the second uncle asked doubtfully, “Considering how serious Jianguo seems.”

“Definitely no hope!” the fourth uncle asserted.

*************

Lin Jianguo and Jiang Feng stepped out with a garbage bag, Jiang Feng let out a sigh.

“Jianguo, should we slow things down? Wait until we make more profit before opening a branch. Take it step by step?”

“I’m okay, but there’s a hurry. It’s mainly because You has now entered Third Middle School where the tuition is higher, and if it continues like this, it’ll be troublesome when Feifei goes to college. Besides, I’m certain that the price of real estate will continue to rise. If we don’t borrow some money to buy the storefront for the branch now, it might become much more expensive later on,” Lin Jianguo said helplessly.

“Should I go talk to Yuansheng again?” Jiang Feng hesitated.

“Don’t bother, he made his attitude very clear just now. It’s not that he can’t, but he doesn’t want to lend. I’ll try my classmate then. I’ve troubled him so many times already, a little more debt won’t make a difference. Only hope to repay the favor when there’s a chance.”

“Is it Chen Jingde?” asked Jiang Feng.

“Yeah, he’s the head of the Commercial Bureau. He surely has some spare cash. No choice, I’ll have to trouble him first,” said Lin Jianguo helplessly.

“That doesn’t seem right, he’s already helped us so many times.”

“Let’s just try. There’s no time to delay, I’ll call him right now. See if he’s at home.”

Lin Jianguo took out his phone and called Chen Jingde. He and Chen Jingde were as close as brothers, but after troubling him so many times, with only one-sided efforts, even the best of friends would start to drift apart. After all, friendships need a basis of equality.

After a brief ringing tone, the call was connected.

“Hello, old Chen? It’s Jianguo!”

There was a cacophony of background noise, bustling with many voices on the other end, like he was at a lively event. “Oh, old Lin, what’s up? Is there a problem with the bookstore? I’ll call you back,” Chen Jingde spoke with a hearty tone. However, he seemed to slurred words, apparently having been drinking.

“It’s not…” Lin Jianguo didn’t finish his sentence.

“Then what’s the problem? Paperwork?”

“No…”

“But business at your store is booming right? Lin, have you considered opening a branch? If you’re thinking about it, I can help you scrape together some money. A few hundred thousand won’t be a problem! With the business doing so well, it’d be a waste not to open a branch, you have to maximize marketing potential!”

“Old Chen, I am planning to open…”

“That’s the way to go, come over to my place tomorrow. Let’s have a discussion!” Then, there was another round of urging to drink on the line, and Chen Jingde loudly declined, insisting he couldn’t drink anymore.

“Who is that, Chief Chen? By your tone, must be someone you’re really close with, huh?” asked a middle-aged man from the background.

“My iron buddy! Alright, alright, go on with your drinking! I need to talk to my brother for a bit!”

“Ah eh… my phone’s about to die. Jianguo, remember to come over tomorrow, let’s have a couple of drinks,” Chen Jingde burped.

“Alright,” replied Lin Jianguo helplessly.

“I’ll leave you to it then. I still…” Before he finished, the line went dead, probably because the phone had run out of battery.

After hanging up, Lin Jianguo and Jiang Feng looked at each other, both filled with emotion. They hadn’t expected that a family matter that had worried them so much, not assisted by family, was something a friend volunteered to help with without a second thought.

************

Inside a hotel banquet room in the city.

Chen Jingde sat at the head of the table, with a round dining table occupied by four middle-aged men around him, one of whom stood up, holding a glass of alcohol to toast him.

“I can’t do this anymore! Seriously, I can’t even hold my glass steady.” Chen Jingde’s face was flushed red, the type who’s face betrayed every sip of alcohol. At this moment, with a glass full of wine in hand, his grip was shaky, spilling quite a bit of the liquid.

“Seems like Director Chen really can’t handle any more. Let’s drink instead, Director Wu!” The middle-aged man, seeing that Chen Jingde was indeed done for, promptly switched his target. Though they were all old classmates from the Party School, their relationship wasn’t that close, but they often made contact like this due to the networking inherent in officialdom.

“Right, Director Chen, there’s a new company recently registered in your Ping City called Yanlin Real Estate. You’ll need to pay more attention to it.” A seated middle-aged man said with a smile.

“What do you mean?” Chen Jingde was startled. Everyone present held positions of at least municipal bureau level, and today, only because he was playing host, did he occupy the seat of honor, but in reality, their statuses were not far apart. This was also the basis of their relationships. And when such a figure mentioned these words, it either meant the company had a deep background, or that the person had a close relationship with it.

The man smiled, took a sip of Moutai, and gestured upwards. “There are connections at the top. Take good care of them, of course, there won’t be any illegal activities, just expedite the procedures. This comes directly from a leader above.”

“Which leader?”

“The biggest one here,” the man said quietly.

“What exactly is the relationship of this company to have such top-level attention?” Chen Jingde suddenly became serious. The city committee secretary was several notches above him, too far a gap; having such high-level relations, he had to find out clearly, lest one day he step into a minefield and be used as a pawn by others. So, it was imperative to investigate.

“I hear it’s related to Rainbow Group. You know, Rainbow Group is a large corporation with influence throughout our province, and it has deep roots. Chairman Zhao Xinglong and the top person have a very strong relationship.”

Chen Jingde nodded thoughtfully.

************

By the time the parents came back, behaving as if nothing had happened, it made Uncle Four and the others somewhat puzzled. Everyone sat together and chatted for a while, and soon it was evening.

“Then we’ll be leaving first,” Lin Jianguo said with a smile, with Jiang Feng and Lin Fei standing behind them.

“We’ll leave together,” said Uncle Four and Uncle Two, as the families simply walked out together.

By the time the families left the apartment building, it was already night, and the buses had changed over for the evening.

Uncle Four happened to drive here. But there were too many people, and not enough seats for everyone, so the families had to split up and take taxis.

Jiang Nan was somewhat reluctant to leave.

She whispered to Lin Fei, “Remember to bring me comics and novels.”

Lin Fei couldn’t help but laugh and cry, “Didn’t I give you this book?” He pointed to the yellow-covered book in Jiang Nan’s hand, titled in bold characters—Huang Yi—a standard pirated book.

“It’s not enough,” Jiang Nan pouted.

“Alright, alright, I’ll bring more next time,” Lin Fei said with a gentle smile.

The car slowly drove away.

Jiang Nan watched Lin Fei standing by the roadside through the rearview mirror until he completely disappeared from sight before she turned her gaze away.

“Nannan, why do you need so many books? Your bookshelf is already full. Besides, you don’t even read them,” Uncle Four, Jiang Yuansheng, said puzzled.

“I do read them! Who said I didn’t?” Jiang Nan countered.

“There’s a thick layer of dust on them,” he retorted.

Jiang Nan fell silent. But Jiang Yan, sitting beside her, gave her sister a deep look, seemingly having noticed something.

By the time Lin Fei’s family managed to flag down a taxi, they courteously let Uncle Two’s family take it. After Uncle Two’s family left, they couldn’t hail another cab.

“Let’s just walk home, it’s not that far, just a few miles,” said Lin Jianguo, forcing a smile.

“We have no other choice,” Jiang Feng said helplessly.

Lin You and Lin Fei naturally had no objections.

The family followed the sidewalk, walking towards home.

“Or I could call a friend to pick us up,” Lin Fei suddenly suggested.

“Your friend?” Lin Jianguo and Jiang Feng froze, and Lin You too looked at Lin Fei in amazement.

“He has a car,” Lin Fei replied calmly.