Shu Jianyang's house was near the nightclub. The security situation in 1992 was completely different from that in 2019. At least this area was very chaotic, and fights were common. Shu Yan felt that she was very safe and would not encounter any problems.

"This area is chaotic. It's better to have Xiaofei and the others go with you." Shu Jianyang was worried. This area wasn't just about robbery and rape; it was more about robbery of money. It was always better to be careful.

Xiao Fei was the young man who came to deliver the message, and the other man was a well-known thug under Shu Jianyang. These two were considered Shu Jianyang's confidants.

"Thank you." Shu Yan's expression was tough on the surface. As a single woman, she had suddenly transmigrated into the body of a character in a book and had to clean up the mess left by the original owner before she could even adapt. It would be a lie to say she wasn't afraid when facing a ruthless person like Ye Zhiqiang. The reason she was so confident was because Shu Jianyang was backing her up.

"Third Brother, there's something else I'd like to trouble you with." Shu Yan really couldn't find anyone else to help, so she had no choice but to shamelessly continue to bother Shu Jianyang.

"Go ahead." Since Shu Jianyang had promised to help Shu Yan, he would see it through to the end.

“My two children are still in our rural hometown. I’m worried that Ye Zhiqiang might use them to threaten me.” Ye Tianbao is alright, but she is most worried about her daughter, Ye Jingjing. Who knows what Ye Zhiqiang might do?

It's not impossible that Shu Yan is demanding Ye Zhiqiang leave with nothing, and Ye Zhiqiang, driven to desperation, might really lose his temper.

"You want to bring your child out?" Shu Jianyang pondered for a moment. "Sure, school hasn't started yet. Your second brother should still be in your hometown. Have him help you bring your child to town. I have a very close brother there. He has his own car, so it'll be very convenient."

Like Shu Jianyang, his second cousin Shu Jianbo was also well-known far and wide. However, their reputations were completely opposite. Shu Jianyang was a bully, while Shu Jianbo was a respected primary school principal with both virtue and talent.

He was the only college student in the Shu family, and the first college student from their village after the resumption of the college entrance examination. He could have stayed in Beijing or returned to the province and chosen any job he wanted, but his second cousin chose neither and instead returned to his hometown to become a teacher.

Ling'an Township is not exactly a poor and remote place, but it's not much better. Teachers from higher levels are unwilling to come. Such a large township has hundreds of students, but only eight teachers, four of whom are junior high school students. This shows how poor the teaching staff is. When the county and township learned that a college student wanted to return to the township to build his hometown, they immediately made him a role model and promoted him to vice principal. As soon as the old principal retired, he became the principal.

Thanks to Shu Jianbo's efforts, Ling'an Primary School has now built a new teaching building and has many more teachers, so at least there won't be a situation where one teacher teaches several grades at the same time.

Studying is definitely the simplest and quickest way for the poor to achieve success. Who doesn't want to get into university and be assigned to a government job?

Therefore, everyone in Ling'an Township, regardless of whether they have children in primary school or not, sincerely admires Shu Jianbo.

Comparatively speaking, Shu Jianyang was much more thoughtful than Shu Yan. If anyone else went to pick up the child, the Ye family elders would definitely ask questions, but Shu Jianbo wouldn't.

Shu Jianyang didn't tell Shu Jianbo the truth. Shu Jianbo wasn't without flaws either. According to Shu Jianyang, he was a bit too pedantic and had a good reputation. If he knew that Shu Yan was getting a divorce, he would definitely not agree to it. He wouldn't even pick up the children; he would first give them a lecture and then go home to tell his elders.

"Second Brother, it's me. Shuyan from Second Uncle's family needs your help. Yes, it's Shuyan from Second Uncle's family. It's nothing serious, Ye Zhiqiang is too busy with his project to get away, and Shuyan has been sick these past few days and can't go back to pick her up. School starts in a couple of days, and we can't let her miss school, so I'd like to trouble you to go and help take her to town. I have a brother in town who has a car and can help take her to the city." Shu Jianyang quickly made up a seemingly plausible lie.

"Ye Zhiqiang is so busy he doesn't even have time to talk to his child? Give me his phone number, and I'll tell him, is his business more important than his child?" Shu Jianbo said unhappily.

Shu Jianyang almost rolled his eyes. His second brother's thoughts were never the same as his. Just as he was about to speak, Shu Yan took the phone from the side.

"Second Brother, it's me, Shuyan." After the other person reacted, Shuyan continued, "There's a problem with some materials at the construction site. Zhiqiang took some people directly to the factory, which is several provinces away. I can't contact him. If I hadn't been desperate, I wouldn't have come to Third Brother for help. I was supposed to come back to pick up the kids, but I haven't been feeling well these past few days. Second Brother, you know, my parents and Zhiqiang's parents don't get along. They argue every time they meet. You see..."

"Okay, I'll pick you up in a bit." Shu Jianbo glanced at the time; it was 1:30 PM. There was another bus to town at 2:30 PM, so he still had time. He quickly packed up, got on his motorcycle, and set off.

"Third Brother, look how much trouble I've caused you with everything." Shu Yan herself felt a little embarrassed.

The original owner's parents and siblings were unreliable, but this cousin, with whom she had never been close, had helped her so much.

"It's too formal to say such things among siblings. You go and rest first, I'll talk to you when the child arrives." Although Shu Jianyang doesn't manage many karaoke bars, he has a lot to do every day.

It only takes about ten minutes by motorcycle to get from Shujia Village to Xiaoye Village. When Shu Jianbo arrived at Ye Zhiqiang's house, the two children were playing in the yard.

Hearing the sound of the motorcycle, the two children looked over curiously. Grandma Ye didn't allow them to go to the Shu family's house, so they didn't know their cousin Shu Jianbo.

They didn't know each other, but Grandma Ye did. She put down her work and warmly invited him in to sit down.

“Auntie, no need to bother. I’m here today on someone’s behalf. Zhiqiang is too busy with business, and my cousin hasn’t been feeling well these past few days. School starts in a couple of days, right? A friend of mine from town is going to the city on some business and has his own car, so I was thinking of asking him to take the kids to the city for me.” Shu Jianbo didn’t sit down. It was still about a 20-minute walk from here to the bus station in the township, and if they didn’t hurry, they might miss the last bus.

"Zhiqiang and his wife didn't tell me. How could they just take him away like that?" Old Mrs. Ye was upset. It was one thing for her granddaughter to be taken away, but her grandson was her lifeblood. She couldn't eat well if she didn't see him for a day. Now that he was gone, she wouldn't see him again until the New Year.

Grandma Ye packed her luggage while muttering to herself. Ye Jingjing didn't have many clothes, just a bag full of stuff. Ye Tianbao, on the other hand, had a lot more: various clothes, shoes, toys, snacks, filling two whole snakeskin bags, plus a denim backpack.

"Should we call Zhiqiang?" Grandpa Ye asked worriedly.

Zhiqiang and his daughter-in-law didn't say anything, but suddenly called Shu Jianbo to pick up the child. Will something happen?

"Why would you call? It takes more than ten minutes to call the village branch, and you'll miss the last bus. Besides, it's Principal Shu who's picking up the children. Would he harm the two kids?" Grandma Ye immediately denied it, hugging her beloved grandson. "Oh dear, our Tianbao is going to his parents' house. Grandma will miss him!"

"Then I won't go. I'll stay home with Grandma." Compared to his parents, Ye Tianbao prefers to let his grandparents have their way.

“That won’t do. Our Tianbao was born a city person. He should go to kindergarten in the city and become a top scholar in the future.”

"Okay, I'll definitely get the top score in the exam for Grandma," Ye Tianbao said, patting his chest.

The elderly couple wanted to take their children to the station, but after loading their luggage onto Shu Jianbo's motorcycle, there was only room for the two children to sit.

"It's almost two o'clock, Uncle, Aunt, I have to go now."

......

Ye Zhiqiang clutched his stomach. His whole body ached, but no problems could be found in the examination. He knew he had run into a professional thug.

"Brother Qiang, are you alright?" Li Jiaojiao also checked herself. She had been so frightened that her stomach was aching slightly, and she was afraid that something might happen to the baby.

"It's alright, are you alright?" Ye Zhiqiang's expression softened when he saw Li Jiaojiao.

"Brother Qiang, I'm so scared!" Li Jiaojiao threw herself into Ye Zhiqiang's arms, bumping into his wound. Hearing a muffled groan, she quickly stepped back. "Didn't you say you weren't hurt? Where does it hurt? Let me see." Li Jiaojiao gently touched Ye Zhiqiang's chest, saying with heartache, "How could she do this, letting so many people beat you up? How could she be so cruel?"

"I'm just a coarse village woman, how can I compare to you? It's alright, I'll be fine in a couple of days."

Li Jiaojiao pursed her lips and asked worriedly, "Brother Qiang, what do we do now? Those photos absolutely cannot be leaked, or we're all finished."

"Don't worry. I will absolutely not let her succeed," Ye Zhiqiang said fiercely.

If you're heartless, don't blame me for being unjust. Trying to threaten him with photos? No way. So what if it's photos? He'll let her taste the bitter fruit herself.

After calming Li Jiaojiao down, Ye Zhiqiang led his men straight to Shu Yan's house.

"Brother Qiang, we've searched all the floors from the first to the fifth, but there's no one here."

Ye Zhiqiang grabbed a cup from the table and smashed it, gritting his teeth as he said, "It must be with Shu Jianyang."

Just as Shu Yan thought, Ye Zhiqiang didn't dare to harm her on Shu Jianyang's turf, but he definitely wouldn't agree to leave with nothing as Shu Yan demanded.

No matter how strong a woman is, she can't be stronger than a child. Thinking of this, Ye Zhiqiang immediately called his hometown.

Who is it?

"Uncle, it's me, Zhiqiang. Nothing much, just wanted to call Mom and Dad about something." Ye Zhiqiang was considering getting a phone installed at home, as it was inconvenient to have something to say.

About twenty minutes later, Ye Zhiqiang called again, and this time it was Old Man Ye who answered.

"Dad, it's me. Where's the child?" Ye Zhiqiang wasn't in the mood for small talk and went straight to the point.

"The child? Didn't you send Shu Jianbo to pick him up?" Old Man Ye's heart skipped a beat. "You didn't know?"

Ye Zhiqiang suddenly stood up. "The child was taken away by Shu Jianbo?"

He should have realized it sooner; Shu Jianyang was never a kind person.

"Yes, they were just picked up not long ago, they should be on the night bus now. What? Didn't you ask someone to pick them up?" Old Man Ye asked anxiously.

"I've been too busy these past few days and haven't had time to think about things at home. I was thinking of calling back to check on things since school starts soon. Maybe Shuyan had her cousin pick her up. I'll call back and ask later." They haven't told their family about their divorce yet, and they definitely can't tell them now. Aren't they upset enough already?

"Then you should call and ask right away." Old Man Ye's eyelids had been twitching all day; he had a bad feeling about things.

"I understand. Shu Jianbo is the principal. What are you worried about entrusting the children to them? If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now and call you back later." After hanging up the phone, Ye Zhiqiang almost bit his teeth off.

It takes forty minutes to get from Ling'an Township to the town. The two children are not used to riding in cars and are a bit listless. The people that Shu Jianyang arranged were already waiting at the station. When they saw them, they took them directly to Xicheng.

"The child has arrived," Shu Jianyang said as he knocked on Shu Yan's door.

"We've arrived?" Shu Yan suddenly hesitated. Her earlier confident assertions about making a profit were just self-comfort. A perfectly healthy single young woman suddenly becoming a mother was an extraordinary burden.