"No one can find out who the bank boss is? That's a pretty big statement. I'll try it myself when I get back." Father Sun didn't quite believe it, finding it hard to accept that the bank boss couldn't be found.
Zhang Liunian didn't stop him; on the contrary, he looked forward to the day Father Sun would inform him of the results.
"Let's go, let's go. There's nothing more to see. Comrade Zhang Liunian, come to our house this weekend. I'll have my eldest son pick you up personally."
Father Sun, seeing that the old building was almost finished and not wanting to encounter him on the road, bid farewell to Zhang Liunian and left.
"Okay, take care."
Zhang Liunian personally saw him off and stood there watching for a while longer. Just as he was about to leave, he ran into the Gu father and son.
Upon seeing Zhang Liunian, Gu Lou's expression immediately turned unpleasant, as if Zhang Liunian had slept with his wife. However, with everyone present, he didn't make a scene.
As for Gu Sanqing, upon seeing Zhang Liunian, he even managed a smile. "Comrade Zhang Liunian, are you here to deposit money too? Hurry up and do so. The interest rates at this bank are really high, and they even give away bicycles for free. It's truly a good bank."
"..."
If Zhang Liunian didn't know that this bank would eventually abscond with the money, he would have thought Gu Sanqing was looking out for him. Hearing him say such things now instantly made him lose any interest in continuing the conversation with them.
"I don't have any spare cash on hand. I'll say something when I do." Zhang Liunian was refusing.
Gu Sanqing could see that Zhang Liunian wasn't very enthusiastic about this bank, so he didn't force it and risk annoying him. He said, "Then we'll be going first," and left with Gu Lou.
After they had walked quite a distance, Gu Lou looked around. Seeing that no one was nearby, he turned back to his son and said, "Are you familiar with him?"
Gu Sanqing nodded. "We've had some contact, you could say."
"Good. Once we've used him, get rid of him. Your elder brother's revenge must be served." Gu Lou praised him first, then instructed him to avenge Gu Changqing.
Gu Sanqing didn't refuse, only saying he understood.
However, upon returning home and parting ways, Gu Sanqing's face immediately fell, looking extremely grim. Making him avenge his elder brother was impossible because he was the one who killed his brother. The so-called revenge was merely to have Zhang Liunian take the blame.
Moreover, this burden would have to be carried for a lifetime. Otherwise, how could he obtain all of the Gu family's assets?
Meanwhile, after nearly half a month of observation, Zhang Liunian finally found another suitable location for the department store.
This time, he obtained the land quite smoothly and only spent less than 100,000 yuan, practically getting it for free.
Just as he was happily choosing the location for the department store, the news that Fude Village was to be developed into a new train station spread throughout Pengcheng overnight, causing the entire city to erupt in excitement.
Especially for the remote Fude Village, which used to have few people in or out. Now, it was an understatement to call it bustling with activity.
"There's really no more land. It's all sold. You're too late."
The village chief of Fude Village had been repeating this sentence all day, yet many people still didn't believe him and insisted he sell them land.
For this reason, many resorted to drastic measures, making the village chief and others in Fude Village suffer greatly.
"You lying scoundrel! You clearly still have plenty of hills. Sell it to me, and don't be difficult."
A burly man kicked out, sending the village chief of Fude Village flying. Cheers of alarm erupted from many people, "Village Chief!"
Zhang Liunian arrived just in time to witness this scene and immediately stepped forward to stop them. "The authorities have already stated that the land in Fude Village cannot be bought or sold. You are breaking the law and want to go to jail."
Seeing someone interfering, the burly man immediately wanted to teach him a lesson. However, upon noticing the large group of burly men behind Zhang Liunian, he instantly lost his nerve.
"What a busybody," the burly man muttered, then led his men away.
The village chief of Fude Village was helped up and looked at Zhang Liunian with gratitude. "Thank you, Boss Zhang."
Zhang Liunian stepped forward with a smile. "What are you thanking me for? If you hadn't sold me land, I wouldn't have gotten such a great deal. I should be thanking you!"
"Selling to you was our willing choice. We would never sell to those who bully us, even if we were beaten to death." The village chief of Fude Village slowly sat down and smiled at Zhang Liunian.
He knew that Zhang Liunian must have also learned that this area would become a train station, which was why he bought it.
Although he didn't know how he knew so far in advance, it was enough to prove his extraordinary capabilities.
"Yesterday, the authorities stated that the land in Fude Village was not allowed to be sold. Any sold land would be confiscated, regardless of who owned it. They are here simply because they are unwilling to accept it." Zhang Liunian knew that those people were just upset about missing out on this opportunity, but it didn't mean they were solely interested in buying land.
Of course, this excluded those with connections.
"But we ordinary people can't afford to offend anyone!" The village chief of Fude Village had received dozens of people wanting to buy land that day alone.
"If it's really impossible, you could visit some relatives. It will be fine once the official documents from the higher-ups come down." Zhang Liunian was showing him a way out, suggesting he avoid the trouble.
The village chief's eyes lit up. Why hadn't he thought of that? If you can't afford to offend someone, you can always avoid them.
"Thank you for the reminder, Boss Zhang." The village chief was genuinely grateful for his advice.
Zhang Liunian waved his hand and said, "You're welcome. I came over just to see how the land leveling was going, and it was a coincidence."
"Your mountain land is still a lot of work. Not even a fifth of it is done yet!" The village chief, upon hearing that he was here to check on the land leveling, immediately replied with a smile.
As the village chief, he was well aware of the progress on Zhang Liunian's mountain land.
"Is that so? Then I'll have everyone take a break for a while, and we'll continue once the official documents from the higher-ups come down."
His mountain range was vast, and a large portion of it would be expropriated. Therefore, it wasn't convenient to proceed with work now. Only after the expropriated areas were demarcated could he begin construction.
"You can do as you see fit." The village chief also knew that Zhang Liunian couldn't take any further action at the moment; everything depended on the situation with the authorities.
After parting ways with the village chief, Zhang Liunian arrived at his mountain land and unexpectedly found the man in the martial arts attire from last time also working on leveling the mountain, seemingly planning something.
The man saw Zhang Liunian as the owner of the adjacent mountain land and seemed somewhat surprised. He even approached him proactively to strike up a conversation.
"Hello, comrade. My name is Chen Jiayuan. I'm the owner of this mountain. Are you the owner of this largest mountain next to mine?" the man in the martial arts attire asked, extending his hand with a smile towards Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian, out of politeness, extended his hand to shake his. "Hello, my name is Zhang Liunian. This mountain is indeed mine."
"You truly are a hero among the young. Not only did you have the foresight to realize this place would be developed, but you also acted decisively, managing to purchase such a large area months in advance. Aren't you afraid the project won't go through?"
Chen Jiayuan said this in a joking tone, but his words carried a hint of probing.