Chapter 219: Beating Up Tan Cheng
Back in the county seat, Tang Xue looked at Li Yi and said, “They tricked us, didn’t they?”
Li Yi nodded and said, “Judging by the current situation, that’s definitely the case!”
“Why? Why would they do this? We’ve already given them so much money—what more could they possibly want?” Tang Xue said, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Clearly, they don’t want you to find your biological mother. It’s very likely they’re covering up the truth!”
“What truth?”
“Your origins!”
“My origins?”
“Yes. Maybe your birth mother didn’t give you up at all!”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you were probably stolen or trafficked,” Li Yi said.
“Oh, is… is that even possible?”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet. We’ll wait until we’ve investigated and uncovered the truth,” Li Yi said.
“All the information they gave us is false. How are we supposed to investigate?” Tang Xue frowned.
Li Yi thought carefully about Tang Jizhong’s expression and demeanor from yesterday. Based on his experience, it wasn’t hard to tell that half of what Tang Jizhong had said was true and half was false.
Therefore, Li Yi deduced that the story Tang Jizhong had told yesterday was likely true in outline but false in detail.
In that case, all he needed to do was weed out the false parts to extract the useful information.
Soon, Li Yi began carefully piecing the events together in his mind.
First, Tang Jizhong and Li Hongmei had indeed been hospitalized in 1961, and it was even possible that Li Hongmei had suffered a miscarriage and lost the baby—after all, Tang Jizhong hadn’t seemed to be thinking too deeply when he spoke yesterday.
It was unlikely that he had made the whole thing up on the spot.
Of course, this isn’t absolute, but in Li Yi’s view, Tang Jizhong clearly didn’t have the ability to do so.
In that case, if they could locate the hospital where they were admitted at the time, there might be a breakthrough.
At that moment, Li Yi asked Tang Xue, “Was Tang Jizhong always an employee at the steel mill?”
Tang Xue shook her head and said, “No, my dad… he used to be a temporary worker at the cotton mill. It was only when my grandfather retired that he handed the job over to him!”
Li Yi knew this was what was known as “taking over the position.”
“Where is the cotton mill?”
Before Tang Xue could answer, Long Zhanjun, standing nearby, replied, “In the west of the city!”
“Are there any hospitals nearby?” Li Yi asked again.
Long Zhanjun thought for a moment and said, “The cotton mill isn’t far from the county hospital, and it’s not too far from the health center in Xinjing Town either!”
Li Yi felt reassured. He glanced at his watch and saw it was almost 11 o’clock.
“Let’s go. We’ll grab something to eat first, then head back to rest for a bit. This afternoon, we’ll check out that health center in Xinjing Town!”
“Alright!”
Led by Long Zhanjun, the group of four then headed to the State-run Restaurant in Yong County.
The State-Run Restaurant in Yong County was considerably larger than the one in Qingshan County. Since it was mealtime, the place was bustling with diners.
When Li Yi and the others entered, only a table toward the back was empty, so they sat down there.
Li Yi didn’t skimp on this meal; he ordered four or five main dishes and asked for several large white steamed buns.
Although Long Zhanjun insisted that since they were there, he should treat them, Li Yi clearly had no intention of letting him do so and settled the bill right after ordering.
The food arrived quickly, and the group immediately began eating.
However, just as everyone was halfway through their meal, a man and a woman walked into the restaurant.
Upon entering and finding no available seats, the pair began loudly demanding that the staff find them a place to sit.
Li Yi and Tang Xue, sitting with their backs to them, didn’t notice the pair at first. But when Tang Xue heard a familiar yet grating voice, she immediately turned to look.
When she saw the two people in front of her, she froze in shock.
The woman was her younger sister, Tang Bing, and the man was Tan Cheng, her childhood sweetheart.
What’s more, Tan Cheng was actually holding Tang Bing’s hand—in a very intimate manner!
Tang Bing hadn’t expected to run into Tang Xue here either, and she was momentarily stunned as well.
Upon seeing Tang Xue, Tan Cheng instinctively let go of Tang Bing’s hand and walked straight toward her.
“Xiao Xue… is that you? You’re back?”
Tang Xue stared at him coldly, saying nothing.
“Don’t get the wrong idea—there’s nothing going on between me and Xiao Bing. We’re just out for a meal together!”
As he spoke, Tan Cheng reached out to take Tang Xue’s hand.
However, before he could explain, Li Yi turned around, stepped between them, and said coldly, “Whether you have a relationship with that woman or not, there’s no need to explain it to us. Also, please stay away from my wife!”
“Wife? Xiao Xue, when did you get married? How come I didn’t know?”
Tan Cheng asked in shock, his tone filled with surprise, but even more so with anger.
Ever since they were children, he had regarded Tang Xue as his own private treasure. If it weren’t for his parents’ refusal to allow him to marry an adopted daughter, he would have taken her as his wife long ago.
He never imagined Tang Xue had actually gotten married; this was something he found hard to accept at first.
“What does it matter to you when I got married? Who are you to me?” Tang Xue said coldly.
“I… I’m Tan Cheng…”
Just then, Tang Bing, having snapped out of her daze, flashed a look of jealousy. She hurried forward, grabbed Tan Cheng’s arm, and said, “Brother Tan Cheng, my sister is already married and has a child. She’s the one who let you down…”
Before Tang Bing could finish her sentence, Li Yi stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face.
“Smack!”
Tang Bing hadn’t expected Li Yi to strike so suddenly; the slap landed squarely on her chubby face.
In an instant, a distinct handprint appeared on her broad face.
The force of the slap sent her stumbling backward several steps before she fell to the ground.
The sudden turn of events stunned everyone; everyone, including Tang Xue, turned to look at Li Yi.
“Wah!”
Tang Bing, having regained her senses, let out a blood-curdling scream, her voice shrill and piercing!
Tan Cheng glanced at Tang Bing, who was a complete mess, a flash of disgust crossing his eyes. Still, he pointed at Li Yi and shouted angrily, “Are you even a man? How dare you hit a woman!”
“Smack!”
His response was a resounding slap that left Tan Cheng seeing stars and his face burning.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Unlike when he’d slapped Tang Bing, Li Yi didn’t stop after just one blow.
Li Yi took a swift step forward and landed a punch right on Tan Cheng’s face, sending blood gushing from his nose.
In pain, the man immediately swung a punch at Li Yi’s head.
A cold, sharp glint flashed across Li Yi’s lips. He reached out, grabbed Tan Cheng’s incoming fist, and executed a shoulder throw.
“Boom!”
Tan Cheng’s body slammed violently into a nearby dining table, shattering it into pieces and sending the food scattered all over the floor.
Li Yi showed no mercy, beating Tan Cheng until he was covered in blood. He lay on the ground howling in agony—a truly pitiful sight.