chapter 3 Cleanup and Target

Benjamin paid no mind to the expressions of the others, signaling the waiter for a bottle of beer. He calmly poured himself a drink.
Just as Simon and the others were about to speak, they were met with Benjamin's cold, piercing gaze.
Benjamin scanned each of their faces with a calm demeanor before saying in an understated tone, "Someone's been secretly rearranging shipments behind my back." As his words hung in the air, the faces of those, including Monkey Ren, who had something to hide, turned pale.
His gaze turned icy, locked onto Monkey Ren and his associates. His voice remained measured but grew steadily colder.
"We're all out here trying to make a living. Tell me, are you making money on your own or riding on the reputation of Little Red Robe?" Benjamin paused at this point, leaning back in the restaurant chair. He fixed his fierce gaze on Monkey Ren and his tone turned harsher. "Speak up!"
In Benjamin's core, he was a man who found it easier for others to seek his favor than for him to seek theirs. Once he uttered the word "please," it meant he was surrendering his dignity.
In another timeline, he had lost his pride and begged his brother, whom he had helped countless times. But Monkey Ren had mercilessly trampled on his only remaining dignity.
Monkey Ren's face turned green, cold sweat streaming down. He clenched his teeth but remained silent.
Suddenly, Benjamin shed his aggressiveness, saying, "Paths are forged by those who walk them. I've suddenly come to understand a truth: be decisive in your actions. Since you've made a scene, I won't leave you a way out."
As he finished speaking, the beer bottle exploded on Monkey Ren's head, splattering red-tinged liquid.
Benjamin leisurely wiped his right hand with a napkin, his tone calm. "Today, I'll establish a rule: from now on, we'll share our earnings for meals. What's given to you, you can't refuse." Benjamin used his finger to point to each of them, a smile playing on his lips. "What I don't give, you can't take."
Afterward, Benjamin lifted the now unsteady Monkey Ren with one hand, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "Within three days, whatever you've eaten, you better vomit it out for me. Take your people and get lost. I have a bad temper. Remember, don't let me see you again at the South Station."
Ignoring the now limp Monkey Ren, Benjamin turned to Peter with a cold tone. "Do you know what to do if you see him again?"
Peter licked his lips, a fierce glint in his eyes as he nodded towards Monkey Ren.
In this era, Wu City's train station was the largest gathering place for opportunities. What Benjamin did was equivalent to snuffing out most of Monkey Ren's future avenues to success.
Regarding Monkey Ren, Benjamin didn't want to do anything to him. He had already decided to adopt a different way of life, one that would avoid any major illegal activities.
A few unsavory characters helped Monkey Ren away, and Benjamin looked at the several men behind him, their eyes burning with ambition. He understood that these people still possessed the unique camaraderie of this era. This was another vast fortune for him. His goal was simple in this lifetime but hard to achieve: no one would make him bow down again, not even the heavens.
...
The folks at the Wu City freight yard who usually took orders from Monkey Ren suddenly found him gone without a trace. The dispatching responsibilities fell into the hands of Little Red Robe's brother, Simon. The entire schedule for loading was now more reasonable. Before long, people had forgotten about Monkey Ren; after all, everyone was more concerned with working hard and earning some money.
After sorting out matters at the freight yard, Benjamin returned to Changyang County alone.
For him, who had struggled for many years in his previous life, reorganizing and efficiently managing a small freight yard was a piece of cake.
On the contrary, Simon and the others were somewhat astonished. They naturally admired their big brother. The freight yard continued to operate smoothly under his guidance.
Benjamin's reason for returning to Changyang County was simple: to make money.
He was broke. Even with the meager 600 dollars from Monkey Ren's return, Benjamin, who was already planning his next move, was scratching his head.
At this time, a snippet of conversation among the fellow townsfolk from Changyang County in Wu City caught his attention.
The Commercial Bank of Changyang County had been robbed, with reports suggesting a loss of up to 60,000 dollars. People couldn't believe it when they first heard the news, followed by envy and jealousy. In this era, 60,000 dollars was a sum that these hardworking folks wouldn't even dare to dream of.
Benjamin remained impassive. He had long since stored this piece of information in the corners of his mind. However, in his two lifetimes, he had only heard of a bank being robbed once, so he immediately recalled the details of the incident.
The case was very straightforward, and the criminal was quickly apprehended. In another timeline, this version was told in painstaking detail, and Benjamin was very familiar with it.
The culprit was an insider at the bank, named Oscar Li. The reason he was caught so quickly was almost comically absurd: he had gone back to steal from the bank again and was caught in the act.
What was even more shocking was the reason behind his frenzy. It turned out that he had hidden the enormous sum he stole the first time in the stove at his home. His mother, unaware of the situation, worried that he wouldn't have a hot meal after work. So, she cooked before he returned, inadvertently incinerating the entire 60,000 dollars.
The money he thought was already in the bag had disappeared, forcing Oscar, who originally planned to weather the storm, to take a desperate turn. He ended up losing everything.
This guy was quite a character. He had accumulated a mountain of debt from gambling, which led to his divorce. In his despair, Oscar managed to accumulate a debt of over 10,000 dollars by 1992.
Pushed to his limits by creditors, he resorted to a twisted plan involving the bank's vault. Surprisingly, he found an opportunity. Because Changyang County was a small town, the bank's vault at the time was a single-story building, with only the walls reinforced with concrete. One evening, while working overtime, he happened to look up and, through a seven-inch square opening in the vault chimney, saw the starry sky outside.
Oscar's heart immediately raced. Without a word, he discreetly moved the stack of bills to just below the opening before closing the door and leaving.
Back at home, he managed to send away the debt collectors who came knocking. With determination, he decided to take a risk.
He gathered a few bamboo poles, extended them with wire, attached a hook and net to one end, and by nightfall, he had succeeded.
Benjamin had no intention of reporting him, as he couldn't explain how he knew about it in the first place. Instead, his focus was on the destined-to-be-burned 60,000 dollars.