CHAPTER 619: CHAPTER 618 CHEN XIAOHUO (2/10)

A few days later.

Yang Chen and his companions were already within the borders of Tian Nan.

Here, it feels like spring all year round, with flowers blooming everywhere—it’s incredibly beautiful.

In front of a sea of rapeseed flowers, they stopped their car, and Chen Siyan and Wei Xueqing excitedly took photos amidst the sea of flowers.

Yang Chen, however, pulled out a list and frowned as he looked at it.

In the past few days, they had visited several comrades’ families.

The brother of Pao Zhan, because of Pao Zhan, was able to work in a local institution. With compensation money, he bought a house locally and even got a car. Life is going well for them.

Da Lian’s situation was quite similar to Pao Zhan’s, but their family only had one sister. The sister was married well and took good care of their parents.

Er Bing’s family was not very harmonious.

Because he had two brothers, who fought fiercely over Er Bing’s settlement fee, they turned against each other and stopped talking. Their remaining elderly mother also rotates between them monthly. Beyond that, the brothers don’t speak to each other when they meet.

As for Xiang Cai’s family...

Besides Xiang Cai, there was a daughter who got married far away.

Xiang Cai’s settlement fee partially went as a dowry. The rest of the money was used by the old couple to build a house, and life was fairly peaceful. The major concern was their retirement.

They were now heading to the Zhugan family’s home.

"Brother! Come quickly!" Chen Siyan waved at Yang Chen.

Wei Xueqing also shouted, "Come over for pictures!"

Yang Chen took a deep breath, stuffed the list into his pocket, forced a smile on his face, and walked over to them.

Chen Siyan ran up, grabbed Yang Chen’s arm, and laughed, saying, "Say cheese!"

Before Yang Chen was ready, Chen Siyan had already snapped several photos.

Looking at the photos of himself, Yang Chen said gloomily, "You’re making me the background to accentuate you!"

"Hee hee! Don’t say that, smile!" Chen Siyan said, holding up her phone.

Wei Xueqing also joined, and the three of them took photos together.

Soon enough, Wei Xueqing pulled Yang Chen aside to take photos with him.

The two women lingered in the flower sea, not wanting to leave, and Yang Chen shouted, "There are many more scenic spots ahead, aren’t you going to see them?"

With this, they reluctantly got back in the car.

They hit the road again.

Yang Chen followed the address and arrived in Tai Po Town.

Tian Nan is most famous for its precious stones.

And the main cultural feature of Tai Po Town is jade stones.

When visiting here, almost everyone picks out a piece of jade—whether expensive or cheap—to take back, satisfying the flame country’s passion for jade.

After parking the car at the parking lot outside town, they walked in.

According to the information gathered by Sun Yue, the Zhugan family lived in this town and seemed to have a jade specialty store, with good conditions.

"Is it this one?" Yang Chen pointed to a store named Red Hot Jade Store and asked Sun Yue.

Just as Sun Yue was about to respond, a group of people rushed to the door, shouting, "Chen Xiaohuo! Come out!"

Seeing this commotion, Yang Chen couldn’t help but be surprised.

No response from inside, the group shouted, "If you don’t come out, we’re going to smash!"

Just as they were about to act, a young man ran out and said to them, "No, no, no! Gentlemen, everything in my store is valuable. If you break it, you can’t afford to pay!"

The leader glared, "You still want us to pay? I’m telling you, if you don’t get the money ready today, we’ll burn your shop down!"

"Please, deal with your boss for a few more days. I promise to have the money ready in a couple of days and give it to you," this person, named Chen Xiaohuo, said obsequiously, offering cigarettes and kind words to the group.

But they didn’t appreciate it at all and knocked the offered cigarette from his hand, "Our boss says if you don’t pay up today, we’ll take some interest first!"

With that, they surrounded Chen Xiaolong, ready to attack.

Yang Chen noticed Chen Xiaohuo bore some resemblance to Zhugan, so he quickly asked Sun Yue, "Is this the place?"

Sun Yue nodded and said, "That’s right, Chen Xiaohuo is Chen Jian’s brother, running the Red Hot Jade Store, and it’s doing well."

Hearing this, Yang Chen immediately shouted, "Gao Hong! Make a move!"

"Yes!"

...

As Chen Xiaohuo saw the group surrounding him, he knew there was no avoiding a beating today, so he quickly covered his head, bracing for a barrage of blows.

Chen Xiaohuo’s family had moved here recently with no roots in Tai Po Town.

After Chen Jian’s sacrifice and their parents’ passing, only Chen Xiaohuo remained.

Fortunately, he had some settlement money and was savvy with a love for jade, leading him to invest in a jade store, which was not doing badly.

But Chen Xiaohuo himself also enjoyed a bit of excitement.

Despite having some money, it was insignificant in the real jade trade. So, he wanted to expand quickly and couldn’t wait ten years to grow slowly, hence he took risks.

He turned his attention to gambling on stones, hoping to make some quick money based on his knowledge of jadeite.

Unfortunately, although he initially made some money,

he sank deeper and deeper. Just a few days ago, Chen Xiaohuo lost two million in one go and was now trapped, owing Bai Zhuang a million.

These were Bai Zhuang’s men, coming to collect the money.

Being a lone soul in Tai Po Town with no one to rely on meant even if he got beaten, he could only swallow it quietly.

However, when Chen Xiaohuo crouched down and covered his head, expecting a beating for a long time, no one moved.

He sneakily glanced up and saw someone standing before him, tall and formidable.

"Who the hell are you? Mind your own business!" Bai Zhuang’s men shouted.

Gao Hong snorted coldly, "This person is my brother. If you want to hit him, you’ll have to get past me first!"

Hearing this, Chen Xiaohuo was stunned while crouching.

His brother died on the battlefield; how could he have any more brothers?

The others frowned, too, knowing Chen Xiaohuo’s situation and that he had no relatives.

"So, you want to butt in?" one of them sneered at Gao Hong.

Gao Hong coldly declared, "His business is my business!"

"Courting death!" that person roared, "Get him!"

Representing Bai Zhuang, the boss of Tai Po Town, these men could not tolerate anyone questioning their prowess or resisting them; otherwise, how would they maintain control over Tai Po Town?

Immediately, they swung their fists and charged at Gao Hong.

In Gao Hong’s eyes, these men were merely child’s play.

Gao Hong grabbed one person’s fist, giving a tug, sending them tumbling, unable to keep balance, face-planting embarrassingly into the ground.

The other two were also swiftly punched and kicked to the ground.

Struggling to get back up, all they felt was a foot pressing on their back, keeping them down.

Chen Xiaohuo slowly stood up, astonished at the scene before him.

Two men lay at Gao Hong’s feet, beaten helplessly by Gao Hong.

The other two were pinned down by a man and a woman, unable to escape.

Unbelieving anyone would stand up for him, Chen Xiaohuo couldn’t help but ask, "Who are you..."