Chapter 166: Stirring Up Trouble

Old Zhang was jolted awake by a sharp slap from Guo Tao. As he opened his eyes and saw a circle of people surrounding him—including Zhang Rui and Guo Tao—his entire body began to tremble. "Where... where is this?"

"Where? The gates of hell!"

Guo Tao immediately pulled out a dagger and held it against the carotid artery in Old Zhang’s neck. A slight flick of his wrist would have been enough to end Old Zhang’s life.

"Oh, no, you mustn't! Please, you mustn't!"

Seeing the cold, lethal blade, Old Zhang recoiled in terror, but he found himself trapped by the ring of people, pinned onto his office desk with nowhere to retreat.

Zhang Rui, standing to the side, was too incensed to speak. He simply stepped outside the crowd to light a cigarette.

"Mustn't? You old bastard, are you playing games with me? I suspect this is a shady operation. You’re the one who hijacked my car, and you’re the one who beat me up!"

Guo Tao slid the blade across, tapping the cold steel against Old Zhang’s cheek repeatedly. "You’re a bit old, but your skin is still soft enough. It would be a messy, cruel sight if I were to slice this open."

"It wasn't me! It wasn't me! I swear! I wouldn't dare! Brother Tao, have mercy! Spare me!"

Old Zhang had never encountered such a situation. Terrified by Guo Tao’s threats, he went limp instantly. By nature, he was a cowardly man driven by greed; feeling guilty and trapped, he had no strength left to resist.

"If it wasn't you, then who was it?"

Guo Tao roared, grabbing Old Zhang by the collar and hauling him up. "You old rat, you’re quite a professional at lying. If you don't come clean today, I’ll hack you to pieces."

*Hiss!*

Old Zhang gasped, spotting Zhang Rui in the crowd. As if clutching at a life raft, he cried out desperately, "Brother Rui! You’re an honest man—you have to stand up for me!"

"Tell the truth, and I won't make things difficult for you," Zhang Rui said, crushing his cigarette butt.

***

"Alright, quit scaring him."

Da Quan, who had been hiding outside the circle snacking on sunflower seeds, couldn't stand watching Old Zhang act so pathetic. He pulled out his Samsung S4 and played a video recording.

The footage clearly showed Jiang Shunfa and Zhang Cong ambushing Guo Tao from behind with wooden clubs during the day. Old Zhang was clearly unaware of the plan at that moment. The video then showed Zhang Cong brutally beating an already unconscious Guo Tao before the two drove off, with Old Zhang seen taking ten thousand yuan during the process.

Da Quan had also recorded a clip from nearly ten o'clock that night, showing Old Zhang retrieving surveillance equipment from the trunk of a wrecked car in the yard.

As the video played, everyone exhaled in realization. Old Zhang, unable to fight the evidence, shook his head in resignation. With a mournful expression, he said, "Brother Rui, Brother Tao, you can't blame me! Jiang Shunfa threatened me. He said if I didn't tell people it was Xie Tianhua’s men who did it, he’d kill me and smash up every car in my yard! You know he’s a ruthless thug—how could I afford to cross him?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Guo Tao slapped him across the face again. "You can't afford to cross him, but you can afford to cross us?"

With that, Guo Tao moved the knife, threatening to stab Old Zhang’s thigh to show him who was truly in charge—lest he think Guo Tao was even more incompetent than that idiot Zhang Cong!

*Damn it!*

That wretch Zhang Cong was the one who hit him. He had to finish him off; if he didn't beat the life out of him, he wouldn't deserve the name Guo!

Old Zhang’s face was beet-red from the slaps. Holding his breath, he stammered, "N-no... that’s not what I meant. I can't afford to cross either of you!"

"Damn it! Then why did you cross us?"

*Smack!*

Guo Tao landed another blow, sending Old Zhang’s head reeling and nearly knocking him off the desk.

"That’s enough. Stop hitting him."

Zhang Rui finally spoke. The crowd parted, and he walked up to Old Zhang. "You’re nearly fifty years old. You should leave yourself some room for maneuver! Besides, you’ve betrayed Jiang Shunfa now. He’ll definitely come for you. You know what kind of person he is—he won't show you the mercy I’m showing you now."

Old Zhang looked at Zhang Rui with shifty eyes, whimpering, "It’s true! It’s true! That guy is completely unreasonable! My life is so miserable—how did I end up in this mess?"

***

"Enough. If you don't want to suffer, listen to me."

Zhang Rui knew Jiang Shunfa and his crew were hiding out in Xiying County, but he didn't know their exact location. Too lazy to go hunting for them himself, he devised a plan to lure Jiang Shunfa and Zhang Cong out. "Tomorrow morning, call Jiang Shunfa. Tell him that Zhang Rui came to the dealership and, upon learning the truth, heard that Xie Tianhua had gone to Longju County. Say that I took my men and rushed to Longju overnight to fight Xie Tianhua to the death. Then, tell him you have a Middle-Eastern spec Land Cruiser in your yard, selling for three hundred thousand, with all the paperwork."

Old Zhang immediately grasped Zhang Rui’s intent: once Jiang Shunfa and Zhang Cong arrived, Zhang Rui would have his men in position to surround them.

But wouldn't that make Jiang Shunfa hate him even more?

"But if I do that, you’ll have had your revenge, but what about me? Jiang Shunfa will kill me!" Old Zhang wasn't a fool; he had no intention of being a puppet for Zhang Rui.

"Heh, aren't you afraid I’ll kill you right now?"

With that, Zhang Rui punched Old Zhang in the solar plexus. The wind knocked out of him, Old Zhang coughed violently until he could catch his breath.

"Are you going to do it or not?"

Zhang Rui’s intentions went far beyond just dealing with Jiang Shunfa. He had been thinking: if he wanted to build a real enterprise and grow his own power, he needed a storefront and inventory, both of which required experience.

The used car market was booming. Zhang Rui wanted to bind Old Zhang to him, leveraging their combined resources to expand the dealership several times over, turning it into the largest used car trading hub in the Bohai Rim.

If he had simply approached Old Zhang to talk, the man would have put on airs, demanded a high price, and never agreed to merge a brand he’d spent a decade building. Only by playing this ruthless game—forcing Old Zhang to thoroughly alienate Jiang Shunfa—would Old Zhang be left with no choice but to follow Zhang Rui, or risk being destroyed by Jiang.

This ploy would not only lure in Jiang Shunfa, who loved imported high-displacement off-roaders, allowing Guo Tao to get his revenge and recover his Audi Q7, but it would also bring Old Zhang into the fold. Zhang Rui could then use Old Zhang’s decade of experience to develop his own side business: the used car industry.

In his earthwork business, the trucks and drivers were all outsourced, so he didn't need many of his own men. Now that Lehuo City was stable, Zhang Rui’s reputation alone was enough to keep the peace. He couldn't just let his brothers loaf around idle all day; that would only lead to trouble. By creating more side businesses and finding work for everyone, they would all stay busy, and things would only get better from there.