The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Cement Factory Ambush?

Zhang Yun was jogging home along the road when a truck suddenly pulled up to the curb ahead of him. At the same time, another truck blocked him from behind, forcing him to a dead stop.

Zhang Yun was furious! He had just been daydreaming about winning a major international marathon—not just as the top domestic runner, but the overall champion! Crushing the world’s elite runners to take the crown was a matter of immense pride. He had been right in the middle of mentally drafting his acceptance speech when this sudden interception ruined the mood!

It was like dreaming of winning five million on the lottery and planning how to spend it, or having a wet dream and getting woken up right when the pants came off! It was practically a crime!

He glanced back at the truck behind him. Seeing the words printed on the door, he immediately understood what was going on. The driver and the passenger from the rear truck hopped out, followed by the driver of the front truck. The three men quickly boxed Zhang Yun in on the side of the road.

”Friend, our boss wants to see you,” one of the drivers said. ”Come with us.”

”Sure,” Zhang Yun agreed with a smile. He closed his running app and walked straight toward the rear truck. ”Am I getting in the cab? Or should I go in the back?”

The three men were a bit dumbfounded. They hadn’t expected him to be so cooperative, which left them unsure of how to react.

”Oh, uh, no need. It’s not far. We can just squeeze into the front.”

They exchanged glances before climbing into their respective vehicles. The two trucks quickly started up and drove off.

”Just finished a delivery?” Zhang Yun asked.

”...Yeah.”

”Your boss is in the truck up front, right? He does deliveries himself?”

”Uh... he was just tagging along.”

”Does your factory have night shifts?”

”Business has been average lately, so I don’t think we need night shifts.”

This back-and-forth Q&A made both the driver and the passenger very uncomfortable. Weren’t they supposed to be escorting him? Why did it feel like he was interrogating them?

Zhang Yun asked another question. ”You guys are drivers. Do you also beat people up if your boss tells you to?”

”Huh? N-no one told us to beat anyone up! We’re not like that, and neither is our boss...”

”Are you sure? Is he just inviting me over for tea, then?”

”We don’t know!” Deciding to seize the initiative, they offered, ”Want a smoke?”

Zhang Yun chuckled. ”You can send a message to your boss. Tell him this: ’It’s easier to invite the devil in than to send him away.’ It’s not too late for him to back down now!”

The driver gave a dry laugh. His passenger hesitated for a moment before texting Zhang Yun’s words over anyway.

But the boss didn’t back down. The trucks continued moving forward. After entering the factory grounds, the two vehicles parked side by side.

Zhang Yun got out and looked around. ”I’ve heard about this cement factory since I was a kid, but this is my first time actually coming inside.”

Li Dajiang stepped out of the other truck, looking at him with a complicated expression. The moment Zhang Yun saw the cement factory’s name printed on the truck door, he knew Li Dajiang was in the front vehicle. Li Dajiang must have spotted him on the road and decided to intercept him.

”Boss Li, you should have received the message I had them pass along, right?”

It was easier to invite the devil in than to send him away!

Beat him up? These drivers were just irrelevant bystanders; beating them up would be meaningless. As for Li Dajiang, he had first brought in Xu Jin and then gone after Gu Ming’er. Even a beating wouldn’t make him behave! Why had Zhang Yun asked if there were night shifts? He was contemplating burning this cement factory straight to the ground!

”Zhang Yun, I want to talk to you!”

”Just the four of you won’t be nearly enough. Hurry up and gather all the workers in the factory. You’ll need dozens of thugs!” As Zhang Yun spoke, he walked right up to Li Dajiang.

The three drivers were unsure of what to do. Did they really have to act as thugs for their boss?

Li Dajiang shook his head. ”Come with me to my office to talk. You guys go about your business.”

Zhang Yun was a little surprised. Li Dajiang actually dared to send the others away?

As they walked, Li Dajiang offered an introduction. ”This is the oldest cement factory in our county, with decades of history. Later on, it suffered severe losses and was contracted out to private individuals. The contractor before me didn’t run it for long before handing it over.”

Zhang Yun didn’t know the factory’s history and had zero interest in it. Right now, he only cared about one thing: How many people were ambushing him in the office?

Zhang Yun had decided to jog home on a whim, and Li Dajiang had naturally just bumped into him and intercepted him by chance. However, during the drive back to the factory, Li Dajiang would have had plenty of time to make a few calls and set things up in advance. Sending those drivers away just now might have merely been a ploy to make him lower his guard so he’d walk into the office utterly defenseless!

”You must have invested quite a bit over the years,” Zhang Yun replied casually. He figured that if he destroyed this cement factory, Li Dajiang’s family business would essentially collapse.

Li Dajiang smiled bitterly. ”More than just ’quite a bit.’ At my peak, I owed the bank tens of millions. Business is tough these days!”

The two chatted as they walked, as if Li Dajiang were giving a friend a tour.

”That’s the office. Go on in first. I need to grab something from the storage room next door.” Li Dajiang pointed to the brightly lit office ahead, then stepped into the adjacent storage room.

Zhang Yun sneered inwardly. He walked straight to the office and opened the door.

”Come out!”

The lights were on, but there was no one in sight. Zhang Yun simply locked the door behind him. Regardless of how many people were lying in ambush, since they chose to be thugs, they needed to be prepared for a beating!

When no one emerged and no voices responded, Zhang Yun took it upon himself to check. He pulled out the chairs one by one, inspected the space beneath the desks, and opened the cabinets.

The result... Not a single soul!

Zhang Yun noticed an inner factory manager’s office with its lights off. Were they waiting inside? He walked over and tried the handle, but the door wouldn’t open!

Giving a soft scoff, Zhang Yun kicked the door wide open with a single strike and quickly flicked on the lights inside. Surprisingly, there were no thugs rushing out with clubs or blades to attack him. It was still completely empty.

”What are you doing?” Li Dajiang’s voice came from behind.

He had quickly returned from the storage room. Finding the main door locked, he had opened it with his key, only to stare in astonishment at the ransacked outer office and the kicked-in door of his personal office.

”Where are the people you had ambushing me?” Zhang Yun strode into the manager’s office.

Li Dajiang hurriedly rushed over. ”What ambush? Did you think I asked you to come in first because I had people waiting in the office to beat you up?”

”What else?” Zhang Yun stared fixedly at him, maintaining a high state of alert.

It was easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against a hidden arrow! If there were no visible thugs, then there had to be other, less noticeable traps. He had to be even more careful.

”Brother! You’re overthinking it!” Li Dajiang smiled helplessly. ”I admit I was in the wrong before, but I’ve realized my mistakes now.”

Zhang Yun remained silent.

Li Dajiang immediately went over to pour him some water. ”This is just water from the dispenser. It wasn’t specially prepared for you.” He poured two disposable cups and drank one himself first.

”So you didn’t want to beat me up, just invite me to tour your cement factory?” Zhang Yun said bluntly. ”Get to the point!”

Li Dajiang grabbed his bag, took out an item, and placed it on the table right in front of Zhang Yun.