Good news came quickly.

That night, Xianglin and Gao Dacheng cornered Zhang Yunda in bed.

Zhang Yunda still wanted to put on airs, but he was no longer the Zhang Factory Director he once was, and Xianglin was no longer the little boy he once was.

Xianglin took out a knife and cut off two of his fingers, then squatted on the ground and wailed loudly.

Xianglin's mother looked at the blood on the ground and the two lonely fingers lying there, let out a scream, and fainted immediately.

Gao Dacheng made Zhang Yunda confess the real reason for reselling deer antler and deer placenta cream when Zhang fainted from the pain and was then woken up by the pain. He also made Zhang Yunda put his fingerprint on his name, without even using ink, but directly using his own blood.

"Alright, brother, this kid's old. Let's just send him to the clinic, otherwise he'll bleed to death and we'll be the ones who suffer the consequences."

Gao Dacheng patted Xianglin's face, which was covered in snot and tears from crying. Xianglin slumped to the ground, hugging Gao Dacheng's legs and sobbing uncontrollably.

“Brother, brother… my father died such a tragic death… hiccup… but my mother did it all to raise us. That old bastard has power and influence… hiccup… if my mother doesn’t agree to his demands, our family… hiccup… won’t survive… hiccup…”

"Alright, bro, I get it!"

"Hiccup...you don't understand...hiccup..."

Xianglin's mother lay motionless on the kang (a heated brick bed), only two tears streaming down her face.

————

No matter what, you have to keep looking forward.

Like Xianglin, he had a knot in his heart since childhood, but even after untying that knot, he still had to continue living his life.

Just like Xianglin's mother, she started working odd jobs from dawn till dusk again to save money for her son's wedding.

Like Fourth Uncle, when he saw the back of the cigarette box stained with drops of blood, and the crooked words on it, tears streamed down his face.

Gao Dacheng tried to persuade him, "Fourth Uncle, Zhang Yunda has already admitted that he falsified the accounts to make you take the blame, and he even threatened you to kill the pregnant doe by threatening to lend money to my uncle for medical treatment."

Fourth Uncle wiped away his tears and choked out, "He didn't threaten me with that. He didn't lend me any money at all. He said the higher-ups urgently needed deer placenta cream, it was a secret mission, and I was an outstanding worker, so I had to cooperate..."

Gao Dacheng was speechless. "Your deer-raising skills are truly superb, but you're really not smart enough!"

Fourth Uncle, "You brat..."

"Alright, alright, Fourth Uncle, let's not dwell on past failures. Your secrets to raising deer can't be lost! Now that someone's offering you a high price to raise deer, don't be arrogant. I'll go and learn from you, so our Gao family can have a successor!"

Second Aunt's husband was also very tempted. If it could help Fourth Uncle lead his son onto the right path, it would be truly worthwhile.

With the tireless encouragement of the Gao family members and Li Xiangdong's sincere visits to invite him twice, Fourth Uncle finally agreed to come out of retirement.

When Fourth Uncle saw that there were only a few skinny sika deer all alone in the huge enclosure, he didn't say a word. He and his companions, Gao Dacheng and Deng Xianglin, with scars on their backs, went to the mountains to set traps. Their vigorous spirit in their old age was impressive, and even just looking at their backs, you could feel their imposing presence.

Li Xiangdong was delayed in Bashang for more than ten days. Only after he had settled everything did he and Zhou Hongsong board the train home.

The two of them first went to Yanjing City to visit Zhou Hongmei, Wu Jianjun, and Ning Ruoruo in Tianshui Hutong.

They arrived on a Sunday, and Li Zhen and Liu Junbo happened to be in Tianshui Hutong at the same time.

From a distance, they could see Wu Jianjun leading several people carrying things into the yard.

Li Xiangdong and Zhou Hongsong rushed over to help. When Zhou Hongmei saw her fifth brother coming over, her eyes lit up and she happily called out, "Fifth Brother!"

Zhou Hongsong was overjoyed to see his younger sister, whose face had become fair and rosy in just one month. He even treated his brother-in-law, whom he had taken a shortcut to marry, with a more favorable attitude.

Li Xiangdong told Li Zhen and Ning Ruoruo to let go of their hands, and he helped carry the table himself.

Li Zhen wiped the sweat from her face, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with a smile. "Why are you here?"

"I've come to see you all. Oh, Fourth Sister, what are you all doing here?"

As soon as Li Xiangdong lifted the table, the oily, smooth, and heavy feel of it told him that it was no ordinary wood.

Judging from the color, pattern, and carving, this should be a large sandalwood painting table with a dragon design.

The group carefully carried the table to the eaves of Wu Jianjun's room. Wu Jianjun grinned at Li Xiangdong and said, "Xiangdong, I spent all the thousand yuan you gave me on this table."

Zhou Hongsong's heart tightened, and he cursed inwardly, "This kid wouldn't have embezzled Xiang Dong's money, would he?! What kind of crappy table is worth 1,000 yuan! In the village, you can get a bigger table for just a few yuan!"

He frowned, about to scold his brother-in-law, but Li Xiangdong beat him to it.

Why spend so much money on this table?

Zhou Hongsong's heart skipped a beat. Sure enough, his brother was angry!

Sigh, this good-for-nothing. Even if he's hopeless, I still have to take care of him. After all, my sister married him!

"east……"

"Hey, this is a sandalwood painting table that came from the palace. It's worth the price!"

Wu Jianjun was completely oblivious to the complex changes in his brother-in-law's expression. He excitedly introduced the painting table to Li Xiangdong, from its materials to its design.

Zhou Hongmei, however, sensed something was wrong. She carefully tugged at her husband's sleeve and then gave him a wink.

Seeing his wife's worried expression, Wu Jianjun calmed down and looked at Li Xiangdong sincerely, saying, "Xiangdong, I really didn't inflate the price or take a kickback!"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere immediately fell silent, and everyone turned to look at Li Xiangdong.

Li Xiangdong's expression was solemn as he looked intently at Wu Jianjun. "Brother Jianjun, where did you learn all this from?"

"I used to deliver coal to an old man. He used to be a prince, but he had no children. Whenever he saw me, he liked to chat with me for a bit. These are all things he told me..."

Li Xiangdong thought to himself, "No wonder."

“Brother Jianjun, what you said earlier was all correct. This is indeed a rosewood painting table, and it is indeed worth 1,000 yuan! Could you take me to meet this gentleman?”

————

At this moment, Prince Jin Deji of the Rongwang Mansion was lying on the verge of death on a tattered bed made of two door panels, covered with a dirty, thin quilt.

His gaze gradually became unfocused, and the scene before him became increasingly blurry. Perhaps this was the end of his life!

All the past glories, misfortunes, and embarrassments seemed to vanish in an instant.

That's it for my life.