After leaving the hospital, it was not yet noon. I remembered that I had just said last night that I would treat my cousin who lives with me to a meal. It would be better to do it today than to wait for another day. I could go to the street in the afternoon to ask if anyone nearby is selling a house.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yongliang turned and walked towards the hair salon.

He only knew the approximate location of the hair salon and had never been there. On the way, he passed by the county public security bureau and went in. He wanted to ask Qian Shuhong, a local, which restaurant in the county had good food. However, when he arrived, he found out that Qian Shuhong had quit the day after he resigned.

......

His round-faced colleague, Miss Xiaoyuan, recommended several restaurants to him, even telling him in detail which ones were good at what dishes, which ones had large portions, and which ones had waiters who looked down on him...

Zhao Yongliang was overwhelmed after hearing this: Are there so many restaurants in this county?

After bidding farewell to the enthusiastic Xiaoyuan and saying hello to his grandparents, Zhao Yongliang went to find the brothers Yongming and Yongguang. As for what to eat, with so many choices, he decided to let the brothers worry about it.

As soon as he reached the door of the hair salon, he bumped into two young men who had just come out. Yongliang quickly grasped the door frame to steady himself, but before he could even look up, he was pushed by the two people opposite him and stumbled again.

The shifty-eyed little man said rudely, "Hey, are you blind? You have two big holes in your eyes, so you should watch where you walk."

He was about to say more when the thin bamboo pole next to him stopped him: "Aha, isn't this Zhao Yongliang? Old classmate, it's been a long time since we last met. Where did you get your fortune?"

The thin bamboo pole looked him up and down with an inexplicable expression, and the short man next to him said excitedly: "Is this kid Zhao Yongliang?"

Zhao Yongliang looked up and didn't recognize the short man, but the thin bamboo pole looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he was for a while.

Seeing the puzzled look on his face, the skinny guy put his arm around his shoulders and said affectionately, "What? Don't you recognize me? I'm Zhang Xiuwu from Shanghe Village. We went to elementary school together."

Hearing this name, Zhao Yongliang's face froze for a moment. He remembered a group of people who had pushed him into desperate and helpless situations countless times when he was young. Among that group of people, the most terrifying one was a fat boy who led the group. His name was Zhang Xiuwu.

This had been his childhood nightmare.

He wanted to walk around them and into the hair salon, but he couldn't get past them. The two people surrounded him on both sides and walked away, saying, "It's been a long time since we last met. I miss you, old classmate. Let's get together today and have a drink."

Zhao Yongliang struggled again and again but couldn't break free. He kept looking back at the hair salon, but unfortunately Yongming and Yongguang were busy inside and didn't notice the scene outside the door at all.

Seeing these two people taking him further and further away, Zhao Yongliang was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead and his body began to tremble uncontrollably. He struggled in panic: "What on earth are you going to do?"

Zhang Xiuwu narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Old classmate, what are you afraid of? You're a grown man, how can I eat you?"

He simply stopped and patted Zhao Yongliang's face a few times with his palms. "I just heard Zhao Yongguang say that you want to buy a house in the county? It just so happens that I know a brother whose family is selling their house and they are in a hurry to sell it. It's cheap. I'm doing him a favor and want to take you to have a look."

Zhao Yongliang knew something was wrong and immediately refused, "You're mistaken. How can I afford to buy a house? My uncle is the one who bought the house. How about I take you to him?"

My uncle used to be a soldier and he's quite skilled. He will definitely be able to subdue these two bastards.

Unfortunately, Zhang Xiuwu was not fooled: "It's too late today. Let's take you to have a look first. When you like it, you can bring your uncle to buy it. Come on, it's not far."

Zhao Yongliang was extremely panicked and had no idea what to do. He couldn't run away and couldn't struggle to get away. He just saw someone selling pomegranates on the roadside and he shouted for help twice.

As a result, when the man saw the situation on his side, he picked up the basket and ran away. Not only was there no hope of being saved, but he also caused the short man and Zhang Xiuwu to laugh wildly.

The two men walked with him for a while, and they arrived at a village on the edge of the county town. The houses in the village were ordinary, and there was not a single person on the street at noon. They stopped at the end of an alley.

Zhang Xiuwu pointed to the yard in front of him and said, "Brother, I didn't lie to you, did I? What do you think of this yard? Is it big?

You have a big family, so you can buy a big house to live in, but the house is a bit old."

He put his arm around Zhao Yongliang and walked inside while saying, "It's okay, we can fix it later. It's not a big deal."

There really is a house, but Zhao Yongliang didn't relax at all. Could this person be so kind?

Zhang Xiuwu took him to a room on the easternmost side. There were thick curtains hanging on the windows of this room, a light was on on the ceiling, and an electric fan was blowing whirringly. In the midst of the smoke, seven or eight people were sitting around a round table, shouting fiercely.

"Big! Big! Big!"

"Small! Small! Small!"

A cacophony of voices shouted two words, and then the woman sitting in the main seat opened the dice cup. Immediately, some people cheered, while others wailed.

It turned out to be a casino. They wanted to lure him into gambling.

Zhao Yongliang breathed a sigh of relief, as he thought they were going to kidnap, kill and dismember him.

When the round was over, people at the gambling table noticed them. The woman shaking the dice was leaning against a man with a scar on his face.

The man had a cigarette in his mouth. He slowly blew out a smoke ring before speaking, "Er Gouzi, La Ba, who is this? We can't just bring anyone in here. Have you forgotten the rules?"

Zhang Xiuwu swallowed his saliva and said flatteringly, "Brother Ba, this is my elementary school classmate, not a stranger. His family recently moved to the county town and they want to buy a house. Didn't they ask me to find out about it? Then I thought, Brother Ba, aren't you planning to sell this yard? So I brought him here to have a look."

Brother Ba's eyes lit up when he heard this, and the woman in his arms gave Zhang Xiuwu a thumbs up: "Er Gouzi is really filial. He cares about your brother Ba's affairs and is on the right track."

Brother Ba also nodded and said, "Okay, boy, but I can't leave now. How about you take your classmates here and wait for a while. I'll talk to him after I'm done."

Zhang Xiuwu nodded and said, "Okay, Brother Ba, you go ahead and do your work. My classmate is not in a hurry."

Brother Ba nodded, raised his chin, and signaled the woman to continue rolling the dice. Soon, the room became lively again.

Zhang Xiuwu and Lai Ba pulled Zhao Yongliang aside and sat him down. Lai Ba even gave him a bottle of Beibingyang soda, pried it open with a bottle opener, and handed it to him: "Are you thirsty? Have a drink? Wait a minute. Brother Ba will talk to you about the house when he's done."

Zhao Yongliang saw that he was still acting so seriously. He just thought it was ridiculous, especially the servile attitude he had shown towards that Brother Ba just now, which made Yongliang feel extremely absurd.

Just this kind of person actually scared me for so many years...