Lei Tianming saw him hesitate and pushed him: "You were only sixteen two years ago. If you keep messing around like this, the neighborhood committee will have something to say about it."
Xu Dajun smiled bitterly and lowered his head.
"Dajun, I'm speaking the truth to you, my friend. You can't be a scoundrel. We can't bring shame to our brothers and sisters. Go to work. Half of Maotou's medical expenses will be reimbursed in the future."
Xu Dajun looked at the ants crawling on the ground and pinched them lightly, killing them. Since Young Master Liang asked him to go out for a while, he knew that if he continued, he would really be dragged into the pirate ship.
It's not too late to escape now, but later on, he would have to wait until Maotou's condition stabilized before running away. But if he had no other choice, how could he bear to leave the capital?
With this job, he no longer has to take his younger brother to a remote place to suffer, nor does he have to worry about their two houses being taken away, nor does he have to worry about Maotou not being able to adapt to life in a foreign place.
After thinking about all sorts of things, Xu Dajun looked up at the worried Lei Tianming, gritted his teeth, stood up, patted his butt, and looked into the distance: "Come with me for a drink."
Lei Tianming didn't object and accompanied him to the ward to say hello to his mother. The two of them left the hospital together and bought two kilograms of liquor on the way back to the compound.
After grabbing some snacks, the two of them retreated to a secluded spot, enjoying the cool evening breeze while downing two bowls of white wine. The silent Xu Dajun finally spoke about his concerns.
If it were an outsider, he wouldn't have said this. But the Liang family was a wealthy and powerful family, and he couldn't afford to offend them. He also didn't want his good brother to be implicated one day.
"...It's a very large old house. During the day, there are sometimes many tourists visiting. At night, when it's dark, the five people hired by Young Master Liang sneak in."
"As for me, I've only had one mission for the past two weeks. How long do I have to watch those five people go in from the dark every night? Do they take anything with them when they come out?"
"...Later, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed wrong. Even if the yard was large, it wouldn't take this long. It looked like they were looking for something."
Lei Tianming poured him a glass of wine and listened absentmindedly.
"When I asked around, I was so scared that I broke out in a cold sweat." Xu Dajun drank the wine in one gulp. "This courtyard is very famous. You can find out some information from anyone you ask.
But the strange thing is, everyone who mentioned this courtyard had a strange look on their face. Later, when I was treating people to drinks, I found out that such a large courtyard already had an owner, and it was a high-ranking official in Beijing who had loaned it to the local government.
Lei Tianming frowned.
"What worries me most is that the man swallowed it in a few mouthfuls and told me nothing. When the local authorities took over, some people wanted to look for the rumored treasure in the yard, but later they didn't dare to do anything for fear of offending the family."
Lei Tianming shook his head: "What a bunch of lunatics. If they had treasure, would they lend it out? If they had it, they would have taken it away long ago."
"Haha, you don't know what's going on here. Let me tell you the story of the original owner of this yard, and you'll understand what's going on."
As Xu Dajun talked about the well-known history of the Gu family, Lei Tianming always felt a sense of familiarity, but he couldn't say anything. He just listened quietly.
"...Everyone died, and I thought the yard was ownerless. But unexpectedly, a few years ago, the family's grandson showed up. Wow, I heard that military vehicles rolled in row after row, and it caused a sensation."
Military vehicle? Lei Tianming raised his hand to interrupt, "Wait, did you find out the grandson's surname?"
"His last name is Zhou. I heard that the locals were skeptical about the authenticity of this suddenly appearing high-ranking official. But after seeing the daughter he brought with him, everyone no longer had any doubts. I heard that Zhou's daughter looks exactly like her grandmother, which scared a lot of the elderly people at the time."
By this point, Lei Tianming had already guessed it was most likely his sister Zhou Jiao. He was so close to Zhang Guoqing and his wife, how could he not know all this? Furthermore, it was his sister Zhou Jiao who had arranged this job for him, even though she was pregnant, and had even pressured him to attend night school.
No wonder it felt so familiar. Doesn't that mean the Liang family bastards have set their sights on his sister Zhou Jiao's home? Thinking of this, Lei Tianming's eyes flashed with a fierce light.
He took a sip from his bowl and said nonchalantly, "Is there really a treasure? Have you found it yet?"
"Bullshit! I spent a month and didn't find a single hair. I don't know what those five people said to him, but he let me come back."
Lei Tianming asked thoughtfully, "He didn't ask you to do anything else after you came back, did he? This is too dangerous, it's better to break it off as soon as possible."
"Let me go find him in a couple of days. I guess he wants me to do something shameful again. I'm just worried that if I get too involved with him, I won't be able to get away from him. But Maotou still needs his help. Besides money, I need an imported penicillin. The doctor who treated Maotou has applied for it for me several times, but there's still no medicine."
"If there is medicine, would you still go to the Liang family?"
Xu Dajun shook his head. "If there wasn't really no other way, who would want to be ordered around like a dog? I originally wanted to get the medicine, and once Maotou recovered, I'd take him with me to support the border. By then, even if he had great abilities, he wouldn't be able to control me."
Lei Tianming thought for a moment and asked, "Do you still remember how Xiaohui almost lost her life that year?"
How could Xu Dajun forget? His younger brother Maotou also fell ill that year, otherwise how could he be so seriously ill now with ascites?
"That year, besides Xiaohui being in critical condition, my mother was also on the verge of death. She boiled the two steamed buns you gave her into porridge and forced the three of us siblings to eat them for a full fortnight." At this point, Lei Tianming gave him a grateful look. Xu Dajun had fought hard to get those two steamed buns back from his eldest sister and shared half with his family.
"One day, I heard bursts of wailing coming from the yard next door. Looking at Erwa's little body, I realized I couldn't just sit there and wait for death. Maybe Xiaohui would end up like Erwa tomorrow.
After selling everything I could at home, I went to the black market to sell blood. Naively, I thought there were plenty of rich people there, and there would always be good people. I'll never forget the despair I felt, kneeling in the snow, watching so many people carrying goods to and fro in the black market, yet no one offered a helping hand.
But I can't leave yet. I don't know where I'll end up. Will my sister still be alive tomorrow? Will my mother still be able to hold on? Will my brother collapse like my sister?
I was kneeling there, completely numb from the cold. Just as I was about to see my dad smiling and reaching out to me, a couple suddenly came over. "At this point, Lei Tianming's face was already covered with tears.
"The man took off his military coat and carried me, while the woman shouted in front, 'Hurry and get to the hospital!' When I woke up, I realized I hadn't been dreaming. Hanging from my arm was the medicine I'd been dreaming of, and the hot porridge on the bedside table smelled delicious. Later, this couple saved the lives of four of my family."
"I'll never forget the angel-like beauty, Sister Zhou Jiao, anxiously asking Brother Xiaowu to come to my house quickly. When Brother Xiaowu brought Xiaohui back, the doctor said the child would have died in just one more day."
Lei Tianming pulled a handkerchief from his trouser pocket, wiped the tears from his face, picked up the bowl and drank it in one gulp. Ever since he escaped from human traffickers at the age of six and was adopted by the Lei family, he had been lucky enough to meet that couple again in his life.
"Son, mother will protect you from heaven and help you through every difficulty until you find your father. You must live, hold your breath and live on, because only by living can there be hope. There are always kind people in this world..."
When I was young, what my mother said before she died gradually came true: as long as you hold on to hope, you will indeed be able to survive in desperate situations.
Xu Dajun, standing nearby, heard him talk about this past event. The mention of Sister Zhou Jiao reminded him of the woman he'd met a few times. Her last name was Zhou? He jumped up a beat too late.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
