Chapter 115: The Situation Is Critical

Meanwhile, at the mutton soup shop by the textile factory gate, the place was in complete disarray.

The boiler, tables, and chairs had all been knocked over, bowls, chopsticks, and plates lay shattered across the floor, and the ground was covered in spilled soup and water—a total mess.

"Pretty cocky, aren't you? Didn't you have fun beating me up the day before yesterday?"

"You put a sack over my head, didn't you? Why aren't you so cocky now?"

A young man with a buzz cut held a knife to Lin Guoshan's neck, cursing as he slapped him across the face.

With his life in someone else's hands, what could Lin Guoshan say? His face was full of fear, and he cowered without daring to utter a single word.

Besides, he had been beaten mercilessly—blood was seeping from his nose, yet he didn't dare raise a hand to wipe it away, and his ears were ringing with a dull buzz.

"Don't you dare do anything reckless. If things blow up, it won't do anyone any good."

"Don't think you can act tough just because you've got some skills. I, Black Tiger, am nobody's pushover."

"If anything happens to Lin Guoshan, with all my brothers here, we'll bury you even if we have to pile up our corpses to do it."

Black Tiger glanced inside, then turned his gaze to the man and woman standing at the shop entrance, and spoke in a low voice.

He had rushed over after getting the news—someone had messed with Chen Huajiang's brother-in-law, and as a friend, how could he not lend a hand?

But he'd come out on the losing end!

The man and woman in front of him were ruthless characters too. After a bout of fighting, they'd managed to put down seven or eight of his men.

They hadn't gained a single advantage, and naturally, they hadn't been able to get Lin Guoshan out either.

"What's to be done now? How can this wretched boy be so bent on ruining himself!"

Looking at his son inside the shop, Lin Laogen was both furious and distressed.

"Dad, don't worry. Big Brother will be fine. They—they probably wouldn't dare do anything reckless."

Lin Jiayin, standing beside him, quickly held him back to keep her father from rushing into trouble.

Around the outer edge, a crowd of textile factory workers and passersby were gathered to watch the excitement, pointing and gesturing toward Lin Guoshan's shop.

"I heard the boss stole someone else's girlfriend, and now the guy's come to settle the score."

"That's last year's news, man! Last time his shop got trashed, that was the reason. But this time it's different. I heard Boss Lin got all worked up, found some people, and beat the guy up again. That's why the guy's brought his own crew to get revenge."

"Boss Lin's got a screw loose, hasn't he? Stealing a man's girl and then acting so arrogant? Isn't he just begging for someone to pull a knife on him?"

The crowd pointed and gossiped. Even though Lin Guoshan was getting slapped around miserably inside the shop, the looks cast his way were still full of contempt.

In these times, people's moral sense was simple and plain—no matter what other reasoning existed, rich or poor, stealing another man's woman was simply wrong.

Rumble, rumble—just then, a Jiefang truck pulled up at the entrance.

"Isn't that the grain station's truck? Why would it come to our textile factory?"

"Those are the grain bureau's people. Their trucks have canvas covers."

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"What's going on? Are the grain bureau folks here?"

Everyone looked over at the same time, and on seeing it was a grain bureau truck, they were all a bit baffled. This wasn't a grain station—it was a textile factory. Under normal circumstances, there was no reason at all for a grain bureau truck to show up here. The two places had nothing to do with each other.

"Chen Huajiang, you're here!"

"Brother Chen."

"Boss Chen."

As Chen Huajiang and the others jumped down from the back of the truck, Black Tiger let out a sigh of relief, and his subordinates also turned to look at Chen Huajiang and called out.

"Huajiang, you've finally come. Ah, that wretched boy, he's gone and caused trouble again."

"You've got to help him, you really must save him. He's our only son."

Seeing his son-in-law appear, Lin Laogen hurried over and grabbed Chen Huajiang's hand, speaking urgently.

He had meant to give Lin Guoshan a scolding, but as he spoke, his face shifted to one of anxious worry.

"Dad, don't worry. It's just a small matter."

Chen Huajiang patted the back of Lin Laogen's hand to comfort him.

At that moment, he naturally had to play things down. If he himself seemed tense and worried, wouldn't the old man be even more anxious?

"Huajiang."

His wife, Lin Jiayin, also looked at him, her expression somewhat awkward.

After all, this was her family's affair, and it meant troubling her husband again to help her older brother. Last time, Lin Guoshan had even snapped at her husband, so she felt caught in the middle with no way to please anyone.

"It's fine."

Chen Huajiang walked over, patted her arm, and spoke reassuringly.

"Let him go. I don't think you want to blow this out of proportion either. If you'd wanted to kill Lin Guoshan, you'd have done it long ago—you wouldn't have waited until now."

Chen Huajiang walked straight toward the shop and called out to the young man with the buzz cut inside.

"Stop!"

"Who said you could come over?"

As soon as he stepped forward, the man and woman at the door spoke coldly, glaring at Chen Huajiang with sharp eyes.

"Huajiang, be careful. Those two are tough nuts."

"Just now, even a few of my best men couldn't handle them."

Black Tiger quickly came over, eyeing the two warily while filling Chen Huajiang in on just how formidable they were.

Chen Huajiang was taken aback for a moment, then gave the two a serious look. He hadn't expected them to be trained fighters.

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The man and woman were one tall and one short. The man was around thirty with a weathered face, and the woman was in her early twenties with freckles, looking rather young and inexperienced.

Both were dressed in white gowns and long robes—an uncommon sight in the current times, though in the future they'd become a common sight in parks.

Indeed, they were the kind of loose-fitting outfit that old men and women wore for practicing tai chi. Baggy, and all in white.

However, the material was different. In later years, such practice clothes were mostly made of satin or silk, but the fabric the two wore now appeared to be ordinary cloth—dull and lacking the luster of satin.

Chen Huajiang hadn't paid much attention to the two before. His focus had been on the buzz-cut man and his brother-in-law inside the shop. Now that he looked more closely, he naturally noticed a few things—these two were not ordinary.

Both of them had rather broad hands, and especially the man, whose gaze was sharp; wherever he looked, it was at the joints of Chen Huajiang's body.

"You two wouldn't want to make a scene out of this either, would you?"

"The one inside should be a friend of yours. You wouldn't want anything to happen to him, right?"

Chen Huajiang took a breath, clasped his hands in a respectful gesture toward them, and spoke earnestly.

At these words, the two exchanged a glance, and the man in particular furrowed his brow slightly.

"Hmph, whether this turns into a big scene isn't for you to decide. What's your relationship with the scumbag inside?"

The woman gave a cold snort and looked at Chen Huajiang.

"He's my brother-in-law." Chen Huajiang answered directly.

"Then you're no good either. Get lost right now, or you'll face the consequences."

The woman crossed her arms and said disdainfully, her expression full of disgust.

Chen Huajiang was at a loss for words. At that moment, the buzz-cut man inside was demanding that Lin Guoshan kneel, kowtow, and apologize.

Lin Guoshan immediately flew into a rage. With so many people watching outside, didn't he have a reputation to uphold? His face was completely ruined.

"You've got the guts to kill me, go ahead! If you don't kill me, I swear I'll kill you next time!"

"You want me to apologize? Not a chance in hell!"

Lin Guoshan decided to tough it out for once, raising his head and craning his neck as he shouted loudly.

At those words, Chen Huajiang outside was dumbfounded. He stared at his brother-in-law in disbelief—how could this guy be so reckless?

Even if he didn't want to kneel and apologize, he could have just kept his mouth shut. Did he really have to butt heads with the other side like that?

Sure enough, the buzz-cut young man got furious the next moment too. He slammed a punch into Lin Guoshan's face, making him cry out in pain.

Then he grabbed Lin Guoshan by the hair and forced him down to kneel. Lin Guoshan roared and struggled, and in an instant, the situation became extremely dangerous—anything could happen at any moment.

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