Chapter 129: Lao Song Fights

After five days of voluntary work, Li Ye finally took a day off to go to the Housing Bureau to process the transfer procedures for the three apartments.

This showed why official efficiency was so low these days—Jin Peng had scheduled three owners for the transfer, but one said today wasn’t possible, another had something tomorrow.

None of them had a phone, so Jin Peng made several trips before finally setting a time.

The most expensive one, in Zaojunmiao, would be handled separately in the morning; the two cheaper ones, in Dazhongsi and Zhongguancun, would be handled together in the afternoon.

Otherwise, if all three showed up together, something ridiculous was bound to happen.

“How much are you selling your place for?”

“What? Ten thousand? Then why is mine only four thousand? No way—you’ve got to raise the price!”

Jin Peng had also pre-arranged things with Lao Qiu to smooth relations at the Housing Bureau; otherwise, Li Ye buying three apartments at once might have drawn unwanted attention.

It was technically in order, but your case is unusual—you must report it upward and have it studied.

Then study it in advance! Wouldn’t that make it not unusual anymore?

Lao Qiu was a man of principle—once the money was paid, the service was guaranteed. The paperwork went smoothly.

But just as Li Ye was about to return to Jingda to have a romantic dinner with Wen Leyu, Wang Qiang, who was answering the phone at Kemei Hotel, rushed over in a panic.

“Brother, bad news—Lao Song got arrested and taken to the detention center.”

“.”

Since the situation was unclear, Li Ye didn’t go with Jin Peng or the others to find Lao Song; as a student, he couldn’t afford to get involved in messy affairs.

Jin Peng went to see Lao Qiu, who took full responsibility, claiming that as long as it wasn’t espionage or a grave crime, it wasn’t a problem.

Li Ye found this suspicious—everyone in Shenzhou knew Jin Peng’s reputation as a Beijing braggart; after half a bottle of Erguotou, he claimed connections all the way to the sea.

But if you said you didn’t believe him at all—he’d somehow twist and turn and still give you a plausible story.

Under the Son of Heaven’s feet, who doesn’t have a third-rank relative somewhere?

Li Ye waited at the hotel until nightfall, when Jin Peng finally returned with Lao Song.

Lao Song had a bandage wrapped around his head; when he saw Li Ye, he just grinned Heiheihei .

Li Ye’s heart sank: “Stop laughing. Sit down and tell me what happened.”

Lao Song squatted quickly in the corner: “I’m fine squatting—I’m used to it.”

Li Ye glanced at Jin Peng.

Jin Peng muttered irritably: “He’s been wandering around for days. This afternoon, he got into a fight over business on Beier Tiao.”

Li Ye sighed: “You’re out alone, and you’re this old—why pick a fight?

Forget about life or death—even if you just lose a tooth by accident, won’t eating become a hassle?”

Lao Song grinned, showing his yellow teeth: “How could I let that happen? I protected my teeth! My head’s fine—just a little skin scraped off.”

Li Ye grew annoyed and snapped: “A little skin scraped off gets you locked up? If you’d been left there, what would your grandson do?”

“He really just scraped his skin.”

Beside them, Jin Peng suddenly spoke in a low tone: “This old man cracked someone’s skull—that’s why he got locked up.”

Li Ye stared at Lao Song, then at Jin Peng.

Jin Peng held up two fingers seriously: “One-on-two—he cracked one guy’s skull and smashed the other’s balls. All him.”

“.”

The hotel room fell silent for a full twenty seconds.

Jin Peng stared coldly at Lao Song, as if watching a spy who’d just slipped up.

Wang Qiang stared blankly at Lao Song, left and right, as if trying to figure out which ancient sect he belonged to.

Li Ye kept his face calm, but inside he was both annoyed and amused.

A bony old man cracking skulls and smashing testicles—it was absurdly funny.

But also dangerous.

“Lao Song, uh—what’s your real name again?”

Li Ye felt ashamed—he’d had Lao Song around for days and still didn’t know his full name.

Lao Song immediately replied: “Song Hongxin—Hong as in red, Xin as in heart, a red heart toward the sun.”

Seeing Li Ye’s surprise, Lao Song sheepishly added: “I changed it over ten years ago—I’ve forgotten my old name.”

Wang Qiang muttered: “Brother, this old guy doesn’t seem trustworthy. Maybe we should just send him back—he only causes trouble.”

Lao Song chuckled: “Who’s a good person in the pawnshop business? Neither good nor bad, neither good nor bad...”

“Neither good nor bad? Then why did you just lose two hundred and fifty?”

Jin Peng glanced at Li Ye, fuming: “I paid a hundred each to those two guys, you got fined fifty—that’s two hundred and fifty total.

You haven’t even made a profit yet and you’re already losing money—how do we account for this? We’ll deduct it from your wages.”

Li Ye glanced at Jin Peng—he knew he was covering for Lao Song.

Two hundred yuan was a lot, but as long as they didn’t send Lao Song back, it was just over a month’s salary.

If they really sent him away, Li Ye felt a pang of guilt.

An old man, for his grandson’s sake, left home and traveled thousands of miles to risk his life—how pitiful.

“I’ll earn it all back—I swear I will. If you don’t believe me, let’s drink blood wine right now—I’ll be your brother, ready to die for you, never let you lose out.”

Li Ye was speechless—he realized this old man was a sly fox; he’d only been here a few days and already knew about their sworn brotherhood.

If he swore brotherhood with this old bastard, he’d probably sell off three and a half of them.

Li Ye turned serious: “Forget the money for now—don’t be so reckless again. If you die like today, we can’t make up for it.”

Lao Song sneered: “Those two trash? Pfft~”

In that moment, Li Ye thought he caught a flash of ferocity on Lao Song’s face.

He asked quietly: “Tell me—why did you fight today? Did you find good merchandise? Or did you sense something suspicious?”

Lao Song’s grin vanished. He spoke low: “The goods were good. I followed them for two days—they were talking about shipping out to Jincheng Port.”

“I don’t know who their buyer is. I didn’t steal their business—I just disrupted it.”

“Oh really?” Jin Peng sneered: “You can track people now?”

“Don’t talk like that,” Lao Song replied seriously, offended: “Back in the day, thieves and bandits came to my pawnshop to pawn things—don’t look at my lame leg, just watch, watch—”

Lao Song actually demonstrated a few stances on the floor. Though his leg was crippled, Jin Peng and Li Ye had sharp eyes—they looked genuinely skilled.

【This old man was a remarkable figure in his youth.】

“Alright, that’s enough. Jin Peng, remember to take him for his dressing changes on time.”

Li Ye stood up to leave.

Lao Song immediately opened the door for him: “Let me see the top scholar off.”

Jin Peng was about to stop him, but Li Ye waved him off and let Lao Song follow him out.

Outside the hotel, in a deserted spot, Li Ye asked: “You’ve got something to say to me?”

“Nothing escapes the top scholar’s eyes. There’s something I’m not sure whether I should say.”

“Cut the fluff. Say it.”

“Ah~”

Lao Song straightened his back, his face full of righteous vigor: “I see you’re no ordinary man—you have the bearing of a great ruler. One day, you’ll dominate the four seas. I have several capable generals I’d like to introduce to you.”

“.”

Lao Song’s flowery praise nearly made Li Ye swell with pride.

You old rascal—you really know how to read people.

Li Ye stared coldly at Lao Song: “Speak plainly.”

Lao Song bowed low, reverting to his sly demeanor: “Beijing’s waters are too deep—I can’t handle it alone. I need two helpers.”

Ah—the truth was finally out.

Lao Song’s fight today might have been about the business he mentioned—but it might also have been an excuse to get Li Ye’s attention.

Who was Song Hongxin?

He’d run a pawnshop in a provincial capital during chaotic times, seen Japanese soldiers, dealt with bandits, survived through storms—how sharp was his eye and cunning?

He’d only been in Beijing a few days, yet he sensed the wind turning—he realized his skills had a new use.

At this point, would he still be content taking orders from Jin Peng? Would he still endure Wang Qiang’s complaints?

Lao Song wanted to build his own faction.

“Fine. Bring two of them. Let me meet them first.”

Li Ye wasn’t afraid of Lao Song’s cunning—he needed people like him.

As for whether Lao Song might grow too powerful and turn on him, Li Ye wasn’t worried. On this land of Shenzhou, men like Lao Song could never reach the highest levels.

But he, Li Ye, could.

Lao Song’s face lit up: “When they come, should we go to Jingda to find you, or—”

Li Ye said: “Just have Jin Peng find me. Lao Song, don’t hide your ambitions—you’ve got talent, no one can hold you down.

I told Jin Peng long ago—we can share wealth, but if you ever want to leave and go your own way, just say so. Same goes for you.”

“No, no, never,” Lao Song stammered. “I’ve done plenty of shady things in my life, but one thing I’m proud of—I never forget a favor.”

“Alright. I’ll wait.”

“Ah, Top Scholar, what about my two hundred and fifty—what now?”

“What else? Reimburse it!”

Li Ye rode off into the distance; Lao Song’s expression slowly calmed.

"Hmph, he really is a bit different."

Old Song moved quickly; the skin on his head hadn’t even scabbed over when the help he called for arrived.

Two men came altogether, both from the provincial capital, and Li Ye found them both intriguing.

One was an acquaintance—the quiet ex-soldier Tan Min.

Back then, when Li Ye and Jin Peng went to the provincial capital to buy grain coupons from Ma Rui, Ma Rui relied on Tan Min’s protection to bully the market and swindle Li Ye’s money.

Later, when Ma Rui tried to get into the sesame candy business, Jin Peng reclaimed the money he’d been cheated of.

But Tan Min had been seen less and less since then.

The other man was Wei Jiaxian, around twenty-five or twenty-six, with a gentle face, yet his hair and eyes carried a weariness of deep hardship.

More intriguing still, he was even quieter than Tan Min.

After the two arrived, Jin Peng hosted a welcoming feast, during which Wei Jiaxian barely spoke a word.

After three rounds of wine, Li Ye called Tan Min outside.

"Brother, long time no see—where’ve you been making your fortune lately?"

"My sister runs a little sesame candy business; I help out now and then, just getting by."

"Ma Rui’s doing pretty well these days—what about you—"

Li Ye wanted to ask why Tan Min no longer worked with Ma Rui, but seeing Tan Min’s expression, he let it drop.

Still, Tan Min spoke up: "I’ve always felt some money shouldn’t be earned at all."

"."

Li Ye thought about it—he was right. Ma Rui always liked to take risky shortcuts.

Like scalping train tickets: sure, it was convenient when Li Ye needed tickets, but earning money that way was never the right path.

But dealing in antiques? That was harder to judge.

So Li Ye probed Tan Min: "Then how did you end up tied to Old Song? Do you know why you’re here in the capital?"

Tan Min’s eyes flashed with malice. "I have nothing to do with Old Song. I’m tied to Wei Jiaxian."

Li Ye: "."

Tan Min seemed to have opened the floodgates, babbling away to Li Ye.

Only now did Li Ye understand: Tan Min’s sister had been won over by the quiet man Wei Jiaxian—now they were brother-in-law and sister-in-law, two quiet souls bound together.

"A black-market thug like him? Fuck, if I’d been home then, I’d have twisted his head off. If he dares abandon his wife and child now, I’ll stab him through with one knife."

It turned out Wei Jiaxian’s grandfather had been the original proprietor of the provincial capital’s largest pawnshop, and Old Song was his hired shopkeeper.

Li Ye asked softly: "Didn’t your brother-in-law say why he came to the capital?"

Tan Min shook his head. "He didn’t say outright. When the Japanese left, they burned down his home. His father died a few years ago."

"It was that old Song who, every ten or fifteen days, brought him a bite to eat—kept him from starving."

"Now that Old Song calls him, he abandons his wife and child without a second thought. You tell me—why the hell didn’t someone eliminate that scum back then?"

Li Ye: "."

Tan Min’s gaze toward Wei Jiaxian and Old Song was filled with revulsion.

After all, he was a pure soldier—these ghosts and demons were truly beneath his contempt.

But when Li Ye looked again at the frail Old Song, he felt the old man’s hunched frame seemed to have grown taller.

Just then, Old Song turned around and saw Li Ye.

His flushed, wine-red face immediately broke into a fawning smile, spreading like a chrysanthemum.

Li Ye didn’t smile. He nodded solemnly, his expression grave.

The next two chapters feature Lu Jingyao’s storyline. Readers who aren’t interested can skip ahead to Chapter 131. It’s hard to please everyone—Old Feng will try his best to cater to all tastes. Please understand.

Thank you to the readers for your tips, thank you to the reader who tipped 500 coins, thank you to reader “DeathGod11” for your tip, and thanks to the three brothers, thanks (w)

(End of chapter)