amaotonovel Chapter 1252 Waste Utilization
Chapter 1252 Waste Utilization
The night was like a curtain, and the oil lamp cast a swaying silhouette on the window paper. Tian Xiao'e walked to the gate of the courtyard for the third time and looked out, twisting the corner of her clothes with her fingers, making deep wrinkles. Heiwa squatted beside the millstone to sharpen the knife, and the blade scraped against the bluestone, making a harsh sound.
"Don't turn around." Heiwa looked up at the sky: "It's not the first time that Da travels at night."
Tian Xiao'e bit her lower lip and walked back to the eaves. Suddenly she pricked up her ears: "Did you hear that? The sound of wheels!"
There was a creaking sound in the distance, mixed with the tired snort of the old horse. Heiwa threw down the grindstone and rushed to the gate, only to see a horse-drawn carriage slowly turning into the alley, with the hunched figure on the shaft stretched out in the moonlight.
"Da!" Heiwa took two steps forward and grabbed the reins: "Why are you back so late?"
Lu San held his waist and moved down from the shaft of the cart, his trouser legs covered with mud spots.
He avoided his son's concerned gaze and said vaguely, "Don't mention it. There was too much food loaded and the beams of the cart were damaged."
He pointed at the bottom of the car with his pipe and said, "It took me half a day to repair it."
Heiwa bent down to check and saw that the frame was reinforced with a piece of wood tied with hemp rope. Tian Xiao'e came closer with a lantern, and the light shone across her father-in-law's sweaty forehead - the sweat was unnaturally sticky in the early autumn night breeze.
"Has Da eaten?" Heiwa asked after taking the whip.
Lu San waved his hand and walked into the yard: "I'm sorry, Sang Lao Ba, I'll treat you to some mutton soup buns."
His Adam's apple rolled twice, and he smacked his lips as if savoring something: "It feels good."
Tian Xiao'e handed over a wrung face towel, the cotton cloth steaming with heat: "Da, wipe off your sweat first, the bath water is ready."
"Well, it's time to wash." Lu San took the towel and wiped it on his face a few times: "I've been busy all day and I'm covered in dust." He then lifted the blue cloth curtain of the inner room.
Heiwa turned around and went to the kitchen to get some water, but his wife grabbed his sleeve. Tian Xiaoe's eyes were unusually bright, and she lowered her voice: "Don't you think Da is a little strange today?"
"Strange? What's strange?" Heiwa was completely confused.
"Sang Lao Ba is famous for being stingy. Would he be willing to treat Da to mutton soup buns? Besides, all his land has been sold out long ago, where will the food come from?"
Heiwa scratched his head and said, "Maybe it was collected from several families? The beam of the car is really broken." Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by his wife.
"Do you smell anything on Da?"
"It smells like sweat. Who doesn't sweat after a day's work?"
Tian Xiao'e shook her head, and the wooden hairpin on her hair swayed slightly with the movement: "It's the smell of powder." Seeing her husband glaring at her, she simply dragged him to the west wing and said, "Let's go back to the room and get some perfume for you to smell."
"Heiwa!" Lu San's voice suddenly came from the inner room, startling the couple, "Is the bath water ready?"
"I'm coming!" Heiwa responded hurriedly, winked at his wife and ran to the kitchen. Amid the gurgling sound of the copper ladle scooping water, he heard Tian Xiao'e sighing softly behind him.
As the night deepened and the dew became heavier, Heiwa's snoring rose and fell on the earthen kang. Tian Xiao'e stared at the beams, feeling uneasy, but as a daughter-in-law, she couldn't ask too many questions.
As a result, for two consecutive days, Lu San said that someone had hired his car to go to the county town, and every time he went in the morning and returned after dark. What was even more suspicious was that every time he came back, Lu San smelled of powder.
Tian Xiao'e felt suspicious, so on the third day, she followed Lu San. She found that when they arrived at the destination, Lu San's carriage was only loaded with less than half of the food, and the person who hired the carriage was still Sang Laoba.
When Tian Xiao'e returned to Bailu Clinic, she happened to meet Leng Qiuyue who came to teach the nurses. She told Leng Qiuyue about the situation, and Leng Qiuyue immediately became alert.
"Sang Lao Ba?" The moxa stick in Leng Qiuyue's hand broke with a snap.
"Dad said that Sang Lao Ba and the lazy guys in the village followed Lu Zilin around all day long." She suddenly grabbed Tian Xiao'e's shaking hand and said, "Let's go find Hao Ge'er!"
On the hillside in front of the ammunition factory, Qin Hao's eyes suddenly turned cold after listening to the narration.
Not long after, Heiwa also came to the hillside. After listening to what Qin Hao said, the man who was as strong as an iron tower turned pale in an instant.
"Impossible, I dare him..."
"Lu Zilin is best at taking advantage of loopholes." Qin Hao patted Heiwa's shoulder and said, "Everyone has weaknesses. If you are caught, you may reveal something to Lu Zilin, such as the location of the ammunition factory."
Heiwa was shocked when he heard this. Privately manufacturing ammunition is a capital crime, and most of the young people in Bailuyuan are working in the ammunition factory. The wages are much higher than what they can earn outside, and many of them rely on these wages to support their families. Once the ammunition factory is investigated, the consequences will be disastrous.
Hei Wa gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Hao, don't worry. If anyone dares to betray you, even your own father will show no mercy!"
The sun was setting, and just as Lu San was about to get up and put on his pants, he was pressed down on the carved bed by two heavily made-up women. He frantically grabbed his pants, but was stuffed with a stack of bills.
"Three hundred dollars?" Lu San counted the money with a trembling voice, almost biting his tongue. He jumped off the bed barefoot and was about to run, but was kicked to the ground. Several vicious thugs surrounded him. One of them, a bearded man, stepped on his chest and said viciously, "What's the matter? You are used to eating free meals, and you don't even want to pay for whores?"
"Sir, didn't Lu Zilin from my fellow village give me this money?" Lu San struggled to explain.
The prostitute in the pink bellyband swung her handkerchief and sneered, "They only gave us the money for the first day. You still owe them for the past few days. There's also your signature on it. How can you deny it?"
Lu San then realized that he had been tricked. Before he could argue, the bearded man grabbed his collar and slapped him several times, leaving Lu San's mouth full of blood and his eyes full of stars.
Lu Zilin then pushed the door open and pretended to be surprised: "Hey, Third Brother, what's wrong with you?"
The bearded man immediately changed his expression: "Master Lu, your friend is really dishonest. He came to our place to play with girls and even called several girls at a time. We treated him with good wine and food, but he actually wanted to default on his debt."
Lu Zilin smacked his lips and said, "Tsk tsk, Third Brother, this is your fault. I earned my money through hard work. You can't just put on pants and deny it?"
Lu San’s teeth were almost broken, and he glared at Lu Zilin with anger: “What do you want?”
Lu Zilin simply stopped pretending, squatted down, and said in a low voice: "It's very simple, as long as you take me to a place, I will pay for you."
"So simple?"
"It's that simple."
The night was as dark as ink, and the dark clouds were so low that you could almost touch them. The moon was wrapped tightly, not even a ray of light could leak out. In the bushes, Lu Zilin pushed Lu San impatiently, with such force that he almost staggered.
"Why haven't you arrived yet?!" Lu Zilin lowered his voice, his tone stern: "I'm warning you, if you don't take me to the ammunition factory, the three hundred dollars will be compounded with interest, and you will never be able to pay it back in your lifetime even if you sell your house and land!"
Lu San trembled all over, his rough fingers tightly grasped the corner of his clothes, his knuckles turned white. He gritted his teeth and glared at Lu Zilin, the anger in his eyes almost burning out: "Why did you hurt me?!"
Lu Zilin sneered, with a sinister look on his face: "If you want to blame someone, blame your son for being too close to the Bai family."
He took a step closer and lowered his voice, like a venomous snake spitting out its tongue, "But don't worry, when I bring down the Bai family, if your son is willing to follow me, I will let him be the leader of the security team."
Lu San's breathing suddenly became heavy, and he wanted to pounce on Lu Zilin and tear him to pieces. But when he thought of the IOU with his fingerprints on it and the testimonies of the prostitutes, he could only suppress his anger.
"Hurry up!" Lu Zilin urged impatiently, "Don't dawdle!"
Lu San gritted his teeth, turned around and continued to lead the way. The night wind swept through the grass, making a rustling sound, like countless tiny ghosts whispering.
The two of them walked one in front and one behind, carefully bypassing several sentries under the cover of night. In the distance, the torches of the security team flickered in the darkness, and the footsteps of the patrol team could be vaguely heard.
Lu San's heart was beating like a drum, and every step he took felt like he was walking on the edge of a knife.
Finally, the two climbed up a high slope. Lu San stopped and pointed at a dark hole at the bottom of the slope, whispering, "That's the entrance to the ammunition factory."
Lu Zilin narrowed his eyes and stared at him suspiciously: "You are not trying to find a hole to fool me?" He pointed with his finger: "It's pitch black in here, it doesn't look like anyone is working there?"
Lu San sneered, his tone carrying a hint of sarcasm: "There can't be open flames in the ammunition factory. We don't have electric lights here, so we don't work at night."
Lu Zilin stared at the cave entrance for a long while, and finally nodded: "Okay, I'll trust you this time."
Lu San immediately reached out his hand and asked in a hoarse voice: "Where's the IOU?"
Lu Zilin sneered and slapped his hand away: "Don't worry, I will return it to you after the matter is done."
Lu San clenched his fists even tighter, his nails almost digging into his flesh. But he knew that turning hostile now would only make things worse, so he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
"Let's go!" Lu Zilin didn't delay any longer and turned around to go back. He had to go to the county quickly and sell the news to the county magistrate. As long as the ammunition factory collapsed, the Bai family would be finished!
He quickly returned to the carriage, jumped on the shaft, whipped the horse, and the wheels rolled over the dirt road, making a dull sound. Lu Zilin sat in the carriage, and couldn't help but smile, thinking about how to spend the money after getting it. He even hummed a little tune, his voice was very low, but he couldn't hide his pride.
However, just as the carriage was about to turn the corner, the horse pulling the carriage was suddenly tripped by a rope across the road!
"Hiss!" The horse neighed, and suddenly knelt on its front hooves, and the whole car body flipped over in an instant!
Lu Zilin was caught off guard and was thrown out, falling heavily to the ground. The pain made him black out. He struggled to get up, but before he could see the situation clearly, the muzzle of a gun was already against his temple.
"Don't move." A cold voice sounded.
Lu Zilin froze and slowly raised his head. Although the other person's face was covered, he was very familiar with those eyes.
"Hei Wa?!"
Hei Wa sneered and simply pulled off the black cloth on his face, revealing his angular face. Under the moonlight, his eyes were as cold as ice.
"Zilinda, it's so dark here. Where are you going in such a hurry?"
Lu Zilin's heart was pounding, but he pretended to be calm and laughed dryly: "An old friend invited me to drink..."
Hei Wa sneered and pointed his gun forward: "Could this old friend Zilinda be the county magistrate of our Zishui County?"
Lu Zilin's pupils shrank, and a layer of cold sweat instantly seeped out of his back. He forced a smile and said, "What county magistrate? That's something I can only reach. What nonsense..."
Hei Wa was too lazy to beat around the bush and said directly: "Sell him the address of the ammunition factory, and then we will have established a relationship."
Lu Zilin's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief: "How do you know..."
Before he could finish his words, Heiwa kicked him in the chest!
"Damn it! I told you to set a trap for my dad!"
Lu Zilin was kicked and fell on his back. Before he could get up, Heiwa pounced on him and punched him like raindrops!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Lu Zilin's screams were particularly piercing in the night as each punch hit his flesh. Heiwa was extremely ruthless, and each punch was filled with pent-up anger.
"That's enough." A deep voice came from the darkness.
Heiwa then stopped and retreated, panting. Qin Hao walked out from the shadows, followed by two masked men.
"Tie him up." Qin Hao said coldly, "Have him write a ransom letter and send it to the village tomorrow."
Hearing Qin Hao's voice, Lu Zilin struggled violently, but was kicked hard by Heiwa again, and he curled up in pain.
He stared at Qin Hao with his swollen eyes wide open, and said in a hoarse voice: "Kill me now if you dare! Otherwise, I will make your Bai family fall into ruin!"
Qin Hao looked down at him, a sneer on his face: "I'm afraid you don't have this opportunity."
He slowly squatted down, moved closer and whispered: "The reason I spared your life now is to make use of the waste."
"It's been a long time since there have been any bandits in Zishui County."
"It's time to... make some noise."
The next day, Lu Taiheng received a blackmail letter hanging at the entrance of the village. Although Bai Jiaxuan was confused, he still rang the bell in the ancestral hall to gather all the villagers.
Zaohua hugged Lu Zhaohai and cried, "Jiaxuan...you must save your brother Zilin."
Lu Taiheng stomped his cane hard: "It would be better if this rebellious son died..."
Bai Jiaxuan quickly advised: "Tai Hengda, please don't say angry words, saving the people is the most important thing."
"But five thousand dollars, even if I sell my old bones I can't get that much." Lu Taiheng said while wiping his tears.
Bai Jiaxuan was about to speak but was stopped by Qin Hao.
"Master Taiheng, if you really want to save people, gather together the valuables in your home and calculate how much you can get at most. If you are short of a few hundred dollars, the villagers should be able to gather it together. If the gap is too big..."
"Then we can only let our security team solve it by force. Don't worry, we will definitely wipe out this group of daring bandits while trying our best to protect Zilinda's life."
Lu Taiheng was also an experienced man, so how could he not understand the true meaning of these words?
He knew very well that given the feud between Lu Zilin and the Bai family, if the security team was sent to suppress the bandits, his son would be in great danger.
"Let's go back and discuss it. We can sell the house and the land and raise as much as we can." (End of this chapter)