As soon as he finished speaking, two people next to him stood up at the same time, and the sound of chairs falling to the ground echoed one after another. A group of young men who looked like thugs rushed over. Some of them even picked up the wooden chairs, while several thugs pulled out machetes from their backs.
Seeing the critical situation, Ge Yong immediately grabbed a wooden chair and used it to block the crowd. He glared fiercely at the thugs rushing towards him, feeling quite troubled. There were too many of them; he could handle them, but he couldn't properly protect the women and children at the table. At that moment, he missed the army terribly, where he had his beloved gun.
Lin Yao hadn't expected the situation to change so quickly; negotiation was too late, and they had no choice but to resort to force. He immediately pulled a pair of steel needles from his satchel, ordered Xiao Cao to extract the poison onto the needles he was holding, and roared, "Brother Hao, think it over carefully, there's no antidote this time!"
This man, Hao, was the same thug leader Lin Yao had encountered near the veterinary hospital when he used "Little Lin's Flying Needles." He was currently standing among the three middle-aged men, ready to take advantage of Lan Xiaoqing. Hearing Lin Yao's roar, he looked up and was immediately terrified, his face turning pale. He recognized the steel needles; they were exactly the same as before. Although the man's appearance was different, the same look in his eyes still sent chills down his spine.
"Stop!" Brother Hao shouted, halting the thugs' actions. He then walked over to two other middle-aged men and whispered something in their ears. Upon hearing this, the two men's expressions changed drastically, and they immediately bowed their heads in apology, "Sir, we were blind and ignorant. Please forgive our folly."
Lin Yao didn't want to say more to them, worried that it would arouse more suspicion from Ling Ruonan and the others, so he glared at them and said, "Get out!"
"We're leaving right now, we're leaving right now." Hao Ge and the scarred man kept apologizing, bowing and backing away. Then they turned around and told the thugs to leave. Before leaving, Hao Ge told the restaurant owner, "That table is on our tab."
Ge Yong put the chair back down and sat down again, glancing at Lin Yao with a surprised look before turning to comfort Nannan. Little Guli laughed heartily, completely oblivious to the danger his father couldn't defeat; he wasn't worried at all.
"What happened?" Ling Ruonan was a little embarrassed. She hadn't expected there to be so many people on the other side, and she almost caused a fight again. She remembered that she had caused the same thing when she came to Ya'an last time. Now that the problem was solved, she looked at Lin Yao with even more enthusiasm.
"It's nothing. This Brother Hao is in cahoots with Brother Biao from last time. When he tried to cause me trouble afterward, I managed to fool him with a little trick. I guess he's traumatized now, which is why he left. Luckily, they're not very brave." After saying this, Lin Yao pretended to pat his chest, looking like he was still shaken.
"Oh." Ling Ruonan was still shaken by what happened last time. The terrifying scene of Lin Yao's muscles bulging outwards flashed through her mind, and she remained silent.
Xia Yuwen watched Lin Yao deep in thought, while Lan Xiaoqing stared at him with an expression of adoration, making him feel quite uncomfortable. Ge Yong didn't look at Lin Yao, but lowered his head to drink.
The shop owner nervously carried another pot of freshly cooked fish up, his body trembling slightly. He was even more afraid of the people who frightened the thugs.
"Boss, don't worry, we'll pay for this table ourselves. We can't let those thugs treat us." Lin Yao gently comforted the shop owner. "I bet those thugs never pay for their meals. They're always causing trouble for people, they'll get their comeuppance sooner or later."
Upon hearing Lin Yao's words, the shop owner realized that the other party was not a bad person and immediately felt relieved. He became more talkative and even offered Ge Yong his treasured local grain wine, which Ge Yong drank to his heart's content.
After the little incident, everyone focused on eating the fish and didn't chat much. The second pot of fish was consumed even faster, but fortunately everyone was full, so there was no need to serve a third pot.
As Lin Yao ate, he pondered deeply. This incident had profoundly affected him. Blindly tolerating the situation wasn't the solution; dealing with evil people required ruthless methods. Evil people would never be moved by your kindness; they only submit to power that instilled fear in them. With this in mind, Lin Yao's attitude towards future difficulties changed. Starting with the problems Anyun Water Industry encountered today, he absolutely could not continue to compromise and allow himself to be exploited, otherwise, others would only intensify their oppression of his family.
The slight smile that appeared at the corner of his mouth made Xia Yuwen and Ling Ruonan, who were secretly observing him, feel a chill. It was an evil smile, and combined with Lin Yao's appearance, he looked like a bad guy.
Ge Yong also saw Lin Yao's wicked smile, but he didn't feel anything was wrong; on the contrary, he thought it was a good thing. Having lived together for a long time, Ge Yong understood Lin Yao's character well and knew that his integrity was beyond question. However, possessing such a valuable formula had put the family in a precarious position, and their completely kind-hearted approach would definitely lead to suffering, and even tragic consequences.
Ge Yong had originally prepared to do everything in his power to protect this family, even at great cost, because they were engaged in a noble cause. Now, seeing Lin Yao's different behavior and the wicked smile on his face, he felt gratified. As long as Lin Yao was willing to cooperate, things would be handled better in the future, and the danger to Lin Yao's family would be reduced.
Ge Yong suddenly thought of something else. Lin Yao possessed incredible medical skills. If he wanted, he could recruit his former comrades-in-arms. Many of their illnesses could be cured by Lin Yao. If that were the case, he could help this family build a team with continuous protection capabilities.
Thinking of this, Ge Yong suddenly looked up and his gaze towards Lin Yao became intense. He had finally found a way to realize his value.
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Chapter 84 Kidnapping
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The spring outing was a great success. Even the little incident at dinner became a highlight of the trip, and the three women discussed it enthusiastically along the way. Even Ling Ruonan, the icy beauty, kept asking questions, trying to get something out of Lin Yao, making the return journey feel very tiring for him.
The two little ones had long since fallen asleep from exhaustion. Ruan Lingling secretly glanced at Lin Yao, who was holding Xiao Guli. Her heart pounded with each peek, but whenever she saw the three women sitting next to her, her excitement quickly turned into frustration, and she felt a little sad.
Lin Yao pretended to be sleeping while holding Xiao Guli, but his mind was constantly on the pharmaceutical factory. The Luo family had taken over the Xinglin Pharmaceutical Factory, and Wen Youmin's delaying tactics had failed. The factory was taken over after only two days, and it took all the factory's workers to drive out the thugs brought by the Luo family.
Subsequently, the Luo family initiated legal proceedings, demanding immediate takeover of the pharmaceutical factory, but this was suppressed by Elder Wen personally. Elder Wen was responsible for dealing with the leaders of the relevant departments, such as industry and commerce, taxation, and health, while the lawyers were responsible for presenting the facts to the Luo family's legal representatives. The entire effort was aimed at delaying the process, even if it meant paying penalties to ensure the smooth transfer of the pharmaceutical raw material production to Kangqi Pharmaceutical Factory.
Fortunately, a national-level expert was helping to hold things together. Mr. Wen had a deep social background and a wide network of connections. Some officials in the functional departments did not dare to offend him easily. No one wanted to confront Mr. Wen, who had reached the level of vice president of West China Hospital. This is why the production of the raw material was not greatly affected. Otherwise, Anyun Water Industry would have stopped bottling long ago.
It was already 10 p.m. when they returned to Chengdu, and the group parted ways at the entrance to the city on the South Third Ring Road. Lin Yao didn't want anyone to know where he lived, especially not Xia Yuwen. Who knew what kind of trouble this family, who had so brazenly used doxxing, would cause after finding out his background? He couldn't afford to offend them, so he decided to avoid them.
When Lan Xiaoqing saw the usually quiet Ruan Lingling go home with Lin Yao after their breakup, she felt a mix of emotions. Although this man wasn't exactly handsome, their few interactions suggested he was a good person. His domineering presence at the restaurant today had suddenly inspired a sense of admiration in her. This was completely different from the so-called dashing boys she usually encountered, making Lan Xiaoqing want to make a real friend. Seeing Ruan Lingling receive such treatment now, she felt a slight pang of jealousy.
"Yaoyao, thank you for today. Let's hang out again another day, okay? Keep in touch by phone." Lan Xiaoqing suppressed her jealousy and said goodbye generously.
Ling Ruonan nodded slightly to Lin Yao to say goodbye. She still needed to go back to the hotel with Long Yihun to discuss Xiaolian's matter in detail, and also wanted to learn about Lin Yao's arrangements through Long Yihun.
Seeing that Ling Ruonan didn't show any reluctance to part, Xia Yuwen abandoned her plan to be extra affectionate towards Lin Yao. It seemed her earlier judgment that Ling Ruonan liked Lin Yao was wrong. Although she didn't accept Kang Dikai, the boy her grandfather had arranged for her, she clearly wouldn't choose this ordinary-looking boy either. Neither her grandfather nor her maternal grandfather would allow her to have close contact with such a boy. At this moment, she was simply very curious about Lin Yao, had a deep impression of him, and quite admired him in certain ways; she had no other thoughts.
Back home, Alina took turns bathing the two exhausted children and putting them to bed. Ruan Lingling also quickly washed up and retreated to her own room, leaving the two grown men in the living room.
"Brother, I have something to tell you." Ge Yong took a sip of tea, his expression somewhat sad and hesitant. He knew that his family now relied on Lin Yao's earnings to make ends meet. He had occasionally overheard Lin Yao talking about the amount of money he earned on the phone, and he knew that the money he earned each time was astronomical. Obviously, this money could only be earned by helping people with medical treatment. Now, if he were to ask him to treat his comrade-in-arms, how could he bear that huge expense? For a moment, Ge Yong found it difficult to speak.
"Big brother, what's the matter?" Lin Yao was a little puzzled. He had been staring at Ge Yong for quite a while, but Ge Yong didn't continue speaking.
“Yes, that’s right.” Ge Yong hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak, because he judged that Lin Yao’s family was already in great danger. “I have an idea. Some of my retired comrades are currently idle. I want to organize them into a security department, which will be helpful to Minhong Pharmaceutical in the future.”
“That’s great, brother. You can gather them all together. From now on, they’ll all be employees of Minhong Pharmaceutical.” Lin Yao thought it was a good idea. It just so happens that a security department will be needed in the future anyway. Ge Yong really knows how to handle things. “Don’t worry, my parents won’t mistreat your comrades.”
Cough cough, Ge Yong realized he hadn't explained himself clearly and had lost his composure, so he quickly added, "It's not that simple, brother. Let me be frank with you, all my comrades are highly skilled, but they mostly retired due to health reasons, unlike me, who did it for my daughter. Most of them have disabilities and need to be treated before they can work."
Lin Yao was taken aback, realizing that Ge Yong was asking for his help in treating the illness. After considering it for a moment, Lin Yao hesitated. The little grass's condition was complicated, making it difficult to use its abilities to help treat the illness. Besides, almost all the beneficial medicinal energy had been absorbed by the little grass, and every time he treated the illness, he would have to prepare the medicinal materials in advance, which would be a considerable expense.
Now, he can only make money by using Xiaocao. Firstly, he can make good use of Xiaocao's limited opportunities to work. Secondly, by helping rich people treat their illnesses, he can also extort precious medicinal materials to satisfy Xiaocao's needs. Xiaocao's current demand for precious medicinal materials is like a bottomless pit, accepting anything that comes her way, which makes Lin Yao somewhat worried.
If we help Ge Yong's comrades get medical treatment, it will inevitably affect our money-making plans. Moreover, those comrades probably don't have much money, and we'd have to pay out of our own pockets. It's really not a good choice.
Thinking of this, Lin Yao raised his head with difficulty and looked at Ge Yong apologetically, "Brother, you should know my family's situation now. My family is very short of money, extremely short of money. We are temporarily unable to help your comrade. Not to mention that my current ability limits the number of times I can treat patients, my family cannot afford the cost of buying medicines alone."
Seeing Ge Yong's eyes dim, Lin Yao immediately added, "Brother, I know you're a good person, and the comrades you trust must be good people too. It's not that I'm unwilling to help, it's just that I'm truly powerless right now. How about this, after our family recovers from this period, we'll help your comrades one by one, according to our ability, what do you think?"
Ge Yong immediately understood Lin Yao's words and felt his face burning. Lin Yao was telling the truth, and he certainly understood the reasons behind it. Considering that Nannan's treatment relied entirely on Lin Yao's family for expenses, and that they had previously clearly stated that very expensive medicines were needed, it was really inappropriate for him to suggest making things even worse for the other family.
"Brother, I understand. I was being unreasonable." Ge Yong sighed, patted Lin Yao on the shoulder, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Lin Yao sensed Ge Yong's sadness and felt a little sad as well. "It's not that I'm unwilling to help, it's just that we have to wait a while. Right now, disaster relief is the most important thing, and our family is really powerless to do anything else."
“No, I don’t blame you, brother.” Ge Yong said slowly, still very sad. “It’s about one of my brothers. Hu Zi was ambushed while on a mission in Xinjiang and became a vegetable. His family was doing their best to treat him and help him recover, but I just received a call on the highway saying that his condition has worsened and he probably doesn’t have much time left.”