Chapter 49 The Indestructible Cockroach
"Feifei, are you ready? We're about to leave." Yan Songyu gently knocked on Feifei's door.
"Here it comes!"
Feifei slid out of her little yellow duck suitcase.
Startled, Yan Songyu quickly went to help her up, "Be careful, don't fall!"
They plan to spend the Lunar New Year at Taoshan Resort this year. There are hot springs there, so they will have a very comfortable holiday!
Taoshan Resort is the original Beidian Village. Originally, Beidian Village was to be used as a factory, but when construction started, a natural hot spring was discovered in the back mountain. Yan Songyu immediately changed the development plan, relocated the factory, and developed Beidian Village into a tourist destination.
The mountain was originally called Datong Mountain Back Mountain, but it was changed to Tao Mountain because almost half of the back mountain is covered with peach trees.
After a year and a half, Taoshan Resort finally officially opened on New Year's Day this year.
Feifei and Yan Binghua both enjoy hot springs, which is why this trip was arranged.
"Hurry up and get in, Mommy, Grandpa!" Feifei had already climbed into the car and was sitting down, waving happily to them.
Yan Songyu smiled and put her arm around Yan Binghua's arm, about to help him into the car, but someone suddenly beat her to it, "Xiaoyu, let me help Dad."
The long-lost voice rang in Yan Songyu's ears, and her smile vanished instantly. When she met Jiang Chengli's gentle smile, she was only astonished. Shouldn't he be hiding in his room, painting like a madman?
Yan Binghua was also surprised and didn't come to his senses for a moment before getting into the car with Jiang Chengli's help.
While Yan Songyu was still in a daze, Jiang Chengli hugged her and whispered gently in her ear, "Wife, I'm sorry. The car accident was a huge blow to me. It took me two years to recover. I'm sorry for making you worry."
Yan Songyu broke free from Jiang Chengli's embrace, her suspicious gaze sweeping over him and the...suitcase at his feet.
“Honey, I heard from Uncle Wang that you’re planning to spend the New Year at Taoshan Resort. I’m all better now, so I’d like to go with you.”
As they were talking, Jiang Chengli had already put down his suitcase, got into the car first, and sat next to Feifei. "Daddy has always been absent from Feifei's growth. It won't be like that anymore. Feifei, please forgive Daddy, okay?"
Feifei hadn't seen Jiang Chengli for over a year, and even before that, she and Jiang Chengli didn't have a particularly close father-daughter relationship. Feeling helpless, she looked to Yan Songyu for help.
Yan Songyu frowned, pulled Jiang Chengli down, sat down herself, and hugged Feifei to comfort her.
Jiang Chengli wasn't annoyed. He followed and closed the car door. "Uncle Li, let's drive."
An eerie silence fell over the car. Yan Songyu wanted to kick him out, but she didn't want to be at odds with him in front of Feifei, especially since he hadn't figured out how Jiang Chengli had suddenly become sober.
In Uncle Wang's report a while ago, Jiang Chengli was still acting crazy, drawing with his left hand and shouting that he was a great painter. But she was sure that he was very lucid now, his eyes were clear, and he had returned to how he was before. He wasn't faking it.
That damned Jiang Chengli, how come he's like an unkillable cockroach?
She broke his leg herself. He spent two years in the studio, creating his famous work "Winter Moon Over a Cold Night," and got involved with Wu Chengyue, which completely turned his career around.
Two years ago, after a car accident, he lost his leg and arm and also suffered from mental instability. I thought I would have to take care of him until the truth was revealed. How come he suddenly got better?
He must be plotting something, Yan Songyu thought, raising her guard to the highest level.
The car drove towards Taoshan Resort, while in the slums of the southern district, the Zhou family's New Year was far from peaceful.
Zhou Mu was doing her homework at the table when she suddenly heard a rapid knocking on the door. She tiptoed out and pressed her ear to the door to listen to what was happening outside.
"Open the door!"
"Open the door!"
Hearing the fierce, unfamiliar voices, Zhou Mu was so frightened that he hid back inside the house, but the knocking outside was no longer the sound of knocking; they were kicking the door!
Zhou Mu quickly hid his schoolbag and piggy bank in the pile of miscellaneous items in the yard before hiding under the bed.
Just as she hid, the door collapsed, and a group of people rushed into the house. Zhou Mu stared fearfully at their feet, her eyes meeting those of Zhou Chenglong, who was tied up and pushed to the ground.
"There's really no one here." The leader kicked Zhou Chenglong. "It's okay, brothers, we'll take care of ourselves and have plenty to eat and wear."
As soon as he finished speaking, these people started rummaging through drawers and cabinets in the room.
Zhou Mu hugged his legs tightly, curled up in a ball, praying that they wouldn't find him, but things didn't go as planned. A man with a scar near his eye lifted the sheet and said, "Boss, there's a child here."
Zhou Mu tried to shrink back, but a large hand reached in and grabbed her trouser leg, dragging her out. She looked at the group of thugs who had broken in with terror and kept backing away.
"Oh, so you're the niece Zhou Chenglong was talking about." The man called "boss" squatted down in front of Zhou Mu and used a stick to lift Zhou Mu's face. "What a cute little girl."
“We don’t bully the weak. Your uncle owes our casino 280,000 yuan, and he can’t pay it back, so your mother has to pay it back. Tell me, where is your mother’s money? We’ll take the money and leave, without touching your family or taking a single penny more.”
Zhou Mu gritted her teeth and shook her head, "Our family is out of money. My grandma and uncle stole all of my mom's money when they left."
The leader clearly didn't believe him. He laughed and said, "Lying isn't good for a child. In that case, don't blame us uncles for accidentally breaking your things."
With a single glance, a group of people rushed into Zhou Yue's room, the sounds of clattering and crashing filling the air. Zhou Mu could only cower in fear beside the only person she knew, Zhou Chenglong, and whisper, "Uncle..."
The leader sat in the middle of the living room, crossed his legs, lit a cigarette, and puffed out smoke.
"Boss, we found a box, it's locked."
A person came out carrying a small wooden box. Zhou Mu's pupils contracted, and he subconsciously reached out to grab Zhou Chenglong's hand, but accidentally touched his injury.
"Hiss—Momo, be gentle."
"A wooden box and a lock are enough to stump you?"
The leader placed the box on the table, raised the steel pipe in his hand, and smashed the wooden box to pieces. The old table was also destroyed along with the wooden box.
A wad of cash, a gold necklace, and a men's watch fell out of the bag, and someone immediately picked them up and handed them to the leader.
"A Rolex Golden Eye." The leader weighed the watch in his hand, then put it on. "I never would have guessed there was such a good thing in this run-down house!"
"Boss, there's 28,000 in cash and a necklace weighing 48 grams, worth around 9,000."
The leader looked at Zhou Chenglong regretfully, then spread his hands, "Brother, it's not that I'm not giving you face, but look—this isn't enough, so..."
He walked over to Zhou Chenglong with a stick in his hand, saying, "We have a grievance and a debtor, pull the child away."
After Zhou Mu was pulled away, Zhou Chenglong shrank back in fear, pleading, "Brother Fei, please spare me. I will definitely raise the money to pay you back."
"Don't try to fool me. I've investigated your background thoroughly. Your sister can't even come up with anything, let alone anything else. So, you'll have to pay off your debt with one of your legs."
ah--
Zhou Yue heard the scream before she even entered the room.
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