Chapter 69

Getting out of the car, Zhou Ming stretched lazily, looking up at the sign of the county agricultural bank. He couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental. When he had come back to life, the first money he made was here. Back then, he had to be cautious and careful in everything he did, even enduring humiliation and suppressing his anger when others bullied him. But now, he had finally returned from Hongcheng and Nanjiang, a brand new Zhou Ming had come back!

"Zhou Ming, why don't you wait for me? I'll take you back. I just need to make a call to my boss, it'll only take a few minutes," Dai Zhenjiang's voice came from behind. He also got out of the car and tentatively suggested.

Zhou Ming could hear the careful tone in Dai Zhenjiang's voice. He knew that Dai Zhenjiang must have guessed his identity after hearing that he was going to buy Factory 760, which was why he was lowering his stance.

Zhou Ming had no ill feelings towards Dai Zhenjiang. On the contrary, he had helped him a lot at the beginning. Zhou Ming smiled and said, "No need, it's not far from here to the factory, and I don't have any luggage. I'll just walk. Thanks, Director Dai."

"You're welcome," Dai Zhenjiang said, "Zhou Ming, if you need anything, just call me."

Zhou Ming said, "Okay," and then walked towards Factory 760. As he turned the corner into the factory area, he heard the sound of a car engine behind him. Sensing something wrong, he instinctively moved to the side. Then, a small jeep sped past, splashing a puddle of dirty water all over his pants.

"Damn it! How do you drive?" Zhou Ming cursed.

The jeep stopped, and a hateful face appeared. It was Huang Zheng. He looked at Zhou Ming and said mockingly, "Oh! Who's this? Isn't this Zhou Guoping's little brat? How dare you come back after hiding your head like a turtle for so long?"

"Huang, you son of a bitch, stop talking crap in front of me! And by the way, your days are numbered!" Zhou Ming said.

"Really? Your temper has grown in just two months, huh? You even dare to yell at your father?" Huang Zheng said arrogantly.

"Damn your whole family!"

Without a word, Zhou Ming picked up a brick from the roadside and threw it at Huang Zheng. With a loud bang, the brick shattered the jeep's windshield. Huang Zheng screamed and quickly ducked back into the car. Zhou Ming sneered, "Huang, you looked like a turtle just now. This time, you were lucky to have a turtle shell to protect you. But the next brick might not be so kind."

"Zhou Ming, you bastard, you wait and see! I'll make sure you're dead!"

Huang Zheng yelled from inside the car and quickly drove away. Watching the car drive off, Zhou Ming narrowed his eyes.

...

Back at his house, Zhou Ming had a bad feeling. He knew his parents loved him very much. Whenever he returned from a trip, no matter the weather, they would always wait for him at the entrance if they knew he was coming back. But today, he didn't see them until he reached the door. Had something happened?

The door was unlocked. Just as Zhou Ming was about to push it open, he heard a voice from inside...

"Isn't Ma Jianjun being too overbearing? Just because he's the deputy factory manager, does he think he can do whatever he wants? I go to work and come back every day, and now they say I stole something from the factory. Is there no justice?"

This was his mother, Wang Fengqin's voice.

"Alright, keep your voice down. Ma Jianjun has been angry at Zhou Ming for a long time. He's been causing us trouble every day since Zhou Ming left. It's just a false accusation, and the factory security can't really investigate you. Zhou Ming will be back soon, don't worry him," his father, Zhou Guoping, said.

Hearing his parents' conversation, Zhou Ming clenched his fists. He hated himself for being so naive. He knew he had offended many people in the factory, and they were all powerful. While they couldn't really harm his parents, they could still cause them trouble. His parents wouldn't tell him about these things to avoid worrying him, but he had thought that leaving them 20,000 yuan would be enough. Now, he realized how much they had suffered for him, especially when he heard that Ma Jianjun had accused his mother of stealing from the factory and wanted to have her investigated by the factory security.

"Damn it!" Zhou Ming gritted his teeth. He knew his parents were always honest and hardworking. Now, being falsely accused, they must have been at a loss and silently endured the humiliation for his sake.

Just as Zhou Ming took a deep breath and was about to enter the house, a sarcastic voice came from behind, "Oh? You little brat, you dare to come back?"

Zhou Ming didn't need to turn around to know who it was. It was Ma Lin, the son of Deputy Factory Manager Ma Jianjun, whom his parents had just been talking about.

Zhou Ming turned around and saw Ma Lin's face. He was looking at him with disdain. Behind him was his father, Ma Jianjun.

Zhou Ming looked at Ma Lin with a grim face and said, "I thought you would have learned your lesson and stopped, but I was wrong. A dog can't change its nature."

Ma Lin clicked his tongue and said, "You still dare to curse me? You're really asking for it, Zhou Ming. You're wrong, and you know it. What are you, anyway? What can you do to educate me? I'll tell you, Zhou Ming, your girlfriend Zhang Qian was fucked by me day and night. She had to get an abortion, and I kept fucking her after she came back. How does that feel?"

"You're worse than an animal," Zhou Ming said coldly.

"Thanks, who asked you to be so useless?" Ma Lin said provocatively. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, Factory 760 is going to be restructured. The factory will be liquidated, and workers like you and your parents will have to move out of the factory housing. But if you can kneel down and call me 'dad,' I might ask my father to help you stay a bit longer. How about that?"

"Go to hell!" Zhou Ming said.

Ma Lin raised an eyebrow, "What did you say?"

"I said, go to hell!"

Zhou Ming roared and punched Ma Lin in the face. He could feel the sound of his nose breaking. Ma Lin fell to the ground, covering his face. Zhou Ming kicked him in the face, feeling his shoe connect with Ma Lin's teeth.

Zhou Ming had never been so angry in his life, not even when Ma Lin had taken Zhang Qian. After all, that was just young love, and it was Zhang Qian's choice. But now, it was Ma Jianjun and Ma Lin's malicious revenge, and they had even targeted his parents. This was something Zhou Ming couldn't tolerate.

"Hey! What are you doing? Stop it! This is assault, you'll go to jail. Think about yourself, think about your parents!"

Ma Jianjun, seeing Ma Lin being beaten, rushed over to pull Zhou Ming away, threatening him as he did so.

But Ma Jianjun's words only made Zhou Ming angrier. He kicked Ma Jianjun in the stomach and said, "Go to hell! If I don't beat you up today, I'll be letting my parents down!"

"Zhou Ming, what are you doing? Stop it, stop it!"

The door opened, and Zhou Guoping and Wang Fengqin rushed out to pull Zhou Ming and the Ma family apart. They had clearly heard the commotion outside.

Seeing Zhou Guoping and Wang Fengqin, Ma Jianjun immediately pointed at Zhou Guoping and said angrily, "Zhou Guoping, how do you discipline your son? I suspect you're inciting him to commit murder!"

Hearing this, Zhou Guoping quickly explained, "Factory Manager Ma, that's not true. Zhou Ming is a good boy, he's never fought before, let alone killed anyone!"

"Then how do you explain what happened to me and Ma Lin? I saw it with my own eyes, and you can't deny it," Ma Jianjun pressed.

Zhou Ming stepped forward, standing in front of his father, and pointed at Ma Jianjun, "You scumbag, stop spouting nonsense in front of my parents. My father is honest, and he calls you 'factory manager' out of respect. To me, you're no better than dog shit!"

As the deputy factory manager, Ma Jianjun had never been cursed by a junior in the factory like this. He pointed at Zhou Ming, trembling with anger, "This is outrageous! Zhou Guoping, look at the son you've raised. I'll report this to the factory security and have him arrested. I'll also fire you and your family and evict you from the factory housing. You'll all be kicked out of the factory forever!"

Ma Lin, still holding his mouth, chimed in, "Right, Dad, fire them. Zhou Ming is a murderer, and his parents are scammers and thieves!"

"Ma Lin, if I hadn't held back, you wouldn't even be able to talk," Zhou Ming said, ready to strike again if his parents hadn't been holding him back.

Ma Lin screamed and hid behind Ma Jianjun, who took a step back and said, "What are you doing? You've already beaten someone, and now you're threatening the factory leadership and their family?"

Zhou Ming sneered, "Leadership? You, Ma Jianjun, don't deserve the title. I'll tell you, you won't be able to bully us for much longer."

Faced with Zhou Ming's fierce demeanor, Ma Jianjun was about to pull Ma Lin away, but then he saw Huang Zheng and the factory security running over. He became elated and said to Zhou Ming, "Zhou Ming, the factory security is here. Let's see what you'll do now!"