Chapter 177: Abnormal

It was the weekend.

In the morning, Lei Dongchuan sent Bai Zimu to the studio.

Master He felt timid near his hometown. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] He had been restless since early morning, followed closely step by step by two disciples and three grand-disciples in the courtyard, deeply afraid he would run away again.

Master He chewed his breakfast slowly, completely unaware of what it tasted like. Ma Jie was happier than usual; after finishing eating, he wiped his mouth and ran to pack his luggage. He just symbolically packed a few pieces of clothes into a small suitcase, having prepared everything his master needed in Pingjiang City long ago.

After eating, Master He suddenly said he couldn’t find his train ticket. Sitting there, he looked vaguely towards the doors and windows and said:

“Let’s forget about it today, tomorrow, we’ll leave tomorrow.”

Ma Jie was dumbfounded, he didn’t expect his master to act shamelessly.

Lu Ping had prepared early on, and said with a cheerful smile:

“Master, why not take a car? Traveling by car on the highway isn’t slow either. I calculated it, driving back all the way will take about 9 hours.”

He had made complete preparations, with a full set of car and driver waiting right at the door.

Unable to decline, Master He could only get in the car.

Lu Ping stood by the car door the whole time, directing people to move things into the car. He even sat beside the door himself, blocking it, using the beautiful excuse of taking care of his master.

Bai Zimu rolled down the car window and waved his hand.

Lei Dongchuan walked over, leaned on the car window and asked:

“What’s wrong?”

Bai Zimu told him to get closer, and whispered in his ear:

“Brother, remember to go find Du Ming. I told him to keep an eye on Li Zhiwen in the provincial capital, and also Cousin Fang’s bank side…”

He patiently explained it once, and Lei Dongchuan listened to it all, nodding in agreement.

The He family’s foundation was in the provincial capital. Although they had a tendency to expand outwards in recent years, the movement of money and goods would all go through the provincial capital. Keeping an eye on it couldn’t go wrong.

Lei Dongchuan reached out and rubbed his head, “Pay attention to safety on the road, take good care of Grandpa.”

“Alright.”

The two cars drove away one after another.

Lei Dongchuan stood there watching for a while, only leaving when he could no longer see them.

After Bai Zimu left Dongchang, Lei Dongchuan went about everything as usual. Besides going to school every day, he took time out to help Mother Lei at Baichuan.

He worked very hard whether at school or at Baichuan, just slightly more silent than usual, seemingly distracted no matter what he did.

At school.

Du Ming took the opportunity after school to look for Lei Dongchuan. He called him twice before Lei Dongchuan snapped back to his senses.

“What is it?”

“Boss, I’m saying the two cars you asked me to prepare last time are ready, complete with license plates. My dad said they can be delivered this week.”

Hearing this, Lei Dongchuan nodded and said:

“Good, tell Uncle Du the bill will go through Baichuan. Also, when you go to the provincial capital this week, pay attention to inquire about the vehicles moving in and out of the He family. If there’s any news about trucks, let me know.”

Du Ming smiled: “Zimu said the same thing before leaving. Boss, smart people truly think alike.”

Lei Dongchuan: “Still flattering!”

Du Ming was smart and had always been by Lei Dongchuan’s side, obviously knowing what the boss wanted to hear most right now. Not only did he praise his boss, but he also stood there praising Bai Zimu for half a day, showing his loyalty:

“It’s not flattery, it’s sincere, Boss! Zimu is truly too amazing. When he asked me to investigate those matters, I thought it was hitting everywhere at random and couldn’t figure out anything. But when I brought it back, he actually managed to organize and analyze the specific time and goods, it’s simply miraculous! Even my dad praised him, telling me to learn well from you guys, and I’ll definitely be promising in the future…”

Lei Dongchuan said: “Alright, how are things with Uncle Du’s car dealership? Still going smoothly?”

“Pretty good. Started trading cars this year, even made a small profit.”

“Follow Uncle Du from now on…”

Du Ming immediately waved his hand: “Boss, I won’t work with my dad, I’ll follow you from now on! You are the Big Boss, Zimu is the Little Boss, when the Boss eats meat, wouldn’t he bring me along to drink soup? Anyway, I’m not leaving.”

They talked all the way to the school gate. Not far along the roadside, Fang Qi stood waiting near a car and happened to hear this sentence.

Fang Qi looked up at Du Ming.

Feeling he looked exceptionally like someone.

Lei Dongchuan brought Du Ming over. After discussing with Fang Qi what to do next, he turned to Du Ming again and said:

“Let Old Fang drive you over on the weekend. I’ve spoken to my cousin over there, and it’s also convenient for Old Fang to change into a suit and go in and out of the bank.”

Du Ming asked: “Boss, are you sending Old Fang to go undercover?”

Lei Dongchuan: “…Nonsense, I’m having him go deposit money for me!”

He had been busy for such a long time, plus the dividends from Dongchang Garment Factory this quarter, he had kept quite a lot of money on hand, enough for Fang Qi to open a VIP room in the provincial capital. Lei Dongchuan glanced at Du Ming and ultimately favored him, instructing, “You follow Old Fang. Old Fang has a car, if anything happens it will be more convenient.”

“Alright.”

Du Ming agreed simply.

After Lei Dongchuan left, he deliberately slowed down a bit to strike up a conversation with Fang Qi:

“Old Fang, the Boss deposited quite a lot of money, right?”

Fang Qi gave a “hmm”, not saying much.

Du Ming didn’t intend to ask either, joking:

“This is the wife-fetching fund the Boss saved up. We have to do a good job this time. If the He family falls, the money in the Boss’s hands can double. By then, carrying a few suitcases full of money and placing them directly at the father-in-law’s door, they will definitely agree to this marriage without a second word… Hey, Old Fang, you’ve always followed the Boss in the countryside before, right? Familiar with the situation over there?”

Fang Qi looked at him: “Right, what’s wrong?”

Du Ming beat around the bush for a long time and finally got to the main point:

“I heard the person in charge over there is named Sun Xiaojiu. What kind of person is he? Does the Boss usually rely heavily on him?”

This similar feeling became increasingly familiar. Fang Qi looked at him for a moment before shaking his head:

“Truly alike, even the questions asked are the same.”

Du Ming was stunned: “What? Like who?”

Fang Qi smiled: “The things you ask are exceptionally like Sun Xiaojiu.”

Du Ming immediately became unhappy, standing there with his arms crossed and saying:

“I’m not the same as him. Old Fang, you be the judge, I do more than Sun Xiaojiu, right? This professional ability must be a little bit stronger, right? Fine, even if none of this counts, look at the Boss’s attitude towards me, you’ve seen this with your own eyes. Our Boss—is good to me, right?”

Fang Qi smiled and shook his head, these words sounded even more familiar. Sun Xiaojiu had also asked this so arrogantly before, the meaning inside and out was exactly the same, feeling that Boss Lei favored him the most.

Fang Qi had a good temper and just listened.

Du Ming got a bit closer again and whispered: “Old Fang, let me ask you about something.”

“What?”

“Last year, did Sun Xiaojiu get kicked?”

Fang Qi didn’t remember.

Du Ming reminded him: “It was that time… what were they doing at the fish pond at the end of April? Anyway, the Boss told him to listen to Zimu, but he talked back, and the Boss went up and kicked him—”

Fang Qi remembered and explained:

“It wasn’t a fight, just a kick right on the butt. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] At that time, Shifang Town was preparing to set up warehousing, and the preparation work was very cumbersome. Zimu asked him for a booklet, but he took it to the Boss instead. The Boss felt he was unreliable in doing things, gave him a kick, and also made him write a self-criticism. The Boss said from now on, as long as Zimu is present, let Zimu go through everything first, you can’t just listen to one person.”

Du Ming listened with great relish, making Fang Qi tell it twice.

Thinking he hadn’t explained it clearly, Fang Qi patiently repeated it once more.

After listening, Du Ming sighed with a smile: “He truly deserved it, no eyesight at all.”

“What?”

“Nothing, I mean, take it as a warning, take it as a warning!”

When Du Ming smiled, he looked exceptionally kind and friendly. He inherited his father Du Jinghua’s social skills. Coupled with the sudden drastic changes in his family over the past year, with ups and downs, his mentality was much more mature than boys his age. He could vaguely sense Bai Zimu’s importance, but there seemed to be a layer separating them, as if he hadn’t fully guessed it yet. However, just this was enough; he would never do anything like Sun Xiaojiu in front of the Boss.

Did Sun Xiaojiu send the wrong booklet?

Clearly not. What he did wrong was not treating Bai Zimu as the Boss.

In front of outsiders, Du Ming always called Lei Dongchuan the “Big Boss” and Bai Zimu the “Little Boss”. When encountering matters, he never just asked one person. If he leaned more towards someone, his gaze would fall on Bai Zimu.

Relying on following Boss Lei for so many years, playing together since they were wearing crotchless pants, he knew the Boss had a stubborn temper and only listened to the persuasion of one person, and that person was Bai Zimu.

Even the Boss listened, how could he dare to act presumptuously?

Du Ming’s thoughts spun around, looking down on Sun Xiaojiu quite a bit, thinking that someone like Sun Xiaojiu still planned to compete with him for the position of second-in-command, simply a fool’s dream.

On the other side, Baichuan Hypermarket.

Lei Dongchuan sat in the top-floor office, playing with a fountain pen somewhat boredly. The pen spun nimbly on his fingers, completing a few revolutions before being drawn back into his palm.

Mother Lei spread out several documents on the desk, asking for his opinion.

Lei Dongchuan sat there looking for a long time, only picking out two. Mother Lei looked up and asked him:

“Dongchuan, what’s wrong? Didn’t sleep well again last night?”

Lei Dongchuan yawned, nodded and said:

“A bit, was doing test papers last night, there’s a question I couldn’t solve.”

Mother Lei said: “Although studying is important, your health is even more important. Don’t be too nervous, wait for Zimu to come back and let him teach you.”

Lei Dongchuan let out a laugh and said:

“Mom, how many times have I told you, I teach him his homework, you just refuse to believe it.”

Mother Lei glanced at him, pursed her lips into a smile, and didn’t utter a sound.

Her whole family probably only this silly boy, the third child, firmly believed this himself. With the third child’s grades, he could still teach someone who ranked first in the whole grade? Saying it out loud, not even a fool would believe it.