Chapter 16
Cheng Xing gestured to Cheng Jun: "Such a big rock, it hit him in a flash. If it had been thrown more accurately, he might not even be able to save his life."
Cheng Jun sighed, called Zhao Ergou over, and asked, "Who was that just now?"
Zhao Ergou stared at him warily.
Cheng Jun pointed at Cheng Xing and said, "This is my sister."
Then he pointed to his pickup truck and said, "That's my car. My mom and my niece are in it. We are not bad people."
Zhao Ergou pursed his lips until he saw the car, his eyes sparkling. He looked fascinated, "Brother, you're amazing."
Cheng Jun blushed for a rare moment.
"Do you like cars? Do you want to go and see them?" Cheng Jun tempted him.
"Is it okay?" Zhao Ergou was very surprised.
"No problem." Cheng Jun took him to the car and let him observe it up close.
Cheng Jun patted the frame and said, "Go ahead and try it. It won't break."
Zhao Ergou was quite polite. When he saw Tao Zhi, he greeted her first, wiped his hands on his clothes, and then touched the car.
Cheng Jun opened all the car doors so that he could see the internal structure.
Zhao Ergou wanted to crawl under the car, but Cheng Jun was so scared that he quickly grabbed him.
After a while, Zhao Ergou stood up and said, "Brother, this is your car." He gave a thumbs up.
Cheng Jun was puzzled. He was dressed in rags and looked malnourished, yet he seemed quite knowledgeable. "You know anything about cars?"
Zhao Ergou bared his teeth and said, "I've learned a little bit about auto repair."
Cheng Jun understood, "So what are you now?"
"My stepmother won't let me study anymore, saying I only eat and don't work, and will only waste food."
Cheng Jun thought for a moment, "Is your cow obedient?"
Zhao Ergou looked at the cows leisurely eating grass not far away and said, "Dahei is very well behaved."
"If you're at ease, I'll take you for a ride and then drop you off when we get back."
Zhao Ergou jumped up and said, "Don't worry, don't worry." He went to tie the cow to a big tree, then ran to the thatched house, probably to ask someone to help watch over the cow.
Tao Zhi sighed, "It's good to be young."
Cheng Jun quickly followed up: "Mom, you are not old."
Tao Zhi smiled and nodded at him.
After Zhao Ergou finished all this, Cheng Jun asked him to sit in the passenger seat.
Along the way, Zhao Ergou's true identity was exposed.
According to him, "Ergou" was his childhood nickname; his full name is Zhao Zihao, and he's sixteen and a half years old. He should have been attending high school, but after his mother passed away and his stepmother came into the family, he couldn't even afford tuition. Forced to drop out, he went to the city to look for a job. Through a recommendation from a fellow villager, he landed an apprenticeship at an auto repair shop. Apprentices were provided with food and lodging, but no salary.
Because he had no money to take back, his stepmother became even more displeased with him. Throwing him around was the least of her worries; sometimes she even beat him with a stick. He was still growing up, often hungry, and naturally lacked the strength of his stepmother. Furthermore, if he dared to fight back, his father would have beaten him even more severely.
It's not like Zhao Zihao hadn't tried to find someone. His cousin was the village chief. Every time, his father and stepmother would agree, but once they closed the door, the mixed doubles became even more intense. When the auto repair shop closed for the holiday, he had nowhere to go, so he had to endure it for the time being. Sometimes, he'd give his stepmother a beating, and it would make him feel a little better.
What Cheng Xing saw today was already mild.
Cheng Jun lifted up his trouser legs and saw a crisscross of red marks on his calves.
Cheng Xing shared the same hatred and said, "You are such a bad stepmother."
Cheng Jun said to his sister while steering, "That was also caused by his father."
"You're right, his father is the culprit."
Cheng Jun noticed out of the corner of his eye that Zhao Zihao looked very uncomfortable, so he decisively changed the subject.
"Are you from Zhaojia Village too?"
"Yes."
Cheng Jun was surprised: "Why did you come so far to herd cattle?"
"We live at the end of the village, not far from here."
"Then you want us to walk another ten miles?"
Zhao Zihao smiled innocently: "I guess you should go to the village committee."
Cheng Xing was surprised: "Wow, you can guess that?"
"Because we all know everyone in the village, none of our relatives have cars, otherwise we would have shown it off to the whole village."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Jun nodded secretly in his heart.
Maybe it was the busy farming season, and there were few idle people in the village. The car drove into the village smoothly and went straight to the open space in front of the village committee building.
Zhao Zihao said to Cheng Jun, "Brother, I'll go get someone for you."
Cheng Jun and Cheng Xing followed him into the village committee office.
Tao Zhi held little Jin He in her arms as they strolled along the paths in the fields. Breathing the fresh air and gazing at the lush green rice fields, she felt relaxed and at ease.
It didn't take long before Cheng Xing and the others came out.
Cheng Jun got in the car first. After everyone was seated, Tao Zhi asked, "Is it done?"
Cheng Jun let out a breath before answering, "It's done, thanks to Xiao Zhao this time."
"What happened?"
"As soon as I showed the household registration acceptance certificate, they said it was against the rules and required the household registration booklet. The person who said that was Zhao Jun's cousin. It must be Zhao Jun who was behind this, trying to take control of Jin He's household registration so that we can bleed a lot of money."
"Did you pay?"
"When I was about to pay, Xiao Zhao stopped me. He pulled the village chief aside, who was his great-uncle, and talked to him for a few words. The village chief then talked to that man, and they finally agreed to sign for 800 yuan."
Tao Zhi was very curious: "Xiao Zhao, what did you say?"
"I told my uncle that Jun is my boss. If everyone can help, my boss is willing to give everyone a subsidy of 500 yuan privately."
"Good boy, you have helped a lot. Auntie must thank you."
Zhao Zihao was a little panicked and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "This is all what Brother Jun taught me."
"But this will only have this effect if you say it."
He scratched his head: "Really?"
The Cheng family couldn't help but laugh.
They had indeed not followed the normal procedures for transferring their household registration, especially since Jin He's household registration page was in Zhao Jun's. Tao Zhi wasn't that foolish to just throw herself at someone and give them a chance to extort money.
Cheng Xing's household registration was with her parents and had never been moved to the Zhao family. So after the divorce, she hadn't considered moving Jin He as well. Now, she had no choice but to buy Cheng Xing a household registration and then go to the neighborhood office to get a receipt. With real money, things got done quickly. Of course, having connections in the court made things easier, and her sister-in-law had made a real contribution. Tao Zhi taught Cheng Xing to remember this.
So, now I'm taking a different approach and rushing here with the certificate in hand. Actually, the village is pretty straightforward; they just need a certificate of consent for relocation, and nothing else. But this certificate is a must, and so is the money.
However, with Zhao Zihao around, the money spent was less than expected, and Zhao Jun did not get any benefit, so Tao Zhihua was very willing to do so.
Cheng Jun turned serious for a second: "I wasn't joking just now, tell me if you've made up your mind. Are you willing to go to work in the city with me?"
Zhao Zihao opened his mouth wide: "Brother, you...you...are you telling the truth?"
"Family members don't lie to each other."
Tears welled up in Zhao Zihao's eyes: "This...this...but I don't know what I will do?"
Cheng Jun patted his shoulder and said, "It's okay. If you don't know how to do it, just learn."
Zhao Zihao looked incredulous. Finding a job was not that easy. It must be Brother Jun who felt sorry for him.
He refused: "Brother, thank you, I won't go, I can't drag you down."
"What are you holding me back for?"
"It costs a lot of money to buy a job. If I can't learn it, or if I don't do it well, your money will be wasted."
Cheng Jun laughed: "Who said I'm going to buy you a job?"
Zhao Zihao was stunned: "Ah, isn't it?"
Cheng Jun reached out and rubbed his head: "Of course not. I'm short of people myself, how could I push you to someone else?"
Zhao Zihao was stunned: "Brother, you are so young, and you are already the boss?"
Cheng Jun raised one eyebrow and looked at him nonchalantly: "Yeah, can't you tell?"
Zhao Zihao began to admire him: "I really can't tell. Brother, you are so amazing, I want to emulate you."
Cheng Jun laughed proudly: "Follow me and study hard. I will tell you when you make a fortune."
Zhao Zihao nodded rapidly, fearing that he was not expressing his loyalty quickly enough.
Back to where he grazed cattle, Cheng Jun wanted to accompany him, pack up his things and take him back to the city.
Upon hearing this, Tao Zhi stopped Cheng Jun.
"As outsiders, we shouldn't get involved in so many things. People will think you have ulterior motives."
"Aren't they reasonable?"
Tao Zhi snorted, "You're about to kidnap his son, what's the point of talking?"
"What if his family won't let me go if I don't accompany him?"
"You're dressed like this, driving a car. Tell me, do you look like a fat lamb?"
Cheng Jun looked at himself. His jeans and leather jacket looked good, nothing wrong with them.
Tao Zhi couldn't bear to watch, "Look at what the villagers are wearing?"
Cheng Jun suddenly realized, "People say respect the clothes first and then respect the person. I thought I could support Xiao Zhao."
"Then you shouldn't show up. What if he doesn't reach an agreement with his family and thinks you were the one who instigated it? His father might get angry and vent his anger on you. And when he calls in a few people from the village, you won't be able to escape even if you want to."
"So Xiao Zhao should go back alone?"
"Yes, everything remains the same. Don't let them get any clues. Xiao Zhao will simply lead the way today and have nothing else to do with us. This will also protect his future."
Cheng Jun was persuaded. He left his address and phone number and asked Zhao Zihao to find him when the time came.
Zhao Zihao took the note, read it over and over again, then returned it to Cheng Jun and said, "I've got it."
Tao Zhi also felt that Xiao Zhao was indeed very thoughtful.
Cheng Jun was safe and sound, bringing his mother and sister home and helping a little kid. He felt that his day had been fulfilled. He took the money his mother had reimbursed and was about to go out to have dinner with a friend when Tao Zhi stopped him.
Seeing his mother's generosity, he ran over happily and said, "Mom, what do you want?"
"Introduce me to the friend who helped investigate Zhao Jun before."
"Mom, who do you want to check?"
"Don't worry about that."
"That guy is very cautious. The more people know, the greater the risk he faces."
"He won't even take business?"
Cheng Jun shook his head: "He is not short of money."
Tao Zhi was embarrassed: "But this matter is not suitable for you to interfere."
Cheng Jun guessed it, and he didn't care about these trivial matters: "Then I will ask him first. No matter what the result is, don't blame me, mom."
Tao Zhi shooed him out: "Go quickly."
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