Beyond Yangcheng’s borders?

Beyond Yangcheng’s borders, the cost of help would naturally be different.

Despite being a gang leader, Ke Yixiong lived in an ordinary single-story house. The alley outside was too narrow for Du Zhaohui’s car to enter. The house was dilapidated outside and hardly luxurious inside, yet Ke Yixiong invited Du Zhaohui to sit and have tea.

What tea? That was something older people loved – Du Zhaohui never drank tea!

He worried the peeling wooden stool would damage his pants. Du Zhaohui endured the discomfort as he sat. If not for money and power, who would choose the underground life? Did they think the jianghu was easy? All that talk about loyalty was just for show to the underlings – without it, who would risk their lives for the boss?

Given the Du family’s criminal connections, Du Zhaohui believed he saw through these underworld figures.

Ke Yixiong’s “modest” lifestyle was either because his operation was growing or deliberately performed for his subordinates.

Being able to resist indulgence at such a young age made Du Zhaohui regard Ke Yixiong slightly higher.

This slight elevation in respect had the young master Du sitting on a worn stool awaiting news, while Xia Dajun wrung his hands beside him, anxiety written all over his face.

He feared that after hearing the situation, the young Boss Ke would say he couldn’t find the people, leaving Xia Dajun helpless!

Could a small hair salon be a place for young women?

Since learning what the hair salon was, Xia Dajun had been extremely worried.

Though he wasn’t close to Xia Hongxia, she was still his niece.

The Xia family’s reputation was bad enough already. People probably wouldn’t call Xiaolan loose anymore since she’d become a university student. But if people back home learned that Hongxia had stayed at such a place for so long, their spittle alone could drown someone… What was the point of earning money if the Xia family couldn’t even hold their heads up or return home?

Xia Dajun watched as the young Boss Ke called in someone named Cao Liu and questioned him about the situation.

Cao Liu smiled obsequiously, “Boss, you never let the brothers handle this kind of thing, it wasn’t done by any of our men below.”

“Just find the people, no questions asked, use whatever method to locate all three.”

As Cao Liu left with a troubled expression, Xia Dajun felt it seemed too casual – could such a light exchange accomplish anything?

Du Zhaohui hadn’t touched the tea on the table. He stood up: “Boss Ke, if you get any news, have someone inform me. I’m staying at the Baiyun Hotel.”

Ke Yixiong didn’t try to keep him. Getting Du Zhaohui to come to meet him had already surprised him.

He’d originally thought Du Zhaohui was just pretending to care about his bodyguard and was planning to try a different approach. Unexpectedly, Du Zhaohui came.

But that was all – Du Zhaohui coming personally already showed sincerity. Even if they found the Xia family members, Du Zhaohui probably wouldn’t appear again. This side would do the work, Du Zhaohui would pay, a simple transaction… Ke Yixiong smiled broadly as he saw Du Zhaohui out:

“Boss Du, I have another business proposition you might be interested in. Once I find the people you’re looking for, we can discuss new business.”

Tch.

These days, everyone wants to discuss business with him.

Du Zhaohui still hadn’t figured out what was going on with that country bumpkin Xia Ziyu.

Du Zhaohui was now somewhat wary, but put on a smile:

“Business? Of course, of course. Boss Ke, I’ll await your good news!”

…

Passing Du Zhaohui’s convoy, Tang Hong’en didn’t think much of it.

Yangcheng was so close to Pengcheng – if he could come here, naturally Du Zhaohui could too. Tang Hong’en didn’t presume the other party had come for him.

Tang Hong’en didn’t have a good impression of Du Zhaohui.

Liu Fen didn’t know Du Zhaohui and had been kept in the dark about Xia Xiaolan’s accident.

Sharing a car with Tang Hong’en, Liu Fen was already quite nervous and had no attention to spare for other matters. Tang Hong’en hadn’t confessed again or dwelled on matters between them, instead asking her many business questions. He learned she needed to stock two stores at once – truly not an easy workload.

Tang Hong’en also heard the worry in Liu Fen’s words. After some thought, he said casually:

“Comrade Liu Fen, you probably don’t know where I first saw you.”

Talking with Tang Hong’en, she unknowingly followed his pace. Liu Fen was puzzled – their first meeting had been in Pengcheng’s fishing village. She remembered Tang Hong’en’s broken glasses, getting caught in the rain, developing a fever at midnight, and everyone helping carry him to the hospital.

“Not at the fishing village, but at a restaurant in Yangcheng. You were having dim sum with Xiaolan for the first time, seeming quite uncomfortable in that environment?”

Dim sum at a restaurant?

Was that when Xiaolan first brought her to Yangcheng?

Liu Fen had been so nervous then that she didn’t remember seeing Tang Hong’en at the restaurant.

Tang Hong’en hadn’t even seen Liu Fen’s face then, but talking about it now made it seem like he’d started paying attention to her back then. Mayor Tang’s shrewd side was fully displayed:

“You were quite different then from now, not in appearance, but in your nervous uncertainty as someone new to the city. Comrade Liu Fen, I’m not mocking or looking down on you I’m amazed at how quickly you’ve progressed from being nervous about traveling with Xiaolan to going south to stock goods on your own. Look at most people in this world, trapped in one fixed place, afraid to go anywhere or change their way of life… You’re already ahead of most people in this regard. There’s nothing to be nervous about – however you handled goods worth 10,000 yuan, you’ll handle 100,000 the same way. If there’s any difference, it’s that with 100,000 yuan in goods, you can negotiate better prices.”

Tang Hong’en’s words were absolutely sincere.

His interest in Liu Fen was largely due to admiring her resilience. Though Liu Fen appeared simple and honest, she had more courage than many men.

While everyone was forced by circumstances, not everyone dared to change. Some people became more dejected the more difficult things got, and these “some people” weren’t few.

Liu Fen was stunned, especially by Tang Hong’en’s final bit of humor, which made her smile involuntarily.

In Tang Hong’en’s presence, when he wished it, he could make others feel not just nervous but also happy.

Liu Fen couldn’t control herself, though the smile was very brief, as she remembered the vast gulf between herself and Mayor Tang. She dared not be so casual in front of Tang Hong’en, fearing he might misunderstand.

“Thank you.”

Though grateful, the more Tang Hong’en showed his broad-mindedness, learning, and consideration, the more Liu Fen felt the distance between them.

How could she possibly be worthy of such a man?

Tang Hong’en saw her smile appear and disappear, knowing Liu Fen would probably say they weren’t suitable again.

Nobody enjoys constant rejection. Before she could speak, Tang Hong’en quickly interrupted, “Looks like we’re here. Is this the guesthouse?”

Looking up, they had indeed arrived.

So absorbed in listening to Tang Hong’en, Liu Fen hadn’t even noticed when the car stopped!

Little Wang held the steering wheel with an innocent expression, trying to minimize his presence – when a middle-aged leader suddenly wanted to pursue romance, what could a driver do? If he didn’t create opportunities for his leader, some cleverer newcomer would steal his job in no time!