Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 475 I Was Wrong

"Who is it? It's me." Li Zhongguo's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Uncle Li, this is Xiaowei. Xiaohong, Chen Hui, and I are here at the water cave, on the riverbank. There are a few people demanding money and trying to smash my car."

"Don't do anything! I'm right there. Just bear with it, don't get taken advantage of." Li Zhongguo hung up the phone.

Xiao Wei handed the phone back to Chen Hui and said, "We need to keep some things in the car from now on. It's terrible that if something happens, we won't have any handy weapons. If a fight breaks out, we'll be at a disadvantage. There are seven or eight of them. This underground area is better."

He bent down and picked up two fist-sized pebbles from the side, weighed them in his hand, and handed one to Chen Hui, saying, "Use this to smash your head. This is considered robbery, and even if they kill you, it's just a matter of paying some money." This was the riverbank, where there were many pebbles.

Xiao Wei held the pebble in his hand, stepped forward, and said to Brother Xian, "Come on, knock a few more times and see if your head is harder than my car."

Brother Xian said, "You think you're so tough, huh? You think I wouldn't dare touch you?"

Xiao Wei held the pebble in his right hand and pushed Brother Xian back two steps away from the car with his left. He said, "Then move it. I've never let anyone touch me in my entire life as mayor. Let me have a taste."

Brother Xian's forehead veins throbbed a few times as he said, "What the hell am I supposed to do to you? You think you can do this? Come on, grab a rock and you're all tough, dare to smash it?" and then he headed straight for Xiao Wei.

"Liu Hongxian, you son of a bitch, are you trying to get yourself killed?" A loud shout came from across the street. Brother Xian and Xiao Wei turned their heads and saw a policeman running over with his hat in his hand and his top button ripped open. He looked like he was running too fast, panting heavily, and his face had changed color.

As he ran closer, the policeman, hands on his knees, panting heavily, pointed at Liu Hongxian with his free hand and said, "Damn it, Liu Hongxian, you're just trying to cause trouble, aren't you? You're itching for trouble if you don't stir things up in a couple of days. Okay, okay, you've really gone too far this time. I'll see how you die this time. Okay."

Liu Hongxian immediately switched to a grinning face and said, "What's wrong with me? I didn't do anything. Ask them what I did! These guys from Fengtian are tough. See that rock in his hand? He's trying to kill me. No matter how tough the people from Fengtian are, they can't be tough here, right?"

The policeman pointed with his hand, finally catching his breath, and turned to ask Xiaowei, "You're Xiaowei, right? You didn't lay a hand on him, did you?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "No. If you had come a minute later, it would have been almost time. This guy came up and demanded a fifty-yuan fee and a hundred-yuan fine. If I didn't pay, he threatened to smash my car. Are all the thugs in our county this arrogant now?"

Liu Hongxian heard him clearly this time, paused for a moment, and asked Xiao Wei, "Dude, are you from this county?"

The policeman wiped the sweat from his brow, pulled up his hat, and tugged at his top button, saying, "From this county? He calls Boss Xia 'Uncle,' and Director Li 'Uncle.' His father-in-law works for the Agricultural Machinery Bureau. Got it? Liu Hongxian, you've really gone too far with your suicidal antics. Do you think you can stay in this county town anymore?"

The county town is only so big. Xiao Wei has been working on Xia Laoda's construction site for more than two years. Uncle Wang is well-liked and always talks about his son-in-law. He knows most of the people in the county. Moreover, Xia Laoda is involved in real estate in this era. Which gangster is not afraid of him?

Liu Hongxian had just swallowed a mouthful of soda when several screeching sounds came from the road. Three jeeps rushed over and stopped beside them. Before the cars had even come to a complete stop, Li Zhongguo jumped out, strode over to Xiao Wei, looked him over a few times, and asked, "Did you make a move?" Turning his head to look into the car, Xiao Hong finally dared to get out and called out, "Uncle."

Xiao Wei weighed the pebble in his hand, then casually moved aside and said, "No, this guy arrived just in time and stopped them. Uncle Li, this is Chen Hui, and this is Xia Maosheng. You know Chen Hui, right? Old Xia is from Longcheng. His aunt is a high-ranking official in Chuanzhou City, and he works in the Bureau of Government Offices. Those sitting over there are his two wives, both of them are pregnant." Xiao Wei pointed to Chen Hui's car.

Chen Hui and Xia Maosheng both called out, "Uncle Li."

This wasn't the time to speak, so Li Zhongguo simply nodded and asked, "What happened?"

Xiao Hong said, "We went to play in the water cave, and then we were going to go to town to eat. They suddenly rushed over and blocked our way, cursing and swearing about charging parking fees. It was fifty yuan per car, and then they said that leaving without permission would result in a fine of one hundred yuan, so it would be three hundred yuan for both cars. If we didn't pay, they threatened to smash the cars and beat us. They smashed the cars several times, and they smashed the car too." Xiao Hong pointed to the boy who was standing in front of Xia Maosheng.

Xia Maosheng pointed to the hood of Xiao Wei's car and said, "It's dented." Xiao Wei went over and took a look; the kid's punch had indeed left a small dent.

Li Zhongguo turned to look at Liu Hongxian, sized him up, and asked, "What fees are you collecting? Who gave you permission to collect them?"

Liu Hongxian licked his lips and said with a sheepish smile, "We thought it was Fengtian, driving such a nice car. We just wanted to get some money for cigarettes, nothing more."

With a loud "smack," Li Zhongguo swung his arm and slapped Liu Hongxian hard across the face, causing Liu Hongxian to stagger back two steps, sway a few times, and then kneel down on the ground with a thud, clutching his head and shouting, "I was wrong, I was wrong, Uncle."

Li Zhongguo reached out and patted the policeman on the shoulder, saying, "Thanks, Xiong Liang. If it weren't for your timely intervention today, something bad would have happened. A police station will be built here in Shuidong this month, and you'll be the station chief. Get ready in the next few days."

Xiong Liang wiped the sweat from his face, stood at attention with delight, and said, "Yes, sir! I guarantee I will complete the mission. Please watch my performance, Director."

Li Zhongguo nodded, glanced at the boy still standing by the car, then at the slightly dented hood, and asked, "What's your name? Where do you live? What does your family do?"

The boy, whose face was a little pale, licked his lips and said, "Sun Liang, Sun Xuliang. I'm from the textile factory, my dad works in the food processing plant."

Li Zhongguo pointed to the hood and said, "This car costs nearly 600,000 yuan. Repairing it will cost several thousand yuan. Do you have the money to pay for it?"

Sun Xuliang stared at the hood, took a deep breath, and said, "I... I didn't know. I didn't mean to. If I had known it was so expensive, would I have smashed it?"

Li Zhongguo asked, "Did you smash it? Are you going to pay for it?"

Sun Xuliang said, "Yes, I smashed it. I didn't know it was so expensive. I don't have the money."

Li Zhongguo said, "Think about it yourself. Do you want to pay compensation or go to jail? A few thousand yuan is enough to get you three to five years in prison. Think it over."

Sun Xuliang turned to Liu Hongxian: "Brother Xian, what should we do? My dad will beat me to death."

Liu Hongxian knelt there without raising his head or saying a word.

(End of this chapter)