Chapter 42: Hitting a Brick Wall

That day, upon returning home, Zhang Mei discovered that her two children had been taken away by her mother-in-law. Frantically, she went to retrieve them, only to be brought by Zhang Yong to this place and forced to agree to have Zhang Yong’s wife sell liangpi (cold skin noodles) in her place, and to hand over all the earnings.

Naturally, she refused. Zhang Yong and his mother then attacked her. Seeing her being beaten, her daughter bit Zhang Yong’s leg. The brute then lifted her daughter and slapped her several times. At that moment, Zhang Mei went mad, desperately trying to snatch her daughter back from Zhang Yong, only to be knocked unconscious and tied up afterward.

She nodded.

“Mom, untie her.”

Zhang’s mother stepped forward, untied the ropes, and slapped a pen and paper in front of her. “Write carefully.”

Zhang Mei had never been to school, but she had learned quite a few characters after marrying Zhang Yong. Taking the pen and paper, she wrote the statement as instructed by Zhang Yong, her handwriting crooked and uneven.

She placed all her hope on this statement. Jiang Yiyi understood her; she knew that Zhang Mei would never willingly stop selling liangpi unless she was completely incapacitated. Zhang Mei deliberately wrote the statement sloppily, hoping that the intelligent Jiang Yiyi would guess that something was wrong.

She didn’t pray for anything else, only that Jiang Yiyi would report it to the police.

Zhang Yong didn’t recognize many characters either, and he didn’t pay much attention to the messy handwriting. After putting away the statement, he gestured for his mother to re-tie Zhang Mei. He then went outside, lowering his voice, “I’ve contacted the human traffickers. They’ll be taken away at the latest tomorrow.”

“Hurry up. I get annoyed just seeing those creditors.”

“Alright. From now on, don’t give them anything to eat, so they won’t have the energy to cause trouble tomorrow.”

Gu Yunze had Jiang Yiyi hide in a secluded spot. He followed, pressing himself against the wall, and clearly heard their conversation.

Hearing footsteps approaching the gate, he quickly hid. After Zhang Yong left, he went to tell Jiang Yiyi.

“Worse than a beast.”

Jiang Yiyi cursed.

Selling even their own grandchildren was indeed worse than a beast.

“I’ll subdue Zhang Yong’s mother, rescue them first, and then report it to the police.”

Jiang Yiyi nodded and followed Gu Yunze. Gu Yunze found a few small bricks and threw them into the yard.

“Who’s there?”

Gu Yunze threw another brick, nearly hitting Zhang Yong’s mother’s head.

Zhang Yong’s mother, furious, opened the door, “You’re looking for death…”

Before she could finish, Gu Yunze, hiding behind the door, knocked her unconscious with a hand strike.

Jiang Yiyi rushed into the room, seeing the miserable state of the mother and children, she felt like turning around and beating Zhang Yong’s mother.

Seeing her sudden appearance, Zhang Mei was incredulous, blinking several times until Jiang Yiyi bent down to untie her. Only then did she believe it was real.

Without speaking, her eyes welled up. The tension of the past few days finally eased, and she felt dizzy. Ignoring this, she touched her son’s head; it was burning hot. Panicked, she grabbed Jiang Yiyi’s arm, “Yiyi, save my son, save my son!”

“Yunze.”

Gu Yunze carried the unconscious Zhang Yong’s mother into the room and threw her on the bed. He then picked up the boy and quickly walked out.

“He’s my lover. We’ll take the children to the hospital first. You tie her up and come later. After the children are stable, we’ll report it to the police.”

…

Two days, two critically ill patients. Even the nurses couldn’t help but stare at them repeatedly.

The child was sent to the emergency room. After signing the forms and paying, Jiang Yiyi breathed a sigh of relief. Remembering that Zhang Mei and her daughter were still on their way, she asked Gu Yunze to pick them up.

Gu Yunze walked to the end of the corridor and brushed past two hastily approaching men in fine clothes.

The two men entered Zhao Lan’s ward. Seeing Zhao Lan in bed, the younger man gritted his teeth and asked, “Who did this?”

Zhao Lan’s eyes reddened. “Big Brother, Second Brother.”

Zhao Jin stepped forward and touched her head.

Zhao Lan wept uncontrollably. She was the little princess of the family, doted on by her parents and two brothers, yet she had been infatuated with Qin Gang, ignoring the fact that he was already married.

“I ask you, who is that man?”

Zhao Qin asked, each word gritted through his teeth.

Zhao Lan just cried. She was ashamed to speak. Initially, fearing separation from her family, she unilaterally cut off contact with them. Now, being treated this way by Qin Gang, she felt she deserved it.

“Second Brother.”

Zhao Jin called out, and Zhao Qin angrily punched the wall.

Zhao Jin’s expression remained unchanged. He called out, “Aunt, Uncle.”

His tone was gentle, revealing no anger, but Jiang Zhe knew that beneath his calm exterior, the eldest nephew harbored even greater anger than the second.

He said, “Come with me.”

He turned and left. Zhao Jin touched Zhao Lan’s head before following, and Zhao Qin clenched his fists and followed behind.

When they reached a deserted part of the corridor, Jiang Zhe said, “Your aunt and I have asked, but Lan won’t say anything. To find out who that man is, we need to ask the people who brought them here yesterday.”

Yesterday, he thought Gu Yunze was the one who silently abducted Zhao Lan, but he learned at the hospital that he was mistaken.

“Uncle knows where they live?”

Zhao Jin asked.

Jiang Zhe was about to shake his head when Gu Yunze walked in from outside the hospital, accompanied by a woman holding a little girl with a severely swollen face.

He pointed, “It’s him.”

Zhao Qin was about to go over, but Zhao Jin stopped him. His gaze followed Gu Yunze as he led the mother and daughter to the emergency room entrance, asking a nurse to treat the little girl’s facial injuries, receiving money from a pretty girl, and going to the window to pay the fees, his wet military uniform clinging to his body.

“You accompany Uncle inside; I’ll go find him.”

“I’ll go too!”

Zhao Jin glanced at him, and Zhao Qin retracted his step.

Gu Yunze, after paying, was about to return with the receipt when he heard a voice beside him, “Comrade, hello.”

He looked over.

“I’m Zhao Lan’s older brother. Thank you for saving my sister yesterday.”

The man had an extraordinary bearing, not like someone from an ordinary family.

“It was just a small act of kindness. You’re welcome.”

“Are you free now? I’d like to ask you about the details.”

“Just a moment.”

Gu Yunze went back, gave the receipt to Zhang Mei, and said something to Jiang Yiyi before going outside the hospital to find a quiet place.

Zhao Jin followed.

“Yesterday…”

Gu Yunze recounted yesterday’s events. Zhao Jin, hearing that his sister had suffered so much, clenched his fist.

Gu Yunze’s gaze flickered, only glancing briefly before withdrawing it. The man before him was skilled at concealing his true emotions behind a gentle facade.

Such a person, when he didn’t act, was quiet; but when he did, he would strike decisively. Qin Gang had truly hit a brick wall this time.

It was fortunate; he had been pondering how to teach Qin Gang a lesson for the past two days. It seemed he wouldn’t need to act himself.

“That man’s name is Qin Gang, and he lives at…”