Wu Jianjun's face was deathly pale. "Fifth Brother, even if I were a beast, I wouldn't let Hongmei suffer like this! It was Hou San! Hou San lied to Hongmei, making her go to his office to get the documents that needed stamping, and he wouldn't let her tell me..."

Zhou Hongmei, such a simple and kind young girl, was ruined like this.

However, Wu Jianjun was not an ungrateful wretch who abandoned Zhou Hongmei after returning to the city. Instead, he disregarded his family's objections and resolutely registered their marriage.

“Brother Song, how about this? Sister Hongmei and Brother Jianjun definitely can’t come back to your village. I happen to have something I’d like to ask someone for help with. I think Brother Jianjun is a learned man, so it would be perfect to leave this to him.”

Li Xiangdong said he wanted to collect antiques and curios, and that Beijing had the most of these things, but his family wasn't there and he couldn't stay in Yanjing all year round, so he could only find a reliable person to help him.

"You and Sister Hongmei can help me collect antiques. I'll pay you thirty yuan a month. What do you think?"

How about it?

What else can Wu Jianjun do?

He stood up, took a few steps back, straightened his wrinkled clothes, and bowed deeply three times. "Young comrade, I am so grateful to you. Hongmei and I will definitely repay your kindness to us!"

Li Xiangdong quickly moved aside, saying, "Brother Jianjun, one bow is enough. You bowed three times, it gave me the creeps."

Wu Jianjun couldn't help but chuckle.

Zhou Hongsong sighed and said solemnly, "Brother Xiangdong, if you ever need anything from now on, I'll do anything for you, even risk my life!"

He's not stupid at all.

He had only met Li Xiangdong once today, yet Li Xiangdong had saved his sister, paid for their medical and accommodation expenses, and now even given his sister and brother-in-law a monthly salary of sixty yuan. He truly did not believe that Li Xiangdong had no ulterior motives.

But no matter what the other person is thinking, if you're desperate and have taken their money, you're willing to sell your life to them!

Seeing Zhou Hongsong's big eyes darting around, Li Xiangdong smiled wryly and said, "Brother Song, we just met today, you don't know me at all. Forget it, let's see how things go in the future!"

......

That night, Li Xiangdong, Wu Jianjun, and Zhou Hongsong didn't sleep at all; the three of them meticulously devised a revenge plan.

As dawn broke outside, Li Xiangdong stretched and yawned. "Brother Jianjun, there's something else. Do you know of any rental apartments near No. 4 Middle School?"

Wu Jianjun thought for a moment and shook his head, "No, the alley around the church is full of tenement courtyards, and you could fit a whole family of seven in one bed!"

"oh!"

Li Xiangdong was a little disappointed.

"However, I do know a place to rent, but it's a bit far from No. 4 Middle School."

Why is this kid breathing so heavily when he talks?

"Where is it? What are the conditions like?"

"In Tianshui Hutong, there is my sister-in-law's cousin's aunt. Her children have gone abroad, leaving only the elderly couple. They have two empty side rooms that they want to rent out. However, the rent is not cheap, it costs five yuan a month."

His sister-in-law told him this information, but he and Hongmei had no money in their pockets and no jobs, so they couldn't afford the rent at all.

"How are the elderly couple doing?"

"He's a nice person, a retired teacher."

Li Xiangdong breathed a sigh of relief. It was truly a case of "searching high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly."

After everyone woke up, they went to the state-run restaurant next door for breakfast. Li Xiangdong then sent Liu Junbo and Li Zhen back to school, while he took Ning Ruoruo, Zhou Hongsong, and others to Tianshui Hutong.

Upon meeting, the two landlords were indeed kind and benevolent. Because of their kinship with Wu Jianjun, the landlords quickly agreed to rent the house to Wu Jianjun and his wife, and Ning Ruoruo, each for a room.

Li Xiangdong helped Ning Ruoruo pay off a year's rent in one go. As for Wu Jianjun and his wife, they had salaries and paid their own rent.

Ning Ruoruo put the things in the room and solemnly wrote down an IOU. "Second Brother, although what I owe you is not just what is written on this IOU, it's all I can do for you now."

Contrary to Ning Ruoruo's expectations, Li Xiangdong readily accepted the IOU and joked, "Ruoruo, you'll definitely be a college student in the future. Maybe I'll even benefit from your help!"

Ning Ruoruo felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, and she was incredibly grateful to Li Xiangdong for helping her preserve a shred of dignity.

"Repay with the utmost loyalty, even as a dog or horse, by tying grass to one's back."

——————

Collecting antiques requires working capital. If Wu Jianjun really takes a fancy to something, he can't possibly go back to Lijiapo to ask Li Xiangdong for money again.

Therefore, before leaving, Li Xiangdong left him 1,000 yuan, allowing him to make all the decisions, and also left the landline number of the Lijiapo Village Committee so that he could contact him by phone if needed.

With trembling hands, Wu Jianjun accepted the huge sum of one thousand yuan, saying, "Xiangdong, don't worry, I will definitely do my job well!"

However, given that they had only met by chance, the fact that Li Xiangdong placed such great trust in him filled Wu Jianjun with a sense of righteous indignation, a feeling of "a scholar would die for a friend who understands him."

After settling everything, Li Xiangdong was going to return to Duyanggang Brigade of Shangfang Commune in Tang County with Zhou Hongsong.

Hearing that Li Xiangdong was also going, Zhou Hongsong firmly disagreed, saying, "Brother, you helped me come up with ideas and settled my sister, so I have no worries. I am already very grateful. Don't get involved in the rest."

"No way, I won't get involved, I'm afraid you'll get hurt!"

Li Xiangdong's attitude was also very firm.

Zhou Hongsong's eyes widened like Zhang Fei's in the 1994 TV series. "Hey, you don't know, I spent a few years in a labor camp. Why do you, someone as capable as you, have to get involved with me!"

"Just consider it as if you helped me in a past life, and I'm repaying that favor in this life, okay?"

Having said that, Zhou Hongsong had nothing more to say.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Alright! I'll acknowledge you as my brother!"

————————

The train journey from Yanjing to Guitang County takes seven hours. Along the way, Li Xiangdong and Zhou Hongsong found themselves getting along better and better, their conversation becoming increasingly warm and engaging.

Before asking for his help, Li Xiangdong had thoroughly investigated all of Tie Tou Lao Wu's past life. Now, when they talked about it, he catered to Li Xiangdong's interests, making Zhou Hongsong feel as if he and Li Xiangdong were kindred spirits.

Their relationship progressed rapidly. When they got off the train, Zhou Hongsong had already told Li Xiangdong to call him Fifth Brother. "Brother, my four older brothers didn't last long. After I was born, I was afraid that the King of Hell would come to take my soul again, so he made me the fifth one. You can call me that like Hongmei from now on."

Li Xiangdong immediately changed his address, "Fifth Brother!"

He thought to himself, "Fifth Brother, I hope you can live a good life. That Pan Jixian is so cunning. I'm really afraid I won't be able to control the situation. In the future, I'll have to rely on Fifth Brother for help with some things."