Chapter 237: Chen Xueru is Kidnapped

He Yuzhu suppressed the anxiety in his heart and forced himself to calm down.

He looked around the shop, only to see a scene of chaos; shelves were overturned and clothes were scattered all over the floor—it was clear they had been ransacked, and many garments had been swiped before they left.

He Yuzhu asked, "Uncle Chen, tell me carefully, who saw Xueru being kidnapped? How many of them were there? About what time did they leave?"

Father Chen wiped away his tears and said with a trembling voice, "It was... the man who sells candied gourds at the street corner told me. He said there were over ten of them in total... they tied Xueru onto a rickshaw, gagged her mouth, and just dragged her away in broad daylight. Many neighbors saw it." He calculated for a moment and continued, "They left... they left about an hour ago."

Before his voice had even faded, Mother Chen's crying started up again.

He Yuzhu comforted them, "The two of you, don't worry. Since she was kidnapped, it's nothing more than wanting money. I will definitely be able to save her."

At this moment, Chen Daya rushed into the shop, panting. Seeing He Yuzhu, her eyes lit up, "Zhuzi! Listen to me first. After the incident, my father and I followed them while asking around. They should have headed toward the Yongding River... My father told me to hurry back and report the news! He figured you would be coming over..."

He Yuzhu's heart tightened, and he immediately said, "Since my Siqiang is following them, Uncle Chen, Aunt Chen, don't worry too much. You two just stay here and keep watch; someone should come to negotiate the ransom soon... No matter how much they ask for, agree to it first to keep them steady."

"Okay... okay, we'll listen to you." Father Chen nodded repeatedly.

Chen Daya asked anxiously, "Zhuzi, do you want me to go with you?"

He Yuzhu shook his head, "You stay in the shop and look after them. If someone comes to negotiate terms, catch them."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked outside.

Chen Daya chased him to the door and shouted, "My father scattered white powder at every intersection after leaving the city to leave a trail, keep an eye out for it!"

He Yuzhu acknowledged her, then quickly found a secluded spot. He released a truck from his space, started the engine, and sped off in the direction Chen Daya pointed.

After leaving the city, he immediately activated the Scanning System, carefully searching for the white powder left by Chen Qingshan.

Chen Qingshan was indeed reliable; he had left marks at almost every fork in the road.

The further the car drove, the more desolate the surroundings became.

He Yuzhu calculated in his heart: he had been driving for half an hour, and that group had left two hours ago; by his count, they had traveled at least fifteen miles.

They should have arrived by now, and he couldn't help but grow increasingly anxious.

He was worried about Chen Xueru's safety, and also afraid that his Siqiang, Chen Qingshan, might get into trouble if he confronted them alone.

He slammed on the accelerator, and the truck sped along.

He Yuzhu pondered the possible threads of this matter: if this group thought Xiao Erduo's gang wasn't dead yet and only wanted to kidnap Chen Xueru to trade for Xiao Erduo, then Xueru should be safe for the time being; if it was purely for revenge, then Chen Xueru's situation was dire! He dared not think further and just slammed on the accelerator.

After another half hour or so, a bend in the Yongding River appeared before him. The water surface was vast, reeds grew in abundance, and countless water birds were flying about.

He Yuzhu felt he had reached his destination. He stopped the car, stored it back into his space, and began to walk forward on foot. He was extremely cautious with every step, worried about an ambush in the reed marsh; if that were the case, even with his system, he wouldn't be able to dodge a dense barrage of bullets.

At this moment, Chen Xueru was in a large courtyard less than a mile away from him.

This courtyard was the base where Xiao Erduo raised fighting cocks and dogs. Because it leaned against a large bend in the Yongding River, the water plants were lush and the fish and shrimp were abundant, making the chickens and dogs raised there exceptionally robust.

Half an hour ago, Chen Xueru had been thrown into a dilapidated room. Three or four thugs began to surround her, their eyes lewd, as if they wanted to devour her alive, and they would reach out to touch her from time to time.

She glared fiercely at the leader, Lian Wu, and said sharply, "If you dare touch a single hair on my head, He Yuzhu will never let you off! To tell you the truth, I've long been betrothed to him... He Yuzhu was able to take your brother away—think about how capable he is! If you dare touch me, your brother will be torn to pieces!"

"Little wench, stop acting tough with me. I'm not afraid of He Yuzhu! Come, have some fun with me first!" Lian Wu said.

Three hours ago, Chen Xueru had arrived at the clothing store early, pondering how to use the clothing patterns He Yuzhu had given her to make clothes of different quality using different fabrics, and sell them at different price points—this would allow those without money to wear her clothes and give her free advertising, while also increasing the reputation of her clothing store to attract wealthy people to buy her high-quality clothes and make big money.

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, Lian Wu and over a dozen men burst into the shop.

They quickly closed the shop door, and Lian Wu brandished a Dagger and lunged at Chen Xueru.

In a flash, Chen Xueru already knew that He Yuzhu had taken action against Xiao Erduo, and this person was likely a fish that had slipped through the net.

She tried to make the best of a bad situation and shouted, "Xiao Erduo isn't dead! He was just captured by He Yuzhu!"

She was gambling, gambling that He Yuzhu would never leave a corpse at the scene.

"Bullshit! My big brother and second brother were both killed by that bastard He Yuzhu! You have to pay for their lives today!" Lian Wu said with red eyes.

"He Yuzhu had no grudge against Xiao Erduo, why would he kill him? To tell you the truth, he only captured Xiao Erduo to stand up for me." Chen Xueru still said stubbornly.

Ma Shuan was half-convinced after hearing Chen Xueru's words, just feeling that it was a pity to kill such a beautiful little wench. He hurriedly advised, "Fifth Brother, we really can't be sure if Big Brother is dead or alive. In my opinion, we can't kill this little wench now. It would be better to take her to our dog-raising base first. If Big Brother isn't dead, we can trade her for him, and even if Big Brother is dead, this little wench is quite good-looking and can serve you, Fifth Brother, can't she!"

Lian Wu thought about it, and it was indeed a reasonable point. He then asked, "Then tell me, where did He Yuzhu lock my brother up?"

"He did what he did last night and hasn't had time to tell me yet! We had originally agreed to discuss it in detail when we ate lunch." Chen Xueru was very clever; she knew that since they hadn't seen Xiao Erduo's corpse, she could use her imagination.

"Then I'll wait for him here!" Lian Wu roared.

"Fifth Brother, this place isn't very good!" Ma Shuan leaned into his ear and whispered a few words.

Lian Wu chuckled upon hearing this: "You kid have plenty of devious ideas. Fine, from now on you'll be my strategist!"

"Thank you for the promotion, Fifth Brother!" Ma Shuan hurriedly bowed.

This group ransacked the shop, and Lian Wu even sent someone to grab a rickshaw. Only then did they tie up Chen Xueru, put her on the vehicle, and head straight for the breeding farm at the Yongding River bend.

They didn't hide their tracks along the way—this was also Ma Shuan's idea: since they still wanted to collect protection fees in the Qianmen area in the future, they could use this to establish their authority and let every family see the consequences of offending them!

The group swaggered out of Si Jiu Cheng. The city guards took one look at the rickshaw piled high with clothes, didn't check carefully, and waved them through.

A few thugs saw Lian Wu go outside to eat, so they started to get restless and crowded around Chen Xueru, touching her indiscriminately.

"Do you all want to die? Big Brother's life or death is unknown, if you touch her now, do you want Big Brother to be executed?" Ma Shuan had suffered at He Yuzhu's hands and knew well that the man was ruthless.

But those subordinates still wouldn't give up and surrounded Chen Xueru, making lewd remarks.

Chen Xueru raised her voice and shouted, "Why don't you hurry and send a message to my house! Aren't you afraid your big brother will lose his life?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Shuan hurried to the kitchen to remind Lian Wu, "Fifth Brother, you must hurry and send someone to send a message to the Chen Family."

Lian Wu nodded. He returned to the living room and pointed at a subordinate, "Mazi! You go to Qianmen and find He Yuzhu. Tell him he can trade for the person, but he must see with his own eyes that my brother is alive! Otherwise, don't blame us for collecting the principal and interest from this little wench!"

At this time, Chen Qingshan had already been lurking outside the courtyard for a long time.

He had wanted to act several times, but was afraid that if he failed, he would harm Chen Xueru's life.

Suddenly, Chen Xueru's shouting came from the courtyard again... He clenched his fists, and the veins on his forehead bulged.