Although it was broad daylight, the door to the courtyard was already locked.
Tao Jiang felt a little strange. He rummaged through his backpack for a while, took out a bunch of keys, and opened the door to his courtyard house.
After everyone entered the courtyard, they saw not a single person. The entire courtyard was deserted, and the ground was covered with dead leaves and dust. It seemed that no one had cleaned it for a long time.
Tao Jiang felt a little strange when he picked up his cell phone and called his father, Tao Hongding, when a power-off prompt came from his cell phone.
"My dad's cell phone is turned off. He probably went to the mines. The nanny at home should also be on vacation, but we are more comfortable if they are not at home. I will take you to the guest room first. If you haven't waited until the above arrangement, at noon Please go out for a nice meal." Tao Jiang said with a smile.
"Sure! Since your family really has a mine, we won't be polite." Wang Jiayang said with a smile.
"Hey! This must be Master Tao!" A strange voice came from the door.
A man in his thirties was holding a cigarette, leaning against the stone lion at the entrance of the courtyard, looking at the people in the courtyard with malicious intent.
"Fei Dezhu?" Tao Jiang looked at the man and raised his eyebrows slightly.
Fei Dezhu and his ancestors from the Tao family were both in the same village, so they were considered fellow villagers.
The ancestors of the Fei family were also wealthy. In the early 1980s, Fei Dezhu's father, Fei Guojun, contracted several coal mines in the village.
At that time, the price of coal was low, and we could only earn 3 yuan per ton of coal. The coal was pulled out of the mine, but the money could not be collected. After a year of hard work, we did not make any money, and we could not even pay the wages of the workers.
For several years, Fei Guojun spent his time collecting debts. Because he owed so much foreign debt, he was like a rat crossing the street in the village, unable to raise his head at all.
Seeing that the coal mine business was not going well, Fei Guojun sold several mines in his hands at low prices and changed his route to Shanghai to do business.
It was at that time that Tao Hongding took over Fei Guojun's mine.
Because it was not profitable, no one was willing to take over the coal mine at that time. Tao Hongding's family was also poor at that time. In order to make ends meet, he just borrowed a lot of money from relatives and friends, and scraped together 50,000 yuan to buy a wellhead.
Unexpectedly, coal prices entered the market in 2002, and the price skyrocketed instantly. In addition, Tao Hongding had some tricks, and he acquired several large mines in just a few years. Tao Hongding's net worth soared.
However, Fei Guojun had serious problems with a business due to his opponent's design. Not only did the company go bankrupt, but he also owed huge foreign debts. He was so frustrated that he committed suicide by jumping off a building in Shanghai.
In order to avoid the debt, Fei Guojun's wife had to return to the village with her son Fei Dezhu. The seventeen-year-old Fei Dezhu made a living by helping Tao Hongding's mine.
But Fei Dezhu had lived a good life for seventeen years and had already developed a dandy temperament. How could he do heavy work in the mines? Not only did he fish for three days and dry the nets for two days, he would also occasionally help.
Fei Guojun has passed away, and only Fei Dezhu and his mother are left in the Fei family. Tao Hongding feels sorry for the mother and son. Not only does his salary still depend on full attendance, but he also gives Fei Dezhu a red envelope alone during holidays.
However, Tao Hongding's philanthropic deeds did not help Fei Dezhu take the right path. On the contrary, because of this "iron rice bowl", Fei Dezhu became more and more unscrupulous, idle, and became a village tyrant.
Tao Jiang's family has been living in Pingcheng since he can remember, but when he was a child, he often went to the village mine with his father, so he naturally knew the village tyrant Fei Dezhu.
Later, Tao Jiang went to No. 705 School. Occasionally he accompanied Tao Hongding back to his hometown to worship his ancestors during the Chinese New Year. He would also meet Fei Dezhu in the village, so he naturally remembered his appearance. The situation in the past three years has been tense. Tao Jiang has never returned home, but he has never seen him again. Pass Federico.
"Hey~ I also know your brother Fei." Fei Dezhu showed a rogue smile, and then lazily said: "Then pay back the money you owe me for your father."
"My dad owes you money? Are you kidding me?" Tao Jiang said coldly.
"Brother never jokes. Do you have any money with you? Give me two hundred thousand first." Fei Dezhu flicked the cigarette ashes with his right hand and blew out a smoke ring in Tao Jiang's direction.
"Two hundred thousand?" Tao Jiang sneered: "The money my dad owes must start at least nine figures. Even if your money falls at my dad's feet, my dad may not pick it up."
Fei Dezhu sneered, threw the cigarette in his hand to the ground, stamped it out with a strong kick, and said quietly: "Then you should give me the money more quickly. The inspections from above have been strict in recent years, and the mines If there is a murder case, it is not a small thing to be stabbed."
"Homicide? Something happened in the mine?" Tao Jiang looked stern.
"You little pillar, if you don't work hard in the mine, what nonsense are you talking about in front of Ajiang!" A powerful voice came from behind everyone.
A tall, middle-aged man walked over. It was Tao Jiang's father, Tao Hongding.
"Uncle Tao, I'm here to pay you New Year's greetings. I just happened to see Tao Jiang come back. I haven't seen him for several years, so I just wanted to tease him. Happy New Year, uncle!" Fei Dezhu bowed to Tao Hongding.
"You brat has a conscience and New Year's greetings are over, so you should go back first. My uncle sent you a red envelope on WeChat. Don't just play by yourself, think about your mother." Tao Hongding waved his hand.
"Okay!" Fei Dezhu took out his phone and glanced at WeChat, then looked at Tao Hongding and said with a smile: "Thank you, Uncle Tao, I'll go home first! Tao Jiang, if you have time, go to the village to play, I'll treat you!"
Tao Jiang pursed his lips and said nothing.
Fei Dezhu didn't care and left leisurely humming a little tune.
"Dad, is everything okay at the mine?" Tao Jiang asked with a frown.
"What the heck! You're celebrating the New Year, tell me!" Tao Hongding said angrily, "Don't you know who Xiao Zhuzhu is? If you don't have any money, take advantage of the New Year to enjoy the autumn breeze here. Who would have thought that you would touch it? It's time for you to be the tough one.
When he couldn't get the money and lost face in front of a group of people, he would naturally talk nonsense. "
Speaking of this, Tao Hongding looked at Wang Jiayang and laughed: "You are friends in the Ajiang army, I'm sorry, I just made you laugh.
Xiao Zhuzhu is a child who has a hard life. I bought this mine from his father many years ago. Now I naturally have to take more care of him. You guys, please stop standing around and come in and sit down. "
Tao Hongding didn't know about Chi You. He only knew that Tao Jiang was favored by the special forces. Such forces had confidentiality clauses, and Tao Hongding didn't know the details.
Wang Jiayang and others quickly called Uncle Tao and briefly introduced themselves. Tao Hongding also shook hands with everyone enthusiastically, and then led everyone into the living room of the main room.
Feng Yi had the best perception among the people. When shaking hands with Tao Hongding, Feng Yi seemed to smell a faint fishy smell. It was different from the iron smell of blood, but somewhat like the smell of fat.
(End of chapter)