Mu Mingliang was stunned after hearing this. He introduced customers out of admiration for Zhang Liunian and for his master's sake, never expecting to receive money for it.
The surprise came a bit too suddenly, and he didn't know how to respond.
Seeing his silence, Zhang Liunian didn't know what he was thinking. He was about to explain that the commission was very beneficial for him and that it was long-term income, when he heard Mu Mingliang take a deep breath and refuse, "There's no need for that. You're Master's nephew, one of us. Helping you is what I should do, without any reward."
"Mingliang, I appreciate your goodwill, but I can't keep using your connections without making any gestures. You must take this money, and I even hope you can bring more people to get goods from me in the future. We'll make money together."
Mu Mingliang still wanted to refuse, but Zhang Liunian was determined to reward him. It wasn't something that a few words could change. In the end, Mu Mingliang accepted Zhang Liunian's offer to cooperate.
"Don't worry, I'll help you find more people who need lobsters." Since they had moved from goodwill to cooperation, Mu Mingliang also intended to work hard to make money together.
After all, the reward Zhang Liunian offered was not small. A 1% commission might not sound like much, but he knew it was a substantial amount of money.
If he brought more people, he could easily earn several times his current salary as a chef. Thinking of this, Mu Mingliang became excited.
"Thank you for your trouble, Mingliang. I'll bring you some braised pork tomorrow." Zhang Liunian saw his happiness and left without waiting for him to refuse.
He didn't go straight home but went to the market to buy things for making lobster sauce. He needed two coal stoves and, of course, buckets and basins.
And various other odds and ends.
Little did he know that the six thugs he had dealt with yesterday were gathering their men to seek revenge on Zhang Liunian. They had already stationed themselves outside the county town, waiting for his appearance.
"Why so late today?" Du Ziteng, with a blade of grass in his mouth, complained when he saw Zhang Liunian finally appear in the tractor and then jumped onto it.
"I was delayed buying some things. There are warm flatbreads in the basket; you can eat them."
"I'm just hungry." Du Ziteng touched his watch, found the flatbread, and started eating.
But before he could even take two bites, the tractor braked sharply, almost throwing him off.
He looked up and saw eighteen thugs, all armed with wooden sticks, surrounding them.
Among these eighteen thugs, there were several familiar faces.
These familiar faces were none other than the six thugs Zhang Liunian had dealt with in the market yesterday for bullying Xiao Mao.
"We meet again. Surprised? Unexpected?" The thug who had attacked Xiao Mao seemed to be the leader among them. He stepped forward, holding a stick and provoking Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian, who had been browsing for a long time and was reluctant to move, shifted his gaze to Du Ziteng and asked, "Do you want to fight?"
Du Ziteng, holding his flatbread, said without thinking, "Fight what? Of course, we run!"
Sitting in the tractor, were they afraid of these people? Although he thought so, Du Ziteng was still rummaging through the packed tractor. He found two spatulas.
"Then let's run!" Zhang Liunian nodded and started the tractor, speeding away.
The eighteen thugs wanted to block them, but facing the impact of the tractor, they dared not collide head-on. They eventually scattered.
"Chase!" The leader shouted, and all eighteen thugs chased after the tractor.
"Drive faster, they're catching up."
Du Ziteng looked at the thugs catching up behind them, stopped eating his flatbread, and grabbed a spatula, hitting the hands and heads of the thugs trying to get into the tractor.
"Hold on tight." Zhang Liunian heard the commotion, stepped on the accelerator, and drove at maximum speed. With one driving and the other fighting, they successfully left the thugs far behind.
But these thugs didn't give up, because they knew Zhang Liunian made several round trips to the county town every day, and if not now, there would be another chance next time.
Half an hour later, Zhang Liunian returned to the village and met Zhang Wenxue and his wife at the village entrance. Neither party said anything.
Zhang Liunian watched his parents leave and wondered what they were going to do.
He thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. Shaking off the thought, he headed straight for the female educated youth dormitory.
"Yaba, Xiao Qian, how are the stir-fried lobsters coming along?" Upon returning to the female educated youth dormitory, Zhang Liunian went straight to the kitchen.
"The task will be completed by 10:30." Xiao Qian, with sweat all over his head, made an OK gesture.
Zhang Liunian patted his shoulder, "Good job." Then he went to Yaba.
Having learned that his younger sister wanted to marry him, Zhang Liunian couldn't help but look at Yaba a few more times.
At this moment, Yaba was stir-frying lobsters. Although he knew Zhang Liunian had arrived, he didn't stop his actions but completed the task at hand with extreme seriousness.
Zhang Liunian was very pleased to see his diligence, "You're all doing great. Keep it up."
He actually trusted Yaba's character. If his younger sister were to be with him, there would be no problem.
He walked out of the kitchen and into the shrimp-peeling team. He saw his younger sister's face was red and swollen, and Zhang Liunian was immediately enraged, "Little sister, what happened to your face?"
Wang Cuihua and others saw Zhang Liunian arrive. They first glanced at him and then looked at Zhang Xiaomei, waiting to see how she would answer.
Actually, they had all seen Zhang Xiaomei's face, and some had asked, but Zhang Xiaomei hadn't answered.
Jiang Qingqing also happened to be there. Hearing her husband's words, she quickly stepped forward and pulled him aside, saying, "Liunian, come here."
Zhang Liunian let his wife pull him to a secluded corner.
"This morning, Mom and Dad saw Xiaomei and Yaba together, and then..." Jiang Qingqing briefly explained the situation.
Only then did Zhang Liunian realize that his younger sister's face had been hit by their parents.
He was furious and wanted to seek justice for his younger sister, but his parents seemed to have left and gone somewhere.
Jiang Qingqing reached out and held her husband's hand, looking uneasy. "Liunian, Mom and Dad strongly oppose their relationship, and they also said that when they come for dinner tonight, they want you to give up being a private entrepreneur."
Zhang Liunian was speechless. Had they not given up? He put his arm around his wife and said very seriously, "They say what they want, we do what we want. Don't pay attention to them."
"Mm, we won't listen."
After their conversation, they returned to their tasks. It was time for the morning delivery. Zhang Liunian thought about the eighteen people from the morning and asked Zhang Qian to prepare for departure.
They arrived smoothly at the construction site entrance and saw his third uncle standing alone selling lobsters across the street.
Zhang Liunian ignored him, unloaded a hundred catties of lobsters, and went to the machinery factory.
Zhang Wenjun watched him leave, secretly feeling pleased with himself. "Just wait, what they owe our family will eventually be returned."
"Lobsters 1100 catties, braised pork 200 catties, braised vegetables 100 catties, totaling 860 yuan," Zhao Zhijie settled the money with Zhang Liunian.