Chapter 468: Yan Bugui Gets His Leg Broken

At the Qianmen Small Courtyard, Xu Damao was drinking and exchanging toasts with Wang Baosheng and Zheng De, while Xiaomei served them silently on the side.

Wang Baosheng raised a glass of wine, his face flushed, and said, "Damao, I really have to thank you this time. I never expected that old guy to have hidden so many 'Small Yellow Fish'!"

Xu Damao drank the wine in his glass and said with a smile, "San Ge, during those two years I spent at the antique shop, I knew exactly which family in Si Jiu Cheng had antiques. But antiques aren't worth much now, so I was worried. I pondered for several nights before I came up with a plan—to infiltrate the enemy's ranks. I spent quite a bit of money to get in touch with someone who hides gold... I didn't expect the old guy's information to be so accurate!"

"When I sent people to tail him, I found that this person was too low-key, wearing tattered cotton-padded clothes every day. I really didn't expect him to have hidden over twenty Small Yellow Fish at home," said Wang Baosheng.

In reality, Wang Baosheng had obtained forty Small Yellow Fish this time and had hidden half of them.

Xu Damao smiled, then turned serious: "Er Ge, Wu Ge, this time Lao Tong wants twenty percent. From now on, the share he wants won't be this proportion!"

"What? How much does he want?" Wang Baosheng asked urgently.

"Fifty percent!" Xu Damao held up five fingers.

"That's too much! It's not easy for us to do this line of work; it's the kind where you don't open for business for three years, but once you do, you eat for three years. If we give him half, I won't be able to support the people under me!" Zheng De kept shaking his head.

Xu Damao did not look at him, but instead smiled at Wang Baosheng.

Wang Baosheng poured himself a glass of wine and downed it, wiped his mouth, nodded and said, "Fifth brother, we must agree to his terms. Have you forgotten what kind of life we lived a while ago? It's getting harder and harder to get by on the streets now. That business you and Yan Jiefang did—if someone could still catch you months later, and if that family had insisted on sending Yan Jiefang to the police station, we would all have been dug out!"

Xu Damao laughed: "San Ge is still the one who sees things clearly!"

Wang Baosheng nodded repeatedly: "Damao, go talk to Lao Tong and help me find another fat sheep. I want to pull off one more job before the new year."

Xu Damao nodded: "Leave that to me!"

Zheng De, who was on the side, interjected: "That kid Yan Jiefang has been hiding and not showing his face lately; I actually miss him a bit. Although the kid is timid, he has a sharp mind and reacts quickly. He's much better at tailing and following than Liu Guangtian. Damao, do you have a way to get him to come out?"

Xu Damao pondered for a moment and smiled sinisterly: "Simple. Doesn't Yan Bugui rely on teaching to support his family? Find an opportunity to break his leg. He won't be able to teach, and his family's life will naturally become unsustainable. When that time comes, are you afraid Yan Jiefang won't show his face?"

"Brilliant!" Wang Baosheng couldn't help but laugh after hearing this.

At dusk, Yan Bugui, having finished school, carried a cloth bag and wandered to the vegetable market, calculating how to store more Chinese cabbage before the new year.

He haggled with a private vegetable vendor for a long time, finally buying thirty catties at a price of two hundred and twenty yuan per catty, and picked up a pile of vegetable leaves on the side, only then walking home contentedly with the load on his back.

Just as he reached the front of a dilapidated courtyard gate, four masked men rushed out from the courtyard, immediately threw a sack over his head, and followed up with a brutal beating.

Yan Bugui lay on the ground rolling about, letting out pig-slaughtering screams.

The four men ran away after beating him for a while; as they left, a burly man even stomped hard on his lower leg.

"Awoo!"

Yan Bugui rolled on the ground in pain.

Not long after, Wang Zhifu, who lived across the way, returned from shopping with his son Wang Shucheng and daughter Wang Shujuan.

"Lao Yan, what happened to you?" Wang Zhifu asked, leaning over.

Yan Bugui was grimacing in pain: "I was bagged by someone. Lao Wang, help me, my leg, my leg won't move!"

Wang Zhifu sighed and turned to instruct: "Shucheng, take Shujuan back first, call people from the courtyard, call Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong over, and tell them to bring a door panel."

The two children ran off in response.

Before long, Yi Zhonghai arrived with Liu Haizhong and several people from the Yan family, carrying an old door panel.

Yang Ruihua saw Yan Bugui at a glance and immediately threw herself forward, crying: "Lao Yan, what happened to you?"

Yan Bugui sighed: "Someone is deliberately taking revenge on me!"

"Revenge? Speak clearly, who is taking revenge on you?" Yang Ruihua pressed.

Yan Bugui gave a bitter smile: "Who else could it be? It must be because we stopped Yan Jiefang from going out, which offended that group of people. This is a warning to me."

"These petty thieves are too arrogant! Daring to hurt someone in broad daylight, we should go find Director Wang and have the Lianfang Team arrest this bunch!" Yang Ruihua said angrily.

"Not for now; the fact that they dared to act means they have nothing to fear," Yan Bugui kept shaking his head.

"I don't believe no one will deal with them!" Liu Haizhong said.

"I'm afraid they'll retaliate against the children. Forget it, I beg everyone, just take me to the hospital first," Yan Bugui said.

Several people lifted him onto the door panel and headed toward the hospital.

He Yuzhu returned from work and found no one guarding the gate of the courtyard, and the Yan family's lights were off, which he found very strange.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Zhao Yingzi and Shen Guizhi sitting side by side, heads bowed as they teased the baby in the swaddling clothes.

"Mom, why isn't the Yan family even closing their door, and why is it pitch black in there?" He Yuzhu asked casually.

Shen Guizhi spoke up: "On his way home from school, Lao Yan had his leg broken by someone."

He Yuzhu was stunned: "Do they know who did it?"

Zhao Yingzi took over: "I heard the First Elder say when he came back that it might have been done by the people behind Yan Jiefang. These days, the Yan family hasn't let Yan Jiefang go to school; they probably offended that group."

"These thieves are too arrogant!" He Yuzhu frowned.

If this had happened to someone else's family, he would definitely have stepped in, but for the Yan family, he would let it be.

The He family had never provoked them, yet Yang Ruihua had gone around spreading gossip about him being a kept man; it was truly unprincipled behavior.

Zhao Yingzi said with worry: "Zhuzi, Jia Dongxu has already signed up to go to Guangdong for the aid construction, but my mother-in-law wants to come over to help me take care of the baby. If she really comes, how am I supposed to live?"

"If your mother-in-law comes over, the courtyard won't be peaceful anymore!" Shen Guizhi worried.

When He Yuzhu heard this, he laughed: "That's simple, why don't you just go to Guangdong with Jia Dongxu? If Jia Zhangshi wants to come back, let her come back; let's see how she survives in this courtyard all by herself."

"But if I lose my job at the antique shop, what will I rely on to support myself in the future?" Zhao Yingzi was still uneasy.

"There's a policy for this aid construction; family members' jobs are arranged with priority, and there's a unified Children's Center to look after the kids," He Yuzhu explained. "If you help the aid team with logistics work and do a good job, you can transfer to become a formal worker at the Rolling Mill after two years. Isn't that better than being cooped up in that little antique shop?"

"Really?" Zhao Yingzi's eyes lit up instantly.

"Why would I lie to you? My dad is the Logistics Director. He can handle a small matter like this!" He Yuzhu replied with a smile.

In fact, He Yuzhu also hoped she would go, so she could talk to Shen Guizhi from time to time.