Chapter 203 Thorough Discussion

The broken chain of the chandelier dangled in mid-air, the light bulb hissing with electricity. The round table lay overturned beside the pillar, half a braised fish wedged into the upturned corner.

Broken porcelain shards were scattered all over the floor, food and soup were everywhere, and shattered wine bottles were embedded in the carpet like ice shards.

Chen Wenchang leaned against the table leg, his glasses long since flown off, his face swollen like a pig's head.

Chen Jiayu's face was swollen on one side, and Chen Jiayi's face was covered in blood. Second Aunt sat hunched over in the soup with a swollen mouth, and Chunmei had several finger marks on her face, several strands of her hair were torn off, and blood was seeping from her scalp.

With a tug-of-war, Lin Chengzhi's jacket was torn into several pieces, the buttons on his cotton shirt were missing, and half of his shirt was open.

Jiang Yanfei's hair was disheveled, and what appeared to be tea or soup was spilled on her upper body, dripping down her body.

The others weren't much better off, disheveled and covered in vegetable soup. Only a few elderly people fared slightly better, at least they didn't have to lift a finger.

On the other side, a dozen or so women from Sanyao Village were still cursing and swearing, while about twenty young men were scattered around, some carrying sticks and others carrying baskets.

A man in his forties sat imposingly in a chair, his triangular eyes slanted as he stared at Lin Changqing opposite him: "Professor, is that right? In the countryside, you're just a nobody..."

"Do you even know what happened to you, my child? Your nose is broken, the bones in your face are broken, and your eyes are so swollen you can't open them..."

The man sneered again: "If you can't give me a straight answer today, I'll bring men here every day and tear down this lousy pigsty..."

Lin Changqing's face was ashen, and he was trembling all over: "Fine, I'll pay!"

"Try not to pay me back?"

The man with the triangular eyes counted on his fingers, "Fifty thousand for each kid you hurt, twenty thousand for each person who goes to jail, and then tomorrow we'll go to the police station to drop the case, just say your grandson cursed first and started the fight... If they can't be released, I'll settle the score with you..."

With a wave of his hand, the young man behind him handed him a pen and notebook: "Can't withdraw the money right now? No problem, just write me an IOU, and I'll go to the bank to withdraw it the day after tomorrow when it opens... You old coward, I know your grandson is in college, if you dare to renege, I'll bring a bunch of women to make a scene every day..."

Lin Changqing's eyes turned cold: "Fine, I'll pay. Half of it first!"

Wow, they're quite wealthy?

The man with the triangular eyes squinted and said, "Give me the money!"

In this day and age, who keeps tens of thousands of yuan at home at all times?

The Lin family will.

For example: If you suddenly come across a valuable item, but the bank is closed, what can you do but pry it open?

So it's not just Lin Sicheng and Lin Changqing; almost everyone who deals in antiques keeps a few hundred thousand yuan on hand for emergencies.

Lin Sicheng felt it wasn't safe to leave them in the city for the five or six days of the Lunar New Year holiday, so he asked Lin Changqing to bring them over...

They counted stack after stack, and counted bill after bill, totaling a full 150,000.

The man was satisfied, stuffing the stacks of money into his pocket, and then pointed at Lin Changqing: "There's still 130,000 left, the day after tomorrow!"

With another wave of his hand and a shout of "Let's go!" dozens of men and women followed behind in a grand procession.

Just as I reached the living room doorway, "Ha... spit..."

The man spat a thick wad of phlegm onto the door gods of the security door, and sneered, "Professor of the ball, what are you teaching..."

"Hahahaha..." A group of women laughed like madmen.

Lin Chang watched coldly until the people from Sanyao Village left the living room.

"Chengzhi, go close the door!"

Lin Chengzhi gritted his teeth and closed the security door to the living room.

The fourth uncle's nephew looked at Lin Changqing with red eyes: "Third Uncle, are we just going to let it go like this?"

"Hold on tight!" the uncle cursed, shakily pulling out his phone. After dialing, he roared, "Call!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the courtyard gate was kicked open from the outside with a loud bang, and countless young men poured in.

Without saying a word, he raised the stick and started hitting.

The man with the three-eyed look was completely stunned, then turned and ran. A group of women trembled with fear and scattered in all directions.

But the yard is only so big, the security door to the living room is locked, and all the windows have security bars.

The courtyard wall is over three meters high, where do you think you can run to?

In an instant, there was crying and wailing, like ghosts howling and wolves howling.

Lin Changqing stood by the window, his eyes gleaming coldly, until everyone, regardless of age or gender, was beaten to a pulp.

"Chengzhi, call the police!"

...

When the police arrived, everyone was stunned: more than twenty men from Sanyao Village were covered in blood, some lying, some leaning, some squatting, some crawling. Some were clutching their broken hands, some were holding their split heads, and some had their eyes closed, their fate unknown.

A dozen or so women, their hair disheveled, huddled in a corner, not daring to cry out loud.

The huge courtyard was completely empty, with not a single person standing.

The question is, where is the person who did the hitting?

Looking around, Hu Chenguang felt a chill run down his spine: Why didn't anyone mention when they called the police that the troublemakers were from Sanyao Village? And why was the place where they caused trouble Lin Changqing's house?

Otherwise, he would have reported to Chen Peng immediately and had riot control vehicles sent over...

Who paved the cement road in the village? Lin Changqing.

Who built the canals and bridges in the village? It was Lin Changqing.

The village school, the few children without fathers, and the few elderly people living alone without children were all paid for by Lin Changqing.

And what's this? You come to someone's house and smash things up on New Year's Eve?

In an instant, Hu Chenguang guessed most of the situation: the group had arrived too suddenly, and the Lin family was indeed caught off guard. But what kind of security could a group of rural landowners possibly have?

Can you stop people from making phone calls or tipping off others?

On Lunar New Year's Eve, all the children in every household are at home celebrating the holiday; in this one village alone, there are about a hundred households. It probably takes less than three minutes to gather fifty or sixty able-bodied young men together.

And look at their organizational skills: afraid of hurting the elderly and children inside, they waited until everyone was outside before attacking. After the attack, they scattered in all directions, and you didn't even know who had done it.

They even called the police after the attack was already completed...

He glanced again at the triangular-eyed man kneeling at the door.

One arm hung limply in a ditch, clearly broken. Blood dripped from his chin, and he was making incoherent, gurgling noises, unable to make out what he was saying.

His forehead was bulging high, like that of the God of Longevity. A door god image lay on the ground, its design obscured by blood.

How many teeth were knocked out, and how many times was he kowtowed?

In an instant, Hu Chenguang guessed the gist of it: Zhang Riyan, upon hearing that the one who hit someone was Lin Changqing's grandson, must be grinning from ear to ear.

A very philanthropic person, rich, kind-hearted, and prone to extortion.

But why don't they consider whether the people of Dongqujiangchi are kind or not, and whether those who have received his favors are kind or not?

If you were so kind, would you have worked for your Sanxiao Village for decades? So, you fucking deserve it…

As he was cursing under his breath, the man stumbled and sat sprawled on the ground. He mumbled something incoherently.

Hu Chenguang was still wondering what this bastard was muttering when the man reached into his pocket. Several wads of cash then fell out.

In an instant, Director Hu felt not only his scalp tingling, but his whole body went numb: Lin Sicheng had just put on such a show for him at noon in Sanyao Village.

Whether the father and son's actions constitute robbery is debatable, but the son was armed with a knife and the father was leading a group of people...

Immediately, the living room door opened, and Lin Chengzhi's uncle and the old village chief came out.

The uncle held up his phone: "I was the one who called out to the old village chief first."

The old village chief patted his chest: "I called out to all the young men, just from the gate. But it was dark, and I didn't know who came..."

Hu Chenguang stared blankly for a long time, not knowing what to say.

These two old men, one seventy-five and the other seventy-seven, even if you lock them up, what can you do to them?

Subsequently, seven or eight police cars and three ambulances sped into the village.

Lin Sicheng felt as if his heart was about to explode. All the way there, he kept thinking about how to kill these people, to kill them all without leaving a single one alive.

Screw calmness, screw rationality... He couldn't even protect his family, what kind of rebirth was that?

He even considered finding a knife there...

Chen Peng kept his word and indeed summoned Captain Pi, who brought three vehicles of riot police. Just before getting into the vehicles, Chen Peng gave Pi Xingchang a wink, and then the two of them flanked him from the left and right.

It was the same when he got out of the car. As soon as he jumped out, Chen Peng put his arm around his neck and asked, "What's the rush?"

Those are my dad and mom, that's my grandpa, why should I panic?

He instinctively tried to break free, but couldn't, and Pi Xingchang's hand pressed down on him again.

But then, the three men paused for a moment: the armed police officers who entered the courtyard neither shouted nor drank. They then helped the person out.

There were men and women, old and strong, and everyone was covered in wounds.

Chen Peng and Pi Xingchang were shocked: Lin Sicheng must be going crazy after being beaten like this.

But when I looked at him again, he seemed stunned.

She was probably so angry that she couldn't even cry.

Thinking it over, Chen Peng gave a wink, and the two of them squeezed even tighter.

Lin Sicheng blinked and stared intently: Yes, there were quite a few injured, but the problem is, he didn't recognize any of them.

Just as he was wondering, Hu Chenguang came out of the courtyard, his lips moving but he didn't know what to say.

Chen Peng's eyelids twitched: "Someone died?"

Hu Chenguang shook his head: "No, that's not true!"

Zhang Riyan was there to extort money, but he was causing a bit of a disturbance. The group from the village had been instructed beforehand, and although they didn't hold back, they didn't hit any vital organs.

So there were several people with broken arms and legs, but they were mostly minor injuries.

What troubled him was the mess in the room...

After hesitating for a long time, Hu Chenguang pointed inside and said, "Director Chen, you can see for yourself."

Chen Peng looked suspicious, and he and Pi Xingchang still flanked Lin Sicheng on the left and right.

Upon entering the living room, they were all stunned: broken cups and plates, a complete mess on the floor, it was as if a battle had taken place.

Fortunately, although most people were beaten, they were mostly unharmed.

Chen Peng looked around carefully and became suspicious again: These should all be Lin Sicheng's relatives, right?

Who are those injured people outside, those limping and hobbling?

He muttered to himself as he saw two old men sitting on the sofa, guarded by four policemen, their hands handcuffed.

Who are these two?

Hu Chenguang glanced at Lin Sicheng: "This is Zhao Yuwen, the former village chief of Dongqujiangchi, and this is Lin Changhai, the former group leader of this group!"

At first, Chen Peng secretly wondered: Isn't this the old village chief of this village, and Lin Sicheng's relative?

No... why are you handcuffing them?

But then, he suddenly froze, his neck slowly twisting around:

Inside the courtyard, the armed police were still escorting people out... oh no, helping people out.

Hair and bloodstains were everywhere—at the living room doorway, on the steps.

Looking back at the two old men and then at the messy living room, Chen Peng's eyes widened: those who were helped out were all from Sanyao Village.

So many broken arms and legs—the beating must have been horrific. If it had happened in the living room, the scene would be completely different...

In an instant, he guessed it pretty accurately.

No wonder even Wang Qizhi, who is far away in Beijing, knew about it. He and his master, who were guarding the branch office, did not receive a single word.

The fight was completely over outside before Lin Changqing called the police.

Then, the message was pushed to the two old men: "You should handcuff them if you need to, and sentence them if you need to."

Even Lin Sicheng was kept in the dark...

Suddenly, Chen Peng felt like he had a toothache.

Just as I was thinking about how to handle this, Hu Chenguang came over: "Director Chen, the leader is called Zhang Biao, he's the father of the kid with the knife at noon. He's of bad character and has been disciplined several times, but he never changes his ways..."

After he arrived, he asked Professor Lin to give him 150,000 yuan, and he also wrote an IOU for 130,000 yuan... and..."

Hu Chenguang pointed to the ground again, "Professor Lin said that among the broken items, there were four pieces of famille rose porcelain from the Xianfeng period, and several pieces of celadon porcelain from the Kangxi and Qianlong periods... Director Chen, I don't know much about this either, should we ask an appraiser to come over?"

After a brief pause, Hu Chenguang pointed to the four corners of the room: "Professor Lin said there was surveillance footage throughout the entire process. Should we call the technical department...?"

Chen Peng's face twitched incessantly: "No wonder they're grandfather and grandson, their tricks are exactly the same."

Let's not even talk about Lin Sicheng, let's talk about Lin Changqing. What does he do?

A renowned professor of ancient ceramics in the provincial and municipal education and academic circles, and a well-known collector and appraiser in the local antique market.

Having a few treasured items at home, why not just play the faith game?

Moreover, there's surveillance footage, and given the commotion, since Lin Changqing said it was famille rose and some kind of secret-color porcelain, it's definitely not fake. It must have been the group that caused the trouble who broke it after they came in.

But the question is, how does something like this end up on the dinner table?

It's impossible that Lin Changqing guessed that this group was going to cause trouble.

Honestly, having worked as a policeman for half his life, Chen Peng had handled quite a few cases. But he had rarely seen criminals who could react so quickly and be so meticulous in such a short time.

Subconsciously, Chen Peng's eyes darted around, glancing back and forth between Lin Changqing and Lin Sicheng's faces.

A phrase Wang Qizhi, after drinking, said to Lin Sicheng: "If you're going to do something, do it thoroughly..." came to mind.

Then, he hesitated, but was also relieved: No wonder Lin Sicheng said that from childhood to adulthood, Professor Lin treated him like he had been picked up from the street. If he made any mistakes, he would be beaten with a stick at best, and hung up and beaten at worst.

Professor Lin probably doesn't know how much of his genes Lin Sicheng inherited; if he had been a little less strict, Lin would have gone astray.

fine.

Otherwise, how much trouble would it cause the police?

With a sigh of relief, Chen Peng waved his hand and said, "Investigate as soon as possible, and punish severely!"

The branch bureau leader who had come with them snapped to attention: "Yes, sir!"

...

The tea tray was dark brown, and the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood. A gauze curtain hung before the window, filtering sunlight into a fuzzy golden mist.

A buzzing sound arose, and several jets of mist shot out, reflecting the dancing charcoal sparks in the clay stove onto the purple clay teapot.

A plain white porcelain covered bowl, with a few sprigs of black clover curling at the bottom. Wang Qizhi held the rim of the bowl and poured water in; the leaves unfurled, the water flowing silently.

Taking the teacup, Ye Xing'an took a small sip and chuckled, "Third brother, it's surprising that someone with your temperament can actually sit still and tinker with this. It can't be that your student influenced you, can it?"

Wang Qizhi smiled and said, "Lin Sicheng doesn't have time to deal with this, but he is indeed quite composed and experienced! I just feel that if the student is like this, I, as the teacher, can't be too bad either. I really should calm down and steady my temper..."

Shan Wangshu glared at him

"Why are you glaring at me?" Wang Qizhi picked up his teacup. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Lin Sicheng is only twenty-one, how come he's so shrewd?"

"Being shrewd isn't a bad thing," Wang Qizhi said nonchalantly. "Like An Ning, isn't she quite shrewd too?"

Why bring up something you shouldn't be talking about?

Shan Wangshu kicked him.

She turned her head again, revealing a faint smile: "Brother-in-law, don't listen to Wang Qizhi's nonsense!"

Ye Xing'an nodded: "Third brother is right, this kid is quite shrewd!"

Without shrewdness, it's impossible to fight back and forth with ease against ruthless tomb raiders.

If you weren't shrewd, you wouldn't have been able to acquire the rhinoceros horn cup and so many national treasures...

Seeing that Shan Wangshu's expression was not quite natural, Ye Xing'an smiled again: "The antique and collectible industry is a mixed bag. Without a bit of shrewdness and cunning, how can you succeed?"

Therefore, Ye Xing'an remained calm upon hearing the outcome: If Professor Lin were truly a pushover, he would have been completely deceived long ago, how could he have made such a great name for himself?

On the contrary, Lin Sicheng really impressed him: a good person is not the same as an honest person, and morality is never the same as scheming or cunning.

Honest people can't make it in the antique business, let alone in officialdom.

But he had never seen anyone like this in their early twenties before...

Perhaps afraid of leaving a bad impression on him, Shan Wangshu patiently explained, and Ye Xing'an listened patiently as well.

He could also tell that the child had indeed caught the eye of his brother-in-law's family: not to mention Wang Qizhi, even if it was his own son, he would probably just give up like this.

Even Shan Wangshu was very protective of him, and even when Wang Youjian mentioned him, he looked at him with longing. How good must this child be?

Ye Xing'an became even more curious...

He brewed another pot of tea, then glanced at Wang Qizhi, who remained calm and unmoved. Ye Xing'an smiled and said, "Qizhi, aren't you worried at all?"

Wang Qizhi nodded: "I was indeed quite worried at the time. As the saying goes, concern makes one lose their composure. When I heard that he almost got stabbed, I really panicked that day. But thinking about it afterwards: even if I hadn't intervened, and even if you and Grandpa hadn't called, he could have handled it very well..."

Ye Xing'an nodded: That's true.

With conclusive evidence and a clear case, not making the phone call that night might have slowed things down or made things less serious, but it wouldn't have significantly affected the final outcome.

Wang Qizhi sighed again: "Grandpa is right: it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature. That's just his personality: the more trouble he encounters, the more he pushes forward. Can I change him?"

"And the reason he and I get along so well, even Grandpa applauds him, isn't it because of this personality of his? It can't be changed, and there's no way to change it... We can only try to guide him slowly..."

"That's not what I meant!" Ye Xing'an thought for a moment and decided to get straight to the point: "I meant him and An Ning!"

Wang Qizhi paused for a moment, looked at Shan Wangshu, and slowly straightened up: "Brother-in-law, Anning is not here today, so I'll tell you the truth, please don't be angry!"

Ye Xing'an nodded: "Okay, go ahead!"

Wang Qizhi was even more direct: "Brother-in-law, I'm actually not optimistic about it. In fact, I wasn't really in favor of it from the very beginning..."

Shan Wangshu's eyes widened. Just as she was about to say something, Wang Qizhi glanced at her and said, "Don't say anything yet, sit down!"

She froze, then gritted her teeth: Wang Qizhi, you just wait...

Wang Qizhi said slowly and deliberately: "Lin Sicheng is not lacking in ability, perseverance, talent, or intelligence and emotional intelligence... Even without his grandfather's help and my support, he still managed to do very well."

"From an objective standpoint, he doesn't lack this connection, and he doesn't even need it. But from my standpoint: he has me as his teacher, that's enough... so why put an extra layer of shackles on himself?"

"The key lies in his personality. He's not exactly inflexible, but he at least finds a way to be straightforward. Like this time, but the differences in their family backgrounds are undeniable. So, rather than creating unpleasantness, it's better to leave some room for maneuver and discretion for both sides from the beginning..."

Ye Xing'an understood and smiled, "According to you, at least it's not a one-sided effort?"

How is that possible?

Can't you tell if your daughter likes it or not?

Lin Sicheng also liked it, and Wang Qizhi could also see it.

But to say there were no concerns would be impossible, especially given Lin Sicheng's personality.

Ye Xing'an smiled again: It's good to leave some room for maneuver, but it's even better to leave some room for discretion.

So he became even more curious...

"When are you going back to Xi'an?"

The topic shifted a bit too quickly, but Wang Qizhi wasn't surprised at all: "Around the eighth day!"

Ye Xing'an nodded: "The inspection team is leaving tomorrow, so I'll be two days ahead of you!"

"Hmm!" Wang Qizhi thought for a moment, "Then we'll go later, on the ninth or tenth. Brother-in-law, you can stay here by yourself for a couple of days. I'll call the school later and get you a pass!"

Ye Xing'an smiled and said, "Okay!"

After drinking another cup of tea, Ye Xing'an took his leave, and the couple saw him to the door.

Then she turned around, closed the door, and stared at Wang Qizhi with her teeth practically grinding to powder.

With his fists clenched, he lunged forward, shouting, "Wang Qizhi, I'll fight you to the death!"

With a "Ha!" Wang Qizhi slashed his arms and pulled her into his embrace.

She chuckled and said, "You think your brother-in-law is angry? Shan Wangshu, you're so stupid: do you believe he smiled all the way back?"

"fart?"

"If you don't believe me, repeat exactly what my brother-in-law and I just said to Ye Anning. Do you believe that brat will laugh out loud?"

"Do you know what it means to feign indifference to lure someone in, or to give in order to take something..."

Dan Wangshu was stunned, looking disgusted: "With your few moves, you dare to show off in front of your brother-in-law?"

Wang Qizhi scoffed, "What do you know?"

Lin Sicheng certainly had concerns, but from the perspective of his second sister and brother-in-law, he had even more concerns.

Born into such a family and in such a position, she had even more concerns than Lin Sicheng.

I only have one precious daughter, so of course I need to understand her thoroughly and see her clearly.

What kind of person meets these expectations?

Wang Qizhi felt that Lin Sicheng was a perfect match for his second sister and brother-in-law: she had good character, ability, responsibility, intelligence, shrewdness, and courage.

In particular, regarding Ye Anning's family background, instead of being overjoyed and eager to pursue it, they had many concerns.

Therefore, Wang Qizhi simply told the truth: they don't need it at all.

How could my brother-in-law not be curious?

He'll know once he sees the person; he'll see if his brother-in-law is playing hard to get...

After releasing Shan Wangshu, Wang Qizhi picked up his phone again. He glanced at the number, gave a snort, and remained silent.

After two rings, I answered: "Teacher!"

"Still at the police station?"

"I'm back already. Director Chen said that's basically all the procedures, so I don't need to go tomorrow!"

Wang Qizhi curled his lip: Chen Peng too, what procedures are we still going through?

Just as he was pondering this, Lin Sicheng's voice came again: "Teacher, thank you, and please also thank Sister Anning's father for me!"

"fine!"

After replying, Wang Qizhi muttered to himself: "You should thank him in person when you see him."

Sitting on the sofa, Wang Qizhi leaned back lazily: "I might be a couple of days late, probably not back until the tenth of the month. I'll call Professor Shang later and ask her to coordinate the training with the school. Don't be nervous then, just speak confidently and boldly..."

"Don't worry, teacher!"

Wang Qizhi was naturally relieved: Lin Sicheng wasn't nervous when he met the leaders, let alone the college's teachers and graduate students.

"Okay, that's settled then. We'll talk more when we get back..."

After exchanging a few words and hanging up the phone, Shan Wangshu suddenly remembered: "Why didn't you remind Lin Sicheng when your brother-in-law went to Xi'an?"

"Lin Sicheng is already so outstanding. Neither of us has exaggerated him in the slightest. What's the need to remind him?"

Shan Wangshu glared at him: "Have you forgotten that there's also Li Zhen in the center?"

Wang Qizhi didn't say anything, but looked at her with the eyes of someone who was mentally challenged.

It took Shan Wangshu a while to realize: If Lin Sicheng were this outstanding, it would be a miracle if no one liked him.

Even one or two wasn't enough for Wang Qizhi...

Shan Wangshu punched him...