Chapter 130: The Arrogant and Overbearing Manager Yang

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All the wholesale dealers present were familiar faces, and Yang Shan naturally remembered them.

Chen Huaijiang, however, was a stranger. It was his first time seeing him, so he was naturally somewhat curious.

Besides, he needed to give the wholesale dealers some time to digest what had happened.

“Manager Yang, I’m from the glass factory—the one near Anrong Alley.”

Chen Huaijiang smiled as he spoke, taking out a Huazi cigarette and offering one to him.

“The glass factory? Anrong Alley?”

“Wait a moment. What’s your relationship with those street vendors over there?”

Yang Shan was about to accept the cigarette when something occurred to him. He immediately withdrew his hand and frowned at Chen Huaijiang.

“Those vendors are working under me,” Chen Huaijiang said with a smile.

“So it’s you people.” Yang Shan’s expression turned furious. He glared at Chen Huaijiang and said coldly, “You’ll have to pay a deposit of one hundred and fifty yuan.”

As soon as he said this, the wholesale dealers in the room fell silent. One by one, they looked at Chen Huaijiang, some astonished, others sympathetic.

“Manager Yang, that doesn’t seem right. Everyone else pays one hundred. Why are we being charged a deposit of one hundred and fifty?”

The smile on Chen Huaijiang’s face faded as well, and he withdrew the cigarette he had offered.

The other man was clearly trying to suppress and humiliate him. Naturally, Chen Huaijiang had no reason to keep offering a warm face to someone who treated him coldly.

“Why? Don’t you know?”

“Then you should keep better control of the petty vendors under you. Last time, they surrounded me and nearly attacked me.”

“Hmph. I, Yang Shan, chose not to argue with them. But if you want to collect goods from us, the deposit is one hundred and fifty.”

Yang Shan sneered, lifting his chin as he looked at Chen Huaijiang arrogantly.

At last, he could have his revenge.

The last time, his men had reported that the vendors in Anrong Alley had suddenly increased their orders. He had gone there with the delivery truck to take a look.

Originally, he had intended to squeeze some extra money out of them. Usually, when he raised the price, the small traders would understand the rules and pay him something to make the trouble go away. Once he received his due, the price would naturally return to normal.

But those men had surrounded him and nearly beaten him up. Yang Shan had been so furious when he returned that he could not even eat dinner. He had also issued strict orders to his men never to deliver goods to Anrong Alley again.

“Manager Yang, they frightened you, and I apologize on their behalf. I, Chen Huaijiang, am not an unreasonable man.”

“One hundred and fifty, then. But I have a condition as well: we must sign a contract guaranteeing priority service and prompt delivery. If any breach causes losses, your brewery must bear the full cost.”

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Chen Huaijiang looked at him gravely. By then, he was no longer holding out much hope.

Sure enough, the moment Yang Shan heard this, he flew into a rage.

“Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that? Sign a contract? Do you think I need to sign one with you?”

“Let me make this clear today. Either you pay a deposit of one hundred and fifty, and our brewery will deliver the beer to you—”

“Or get lost. The next time you come through this door, the price won’t be one hundred and fifty.”

Yang Shan angrily pointed toward the exit.

His sudden outburst left everyone stunned. Chen Huaijiang merely laughed coldly inwardly and abandoned any thought of cooperating with Gushan Brewery.

Yang Shan’s fury was largely the rage of a guilty man exposed. Chen Huaijiang had seen through his intentions and nearly revealed his scheme.

Did he really think a deposit of one hundred and fifty would settle the matter?

That mob of street vendors had nearly beaten Yang Shan. They had frightened him so badly that he could not eat dinner, kept him awake all night, and even caused him to lose a great deal of hair the next day.

One hundred and fifty was nowhere near enough to satisfy his desire for revenge. Once Chen Huaijiang paid the deposit, Yang Shan intended to have his men delay the shipment and deliberately send it out last. He would keep doing so until Chen Huaijiang came back to apologize and beg for forgiveness. Only then would Yang Shan consider himself avenged.

And now Chen Huaijiang wanted him to sign a contract making the brewery responsible for losses caused by delayed delivery. There was no way he could agree to that.

“Very well. I hope you won’t regret this, Manager Yang.”

Chen Huaijiang could not be bothered to say anything more. He turned and walked out.

From the room behind him came Yang Shan’s furious curses, followed by a wave of noisy commotion.

“Brother Chen, how did it go?”

Outside the brewery, Er Mao and Zhang Bao came over to meet him. Zhang Bao, in particular, looked tense.

They had been without beer for several days. The drop in their income was only a minor concern; what truly mattered was that customers were cursing and refusing to come in.

If things continued this way and their clientele kept shrinking, how were they supposed to make any money?

“The negotiations fell through. Come on. You’re coming with me to Lao City.”

Chen Huaijiang spoke indifferently and waved for them to follow.

Lao City was a neighboring city of Nanming. In later years, Laoshan Beer would become famous throughout the country, but at that time it was merely one of many municipal breweries.

The reason Yang Shan could act so arrogantly was simple: under the planned economy of the day, Gushan Brewery was responsible for supplying beer to Nanming and held absolute control.

Anyone who wanted beer had to watch Yang Shan’s expression. Whether he sold to someone or refused them had little to do with the market or the brewery’s profits. What mattered was his personal pride and whatever benefits he could extract.

Chen Huaijiang naturally had no intention of indulging him. He possessed the perspective of someone from a later era and would not allow himself to be confined to Nanming.

That was also why, a few years later, nearly ninety percent of those bold enough to become middlemen would make fortunes.

There was only one reason: the information gap was enormous. Even two neighboring cities could barely communicate with each other.

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At that time, the people of Nanming drank only Gushan Beer. Many had never tasted—or even seen—beer from anywhere else in their entire lives.

It was not until the 1990s that Laoshan Beer entered the Nanming market. Only then did the people of Nanming discover that the neighboring city had its own beer—and that it tasted even better than Gushan Beer.

Along the way, Zhang Bao remained deeply worried, while Chen Huaijiang appeared calm, gazing with interest at the scenery outside the bus windows.

There were not many high-rise buildings in those days, and the urban area was pitifully small.

The moment they left the city, mountains and fields stretched out before them. Not far away, plots of farmland lay linked together in neat rows, while old oxen were driven forward by farmers plowing the earth.

The bus shook and rattled the entire way. The passengers rose and fell with every jolt, bouncing along with the battered vehicle.

By the time they arrived at the Lao City bus station, Chen Huaijiang felt as though his bones had come loose.

But the moment they stepped off the bus, they were astonished to find the place packed with people.

“Shaolin, Shaolin, how many heroes come to admire you.”

“Shaolin, Shaolin, how many wondrous stories are spread about you.”

“Your peerless martial arts are renowned throughout the world…”

Melodious music drifted from a cinema nearby. A long line stretched from its entrance, vanishing into the distance.

The crowd was restless. Men and women, old and young alike, wore excited expressions.

“Ha! Ha!”

“Take this punch!”

Nearby, groups of children stood in fighting stances, shouting and throwing imaginary blows.

Chen Huaijiang suddenly trembled.

The Shaolin Temple. They were actually showing The Shaolin Temple here.

No wonder the streets were packed. No wonder the crowds had surged in from every direction.

The Shaolin Temple had premiered in 1982, but at first it had only been shown in major cities, such as Hong Kong and the capital. It was not until 1983 and 1984 that it began circulating through cinemas across the country.

With tickets priced at only ten cents, the film earned more than one hundred million yuan at the box office, creating a genuine miracle. Even more miraculous was the fact that it became a sensation everywhere it was shown—from cities to the countryside, from the elderly to small children. People flocked to see it without exception.

“Brother Chen, why don’t we go see the movie too? The Shaolin Temple hasn’t even premiered in Nanming yet. I hear it’s supposed to be incredible.”

“That’s right. I have a former comrade stationed in one of the big cities. He wrote to me about The Shaolin Temple and said it was exceptionally good.”

Er Mao and Zhang Bao grew excited as well. They looked at Chen Huaijiang with eager anticipation.