Chapter Forty-Eight: Invincibility Is Truly a Lonely Path...

In fact, Li Caiyu’s refusal was merely out of habit.

She was twenty-four this year and had worked in the factory for six years since she was eighteen. Being a bit older, she was more mature than Li Dongfeng, but she had never really experienced the outside world. Suddenly stepping out of the factory was a challenge for her.

After Zhou Ziyang left, Li Dongfeng helped his sister clear the dishes. He couldn’t understand why she refused such a good opportunity.

Li Caiyu said, “Silly kid, Ziyang is really capable. You just work honestly with him, and I’ll stay home and watch the house. That’s good enough.”

“Are you not getting married, sister?” Li Dongfeng suddenly became anxious.

“Married? I’m twenty-four and still single. Who would want me now?”

The circles they moved in shaped their thoughts differently. Most of the factory workers were young but already married. Someone like Li Caiyu was considered an old maid.

The female workers at the factory often tried to find matches for Li Caiyu.

But the candidates were either crooked or lame, or they were divorced.

The excuse was that these men were honest, quiet, and their families were wealthy.

Li Caiyu thought to herself that she’d rather stay single than settle for that kind of person.

Li Dongfeng looked at his sister, who was silently tidying up, and after a moment said, “I think my brother is pretty good.”

Startled, Li Caiyu immediately swatted Li Dongfeng and said, “What nonsense are you talking? I’m six years older than him. I’m your sister, which means I’m also his sister. How can you say such things? You deserve a smack!”

Li Dongfeng chuckled and said, “What’s the big deal? Older sisters are like gold bricks.”

“Sister, if you marry him, you’ll have two gold bricks!”

“Get lost!”

Li Caiyu gave Li Dongfeng a cold look. She never entertained any idea of being with Zhou Ziyang. First, there was the age gap, and even without that, she felt unworthy of him. He was about to start at Jinling University, while she had dropped out of high school.

They simply were from different worlds.

If it weren’t for Li Dongfeng, they might never have crossed paths.

“Dongfeng, once you get to Jinling, listen carefully to Ziyang,” Li Caiyu reminded him earnestly.

Li Dongfeng promised he would.

***

Li Dongfeng followed Zhou Ziyang to driving school. Wherever Li Dongfeng went, he acted like a kingpin; in just a few days, he had gathered a group of young followers, strutting around like a gangster.

Zhou Ziyang didn’t like this demeanor of his, but ironically, it was this attitude that brought in wave after wave of fresh laborers for Zhou.

Zhou asked Li Dongfeng, “Has your sister made up her mind?”

“Sigh, my sister is too timid. She wouldn’t even stay in that lousy factory if it were me. She’s still sentimental about it. Damn it, maybe I should bring some people and just smash the factory one day!” Li Dongfeng said, lighting a cigarette.

Zhou was speechless at this. With a casual flick, he knocked the cigarette from Li Dongfeng’s mouth. “Getting bolder, huh? Now you’re talking about smashing factories?”

“Heh.”

Li Dongfeng wasn’t angry about the cigarette being knocked away. He picked it up, took a couple of puffs, and grinned.

Zhou said, “Here’s what we’ll do: first, find a computer training class for your sister, so she can free up some time—two hours a day, just to learn some spreadsheets.”

“Alright!”

Li Dongfeng quickly agreed. He knew Zhou was genuinely looking out for his sister.

In early July, Zhou Ziyang and Li Dongfeng both got their driver’s licenses. They bought a used van for Li Dongfeng, and together they cruised around Jinling. Zhou even swiped his card to buy two condominium units near Jinling University.

It was fortunate that he was reborn into 2015, when housing prices had only just started rising, averaging about 10,000 to 12,000 yuan per square meter.

The two units Zhou bought were for convenience later on, so he didn’t splurge on expensive properties. They were secondhand, averaging around 9,000 yuan per square meter, each about 100 square meters, costing nearly two million yuan in total.

Zhou went alone to make the purchase, so Li Dongfeng didn’t know about it. When he later took him there, he didn’t ask much.

Over the past month, Li Dongfeng had recruited over a thousand laborers for Zhou—from not only the Xuhuai area but also from southern Shandong and northern Anhui.

For Zhou, anyone willing to work was welcome.

However, because the workforce was so large, they all concentrated around Jinling. There were nearly six hundred laborers just in Jinling alone.

Zhou was a bit worried about Li Dongfeng’s ability to control them.

But Li Dongfeng was confident.

“Bro, don’t worry. With me here, they won’t cause trouble. Work hard, or get out!”

Seeing Li Dongfeng’s fierce expression, he actually seemed somewhat reliable.

Zhou arranged for Li Dongfeng and a few new “little brothers” to organize these six hundred workers into factories.

Jinling’s factories were truly huge—bringing in over a thousand laborers wasn’t a problem. On the day Zhou organized their entry, other labor agencies were also nearby.

They must have heard about Zhou’s operation and came over proactively, handing out business cards and asking about the factory rates, smiling and promising future cooperation.

“Where do you guys find your people? Maybe we can collaborate,” one agent said with a smirk. Compared to these greasy middlemen, Zhou’s group was relatively young.

Zhou disliked dealing with them and ended the conversation quickly.

Li Dongfeng had already settled the dormitories. Under his guidance, the workers understood it was Zhou who provided them jobs.

Here, they might not listen to others, but they must listen to Brother Zhou!

When Zhou arrived later, everyone stood up one by one and greeted him as “Brother Zhou.”

Most of these people were summer workers attending school in Jinling. Zhou told them not to be polite—just work earnestly here.

July was one of the hottest months. Zhou checked the dormitory air conditioners and contacted Li Jianhong to replace any broken or old units. They were old acquaintances, but even if Li Jianhong refused, Zhou wouldn’t skimp on the expense—he’d pay out of pocket.

This earned him much goodwill.

Later, Zhou had Li Dongfeng buy watermelons, water, and other necessities.

In short, he wanted these hundreds of people to feel that Brother Zhou was a good man.

Of course, these small favors alone couldn’t buy loyalty—it would take time.

After arranging everything, Zhou left.

This time, there were a total of a thousand laborers, earning roughly 28 yuan per hour. Li Jianhong would transfer a month’s wages to Zhou’s account first—about 67,200 yuan. After deducting the 20 yuan per hour wage paid to workers, insurance, and other expenses, Zhou’s monthly income was around one million yuan.

Labor services really paid well. Working hard for a few years, he could probably afford a big villa in Jinling.

Six million yuan sitting in Zhou’s account for a month would generate pure interest—about twenty thousand yuan monthly.

But as a reborn man, Zhou certainly wouldn’t care about such small bank interest.

He didn’t know which stocks would soar, but he could safely guarantee a 30 to 40 percent monthly return.

Putting six million in, he could easily make at least 1.8 million yuan in profit.

At this moment, Zhou Ziyang felt that life was truly lonely...