Chapter 178 Using the Same Trick Again
He Shijie narrowed his eyes, his face wary: "Trying to use the same trick again? Drugging me?"
Liu Zhixia helplessly spread her hands: "Then I'll bring up some raw ingredients, and you can cook for yourselves, okay? At least boil an egg for Lao Si and Xu Zhiqing."
He Shijie thought for a moment and said, "Okay. Bring the food up, and don't try anything funny."
Zhou Juan asked worriedly, "How do we know the person is still alive?"
He Shijie's eyes turned cold, and his tone was chilling: "I don't mind cutting off a fresh finger every day and sending it to you as evidence, do you want it?"
Zhou Juan turned pale with fright and waved her hands repeatedly, "No! We believe you! We believe you! Please don't hurt them! We'll go back and raise the money right away. As long as the money is there, we'll hand over the people on the spot. Please don't hurt the child!"
He Shijie's lips curled into a cruel smile: "Then you'd better hurry up. We're all in the middle of nowhere, and the brothers are getting lonely. If you can't resist taking advantage of that little girl, don't blame me for not warning you."
Zhou Juan's heart sank. This He Shijie was truly a devil who would devour people without spitting out the bones.
The two dared not linger and hurried back to the village.
As soon as we entered the village, Zhang Xiuying greeted us: "How was it?"
Zhou Juan shook her head with a gloomy expression: "This person is too difficult to deal with. He won't let us see Lao Si at all, and he even threatened to send a finger to us every day if we dare to have any doubts."
Zhang Xiuying was so frightened that her face turned pale and her body trembled. The usual commotion in the village was nothing more than minor squabbles; she had never seen such a real desperado.
Liu Zhixia was also still shaken: "I hope Shen Yi and the others arrive soon. I'll go prepare the ingredients now and try to calm them down. I mustn't provoke those lunatics."
Aunt Zhou grabbed Liu Zhixia and whispered, "How about we use the old method again? Add some ingredients?"
Zhou Juan slumped to the ground, utterly helpless: "It's no use. They've hidden the fourth brother; he's not in the cabin at all. Besides, He Shijie is very shrewd; he definitely knows about the Shen family. This tactic will not only be useless, but it will also enrage him, and then the fourth brother will really be dead."
Aunt Zhou was so frightened that she patted her chest and said, "Alright, let's wait for Xiao Kai and the others to come back!"
Liu Zhixia quickly prepared the meal and called Zhao Dongmei to help deliver it up the mountain.
"Boss He, these eggs are specially for Lao Si and Xu Zhiqing. Please pass them on. You're a businessman, and we value integrity and cooperation, is that alright?"
He Shijie glanced at the delicious-looking food in the basket and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, that's the right attitude. If you had sold me the recipe earlier, we wouldn't be in this situation. Don't worry, they won't starve."
He handed the food to his subordinates with a mocking look in his eyes.
The younger brother tasted every dish to confirm it wasn't poisonous before the group began to wolf down their food. Having been hiding deep in the mountains for so long, their mouths were practically parched; this meal was a lifesaver.
After eating and drinking his fill, He Shijie weighed the few eggs in his hand and tossed them to one of his underlings: "Go and take these to those two."
The younger brother took the eggs, turned around, and disappeared into the woods.
Liu Zhixia and Zhao Dongmei pretended to clear the dishes, but their eyes were fixed on the direction their younger brother had left in.
After the others had gone far away, the two went down the mountain.
Zhao Dongmei lowered her voice: "Xia, did you see clearly? He went towards the next brigade. Do you think it's possible that..."
A glint flashed in Liu Zhixia's eyes: "Possibly. If it's really hidden in the cave where Da Bao was imprisoned last time, then things will be much easier."
Zhao Dongmei asked, puzzled, "Why separate the hostages? Isn't that troublesome?"
Liu Zhixia sneered: "A cunning rabbit has three burrows. He Shijie is suspicious and afraid we'll take down his hideout. There must still be people guarding over there, otherwise Lao Si and the others would have run away long ago."
"How will the people over there eat? If a few strangers suddenly appear, will the villagers not notice?"
Liu Zhixia smiled and said, "This is the breakthrough. We need to figure this out before reinforcements arrive."
Zhao Dongmei nodded vigorously: "Leave this to Aunt Zhou! She had a great chat with the brigade leader next door last time, talking about some kind of 'everyone is a soldier,' which will come in handy!"
The two exchanged a smile, quickened their pace down the mountain, and told Aunt Zhou this crucial information.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou, without saying a word, led the two of them straight to the next brigade.
The captain next door, after hearing this, looked grave: "Why are you only bringing this up now?!"
Aunt Zhou sighed, "I'm just afraid of letting the news leak out and alerting the enemy! Now that we have a lead, we still need your help to investigate. Have there been any unfamiliar faces in the village recently, or has anyone suddenly increased their food consumption?"
Captain Liu pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "That makes sense. Too many people talking at once, this matter really can't be publicized. So, you suspect the hostages are hiding in our brigade?"
Liu Zhixia analyzed, "He Shijie is from out of town and is not familiar with the terrain. This hiding place was probably provided by Gu Mansheng. Gu Mansheng is also from out of town, and these are the only two hiding places she knows. The cave where Da Bao was imprisoned last time is the most suspicious."
Upon hearing this, Captain Liu rubbed his hands together, eager to get started: "I wasn't satisfied with catching that bunch of bad kids from the Shen family last time, and this time I finally have a chance to show off my skills! Don't worry, this time I will definitely rescue the hostages unharmed!"
Aunt Zhou quickly stopped him: "Old Liu, don't be impulsive! These people are different from the Shen family's bunch of good-for-nothings; they might have real weapons!"
As she spoke, she made a shooting gesture.
Captain Liu's expression changed, but he instantly calmed down: "What? Then... then we really need to think about this carefully!"
Liu Zhixia continued, "Captain Liu, the people in the cave need to eat, so someone must be secretly delivering food. If anyone in the vicinity suddenly has more food being consumed, or is acting suspiciously, please investigate discreetly, but be careful not to alert them."
"No problem! Leave it to me, I'll go and keep an eye on it right away!"
Just one afternoon later, Captain Liu ran back, covered in sweat and looking excited.
"Got it! Got it!"
The Liu family and Aunt Zhou swarmed around them.
"Who is it?" Aunt Zhou asked anxiously.
Captain Liu glanced at Liu Xiangyang with a strange expression: "It's those two old bastards from the Shen family! They paid them to cook and deliver the food. Those two old geezers will do anything for money and a hot meal. I personally kept watch today and saw old man Shen carrying a basket heading towards the cave."
Captain Liu added, "But there's one advantage to that. Those two old geezers have such a bad reputation that nobody in the village associates with them, so there's no fear of the news leaking out."
Liu Xiangyang snorted coldly, his fists clenching so tightly they cracked: "These two old bastards... they escaped by luck last time, but this time they dare to aid and abet evil! This time, let's see where they can run!"
Liu Zhixia sighed, her tone mocking: "What a pity. I thought they would starve to death, but I didn't expect them to get a 'secure job' and even get a silver bracelet as a bonus."
Her eyes darted around, and an idea came to her. She looked up at Liu Xiangyang, a sly smile playing on her lips: "Big brother, I have a plan. Let's... use the same trick again!"
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