Chapter 56: A Good Show Just for You

Du Peng? Du Zhongyuan?

Hearing these two names, Zhou Ming suddenly realized who this young man was. Du Peng would become an internet tycoon twenty years later, deeply involved in online game development and mobile game operations. However, due to family reasons, he couldn't make as much of a splash as the internet companies in Nanjiang and Binhai. He had to hide his assets, but even so, his publicly disclosed wealth easily surpassed one billion yuan.

Zhou Ming had come across him out of boredom in his previous life and had looked up some information about him, which left an impression. He also had a certain understanding of his background. As for Du Zhongyuan, he was Du Peng's grandfather, a founding general with outstanding military achievements.

At this moment, Du Peng was much younger than he would be more than twenty years later, but he hadn't changed that much. That's why Zhou Ming found him familiar at first glance, but it took him a moment to recall who he was until he shouted out his name.

Zhou Ming then looked down at the woman beside Du Peng, someone he didn't recognize. She stood there dumbfounded, wanting to help but not knowing what to do, completely at a loss. It was evident she wasn't the shrewd and capable wife Du Peng would have in the future, who was also the granddaughter of a founding father of the country.

Zhou Ming couldn't help but marvel at the unpredictability of life. Du Peng, who would confidently discuss future developments at a domestic entrepreneur summit before hundreds of billionaires twenty years later, was now being pinned against a glass counter by a mall thug, completely powerless. He even pathetically brought up his family background, which only made Zhou Ming sigh at the impermanence of fate.

"Brother Ming, do you know him?" Tang Ran asked Zhou Ming curiously.

Zhou Ming nodded and said, "If I'm not mistaken, everything he said is true."

Tang Ran blinked at Zhou Ming, not fully understanding his meaning. Zhou Ming explained, "What I mean is, I think we need to help him."

"Help him? Why? We don't know him, and this has nothing to do with us! Besides, that bald guy looks really scary," Tang Ran said worriedly.

"Ranran, you might not know this, but just before I returned to Nanjiang, I met a world-class billionaire in Hong Kong. His approach to investing in personal connections left a deep impression on me, so I think I need to start making some connections too," Zhou Ming said.

Zhou Ming wasn't just trying to persuade Tang Ran. He had indeed been greatly influenced by Li Cheng's philosophy after witnessing his approach to handling affairs. Not only that, but Zhou Ming also understood that if he wanted to truly make a mark in the country, having a friend with a red background would make many things much easier. Now, he happened to come across one who was currently down on his luck. After all, giving timely help is always more memorable than adding icing on the cake. With such an opportunity right in front of him, Zhou Ming felt it would be a waste not to do something, especially since he had been given a second chance at life.

Zhou Ming recognized Du Peng, but the bald man didn't. When he heard Du Peng bring up his grandfather, the bald man laughed. "What? You say your grandfather is a general? Well, my grandfather is the President of the country!"

"Damn it! I'm telling the truth! Let me go right now, or I'll tear down this lousy store of yours!" Du Peng shouted.

"You're already in this position, yet you're still so arrogant? Tear down my lousy store? How about I tear you down first?"

As the bald man spoke, he twisted Du Peng's arms further behind his back, causing Du Peng to scream in pain. "Damn it! Come on then, if you have the guts, tear me down now! If you don't cripple me today, I'll definitely cripple you in the future!"

The bald man didn't have time to bicker with Du Peng anymore. Instead, he glanced at Du Peng's female companion and taunted, "Hey? You're still here, little lady? Are you planning to stick around and have some fun with us? Watch your man get torn apart, or are you going to cough up ten thousand yuan and settle this?"

For some reason, the woman, who had never experienced something like this before, screamed and ran away.

The bald man was momentarily stunned, then sarcastically commented to Du Peng, "Looks like your woman isn't very loyal, huh?" He then added seriously, "Alright, I don't have time to waste with you. Just give me a straight answer. Are you going to pay up, or should I strip you and throw you out onto the street?"

Du Peng shouted again, "You bastard, if you dare touch me, I swear you'll pay for it!"

"Good, I like people with guts like you," the bald man said.

Just as the bald man was about to make a move, Zhou Ming stepped forward. "Is your name Brother Dao? There's no need to push things this far, is there?"

The bald man didn't expect someone to step in, so he looked at Zhou Ming in surprise. "Who are you?"

"He's my friend. He's someone with some status. Could you let him go?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Of course, we follow the rules here. Pay up, and we'll let him go," the bald man replied.

Zhou Ming took out ten thousand yuan and handed it to the bald man. "Here's ten thousand yuan. Let him go."

"Hey, you've got it wrong. It's twelve thousand yuan!" the bald man emphasized.

Zhou Ming calmly smiled. "Brother Dao, ten thousand yuan is a lot. It's wise to leave some room for yourself. After all, your store is still here, right?"

The bald man hesitated for a moment, then looked at Zhou Ming and said, "Alright, since you asked, I'll give you some face."

With that, the bald man let go of Du Peng. Zhou Ming thanked him and led Du Peng out. Once free, Du Peng rubbed his hands and was about to go back and fight the bald man, but Zhou Ming stopped him. Zhou Ming took the clothing item and walked out of the store with Du Peng.

"Hey! Why did you pull me out? I still need to deal with that bald guy!" Du Peng complained to Zhou Ming.

Before Zhou Ming could respond, Tang Ran couldn't help but interject, "Hey, why are you so ungrateful? You were clearly no match for him, and my Brother Ming spent ten thousand yuan to save you! You didn't even say thank you, and now you're blaming him? How can you be like this?"

Tang Ran's words made Du Peng blush, but it seemed he had never encountered a situation like this before and wasn't used to thanking anyone. So, he scratched his head awkwardly and said to Zhou Ming, "Uh... thanks for earlier. Give me half an hour, and I'll show you a good show, and I'll get your ten thousand yuan back!"

After saying this, Du Peng went off to make a phone call. Seeing Du Peng's attitude, Tang Ran, who was already displeased with him, pouted even more and said, "What a lousy attitude! Brother Ming, you shouldn't have helped him. It was a waste of ten thousand yuan."

Zhou Ming, however, smiled and said, "That might not be the case. Who knows, he might really give us a good show."

Tang Ran looked at Zhou Ming with wide eyes, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Brother Ming, do you really think he's the grandson of that general?"

"I think it's highly likely. After all, your Brother Ming dreams of becoming a big capitalist, not a Liangshan hero," Zhou Ming joked. "But the bigger the show Du Peng puts on, the more it will benefit me."

As they spoke, Du Peng returned after making his call. He said to Zhou Ming, "I'll tell you this, I'm going to make that bald guy pay back tenfold or even a hundredfold!"

Zhou Ming glanced at him without saying anything and waited with Tang Ran. Less than five minutes later, they heard the sound of hurried footsteps in the hallway. Zhou Ming looked up to see dozens of police officers jogging towards them. Tang Ran, who had never seen such a scene, was frightened and hid behind Zhou Ming. Du Peng reassured Zhou Ming and Tang Ran, "Don't worry, I called them."

"Did you report it to the police?" Tang Ran asked.

"My call is more effective than just calling the police!" Du Peng boasted.

Tang Ran pouted, clearly unimpressed by Du Peng's arrogance. Zhou Ming, on the other hand, patted her hand and whispered in her ear, "We're just spectators right now, so let's just enjoy the show."

The group of police officers, led by an officer, stopped in front of Du Peng. Du Peng stood up and said, "I'm Du Peng. Are you Zhao Uncle's men?"

The lead officer stepped forward and saluted Du Peng. "Hello, I'm Deputy Director Liu of the Dongmen District Public Security Bureau, assigned by Director Zhao of the Municipal Bureau to investigate an extortion case."

Hearing this, Zhou Ming raised an eyebrow, impressed by Deputy Director Liu's skillful way of speaking. Although they were called in by Du Peng's connections, Liu's words cleverly framed the situation as a normal police response to an official order, without any mention

 of special privileges for red descendants. They were simply there to investigate a serious criminal case.

Although Du Peng didn't have Zhou Ming's decades of experience from a previous life, he came from a prominent family and had learned some things by osmosis. He nodded and pointed to the Pierre Cardin store. "It's that shop. They extorted ten thousand yuan from me and used violence against me. They're completely lawless!"

Du Peng led Deputy Director Liu and the police officers to the Pierre Cardin store. The bald man was still there. Seeing Du Peng return, he sneered, "What? You're back again? Feeling like ten thousand wasn't enough, and you want to give me another ten thousand?"

Before the bald man could finish his sentence, he saw Deputy Director Liu leading a group of police officers into the store. The bald man was momentarily stunned and then angrily shouted, "You little bastard, you actually called the cops?"

The bald man quickly switched to a flattering tone, addressing Deputy Director Liu, "Director Liu, what brings you here? There's no need for you to get involved..."

"Dao Baldy, you're suspected of illegal business operations and extortion. Come with us," Deputy Director Liu said as he took out handcuffs and cuffed the bald man.

The bald man had initially planned to cozy up to Deputy Director Liu since he wasn't without connections. After all, he could run a luxury store like this, so he wasn't completely powerless. Deputy Director Liu wasn't unfamiliar with him either. However, seeing Deputy Director Liu so decisively handcuffing him, the bald man was stunned and asked, "Director Liu, what's going on? How am I involved in illegal operations and extortion?"

"You are involved in illegal business operations and extorted ten thousand yuan from my friend!" Du Peng stepped forward, patted the bald man's face, and said, "How about that, Baldy? I told you, if you had the guts, you could try to cripple me. If not, I'd make sure to cripple you!"