Chapter 028: The Counterattack Begins, Qin Lin's Phone Call

The next day, Zhang Tianfeng was still upstairs working on his business plan when Qin Yuelan suddenly burst in, her face filled with panic. “Boss, our shop’s been smashed up, and Xiao Jiang is hurt.”

“How is Xiao Jiang?”

“Just some superficial wounds. He’s been taken to the hospital.”

“I’ll go check on him first. You head to the shop and oversee things—make sure they get it back to normal as soon as possible.”

Qin Yuelan nodded and hurried out, with Zhang Tianfeng close behind.

At the hospital, Jiang Jiahao was lying on a bed, his head wrapped in white gauze, one eye visible. As soon as he saw Zhang Tianfeng rush in, shame swept over his face and he lowered his head. “Boss, I’m sorry. I failed to protect the shop.”

“That’s a small matter. How’s your injury?”

“It’s nothing serious. Just some scrapes and a bit of soft tissue injury in my leg. A couple days of rest should do the trick.”

“Just focus on recovering here. I’ll cover your hospital bills, and your wages will be paid as normal.”

“Thank you, Boss.”

“Did you get a good look at who did this?”

“No, just their numbers, and that they were locals.”

The night before, when the shop was attacked, the group had beaten Jiang Jiahao while shouting in the local dialect, warning Zhang Tianfeng not to cross into their territory. Jiang Jiahao had only withstood a few blows before passing out.

“Boss, could it have been those shady employment agents?”

“I’ll take care of this. You just focus on getting better. I’m off.”

Leaving the hospital, Zhang Tianfeng headed straight for the shop. The rolling shutter had been slashed and was being dismantled by Fourth Uncle and the others. Inside, tables and chairs were smashed to pieces, the floor slick with foul black water, crawling with insects.

A police car was parked in front. As Zhang Tianfeng approached, an officer came up to him.

“Mr. Zhang, Director Lu sent us.”

“Any progress?”

“None. The surveillance cameras on that section of road were out of order. The director is taking this very seriously—we’re deploying officers to catch the culprits. Please give us some time.”

“Give you time? I donated ten thousand worth of police equipment to you just yesterday, and the very same night my shop gets trashed. Now my employee’s in the hospital, and you have the gall to ask for time?”

“Please calm down, Mr. Zhang. The director is anxious as well and is doing his utmost to catch the suspects.”

“Who did it?”

“I…”

“Tell me who did it, and I’ll donate another ten thousand in police equipment. And more to come. I promise you’ll get new patrol cars and the best gear.”

The officer hesitated, then said, “It was a few local thugs. They’ve already fled to Deep City. The director is personally heading out to apprehend them.”

“I see. You can go now.”

There was no point pressing further; the police needed evidence to proceed, and at this stage, they couldn’t give Zhang Tianfeng the name of the mastermind.

No matter. The dragon has the sea, the rat has its ways.

After sending off the officers, Zhang Tianfeng turned to help with the shop’s restoration.

At the entrance to an alley, Red Hair and his gang of followers were observing the scene. They’d originally come for a meal and happened to overhear Zhang Tianfeng’s conversation with the two officers.

“See that? A real boss has that kind of presence—daring to stand up to the police!” Red Hair said proudly, as if showing off his good judgment.

The others held their tongues; they’d been close enough to hear everything. There hadn’t been any shouting or confrontation to speak of.

Ah, blind faith can rob a person of reason.

“Boss, since the big boss is being set up, now’s our chance to prove our loyalty.”

“How? I don’t even know who’s really behind this.”

“Maybe… maybe I do.”

“Oh?”

Everyone turned to the boy crouched in the corner—a bald-headed kid named Chen Pi. His parents were both ill, leaving him no choice but to fend for himself.

Chen Pi smiled shyly. “Last night, when I got up to pee, I saw a group of people running east. I recognized one of them—he’s with Stinky Rat, from that shady employment agency.”

“That’s right, the big boss is getting into recruitment, stepping into their turf—that’s why those black-market agents have it in for him.”

“Chen Pi, are you sure?”

“Absolutely. When I got scammed by Stinky Rat, that lowlife was right there laughing. I’d recognize him even if he was burnt to ashes!”

“That’s all we need. Let’s report this to the big boss.”

“Boss, why not just grab them ourselves?”

“Are you kidding? Didn’t you see the police here? We need to deliver the news to the big boss before the police track down the real culprits. That way, we’ll be remembered and trusted.”

“Boss, you’re brilliant!”

Red Hair beamed under their admiring gazes. That’s why I’m your leader—I’m sharper than all of you.

Without drawing attention, Red Hair slipped off alone to the shop and called Zhang Tianfeng into the alley.

He told him everything he knew. “Boss, time was short, and this is all I could find. If you need more, we can keep digging.”

“No need. Now that we know who’s behind this, it’s easy to deal with.”

“Boss, just say the word—whatever you need.”

Zhang Tianfeng paused, then asked, “Where are there a lot of public phones?”

Red Hair replied at once, “Pearl City—there’s a whole street with a dozen phone booths, all with rain and sun shelters.”

“Wait here a few minutes—I’ll be right back.”

Ten minutes later, Zhang Tianfeng returned with a thick wad of cash and a sheet of paper.

“Here’s a thousand yuan. On this sheet are the calls you need to make and what you need to say. From now on, you and your crew will work eight hours a day, calling these numbers and sticking to the script.”

“If they ask who you are, say you’re a worker who got cheated out of your hard-earned wages and can’t go on living.”

“Boss… this is all you want us to do?” Red Hair had expected to be sent to fight or go undercover, not to make phone calls.

“That’s it. Get moving. Ten yuan a day for each of you, paid when you’re done. If you run out of cash, come back for more. Don’t even think about taking the money and running, or slacking off—if you disappear, your families won’t be able to.”

“Boss, don’t worry. We’ll get it done.”

Red Hair thumped his chest with pride and led his team off to work.

As he watched them go, Zhang Tianfeng’s eyes gleamed coldly.

They want to play dirty? These black-market agents must have a death wish.

The phone numbers he’d written out were for the Labor Bureau, newspapers, and TV stations in both Deep City and Pearl City.

After all, with the economic development zones being drawn up next year, competition among coastal cities was fierce, and everyone loved to see their rivals disgraced.

Once Deep City got wind of this, they’d scramble to break the story—front page headlines! Pearl City, on the other hand, would do everything possible to cover it up.

Back in the shop, restoration was well underway.

Not long after, one of the lookouts handed him a brick-sized mobile phone. “Mr. Zhang, the boss wants a word with you.”

“Boss Qin, what’s the occasion for this call?”

On the other end, Qin Lin laughed heartily. “I heard your shop was smashed up. How are things? Need a hand?”