Chapter 88: Chain Reaction

A Xue ignored Jiang Fan’s warning and went on clinging to her explanation. “Brother Shou really had something to deal with, so he didn’t go to the gambling den. He specially told me that no matter what, I had to wait for you today. He’d like to treat you to a late-night meal. Since we’re from the same hometown, and since this shop is next door to Sister Xin’s, I’m begging you to do me this favor.”

When Xiao Yuxin heard that A Xue was trying to borrow her standing, she rose to her feet and said to Jiang Fan, “You two take your time talking. It’s not proper for me to hear these things.”

Seeing Xiao Yuxin refuse so decisively in another way, Jiang Fan no longer wanted to waste words with A Xue. He said bluntly, “I can’t grant that favor. You should head back. I’m tired too, and I’m going home to sleep.”

With that, he gave A Xue no chance to speak and went straight upstairs.

He had spent the previous night unable to sleep. After returning to his rented room, he didn’t even bother to wash up before lying down and falling asleep.

At noon the next day, Xiao Yuxin went upstairs and called him three times before he finally got up and came downstairs.

When Xiao Yuxin saw Jiang Fan, she moved the dining table to the front of the shop and brought out a pot of bone soup and a dish of steamed fish.

Jiang Fan asked casually, “Where’s the baby?”

Xiao Yuxin shot him a glare, thrusting the watch on her wrist up in front of him as she grumbled, “Take a look yourself. What time is it now? And you still ask about the baby. I sent him to Auntie’s place ages ago. I waited for you to eat, and the steamed fish has been reheated twice already. It’s practically fish paste now.”

The night before, Jiang Fan had slept soundly, but many others had spent the whole night awake. The most unsettled of them all were Brother Lu and his two team leaders.

Unable to think of a proper solution in time, Brother Lu took out his frustration on the two team leaders and ordered them to calm the situation down today, no matter what.

A Zhong had been scolded, and his own grandnephew had been bullied. He was furious enough to want to settle things with Jiang Fan head-on, but Brother Lu had already made it clear that they could not afford to offend Jiang Fan again.

Shouzi was the main person responsible for the gambling den. In a matter like this, Brother Lu did not want to lose face by showing up himself, so Shouzi had to handle it personally.

After two dealings with Jiang Fan, Shouzi had more or less gotten a sense of his temperament. He knew that even if he showed up now, Jiang Fan still would not give him any face, so in the end he set his sights on his little mistress.

He ordered A Xue to do whatever it took to build a connection with Jiang Fan. The pressure from several men ultimately landed on that weak young woman. She got up early and had been sitting outside the hair salon waiting for Jiang Fan. When she saw that he and Xiao Yuxin were about to eat, she hesitated, shifting in place a couple of times, but in the end decided to wait until they were done.

Xiao Yuxin saw what A Xue was after and said softly to Jiang Fan, “After you eat, go back to Dahong. Tang Jun and your boss came looking for you. I told them to go back first and said you’d return today.”

Jiang Fan shook his head hard. “I’m not going back groveling like a dog. Let them come find me again if they want.”

Xiao Yuxin glanced at him. “I don’t want them standing in my shop, so I agreed to pass along the message for them. Even your boss came personally; that’s enough to show the proper intention. Don’t keep fussing over it. If you go back to the factory and let Lu get anxious first, the effect will be even better.”

Jiang Fan refused again. “No. I’m waiting for my woman to come back.”

At Xiao Yuxin’s repeated urging, just after setting down his bowl and chopsticks, and before A Xue had even managed to rise from her seat, Jiang Fan got up and left the fruit shop.

“Brother Fan, Brother Fan!”

A Xue called after him twice from behind, but Jiang Fan did not look back.

When he reached the entrance of Dahong Factory, he saw Chen Anlong and Tang Jun sitting in the guardroom, chatting.

Jiang Fan stepped through the gate. Tang Jun rose first and walked over to him, lowering his voice to remind him, “Make sure you keep your bearing later.”

Jiang Fan glanced at him and complained, “I’m poor. I don’t have your skill at playing both sides, and I sure can’t keep any bearing.”

Knowing Tang Jun meant well, Jiang Fan’s tone was annoyed, but not loud; he did not want Chen Anlong to hear.

Tang Jun did not know why Jiang Fan had suddenly turned cold toward him and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Seeing the two of them whispering, Chen Anlong leaned in and greeted Jiang Fan warmly. “Ah Fan, you’re back!”

Jiang Fan stepped back and said hypocritically, “I’m not back to work. I heard Vice General Manager Tang was looking for me about something, so I came to ask what guidance he has for me.”

In Chen Anlong’s eyes before, Jiang Fan had been the sort of troublesome fellow who was neither fish nor fowl, someone not worth much appetite and too bad to throw away. What he valued most was Wang Wenyu’s influence. If Jiang Fan left, it meant there would be no way to get close to Wang Wenyu, and that was the source of Chen Anlong’s unease. In the past two days, whenever he saw Deputy General Manager Li, he would mutter about it for a while.

Now that he had learned Jiang Fan had disrupted the gambling den and made Brother Lu lose face, yet still hadn’t been dealt with, Jiang Fan’s weight in Chen Anlong’s mind had not merely increased many times over; he had become a figure of real consequence. Even the way he addressed him had changed, from the former “Deputy Manager Jiang” to the far more intimate “Ah Fan.”

Fearing he might lose touch with this precious little treasure, Chen Anlong had not gone to enjoy himself among the women the previous night. Instead, he had put on a false show and “spoken his heart all night” with Tang Jun, repeatedly praising Jiang Fan’s ability and contribution to the factory, hoping Tang Jun would carry those flattering words to him.

Vice General Manager Tang had put on a troubled face, vanished for half a day, and failed to bring back even a single flattering remark. Instead, he had brought Chen Anlong to the fruit shop.

He had also thought that with Chen Anlong personally stepping in, Jiang Fan would gain no small amount of face at Dahong.

Seeing that Jiang Fan had no desire to return, Chen Anlong grew so anxious that his face flushed red. “Ah Fan, what will it take for you to stop taking this matter to heart?”

Jiang Fan pretended to think deeply for a moment, then retreated in order to advance, posing a difficult question to Chen Anlong. “If an employee insults a manager who came over from Taiwan, the factory will fire him without mercy. But if Vice General Manager Li insults me, what do you think is the proper way for the boss to handle it?”

Although Deputy General Manager Li ranked relatively low among the vice general managers, he was one of Chen Anlong’s loyal dogs. There was no way Chen Anlong would bear to fire him.

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Anlong put on a slightly troubled expression and made his decision. “How about deducting three months of his salary? Let’s see if he still dares to act arrogant after that. What do you think?”

Jiang Fan curled his lip in disdain and showed him no face at all. “The factory gets the deducted wages, so what the hell does that have to do with me? If a worker curses you lot, he gets fired. But if you curse us, that’s somehow proper, is it?”

At a time like this, Chen Anlong was still trying to calculate, and Tang Jun gave a cold laugh without saying anything.

Seeing Jiang Fan’s forceful expression, Chen Anlong dropped his own little schemes as well. “All right then. The deducted wages will be used as a benefit to add a few extra meals for the workers. On top of that, he’ll be required to write a deep self-criticism, and the whole factory will be notified by broadcast. Will that do?”

For a vice general manager to curse mainland employees, having to write a self-criticism was already unusual enough. A factory-wide announcement would certainly damage the prestige of a senior manager in the eyes of the employees. With that kind of handling, Deputy General Manager Li would be utterly humiliated within the factory.

Having achieved his aim, Jiang Fan did not press the matter further.

After a few brief words resolved the issue, Tang Jun still wanted to ask Jiang Fan why he had suddenly grown so cold toward him, but when Chen Anlong saw that he was not leaving, he also stayed to make idle conversation and showed no intention of departing.

Tang Jun could tell Chen Anlong was guarding against him, so he had no choice but to leave first.

Chen Anlong said to Jiang Fan, “Are you busy tonight? If not, I’ll take you to a hotel for some fun.”

Jiang Fan raised his injured hand. “I’m hurt right now, so I can’t work.”

Chen Anlong waved a hand and explained, “I’m not asking you to follow me around and do errands. I’m inviting you out for a drink. The Eternal Regret Hotel brought in a batch of girls from the mainland, and they’re really something to look at. Want to go enjoy yourself?”

“Thanks for the kind offer, but my hand hurts and I can’t drink. And if I went looking for a girl to have fun, I’m afraid my woman would castrate me.”

After refusing, Jiang Fan walked straight toward the office building.

Seeing that Jiang Fan still would not give him any face and was unwilling to chat further, Chen Anlong watched his back and muttered to himself, “Have I brought trouble on myself by recruiting such a guy? Now I can’t even offend him lightly.”

Tang Jun did not know why Jiang Fan had suddenly turned hostile.

Jiang Fan also wanted to find him and settle the matter of his rotten fruit being sent to the security team, as well as the fact that he had exposed Jiang Fan’s actions to outsiders.

He had no such worries as Tang Jun. Without the slightest hesitation, he went straight to Tang Jun’s office.

He pushed open the door without even a perfunctory greeting and complained at once, “If you didn’t want to buy fruit, you could have said so outright. Why did you have to tell those scum in the security team about me picking fruit?”

Tang Jun answered awkwardly, “Some of those fruits were already spoiled. If I told you face to face, it would have hurt your pride. And if I brought them back and didn’t eat them, it would have been a waste, so I just did you a favor.”