Chapter 74 Li Ruoxue's Mischief

Three days later, Fang Che dialed Lu Che's number.

Cooperation reached.

Lu Che acted quickly, and within a week, three retired teachers arrived.

One is a former middle school principal, another is a top-level mathematics teacher, and the third is an English teacher who reportedly studied in the UK when he was young.

The school was officially named "Portland Street Community School," and its schedule was packed with classes.

The neighbors felt reassured sending their children to the school because the teachers were all retired and legitimate. Even residents from several nearby streets came after hearing the news.

Taking advantage of the momentum, Fang Che launched the "Parents' Night School"!

Two evenings a week, he teaches the neighborhood to read, do math, and even basic English for free.

Cheng Tieniu volunteered to teach Northeastern dialect, claiming that "learning another dialect opens up more career paths," but the first lesson was met with laughter from everyone.

"Brother Tie Niu, what exactly do you mean by 'the corrugated iron plate got stuck on the curb and scraped its skin'?" a neighbor asked, clutching his stomach.

Cheng Tieniu gestured earnestly: "It's just that my knee hit the curb and got scraped! Your Hong Kong dialect is too verbose, but in our Northeastern dialect, a few words are enough to explain it!"

He Shirong laughed so hard he slapped the table: "Brother Tie Niu, I think you should give up teaching barbecue and switch to crosstalk!"

The school was on track, but Fang Che dared not relax.

He knew that Jiang Tianqi and Li Ruoxue would not let this go.

Sure enough, the calm lasted only half a month.

That afternoon, Fang Che was checking the accounts at the branch store when A Ming rushed in: "Brother Che! Something bad has happened! Teacher Li has fallen and hurt herself!"

"What?" Fang Che stood up. "What happened?"

"Teacher Li slipped on a banana peel on her way home from school, tripped, and broke her arm!" Ah Ming gasped. "She's been taken to the hospital now!"

Fang Che's heart sank.

What a coincidence!

Teacher Li is that math master teacher who lives not far from Portland Street and walks to and from get off work every day.

He had walked that alley for decades without ever getting into trouble.

"Ah Ming, go to the hospital to see Teacher Li. We'll cover the medical expenses," Fang Che said, grabbing his coat. "Xi Rong, watch the shop. I'm going out for a bit."

He headed straight for the alley entrance.

There were indeed banana peels on the ground; they were dried and looked like they had been there for some time.

But the problem is, this alley is cleaned by cleaners every day, so how come there are banana peels left here?

Fang Che squatted down to take a closer look and found half a footprint next to the banana peel...

The shoe print wasn't very big, like it belonged to a teenager.

He stood up and looked around.

There was a general store at the entrance of the alley, and the owner was dozing off at the door.

"Uncle Liu," Fang Che walked over, "did you see any unfamiliar faces wandering around this area this afternoon?"

Uncle Liu opened his eyes, thought for a moment, and said, "Unfamiliar faces... Oh, there are two boys, about fourteen or fifteen years old, who have been loitering around the alley entrance for a while. I thought they were skipping school."

"What does it look like?"

"One was tall and thin, with dyed blond hair. The other was short and stout, wearing a red jersey," Uncle Liu asked. "What happened? Did they get into trouble?"

"Teacher Li fell here, and I suspect someone deliberately threw a banana peel at her."

Uncle Liu's face changed: "These brats! Teacher Li is such a good person... Ah Che, if you want to find them, I'll help you inquire!"

"Thank you, Uncle Liu."

Fang Che returned to the shop and told Xi Rong what had happened.

Xi Rong frowned: "Brother Che, if it was Jiang Tianqi who instructed them, why did they hire two children?"

“Because children are less likely to arouse suspicion,” Fang Che said. “And even if they are caught, they won’t be convicted of a serious crime. Jiang Tianqi’s underhanded trick is to slowly wear us down. He hurts a teacher today, scares a student tomorrow, and in the long run, who will dare to come to the school?”

"Then what should we do?"

Fang Che was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "He has his brilliant plan, but I have my countermeasures. Xi Rong, call the children over for a meeting."

Ten minutes later, the backyard was full of people.

Fang Che briefly explained the situation, then asked, "Someone wants to ruin our school. What do you think we should do?"

Amin was the first to jump up: "Let's get them! I'll go find that blond guy and the guy in the red shirt and beat them up!"

"All you do is beat people up!" Xi Rong glared at him.

"What should we do then..."

Fang Che waved his hand: "Ah Ming, this time I really need you guys to 'find' someone. But not to beat them up, but to keep an eye on them."

He looked at the group of teenagers: "Portland Street is our territory, and all the neighbors know you. From today onwards, you will be divided into groups and take turns patrolling near the school every day. If you see any unfamiliar faces, especially those acting suspiciously, write them down and report back. Remember, you are not allowed to lay a hand on anyone or cause any trouble, just keep watch."

The children's eyes lit up.

This is exciting!

"Brother Che, we guarantee we'll complete the mission!" Amin patted his chest confidently.

"It's not a mission, it's about protecting our own school," Fang Che said seriously. "But remember, safety comes first. If you notice anything amiss, run immediately and come back to get help."

He instructed Xi Rong to divide the children into four groups of five or six people each, define patrol areas, and even provide them with whistles!

If a situation is detected, blow the whistle, and people nearby will immediately come to the rescue.

Watching from the side, He Shirong couldn't help but say, "Brother Fang, you're making this look like a militia organization."

"There's nothing we can do," Fang Che said with a wry smile. "Jiang Tianqi is playing dirty tricks, so we have to be prepared."

The next afternoon, Amin's group found a tall, thin man with dyed yellow hair near the vegetable market.

The kid wandered around the market for a while, and finally stopped in front of a fish stall to talk to the stall owner.

Amin pretended to buy potatoes and listened closely for a while.

"...Just leave it by the door after school...you won't be shortchanged..."

After a few fragmented sentences, Amin understood...

This kid wanted to buy the stall owner's rotten fish and throw it at the school gate.

He quickly blew the whistle.

Xi Rong arrived with another group of people and surrounded the blond-haired man.

"What are you doing?" the blond-haired man panicked.

"Nothing much." Xi Rong stepped forward. "I just wanted to ask, why did you buy rotten fish?"

"none of your business!"

“It’s none of my business, it’s the police’s business.” Xi Rong pulled out her mobile phone. “I’m calling the police right now and telling them that you’ve disrupted public health and attempted to poison people.”

"You're talking nonsense! I just want to buy fish!" the blond-haired man exclaimed in a huff.

"You only buy rotten fish?" Xi Rong sneered.

Huang Mao turned to run away, but was grabbed by Amin.

At this moment, Fang Che and Cheng Tieniu arrived.

Xi Rong told them what had happened.

Fang Che looked at the blond-haired boy, who was at most fifteen or sixteen years old, his eyes darting around.

"Who told you to do it?" Fang Che asked.

"No, nobody's here..."

"Not going to talk?" Fang Che nodded. "Alright, Brother Tie Niu, take him to the police station. While you're at it, tell the police about the strange things that have been happening on Portland Street these past few days."

Cheng Tieniu picked up Huang Mao like he was a chick.

The blond-haired man cried out in fear, "No, don't take me to the police station! I'll tell you! Yes, a lady made me do it! She gave me five hundred dollars and said all I had to do was throw rotten fish in front of the school and let it stink for a few days!"

"What does your older sister look like?"

"She was in her early twenties, quite pretty, and dressed very well... Oh, and she drove a red sports car!"

Red sports car.

Li Ruoxue.

Fang Che felt a chill in his heart.

"Where's the money?"

Huang Mao pulled out a crumpled five hundred yuan from his pocket.

Fang Che took the money and said to Cheng Tieniu, "Brother Tieniu, let him go."

"Huh? You just let them go?"

“Hmm.” Fang Che looked at the blond-haired man. “Go back and tell that woman that the job didn’t work out and the money was stolen. If she dares to tell the truth…”

He paused, his voice turning cold: "The kids on Portland Street play on the street every day, who knows, they might 'accidentally' damage her car one day."

The blond-haired man nodded repeatedly and ran away.

After everyone had walked away, Cheng Tieniu asked, "Che, why did you let him go?"

"If we don't let go, how will Li Ruoxue know we're not to be trifled with?" Fang Che handed five hundred yuan to Xi Rong. "This money will be confiscated and used to buy books for the children."

Xi Rong took the money, hesitated, and asked, "Brother Che, Li Ruoxue is, after all, Boss Li's sister. Should we..."

“Precisely because she’s Brother Li’s sister, we can’t be lenient with her,” Fang Che said. “She’s crossed the line. If she dares to throw away rotten fish today, she’ll dare to do something even more outrageous tomorrow. I have to let her know that Portland Street has its own rules.”

He looked at the children and said, "You all did a great job today! We'll have a special treat tonight—Brother Tie Niu will roast a whole lamb!"

"Yay!" the children cheered.

After the children left, Fang Che stood alone in the backyard and lit a cigarette.

I need to talk to Brother Li about Li Ruoxue's matter.

But Brother Li is in Thailand and we can't get in touch with him.

Just then, my cell phone rang.

It's Ah Gui.

"Fang Che, Brother Li asked me to pass on a message. The situation in Thailand is complicated, and it might be delayed by another half a month. How's things at home?"

Fang Che hesitated for a moment, but still said, "Something happened at the school. Teacher Li fell and got injured. We suspect that Li Ruoxue ordered someone to do it."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"I understand," Ah Gui said. "Brother Li said you have full authority over family matters. You don't need to worry about anyone."

Fang Che thought to himself, "Okay. Tell Brother Li to be careful."

"Um."

After hanging up the phone, Fang Che took a deep breath.

With Li Ge's words, he knew what to do.

The next day, Fang Che did three things.

First, he instructed Xi Rong to distribute "safety reminders" to every household on Portland Street in the name of the school, reminding everyone to pay attention to suspicious items at alley entrances and street corners, and to report any abnormalities immediately.

When the neighbors heard that Teacher Li had been framed, they were all furious and said they would help keep an eye on things.

Secondly, through Lu Che's connections, he contacted a district councilor and applied to have surveillance cameras installed near the school.

The reasons are quite valid: to protect the safety of teachers and students and to maintain community security.

The district councilor readily agreed and promised to install it within a week.

Third, he went to see Granny Lin in person.

“Grandma, I’d like to organize a ‘Portland Street Neighborhood Festival’,” Fang Che said. “It’s scheduled for next weekend, right on our street. There will be half-price barbecue, the school will be open for tours, and we’ll also have some street performers. All the neighbors are welcome to come and eat and play for free.”

Grandma Lin's eyes lit up: "Ah Che, that's a great idea! The neighborhood hasn't had anything lively like this in ages!"

“But we need your help,” Fang Che said. “You are highly respected, and only if you take the lead in organizing will the neighbors be willing to come.”

"No problem!" Grandma Lin decided. "Leave this to me!"

The news spread, and Portland Street became lively.

Neighbors spontaneously cleaned the streets and decorated the shops. Even families who were usually at odds temporarily put aside their grudges and worked together to build colorful tents.

Jiang Tianqi soon received word of the situation.

He sat in his office, listening to his subordinates' reports, his face grim.

"Neighborhood Festival? Free food and drinks? Does Fang Che have too much money to burn?"

The subordinate cautiously reported, "Young Master Jiang, I heard that the district councilor will also be there, and he's going to announce on the spot the addition of community patrol points on Portland Street..."

Jiang Tianqi smashed the teacup on the ground.

"Where's Li Ruoxue? Didn't she say she was going to ruin the school? And this is what happened?"