A sizable number of old workers in Changlin Community had secretly gone to the residents' committee to sign contracts and even received demolition compensation. This effectively meant that they had agreed to the demolition. With more than half of the people having signed the agreement, it was no wonder that the City Committee's demolition office was so brazenly bold, for they had reason and evidence on their side. According to China's situation, as long as half of the people agreed, the matter was essentially settled.

Was he really going to lead the minority and become holdouts?

It was the first time Lin Chuan had such a confused thought.

"Chuan?" At this moment, Mrs. Lin came in from outside, still wearing her reflective jacket from the Sanitation Bureau.

"What's the matter?" Lin Chuan stood up.

"Are you okay?" Mrs. Lin looked at Lin Chuan anxiously and asked, "Did you get into a fight today?"

"Yeah." Lin Chuan smiled and said, "But I'm fine. It was the demolition office's people who came to demolish. I just joined everyone to chase them away."

"Those damn bastards." Mrs. Lin cursed vehemently.

However, after a long silence, Mrs. Lin looked at Lin Chuan and said, "Chuan, there's something I want to discuss with you."

"Mom, what is it? Just tell me," Lin Chuan said with confusion.

"I've been thinking, we ordinary folks really shouldn't be opposing the government." Mrs. Lin sighed and said, "Since ancient times, the commoners have never won against officials. So it's better for us to also go to the residents' committee and sign. Add a few tens of thousands of yuan, I'll take out my savings too, and together we, mother and son, can make a down payment and buy a house outside. Otherwise, we can't continue to live this way."

"Mom, how could you think like this?" Lin Chuan looked at his mother in astonishment. It was as if he nearly didn't recognize her—his mother had initially been at the forefront of resisting the demolition and had firmly refused to leave. Moreover, she had joined everyone in raising the national flag on their roof to refuse to move. Surprised, Lin Chuan asked, "Weren't you resolutely against demolition before? How come now..."

"That was before." Mrs. Lin smiled and said, "Back then, I was alone; after leaving Changlin Factory, where else could I go? It's different now, I have you. You are my son, at the very least, I have something to look forward to in life, and besides, you'll need to buy a house for getting married and having sons. It's better to buy earlier rather than later."

"Mom!" Lin Chuan was speechless.

"Also," Mrs. Lin continued with profound emotion, "I stayed here because I was afraid you wouldn't be able to find your way home. You left so suddenly, what if you came back one day and this house was demolished? Where would you find me then?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuan's tears came streaming down. That was the genuine thought in his mother's heart. Initially, she would rather have her legs broken than agree to move, all because of him, for fear that he wouldn't be able to find his way home.

This was the voice of a mother, this was a mother's great perseverance. Just so her son could find his way home, she was willing to have her legs broken and not move; she was willing to act as a mantis blocking a chariot, rather than extinguishing the dim candlelight in her heart.

"Mom!" With tears swirling in his eyes, Lin Chuan firmly said, "We won't move, we're not moving."

"Silly boy, how can we not move?" Mrs. Lin sighed and said, "Many people have signed, they left today, but they will come back tomorrow. How can your two fists fight against so many of them?"

"Why don't you understand, child?" Mrs. Lin said helplessly, "If something happened to you, how could I go on living?"

"Mom, don't worry. It won't happen," Lin Chuan smiled and said, "How could I have an accident? I'm a reasonable person. If they come, I'll just reason with them."

Mrs. Lin felt helpless. Now, her son had grown up. He was the pillar of the household, the head of the family, and his word was the decision. Now that she was also old, she could only let her son make the decisions. Since Lin Chuan said they weren't moving, they had to give up the idea of buying a house.

Of course, Lin Chuan never once thought of giving up the idea of buying a house in his heart; buying a house was to honor his mother. Buying a house was to provide a secure place for his mother to live. It was not because of compromise. He would never compromise, no matter how powerful the opposition.

The great man's birthday celebration and workers' assembly had barely come to an end. Zhou Kai and others went from door to door to deliver warmth, especially to those poor families in Changlin Community. With just over half a month till the New Year, they had to hurry and complete these tasks, bringing necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt to those poor families.

"Zhou Kai, thank you guys," an old woman from a shanty house said gratefully with tears.

"Granny, you're welcome," Zhou Kai smiled. "Now we can make some money, so we can't forget where we started. We want the elderly in the community to feel our warmth."

"I felt it," the old woman nodded.

Granny Chen was one of the poor households from the factory. Although they gave her family a red packet of five thousand yuan, this money, at most, could only relieve urgent needs. Granny Chen had diabetes and needed to spend several hundred yuan on medicine every month. After purchasing medication, there wasn't much left from her pension. This made Granny Chen's life even more difficult.

Zhou Kai and his brothers brought a sack of fifty kilograms of rice, a bag of twenty kilograms of flour, and some fruits to Granny Chen with a small cart.

Granny Chen was tearfully grateful.

With every household they visited, Zhou Kai and his team could feel that deep gratitude, which filled them with a sense of happiness. They discovered that doing good deeds could earn them so much appreciation, and that there was such a feeling in their hearts after doing good. This truly made them feel very happy.

...

Eight Horses Tea House.

Feng Taibao sat in the tearoom, with Long Wu and Flying Dagger sitting inside the room. As night fell, the outside was illuminated with bright, dazzling lights, yet the room appeared somewhat dim. Long Wu sat in the tearoom, trembling. Flying Dagger was also hanging his head low.

As the most formidable fighter by Feng Taibao's side, they hadn't expected to suffer an unexpected defeat at the hands of Lin Chuan a few days ago. This caused Feng Taibao to feel both depressed and perplexed.

"Flying Dagger, tell me." Feng Taibao spoke calmly, skillfully brewing tea on a tea tray.

"Boss Feng, Lin Chuan is no ordinary person," said Flying Dagger, his face turned to the side. "His skills are extraordinary; by the looks of it, he must have received military training."

"What?" Long Wu exclaimed in shock: "Is this kid a retired special forces?"

Bang...

The teapot in Feng Taibao's hand heavily hit the table, causing Long Wu to shrink back. Feng Taibao glared at Long Wu and said, "Who asked you to speak?"

"Boss Feng, I...I'm sorry!" Long Wu's face was flush with embarrassment as he quickly slapped his own mouth, saying: "I...I spoke out of turn."

"Continue," Feng Taibao said, glancing at Flying Dagger.

"Moreover, his eyes are very sharp," said Flying Dagger through clenched teeth. "Boss Feng, I...I am no match for him."

"Interesting!" Feng Taibao poured himself a cup of tea and took a light sip. "So you're saying Lin Chuan is quite a prominent figure?"

"If I'm not mistaken, just as Long Wu said, he must be a retired special forces soldier," Flying Dagger nodded in agreement.

"Hmph." Feng Taibao let out a cold laugh. "No matter who he is, as long as he's on my turf, even if he's a dragon, he has to coil up; if he's a tiger, he has to lie down. If he dares to provoke us again, I wouldn't mind taking care of him for good."

"Boss Feng, why not take care of him now?" Long Wu said hastily.

"No rush." Feng Taibao smiled indifferently. "This morning, I heard something happened at Changlin Factory. Have you heard anything about it?"

"Uh..." Both of them shook their heads hurriedly.

"That old tiger is getting anxious," Feng Taibao laughed loudly. "They still haven't secured the territory of Changlin Factory, and every day they delay, they lose a good sum."

"What?" Long Wu was taken aback, and quickly asked: "Boss Feng, has the Northeast Tiger started stalling people?"

"Isn't that so?" Feng Taibao smirked coldly. "However, I heard that they were repelled by Lin Chuan and his men. Moreover, they returned utterly defeated. I bet that Northeast Tiger is having a hard time now, seething with anger. Haha..."

Long Wu was not foolish. His eyes darted about as he blinked, "Does Boss Feng mean... to let Lin Chuan fight the Northeast Tiger? Then we'll reap the benefits when the time comes?"

"Haha... It seems you're not so foolish after all." Feng Taibao nodded, "Lin Chuan, the young calf, is not afraid of tigers, so now is a good time to use him to fight the Northeast Tiger. Hence, for now, we shouldn't concern ourselves with Lin Chuan, we continue with our business as usual. I believe it won't take long before Northeast Tiger gets thoroughly annoyed by Lin Chuan. By then, we could take the opportunity to expand our business in the bath city. Heh heh..."

The business in the bath city area of Jiangbei City's eastern district was mostly under Northeast Tiger's control, and Northeast Tiger's Qinghua Pool was renowned throughout Jiangbei City. It was even hailed as a 'Paradise on Earth' in Jiangbei City. This definitely attests to the renown of Qinghua Pool.

"Exactly," Long Wu nodded repeatedly, saying: "Boss Feng, I heard that Northeast Tiger's Qinghua Pool is making a fortune every day. Tsk tsk..."

"Yes, I'm even envious," Feng Taibao nodded, "But the risks... once Song Ming falls, the Northeast Tiger will probably be doomed as well."

Long Wu's eyes widened, realizing that Northeast Tiger was backed by Song Ming? Song Ming truly has a finger in every pie, even Boss Feng is supported by him. However, Long Wu didn't mention it out loud.

"Come on, let's have some tea," Feng Taibao poured another cup of tea. "This is the new Da Hong Pao, exclusively supplied to Central South Sea, and I only have half a pound of it."

"Tsk tsk..." Long Wu hurriedly took the tea cup with both hands.

...

Qinghua Pool.

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