Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Brother Toad's face lit up at once—by the sound of it, Bao Lin meant to let him off the hook. He eagerly waved his men over, and they scurried about moving Yang Ce's and Zhang Bin's luggage into another Jinbei van.

Over on the other side, before Yuan Gangyi could make sense of what was happening, he was shoved into a van. By the time he shouted Brother Toad's name, he realized that Brother Toad was meekly helping the Jinbei driver carry his bags.

Only then did Yuan Gangyi snap awake to the truth: he had provoked someone he shouldn't have—someone he couldn't afford to provoke.

With the cars switched, Bao Lin got back behind the wheel and started the engine. Paying no mind to Brother Toad, who stood below fawning and waving, he floored the gas and roared off.

In the car, Zhang Bin and Wang Mei were both too stunned to speak. But comparatively, it was Zhang Bin who was most shocked—after all, he'd spent every day with Yan and had never realized Yang Moyi commanded such power.

Wang Mei, on the other hand, took it a little better—she knew Yang Yongjin well, and in her eyes Yang Ce was already a formidable figure. Still, she'd never expected that Yang Juehuan, the driver, could be this formidable too.

She'd seen him driving an ordinary van and assumed he was just a driver—never imagining that a driver could be a big boss of the underworld. Then what on earth was Yang Ce's real identity?

Back then, when Bao Lin had said that if there was ever any trouble in Songjiang, he should just look him up, Wang Mei had thought it was a bit of an exaggeration—what could a mere driver accomplish, no matter how capable? But now it seemed entirely possible. Coming back to Songjiang together with Zhang Bin struck Wang Mei as a very wise decision.

"Boss, you're not really some underworld kingpin, are you?" They had been driving for a long while before Zhang Bin finally came to his senses and asked in astonishment.

"I'm not. He is." Yang Ce smiled and pointed at Bao Lin.

"Ah—er—" Zhang Bin was struck dumb. Bao Lin called Yang Ce "Brother Yang," so what exactly did Yang Ce do?

"Brother Yang, spare me the mockery," Bao Lin said, breaking into a sweat. "You're the real boss."

"Ha, Baozi's got that right. He's the boss of Songjiang—I'm merely the man behind him," Yang Ce said.

"What boss? Really? You're his boss?" Zhang Bin's astonishment defied description.

Yang Ce nodded. "It's nothing much, really. There are a few other things too—I'll tell you about them gradually. All right, my uncle's place is just ahead. I need to get over there. In a bit, have Baozi take you two to a hotel. Whatever hotel it is, just send me a text directly."

"Got it, boss." Zhang Bin still hadn't recovered from his excitement. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the underworld boss of Songjiang would end up chauffeuring him around—and that his own good buddy and sworn brother was the man behind that boss.

"By the way, Baozi, after you've dropped them off, come on back—and bring my car while you're at it." Yang Ce figured that, back in Songjiang, getting anything done without a car would be far too inconvenient.

Arriving at his uncle's house, Yang Ce phoned Yang Li to tell her he had arrived. Overjoyed, Yang Li came running out of the villa. When she saw Yang Ce, she said, "Little brother, you're finally here! If you'd taken any longer, Dad would have worried himself to death."

"Ha, it's fine. I'm here now, aren't I?" Yang Ce said. The old estrangement between brother and sister had, with time and adjustment, grown harmonious.

Though Yang Ce still strongly disapproved of the snobbery Yang Li had shown in the past, she had changed now and was much more amiable toward people. It made Yang Ce feel that this was how family affection ought to be—truest when untainted by any calculation of status or advantage.

Yang Ce followed Yang Li into the villa and was about to change his shoes when she stopped him. "No need. Just come in with your shoes on. The maid can wipe the floor afterward—she mops it every evening anyway."

"Better not. I've walked in from outside and my shoes are covered in snow. If it melts, the floor will be a muddy mess." Yang Ce shook his head, unwilling to put others to trouble.

Yang Li hurriedly fetched him a pair of slippers and laughed. "You—so formal even at my house."

"It's not formality. I just figure changing shoes isn't any complicated matter—a mere lift of the hand." Yang Ce fished a gift out of his pocket. "Oh, right—this is a present I brought back for you from Macau a few days ago."

"What is it?" Yang Li asked, pleasantly surprised. It suddenly occurred to her that she really had been too arrogant, so much so that she had made a mess of the family affection that ought to have been there. Now she felt a sudden warmth—never mind what the gift was, just the feeling of being remembered and cared for by her kin was deeply comforting.

To be continued

888. Handling It Personally

888. Handling It Personally. "Perfume. I think this scent is lovely—Anna Sui's Secret Wish," Yang Ce said. "They might sell it here too, but consider it a token of my regard."

It was the perfume Huang Yan liked to use; Yang Ce had fallen in love with the scent and bought more than a dozen bottles at once, intending to give one to each of his female friends. On the way to his uncle's house just now, he had casually taken one out and given it to Yang Li as a gift.

"Thank you." Yang Li happily accepted Yang Ce's gift. Though Anna Sui had a counter at Xinheng Department Store in Songjiang as well, this represented Yang Ce's thoughtfulness all the same.

They went upstairs to her uncle's study, and Yang Li knocked on the door outside. "Dad?"

"Lili, I already told you, I'm not eating dinner. You and your mother go ahead—I'm mulling a few things over," came Uncle Yang Dashan's voice from within the study.

"Uncle, it's me." Yang Ce pushed open the study door.

"Oh—" Yang Dashan clearly froze at the sound of Yang Ce's voice, then looked up with some delight. "Daming, you're back! Wonderful, just wonderful—I've been waiting for you to come back so we could discuss these matters."

Yang Dashan rose to his feet and strode quickly to meet Yang Ce, speaking with some excitement.

After the several incidents that had come before, Yang Dashan's trust in Yang Ce had grown even greater than his trust in Yang Cheyan. In his view, Yang Ce would surely come up with a good plan for such a thorny problem—and his daughter Yang Li thought the same.

In truth, this matter was neither especially simple nor especially difficult; the key lay in what Yang Dashan wanted to do. If he broke the contract with that engineering company, it would be no great matter—at most he would return their deposit and pay a penalty for breach of contract. All the losses would amount to no more than twenty or thirty thousand yuan.

But Yang Dashan was unwilling to accept that. After all, this was the first deal of the Engineering Machinery Division he was in charge of. He had taken the manufacturing and sales of engineering machinery over from his younger brother Yang Cheyan and assumed full responsibility, precisely because he wanted to achieve something and build a great enterprise.

And now the very first deal had run into trouble—how could he possibly carry on? Of course, not every city would have such a situation; Fenghuang City was purely a fluke. But even if it was a fluke, Yang Dashan was still unwilling to accept it.

In business, the first deal after opening shop—everyone wants a good omen. Even if it earns no money, the deal has to be seen through. That was the real reason Yang Dashan did not want to give up, and the reason he had been unable to eat or sleep well these past days.

"Lili, go brew some tea, quick. Daming and I have things to discuss," Yang Dashan hurriedly instructed his daughter.