Inside were Tang Kaiming's father and his grandson.
Zhang Liunian did not see them. After confirming the Tang family's address, he turned to treat Mu Mingliang to a meal at a restaurant.
After the meal, Mu Mingliang expressed his desire for braised meat as well.
Zhang Liunian smiled and offered them ten jin to try.
"My fellow disciples called again, they said they need another fifty jin. From now on, they'll be ordering two hundred fifty jin fixedly one day, and so will I. We're all two hundred fifty."
"..." He wasn't one of them, don't include him, Zhang Liunian sighed, supporting his forehead with his hand.
"Is that you?" Just as Zhang Liunian was wondering how to respond, Qian Xueli's voice rang out from the other side.
Zhang Liunian looked up and saw Qian Xueli and another girl holding hands as they appeared before him.
Zhang Liunian glanced without interest and withdrew his gaze, replying to Mu Mingliang, "Alright, I'll deliver it tomorrow. I'm heading back." With that, he showed his tall physique and strode away.
However, Qian Xueli was angered by his attitude. She was already annoyed, and upon encountering the man who stirred her heart, she wanted to exchange a few words. To her surprise, he didn't even bother to acknowledge her. How could her pride accept this?
"Why are you ignoring me?" Qian Xueli reached out and blocked Zhang Liunian's path, preventing him from leaving.
"We don't know each other." Zhang Liunian replied coldly, brushing her hand away and attempting to leave.
Qian Xueli, for some inexplicable reason, ran in front of him again as he continued to try and leave. Spreading her arms wide, she said indignantly, "I know, but we can be friends!"
"..." This was Du Ziteng's future wife. Knowing he was married, she still insisted on pestering him. What was this woman thinking?
"My Qingqing will misunderstand. I decline making friends." Zhang Liunian said, then pushed her away again and left.
What he didn't see was that the girl accompanying Qian Xueli was deeply attracted by his demeanor.
"Xueli, who was that just now? So handsome and manly. Most importantly, he's so good to his wife! This is only the second time I've heard of such a good man. I love it, I love it! If I could meet a man like that, I'd definitely go up the mountain to give thanks."
This girl was Qian Xueli's classmate, and her family's conditions were comparable to the Qian family's.
Hearing her classmate's words, Qian Xueli felt even more resentful. In her eighteen years of life, this was the first man who had stirred her heart.
But who would have thought that this man was married, and even spoke up for his wife in front of her? How hateful.
"What's so good about a married man?" Qian Xueli said, thoroughly angered, and turned to leave.
Her classmate followed, stating that she disagreed with those words.
On the other side, Zhang Liunian was riding his bicycle home. At the entrance of the courtyard, he encountered the leg-broken Zhang Liuhuo, who was sitting on the door panel. On either side of him were his third uncle, Zhang Wenjun, and Zhang Liuhuo's second brother, Zhang Liuyu.
It seemed they had just returned from the hospital.
When enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred. It was as if sparks were flashing in the eyes of Zhang Liunian and Zhang Liuhuo.
"Zhang Liunian, your good days are numbered." Zhang Liuhuo looked at his cousin, who had broken his leg, and blurted out a harsh remark.
Zhang Liunian dismounted his bicycle, his expression blank. "You don't need to worry about my difficult days, but your difficult days have already arrived."
Unable to move due to his broken leg, and his wife captured, Zhang Liuhuo's difficult days had indeed come. Even if his third uncle could care for him for a while, he couldn't care for him forever. Their family was bound to fall apart.
"We'll see." Zhang Liuhuo had, during this period, transformed from his initial fury and irritability into a dark, watery demeanor.
Meeting such an expression, Zhang Liunian inwardly became cautious and withdrew his gaze, entering the small courtyard.
Zhang Liuhuo watched his retreating figure, wishing he could kill him with his eyes alone.
"Dad, what has he been up to lately?" Zhang Liuhuo lay back on his own bed and immediately inquired about Zhang Liunian's activities.
Zhang Wenjun sighed and said, "Him? He's been very successful, making money and building houses."
They had all been present when Tu Meili reported Zhang Liunian for causing harm and was subsequently arrested, and they had told their son about it. Zhang Liuhuo harbored deep resentment for this. Now, when asked about it, he was simply trying to hear about Zhang Liunian's current situation.
He had expected Zhang Liunian not to be doing too well, but his father's words shattered his illusions. "Impossible, how could he be doing so well?"
"It's true, you heard what was just said." Zhang Wenjun's mood was extremely complex. He had been running between the hospital and home these past few days, exhausted, yet he had heard much about Zhang Liunian. For instance, his business had grown, he was hiring more people, and he was building houses, and so on. Even the villagers' attitudes towards Zhang Liunian had changed. Previously, when the villagers spoke of Zhang Liunian, they would either shake their heads or compare him to his second brother, Liuxing. Now, when the villagers mentioned Zhang Liunian, most of them called him a good person, and many gave him a thumbs-up. This situation reached its peak today because, just moments ago, he heard someone else speaking favorably of Zhang Liunian. In fact, Zhang Liuhuo had also heard those words, but he didn't believe it. How could someone who had been lazy and disreputable his entire life suddenly earn such widespread praise in just a few days? Even Zhang Liuxing had not received such high honors.
"Does he deserve the word 'successful'?" Zhang Liuhuo naturally could not accept the fact that his enemy was living more splendidly than he was, especially after Zhang Liunian had caused his current predicament.
Zhang Wenjun sighed and remained silent.
However, Zhang Liuyu couldn't help but interject, "Big Brother, Zhang Liunian really made money. He also hired many villagers to help him work, which is why everyone says he's a good person. Unfortunately, I don't have the opportunity to get such good work." If not for his older brother's falling out with Zhang Liunian, he would have had the chance to help Zhang Liunian. He was a very good swimmer.
Zhang Liuhuo detected the annoyance in his brother's voice and shot a glare at him. "Are you blaming me for not letting you work for him?"
Zhang Liuyu was startled and quickly waved his hands, saying, "No, no..." How could he dare to express that sentiment? If he did, his older brother would surely beat him to death once he recovered. He knew his older brother all too well.
Zhang Liuhuo let out a cold snort and then turned to his parents, saying, "Didn't you say he made money by selling those poisonous insects? We can do that too!"
His words did remind Zhang Wenjun. Yes, Zhang Liunian could sell poisonous insects to make money, pay off debts, and build new houses; they could too. However, the reputation of being a private business owner wasn't good, and the villagers would mock them.
"Isn't that a bit… improper? People will laugh at us." Zhang Wenjun was concerned about losing face.
Zhang Liuhuo retorted sarcastically, "Who laughed at Zhang Liunian when he made money? Isn't the whole village praising him?"
That's true!
Zhang Wenjun felt there was some logic to it. He looked at his wife, who nodded in agreement. Then he looked at his youngest son, Zhang Liuyu. Zhang Liuyu remained silent for a moment after hearing this, then also nodded.
"Tomorrow, Liuyu, follow Zhang Liunian and see where he sells. Find out his prices, and then we can undercut him. Why should Zhang Liunian make money, and we can't?"
"Good."