Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

"Alright, alright, don't flatter me. For your brother's sake, I won't confiscate her car. As for her report of Zheng Xiong for fighting, it's not going to be filed anyway. Why don't you mediate and settle it with some compensation!" After saying that, Zhang Tuanjie exhaled another puff of smoke.

"Uncle Tuan, you can't sit on the wrong side! Since you know Zheng Gou Xiong beat someone up, why don't you arrest him? Also, my little brother, a student at Yanghe No. 1 High School, was also beaten up by that bastard. Where is he now?" After saying that, Cheng Dong subconsciously looked around, but couldn't see Yue Chuan's figure. He couldn't help but worry.

"How many problems do I have to smooth over for you just to smoke a cigarette?" Zhang Tuanjie suddenly raised his voice. "I haven't seen any high school students here! Get this straight, the bureau sent me to check on street vendors, not to stand up for you!"

Zhang Tuanjie was aware of the conflict between Cheng Dong and Zheng Xiong. He had come here to smooth things over and didn't want to get involved in this mess. Besides, the Zheng family father and son were now working for Lao Chengxi, and he owed Lao Chengxi a huge favor. Asking him to arrest Zheng Xiong now would be a no-go for him to lose his position as deputy head of security.

"The guy who hit someone ran off with a ball! And you didn't even chase after him. He's just running a small business; does it really need you to personally intervene?"

At this moment, Cheng Dong's temper flared up as well. But despite his anger, he still went through the whole story from beginning to end: first, Zheng Xiong led people to smash up the food carts of street vendors, then Zhang Tuanjie went out to maintain order, but Zheng Xiong, who had assaulted people, ran away. Instead, they held onto Zhao Sumei and wouldn't let her go. Not only did they not stand up for her, but they also confiscated her food cart. This all seemed suspicious!

Who benefits the most from the removal of street vendors at the school gate? Of course, it's the school cafeteria! Cheng Dong has been in the underworld for so many years, even a fool could guess that today's events are definitely related to the cafeteria owner!

"I'm telling you! Don't push your luck! I've already given you plenty of face by letting that woman go. If you're so capable, go talk to your brother yourself!" Zhang Tuanjie stubbed out his cigarette, his face turning ashen in an instant. He had originally intended to do Cheng Dong a favor and settle the matter of the stall and the fight, but he hadn't expected that this simpleton Cheng Dong would start arguing with him so unreasonably. It seemed that the rumors of discord between the two Lao brothers were not unfounded.

The other party's attitude was tough, and they even dragged his own older brother into it, which infuriated Cheng Dong. He thought to himself, "You, Zhang Tuanjie! How could you say something like that? What do you mean by 'giving me face'? Do you think I don't know that bastard Zheng Xiong is working for my older brother now? Wait a minute..."

At that moment, a terrifying thought suddenly popped into Cheng Dong's mind—could the cafeteria owner be his own older brother? It's very possible!

Zheng Xiong dared to assault people in broad daylight, while Zhang Tuanjie, a mid-level leader, personally came to arrest the vendors. Isn't this "having connections in both the legitimate and underworld" approach exactly Lao Chengxi's style of doing things?

Everything makes sense now. No wonder Zhang Tuanjie wanted him to go find his older brother; there was a hidden meaning behind it all. Thinking of this, Cheng Dong felt terrible.

To stand up for his younger brother Qin Yuechuan, he stood against his older brother Lao Chengxi—what kind of behavior is that!

Thinking of this, Cheng Dong gasped and said coldly to Zhang Tuanjie beside him, "I thank you for Aunt Zhao's matter, but I will definitely not let those bastards get away with it. If they dare to bully my brother again, I will turn Yanghe County upside down to deal with them!"

Zhang Tuanjie stared at Cheng Dong as if he were a fool. He wanted to say something more, but he swallowed the words back. He patted Cheng Dong on the shoulder and turned to leave.

Seeing that the police had left the scene, Cheng Dong's eyes were filled with complex emotions. He was unwilling to believe that his older brother was the mastermind behind the whole incident.

Ultimately, Lao Chengdong and Lao Chengxi are not on the same page. Otherwise, the former would have been content to live a life of luxury under the latter's leadership and wouldn't have had to go out and start his own business.

Thinking of the conflicts he had had with his elder brother over the years, Cheng Dong couldn't help but sigh. Just then, Zhao Sumei, disheveled and filthy, limped toward him.

"Aunt Zhao? Are you alright?"

Cheng Dong rushed to help her up, but Zhao Sumei was already sobbing uncontrollably: "Dongzi, this is all my fault. If it weren't for me... Xiao Chuan wouldn't have been beaten and hospitalized..."

Zhao Sumei was in a very bad state and her speech was incoherent. However, this was not surprising, as she was still immersed in self-blame and could not extricate herself.

"Aunt Zhao, this isn't your fault. Xiao Chuan went to the hospital, let's go check on him too, and let the doctor take a look at your foot as well..."

"Why don't you blame me? Back at the farmers' market, you stood up for me and that's why you broke ties with the Zheng family. Now I've dragged Xiao Chuan into this too. I really..." When all the sad things piled up, Zhao Sumei slapped herself hard.

"Aunt Zhao!" Cheng Dong quickly grabbed Zhao Sumei. "You don't need to do this. Come on, let's get in the car first. I'll settle the score with them after we see Xiao Chuan!"

While comforting Zhao Sumei, Cheng Dong helped her into the car. As for the "backward donkey," Cheng Dong didn't forget it either, and shoved it, along with the pots and pans, into the back of the car...

Twenty minutes later, a van with its back door open arrived at the entrance of the county hospital.

Just as Cheng Dong was about to park the car, his pager with a Chinese display on his waist beeped. He picked it up and saw a message from Yue Chuan's homeroom teacher: "Yue Chuan is in room 208 of the county hospital. He's fine. Come quickly!"

Cheng Dong originally intended to settle Zhao Sumei in before going to the ward, but she insisted on visiting Yue Chuan first. Cheng Dong couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to help her go with him.

Seeing the boy lying on the hospital bed with his head wrapped in bandages, Zhao Sumei's heart broke. She shook off Cheng Dong's hand and stumbled to the bedside: "Xiao Chuan'er, does it hurt? It's all Auntie's fault, I've made you suffer..."

Seeing Aunt Zhao's tearful face, Yue Chuan forced a smile, "Aunt Zhao, the doctor said it's nothing serious, don't be sad..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Sumei pulled Yue Chuan into her arms. At that moment, the woman's throat tightened, and all her words melted into her trembling embrace.

The patients in the ward were moved by the scene of the mother and child embracing, while Zhou Wenyao and Cheng Dong exchanged a glance and tacitly retreated to the corridor outside the ward.

"Teacher Zhou, thank you so much! It's all thanks to you for getting Xiao Chuan to the hospital in time, otherwise, who knows what might have happened!" Cheng Dong's attitude was very sincere.

"Don't mention it, I'm the child's homeroom teacher, it's my job," Zhou Wenyao replied politely, then asked, "Your name is Qin Aimin, right?"

"No, my name is Lao Chengdong, I'm Xiaochuan's cousin, you can just call me Xiaodong," Chengdong quickly replied.

"Oh, Yue Chuan filled in two emergency contact persons in his enrollment information, but he has only been able to contact you so far. His guardian is not here, so we need to discuss the following matters with you first." Zhou Wenyao is an experienced teacher after all, and he considers issues very comprehensively. It's not enough to just send the student to the hospital. After all, the child was injured at the school gate, and the student's parents should demand an explanation.

"Teacher Zhou, before coming here, I had already figured out most of the details. Let's put aside the physical altercation for now. What I really want to know is whether Xiao Chuan suffered any brain damage. His parents entrusted him to me. If anything happens to this child, I..."

Cheng Dong didn't continue, but how could Zhou Wenyao not understand what he meant? The old teacher took out a report from his pocket and handed it over directly.

"This is also my biggest concern. Before you came, I took it upon myself to have my child undergo a full-body CT scan. Here, this is the report, please take a look."

Upon seeing the conclusion, "No serious structural damage, mild concussion, hospitalization for observation is recommended," Cheng Dong breathed a sigh of relief. If there were truly a serious problem, the doctor certainly wouldn't have used such wording. However, it was also fortunate that the ground at the school gate wasn't heavily paved; otherwise, with Zheng Xiong pressing down on Yue Chuan's head and banging it so hard, a serious accident might have occurred.

"You paid for all the medical expenses and examination fees, right? Thank you on behalf of Xiaochuan's parents. How much was it in total? I'll pay right away..."

Cheng Dong was about to take money out of his pocket when Zhou Wenyao waved his hand and refused, saying, "These are minor matters. Parents hand their children over to the school unattended, and we also have a responsibility to supervise them. Let's not talk about this for now; I have some issues to report to you..."

In the following period, Zhou Wenyao presented the entire incident from an objective standpoint, including Yue Chuan's "borrowing" of someone else's day student pass and the school leaders' attitude towards the incident.