Returning after 10000 Years Cultivation - Chapter 145

“The eldest young master of the Jinling Sun family? The one in real estate, right?” Tan Guangxu, who had been quietly eating, suddenly spoke up.

“Yep, that’s the one!”

Zhen Shuai grinned. “Those top young masters mostly drive sports cars like Maseratis or Lamborghinis. My Porsche Cayenne looks downright shabby next to theirs!”

A shadow crossed Tan Guangxu’s face. He frowned and said, “He’s running a real estate project in Qixia County right now. Didn’t you know?”

Zhen Shuai gave an awkward smile, a flicker of gloom in his eyes, trying to sound nonchalant. “He has so many projects, who can keep count? How would I know?”

Watching this, Jiang Tian silently drank a glass of wine and sighed inwardly. It seems Zhen Shuai has had a tough time in Jinling, suffered quite a bit.

“Zhen Shuai, you’d better stay away from that Sun Hao. He’s bad news,” Tan Guangxu said gravely, setting his teacdown gently on the table.

“What do you mean?” Zhen Shuai looked confused.

Tan Guangxu’s expression darkened, his brow furrowed. “Do you know why Jiang Tian’s mom has been so worried lately? It’s because of this Sun Hao.”

“Why is my mom worried?” Jiang Tian asked, frowning.

In his previous life, he had only returned to clean up the mess after the complete collapse of the Jinling Jiang family. He wasn’t aware of the specific details.

“This is what happened…” After listening to Tan Guangxu’s explanation, Jiang Tian finally understood.

The Qixia Pharmaceutical Factory was where the Medicine King Group was founded and started. It was also one of their largest R&D bases.

But in this era, traditional Chinese medicine was in decline, with limited profitability. Meanwhile, real estate companies were developing rapidly. The Sun family’s Dynasty Real Estate Group in Jinling had long had its eyes on the pharmaceutical factory’s land.

Dynasty Real Estate remotely controlled a company called Tianduan Pharmaceuticals, which placed an order for 100 million RMB worth of goods with Zhang Wanqing (Jiang Tian’s mother), with a strict three-month delivery deadline. The contract stipulated that failure to deliver on time with guaranteed quality would result in a penalty of one billion RMB.

This year, under the pressure from the Chen family’s Ben Cao Group, the Medicine King Group’s product sales had already been poor. So, receiving this order made Zhang Wanqing very happy. She used all the branch company’s funds to purchase raw materials and went into full production mode.

However, when it was time to deliver the goods a month ago, Ma, the general manager of Tianduan Pharmaceuticals, became excessively picky. He produced test results from the Provincial Drug Administration claiming the products failed to meet standards, refused to accept the delivery, and demanded the one billion RMB penalty, taking Zhang Wanqing to court.

With the powerful and well-connected Sun Hao backing him and having bribed everyone involved, how could Zhang Wanqing possibly win the lawsuit? She was ordered to pay the one billion RMB penalty, plus the 100 million RMB for the goods.

It’s important to remember, this was 2007. One billion RMB was an astronomical sum, especially for the Medicine King Group, whose cash flow was already precarious. They simply couldn’t afford it.

Tianduan Group offered a condition: demolish the Qixia Pharmaceutical Factory and hand over the land to Tianduan Group as compensation.

It was only then that Zhang Wanqing and the others realized Sun Hao was behind it all.

But the lawsuit was lost. Zhang Wanqing and the Jiang family were helpless, forced to wait for the forced demolition…

Hearing this, everything came back to Jiang Tian. He clenched his fists, his face turning as dark as stormy water.

His father being framed and imprisoned, and the forced demolition of the Qixia Pharmaceutical Factory, both happened around this time.

His father was still a county magistrate then, with some say in the standing committee. For Sun Hao to get that land, he first had to remove his father, the biggest obstacle.

Originally, under the assault of the Jinling Chen family’s Ben Cao Group, the Medicine King Group was already on the brink of collapse.

The forced demolition of the Qixia Pharmaceutical Factory—its most important production base—along with the destruction of expensive research equipment and numerous patent formulas, became the final straw that broke the Medicine King Group’s back.

Sun Hao, is it? In my last life, you repeatedly humiliated me, beating my Jiang family until we couldn’t fight back. Now that I’m back, I will make sure you fall into an abyss of suffering, trapped between life and death! A sharp, murderous intent flashed in Jiang Tian’s eyes.

“That Sun Hao is such a bastard…” After hearing the whole story, Zhen Shuai slammed the table angrily, fuming.

“Zhen Shuai, what I meant was, if you’re close with Sun Hao, could you ask him to show some mercy?” Having trained in the official world for two years, Tan Guangxu had become very steady, considering problems directly in terms of pros and cons, knowing when to bend and when to stand firm, keeping emotions secondary.

Zhen Shuai suddenly downed a shot of white liquor, his face flushing red. He stared out the window at the bleak night view for a long time in silence before finally lowering his head, his expression ashen. “Xiaotian, Guangxu… actually, I lied to you…”

Before Tan Guangxu could ask, Zhen Shuai gave a self-mocking laugh. “I saw Sun Hao once at an underground racetrack in Jinling. I wanted to join the race. He slapped me, called me a hick from the sticks, said my car was too crappy to play with them.”

His hands trembled slightly. “My girlfriend was there at the time. I really wanted to hit him back… but I didn’t dare…”

Tears rolled down his cheeks. “I thought my dad being a bureau chief here in Qixia County counted for something. But I never expected… in the eyes of those Jinling young masters, I’m nothing. I’m not even fit to be their lackey!”

Tan Guangxu sighed softly and handed him a tissue. “Stop crying. You’re acting like a girl.”

Zhen Shuai wiped his tears and forced a smile. “Yeah, I was bragging earlier. Now that I’ve told you the truth, I feel much better. Go ahead and laugh at me if you want.”

Tan Guangxu thought for a moment, then patted his shoulder. “If it’s really too hard, maybe you shouldn’t go to Jinling. Isn’t it pretty good here in our hometown?”

Zhen Shuai shook his head with a sigh. “My old man is retiring this year. You know how it is in official circles—out of sight, out of mind. Once he’s gone, who’s going to give me face because of him? How will I do business then?”

He gritted his teeth. “I have to put down roots in Jinling. One day, I’ll climb over them. I’ll slap that bastard Sun and curse him out properly!”

“Sun Hao, is it? Within a week, I’ll make him kneel before you and apologize,” Jiang Tian said slowly, a sharp, cold gleam flashing in his eyes.

“Damn, Jiang Tian, I love your domineering aura! You even dared to hit a big shot from Yanjing. Those Jinling bastards are nothing!” Zhen Shuai felt immensely gratified. He raised his glass, clinked it with Jiang Tian’s, and downed it in one gulp.

Of course, Zhen Shuai took Jiang Tian’s words as angry venting. After all, Jiang Tian had been kicked out of Jinling precisely because he offended powerful people back then. How could he possibly dare to provoke Sun Hao now? Sun Hao was a top-tier young master in Jinling, from a powerful family. Even the entire Jiang family couldn’t afford to mess with him. Jiang Tian wouldn’t stumble over the same stone twice—unless he was a fool.

“Jiang Tian, don’t be impulsive,” Tan Guangxu, however, took him somewhat seriously. He frowned and advised, “From what I know, Sun Hao is different from Chen Bo and the others. They say his background is very complex, that he controls gangs, has men and guns…”

Jiang Tian wasn’t surprised. Back in 2007, China’s business world was still in a phase of wild growth. The legal framework wasn’t fully developed, and those in the real estate sector often had intricate, murky connections with local underworld figures.

Seeing the genuine concern on his old friend’s face, Jiang Tian nodded calmly. “I understand. Don’t worry…”

The mood had grown somewhat heavy. To lighten the atmosphere, Jiang Tian started reminiscing about funny childhood stories. Gradually, everyone began to relax.

In Qixia County, Chen Zhenming and Cheng Yi were also part of Jiang Tian’s close circle of brothers.

However, neither of them had stayed in Qixia County to build their careers. Chen Zhenming was the most accomplished among their group. After high school, his family arranged for him to study at a university in the United States. These days, he had little contact with the old gang and hadn’t been back for years.

In his previous life, after the Jiang family fell into crisis, Jiang Tian had actually reached out to Chen Zhenming, who was working for a hedge fund on Wall Street.

Chen Zhenming did return. Leveraging his reputation as a Wall Street elite, he managed to secure investments from various sources in an attempt to save the Medicine King Group.

But by then, the company’s fundamentals were already beyond repair. Despite Chen Zhenming’s considerable financial talent and immense effort—even pouring tens of millions of his own USD into the fight—the Medicine King Group was ultimately taken over by the other three major families of Jinling.

Driven by a sense of gratitude and guilt towards Chen Zhenming, Jiang Tian, aware of the impending US financial tsunami, had actually made an international call to him back in May. He advised Chen Zhenming to short the US subprime mortgage bonds.

Given Chen Zhenming’s sharp mind and sound judgment, Jiang Tian figured he probably made a hefty profit from the subprime mortgage crisis.

As for Cheng Yi, his background was even more mysterious. During the Jiang family’s troubles, he had hinted to Jiang Tian that there might be forces related to martial artists behind the scenes, and even offered to help Jiang Tian using… unconventional methods.

But back then, Jiang Tian had no understanding of such things. When he mentioned it to his family, they politely declined the offer.

“Haha, Guangxu, Zhen Shuai! I saw Zhen Shuai’s beat-up Cayenne downstairs and knew you guys would be here!”

The three brothers were chatting happily when the door suddenly swung open. A pale, chubby guy with a prominent belly swaggered in, a mocking grin plastered on his face.

Beside him was an exceptionally tall and beautiful woman. Despite the late autumn chill, she was dressed in a miniskirt. Her face was meticulously made up, with large, dewy eyes and lips painted a fiery red. She had a full chest, a narrow waist, and hips that curved enticingly. Her legs were slender, straight, and as pale as snow. In a small county town like this, her style and youthfulness made her stand out dramatically.

Seeing them, a faint glimmer passed through Jiang Tian’s eyes, but he showed no further reaction, calmly sipping his tea.

The chubby guy was Zhao Wuji, the son of County Party Secretary Zhao Junlin.

As kids, Zhao Wuji had been the ringleader of the children from the County Party Committee compound, while Jiang Tian and his friends were from the County Government compound. The two groups had been butting heads since kindergarten.

In high school, this guy and Jiang Tian became rivals for a girl’s affection. The situation escalated so badly that Jiang Tian almost killed him with a knife. From then on, friction between the two groups was constant.

From Jiang Tian’s memory, this guy ran a construction company in Qixia County. It wasn’t a huge operation, but under his father’s patronage, he had amassed quite a fortune—tens of millions in assets, making him a local tycoon.

In his previous life, this guy often needled Jiang Tian. But looking back now, Jiang Tian saw it all as harmless ribbing, nothing worth holding a grudge over.

Having lived ten thousand years as a cultivator and witnessed countless rises and falls, why would he bother holding a grudge against a mere extra like Zhao Wuji?

“My car’s beat-up? Oh, and yours is so new and flashy! Big deal, you drive a Mercedes. Get out, get out! You’re not welcome here!” The usually steady and mature Tan Guangxu just smiled without a word, but Zhen Shuai retorted with undisguised scorn, his eyes nearly rolling out of their sockets.

“Zhen Shuai, I came here to tell you something—go talk to Jiang Tian’s mom. Tell her to hand over the land quickly. It would be a shame if things escalated to a forced demolition!” Zhao Wuji was a tedious guy with remarkably thick skin. He didn’t get angry; in fact, the more irritated you became, the happier he seemed. He just chuckled gleefully.

Just then, the stunning young woman behind Zhao Wuji tugged at his sleeve. “Hey,” she cooed, “look who’s over there!”

“Well, I’ll be damned! If it isn’t the great playboy, Jiang Tian himself!” Zhao Wuji immediately slapped his thigh, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I heard you’ve really outdone yourself this time—beat up some big shot from Yanjing, didn’t you? So high and mighty you’re practically in outer space now! What brings you back here?”