Chapter 196: Ruthless
When Zhao Tianming mentioned Zhao Xin, he immediately cowered. Over the past few years, Zhao Xin had cast a huge psychological shadow over him, but what could he do? He had foolishly entangled himself with someone he shouldn't have during college. Since he stirred up trouble, he had to pay the price.
Leaving the topic of the young girl behind, the two reminisced about their college days and current lives, feeling a sense of nostalgia.
"I wonder how Old Two and Old Four are doing now?" Halfway through drinking, Li Nianlong remembered the other two brothers from their dorm. Back then, they were ranked by age, with all four being the same age but Li Nianlong having the earliest birthday, making him the eldest. Zhao Tianming was the third eldest, Old Two was a wealthy young man from Dongshan, and Old Four was a genuine rural boy from Tianfu.
"I heard Old Two returned to Dongshan and joined his father's company. He's probably living quite comfortably now," Zhao Tianming, with his well-connected sources, responded quickly. "As for Old Four..." Zhao Tianming hesitated.
Li Nianlong's face darkened. "What happened to Old Four?"
"Some unfortunate stuff," Zhao Tianming shook his head. "Old Four's family is in the countryside. The winter we graduated, a developer took an interest in their area and wanted to buy it to develop new housing. But the villagers disagreed. Eventually, the local government and developers colluded, sending a bunch of thugs to cause trouble. Old Four accidentally killed one of the ruffians and was sentenced to life in prison. The incident caused a big uproar, and in the end, the houses were saved, but the developer and local government escaped responsibility. Poor Old Four's elderly parents have no one to support them. Fortunately, Old Four's wife, whom he married just a few months earlier, is a good person. She took on all the farm work and promised to care for his parents."
Li Nianlong's expression turned grim, his eyes coldly fixed on Zhao Tianming. "Why didn't you do anything?"
Zhao Tianming smiled bitterly. "Brother Long, do you think Old Four would have been sentenced to life imprisonment instead of death without intervention?"
Li Nianlong's expression softened slightly. "Then why didn't you help his parents and wife?"
"Who says I didn't? I send them ten thousand yuan every month. Otherwise, do you think Old Four's wife could manage in such a household?" Zhao Tianming raised his voice.
Li Nianlong's expression relaxed. He nodded. "Alright, at least you have some humanity left. Give me Old Four's address and the location of his prison. I'll visit him tomorrow."
"I'll go with you, Brother Long!" Zhao Tianming suggested. "I haven't seen Old Four in over six months."
"Fine." Li Nianlong nodded and said in a deep voice, "Do you have information on the developers and local officials involved?"
"Of course!" Zhao Tianming sneered. "Our Black Rat Gang wasn't powerful enough to avenge Old Four, but you're different, Brother Long. All of Tianfu is under your control. Those bastards won't get away."
"Don't talk nonsense." Li Nianlong glared at him. "Tianfu belongs to the people of Tianfu, not any one person."
"Brother Long is right." Zhao Tianming chuckled, "My mistake. I'll punish myself with three cups." He downed three beers in quick succession.
"You..."
They agreed to meet at 8 AM the next day to visit Old Four's home together.
Back at the Liu residence, Li Nianlong told Shao Meiyun and the old master about Old Four's situation. The old master and Shao Meiyun were furious upon hearing about the ordeal faced by Li Nianlong's dormmate. "These corrupt officials at the grassroots level, Menglong, leave this to me. I'll make sure they meet a bitter end!" The old master, in his anger, guaranteed that those officials and developers would not escape retribution. Shao Meiyun's eyes narrowed as she asked, "Menglong, what's your friend's name?"
"Zhang Zhenghao."
"Zhang Zheng...hao?" Shao Meiyun was taken aback.
"Yes," Li Nianlong nodded. "His surname is Zhang, and his name means 'just right.'"
"That's quite an interesting name. His parents must be quite the characters," Shao Meiyun laughed.
"Indeed," Li Nianlong chuckled, "When he introduced himself in the dorm, the three of us couldn't stop laughing."
"The world is full of unique individuals," Shao Meiyun gradually stopped laughing. "Menglong, when are you coming back after visiting him?"
"I should be back within three days," Li Nianlong replied.
Shao Meiyun nodded. "Ask if they want to move to Tianfu. Since he's your brother, we should help them as much as possible."
"I'll ask, but Old Four is quite stubborn and doesn't like accepting charity. I hope this prison experience has made him more mature."
"Prison indeed changes a person," Shao Meiyun agreed. "Do you need to take anything with you? Or some money?"
"Both," Li Nianlong said. "It's been over two years; I can't go empty-handed."
"Alright, I'll prepare some gifts for you. As for money, you can withdraw some on the way," Shao Meiyun suggested.
"Okay."
After leaving, Li Nianlong went to the back courtyard. The old lady had already gone to bed, and the Yue sisters were watching TV with Nalan Ruyue. When Li Nianlong explained Zhang Zhenghao's situation, the three girls were furious, especially Yuexi, whose ahoge stood up in anger. "Collusion between officials and developers, they deserve to die!"
"They won't get away with it," Li Nianlong patted her head, making Yuexi purr comfortably, "Meow..."
"So, I won't be able to accompany you for the next few days," Li Nianlong said.
"Big Brother, we have nothing to do anyway. Why don't you take us with you?" Yuexi looked at him expectantly.
"I'm visiting an old friend. What would you do there?" Li Nianlong patted her head. "Besides, who's going to keep Master company?"
"But..."
"No buts," Li Nianlong smiled. "I'll be back in three days. Meanwhile, let Ruyue keep you company. Call me if you need anything."
"Alright," Yuexi reluctantly agreed after his persuasion. Yuechan, on the other hand, hadn't planned to go from the beginning. She smiled lightly, her eyes never leaving the TV.
Perhaps giving Li Nianlong three days to think, Li Ying didn't return that day. Feeling bored, Li Nianlong spent the night in the system, crafting pills. By morning, he had made seventy attribute pills, giving him another 700 points. He decided to save them for now.
At dawn, Li Nianlong drove with the gifts Shao Meiyun had prepared to meet Zhao Tianming, and together they headed to Zhang Zhenghao's hometown.
Zhang Zhenghao's hometown was over a hundred kilometers from Tianfu, not too remote and quite picturesque, with a grand canal running through the town, making it a bountiful area. The farmers had their own fields, allowing them to be self-sufficient. However, the local officials were awful, with many local tyrants causing much discontent among the residents.
When Li Nianlong and Zhao Tianming arrived, they saw many hooligans idling on the streets, occasionally taking things from small vendors, who dared not speak up.
Li Nianlong opened the car window and asked Zhao Tianming, "Has it always been like this in Old Four's town?"
"It seems so," Zhao Tianming replied. "I heard it was better five years ago, but things worsened after a new town mayor arrived."
A cold light flashed in Li Nianlong's eyes. "Damn it!"
"If Brother Long says he deserves to die, then he surely does!" Zhao Tianming fawned like a lackey.
"Don't you have any manly dignity?" Li Nianlong said, half amused, half annoyed. "If the Americans invaded, you'd be the first traitor."
"No way," Zhao Tianming shook his head vigorously. "If the Americans invade, they'd land on the coast. We're in Tianfu, a mountainous basin. By the time they get here, there'd already be a bunch of traitors. How could I be the first?"
"Do you believe I'll beat you into a traitor right now?" Li Nianlong threatened.
Zhao Tianming laughed awkwardly. "Just kidding, Brother Long. No need to get worked up."
"Hmph!" Li Nianlong snorted and continued driving. But a thug, seeing their luxurious car, suddenly darted out, hoping to get hit and extort money. Instead of stopping, Li Nianlong pretended not to see and drove over him, causing the thug to scream in pain.
"Hmm?" Li Nianlong stopped a few meters ahead. "Did I hear someone scream?" He reversed the car...
"Ow—"
"Hmm?" He stopped again. "No one here!" He drove forward again.
"Ah—"
"What's going on?" He stopped again, reversing...
"Ouch—"
After about five minutes of this back-and-forth, and hearing no more screams, Li Nianlong snorted. "Trying to extort me? You must be blind."
The roadside vendors, witnessing this scene, were inwardly cheering, but several thugs were furious. Brandishing machetes, they charged at Li Nianlong's car. "Damn it! How dare he cause trouble here! Brothers, cut him down!"
A group of thugs, wielding machetes, charged aggressively. Li Nianlong sneered, revved the engine, and drove his SUV—a Hummer—towards them. The roar of the Hummer's engine accompanied his fierce charge at the thugs.
The thugs were stunned, unable to believe the driver would actually run them over. Three thugs directly in front of the Hummer tried to dodge, but it was too late. With a loud bang, they were sent flying ten meters away, landing in a bloody mess, clearly on the brink of death.
The remaining thugs, seeing this, were terrified. Though they usually bullied the locals, they had never encountered someone this ruthless, willing to run them down without hesitation and with such brutal force.
Their nightmare was far from over. Li Nianlong executed a sharp drift turn, the Hummer's front end swinging around to launch a second charge at them.