Chapter 64: Nosebleed (24)

As a Northeasterner, Ceng Hongbing had never stewed Cantonese chicken soup, and he simply couldn't understand why Southerners liked drinking something so light.

Without light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, dried mushrooms, and glass noodles, this chicken meat has no texture.

However, since it's now equivalent to decocting medicine, he could only follow what Chen Yaozu said; otherwise, he would absolutely defend the orthodoxy of Northeastern chicken stewed with mushrooms.

A whole sand pot filled with water, the whole chicken placed inside, after adding the Cantonese soup ingredients, he picked up the old ginseng bought from the pharmacy and hesitated a bit.

Walking into the room, he confirmed with Chen Yaozu again: "Are you sure both roots of old ginseng go in entirely? The old man selling the medicine said, this one is wild mountain ginseng, for stewing chicken you can only use one-third or one-fifth at a time, one root can be used three to five times! This is proper wild mountain ginseng, not the garden ginseng grown in plantations sold on the market."

Chen Yaozu nodded: "Right, put them all in!

I urgently need ginseng to replenish Qi and Blood right now, ordinary people can't eat it like this, but I can!"

Since Chen Yaozu put it that way, and Ceng Hongbing didn't understand, he could only go out and stuff both wild mountain ginseng roots into the sand pot, and start stewing the soup.

After turning on the heat, Ceng Hongbing entered the room and asked with some worry: "How long will your current state last? The Fuzhou gang is huge in Los Angeles, should we run?"

If Chen Yaozu hadn't become this weak as soon as he got in the car after coming out of the gang territory, given how he was killing in all directions inside the gang territory, Ceng Hongbing would definitely have had the confidence to stay in Los Angeles with him.

But now, although it was satisfying when he was in the gang territory, the price is also huge!

This is clearly just like the Northeastern Jump Great God.

Supposedly, when Jump Great God invites the spirits, those properly possessed by the great spirits will be weak for several days.

Spirit mediums who frequently invite spirits all die young.

"I'm just weak in Qi and Blood right now, drink the chicken soup, sleep once, and I'll be fine in a couple of days!

As for running...

I'm not afraid, but you're different. You go take half the money outside, leave Los Angeles.

Get rid of that car of yours!

Don't drive it running around everywhere, it's conspicuous.

Or you go back to the country! After all, the debts you owe back in your hometown are only a hundred, that's just ten or so thousand US dollars.

There's over six hundred thousand outside, half each is enough to pay it off."

Hearing this, Ceng Hongbing hurriedly shook his head: "That won't do!

Dragging you there to bolster courage, letting you encounter this kind of thing, was already my fault.

At the critical moment it was still all thanks to you that we managed to get out of there alive.

I'm not touching a cent of the money inside. Anyway, it's just a hundred. With my skilled trade, if work is steady, two or three years and it's settled!"

In America, you can't work all year round; sometimes it's too cold, sometimes there are storms, rain and snow.

So for those doing renovation, doing construction, anyway technical workers, it's impossible to work every single day.

There's still Saturdays and Sundays!

And whether you can work, whether there is work, also depends on whether the foreman can get jobs, so you can't calculate earning money by 365 days.

Being able to earn money for half the year is already not bad, that's already an extremely lucky person. How can you count on having work every single day of the 365 days a year?

So Ceng Hongbing's budget: if lucky and work is steady, he can pay off the family debts in three to five years.

He would rather work hard himself for three to five years than take Chen Yaozu's money to pay debts.

If he were truly that kind of person, he wouldn't have taken the debts his wife borrowed from relatives and friends behind his back onto himself.

"Alright, what nonsense... *huff*..."

Chen Yaozu settled the matter with weak words: "Since it's everyone together who grabbed the money from the gang, then split it evenly.

You urgently need money to run right now. Just the ten or twenty thousand in your pocket, what can that cover? Do you really plan to stay in Los Angeles and wait for people to come knocking?

Even I don't plan to show my face outside for a short time; I'll just stay in the school.

You're different. The place you live is a mixed bag; you can't stay even a moment longer. Hurry up and go!

Even New York can't be gone to anymore!

The Chinese circle is small; you see each other when you look up and down. Who knows if the foreman you know has Fuzhou gang informants under him."

Ceng Hongbing smiled bitterly: "What would I do with that much money? You want me to mail it back to pay debts? Mail it how?

Wouldn't I still have to go find the gang, find an underground bank? Dare I mail money through a bank?

With this much money, can I explain the source? But in this current situation, I don't dare go find the gang to send money back either!

You say I'm holding this much money, where do I put it? Isn't that like a kid walking down the street holding a gold bar? Isn't that courting death!"

Chen Yaozu thought so too: "Then take a few ten thousand!

A few ten thousand in your pocket, others can't tell. If it really doesn't work, sew it into your clothes. Hurry up and leave Los Angeles! Leave right now!"

Chen Yaozu had now recovered. He climbed up from the bed indicating he could watch the soup's heat himself, but Ceng Hongbing had to leave Los Angeles immediately. Ceng Hongbing thought it made sense too. He fished a few ten thousand US dollars from the bag placed in the hall, stuffed them in his pocket, and left.

After Olivia returned home, she called her eldest daughter: "Audrey, where are you?"

The eldest daughter's voice came from the phone: "I'm playing at Long Beach seaside with classmates, Mom, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

From Orange County to the seaside at Long Beach, it's just a ten to twenty-minute drive. For an 18-year-old girl, this is a very ordinary weekend activity.

"Yes, yes, there's something!

Yaozu's body suddenly had a problem. He's very weak right now. I just went to his house to check.

You need to come back immediately, Audrey.

When our family needed help the most, it was him who let our lives see a glimmer of hope, let you go to school, let me have this current job.

And you, you are his wife now. He needs someone to take care of him right now!"

"What?"

Audrey, currently feeding seagulls by the seaside with her companions, confirmed in disbelief again: "Mom, what did you say?"

Chen Yaozu patiently waited for the chicken soup in the sand pot to boil down from a full pot of water to half a pot. Only then did he ladle out a large bowl, slowly bring it to his mouth, and drink a mouthful while hot.

How to put it?

He originally felt as if his body was in an ice cellar at all times, icy cold all over, without a trace of warmth, yet cold sweat kept breaking out incessantly.

He lay on the bed for a good while before recovering; now, although the cold sweat wasn't breaking out as much, he still felt as if cool air was seeping from every bone seam of his body.

But from the moment this bowl of old mountain ginseng chicken soup entered his mouth, he felt this warmth... directly sliding from his mouth into his stomach, and then spreading from his stomach to warm his whole body.

How to describe that feeling? It was just like a blade of grass in the desert about to wither and die, suddenly greeted by a heavy rain — timely rain after a long drought!

A bowl of rich old mountain ginseng chicken soup poured into his stomach, and every weakened cell in his body seemed to be crying out for nourishment.

Chen Yaozu simply moved the sand pot to the hall, drinking bowl after bowl; only after drinking four bowls did he lie down comfortably on the sofa, enjoying his body which had been icy cold just now, now emitting warmth all over.

He even comfortably dozed off for a while leaning on the sofa.

"Yaozu, Mom said you're unwell?"

Audrey hurriedly ran in from outside, saw him sitting up on the living room sofa, and quickly came over to check on him.

What she saw, however, was Chen Yaozu, his face glowing with health, having eaten and drunk his fill and even taken a short nap.

"Nothing anymore, just now it was all from hunger, low blood sugar.

Now that I've eaten, it's fine!"

Chen Yaozu found his condition hard to explain, so he casually brushed it off with a random excuse.

Audrey was also easy to brush off; seeing Chen Yaozu was fine, she let out a breath of relief, then plopped down beside him: "Scared me to death, Mom said you had a major health problem, extremely weak, urgently needed someone to care for you.

So I hurriedly ended today's weekend activity with my companions and rushed back from Long Beach.

Right, what did you eat, how come there's still a whole chicken left?"

Audrey looked at the whole chicken in the sand pot, and the hunger from not eating all afternoon prompted her to reach out, grab a drumstick, pull it out, and take a bite.

"Hey, you can't eat this..."

By the time Chen Yaozu spoke these words, the drumstick in Audrey's hand had already been sucked clean down to a large bone.

"What... why can't I eat it?"

Audrey asked in confusion, but just as she finished asking, she felt wetness under her nose; she touched it and her hand was covered in blood!

Three days later.

Several photos, an address, and a phone number lay before Zhang Rusong.

"This person is called Ceng Hongbing; through Lao Bo, he learned of our Fuzhou Ahui's Changjiu Finance Company.

That day he indeed wanted to come send money.

His home is in Hua Ren Qu, but it's already deserted.

However, according to visits to surrounding neighbors, it was discovered this person frequently contacted a woman who delivers takeout, and often stayed overnight at this woman's home.

Three days ago, he also came looking for this woman, but later still left alone..."

【Two more chapters tonight, guaranteed before 12 o'clock】

(Chapter End)