The World's Richest Man: Start with the Daily Intelligence System

31: Chapter 31 Meeting the EnemyAt this time, many elderly men and women from the nearby villages had already gathered on the shore.

Zhang Wei took a few breaths, returned to the car, and took out the tow rope from the trunk. He then connected one end of the rope to the car’s tow hook and held the other end in his hand, bringing it to the shore.

”Old Liu, tie the rope to the gun barrel, and we’ll pull it up.” As he spoke, he threw the rope down from the shore.

After finally securing the rope, both of them were exhausted.

Fortunately, many of the elderly villagers nearby were quite enthusiastic. A few of them stepped forward to help, and in no time, the cannon was dragged ashore. They didn’t even need wooden planks to make a ramp; four or five elderly men exerted their strength together and physically lifted the cannon into the trunk.

Zhang Wei couldn’t help but marvel that the bodies of these elderly men, who were accustomed to farm work, were truly in great shape. If this were in the city and they encountered a mugger, it really wasn’t clear who would end up robbing whom.

Thinking about it this way, the matter between Old Man Li, the security guard at the Instrument Branch Factory, and Widow Wang didn’t seem too far-fetched anymore?!

Since the cannon was over two meters long, even with the back seats folded down, the trunk door still wouldn’t close, leaving a section of the barrel exposed outside the car. Zhang Wei had no choice but to simply leave the trunk open and drive back directly. Before leaving, he used ropes to firmly secure the cannon inside the car.

Otherwise, if the cannon slid out from the back halfway through the drive, the trouble would be immense; the car behind them would definitely be totaled.

Everyone gathered around the Infantry Cannon in the trunk, clicking their tongues in wonder. Usually, these elderly men and women would at most watch a shrew shouting in the street or gossip about another family in the same village. Today, they actually got to see a Japanese cannon; the spectacle-watching experience was maxed out. Several elderly men were even calling people from their village to come and see. Slowly, more and more villagers gathered around.

Zhang Wei felt this wasn’t right. He remembered there were still a few cartons of double happiness cigarettes in the car that he had bought extra last time, which now came in handy. He took the cigarettes out, handed them to Liu Haorui, and said:

”Old Liu, distribute these cigarettes to the elderly men. There’s no room in the back seat. I’ll take An Xiaoxi back first. You take a taxi yourself, and we’ll meet at Jiangnan Garden.”

Liu Haorui nodded, opened the cigarettes, and handed them around to the elderly men to show his gratitude.

At that moment, glancing past the crowd, Zhang Wei spotted a car speeding towards them from a distance. A person was sitting in the passenger seat, and he could vaguely see that person holding a video camera and filming.

”It seems someone called the reporters. Old Liu, I’ll leave this to you. Whatever you do, don’t expose our identities.” Zhang Wei didn’t want to appear on camera, so letting Liu Haorui, the ”Interview Brother,” handle it was a perfect match for his expertise.

Urging An Xiaoxi to get in the car quickly, Zhang Wei promptly started the engine and sped away.

At the same time.

Qian Lei held the steering wheel, humming an unknown tune.

He had been quite smug and satisfied lately.

His last interview at the entrance of the Sports Lottery Center had quickly topped the headlines once it was published, bringing with it hashtags like ”Interview Brother,” ”Most Miserable Reporter in History,” ”Purple Suit with Snakeskin Bag,” and so on. The popularity was off the charts.

Such massive traffic was like a windfall of wealth falling from the sky, bringing an enormous amount of attention to Daily Headlines. The editor-in-chief of the editorial department had been smiling so much these past two days that his mouth was curled up even when he went to the bathroom. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he had facial paralysis.

As the primary contributor to this event, Qian Lei received a reward from the editorial department. Along with a salary increase, he was promoted to senior reporter, no longer having to miserably wait at the entrance of the Sports Lottery Center and eat the northwest wind.

”We should be there,” the photographer in the passenger seat reminded him, seeing the crowd in the distance.

Qian Lei pulled the car over to the side of the road and walked toward the crowd.

”Make way, everyone, please make way. We’re reporters here for an interview.”

Forcing his way through the crowd to the center, he saw a mud-covered young man lighting cigarettes for the elderly men one by one.

Qian Lei looked around, a bit bewildered. ”Didn’t they say a cannon was dug up? It’s not here. Did we get the wrong place, or was it just fake news?”

In their line of work, they encountered many blunders. Previously, an old man from a village had called the newspaper saying he had fished out a thousand-year-old meat lingzhi from an ancient well in the village.

Its shape was a cylinder, thick at both ends and thin in the middle, flesh-colored and somewhat translucent, but neither metal nor wood. It felt soft to the touch and would expand when it hit water.

As a result, the reporter rushed over excitedly, only to take one look and start cursing. Which bastard threw a used Tenga into the well! Taking advantage of the fact that the elderly men hadn’t seen such foreign gadgets before!

So Qian Lei’s first reaction was that the villagers were mistaken. Just as he was about to leave, Liu Haorui turned around and saw Qian Lei in front of him. He froze for a moment, then became furious: ”You unscrupulous reporter, you dare show your face in front of me again!”

”Have we met, sir?” Qian Lei was a bit confused; the young man’s face was covered in silt, making it impossible to distinguish his features. He didn’t recognize Liu Haorui, only feeling that the other’s Mohawk hairstyle seemed vaguely familiar.

When enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred. Liu Haorui rushed forward and used his silt-covered hands to tightly choke Qian Lei’s neck, roaring: ”You still dare to pretend you don’t know me?! Because of your interview, everyone thinks I’m a lunatic now! How am I supposed to live like this? How am I supposed to pursue my goddess?”

Only then did Qian Lei realize who the person in front of him actually was.

”It’s not my fault! You were the one willing to be interviewed. Let go of me first, I can’t breathe... Let’s talk this out,” Qian Lei pleaded repeatedly, his face turning red from being choked.

The photographer nearby, worried something might happen, wanted to come over and help pull Liu Haorui away.

Seeing this, Qian Lei suddenly realized something and hurriedly shouted, ”Don’t come over! Keep filming, keep filming! I can take it!”

Was he kidding? ”Interview Brother has an episode on the street, determined to choke reporter to death.” How could he stop filming such explosive news! If he endured a bit longer to get more footage, wouldn’t the opportunity for a promotion and a raise be right there?

The photographer thought it made sense, so he stopped trying to prevent Liu Haorui’s assault. He hoisted the camera and circled the two, filming frantically, capturing every angle and close-up.

Qian Lei was starting to roll his eyes now. His hands subconsciously grabbed some mud from Liu Haorui’s body and smeared it on his own face. Such professional dedication was truly admirable.

Finally, the elderly men nearby couldn’t stand it anymore and hurriedly pulled Liu Haorui aside. After being saved, Qian Lei slumped to the ground and began coughing violently.

Liu Haorui was still fuming. Seeing that he couldn’t get back to Qian Lei because the elderly men were holding him, he grabbed the sludge off his body and threw it at Qian Lei.

Qian Lei coughed a few times, gasping for air. As luck would have it, a piece of sludge, mixed with the unique scent of the sea, landed right in his mouth.

At that moment, Qian Lei only felt a foul stench explode in his mouth. Before he could even catch his breath, he began to retch uncontrollably.

All along the roadside, the sounds of retching, angry cursing, and persuasion rose and fell, making it even livelier than a market fair.

At this time, Zhang Wei was driving back to the city, completely unaware of the farce that had unfolded after the two of them left.

An Xiaoxi looked back a few times and said in surprise, ”Zhang Wei, there are so many cars following us.”

Zhang Wei glanced in the rearview mirror. At this time, cars on the road were following behind his car one after another, and some drivers were even holding the steering wheel with one hand while taking photos with the other.

Zhang Wei curled his lip in disdain: ”Haven’t you ever seen a ’self-propelled gun’ before? Acting like you’ve never seen the world.”