Li Yang stroked her soft, long hair, looking at the tightly closed door, and thought to himself, "Mom must have been taken to the hospital, Dad and Aunt Qiu must be in the hospital, and this little girl is here waiting for me."
"Which hospital?" Li Yang knew he couldn't delay any longer, so he pushed Zhao Ran aside and asked.
"At the city's central hospital." Zhao Ran named a well-known hospital in the city, which was also relatively close to their community. Ambulances usually came from there.
"Okay. Let's go right away." Li Yang grabbed the girl and strode towards the intersection, hailing a taxi and heading straight for the city's central hospital.
On the way to the city hospital, Li Yang basically understood the situation, and the little girl recounted the whole story, crying and talking at the same time.
It turns out that Mom went to trade stocks with Aunt Qiu again today. I guess Mom has been on a winning streak lately, buying stocks and seeing them rise. She's quite the stock market guru in the lobby.
Today they went to close out their positions and sell their goods, and the two of them made a small profit again. In the past few days, Mom and Aunt Qiu have made a total of over ten thousand yuan.
Although it's not a huge amount, for small investors, turning a few thousand yuan into tens of thousands of yuan through stock trading is an incredible feat.
It was probably because of her fame that she got into trouble. A few thugs who frequented the area got wind of it from some bastard and learned about Mom and Aunt Qiu's amazing feats.
They came out to freeload, and of course, Mom and Aunt Qiu weren't going to give away their hard-earned money. So these audacious and fearless bastards attacked and robbed them, even beating Mom. Aunt Qiu, who had less money, didn't struggle much, only suffering some minor injuries.
It is said that my mother's injuries were very serious; she broke her arm and had many abrasions and impact marks on her body.
Hearing this, Li Yang was so angry he almost exploded. He slammed his hand on the seat, and with a "poof," the cushion instantly turned into shreds that scattered at his feet, and the sofa seat cracked open, revealing the base underneath.
The driver only felt the car suddenly jolt, and his buttocks were immediately thrown up. If the seat belt hadn't been tightly fastened to him, his head would have hit the roof of the car hard!
"Crunch..."
The car screeched to a halt with a sudden, ear-piercing screech of brakes. The driver, startled and bewildered, turned around and cried out, "What happened? My car! It was just recently renovated..."
"Is this enough?" Li Yang pulled out a wad of cash and slammed it into the driver's hand, his voice cold. He didn't have time for idle chatter; he was furious and afraid that if the driver kept arguing, he would lose his temper and not only ruin the driver's beat-up car, but also the driver himself!
"Enough, enough!" The driver stopped arguing. Since there was money to compensate, he would accept it. He couldn't afford to mess with this guy. How could a single slap cause such a consequence? Was he even human?
Li Yang pulled Zhao Ran straight to the ward. When they arrived at the ward door, it was open. Standing at the door, Li Yang looked inside and saw his mother lying on the hospital bed, looking tired and haggard, with bandages on her back and receiving an IV drip.
Li Yang suddenly realized that his mother looked older now. She had crow's feet around her eyes, forehead wrinkles, and even her eyes weren't as bright as they used to be.
Li Yang, who hadn't cried in a long time, couldn't help but have tears well up in his eyes.
My father stood to one side, head bowed and sighing, his face full of grief and indignation, his fists clenching and unclenching several times.
"Old Li, I'm fine, aren't I? It's such a waste of money. Yangyang is about to go to university and needs the money!" Mom said regretfully as she lay on the hospital bed.
Dad sighed and said, "Don't think about money. As long as you're alright, this little bit of money is nothing. I'll figure something out!"
“Yes, Lao Jin, as long as he’s alright, that’s the most important thing. Money can be earned back. My Xiao Ran is still young, so she doesn’t need that much money right now. When Li Yang goes to college and doesn’t have money, I will definitely do my best to help him!” Aunt Qiu stood to the side with her hand wrapped in bandages. Her injury was not serious, and she had not been arranged to be hospitalized.
"Hey, are you coming in or not?" A woman's coquettish voice suddenly came from the side.
Li Yang glanced to the side and saw a nurse in white carrying medicine, apparently about to check on his mother.
Li Yang quickly wiped away his tears and made way for him.
Seeing his expression, the nurse realized he was probably a patient's family member, and immediately became much more polite, saying sympathetically, "The patient is not in any danger, and will be discharged with virtually no aftereffects. Don't be too sad."
"Thank you," Li Yang said with difficulty.
The nurse went inside, but Li Yang didn't enter the ward. Instead, he said to Zhao Ran, who was sobbing softly to his side, "Ran, don't mention that I was here later, okay?"
"Brother Li Yang, where are you going? Are you going to avenge Auntie? There are so many of them, and they're really fierce. I'm afraid you're no match for them!" Zhao Ran grabbed Li Yang's arm and said nervously.
"Don't worry, I know my place. You go in first and talk to them for a while. I'll be right back!" Li Yang patted Xiao Ran's head and turned to leave the hospital.
Chapter 178: Sadness and Anger
Li Yang arrived at the entrance of the securities company that his mother frequented. Since it had just happened that morning, it was still hot news, and all the aunts and uncles were discussing it together.
Li Yang quickly learned about the gang of thugs. Their leader was a idiot named Monkey Brother who often caused a ruckus in the nearby bars and billiard halls. He had a dozen or so low-class thugs under his command.
He idles away his time, engaging in petty theft, extorting money from middle-aged and elderly women, and then using the money to pick up girls in bars, have sex in hotels, play billiards, go to bars, or surf the internet—he just doesn't do anything worthwhile.
That day, under Monkey's leadership, a few guys ran out of money and were thinking of going out to pick a fight with someone, get some pocket money to go back and have a drink and a big plate of chicken. Just then, Li Yang's mother and Aunt Qiu came over in high spirits. But when they saw that the two were both weak women and middle-aged, they thought it would be stupid not to help them!
So a group of people surrounded the two and tried to rob them. But it was broad daylight, the sun was high in the sky, and this money didn't grow on trees—who would give it to them?
So, in a fit of rage, Monkey and his gang beat up Li Yang's mother and Aunt Qiu. Aunt Qiu didn't have much money, and since her family had a supermarket that made money, she didn't care about the small amount and let go. But Li Yang's mother had nearly ten thousand yuan, all of which she had earned through hard work, staying up late and burning the midnight oil.
They absolutely refused to let go, and that's how Li Yang's mother met with this tragic end. Her money was also stolen in the end.
Li Yang almost ground his teeth to powder after hearing this. Damn it, these bastards deserve to die. He strode straight to the bar they often frequented, a second-rate bar frequented by thugs and idiots. Occasionally, a few pretty young girls would come by, but they would be scared away by the lecherous behavior of these guys.
Even in broad daylight, the bar, like those brothels and bathhouses, wasn't open to customers. The area in front was deserted, the roller shutter was half down, and a few dilapidated cars were parked sparsely in front of it.
"Boom—"
Li Yang arrived at the bar's door, but instead of opening it, he channeled his energy and slammed his palm onto the roller shutter. A clear palm print appeared on the shutter, and the door shook violently, sending dust flying!
"Damn it! That damn bastard is asking for death—" A loud shout suddenly came from inside the bar, and five or six disheveled, arrogant young thugs rushed out, each holding a pool cue, and surrounded Li Yang as they crouched down and crawled out of the bar.
"Who are you? What do you want? Are you here to cause trouble?" Monkey King squinted at Li Yang and asked tentatively.
"So you're Monkey King?" Li Yang asked coldly instead of answering.
"Damn it, who do you care who I am? I'm asking you, are you looking to die?" Monkey Brother cursed, pointing his pool cue at Li Yang's chest.
"Monkey, Monkey King, look, what's that over there?"
Monkey King stood with his back to the roll-up door, facing Li Yang directly. Suddenly, one of Li Yang's henchmen pointed at the roll-up door and cried out in alarm to Monkey King.