Old Fei chuckled: "That's my wife."
I:"……"
It has to be said that threatening this kind of person is really difficult; his casual remark created a fog of mystery, blurring the lines between reality and illusion. Of course, I didn't really intend to threaten him, nor did I plan to actually investigate whether that woman was his partner…
Old Fei chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll figure something out. I'll introduce you to some grassroots police officers when I have time; it'll be beneficial for your future school operations."
I had only hung up the phone for less than three minutes when the phone next to the young police officer rang. While busy with his work, he said into the phone, "Oh, oh, who is this? Okay."
He put down the phone, looked up at me, and said, "You guys can go now."
I was also puzzled, wondering what method Lao Fei had come up with. I pulled Cheng Fengshou toward the door, and halfway there, I saw the young policeman stand up as if he had suddenly realized something, and said in a daze, "That just now... seemed to be our bureau chief."
Chapter Sixty: Gathering of Heroes
Now I know who Lao Fei was referring to as the "grassroots comrade." But thinking about it, it makes sense. The only people who can get close to the National Security Bureau are at the bureau chief level. If he really got the grassroots police involved, things would just get more and more complicated.
Cheng Fengshou and the others seemed a little embarrassed as they followed me out. The honest farmer took my hand and said apologetically, "Team Leader Xiao, we're sorry to have troubled you."
As I pulled my hand back from his plier-like grip, I said, "Of course, of course. What are your plans now?"
Cheng Fengshou said, "The train is also delayed, so we can only book another ticket."
I glanced at their simple luggage and knew they were short of money, so I said, "How about this, come and stay at the school with me for a few days, and don't worry about the train tickets."
Cheng Fengshou: "Is this... appropriate?"
Just then, I saw a group of people crouching low and sneaking out of the police station. I shouted, "Stop! Did you say you could leave?"
Xiao Liu turned around in alarm to look at the busy young policeman and said nervously, "Brother Qiang, don't shout!"
I glanced at the eager farmers with a grin and said, "Alright, I won't shout, and you'd better not shout either." Cheng Fengshou and his group intentionally or unintentionally surrounded Xiao Liu and his group. These farmers cherished their reputation immensely. Not only had Xiao Liu and his friends missed their train, but they had also spent half a day at the police station practicing horse stance and squatting. The latter alone was enough to make them seethe with resentment. Now that both sides had come out, it seemed these shrewd guys were about to unleash their temper.
Xiao Liu's eyes darted around. The villagers surrounded him in groups of 20, leaving a gap in front of him; it seemed he was planning to slip through that opening. Just then, a burly man jumped out of the van opposite him. He got out and shouted, "Qiangzi, you got the person out? What happened?" As he spoke, he slammed the van door shut, causing the van to creak and leave long, black tire tracks under all four wheels, stretching for about half a meter—a terrifying sight.
Bao Jin walked over and blocked the gap, arms crossed, and asked in a booming voice, "Who's who?"
Xiao Liu looked up at the towering, burly man and said in a tearful voice, "Can't we just go back?" He then led the way into the police station, and the two villagers gloated and made way for him—it seems they also have a shameless side.
I saw Xiao Liu and his group walking tragically toward the young policeman. I thought to myself that they were just a few petty thugs who hadn't committed any heinous crimes. Besides, there was no need to let this grudge fester. So I waved my hand and said, "Forget it, get lost."
Xiao Liu and the others hurriedly bowed to me several times with gratitude. He had only taken a few steps when he turned back and asked me, "Brother Qiang, did you own Yucai School?"
I asked with a stern face, "What's wrong?"
"...Do you need any help?"
I sized him up a few times: "I'm short of cooks and firewood at my place. You didn't want to come here, did you?"
Xiao Liu slapped his thigh: "Cooking and tending the fire is our profession." As he spoke, he pulled over a very familiar-looking thug and said to me, "See this? This is our Brother Tang. His family's Xiangji Wonton is a recipe passed down from our ancestors."
I took a closer look at "Brother Tom" and recognized him—it was the guy Jing Ke pushed into the soup pot that day. It seems this century-old soup really does have a lot of nourishing properties; Brother Tom's skin is so smooth and tender now. I laughed, "Is this all the stuff a century-old shop produces?"
Xiao Liu said with a bitter face, "Isn't this what we're forced to do? We might be a bit of a slacker, but the wontons at Xiangji are absolutely top-notch. After you guys left last time, we couldn't stay there any longer. Nobody wanted us for proper work, so we had to take this job. To be honest, it's not our specialty, so it's really not going to work. We haven't stolen a single penny these past two days. We just grabbed two travel bags—one with old clothes, and the other with an urn. It's so creepy, and we even had to pay for transportation to send it back..."
I kept a straight face and said, "Can you guarantee you'll work well if you go to my place?"
Xiao Liu patted his chest and said, "We used to be a hoodlum because we had no other choice. Who doesn't want to live an honest life? If you take us in, there's no question. A scholar will die for one who understands him—" He nudged Tom next to him, "What was the next line again?"
Tom Cruise: "One woman cannot serve two husbands."
Xiao Liu said, "That's right, a woman cannot serve two husbands!"
I laughed and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Let's hire a car and come back to school with me."
Now that Xiao Liu had surrendered, the villagers had no choice but to lower their guard. Xiao Liu had specially hired two minibuses. He and a bunch of thugs sat in the back one, while I put the Red Sun Team's luggage in the van and led the way with Cheng Fengshou and Bao Jin.
Cheng Fengshou looked at Bao Jin and asked, "Is this brother also a martial arts expert?"
Bao Jin chuckled: "It's been many years since I've practiced."
Cheng Fengshou said, "It must be a family-inherited skill, right? Just now, I could tell you'd put in a lot of hard work for that move."
Bao Jin scratched his head and said, "Let's say that's true."
Then, the two chatted happily about everything from the outer five gates of martial arts to the inner gates of martial arts. When they got to the point, Cheng Fengshou grabbed Bao Jin's hand and asked, "Brother, where are you working now?"
Without hesitation, Bao Jin replied, "I'm a worker in a machine factory, I tighten screws—"
Cheng Fengshou stood there speechless for a long time, then finally sighed, "Team Leader Xiao's friends are truly a hidden force of talent."
When the car arrived at the school, as Cheng Fengshou and Bao Jin were carrying the Red Sun team members' luggage out, a burly, dark-skinned man, clutching two massive bricks, stormed up from the nearby construction site, yelling. Two workers chased after him, shouting, "Give us back the steps—!"
When the burly, dark-skinned man got close, I realized it was Li Kui. He was carrying two 40x60 floor tiles in his hand, and without saying a word, he brought one of the tiles down on Bao Jin's head, cursing, "You bastard surnamed Deng, you're asking for death!"
It took me a few seconds to realize that Bao Jin was just like Deng Yuanjue in his eyes. I had forgotten about this because of Xiao Liu and the others' mess.
Bao Jin dodged to the side and struck Li Kui's wrist, which was already worn out from the attack, expecting to knock the brick off the floor tile. Unexpectedly, Li Kui was determined to fight to the death, holding on tightly and refusing to let go. With a crash, the brick smashed the van door into a streamlined shape. At this moment, Li Kui's other hand was already poised to strike, but Cheng Fengshou stopped him, advising, "Brother, let's talk this out."
Enraged, Li Kui no longer recognized Cheng Fengshou. Swinging his arms, he shouted, "Who said you're my brother?" and began hacking and slashing with his axe. Cheng Fengshou and Bao Jin, not wanting to hurt him, attacked from both sides, trying to seize a brick. Li Kui used the brick as an axe; though awkward, his strength allowed him to fight the two men to a standstill. The three men and their bricks clashed in a chaotic melee, kicking up dust, their movements as swift as a mutated moth.
As soon as Xiao Liuzi got off the bus, there was a commotion to watch. But since he already considered himself a member of Yucai, he stepped forward and asked, "Hey guys, what's going on?"
I yelled at him from inside the car, "Go back! Don't you want to live?" Before I finished speaking, Li Kui swept a brick across his head, sending a few tufts of white hair fluttering in the wind. Xiao Liu cried out "Ouch!" and immediately lay down, crawling in the opposite direction, displaying remarkable escape skills.
Just then, Lin Chong came running from a distance, grabbing a shovel from one of the workers. He went behind Li Kui, placed the shovel head next to Li Kui's legs, and with a flick of his wrist, Li Kui was caught off guard and fell flat on his back. The two workers waiting behind him reacted quickly, each grabbing a brick and running away as fast as they could.