“Writing textbooks is meticulous work. It’s so troublesome for you to travel back and forth between the village and the town every day!” Secretary Wen explained, as if it were only natural. “I found you a guesthouse near the publishing house. You can settle down and focus on writing the textbook.”
"No need, Secretary Wen, I'd rather go back to the village to live," Xu Kuo politely declined.
Secretary Wen frowned and advised, "Comrade Xu, you don't understand. Compiling textbooks is not an easy task. You're wasting so much time traveling back and forth! It's more convenient to stay in the township. If you need anything, I can help you solve it in time."
“Secretary Wen, you’ve misunderstood,” Professor Wang suddenly interjected, his expression strange. “Comrade Xu Kuo has already finished compiling the textbook.”
"It's finished?" Secretary Wen was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened as he looked Xu Kuo up and down. "You...you...are you serious? You've already finished writing the textbook?"
She asked several times, still unable to believe her ears.
"Absolutely true!" Professor Wang pointed to the textbook on the table. "See for yourself!"
Secretary Wen quickly picked up the textbook and began to read. The more she read, the more astonished and excited she became. Finally, she slammed her hand on the table and exclaimed, "Excellent! Excellent! Comrade Xu Kuo, you are truly the pride of our township!"
She grasped Xu Kuo's hand tightly, so excited she could hardly speak: "Comrade Xu Kuo, on behalf of all the people in the township, thank you! You have done a great thing for our township!"
Xu Kuo waved his hand modestly and said, "Secretary Wen, you flatter me. This is what I should do."
After exchanging pleasantries, Xu Kuo took his leave.
Inside the publishing house, the lights were on, and everyone was busy printing and proofreading the textbooks written by Xu Kuo, working through the night.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Zhou Changke angrily confronted Zhou Junhong, the antique dealer.
"Zhou Junhong! You scoundrel! How dare you sell me counterfeit goods!" As soon as Zhou Changke entered the room, he pointed at Zhou Junhong's nose and started cursing.
Zhou Junhong was startled; he hadn't expected Zhou Changke to come knocking so quickly. He forced himself to remain calm and argued, "Boss Zhou, what...what do you mean by that? I sold you the genuine article! You can't just make false accusations!"
"Genuine? You have the nerve to call it genuine?" Zhou Changke pulled a few fragments from his pocket and slammed them down in front of Zhou Junhong. "Look at this for yourself!"
Zhou Junhong looked down and was immediately dumbfounded.
Several pieces of steel were clearly visible amidst the fragments!
"This...this..." Zhou Junhong's face turned deathly pale. He never expected that Zhou Changke would actually smash the Fangzun open! Now, he was completely exposed!
"Mr. Zhou, I...I was wrong, I really didn't know it was a fake!" Zhou Junhong knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly. "I apologize to you, I'll refund your money and give you some compensation, is that alright?"
Zhou Changke sneered, "Compensation? You think a little money can make up for my losses? Zhou Junhong, let me tell you, you've gotten yourself into big trouble this time! Don't even think about working in the antique circle anymore!"
Zhou Junhong trembled with fear. He knew that Zhou Changke had some influence in the antique circle, and if he really wanted to mess with him, he would definitely suffer the consequences.
With a mournful face, he pleaded, "Boss Zhou, please forgive me this time! I promise I'll never do it again!"
As he spoke, Zhou Junhong took out the jade pendant he had carried with him for many years; it was his most treasured antique.
"Mr. Zhou, look, this is the jade pendant you've always wanted to buy. How about I give it to you for free this time, as long as you spare me this once?"
Upon seeing the jade pendant, Zhou Changke was indeed tempted. After thinking for a moment, Zhou Changke snorted coldly and snatched the jade pendant away.
"I'll let you off this time since you admitted your mistake in time. But if you dare to do it again, I'll make you pay."
"Yes, yes, I will definitely remember that."
With that, Zhou Junhong breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.
"Boss Zhou, you have such keen eyes! I'm truly impressed!" Zhou Junhong bowed and scraped, his face full of flattery. "How did you figure that out? Teach me, so I can broaden my horizons!"
Zhou Changke, with his nostrils flared, snorted coldly: "Hmph, your pathetic tricks are only good for fooling me! Let me tell you the truth, I know a master appraiser, and he can see right through your rubbish in a second!"
"An expert in appraising antiques?" Zhou Junhong's eyes darted around, and he asked slyly, "May I ask which master you are? Could you introduce me so I can also pay my respects?"
He secretly plotted to teach this so-called master a lesson for daring to ruin his plans.
Who was Zhou Changke? He saw right through Zhou Junhong's little scheme. His face darkened, and he roared in fury, "Zhou Junhong! You're still up to your old tricks! Still trying to pull something funny? I think you're tired of living!"
Zhou Junhong trembled with fright and knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Boss Zhou, please calm down! I...I will never dare to do it again! I was just asking casually, I absolutely didn't mean anything else!"
He was filled with regret. He should have known better than to say something so talkative. Now look what he'd done! His flattery had backfired!
Zhou Changke, still furious, glared at Zhou Junhong and stormed off.
After seeing off the plague-like Zhou Changke, Zhou Junhong wiped the cold sweat from his brow and got up from the ground. His face was grim, and he gritted his teeth: "An appraisal master? I'll see which blind fool dares to ruin my good deed!"
He summoned his trusted henchmen and ordered them menacingly, "Investigate! Find out who has been closest to Zhou Changke in the last two days! Don't let a single one escape!"
The henchman obeyed and left, while Zhou Junhong paced back and forth in the room, plotting his revenge. He was no saint; having suffered such a great loss, how could he possibly let it go?
A short while later, the lackey returned and reported, "Boss, we've found out. The person most likely to have been associating with Zhou Changke these past two days is a kid named Xu Kuo!"
"Xu Kuo?" Zhou Junhong narrowed his eyes. "Good, very good! You have a path to heaven but choose not to take it, and you barge into hell when there's no way out! Tomorrow, I'll show you the consequences of offending me, Zhou Junhong!"
He immediately gathered a group of idle thugs, eager to give Xu Kuo a "surprise" the next day.
The next day, Xu Kuo got up early as usual and went to the vegetable garden to harvest vegetables. After several days of hard work, the vegetables in the garden were growing well and full of vitality.
At the same time, Zhou Junhong led a group of men and stormed into the village.
They all looked fierce and menacing, carrying sticks; they were clearly not good people.
Zhou Junhong grabbed a villager at random and asked in a gruff voice, "Hey! Old man, do you know where Xu Kuo is?"
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