Chapter 177: Hauling Dirt and Getting to Work

"Haha, I was just letting off some steam and lost my head for a moment. You're a magnanimous man, so please don't hold it against your brother."

Zhang Rui flashed a ingratiating smile as he spoke into the phone. "Are you at the construction site? Should I come over now?"

"Alright, get over here! What a day..."

Tian Xing was naturally upset. To clear himself of any unwarranted blame, Tian Xing had called Zou Dian right in front of Zhang Rui earlier and given him a fierce scolding. But now, it seemed Zhang Rui had suddenly figured things out.

Whoosh!

Driving his 2.7-liter displacement Highlander, Zhang Rui quickly arrived at Bohai Square. It was already four o'clock in the afternoon. At the construction site, there were easily dozens of heavy-duty trucks and over a hundred workers, each tending to their own duties and rushing about, making for a quite spectacular scene.

Tian Xing was running around frantically with a walkie-talkie in hand, issuing instructions from all directions. Today marked the official start of construction, and the client's supervisors as well as various levels of supervising leaders were all present. If the order wasn't properly established on the very first day and failed to leave a good impression, it would spell trouble down the road.

Zhang Rui parked the car, hurried over to Tian Xing's side, and shouted over the roaring engine noise, "Brother Xing, I'm here to report for duty!"

"Hurry up, get your trucks to go haul materials ahead of time. Once six o'clock hits and the traffic police and urban management go off duty, we'll start operations and let them drive in."

Tian Xing had already mapped out each step of the work process in his mind. Knowing precisely what to do and when, he was extremely experienced, and the massive scene was directed by him in an orderly fashion.

Zhang Rui acknowledged the order, hurried back outside the construction site, and climbed into his car to escape the deafening roar. He picked up his phone and dialed the leader of the Jiefang truck fleet whom he had already contacted. "Captain Zhen, send your trucks to load up on dirt now, and haul it over here as soon as six o'clock passes. All the connections have been greased."

"Got it. Will do. The brothers are all waiting."

Captain Zhen gave a hearty response before hanging up to rally the men.

This Captain Zhen, whose real name was Zhen Jiefang, was a native of Jiaodong and had been in Bohai City for twenty years. In his early years, he made a lot of money trading aquatic products and seafood from Jiaodong to Bohai. Later, his business became the target of jealous rivals from all factions who all wanted a piece of the pie, causing his profit margins to plummet. Zhen Jiefang then pulled out of the seafood trade, using his accumulated savings to buy three or four earth-moving trucks. Known for his loyalty and righteousness, he had made a name for himself in the Western Fifth District. Gradually, local small-time earth-moving bosses began seeking him out for partnerships. No matter where a job was located, whichever trucks were idle would pitch in together, and the money would be settled later. Because Zhen Jiefang was exceptionally fair when it came to splitting profits and everyone made money following him, they privately formed the Western Fifth District Earth-Moving Truck Fleet and elected Zhen Jiefang as the captain. Whenever there was a large-scale project and Zhen Jiefang's own trucks weren't enough, he would rally everyone to pitch in together. He could mobilize forty to fifty earth-moving trucks at once—a truly spectacular sight when they rolled out. This time, Zhang Rui had booked twenty trucks in a single order, which already counted as a major deal. Zhen Jiefang was also looking forward to it and had long since told the brothers to get ready.

The public earth reserves in the Western Fifth District had long been completely excavated. Anyone wanting dirt now had to go to the dirt yard at the absolute western edge of Bohai City. That yard was privately contracted and operated, boasting abundant soil reserves, excellent quality, and fair prices. Everyone went there whenever they needed dirt.

After receiving Zhang Rui's call, Zhen Jiefang rallied his brothers and led a grand convoy of twenty trucks charging toward the dirt yard.

Once he made the arrangements, Zhang Rui enthusiastically ran over to a nearby supermarket and bought some Yaohe liquor, planning to have a drink with Brother Xing and Captain Zhen during the late-night work shift. Since this project was going to be a long-term business venture, they needed to build solid personal relationships to ensure the work proceeded smoothly.

!!!

It was almost dinnertime. Chen Qiaoman changed out of her police uniform in the office, took out her phone, and called Zhang Rui. "Big Boss Zhang, what are you up to? Not a peep all day, I thought you'd vanished from the face of the earth."

When Qiaoman said this, she actually felt a bit guilty. The appearance of Zhang Zhihao the other day had inexplicably caused Zhang Rui to throw a fit, and Qiaoman herself had felt quite embarrassed. She desperately wanted to explain, but feared that the more she explained, the messier things would get.

"Haha, if I vanished, I'd at least call to say goodbye first."

Walking along the perimeter of the billboards outside the square while talking on the phone, Zhang Rui scouted out the approach route for the twenty Jiefang trucks. With that many vehicles, they needed to reserve space in advance.

"Hmph! What are you busy with? You couldn't even bother to give me a call."

Qiaoman buttoned up her new blouse, grabbed her car keys, and walked out of the office. "How about I treat you to something delicious tonight? What do you say about giant salamander? A newly opened place in the First Western District serves the authentic version."

"Oh, now that's good stuff, a rare animal!"

Zhang Rui continued, "Too bad I lack the culinary fortune today, though. I've got to grind all night tonight—I'm down at the construction site."

"Huh? Aren't you a full-time gatekeeper for Lehuo City? How come you switched jobs again? Did you become a night watchman at a construction site? Isn't that the kind of job old men do?"

Qiaoman giggled and playfully teased Zhang Rui.

"Yeah, I took early retirement to become an old man. Got a problem with that?"

Zhang Rui knew Qiaoman was holding something back. "Alright, aren't you out playing carefree with your Young Master Zhang? Why waste your breath bickering with a poor underdog like me?"

"What are you talking about! What kind of person is Zhang Zhihao? Didn't I already tell you? He's just a playboy, I wouldn't give him the time of day. Don't misunderstand."

Hearing Zhang Rui's words, Qiaoman instantly grew anxious. She could tolerate anything else, but she absolutely drew the line at being accused of having a thing with Zhang Zhihao. That was a matter of principle.

In Qiaoman's heart, Zhang Rui was the epitome of the standard perfect man—confident, attentive, providing a sense of security, entirely unlike Zhang Zhihao, who was just a second-generation official relying on his father and capable of nothing besides putting on airs and acting cool.

Of course, Qiaoman didn't know Zhang Zhihao very well; her rejection of him was purely instinctive.

That day in the police precinct courtyard, after Zhang Rui left, Qiaoman had chased Zhang Zhihao away and completely ignored him.

"Ah, let's chat later, I've got an incoming call and genuinely need to get to work. I didn't misunderstand you."

Hearing his phone buzzing, Zhang Rui glanced sideways at the screen. It was a call from Zhen Jiefang, which he couldn't afford to miss.

"Fine then. I'll look for you tomorrow. Don't exhaust yourself—your body still has other uses, you can't just spend it all on that, you also have to..."

Qiaoman smiled mischievously. "You know what I mean."

"Know my foot, I'm hanging up."

Zhang Rui was in no mood for such thoughts and directly hung up to take Zhen Jiefang's call. On the other end, Qiaoman was so exasperated she curled her lips in annoyance. "Ugh, how humiliating! Damn you, Zhang Rui! The next time I see you, I'm going to crack your skull open!"

"Hello! Captain Zhen, are you done loading the dirt already? It's still over half an hour until six o'clock, tell the brothers..."

Before Zhang Rui could finish, Zhen Jiefang interrupted him anxiously from the other end. "No! We haven't loaded anything! Damn it, I don't know what's going on today, but the gates of the dirt yard are locked tight, and they won't let us load!"