Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

The honeycomb briquettes in the stove were burning bright red, making the whole room warm and cozy.

A dark, earthenware pot sat on the stove, its lid sizzling as the boiling medicinal broth hit it. The strong, bitter aroma of herbs mingled with a faint smell of coal smoke, filling the small room.

Liang Tiejun's wife, Aunt Zhang Xiumei, wearing a patched apron, was squatting by the stove, fanning the fire with a tattered palm-leaf fan.

Hearing the wooden door being pushed open, she instinctively turned around.

When Xiumei saw the haggard, gray-haired man standing at the door, she dropped the palm-leaf fan in her hand with a "thud".

She stood up abruptly, her eyes instantly reddening. She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her rough hand and hurried over to meet her.

"Old Liang? You...you're back? Has the city's investigation finished?"

Liang Tiejun nodded.

Looking into his wife's red eyes, a gentle smile finally appeared on his tired face, and he nodded slightly.

"Yes, it's all over."

"Good, good..."

Xiumei covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face: "I thought you were going to..."

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly caught a glimpse of the person following behind Liang Tiejun out of the corner of her eye.

They were a dozen or so rough men with bloodshot eyes and a fierce and violent aura.

The leader was a young man with deep-set eyes.

Further on, several burly men were carrying a broken wooden door panel that had been removed from the house. Lying on the panel was a strong man whose head was covered in blood and whose life was unknown. Blood was dripping down the edge of the door panel.

The menacing scene startled Xiumei, who took a half-step back and grabbed Liang Tiejun's sleeve, her voice trembling as she asked, "Old Liang, who...who are these people?"

Liang Tiejun reached out and patted his wife's hand, his tone steady.

"Don't be afraid."

"This is Zhao Shanhe, the factory director I've been telling you about... This is the Zhao Shanhe I've been talking about before."

Xiumei froze, quickly wiping her hands on her apron, her eyes filled with helplessness: "Director Zhao? Oh dear, look at my poor eyesight, I didn't even recognize him..."

Zhao Shanhe nodded slightly to Xiu Mei, his fierce aura completely concealed, and his tone became as gentle as that of an ordinary junior.

"Auntie, things happened so suddenly today, and I didn't bring anything to visit you. Please don't mind."

"Oh dear, what are you saying, child? It's good enough that you came."

Xiumei waved her hands repeatedly, quickly ushering him inside: "Old Liang has been talking about you a lot at home. He said a capable young factory manager has joined the factory, and with him here, he feels reassured. Come on, it's cold outside, come inside and warm up!"

Zhao Shanhe turned his head and waved to the door.

Old Hei and Monkey carefully lifted the door panel and squeezed into the inner room sideways.

The rough, menacing men who had been so menacing in front of the security office were now so flustered in this warm, homey room that they didn't know where to put their hands and feet, afraid that the mud on their shoes would dirty the blue bricks on the floor.

Zhao Shanhe took off his old cotton-padded coat, which was covered in mud, and quickly went over to lend a hand.

With the help of several people, they carefully moved Erzhuzi onto the hard bed against the wall.

"monkey."

Zhao Shanhe turned and instructed, "Go to the kitchen and boil some water. Lao Hei, go find Da Zhuang and see where that idiot ran off to. Then find a doctor to come and check on the brothers."

"Oh dear, how can I let you do it? I'll boil the water!"

Xiumei quickly interrupted, picking up an old enamel basin from behind the door: "Look at you all, all covered in soot and dirt, you must have suffered a lot. Sit down and rest for a while, I'll go boil some water and make you some hot soup noodles later!"

"Auntie, please don't rush."

Zhao Shanhe took a step forward, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a stack of neatly folded ten-yuan notes.

He pulled Xiumei's rough hand and stuffed the money directly into her palm.

"Uncle Liang has been suspended from his job for a while, and even his basic salary has been stopped. I heard that he has a child in college who needs money right now, so things must be tough for his family. Please take this money and buy some good meat to help them recover."

Xiumei was startled and tried desperately to push the money back as if she had touched a hot potato.

"No way! This is too much money, Auntie absolutely cannot accept it!"

Zhao Shanhe grabbed Xiumei's wrist and forcefully stuffed the wad of money into the pocket of her patched apron.

"Auntie, please take it."

Zhao Shanhe's tone was gentle yet firm, leaving no room for refusal: "Uncle Liang took good care of me when I first came to the factory. This time, his suspension for investigation is more or less due to my involvement. If you don't even accept this small token of your appreciation, I will feel really bad."

Xiumei was speechless after hearing that.

Clutching the money in her pocket, she turned to look helplessly at Liang Tiejun, who was sitting on the wooden chair.

Liang Tiejun looked at Zhao Shanhe, remained silent for two seconds, and then let out a long sigh.

"Take it."

Liang Tiejun's voice was hoarse: "This kid is very informal. He'll feel at ease if you accept him."

Xiumei wiped her eyes, nodded repeatedly, and carried the enamel basin to the back kitchen.

The inner room quieted down, with only the soft sound of the flames licking the clay pot in the stove.