Chapter 57: Human or Demon?

"I'm sorry, I was wrong. Please, don't hold it against me. Don't bother with me."

The bald man clearly realized he had hit a wall today, so he straightforwardly apologized to Du Peng. However, Du Peng had no intention of letting him off that easily. He slapped the bald man hard across the face. Finding his hand hurt from the slap, Du Peng then took off his shoe and began to smack the bald man repeatedly with it.

This scene left everyone stunned. No one could have imagined Du Peng would go this far, but Zhou Ming could understand Du Peng's feelings. After all, Du Peng wasn't an ordinary person. As a descendant of the Red generation, he'd never been treated this way before. Moreover, he had always acted impulsively, so it wasn't surprising that he would do something like this under these circumstances.

After beating the bald man for quite a while, Du Peng finally stopped when his hand grew tired. By then, the bald man's face was a bloody mess, one of his teeth had been knocked out, and blood was all over the floor. The man was completely unconscious.

Du Peng spat on him and then waved at Deputy Director Liu, who motioned for his men to take the bald man away.

Du Peng discarded his shoes and found a new pair of leather shoes in the store. He then took 10,000 yuan from the drawer at the counter, walked back to Zhou Ming, and handed the money to him. "Here's your money back."

"No way! That money's dirty!" Tang Ran, hiding behind Zhou Ming, said.

Du Peng was taken aback for a moment, and Zhou Ming explained, "You scared my girlfriend just now."

Du Peng awkwardly scratched his head and said, "I was really upset just now. I've never been treated like that in my life. Plus, who knows how many people this guy has extorted with his shop here? I was just delivering justice!"

"Indeed, judging by how skilled he seemed, he's probably done this many times," Zhou Ming replied. "But enough about him. Let's find somewhere to sit. I have something I want to discuss with you."

Du Peng nodded in agreement, and Zhou Ming led Tang Ran and Du Peng out of the mall. Along the way, they encountered the woman Du Peng had brought along, but since she had abandoned him earlier, Du Peng angrily told her to get lost. They went to a quiet spot in a coffee shop across the street, where Du Peng sat down and awkwardly said, "Sorry to make a fool of myself. That woman was just too disappointing!"

Zhou Ming knew Du Peng was referring to his companion fleeing midway, and Zhou Ming shook his head, saying, "You can't really blame her. Women tend to be more timid, and she's probably never experienced something like that before. It's normal for her to run away out of fear."

But Du Peng was still unhappy, pursing his lips and saying, "I've already said I'm not an ordinary person. Unless that bald guy had killed me, I would have made him pay!"

Zhou Ming nodded seriously, "Of course, because you're Du Peng, and your grandfather is Du Zhongyuan."

"You saw what happened earlier. Isn't that right?" Du Peng retorted.

"I never said it wasn't," Zhou Ming replied.

Du Peng was left speechless by Zhou Ming's words, but suddenly, something dawned on him, and he asked Zhou Ming, "You didn't help me out just because of that, did you?"

"What else could it be? Did you think I'd just give away 10,000 yuan to help a stranger? That's 10,000 yuan, not just one yuan," Zhou Ming said.

Zhou Ming's response left Du Peng surprised. He stared blankly at Zhou Ming and asked in disbelief, "You just admit it like that? You don't even try to come up with some noble excuse?"

"I could come up with a bunch of excuses, but would you believe them?" Zhou Ming asked. Du Peng shook his head and said he wouldn't. Zhou Ming spread his hands, "Exactly. If I made up a reason, you wouldn't believe it, and it would leave a bad impression, making you think I'm a hypocrite. So I might as well be straightforward. There's nothing shady about it anyway."

Zhou Ming was speaking his mind. After all, in his previous life, he was just an ordinary person, an average guy at the lowest level. The world of the second-generation rich, powerful, and Red descendants was something he only saw on the news. He had never interacted with anyone like that, so Zhou Ming had no idea how to deal with them. But seeing Du Peng's somewhat impulsive nature, he decided to be straightforward himself.

Du Peng laughed heartily, "You're really direct, but I like that! By the way, you could easily pull out 10,000 yuan and know who I am, so it seems your family isn't doing too bad either."

Du Peng's high-and-mighty tone made Tang Ran displeased, "My Ming brother is a big boss in Hong Kong!"

"A big boss in Hong Kong?" Du Peng looked Zhou Ming up and down, "Are you from Hong Kong? Which family are you the young master of?"

"No way! Ming brother started his own business and made 20 million in just two months!" Tang Ran emphasized.

"Twenty million in two months?" Du Peng gasped in disbelief, "My God, even a mint doesn't print money that fast!"

Zhou Ming didn't respond but introduced himself and Tang Ran, "Let's properly introduce ourselves. I'm Zhou Ming, and this is my girlfriend, Tang Ran. I recognized you in the store earlier, so I decided to help you. I also have a business proposal I want to discuss with you."

"Business? You think I, a descendant of revolutionaries, would do business with you, a capitalist from Hong Kong?" Du Peng asked Zhou Ming. After the initial surprise of hearing about Zhou Ming's earnings, Du Peng's mood calmed down, and he could rationally talk with Zhou Ming.

Du Peng's attitude made Tang Ran very unhappy, "Hey! What kind of attitude is that? My Ming brother isn't just any Hong Kong capitalist. He's from the mainland, making money from foreigners in Hong Kong!"

"What? Zhou Ming, you're actually from the mainland? And you made money from foreigners in Hong Kong? How did you do that?"

Du Peng was genuinely surprised. If Zhou Ming had been the young master of some family in Hong Kong, making 20 million in two months would have been impressive but not impossible. But hearing that Zhou Ming was from the mainland and made 20 million in Hong Kong made it hard for Du Peng to believe.

"It was a lucky break. I happened to be in Hong Kong when the stock market crash occurred. I used futures to short the Hong Kong stock index and quickly made over 20 million," Zhou Ming explained.

Du Peng looked at Zhou Ming in bewilderment. He didn't understand terms like stock market crash, futures, or shorting the Hong Kong stock index, but precisely because he didn't understand, he found Zhou Ming incredibly impressive. After all, the money Zhou Ming earned wasn't fake.

"So... what do you want with me?" Du Peng asked, still in a daze.

"Business, of course! I mentioned it earlier, didn't I?" Zhou Ming said. "You came to Nanjing for business, right? You used your family's connections to get a batch of cotton from Hebei, intending to sell it to a textile boss here in Nanjing."

Du Peng's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Zhou Ming, "How do you know that?"

How could I not know? Over twenty years later, when you become a major internet tycoon in the country, your early business ventures will be widely publicized. Anyone paying attention would know.

Of course, Zhou Ming couldn't say that. Instead, he told Du Peng, "It's not that hard to guess. The largest group of speculators in the country is your group of Red descendants. If you came to Nanjing, it wouldn't be for sightseeing, would it? As for dealing in cotton, the fastest-growing industry in Nanjing is textiles. Plus, you have strong connections in Hebei. I can't believe you wouldn't use those connections to deal in cotton."

Zhou Ming's explanation left Du Peng dumbfounded. He stared at Zhou Ming and asked, "Are you the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang? How could you guess that?"

Zhou Ming smiled, "Judging by your expression, I guess I was right. Let me make another guess. The woman who was with you earlier wasn't someone you brought from Beijing, but someone you met here in Nanjing, right?"

Du Peng nodded vigorously, "Go on. What else have you figured out?"

"If I keep guessing, it won't be anything good," Zhou Ming said.

"No worries, go ahead and say it," Du Peng urged.

Zhou Ming continued, "Do you think the woman you met in Nanjing really likes you, or does she have an ulterior motive? And if she does, what could that motive be?"

"Motive?" Du Peng paused, then suddenly frowned. "Zhou Ming, are you saying they're after my batch of cotton?"

Zhou Ming nodded in confirmation. That was indeed the case. Zhou Ming remembered reading in his previous life that Du Peng's first business deal in Nanjing in 1987 ended with him being scammed. At that time, he lacked experience, and the other party used some tricks, leading Du Peng to hand over the cotton without receiving a single penny in return.

Du Peng thought about it

 for a while, then angrily said, "No wonder that woman kept talking to me about business. Turns out she was digging a pit for me to fall into!"

After saying this, Du Peng seemed to realize something was off. He looked up at Zhou Ming across from him, his expression complicated, "You're too incredible! How do you know all these things?"

Tang Ran rolled her eyes at Du Peng, "Do you think my Ming brother is like you? That issue was so obvious, and you couldn't even see it. How could you possibly figure out these other things?"

Zhou Ming added, "Actually, many things are right in front of us, like your relationship with that woman, your purpose in coming to Nanjing, your identity, and your connections. Once you piece together this information and apply some reasoning, it's not hard to figure out."

Looking at Zhou Ming, who was calmly explaining things in front of him, Du Peng felt a profound sense of shock deep in his soul. Indeed, as Zhou Ming said, once you know the information and piece it together with some reasoning, it's not hard to figure things out. But how many people have the awareness to think about these things? How many people have the mindset to consider these issues?

Is he human or a demon?

Du Peng evaluated Zhou Ming in his heart and respectfully said, "Earlier, when your girlfriend said you made 20 million in two months, I thought there might be some exaggeration. But now, if you hadn't made that money, it would be truly unjust."