By the end, Lai Wenyan couldn’t even afford to curse.
In his early fifties, his physical condition couldn’t compare to that of younger men; even though Lai Wenyan was in good health, he couldn’t withstand being beaten to the brink of death.
Soon, the pain had spread to all his limbs.
The other party didn’t hit his head, obviously not intending to take his life.
Through the burlap sack, Lai Wenyan could vaguely see a man standing before him with a black hood on. The man threw the cigarette butt on the ground, raised the steel pipe in his hand, and the ferocious blow was about to come crashing down.
"Who the hell sent you, what benefit did they promise you!"
Lai Wenyan shouted aloud.
"...How did you know where I live?"
"What is your scheme!"
"Do you have any idea who I am!"
No matter what Lai Wenyan said, the steel pipe still smashed against his leg.
Lai Wenyan felt like he could hear the sound of bones breaking, and a wave of severe pain struck him, making him scream in agony: "Ah—"
"Boom!" The steel pipe was thrown on the ground.
Several masked and gloved youths, seeing the job done, ran away in an instant.
Jiang Yuan struggled free from the burlap sack, rolled and crawled over to remove the sack from Lai Wenyan’s head: "Councilman, how are you?"
Lai Wenyan leaned on Jiang Yuan, his hands clutching his right leg tightly, his face pale, jaw clenched, and large sweat beads the size of soybeans rolled down from his forehead: "Call an ambulance quickly, my kneecap might be shattered."
After giving the instructions, he panted and cursed: "A bunch of scumbags! Call the Qingyang Mayor right now, have him investigate; once they’re found, cripple those bastards for me!"
The following morning, Tang Li reappeared at the hotel.
She sat on a sofa on the first floor, patiently waiting. After a quarter past ten, there was still no sign of Lai Wenyan. She called Lai Wenyan’s phone, and no one answered.
A cleaning lady happened to come over to wipe the coffee table. Seeing Tang Li’s expectant posture, she took the initiative to ask: "Is your family staying here?"
"My dad came to pick me up to return to the Capital, he booked this hotel."
Upon hearing this, the cleaning lady suddenly thought of something and turned to Tang Li: "Is there someone like a secretary or something with your dad?"
"Yes," Tang Li nodded, "That’s my dad’s assistant, Uncle Jiang."
The cleaning lady exclaimed: "Oh dear! Young lady, why are you still here, your dad had an accident yesterday! He was beaten by a gang of thugs and ended up in the hospital, I heard that your dad’s kneecap is shattered! We don’t have good doctors here in this small place, and your dad was sent back to the Capital for surgery overnight."
Tang Li did not respond, and the cleaning lady thought she was shocked, truly a girl with a lack of sense. She urged on: "The police came last night, but it’s chaotic here, with a lot of people from Myanmar and Vietnam, and there are no cameras nearby, who knows which group beat your dad, it’s turned into a headless case. If you ask me, you better hurry back to the Capital to see your dad, his leg won’t heal for two or three months!"
Leaving the hotel was half an hour later.
Tang Li passed by a fruit stand, bought five pounds of tangerines, and then took a ride back to the village.
Watching Tang Li distribute tangerines to the crew members, Wu Xuehan looked on curiously, and Tang Li smiled: "The sun is nice today, let’s celebrate!"
Meanwhile, at the Capital General Hospital.
Lai Wenyan lay in bed, his right leg in a plaster cast and suspended at the foot of the bed. Hearing Jiang Yuan say that the assailants couldn’t be found, he casually swept the teacup off the bedside cabinet onto the floor: "At dinner, they’re more diligent than dogs, now they’re giving me the runaround, a bunch of double-crossers!"