In a small four-person booth, Xu Zhengyang, determined not to let his sister lose face in front of her classmates, frantically ordered from the menu: chicken, duck, a plate of braised pork knuckle, a plate of shrimp... He picked the most expensive items on the menu, filling the table with dishes without any courtesy, and completely took it upon himself to order.
Although the prices on the menu made his heart ache when he ordered.
Habitually meticulous with his money, he had already roughly calculated in his mind that this meal... good heavens, it's over four hundred yuan!
"I'm rich now! Hundreds of thousands!" he comforted himself.
"Brother, can we finish all this food?" Xu Rouyue was quite helpless about her brother's behavior. You know, this is not our rural hometown. Ordering more and more expensive dishes doesn't make you seem rich and generous.
"It's alright, try them all!" Xu Zhengyang acted like a nouveau riche.
It wasn't that Xu Zhengyang genuinely wanted to be a nouveau riche; it's just that he felt there was no need to deliberately imitate the manners and sophistication of city dwellers. He knew his own limitations. Trying to imitate someone else's walk was like trying to walk blindly—it could easily backfire and make him seem pretentious.
He always believed that it was right to be a genuine villain rather than a hypocrite.
The same principle applies to this kind of situation.
Of course, they wouldn't be so stingy as to offer a bowl of tofu pudding to get by; after all, they really do have money! Hundreds of thousands!
Ouyang Ying laughed and said, "If we can't finish it, we'll pack it up and take it home. Rouyue, we don't need to cook for the next two days, hehe..."
"Take it back?" Xu Zhengyang was taken aback. Although he had heard of taking leftovers home, he had never actually considered doing so. Of course, this was also because the concept of taking leftovers home wasn't deeply ingrained in the rural area. In the village, it was considered shameful to take leftovers home from a restaurant—well, to put it bluntly, it was being stingy and concerned with saving face. Xu Zhengyang was too lazy to think about taking it home now; he just wanted his own low manners to highlight his sister's high manners and make her feel good. "It's okay, it's okay, eat and drink as much as you want. Oh, and you should get some drinks and juice too. Um, Ouyang Ying, do you drink alcohol?"
"Okay, I'll have beer."
"Then, five bottles of beer, please!" Xu Zhengyang waved his hand generously. "Rouyue, a bottle of juice, the best of the best!"
Xu Rouyue was taken aback, while Ouyang Ying was both amused and exasperated.
"Damn it, everything in this damn capital is so expensive! Five yuan for a bottle of beer?" Xu Zhengyang thought to himself, feeling a sharp pain in his wallet.
Xu Zhengyang, who never even considered taking leftovers home, naturally couldn't bear to waste such a large table of delicious food. So while urging Ouyang Ying and his sister to eat and drink, he kept drinking beer and stuffing himself. He was convinced that the more he filled his stomach, the less he would waste.
"Yingying, you...you're not allowed to laugh at my brother." Xu Rouyue felt embarrassed as she watched Ouyang Ying secretly smirk. She leaned close to Ouyang Ying's ear and said shyly.
"No, really no." Ouyang Ying smiled earnestly, "I think your brother is so cute!"
"Go away..."
"How about I become your sister-in-law? Hehe..."
Xu Rouyue was taken aback, then noticed Ouyang Ying's mischievous grin. Blushing, she retorted, "Great! I'd love to have a rich sister-in-law like you. Should I talk to my brother for you?"
“Hehe…” Ouyang Ying’s face turned red as she joked.
Xu Zhengyang, sitting opposite, naturally didn't hear the private jokes the two girls were telling. However, he did hear the younger sister's last sentence. So he put down his chopsticks, took a sip of beer, swallowed the food in his mouth, and said with a righteous expression, "What do you want to tell me? Just say it..." The implication was that he would do anything for her.
Ouyang Ying and Xu Rouyue burst out laughing at the same time, thoroughly enjoying themselves. They shook their heads repeatedly, denying that they needed Brother Xu Zhengyang to go through fire and water to help them with anything.
Just then, the "Mice Love Rice" bell rang in the small cubicle.
Ouyang Ying smiled as she took her phone out of her bag, then her expression changed, and she said, "It's a call from Xia Dan..."
"Does she already know?"
"It must be..."
When the call connected, Ouyang Ying pretended to be calm and said, "Xia Dan, where are you? Rouyue is here. We're eating at Laifu Dumpling Restaurant. Come over quickly."
Xu Zhengyang pondered the changes in his sister and Ouyang Ying's expressions earlier, and naturally thought of Xia Dan's boyfriend, who was Huang Chen's friend, right? They already knew about the situation, and next... it should be about medical expenses compensation. It's no wonder Xu Zhengyang thought this way; he believed that when young people got into a fight and injured each other, it was simply a matter of settling things with money through a mutual acquaintance.
Just as Xu Zhengyang was pondering whether to pay compensation to eliminate the resentment and prevent his sister from developing hatred or suffering unnecessary harassment and bullying while studying here, he suddenly felt a clear stream flow through his mind, filling his entire being. It was an extremely comfortable feeling. Compared to before, this feeling was much stronger, as if it were about to burst out of his head, clearly telling Xu Zhengyang that this petition was very important.
A chill ran through my right palm, and a local recording appeared.
Xu Rouyue stared longingly at Ouyang Ying's face, while Ouyang Ying listened with a frown to Xia Dan's words. Neither of them noticed that a flawless white jade stone had appeared out of thin air in Xu Zhengyang's hand.
Because Xu Zhengyang had shown the local recording to Yao Chushun on the train, and considering that this thing would likely resurface frequently in the future, there was no need to be too secretive in front of others. The principle that this would backfire was easy to understand. Therefore, Xu Zhengyang simply stopped trying to hide the fact that he possessed this item.
He had thought that whenever that feeling appeared in his mind, he should immediately put his right hand into his pocket and then take it out again, so as not to be accused of magic. However, this time the clear current in his mind appeared too strongly, causing him to overlook this small detail.
Xu Zhengyang placed his right hand on his knee, lowered his head, and squinted at the local record.
The local record shows that Cao Gangchuan's mother was burning incense and making a plea in front of the land temple that had been demolished and was about to be rebuilt. She knelt down and cried bitterly.
The intermittent sobs and confiding made Xu Zhengyang sweat and feel a surge of anger.
Cao Gangchuan has been arrested by the police!
His mother didn't explain why, she just kept crying and saying that her son was innocent, that he hadn't stolen anything, let alone robbed anyone, and begged the local earth god to help her son and stop him from being wronged...
Xu Zhengyang was very suspicious. He was getting impatient with Aunt Cao's complaints. "Get to the point! What exactly happened?"
With a thought, the image disappeared, and lines of text began to appear on the jade, briefly explaining the whole story of Cao Gangchuan's affair to Xu Zhengyang.
Last night, on National Highway 107 in the Huaxiang section, the finance office of Haigang Construction Company in Futou Town was burglarized. The safe was pried open, and more than 30,000 yuan in workers' wages were stolen. According to the old man who guarded the building, there were two perpetrators. He noticed some noise inside the building and rushed over to check, only to be hit on the head with sticks by two masked thugs and knocked unconscious.
When he woke up, he was bound with ropes and his mouth was stuffed with a rag.
Old Wang shuffled his body little by little to the outside of the yard before being spotted by a passing patrol car.
Coincidentally, yesterday afternoon, a construction team from Shuanghe Village, led by Zhang Zhong, went to Haigang Construction Company to demand six months' worth of back wages, and a conflict ensued with the company's owner and some of its staff. Cao Gangchuan and Zhang Hao were both present, and the two hot-blooded young men impulsively pointed at Guo Haigang, the owner of Haigang Construction Company, and shouted angrily, "If you dare to default on your debts, we'll smash up your company! Do you want your son to have his arms and legs broken again?"
More than a year ago, Chen Chaojiang was sentenced to prison, during which Guo Haigang's son, Guo Tian, had his right arm and right leg broken.
Guo Haigang sneered, "The money is in the company's finance office, but I need it urgently right now, so I can't give it to you! You little brat, keep talking big, come and rob me if you dare!"
"Damn it, if they don't pay me, I'll rob them today!" Cao Gangchuan roared, about to make a move!
This remark nearly sparked a brawl, with both sides pushing and shoving each other, the situation escalating to the point of no return. Fortunately, the police arrived promptly and mediated the situation.
Guo Haigang told the police that the company was experiencing financial difficulties, so he asked Zhang Zhong's construction team to wait a while longer. He assured them that he wouldn't default on the debt, but he simply couldn't pay them now because the money in the finance department was for other purposes.
Fortunately, although Haigang Construction Company was nominally located in Futou Town, its address was actually in Huaxiang Township, and Guo Haigang was originally from Guogongzhuang Village in Huaxiang Township. Therefore, with a thought from Xu Zhengyang, the scene of the incident that day was clearly displayed on the jade stone, just like a movie playing.
Xu Zhengyang frowned, wondering if Cao Gangchuan and Zhang Hao were really so angry that they went and robbed the money that night. Given Cao Gangchuan's temperament, he might actually dare to do it!
The local recording flashed briefly, indicating that Cao Gangchuan and Zhang Hao were not responsible for this incident.
Instead… it was Guo Tian and another close friend who did it, their sole purpose being to frame Cao Gangchuan. Whether Cao Gangchuan would actually go to jail was another matter; the point was to make him suffer first. Guo Tian didn't care whether the police would solve the case. After doing it, he immediately told his father. Guo Haigang was somewhat angry at his son's naiveté, but since the police already knew about the robbery and theft at the company, he had no choice but to go along with his son's wishes. Besides, he was also somewhat angry about the Shuanghe Village construction team's disturbance at the company. In any case, no matter how much the police investigated, they wouldn't suspect him or his son.
Therefore, when Guo Haigang was being questioned by the police, he mentioned the behavior of Cao Gangchuan and Zhang Hao when they caused a scene at the company that day, as well as some past conflicts and grudges with Guo Tian.
Cao Gangchuan and Zhang Hao were naturally taken away for investigation.
What worried Xu Zhengyang was that the police station in charge of the case was not Huaxiang Police Station, but Futou Town Police Station. Futou Town belongs to Fuxin District of Fuhe City. This theft case was much more serious than ordinary theft cases because the old man guarding the gate, Wang, was violently beaten and tied up at the time of the incident. It should be noted that armed robbery and theft are two completely different concepts.
No! We have to go back right away! Xu Zhengyang slapped his forehead and said, "Rouyue, let's leave tonight."
Because he was worried about Cao Gangchuan, Xu Zhengyang didn't notice Ouyang Ying's expression while she was on the phone, nor did he hear that she seemed to be arguing with someone.
After saying she was going home, she noticed that her younger sister looked tense and scared, with tears in her eyes. Ouyang Ying, on the other hand, was furious and said into the phone, "Xia Dan, don't you know what kind of person Rouyue is? Huang Chen and the others deserved to be beaten. Who told them to harass Rouyue every day? You're not speaking up for Rouyue, but for Huang Chen?"
"I'm not going to talk to him, I can't be bothered with him!"
"What's wrong with Yu Xuan? Does he think they're all big shots?"
...
Volume 1 Land Chapter 26 I Don't Like Being Intimidated
It's unclear what exactly was said on the phone, but Ouyang Ying hung up in extreme anger.
Then, Ouyang Ying seemed to remember Xu Zhengyang's words that he would leave tonight. Her almond-shaped eyes widened, and she said angrily, "What are you afraid of? I'm not leaving. I want to see what they can do, hmph!" Her implication was that she thought Xu Zhengyang had overheard what she said on the phone earlier, which was why he wanted to leave Beijing as soon as possible to avoid trouble.
Xu Zhengyang gave a helpless, bitter smile. Of course he was worried, but what was the use of worrying now that the deed was done?
So what if we got into a fight and someone got injured and we have to pay compensation? No problem, I'm rich now!
"Yingying, don't be angry..." Xu Rouyue said hesitantly, her eyes filled with tears, "How about I call him and apologize..."
"No need!" Xu Zhengyang waved his hand, interrupting his sister. "Did you do anything wrong? Why should you apologize?"
Xu Rouyue turned to look at her brother, unsure of what to say.
"Exactly! If anyone should apologize, it should be them!" Ouyang Ying angrily grabbed Xu Rouyue's hand, pouting as she said, "I'm not afraid of them at all, hmph!"
Xu Zhengyang shook his head. A willful and proud girl like that, she'd say she wasn't afraid no matter what, but what good is being fearless? It's not something that can be solved by simply saying a few tough words to appear unapproachable. Just like when he went to pick up Rouyue before, Ouyang Ying comforted Xu Rouyue on the phone, saying, "Don't be afraid, I'm here..."
What effect would your presence have? Well, at least it would deter the other party from resorting to forceful tactics.
In reality, the other party still doesn't take you seriously, and even dragged you into their teasing.
"Alright, don't be angry or worried. I've already beaten him up. Do whatever you want, it's no big deal." Xu Zhengyang waved his hand and frowned, saying, "Let's eat quickly. We have to get to the train station soon and go home tonight." He was worried about Cao Gangchuan's situation, although he hadn't yet figured out how to help Cao Gangchuan when he got back.
"What's the rush?" Ouyang Ying said, pouting. "You're leaving so soon after you arrive? Are you scared?"
"There's an emergency at home, um, I have to go back right away." Xu Zhengyang said with a wry smile, "I'll come to see Rouyue off when school starts. Oh, by the way, shouldn't they pay some medical expenses or something... Never mind, let's just consider it a loss to avoid trouble later. I'll agree to it to save myself the trouble." As he spoke, Xu Zhengyang took out five hundred yuan and handed it to Ouyang Ying. "We have to rush back tonight. This money, um, please give it to your friend, what's her name again? Oh, Xia Dan, right? Just give it to her. After all, she's your friend, don't make her feel awkward as a middleman..."
Ouyang Ying looked at the five hundred yuan placed in front of her and was immediately at a loss for words. "You country bumpkin brother, should I call you generous or stupid? You think five hundred yuan can solve the problem? Leaving aside whether it's a small amount or not, given their circumstances over there, would they care about such a small medical expense? Would they be willing to let you pay some money and be done with it?"
"Brother, they won't ask for money." Xu Rouyue didn't know how to explain to her brother.
"You think it's too little?" Xu Zhengyang sneered. He could guess that five hundred yuan was nothing to a rich kid driving a car, but he didn't expect that the other party wasn't trying to save face by asking for medical expenses or anything like that. In Xu Zhengyang's mind, the outcome of tonight's fight was completely unrelated to medical expenses; it was just a swollen face and a bleeding nose, right?
If the other party really intended to use this incident to make exorbitant demands and extort money, that would be absolutely unacceptable. Xu Zhengyang, who was meticulous to the point of being stingy, was unwilling to spend any more money to compensate the other party for medical expenses that they didn't actually need.
As for whether Huang Chen will cause trouble for his sister again in the future, well... that's a worrying matter, we'll discuss it later!
"Alright, it's settled then. Don't overthink it. Let's eat quickly, and then we'll go." Xu Zhengyang picked up his chopsticks and started eating and drinking.
It seems they didn't really take this matter too seriously.
"Yingying, don't be angry anymore, let's eat." Seeing her brother like this, Xu Rouyue felt much more at ease. Ever since she could remember, she had been used to her brother standing up for her, supporting her, and venting her anger. So, she blindly trusted him, even though she knew that he might not be able to really back her up in this matter, and that he might even cause more trouble by hitting someone. But as her brother said, what's the use of worrying now that it's already happened?
"I'm not eating anymore, I'm full!" Ouyang Ying was still angry, and besides, she had already eaten some food, so she didn't have much of an appetite.
As she was speaking, her phone rang again. Ouyang Ying picked it up and looked at it, then said angrily, "It's Yu Xuan calling."
The call had already connected, and the other end probably wanted Xu Rouyue to take the call. Ouyang Ying handed the phone to Xu Rouyue and said, "Yu Xuan wants to talk to you, Rouyue, don't be afraid of him! Humph!"
Xu Zhengyang, who was drinking and eating heartily with his head down, raised an eyebrow.
Xu Rouyue hesitated before taking the phone, then stammered, "Hello..."
Perhaps the other party had said something rather forceful, because tears welled up in Xu Rouyue's eyes as she anxiously said, "No, I really don't like him. Tell him not to come looking for me again..."
Because of Cao Gangchuan's matter, Xu Zhengyang was in a bad mood. Seeing his sister crying with fear and anxiety, he put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a napkin, got up and walked to Xu Rouyue, holding out his hand and saying, "Give it to me, I'll talk to him."
Before Xu Rouyue could hesitate, Xu Zhengyang had already taken the phone from his sister's hand. He leaned against the table with one hand, held the phone to his ear with the other, straightened his back, and tilted his head back slightly. He didn't bother to listen to what the other person was saying, and said coldly, "I'm Xu Rouyue's brother, Xu Zhengyang. I'm the one who hit him. Your buddy deserved it..."
After a slight pause, as if listening to what the other person was saying, Xu Zhengyang coldly said, "I left five hundred yuan with Ouyang Ying as Huang Chen's medical expenses. Hmm, since you're the middleman, then pass on my message to Huang Chen: if he dares to harass my sister again, I don't mind taking out a few thousand more yuan to break his arms and legs..."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not a big shot, and I don't brag."
"Hey buddy, watch your tone. I don't like being intimidated."
"Then let's not say anything more, let's just leave it at that."