Chapter 36 Days of Recuperation

Fang Che was awakened by the pain.

The burning pain in his left shoulder, mixed with the smell of disinfectant and herbs, pulled him back to reality.

He struggled to open his eyes.

The vision was initially blurry, but gradually became clear...

The ceiling was faded, cobwebs hung in the corner, and a "black-faced demon" sat by the bed.

Li Hanzhou was looking down, using tweezers to hold a cotton ball and wipe around the wound on his shoulder.

The movements were steady, but Fang Che could feel that the tips of the tweezers trembled slightly each time the cotton ball fell.

"Brother Li...?" Fang Che's throat was as dry as if it had been sanded by sandpaper as soon as he opened his mouth.

Li Hanzhou stopped moving and looked up at him.

Their eyes met.

Fang Che saw emotions he had never seen before surging in those usually calm phoenix eyes.

"Awake?" Li Hanzhou's voice was low and somewhat hoarse.

"Hmm..." Fang Che tried to move, but a sharp pain immediately shot through his left shoulder. He gasped, "What's wrong with me...?"

"It took twelve stitches." Li Hanzhou put down the tweezers, picked up the enamel mug that was warming up, which contained brown medicinal soup, and said, "Uncle Chen said the incision was off by an inch, but it didn't damage any tendons or bones. However, there was a lot of blood loss, so he needs to be recuperated."

He scooped up a spoonful of medicine and held it to Fang Che's lips: "Drink it."

Fang Che looked at the dark medicine and instinctively wanted to hide, but Li Hanzhou's gaze made him not dare to move.

He obediently opened his mouth, and the bitter taste exploded instantly, causing his entire face to scrunch up.

"Hmm... what is this... even more ruthless than the old Chinese medicine doctor from our backyard..."

"It's for replenishing qi and blood." Li Hanzhou fed him with another spoonful, his movements not gentle, but careful, not spilling a single drop. "Uncle Chen's prescription, drink it for three days."

Fang Che swallowed with a bitter expression, and his mind gradually cleared.

"Where's Brother Gui?!" He suddenly sat up. "Is Brother Gui alright? And what about Tiezi?!"

"Lie down." Li Hanzhou placed one hand on his right shoulder, the pressure light but not forceful. "Agui has stitches in his arm and is resting next door. Cheng Tieniu has a minor abrasion and is guarding outside."

Fang Che breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back onto the bed.

After pausing for a moment, he remembered something and looked at Li Hanzhou with bright eyes: "Brother Li, does this count as... being injured on duty? Is there any compensation? Like... being able to eat a couple more meals of pork stew with vermicelli?"

Li Hanzhou remained silent.

He put down the empty medicine bowl, looked at Fang Che's pale, bloodless face that was forcing a smile, and his temple twitched slightly.

This piece of wood, having just escaped death, is still thinking about food.

“Yes.” Li Hanzhou stood up, picked up the oil paper package from the counter, opened it, and found a steaming char siu bun and a bowl of warm porridge. “Drink the porridge first. Uncle Chen said you can only eat light food.”

Fang Che's eyes lit up even more, and he wanted to reach out and take it, but the pain in his left shoulder prevented him from moving, so he could only watch longingly.

Li Hanzhou sat down by the bed, picked up a bowl, scooped out some porridge, blew on it, and brought it to his lips.

Fang Che was flattered and almost bit the spoon when he opened his mouth.

The boss personally fed him! This injury was worth it!

He sipped his porridge slowly, stealing glances at Li Hanzhou as he did so.

Li Hanzhou lowered his eyes, focusing on the movements in his hands. His profile appeared softer than usual in the dim light.

But Fang Che could sense that the oppressive atmosphere around him hadn't dissipated.

"Brother Li," Fang Che swallowed his porridge and asked softly, "How is Mad Dog Qiang...?"

“In the warehouse.” Li Hanzhou said calmly, “A Biao is ‘greeting’ him.”

Fang Che felt a chill on his neck.

He could imagine what "greeting" meant.

"What about... Jiang Tianqi?"

“He sent someone with gifts.” Li Hanzhou’s lips curled into a cold smile. “He said his subordinates were ignorant and had been ‘dealt with.’ He paid for their medical expenses and gave them the operating rights to two small casinos on Portland Street.”

Fang Che was stunned: "He gave in?"

“It’s not admitting defeat, it’s distancing ourselves.” Li Hanzhou fed him another spoonful of porridge. “Mad Dog Qiang acted on his own, and Jiang Tianqi used him as a pawn. Those two casinos were originally useless, but he used them to exchange for peace. He’s very good at calculating.”

"Then shall we accept it?"

"Why not take it?" Li Hanzhou glanced at him. "It's free territory, only a fool wouldn't take it. As for Mad Dog Qiang... if Jiang Tianqi won't deal with him, we will."

Fang Che understood.

Jiang Tianqi sacrificed a pawn to save the king, while Brother Li used a clever plan to gain both practical benefits and witness testimony.

"Brother Li is brilliant!" He instinctively tried to flatter him, but the movement aggravated his wound, causing him to grimace.

Li Hanzhou put down the empty bowl, picked up the char siu bao, broke it into small pieces, and fed it to him one by one.

Eat slowly.

Fang Che chewed on the fragrant char siu, feeling warm inside.

Brother Li may have a cold face, but he's genuinely good to his brothers.

“Oh right, Brother Li,” he suddenly remembered, “before I passed out, I think I heard you say… that you wanted to equip my ‘Chefeng Express’ with a tricycle?”

"Hmm." Li Hanzhou wiped his mouth with a tissue. "Agui suggested it. He said your kids are too slow running on foot, so it would be more efficient to have a few tricycles."

Fang Che almost choked.

Ah Gui? That Ah Gui who always disliked him?

Not only did they not blame him, they even applied for equipment for him?

"Brother Gui...did he really say that?"

“He said,” Li Hanzhou looked at him, repeating each word carefully, “'Fang Che is brave and loyal. He's not a pretty boy, he's a real man. His team of kids is useful, they deserve some decent support.'”

Fang Che felt a lump in his throat.

These words coming from Ah Gui's mouth made him feel even better than winning ten fights.

"Brother Li..." His voice was a little hoarse, "I...I didn't let you down, did I?"

Li Hanzhou remained silent for a few seconds.

Then, he reached out and gently patted Fang Che's uninjured right shoulder.

“No,” he said. “You did a great job.”

Just those few words made Fang Che feel like his injuries didn't hurt anymore.

For the next two days, Fang Che became a "key protected animal" at the outpost.

Uncle Chen came every day to change his dressing, watching him drink the bitter soup.

Cheng Tieniu would cook soup for him in various ways, and although his cooking skills were still wild (once he tried to make "Northeast stew" but ended up with a pot of mush), his heart was full of love.

Xi Rong and the children would come in turns, each time bringing a small gift.

A piece of candy, a wildflower, or a piece of news heard from who-knows-where.

What Fang Che found most unsettling was A Gui's attitude.

Ghost Brother no longer looked at him with that "trash" gaze. Although he still had a stern face, he would occasionally ask about the recovery of his wounds, and even coldly pushed him back down when he tried to sneak out of bed to move around.

“Brother Gui,” Fang Che couldn’t help but ask, “You really don’t blame me? If I hadn’t insisted on going to the warehouse, none of this would have happened…”

"Shut up." Ah Gui interrupted him, peeling an apple that looked like it had been chewed by a dog. "It's my fault for not protecting you. Next time... don't be so stupid, just run away and don't worry about me."

"That won't do!" Fang Che retorted, "We're brothers, how can you abandon your brothers and run away!"

Ah Gui paused in his apple-peeling motion, said nothing, and then shoved the dented apple into his hand.

Fang Che munched on an apple, feeling a surge of joy.

This injury was worth it!

Having gained Brother Li's approval, he even managed to "gnaw" his way through Brother Gui, a tough nut to crack.

The days of recuperating from an injury weren't all warm.

Li Hanzhou would come to his room for a while every day, sometimes to feed him medicine, sometimes just to sit silently and process documents.

Fang Che could sense that Brother Li was busier than before, and there was a coldness between his brows.

There's been no movement from Ma Wang's side for the time being, but Xi Rong's children report that Ma Wang's men have been very active lately, as if they're transferring something.

Scarface and the tall, thin man never showed their faces again at the Kwai Chung pier after that day; they seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Lu Che did come here once.

Fang Che was leaning against the headboard listening to Xi Rong talk about what was happening on the street when A Gui led Lu Che in.

Lu Che remained composed, but upon seeing Fang Che's injury, his face showed concern: "How is Brother Fang's injury?"

"I won't die." Fang Che's tone was unconsciously barbed. "Mr. Lu, is there something you need?"

Lu Che didn't care and turned to Li Hanzhou: "Boss Li, I have results regarding the Fatty Cong you asked me to investigate."

Li Hanzhou put down the document: "Speak."

“Fatty Cong has been going to a newly opened mahjong parlor on Portland Street lately, not to play, but to meet people.” Lu Che pulled out a few secretly taken photos from his pocket. The angles were discreet, but you could see Fatty Cong whispering to a man wearing a gold chain in a corner. “This guy is called ‘Gold Tooth Chang.’ He’s ostensibly in the seafood wholesale business, but he’s actually an outer henchman of the Tung Sing Society, specializing in recruiting small-time bosses. Fatty Cong has met with him three times and received money from him twice. The amounts weren’t large, but the frequency was high.”

Fang Che leaned closer to take a look and was secretly shocked.

Lu Che is really efficient; he figured it out in less than a week.

Li Hanzhou picked up the photo and looked at it, his eyes turning cold.

Where is Fatty Cong?

"I'm at the mahjong parlor this afternoon 'to discuss business' with Jin Ya Chang," Lu Che said. "If Boss Li wants to catch us in the act, now's the perfect time."

Li Hanzhou was silent for a moment, then looked at Ah Gui: "Take a few men and go 'invite' Fatty Cong back. Keep a low profile."

"Yes." Ah Gui turned and left.

Lu Che stood there, as if he still had something to say.

Li Hanzhou looked up: "Is there anything else?"