Chapter 58 Expulsion
Li Bin and his group were assigned to Panjia Village in the southwest. Although the village was small, the environment was nice. Looking up to the north, they could see a huge banyan tree. It was close to a resort, and Li Bin had brought his wife and children here before. "Xiao Fei, do you remember this place? Dad brought you here before. There's a reservoir here."
Li Fei looked up and around, then shook his head blankly: "I don't remember..."
It's no wonder the child didn't recognize it; the last time I brought the child here was several years ago. These days, things can change drastically in just a few months, let alone a few years!
Li Bin comforted him, saying, "It's alright, you'll remember this later."
The electric tricycle slowly came to a stop in front of Panjia Village. The driver pointed in the direction of Panjia Village and said, "We're here. You can go in now."
After Li Bin and the others got off the tricycle, it turned around and quickly disappeared down the side road, the dust kicked up by the wheels spraying all over their faces. The temperature was starting to rise, and the driver needed to hurry back to cool off.
Li Bin, holding the keys, led the group towards Panjia Village. Just as they reached the village entrance, a college student-looking man stopped them: "What are you doing here?"
Li Bin quickly handed the sheet from his sleeve to the man: "We are survivors who recently arrived at the base and have been assigned here. Look, is this Building 8 in Panjia Village?"
The man reached out and took the form, glanced at it, then frowned, his eyes filled with anger: "Damn it."
Li Bin and his group exchanged bewildered glances. "What? What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
The man glanced at Li Bin with an ambiguous expression: "What did you guys do before?"
Li Bin honestly replied, "We are engineers from the Civil Defense Design Institute of City C, as well as university professors and marine engineers. Our specific job titles have already been registered."
Upon hearing this, the man's face darkened instantly. He gripped the release slip tightly, staring intently at Li Bin and his group. If looks could kill, Li Bin and his companions would probably have been riddled with holes by now.
Li Bin and the others were not inexperienced. After a moment of silence, he spoke up: "Is there a problem? If there is, please return the form to us so we can go find Engineer Jiang."
The man gritted his teeth: "Who is this Engineer Jiang you're talking about?"
Li Bin replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Jiang Rong, I was his former colleague."
Upon hearing Jiang Rong's name, the man's expression became incredibly complex. He resembled a wild beast on the verge of exploding, wanting to bare his fangs and tear the crowd apart, yet he hesitated, fearing the whip. He forced a twisted smile: "Welcome."
He verbally welcomed them, but his actions betrayed his true intentions. The man walked with incredible speed, seemingly intent on leaving Li Bin and his group far behind. However, Panjia Village was only so big; even as he disappeared into the distance, Li Bin and his companions quickly spotted the houses assigned to them by the base.
They had initially thought the houses assigned to them by the base wouldn't be very nice, but when they saw the houses, everyone smiled with delight. The houses were three-story townhouses with more than a dozen bedrooms, each with two or three bunk beds, which could easily accommodate more than thirty people.
Best of all, solar panels were installed on the roof, and clear water flowed from the pipes when the taps were turned on. People who entered the room laughed and cried, and several gave Li Bin a big hug: "Binzi, thank you so much."
If Li Bin hadn't known Jiang Rong, they would have died in the industrial park. How could they have such a nice house with running water and electricity?
Li Bin felt unworthy of the thanks: "The person I should thank is Engineer Jiang."
Everyone happily chose their preferred rooms. Li Bin and his family were assigned to the easternmost room on the first floor, which had a toilet and was very convenient as it was right next to the living room and kitchen.
The past few days of travel had left Li Bin and his companions filthy. Now that they had water, all they wanted was a good shower and a good night's sleep. As Li Bin entered the bathroom to take a shower, he heard voices outside the window.
"The Spark Base is bullying us! We work so hard every day, but we don't even have air conditioning in our accommodations. They, on the other hand, get to live in such nice houses as soon as they enter the base just because they know Jiang Rong!"
The speaker was the same student who had led them in. Standing outside the bathroom window, his back to it, he angrily spoke to another person: "They promised to install solar panels for us, but after the application was submitted, they've been stalling us. Chairman, I think Jiang Rong really doesn't treat us students like human beings; he's just using us as free labor!"
The man standing opposite him had a grave expression. After a long pause, he slowly nodded: "You're right, the base is indeed unfair to us. But don't worry, the Starfire Base isn't Jiang Rong's personal fiefdom. If we unite, we can always fight for what we deserve. Just be patient and bear with it a little longer..."
The student was about to say something when the person on the other end said slowly, "Be careful, walls have ears. Let's discuss this in detail when we get back. I'll go see Battalion Commander Xu tonight. There might be some big moves going on at the base in a few days."
The two whispered something else, which Li Bin couldn't quite make out, and soon they left. Li Bin frowned, watching the direction they went. While it's true that wherever there are people, there's bound to be conflict, encountering something like this so soon after arriving at the base felt unusual. Next time he met Jiang Rong, he would tell her everything he'd heard that day.
*
By 9:30 a.m., the outside temperature had already risen to over 40 degrees Celsius. People in the Xinghuo Base returned indoors to escape the sweltering heat. Those who could afford it turned on electric fans and air conditioners, while those who couldn't used ice buckets and fanned themselves.
The air conditioner was on in the living room of Building 10, Fishery Team 6. Although the temperature couldn't be set too low, it was still cool and comfortable compared to facing the high temperature directly. The residents of the building gathered in the lobby on the first floor to cool off. Some of them had spread out mats on the floor to lie down and take a nap, while others chatted together, and there were even two tables of people playing mahjong.
One table was particularly loud. A lean old man drew a card and gleefully overturned the deck in front of him, exclaiming, "Hey! I won!"
A neighbor from the next building, who was visiting, asked in confusion, "Who is this old man? He's so loud."
The neighbor clicked his tongue and lowered his voice: "Who else could it be? The future emperor of the Starfire Base, of course."
The neighbor nodded knowingly, a hint of disdain in his eyes: "So it was him."
After Jiangjiaqiao was destroyed by wild boars, the original residents were relocated to other villages, and now the Sixth Fishery Village is home to people from several villages. The resident asking the question wasn't from Jiangjiaqiao, but had heard some gossip.
The old man playing cards is named Jiang Fusheng. His son, Jiang Zixuan, used to be a playboy who got a girl pregnant while he was in college. Later, the girl gave birth to the child and abandoned it at the Jiang family's home. The Jiang family didn't want the child, so they gave it to a relative from the same clan.
The person who took the child away was none other than Jiang Rong, the leader of the base. Because of this connection, Jiang Zixuan and his son were assigned exceptionally easy tasks.
During this period, many people have seen Jiang Zixuan contacting Jiang Xiaoheng, seemingly wanting to build a good relationship with him.
The neighbor sneered, "How shameless!" She gave birth to him but didn't raise him; now that her son has someone to rely on, she's clinging to him like a leech. There are plenty of despicable people in the world, but few are as despicable as this.
The residents of Building 10 deeply understand: "Yes, but there's nothing we can do about it."
Who could blame Jiang Zixuan's family for being so lucky? Now everyone knows how to cultivate good relationships with the superhumans in the base. As the leader of the base, Jiang Rong was already surrounded by people.
Everyone knows that as long as you can get along well with Jiang Xiaoheng, your life will take a qualitative leap. Jiang Zixuan is the child's biological father, and he has more reason and advantage than anyone else to get close to the child.
Rumors have been circulating in several villages lately, with villagers giving Jiang Fusheng and his son nicknames like "Emperor" and "Retired Emperor." It seems that as long as Jiang Xiaoheng grows up, they will be able to firmly hold the top positions in the base.
Just then, Jiang Zixuan entered the living room carrying a tray of Leleduo mahjong tiles. Seeing his son enter, Jiang Fusheng quickly put down the mahjong tiles in his hand: "I'm not playing anymore, my son is back."
After entering the room, Jiang Zixuan did not exchange pleasantries with anyone; he went straight upstairs and into his room.
As soon as he entered the room, Jiang Zixuan turned on the air conditioner. The old air conditioner hummed, and the cool breeze quickly dried the sweat on his body.
The solar panels have limited power generation; normally, a building can only power one air conditioner. Building No. 10 is a bit special; it has two more solar panels on its roof than other buildings, just enough to power Jiang Zixuan's family's air conditioner.
As soon as he entered the bedroom, Jiang Fusheng asked anxiously, "How is it? Have you seen my grandson?"
Jiang Zixuan sighed, "I waited at the market all morning, but he didn't go." He was somewhat frustrated that he couldn't give away the Leleduo he had worked so hard to get.
Jiang Fusheng encouraged him, "It's alright, if it doesn't work today, you can go again tomorrow. Anyway, whenever you have free time, go to Sancun more often, meet the child more often, and become a familiar face to the child."
Jiang Zixuan's eyes dimmed: "Dad, I don't want to go. You don't know, there are too many people trying to curry favor with that child, and what I have is not enough to attract his attention."
Jiang Fusheng laughed and said, "You silly boy, you really don't understand anything. You're already backing down? That child is yours, father and son are of one heart. I don't believe that if you appear in front of him, he won't feel anything at all."
Jiang Zixuan tossed Leleduo onto the bed, then kicked off his shoes and lay down on the bed: "He's so small, what could he possibly feel?"
Jiang Fusheng raised an eyebrow: "It's precisely because he's young that we can get close to him. Now is the best time to repair the parent-child relationship. If he grows up, will he acknowledge you? Will he have the patience to listen to your troubles? Son, this opportunity will pass in the blink of an eye, you have to seize it!"
Jiang Zixuan lay on the bed and sighed heavily: "I understand the logic, but now it's even difficult to say a word to him. He has so many people around him, you don't know, he has a mutated tiger by his side, who is taller than me when he stands up."
Jiang Fusheng sighed, "I've heard about it, but the more this is the case, the less we can back down. I heard from the villagers that the base will disperse us to do work in the future, and then you'll have fewer and fewer chances to see that child."
Jiang Zixuan grabbed his hair in frustration: "If I had known, I shouldn't have given the child to him in the first place. Dad, you have no idea how I felt when I looked at that child."
Jiang Fusheng sat on the edge of the bed and gently patted Jiang Zixuan's chest: "Dad understands. Dad is a man too, how could I not understand? No man in the world wants to see his son call someone else 'Dad.' But things have already come to this, we have to look forward."
Jiang Fusheng sighed, "It's also my fault. Back then, I thought we had some savings, and you were young, so I figured you could find a wife and have a son you liked." Unexpectedly, a major crisis struck, and they lost all their assets. Luckily, the child was adopted, otherwise, who knows what would have become of them.
Jiang Fusheng said earnestly, "Zixuan, trust your father. I won't harm you. I'm helping you build a good relationship with your child now for your own good. Think about it, we're all ordinary people. If we don't have anyone looking out for us, how difficult will our future be?"
Everyone in the base knew that Jiang Rong cherished his child dearly, but Jiang Xiaoheng wasn't his biological son. If they could cultivate a good relationship with him while the child was young, he would eventually be recognized as part of the family when he grew up.
Jiang Zixuan understood this, and he took a few deep breaths: "Okay, I'll go to the market again tomorrow and wait there. If that doesn't work, I'll go look around near Chu Qiang's house..."
Just as the father and son were plotting how to get closer to Jiang Xiaoheng, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Jiang Fusheng raised his voice: "Who is it?"
The old village chief of Jiangjia Village said from the doorway: "It's me. Open the door. I need to talk to you."
After the gate opened, the old village chief looked Jiang Zixuan and his son up and down: "You're really lucky. The base has assigned you a good mission. Come with me."
Jiang Zixuan was somewhat surprised: "A mission? What kind of mission are we doing at this time?" They're not superhumans; don't they usually do missions at night?
The old village chief frowned. "Bright daylight is perfect for a mission. Don't worry, it's not a difficult task. If you're not going, I'll find someone else." With that, the village chief made a move to leave.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fusheng quickly grabbed the village chief's arm: "Hey, cousin, don't be angry, we'll go right now."
After leaving the house, the scorching sun made them sweat profusely. Fortunately, they got into a car at the village entrance. The car was very air-conditioned, and the father and son shivered as soon as they got in.
Seeing the old village chief standing outside the car, Jiang Zixuan asked in surprise, "Village chief, aren't you coming with us?"
The old village chief said slowly, "I'm too old to do the mission anymore, you can go."
Jiang Zixuan felt something was strange, but when he thought about how the old village chief had taken care of them during this time, he felt relieved.
After the car started, Jiang Zixuan realized that the driver was Chu Qiang. He greeted him warmly, "Brother Chu, it's you! How can we let you be our driver? Let me drive instead!"
Chu Qiang kept his eyes straight ahead: "Since it's on the way, I'll take you there." Chu Qiang had never looked down on Jiang Zixuan, so he naturally wouldn't give him a friendly look when they met.
Jiang Zixuan seemed oblivious, sitting down with a broad smile. "Brother Qiang, what mission does the base want us to undertake? Why does it look like we're heading north?"
Chu Qiang said expressionlessly, "You'll see when you get there. Also, don't disturb me while I'm driving."
After driving north for more than ten kilometers, they arrived at the national highway on the north side of the base. A large willow tree grew beside the national highway, and two vehicles were parked under the willow tree. One of them was the military vehicle that Jiang Rong and Guan Shao often drove, and the other was a sedan that looked to be in almost new condition.
When Jiang Zixuan saw the military vehicle, his eyelids twitched. Even someone as oblivious as him realized something was wrong. Who was Jiang Rong? Why would she have time to wait for them here?
Chu Qiang opened the car door with a forced smile: "Alright, get out of the car, we've arrived at our destination."
Jiang Zixuan and his son didn't want to get out of the car; they just wanted to get back as quickly as possible. But they were no match for Chu Qiang, so they had no choice but to get out of the car reluctantly. Chu Qiang crossed his arms and urged them on, "What are you standing there for? Move forward!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the military vehicle opened, and Jiang Rong got out of the vehicle.
The last time I saw Jiang Rong was when the wild boars attacked Jiangjia Bridge. Back then, Jiang Rong's clothes were stained with blood, and his aura was astonishing. Compared to last time, Jiang Rong's clothes weren't stained with blood, but his expressionless face made him look even more frightening.
Jiang Zixuan greeted him nervously, "Long time no see."
Jiang Rong scrutinized Jiang Zixuan's face. To be honest, the two looked somewhat alike. It was precisely this slight resemblance that displeased Jiang Rong. He said coldly, "Do you know why I called you two out?"
Jiang Fusheng's heart skipped a beat. He exchanged a glance with his son and decided to play dumb: "No, I don't know."
Jiang Rong gave them a cold look: "I can allow you to slack off at the base, allow you to take advantage of the past relationship between our two families to do easy jobs, and allow you to live in relatively good houses. But I will not allow you to approach Jiang Xiaoheng with ill intentions."
Upon hearing Jiang Xiaoheng's name, Jiang Zixuan's eyes darted around in panic. "We didn't mean any harm. We just wanted to see the child more. I am, after all, the child's biological father..."
Jiang Rong interrupted, "When Jiang Xiaoheng was born, he cried loudly in his swaddling clothes. Why didn't you, as his father, hold him? Why wouldn't you change his diaper or feed him a drop of milk? When you treated him as a burden and only wanted to send him away, why didn't you think about the fact that he has your blood in his veins?"
Jiang Zixuan opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal; Jiang Rong's words had struck a nerve.
Three years ago, when Jiang Zixuan learned he had a son, he was filled with panic and disgust. Jiang Xiaoheng was an accident; he never expected his ex-girlfriend to give birth to an unwanted child. At that time, he had just landed a good job and was dating his boss's daughter. A bright future was just around the corner; how could he let a baby ruin everything?
But things are different now. He genuinely wants to mend his relationship with Xiao Heng. Looking at the child's face, which resembles his so much, Jiang Zixuan felt a surge of pride: This is his son, so handsome, so well-behaved, sensible, and obedient.
He did have ulterior motives for getting close to Jiang Xiaoheng, but how much he wanted to hear Jiang Xiaoheng call him "Dad"!
Jiang Zixuan's throat tightened: "But I am, after all, his biological father!"
Jiang Rong had no intention of listening to the father and son's excuses. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. I won't let you affect Xiao Heng, and I certainly won't let him know that he has family like you. Now you only have two paths in front of you. The first is to leave the base. I've prepared a vehicle and the necessary supplies for you to get to the next base."
Jiang Zixuan then realized that the other car under the willow tree was given to them by Jiang Rong, who wanted to kick them out of the base!
"Leaving the base now would be suicide!" Jiang Fusheng's face turned pale, and he stammered, "Jiang Rong, no, no, Boss Jiang, we signed an agreement with the base. We gave all our assets to the base in exchange for its protection. The base can't just kick us out like this!"
Chu Qiang sneered, "Heh, all your family property? Don't forget, your house was destroyed by wild boars. If it weren't for us, would you and your son still be alive to speak here? Not to mention, half of your so-called family property was given to you by Jiang Rong's family to take Xiao Heng away. If you had even a shred of a sense of contractual obligation, I would have respected you more. But what did you do? You were eating from one bowl while eyeing another. Before, you thought the child was a burden, but now that you see he's useful, you want to take him back."
Chu Qiang spat and said, "A person shouldn't be so greedy."
Sweat poured down Jiang Fusheng's forehead as he pleaded, "Jiang Boss, we were wrong! We promise we'll never appear in front of Xiao Heng again. Even if you beat us to death, we won't say a word about his background..."
Jiang Rong curled the corners of his lips. "It's too late. I gave you a chance." But Jiang Zixuan still kept changing his mind about his bottom line.
Jiang Zixuan's heart pounded, and he was drenched in sweat. Only now did he realize how weak he was in front of Jiang Rong. He had no ability to speak to Jiang Rong as an equal, let alone try to take the child from her.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Zixuan tentatively asked, "What... what is the other way?"
Jiang Rong said, slowly and deliberately, "The second way: death."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless red vines drooped down from the willow tree. The flamboyant, bloodthirsty vines hung over the shoulders of the father and son, their icy touch like snakes, terrifying them to the core.
In this world, it's easier for someone to die than to drink water. For a superhuman, killing an ordinary person is child's play, let alone someone who is the controller of the base. The moment Jiang Zixuan touched the Bloodthirsty Vine, he was certain that if he refused to leave, Jiang Rong would kill him without hesitation.
Jiang Zixuan knelt on the ground and cried out hoarsely, "I'll leave! We'll leave! Please, please let us go!"
Jiang Rong nodded slightly: "It's a deal. Don't appear in front of me again. If I see you again, you know what will happen."
Jiang Zixuan and his father ran towards the car in front of them without looking back. They quickly started the car and drove west, disappearing from sight in no time.
Chu Qiang sneered twice, hands clasped in his pockets: "Useless trash, incompetent but ambitious." Jiang Rong had been really good to them, father and son, but they still wanted to take Xiao Heng away. No one could tolerate that!
If Xiao Heng were Chu Qiang's son, Chu Qiang would definitely make those two disappear forever. However, once they leave the base's protection, how far this father and son can go depends on fate. After all, the world outside the base is full of "surprises."
Jiang Rong stared intently in the direction Jiang Zixuan and the others had left. After a while, he lowered his eyes and said, "Let's go home."
His son had been waiting for him at home for a long time; it was time for him to go home.
Author's Note:
If Xiao Heng were my son, I would raise him with such care and hardship, and then his biological father's family would want to take him back.
I'll kill them! Kill them!!
Some readers said the attacker brought 8,000 soldiers to the base, implying I was overly optimistic. I wasn't. Human nature is complex; soldiers are human too. More people mean more thoughts, and that creates potential problems.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
