Chapter 391: Chaos (Part 2)

Chapter 391: Chaos (Part 2)

“Hou Dazhi, Hou Dazhi.” Li Jing repeated the name twice, shaking her head like a rattle drum. “This name is no good. It’s too vulgar. Once the little one starts elementary school, he’ll definitely get nicknamed by his classmates. ‘Hou Dazhi’ sounds just like ‘Big Monkey.’”

Hou Weidong recalled his own childhood experiences and couldn’t help but laugh. He teased, “White Bone Demon, didn’t you say you liked Big Monkey?”

Li Jing rested her head on Hou Weidong’s shoulder, her face slightly flushed. “I really missed you in the past while.”

Hou Weidong asked, “How did you come up with the idea of a fake marriage?”

Li Jing answered evasively, “Now that the child is growing, we can’t be together anymore. If it had been two months earlier, we could have stayed together.”

Xiaojia was also pregnant. Hou Weidong had read quite a few books and knew that intimacy was permissible during the first few months of pregnancy, and that moderate intimacy in suitable positions could even benefit the woman’s health. He understood what Li Jing meant. With tenderness, he stroked her breast and said, “Let me kiss you. Later, someone else will have to compete with me for this.”

Li Jing, her face still slightly red, turned her head and kissed Hou Weidong. She picked up the remote control and raised the room temperature by a few degrees.

The two sat on the edge of the bed, brainstorming names for their son. They came up with over a dozen options, but none satisfied them. Li Jing said, “Let’s give him a nickname first. How about ‘Shitou’ (Stone)? Our son should be as strong as the reefs in the sea, standing firm for ten thousand years.”

Hou Weidong thought the nickname was nice. He leaned close to Li Jing’s lower abdomen and called out, “Shitou, Shitou, can you hear Daddy’s voice?”

Although his heart felt heavy, the thought of having a son brought an indescribable joy from the depths of his soul. He felt both burdened and sweet, these two emotions intertwining and tangling within him.

Li Jing had done everything she needed to do. She was now completely immersed in the happiness of pregnancy. Once the room warmed up, she said, “Monkey King, come look at the baby’s movements. The little one is very restless, just like you.”

She unbuttoned her top completely, revealing her swollen belly and full breasts to Hou Weidong. At this moment, her expression carried a mother’s pride and dignity, entirely unrelated to eroticism.

Hou Weidong’s gaze focused entirely on the protruding belly. The skin on Li Jing’s abdomen looked very thin, with dark blue veins visible beneath the surface. As he watched, Li Jing said, “Look, the little one is moving again.”

Hou Weidong saw a small fist push against the belly. “This little one has a lot of energy. He must be very brave. Let’s name him Hou Dayong (Great Courage).”

Li Jing rubbed her belly and said, “Don’t make me laugh. Still ‘Hou Dayong’? Big blocks have big wisdom. It’s better to call him Hou Dakoutou (Big Block). It’s four characters and has a bit of a foreign flair.” She finally decided, “Don’t worry about the naming. I’ll think about it slowly.”

After a while, the little one in the belly settled down. Hou Weidong’s gaze shifted to Li Jing’s breasts. He leaned down, took her nipple into his mouth, and mumbled indistinctly, “After the son is born, this place won’t belong to me alone. Let me kiss it a bit more while I can.”

“Mmm, today you can kiss it as much as you want.”

They spent a warm and tender night. The next day, as Hou Weidong walked out of Li Jing’s home and looked at the bustling crowd on the street, his heart grew heavy again.

The advantage of a one-night stand is that it lasts only one night. Now, he had a wife who was pregnant, and his lover was also pregnant. He felt a sense of guilt toward both Xiaojia and Li Jing. Moreover, this feeling would accompany him for a long time. He sighed, “No wonder men want to be emperors. An emperor has three palaces and six courtyards. It’s not only not a crime, but also a great contribution to the dragon clan.”

Restless, he went to class. At noon, he took a break and visited Zeng Xiangang’s shop.

Zeng Xiangang had chosen a good location for his shop. The quality of the goods was good, and the variety was complete. He had gained some fame in the home decoration industry in Lingxi. As Hou Weidong entered the shop, a waitress in a professional suit greeted him with a smile. “Sir, what do you need?”

“I’m looking for Zeng Xiangang.”

The woman said, “You must be Mr. Hou. Mr. Zeng just instructed me to ask you to go to the office on the second floor.”

Hou Weidong followed the woman, thinking to himself, “Ha, Zeng Xiangang, the village committee director of Shangqinglin, has now reached such a status. He even has beautiful women working under him.”

On the second floor, the woman led Hou Weidong to an office. She said, “There are guests talking with Mr. Zeng and Mr. Song. Please wait a moment.”

Hou Weidong sat in the office drinking tea. Seeing the scale of the company, he couldn’t help but recall the days when he and Zeng Xiangang went to the Yiyang County Transportation Bureau to collect money. They had entered a dance hall in the county town, and in front of the enchanting hostesses, Zeng Xiangang didn’t know where to put his hands or feet. A few years had passed, and the once clumsy Zeng Xiangang had miraculously transformed into “Mr. Zeng” of Lingxi, with several attractive and well-mannered waitresses under his command.

After so many years of reform and opening up, the most unique fate probably belonged to this group of entrepreneurs from remote rural areas who followed the path of “encircling the cities from the countryside.” It was this group of entrepreneurs who had supported half of the township enterprises in those days.

However, some entrepreneurs, with the accumulation of wealth, could not resist temptation and fell abruptly. Others, with the accumulation of wealth, continued to progress and eventually advanced together with the times.

Hou Weidong thought to himself, “From the current trend, Zeng Xiangang’s personal qualities are quite good. He can keep pace with the times. Most nouveau riche, once they have money, first look for mistresses, and second, gamble.”

After a while, Zeng Xiangang hurriedly pushed the door open and entered. He was originally tall and burly. Wearing a black coat and black sunglasses, he suddenly looked like a character from the Shanghai Bund.

“Weidong, Xiao Song is preparing to open chain stores in Lingxi. People from Shazhou, Maoyun, and Maodong have all come. I was just negotiating terms with them.” Zeng Xiangang rubbed his hands and explained to Hou Weidong.

“No need to explain. You are busy with important matters.” Hou Weidong praised, “You really have a brain. How did you think of opening chain stores?”

A trace of a smile appeared on Zeng Xiangang’s dark face. “It was Xiao Song’s idea. She said that opening one store after another is not as good as directly doing chains. She is from a big city and has business acumen.”

Hou Weidong chuckled, “So what if she is from a big city? The same number of people are laid off there, and they still work for you. As the old saying goes, heroes don’t ask about origins, and bosses don’t ask about household registration.”

“Let’s go. Xian Yong and Qin Gan are waiting.”

“Both of them are here?”

“They came yesterday. They want to invest in phosphate mines in Linjiang County and came to pool funds.”

They went to a nearby restaurant. Zeng Xian Yong and Qin Gan were both present. Qin Gan’s father, Qin Dajiang, had a good relationship with Hou Weidong. From this perspective, Qin Gan called Hou Weidong “Uncle Hou.”

Hou Weidong waved his hand and said, “Let’s calculate seniority separately. I’m not much older than you. Just call me Brother Hou.”

After sitting down, Qin Gan said to Zeng Xiangang, “Brother Zeng, the phosphate mines in Chengjin County are the best. The reserves are larger than those in Maodong. As long as we get one mine, we can make a lot of money.”

Zeng Xian Yong and Zeng Xiangang had built their empire together. They had faced Hei Wa together and shared life-and-death friendships. He also said, “Brother Hou has seen and heard a lot. What do you think about investing in phosphate mines?”

Hou Weidong was very interested in such resource-based enterprises. He had bought the Huofo Coal Mine last time, and it was now on track. With the rise in coal prices, profits were coming in quickly and highly. “If we can take over a phosphate mine, it should be profitable. I saw many phosphate mine bosses in Maoyun, but taking over a mine should cost a lot.”

Zeng Xian Yong said, “The biggest problem now is the lack of money. Qin Gan and I have made some money running stone quarries over the years. We have pooled over 2.8 million, but we are still short of 2 million. We want to borrow some from Brother Gang.”

Qin Gan added, “Or Brother Gang can invest as a shareholder. Each of us puts in 2 million, totaling 6 million. We can not only take over a mine but also add some equipment.”

At this moment, Song Zhicheng also arrived. Seeing Hou Weidong, she warmly said, “Brother Hou, since you are in Lingxi, why didn’t you come to our house to play?” She had now completely entered the role of the hostess. After sitting down, she casually helped Zeng Xiangang adjust the corner of his clothes.

After Song Zhicheng arrived, Qin Gan and Zeng Xian Yong did not discuss business. One drank tea, and the other chatted with Hou Weidong.

The lunch was quite dull. After the meal, Hou Weidong had to go to class. Song Zhicheng insisted on seeing him off to the car alone. Her expression was somewhat melancholy. “Brother Hou, I oppose Qin Gan and Xian Yong investing in phosphate mines. The home decoration industry is developing well. Xian Yong can completely manage the Shazhou store. There is no need to invest in phosphate mines.”

Hou Weidong said, “Is there any problem with investing in phosphate mines?”

Song Zhicheng adjusted her scarf and said, “My cousin is from Maoyun. He used to work in a phosphate mine factory. Phosphate mines have high profits, but the competition is also fierce. The key is that the triads are involved. They have done many things like chopping off hands and breaking legs. I don’t want Xiangang to get involved in this. His eyes and his ex-wife are a warning.”

“Is there such a thing?”

“Yes.” Song Zhicheng said, “Brother Hou, Xiangang is stubborn. He doesn’t listen to me at all. He listens to you the most. Please help me persuade him.”

Hou Weidong understood Song Zhicheng’s thoughts well. “I will meet with Old Zeng alone tonight and listen to his ideas.”

That night, Hou Weidong did not go home immediately. He met with Zeng Xiangang. Zeng Xiangang said, “These women, meddling in men’s affairs.”

Hou Weidong chuckled, “You were just praising Xiao Song’s capability at noon.”

Since chopping off Hei Wa and avenging his wife’s death, Zeng Xiangang had become very bold. He also realized that the triads were often all bark and no bite. “She is timid. Hearing that there are triads in the phosphate mines, she desperately forbids me from doing it. Triads are also people. I am not unfamiliar with them.”

“Xiao Song is your woman. You must consider her feelings. I haven’t had much contact with her, but I feel she cares about you very much.”

Zeng Xiangang said, “Zeng Xian Yong and I are brothers who have rolled through mountains of knives and seas of fire. I lent him 2 million. Xiao Song doesn’t know about this money. It’s my private savings. I won’t invest in phosphate mines. The home decoration sector is rising, with many things to do and a large volume of business. I will focus on this.” He smiled, “When you buy a house in Lingxi in the future, let me help you with the renovation. Xiao Song has a team.”