Chapter 288: Beat Him Until He Dies

«Bang~»

A novel was thrown onto Wei Jiaxian's body.

Tan Min sneered: "Answer when you're asked, always hiding and dodging—treating those old feudal ideas like treasures, like anyone cares."

"You—"

Wei Jiaxian took a deep breath, as if gathering courage to fight his brother-in-law Tan Min, but the next moment he wilted again, reverting to his silent, sullen self.

Li Ye watched the uncle-in-law and brother-in-law and chuckled: "That's not exactly an old feudal thing—some skills are still valuable; we should respect their traditions."

Hearing Li Ye say this, Wei Jiaxian felt embarrassed and muttered: "It's not anything valuable—just tricks and scams. I'm afraid if word gets out, people will exploit it."

"Machines can't fake it—only handwork can, and it takes time: at least one or two years, up to three or four. If the age isn't right, it won't pass as genuine."

Li Ye was surprised—he now realized counterfeiting had tiers; all the "antique replicas" he'd seen in his past life were nowhere near the real thing.

Or rather, the truly convincing fakes never ended up in ordinary people's hands—why would someone spend years crafting something just to sell it to a fool?

Fools deserve machine-made junk.

After understanding, Li Ye pointed at the carved armchair: "So what's the idea behind using machines to make chairs like this?"

Wei Jiaxian said: "Sell them openly as replicas. I see a lot of modern furniture making money—why shouldn't the old-style stuff?"

"He wants to open a furniture factory," Tan Min chimed in. "Can't believe how he thinks—just got a few days of comfort and he's already restless. You wanna be a big boss now?"

"I want to be a big boss—for my nephew."

Wei Jiaxian finally snapped, growling: "How much do I spend a month? Who am I working for? If you keep stirring up trouble, come next New Year, I'll make all three kids get their heads shaved."

"You dare!!"

Tan Min leapt to his feet—shaving his three nephews' heads? Was this man trying to kill him?

Wei Jiaxian snorted: "You're a Party member—you don't believe in those old superstitions, right? So what? Scared?"

Tan Min rolled up his sleeves: "I'll show you what scared means!"

"Hey hey hey, enough already! The crackdown's tight—anyone who throws a punch, the neighborhood patrol's right down south on the street!"

Jin Peng, seeing the uncle and brother-in-law about to go too far, cut short his spectator role and asked: "Hey, has anyone from Qinghe County come looking for Chen Jinhua lately?"

Wei Jiaxian and Tan Min calmed down, thought for a moment, then both shook their heads.

"No one came? So they really went out into the world? Fine—bold of them!"

Li Ye was surprised—he'd met Jiang Xiao Ning twice and didn't think she had that kind of guts.

Jiang Xiao Ning's older brother-in-law, Zhou Qiangshun, was a habitual thief; with the crackdown tightening, he supposedly ran off with Jiang Xiao Ning—but more likely he'd come to Beijing just to lie low.

But since these two young men were confident and daring, it wasn't Li Ye's concern.

Li Ye had a connection with Jiang Xiao Yan and thought Chen Jinhua was decent—he didn't want her and her daughter to get tangled up in harboring a fugitive. Whether Jiang Xiao Ning would suffer because of her little brother? Not his problem.

But just as Li Ye and Jin Peng were about to leave, Wei Jiaxian suddenly said: "A few days ago, Sister Chen told Old Song that she kept waking up early and disturbing everyone in the courtyard, so she moved to the western yard. We didn't notice anyone new in her house."

"Huh?"

Li Ye and Jin Peng exchanged glances—this was exactly as expected.

The western yard was dilapidated; Jin Peng hadn't even wanted it at first, only bought it later for Old Song and others to store junk.

Li Ye went inside and found it nearly uninhabitable—only two dogs were kept there, barking furiously at Li Ye and Jin Peng.

The two followed the footprints on the ground and arrived together at the door of a ruined house.

The door was locked—but the lock had no dust, clearly opened frequently.

Jin Peng circled the house, found a brick, and smashed the lock in a few swings.

"Who's there?"

Someone was inside.

One was timid—Jiang Xiao Ning, Jiang Xiao Yan's younger brother; the other was a young man in his twenties, about 1. 8 meters tall, dignified-looking, holding a stick—probably Zhou Qiangshun.

Jin Peng's eyes narrowed, pointed two fingers at the young man: "Put down the stick."

The young man felt Jin Peng's pressure but didn't lower the stick—his eyes darted toward the window.

Only then did Jiang Xiao Ning react: "Big brother, these are friends—my sister's classmate. Don't mistake allies for enemies!"

Zhou Qiangshun sat on the nearby bed, placed the stick just within reach, and watched Li Ye and Jin Peng warily.

Jin Peng was ready to teach Zhou Qiangshun a lesson, but Li Ye asked Jiang Xiao Ning: "Why lock the door in broad daylight? Neighbors said a thief broke in—we didn't believe them!"

Jiang Xiao Ning nervously replied: "Mom said the streets are unsafe lately, so she locked us in so we couldn't go out."

Li Ye asked again: "Did your sister know you came to Beijing?"

Jiang Xiao Ning stammered, silent—clearly Jiang Xiao Yan didn't know.

Li Ye smiled: "So you came all the way to Beijing just to drink inside this room all day?"

Inside was a table with two bowls of noodles, two empty plates, and a nearly empty bottle of baijiu.

Jiang Xiao Ning chuckled awkwardly: "Not much—got food, got drink."

Beside him, Zhou Qiangshun suddenly said: "Two meals a day counts as 'food and drink'? Your mother's utterly clueless—I'm your family's guest, after all."

Jiang Xiao Ning couldn't respond—Chen Jinhua's noodle shop opened during the day and didn't close until eight or nine at night—so yes, only two meals a day.

Li Ye and Jin Peng exchanged glances, and Li Ye smiled: "Peng Ge, go buy some vegetables—we can't let our guest go unattended on our turf."

Jin Peng nodded and turned to leave, but Zhou Qiangshun rushed out ahead: "I'll buy them—I may be Jiang's guest, but I won't eat for free. I've got money."

Jin Peng glanced at Li Ye, nodded toward Zhou Qiangshun—asking whether to take him down.

But Li Ye slowly shook his head.

Jiang Xiao Ning felt uneasy, muttering: "How can we let a guest pay? What kind of thing is that?"

But an hour later, Jiang Xiao Ning couldn't mutter anymore.

Because night had fallen—and Zhou Qiangshun hadn't returned.

An hour and a half later, Jiang Xiao Yan dragged her mother back in a panic.

As soon as she entered the gate, Jiang Xiao Yan shouted: "Xiao Ning, where's that thief?"

Chen Jinhua fretted: "Xiao Yan, don't talk nonsense—he's family!"

Jiang Xiao Yan snapped: "Family? If Li Ye hadn't told me, I'd still be in the dark! I asked you eight times before you told the truth—this kind of relative? We don't recognize him."

"Lower your voice, lower your voice," Chen Jinhua pulled Jiang Xiao Yan urgently: "He's innocent—just passing through. He even said yesterday he'd leave—but if he leaves, your brother's engagement will fall apart!"

Chen Jinhua saw Li Ye and Jin Peng and was instantly flustered.

Lately, Li Ye and Li Yue had visited her noodle shop often, teaching her the law—but when it came to her son's lifelong future, Chen Jinhua's compassion overruled reason.

Jiang Xiao Yan also felt uneasy—Li Ye had helped her since the second-grade grain store, countless times, and still cared for her now.

What did he want?

"I'm sorry, Li Ye—I just found out. I'll make them turn themselves in."

"Turn themselves in? I didn't steal or rob! Besides, Brother wouldn't drag us down—he left on his own, took responsibility."

Jiang Xiao Ning protested loudly, glancing nervously at Li Ye and Jin Peng.

He believed Zhou Qiangshun had fled because of them.

"Left?"

Jiang Xiao Yan paused, looked at Li Ye.

Li Ye said: "Probably left. Ask your mom to check the house—see if anything's missing."

"What? You think my brother's a thief?"

Jiang Xiao Ning jumped three feet in the air, shouting: "He's a righteous bandit—Ever heard of Li San the Swallow? He robs the rich to help the poor, never steals from small households!"

Chen Jinhua chimed in: "No, no—he doesn't look like a thief at all!"

Jiang Xiao Yan glanced at Li Ye, then grabbed her mother and pulled her into another room: "Mom, just check! Why are you dragging your feet?"

Jiang Xiao Ning glared at Li Ye, wanting to shout—but cowered, too scared.

"Damn it! Who stole my money?! Two thousand five hundred yuan! I hid it under the bricks—rats couldn't find it! Waaahhh!"

Chen Jinhua's wailing sounded like a soul's cry from hell's gate—turning Jiang Xiao Ning's face deathly pale.

He knew his mother had money—he'd begged her for cash these days—but she only fed him, never gave him a single cent.

Zhou Qiangshun had discussed with Jiang Xiao Ning how much money Chen Jinhua had, making Jiang Xiao Ning feel warm inside.

He thought: he was her son—her money was his money; spending it was his right.

But now, hearing "two thousand five hundred yuan," Jiang Xiao Ning felt—this wasn't money, this was his life.

Chen Jinhua rushed in, grabbed Jiang Xiao Ning by the collar, snarling: "Tell me—where's the money? Did you take it?"

Jiang Xiao Ning whimpered: "Mom, you lock us in every day and sleep in the room at night—how could I steal it?"

"You're still lying! Still lying!"

Jiang Xiao Yan searched the room, grabbed the stick, and raised it—she was truly furious.

Li Ye quickly said: "It's probably not your brother. Come look here."

Li Ye led Jiang Xiao Yan to the window, pushed it open, and pointed to faint footprints on the windowsill.

A window opening isn't unusual—but this one had a brand-new latch on the outside, clearly newly installed, meant to keep Jiang Xiao Ning and Zhou Qiangshun locked in.

Chen Jinhua gasped: "I had Old Song cement that latch shut—how did it open?"

Li Ye pointed to the prints: "Size 43 Liberation shoes—who do you think?"

Chen Jinhua froze, tears streaming: "What bad luck! How did I get stuck with such a relative?! I work from dawn to dusk—just to earn for others!"

Jiang Xiao Yan finally swung the stick, beating Jiang Xiao Ning until he screamed.

Jiang Xiao Ning howled and jumped around the room, but Jin Peng and Li Ye stood side by side at the door—he had no escape.

"Mom! I'm gonna die!"

"Beat him! Beat him to death! If he dies, I'll say I never gave birth to this curse."

There is a third chapter today, but it will likely be close to one o'clock; readers who are used to sleeping early can read it tomorrow morning.