Zuo Yan believes that Lü Yingcai was not promoted to general.
Almost everyone in the neighborhood knows Lü Yingcai; it's highly unlikely he'd have any contact with something like the Qianmen (a type of shady business).
He was probably a scapegoat cultivated by the promotion team.
As Zuo Yan left the finance department, he still looked somewhat dazed. He had received a total of 3,500 yuan, plus a sack full of New Year's goods. To be fair, the benefits provided by the university were indeed generous; everyone who came out of the finance department was all smiles.
As soon as I got to the door, I saw Lü Yingcai waiting there, with Li Laoshi standing next to him.
Zuo Yan lifted the things in his hand: "I'll go home to put my things away first. Give me an address, and I'll go there myself later."
"Why would you go home? If you went home, would you even be able to get out again?"
"No matter how hard it is to get out, there's always some time to spare."
"Alright, we'll go back with you, it's on the way. To be honest, you don't really have that kind of idea, do you?"
"No, we don't want to go back yet. There's a lot of food, but the two of us can't finish it all. My wife and I have already discussed it and decided to send the food to the orphanage."
"Oh, I didn't expect you to be this." Lü Yingcai gave a thumbs up, but the disdain in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Li Laoshi smiled and said, "I'll go with you first, and we can go to the orphanage later."
"Alright, let's go then."
Zuo Yan rushed home, put down his things, and was about to leave when his mother called him back.
This year is quite different from last year. There are too many people in the factory; if things were to get moving, there would probably be tens of thousands. Besides, they don't really care much about the food anymore, so they didn't let their families come along. Zuo's mother felt it was a bit of a pity, as she thought last year's shadow puppet show was quite good.
"Why are you rushing out like that?" Mother Zuo frowned.
"Mom," Zuo Yan called out, then glanced back and, under the curious gazes of Xiuli and Zuo's mother, whispered, "Recently, our factory has been targeted by those cheaters outside."
"What do you mean by 'being targeted'..." Xiuli didn't quite understand. What could a factory have to do with a conman?
"There's a group of con artists targeting the factory workers, trying to steal money from their pockets. But what does that have to do with you?" Mother Zuo explained to Xiuli, then asked Zuo Yan.
"The factory manager sent me undercover to pretend to be gambling, and then catch them all in one fell swoop. So, if you see me gambling these next few days, and if any outsiders come back and tell you, remember to make a scene, make a scene so everyone knows," Zuo Yan said mysteriously.
"Okay." Mother Zuo understood instantly.
"Why...why..."
"Mom, explain to Lili that I'm going out first."
"Okay, go ahead. I'll explain."
"Mom, this..." Xiuli was a little confused.
"Our Zuo family ancestors were quite influential. Back then, they specialized in catching these charlatans, but they declined later. Although Zuo Yan inherited some of the Zuo family's methods, he was not capable of serving in the government, so his skills were buried."
This is why Zuo's mother didn't allow Zuo Yan to follow Kui Datou.
No matter how you look at it, the things Kui Datou did were tainted with darkness. The Zuo family cannot do such things; that would be a disgrace to their ancestors.
Xiuli never expected that the Zuo family had such a legend. In the countryside, they were considered prominent figures.
“This conman, also known as ‘the conman’s gang,’ you can think of it as a group that specializes in cheating people. I reckon he saw that the wages at the motorcycle factory were high and wanted to make a quick buck. Let that brat handle this. Later, just do as he says: once someone tells you he gambled, make a scene until everyone knows. Go see what he brought back.”
Xiuli nodded obediently.
Since I married into this family, life has gotten better day by day. My mother-in-law is also a good person; she has always been very obedient.
She opened Zuo Yan's bag and was stunned. She looked at Zuo's mother and said, "Mom, so much money..."
"Keep your voice down. This is ours. You forgot last night? The factory manager said there's a bonus of three thousand. Count it and see if it's correct."
"Oh, oh." Xiuli finally realized what was happening. Her hands trembled slightly as she counted the money. After counting for a while, she said, "It's three thousand five in total."
"That's right. They also get paid at the end of the year. Keep five hundred and go buy some New Year's goods tomorrow. There's also a copper pot at home. We'll have hot pot with mutton this year."
"Yes! Yes!" Xiuli nodded heavily, then handed the money to Zuo's mother.
This was their family rule: large sums of money went to Zuo's mother, and small sums went to Xiuli. If they needed anything new, they would buy it first, and if they ran out, they would ask Zuo's mother for more. However, Xiuli hadn't asked Zuo's mother for money all year, since the factory provided many things. Besides, Zuo Yan often got his meals from the canteen and ate them at home, adding some good dishes; in reality, the food from outside didn't cost much.
Over the course of a year, the young couple had accumulated quite a bit of money in their savings account.
Now, we can happily plan our New Year celebrations.
Xiuli seemed to remember something and asked again, "When he goes fishing, doesn't he need to bring some money with him?"
"Don't worry, it's my first time, I won't lose. It won't cost that much money."
Zuo's mother was very experienced in this matter.
Following Lü Yingcai through the winding alleys, they arrived at a secluded spot. Zuo Yan looked around and said, "I've never been to this place before."
"Of course, not many people know this place. Even those who aren't locals wouldn't be able to find it." Lü Yingcai said smugly, "I'll take you out again in a bit."
Zuo Yan followed Lü Yingcai into the courtyard, where a man was guarding the entrance.
"Brother Yan, you're here. You brought two brothers along to have some fun."
The tall, thin man guarding the door, known as "Brother Yan," had a shrewd, calculating look on his face. Hearing Lü Yingcai's words, he immediately smiled and said, "Oh, alright, then hurry in, they're having a great time inside!"
Li Laoshi looked around curiously and followed them into the house.
Zuo Yan glanced at it and had already made up his mind that this gang was very ordinary.
To put it simply, even within the world of martial arts, there are strict rules.
For example, this "Brother Yan" corresponds to the "Wind General" in the Thousand Gates sect.
As the name suggests, "Phoenix General" is used for lookout duties; their job is to gather information and intelligence.
"Phoenix General" does not represent a person or a group. The so-called "Eight Generals of the Thousand Gates" does not refer to eight individuals, but rather to eight groups or teams.
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