【57o】Close Contact
Li Qingqing aligned the fifty-two cards, only to find, embarrassingly, that there was neither one card more nor one card less. This meant that Zhao Qiang had not cheated, and even if he had, she wouldn't have been able to find out.
Fifth Master's face turned even uglier. If it were just the few of them here, it would be easier to handle; they could simply deny it. But the people who could enter this casino were all influential figures in Beijing. If he encouraged Li Qingqing to cheat, how could he ever face anyone here again?
Li Qingqing's face turned from blue to purple, then from purple to green, before she finally managed to utter a few words through gritted teeth: "I'm sorry." This was her attempt to apologize to Zhao Qiang, drawing gasps from the onlookers. Leaving aside the lack of sincerity on her part, this was the first time they'd ever seen someone utter "I'm sorry" from Li Qingqing.
Zhao Qiang didn't care about the sincerity in Li Qingqing's apology. He simply said, "Remember that you still owe me money. From now on, I'm the boss. Don't try to act tough in front of me, or you'll have to pay me back."
Li Qingqing snorted, stood up, and walked out of the casino. How could she possibly stay any longer? Zhao Qiang also felt it was pointless. He exchanged his chips for cash, transferred it to his card, and left. Since he had already fallen out with Li Qingqing and her friend, Zhao Qiang didn't need to wait for them anymore. He took a taxi back to the villa. Chen Xinyu was still working, and Zhao Qiang didn't want to disturb her, so he went to another room to sleep.
He didn't know when someone had snuggled into Zhao Qiang's arms. Half-asleep, Zhao Qiang found himself holding her. He vaguely smelled alcohol. Zhao Qiang jolted awake. Chen Xinyu had worked all night; it was impossible for her to be drinking again before bed. So this person couldn't be Chen Xinyu.
Sure enough, Zhao Qiang was startled when he saw it. It was Zhou Wan. Although Zhao Qiang was not a virgin, he was afraid that Zhou Wan would take advantage of him. However, Zhou Wan was confused at the moment, as if she was still drunk. He wondered if she had gone to the wrong room when she came back from the toilet. Zhao Qiang pushed her aside and left the room. He could not stay in the room to sleep.
"Oh, so you sneaked into Wan's room in the middle of the night to be a pervert," Li Qingqing's voice rang out in the darkness.
Zhao Qiang retorted, "You're talking nonsense. She went into my room on her own."
Li Qingqing said, "You're talking nonsense. This room originally belonged to Wan."
Zhao Qiang was a little stumped, after all, he had just randomly picked a room, and he had previously agreed to share a room with Chen Xinyu. The commotion outside woke Chen Xinyu, who had just lain down, and she ran out to see what was going on: "What's happening?"
Li Qingqing said, "Cousin, look what good thing your boyfriend has done."
Zhao Qiang said, "I didn't do it on purpose. Besides, I entered this room first, so theoretically I'm the one who occupies it. Zhou Wan came in later, so it doesn't count as me being a hooligan."
Li Qingqing argued illogically: "You're just being a scoundrel!"
Zhao Qiang angrily turned and left: "Fine, I won't stay here then."
Li Qingqing said, "No, this is my house. You can't just come and go as you please. What do you take me for?"
Zhao Qiang was furious. He simply put on his clothes and left, with Li Qingqing chasing after him, shouting, "Stop right there! Stop right there!"
Chen Xinyu was so angry that she simply ignored her. However, she was considering whether to change her accommodation tomorrow, otherwise her cousin would never let her have any peace, which would affect her work in the next few days.
Zhao Qiang went out and strolled around the streets. It was already late at night. Although people tend to sleep late in the summer, there were no pedestrians on the streets. Moreover, this villa area was originally sparsely populated, so it was deserted and quiet. This made Li Qingqing, who was chasing behind him, stand out even more.
"Stop! Stop!" she kept shouting, but Zhao Qiang ignored her.
Suddenly, a dark shadow shot towards Zhao Qiang at lightning speed. However, Zhao Qiang's reaction was not slow either. He moved at the same time as the shadow moved. His body first dodged to the side due to the reaction force of his running shoes, and then he crouched down in a dodging posture. A sharp sword blade grazed past his head.
Zhao Qiang never expected to encounter the invisible man here. Although he wasn't 100% sure, his intuition told him it was probably true. Perhaps the invisible man mistook him for a bad guy, mainly because Li Qingqing's shouts from behind misled him.
After dodging a fatal blow, Zhao Qiang tripped and fell to the ground. He pretended to be too slow to get up, but the shadowy figure grabbed him and slapped him on the back of the head. Zhao Qiang feigned unconsciousness, but he had already used his energy to protect his body. At this moment, Li Qingqing was terrified, her mouth agape, unsure what to do. The shadowy figure moved with incredible speed, leaping into the air and disappearing. Only then did Li Qingqing scream, "Robbery!"
Zhao Qiang was suspended in mid-air, clearly feeling weightless. He couldn't believe his opponent wasn't using advanced equipment; who was he? Yang Shiqi had no reason to make such a serious joke, and her soldiers wouldn't dare joke like that, especially since their equipment wasn't even close to that of an invisible person.
The invisible man pushed off a building, propelling himself dozens of meters into the air. While in mid-air, he used grappling hooks and similar devices to aid his movement, identical to the Spider-Man gadgets Zhao Qiang had just researched. Holding him upside down, Zhao Qiang could observe the invisible man's progress further. He was completely shrouded in black clothing, even his face was covered by a black mask, making his features impossible to discern. Zhao Qiang could use X-ray glasses to scan him, and he did, but unexpectedly, the glasses malfunctioned. If the glasses weren't broken, then the invisible man's mask must hold a secret.
Zhao Qiang was not willing to accept defeat. He deliberately allowed himself to be captured in order to get closer to him. Now that the two were so close, even if he couldn't see through the man's eyes, he could force him to reveal his true face. Zhao Qiang reached out and pulled at his mask.
The invisible man clearly hadn't considered that Zhao Qiang hadn't been knocked unconscious, and given that Zhao Qiang's speed wasn't slower than his, the tug was effective. The invisible man's mask was ripped off by Zhao Qiang, and even with only a fraction of a second, Zhao Qiang was confident he could see his face. However, what Zhao Qiang didn't expect was that there was another black mask under the black mask. Surprised but quick-witted, Zhao Qiang ripped off the mask again.
But to Zhao Qiang's further surprise, there was another black mask beneath the second. Zhao Qiang never imagined the invisible man had so many layers of protection. His movements faltered slightly, and the invisible man swung his arm and flung him away. It seemed that after realizing Zhao Qiang wasn't truly unconscious, the invisible man decided to abandon him. Zhao Qiang's head slammed against the opposite wall, and then his body plummeted. Zhao Qiang also used spider silk to stick to the wall, using the rebound force to chase after the invisible man.
The invisible man wasn't much faster than Zhao Qiang, and the distance between them was gradually closing. Because Zhao Qiang was using his energy to boost himself, the invisible man eventually used his special ability—invisibility. As a result, Zhao Qiang lost sight of him again. This time, the two had close contact, making the trip worthwhile. Even if Li Qingqing extorted him again, it was still worth it. If she hadn't shouted from behind, the invisible man might not have appeared. He would have definitely mistaken Zhao Qiang for a robber.
After searching the vicinity without success, Zhao Qiang gave up. The other party had become invisible, and Zhao Qiang was now in danger. If the other party attacked from the shadows, Zhao Qiang would have no chance to defend against it. So Zhao Qiang left early, worried that Li Qingqing would cause him trouble again. Zhao Qiang sent Chen Xinyu a text message, telling her to stay at a hotel for the night.
Chen Xinyu replied to the text message saying that she would also move out tomorrow to avoid being bothered by Li Qingqing again. Then the two of them started to rest. Lying in bed, Zhao Qiang smelled the black mask in his hand. It had a faint fragrance. Could it be a woman? Men wouldn't have this kind of smell, right? Zhao Qiang, who was already very experienced with women, began to speculate.
That night, Zhao Qiang had a dream. He dreamt that he finally caught the invisible man, tied him up with a rope, and said to him viciously, "I'll teach you to be invisible again!"
It's unclear whether Zhao Qiang is envious of the other person's invisibility ability, because Zhao Qiang hasn't been able to figure out how to become invisible. If it were just a back image projection, Zhao Qiang's X-ray glasses would definitely be able to scan it, but once an invisible person becomes invisible, Zhao Qiang can't detect their presence at all. Therefore, the other person definitely isn't using a back image projector.
Zhao Qiang ate ten pounds of fried dough sticks at the stall that morning. He could have eaten more, but he had plenty of energy reserves, so he didn't do anything outrageous.
Chen Xinyu had things to take care of during the day, so Zhao Qiang could only wander around outside alone. He couldn't contact the expert who had arranged to meet him online, but he did find the invisible man. This made his trip to Beijing worthwhile. The problem now was how to get the invisible man out. Judging from his two interactions, he seemed to be a friend, not an enemy. However, Zhao Qiang was too eager to see his true face, so there was a misunderstanding between them. They had to find an opportunity to clear things up, otherwise they would probably end up fighting next time they met.
There were many people strolling on the streets of Beijing. Zhao Qiang was walking slowly in the sun when suddenly someone ran towards him, waved, and shouted, "Zhao Qiang, I didn't expect to run into you in Beijing."
Zhao Qiang looked up and chuckled. "The world is so strange," he thought, "it's actually my high school classmate, Sun Gang! This guy's seafood business's expanded to Beijing? Impressive, business must be booming."
"Sun Gang, it's you? When did you arrive in Beijing?" Zhao Qiang had a good impression of Sun Gang, and the two shook hands warmly.
Sun Gang said, "I often go to Beijing now. I arrived yesterday. Since the truck hasn't been unloaded yet, I just came down to take a stroll. What about you? You're no longer working in Donghai City? You used to do quite well in our area, you were very influential in the officialdom."
Zhao Qiang said, "I'm still in Donghai City. I'm in Beijing to take care of some business."
Sun Gang glanced at his watch: "It's ten o'clock. Let's find a cool place to sit and have lunch together later. Chen Yang is here too; he'll be my office manager now." Chen Yang was also Zhao Qiang's classmate, and the two had even sat at the same desk.
Zhao Qiang slapped Sun Gang on the shoulder: "Great, you've set up a company."
Sun Gang said, "It's just a company, less than a hundred people. It mainly deals in dried and fresh goods. This time, we're delivering a truckload of dried goods to Beijing. Business is tough, and all the money we make goes to freight costs. I heard that oil prices are going to rise, so I'm thinking of finding a few oil tanks to store a batch back home."
Zhao Qiang said, "It's an idea."
Sun Gang said, "But large oil tanks are too expensive, and they can't store much oil. I heard that the oil factory has a few large tanks that they are going to dispose of, but the cost of transporting them to Dongyang City is too high. I'm really worried about that."
Volume 2 [571] Buying an Oil Tank
【571】Buying an oil tank
China's oil prices and toll fees are notorious worldwide, and the National Development and Reform Commission's oil prices are even more notorious for being easy to rise and difficult to fall. If you have the means, it's a good thing to store some oil. However, oil is not like flour or rice; if not stored properly, it can easily cause problems, and once a problem arises, it's not a problem.
The two chatted as they entered a roadside restaurant. Sun Gang called Chen Yang, who soon arrived by taxi. It was almost eleven o'clock. The three ordered a table full of dishes and poured themselves some chilled beer to eat and drink. They had only taken one drink when Chen Xinyu called. Zhao Qiang went to a corner to answer the phone: "I ran into an old classmate, we're having dinner together."
Chen Xinyu said, "Okay, I'll take care of it myself. There's an internet cafe where you stayed last night, I'll go there tonight."
Zhao Qiang said, "There's internet access. I'll come pick you up this evening."
Back at the table, Sun Gang asked, "How have you been lately? I heard you used to be very close to Su Su's sister."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "Some things are just rumors."
Chen Yang said, "Fortunately, the rumors are only among our classmates. Do you know that Su Su is famous now?"
Zhao Qiang pretended not to know: "It's trending? How did it become trending?"
Sun Gang said, "Are you really unaware or pretending not to know? Su Su signed with a company in the south, I think it's Lingdong Media. She's releasing albums, making movies, and endorsing commercials. She's one of the most popular female stars in the Chinese entertainment industry. I heard that Lingdong Media spent over 100 million yuan to promote her. I also heard that they even bribed the director of CCTV. She's really rich."
Zhao Qiang said, "Really? I really didn't know. We haven't been in touch for a long time."
Chen Yang took a sip of his ice-cold beer and said regretfully, "Then you're doomed. If you had kept in touch, maybe she would still recognize you. But now that she's famous, I advise you not to bother her anymore. Otherwise, her fans won't allow it, and Su Su will find you annoying."
Zhao Qiang said, "It seems I have to avoid her and not create any scandals for her."
Chen Yang slammed his hand on the table and said, "That's right, that's exactly what I mean. Su Su is a pure and innocent girl right now. If you suddenly appear, it will definitely cause a sensation. When the fans find out that you're a toad trying to eat swan meat, there will only be two consequences."
Sun Gang asked, "Which two?"
Chen Yang said, "I got beaten up by the fans and was scorned by Su Su."
Zhao Qiang was surprised: "Is it really that serious?"
Chen Yang said, "Based on my guess, it's about right. I heard that Su Su will arrive in Beijing tomorrow."
Zhao Qiang said, "I don't know about this."
Chen Yang said, "It seems she's here to record a TV program and also to shoot two endorsement commercials. Sun Gang and I are thinking of finding an opportunity to contact her."
Zhao Qiang said, "Didn't we say we wouldn't contact each other? Won't this cause trouble for them?"
Chen Yang said, "Our friendship is purely platonic, which is different from your relationship with her."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Is it okay if I also have a purely platonic friendship with her?"
Chen Yang wanted to object, but Sun Gang said, "Okay, let's go see her together tomorrow. I heard that Su Su is working as her nanny now. Based on our past classmate relationship, I want to ask her to help me get some business."
Zhao Qiang said, "I'd better not go. You know that Su Su and I don't get along very well."
Sun Gang said, "Su Su wouldn't be so petty. It's not right for an old classmate not to meet up after finally running into each other in Beijing."
Zhao Qiang had drunk a bit and was feeling a little tipsy, but he couldn't resist Sun Gang's enthusiastic invitation, so he finally said, "Okay."
After finishing talking about his classmate, Chen Yang asked Sun Gang about business matters, "Mr. Sun, is the large tank you mentioned for the oil factory feasible?"
Sun Gang was somewhat frustrated: "The price isn't expensive, but how do we transport it back to Dongyang City?"
Zhao Qiang asked Sun Gang, "Do you have a lot of business in Beijing?"
Sun Gang said, "I'll make three deliveries a month."
Zhao Qiang said, "Then why don't you just leave the fuel tank in Beijing and refuel on your way back?"
Sun Gang scratched the back of his head: "Although it's not very convenient, it is indeed a solution. However, land in Beijing is more expensive. Where am I supposed to store the oil tanks? What if the oil gets stolen without proper security?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I'll help you think of a solution, but the key is to buy the oil tanks first."
Sun Gang asked, "You also have connections in Beijing?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I know one or two."
Chen Yang scoffed: "Knowing a few people isn't the problem, the key is that they have to be useful. Can ordinary people be of any use?"
Zhao Qiang said, "It should be somewhat useful."
Sun Gang trusted Zhao Qiang, a trust that had remained from the beginning until now, so he said, "Okay, I'll leave this to you. You don't have anything else to do this afternoon, right? Come with me to the oil factory. If we can buy it, we'll contact the storage location directly."
Since Zhao Qiang was bored anyway, he agreed: "No problem."
The meal took a while, and after everyone was full, they realized it was almost time to go back to work in the afternoon. Sun Gang paid the bill, waved his hand, and said, "Let's go, let's take a taxi to the oil factory. If we can make a profit from storing oil this time, I'll treat everyone to dinner again."
Chen Yang gave a thumbs up and said, "President Sun is really generous." This guy is just a sycophant.
The oil factory is located within the Third Ring Road. It's an old factory that has been abandoned and is facing demolition and reconstruction. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to sell the oil tanks. They're only selling them because of the inconvenience of transportation. Otherwise, they wouldn't be selling them.
Zhao Qiang and Sun Gang entered the dilapidated factory. Three large oil tanks stood crookedly against the wall. If they were to buy all three tanks, Sun Gang probably wouldn't be able to afford that much fuel with his limited funds.
Sun Gang led the way, and after asking the gatekeeper, they found the duty room. The staff inside were very happy to hear that they wanted to buy oil tanks, and enthusiastically led everyone back to the gate. "Don't be fooled by the rust on the outside of these three tanks. They can be repaired and used to store anything. If you want to buy new ones, don't even think about getting them for less than a million."
Chen Yang pursed his lips: "It's not as mysterious as you make it out to be."
The staff member's face darkened: "If you don't believe me, I can go down and ask around myself. Anyway, a lot of people have come to see it these past two days. It's not like we can't sell it without you."
Sun Gang said, "Oh dear, you can't say that. No matter what, we are customers, and the customer is always right."
The staff member said casually, "God is everywhere."
Sun Gang was a little angry. How could they possibly sell something with this attitude? He considered giving up, and just as the three of them were about to leave, two cars drove in, six people got out, and headed straight for the oil tanks, saying as they walked, "Not bad, the capacity is large enough, but I wonder what the price will be."
The staff member said smugly to Sun Gang, "See? Another customer has arrived. If you can't afford it, you'd better get out of here."