Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Where did I show off?" But seeing Fu Ying's rare happy smile, Zhou Xuan suddenly felt that today's fishing trip was worthwhile. If he could make Yingying so happy, he would be willing to do this every day.
"Oh dear, it's on the hook!" Fu Ying suddenly exclaimed. The float sank into the water. In a hurry, she pulled the fishing rod sharply, the fishing line tightened, and the hook part sprang out of the water. A small fish about twenty centimeters long was pulled out of the water. However, Fu Ying pulled the line too hard and it got tangled with Zhou Xuan's fishing line.
Zhou Xuan exclaimed "Oh dear!" and the two of them hurriedly pulled the fishing line ashore. Fortunately, the small fish hadn't gotten off the hook yet. Although the lines on the two fishing rods were tangled up like a mess, the small fish was jumping and hopping around on the ground. Fu Ying was also very happy. This was the first time in her life that she had caught a fish. She was as happy as a young girl. While catching the fish, she directed Zhou Xuan to separate the fishing line.
Old Li remained unmoved by the two of them, calmly watching his fishing rod, completely ignoring Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying's actions. After Zhou Xuan finally managed to separate the fishing line from the rod, Old Li's hand tightened, and then he flicked it upwards. He used force when flicking, but with a retractable motion, unlike Fu Ying's flick, which was purely lifting the rod into the air.
After Lao Li cast his line, the hook emerged three feet above the water before he stopped pulling, preventing the line from drifting and getting tangled with other anglers. On the hook was a large carp about two feet long, its round belly clearly indicating it was a female, with some light red scales on its abdomen.
This fish weighed at least five or six pounds, bending Old Li's fishing rod. However, Old Li's fishing rod was a high-end rod made of special materials with excellent elasticity. Although it looked bent, it could withstand a weight of about 100 pounds, so there was absolutely no way this fish could break the fishing rod or line.
After Old Li lifted the fishing rod, he used his hand to reel in the line while keeping it close to the water's surface. Once the fish was close to the rod, he slowly pulled it towards the shore. This is a technique experienced fishermen use, regardless of the quality of the rod and line. In the past, when such high-quality rods and lines weren't available, this was the method used when catching a big fish. After bringing the fish to the surface, you gently pull it towards the shore. As long as the fish is still in the water, it won't thrash around. Once the fish is on the shore, you can grab it by hand or with a net, which is much safer. Otherwise, if you use too much force from the start, the fish will fight back fiercely, which could easily break the line and rod, causing the fish to escape.
After pulling the line to the shore, Old Li used a net to catch the fish, then lifted it onto the bank before unhooking and untying the line.
Fu Ying opened her mouth wide, looked at her little fish and then at Old Li's big fish, biting her lip unhappily. She had just been showing off to Old Li with great pride, and in just a few minutes, Old Li had caught a big fish. It was obvious who won and who lost.
Zhou Xuan knew Fu Ying was feigning anger, but was actually quite happy. He chuckled and baited the hook again, saying, "Come on, come on! Maybe you'll catch a fish even bigger than Grandpa Li later!"
Fu Ying, of course, refused to admit defeat. She handed the fishing hook to Zhou Xuan and said, "Give me the biggest bait worm; I want to catch the biggest fish."
Zhou Xuan found it amusing. The size of the fish you catch isn't just a matter of the bait. Besides, even the biggest fish isn't something you can just catch whenever you want. With his special ability, he might be able to kill it, but getting it to automatically hook Fu Ying's fishhook was impossible.
But seeing Fu Ying's beautiful, shy, and angry expression, Zhou Xuan was very happy. He searched for large worms in the bait jar. Fu Ying found it very nauseating. Although she wanted to catch big fish, she was also very disgusted and scared when she saw these wriggling worms.
As Zhou Xuan baited Fu Ying's hook, he chuckled, "Yingying, Grandpa's jar is full of small worms, but our jar is full of big worms. Don't worry, we'll definitely catch a fish bigger than Grandpa's. Why don't you take a look at these worms..."
Fu Ying retorted angrily, "Are you deliberately trying to disgust me?"
Zhou Xuan laughed heartily. Just then, his cell phone rang from inside the coat hanging on the chair behind him. Zhou Xuan's hands were dirty, so without him saying anything, Fu Ying took the phone out of his pocket, glanced at the caller ID, and said, "It's Mom calling."
He then pressed the answer button and said, "Mom, what's up?"
But then Fu Ying's expression froze for a moment, and she asked, "What? Mom was beaten? Where...where?"
Fu Ying panicked immediately, and Zhou Xuan was also stunned. He hadn't used his special ability to pay attention to the phone call Fu Ying answered because his mind was focused on threading the bait, so he hadn't heard what was being said on the phone. But he clearly heard what Fu Ying was saying. After a moment of stunned silence, he quickly asked, "Yingying... what happened?"
Fu Ying was still on the phone, nodding as she hurriedly said, "Okay, I know. You watch over Mom, we're coming right away." She then took the phone and anxiously said to Zhou Xuan, "Zhou Xuan, it's Aunt Liu calling. She said she and Mom were buying groceries at Friendship Square when they accidentally bumped into someone's car and got hit. We need to hurry over."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan's heart tightened, and flames immediately ignited within him.
He is a man who is tough on the outside but soft on the inside. He doesn't like to cause trouble and doesn't care if ordinary people mock or bully him. However, his family is his Achilles' heel. If anyone touches this Achilles' heel, Zhou Xuan will fight them to the death.
Upon hearing that her mother had been beaten, she was even more enraged and intolerant than when her younger brother had been beaten. Old Li, who had been fishing nearby without moving an inch, suddenly became furious upon hearing Fu Ying's words. He immediately threw down his fishing rod and said, "Let's go, let's go right now!"
Zhou Xuan didn't bother with formalities. He immediately threw down his fishing rod, got up without even washing his hands, and the three of them abandoned their fishing gear and hurriedly headed back the way they came from the fishpond management office. They called Li Wei up at the edge of the woods.
Li Wei didn't know what was going on, but seeing that his grandfather, Zhou Xuan, and Fu Ying all looked strange and terribly gloomy, Li Wei was too scared to ask and just followed along anxiously.
Old Li didn't even want his beloved fishing gear anymore. He just waved at the management office, telling Li Wei to hurry up and drive the car out, ignoring everything else.
Li Wei drove the car out, and Zhou Xuan opened the car door for Old Li to get in first, then got in himself. Fu Ying, looking worried, remained in the front seat and said urgently to Li Wei, "Drive quickly to the south exit of Friendship Square."
Seeing Fu Ying's nervousness and anxiety, Li Wei dared not joke or neglect her and quickly drove towards Friendship Square.
After driving, Zhou Xuan asked Fu Ying for her past again. Liu Sao answered the phone, and her voice sounded very scared and trembling.
“Little…Little Zhou, you…you…you haven’t arrived yet…those people…those people are so fierce…oh dear…” Aunt Liu said, and then the phone suddenly went dead. It felt as if someone had snatched the phone and smashed it. He asked “hello, hello” a few times to make sure the call was off, and then dialed back, but the old phone was already switched off.
In this situation, it's impossible for Jin Xiumei's phone to be turned off. The only explanation is that the phone was destroyed by the other party.
Volume 1, Chapter 520: Settling Accounts
Chapter 520 Settling Accounts
Although it was only a few words, Li Wei understood somewhat; it seemed that someone in his family had been beaten up at Friendship Square.
Li Wei's eyes turned red. In his heart, he had long regarded the Zhou family as his own. How could he tolerate the fact that someone from the Zhou family had been beaten? Moreover, he didn't even know which one had been beaten. Li Wei was most worried about Zhou Ying and her daughter Jin Xiumei. As women, they were easily bullied outside.
However, Li Wei then thought that Zhou Ying should be at the company. Everyone knows how high her position is in the company, so it is impossible for her to be bullied or beaten by someone. Besides, the person who was beaten was at Friendship Square, which is far from the company building. Therefore, the most likely person is her mother-in-law, Jin Xiumei.
In his anger, Li Wei sped up and took about twenty minutes to get back to the city, which was half the time he had taken to get there. After entering the city, Li Wei still did not slow down. When he was about three or four kilometers away from Friendship Square, he was spotted by traffic police who waved him to stop. Li Wei ignored them and drove straight through.
The old man remained silent, which emboldened Li Wei. He saw in the rearview mirror that several traffic police vehicles were following behind.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then picked up the phone. "Brother, my mom was beaten up at Friendship Square. Fu Ying, Li Wei, Grandpa Li, and I were fishing in the suburbs. We were stopped by traffic police on our way back. I'm calling to let you know so you can handle it. Don't let it cause any trouble later."
Fu Yuanshan immediately agreed. He knew who "Grandpa Li" was from Zhou Xuan's words. He was very familiar with Zhou Xuan's situation and knew Li Wei's identity. As soon as Zhou Xuan said it, he immediately understood that if this matter escalated, it would be difficult for them to handle. It would be better to step in and deal with it quickly. Furthermore, when he heard Zhou Xuan say that he had been beaten, Fu Yuanshan's heart tightened. This was a kind and good-hearted old man. How could he have been beaten?
While Fu Yuanshan was making a phone call to the dispatch room to inquire, he also quickly mobilized about a dozen of his close subordinates, dressed in plain clothes, and set off for Friendship Square.
As soon as Zhou Xuan hung up, Old Li reached for another phone and called me.
Zhou Xuan didn't stand on ceremony and dialed Li Lei's number directly, then handed the phone to Old Li.
Old Li turned his head and said a few words in a low voice. He gave the order briefly, then hung up the phone and handed it back to Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan was anxious and didn't pay attention to what Lao Li was saying on the phone. He was only worried about how badly his mother had been beaten and what kind of harm she had suffered. He was oblivious to the sirens of the traffic police chasing after them. He just hoped that the car would go faster and fly to Friendship Square.
With only three kilometers left to Friendship Square, the pursuing police car shouted a few times through its loudspeaker to stop for inspection, but Li Wei ignored it and continued driving at high speed. However, after only a minute or two, the pursuing police car turned off its siren and stopped shouting, but still followed.
At the southern exit of Friendship Square, Li Wei could see a large crowd gathered at the edge of the square from a distance at the intersection, but he couldn't find Jin Xiumei anywhere else.
Of course, the place is too big and wide, and it is not easy to find her alone, but in case of trouble, the first thing that comes to mind is a place with many people.
Li Wei stepped on the gas and drove straight to the south end of the square. He stopped the car at the edge of the square, opened the door, jumped out, and rushed into the crowd. Fu Ying ran ahead of him.
Zhou Xuan was in the same row as Old Li, and although he was anxious, he couldn't leave the old man alone at the back, so he immediately helped Old Li walk towards the crowd.