Chapter 221: They Came Knocking
The Steel Mill’s Staff Housing Complex!
The Tang family was having dinner. Since they had unexpectedly received 3,000 yuan, everyone—Tang Jizhong, Li Hongmei, and Tang Lei—was overjoyed.
For the Tang family, this money was nothing short of a windfall.
With the exception of Tang Bing, who wasn’t particularly pleased, everyone else—without exception—was absolutely thrilled.
Even Tang Lei’s fiancée was beaming with joy.
That was three thousand yuan, after all. In an era when the average annual income was less than three hundred yuan, there were hardly any households in the entire county that had that much in savings.
Of course, the reason Tang Bing was unhappy was entirely because, with Tang Xue’s departure, her job prospects had completely fallen through.
Without a job, Tan Cheng—who had never really looked much of a thing of her—might just back out.
Perhaps to make it up to his daughter, Tang Jizhong took two hundred yuan directly from the three thousand and gave it to Tang Bing, telling her to keep it as her own spending money.
It was precisely because she had suddenly come into this “fortune” of 200 yuan that Tang Bing felt flush with cash and invited Tan Cheng to dine at the state-run restaurant—only to run into that troublemaker Li Yi and get beaten up badly.
Turning to the rest of the Tang family, the first instinct of ordinary people who come into sudden wealth is to show it off, and the best way to do that is to spend money.
Thinking of his son Tang Lei’s upcoming wedding, Tang Jizhong immediately took time off from work and the factory, then went for a stroll around town to see if he could find a suitable house.
They had actually set their sights on a house recently—the courtyard wasn’t very big, but it was cheap.
But when they went to look at it again this time, both father and son felt the courtyard was too small and the decor was mediocre, so they decided to look for a larger one instead.
But these days, not many people are selling courtyards, and after searching all morning, they hadn’t found anything.
Despite this, Tang and his son were still in good spirits.
On their way back, Tang Jizhong even made a special trip to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy two pounds of pork.
Thinking of the envious look on the butcher’s face, Tang Jizhong felt absolutely delighted.
But just as the Tang family’s meal was being served—before they’d even had a chance to eat—they saw the front door burst open!
Immediately afterward, Tang Jizhong saw his youngest daughter, Tang Bing, running in from outside, screaming and crying as she ran.
Tang Jizhong was taken aback and rushed over to see what was wrong.
“Bingbing, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you?”
Since Tang Bing was covering her face, no one in the Tang family could see her face; they only noticed that her clothes were filthy and she looked rather disheveled.
But when Tang Bing removed her hand and revealed her swollen left cheek, the Tang family was stunned.
Soon, Tang Jizhong was seen pounding the table and roaring, “Who hit her? I’ll chop him to pieces!”
“Dad, you have to stand up for me! Waaah…”
“Daughter, tell me who did this. I’ll go settle this right now!” Tang Jizhong said immediately.
“Who else could it be? It was Tang Xue and that stranger she brought home. Not only did they hit me, but they also beat Brother Tan Cheng until he was covered in bruises!” Tang Bing cried, clutching her face.
“It was them?”
Upon hearing this, Tang Jizhong froze, and Tang Lei fell silent as well.
Li Yi’s ferocity was still fresh in their minds. To be honest, they really didn’t dare to pick a fight with him.
They knew full well that the guy was capable of killing without hesitation!
“Dad, Brother, you aren’t scared of that stranger, are you? Waaah… If you don’t help me, I won’t go on living!”
Tang Jizhong clenched his teeth and said, “Daughter, how could I possibly abandon you? Rest assured, I’ll make sure justice is served!”
Then, Tang Jizhong turned to Tang Lei and said, “Xiao Lei, go get your second, third, and fourth uncles over here. Oh, and make sure to invite Uncle Tan too!”
“Anyone who dares hit my daughter, Tang Jizhong’s daughter—I’ll break his legs!”
“Got it, Dad!”
With that, Tang Lei put down his bowl and chopsticks and dashed out the door!
……
At the county guesthouse, Li Yi had finally managed to get Tang Xue to fall asleep, and then he began to think about the current situation once again.
Before Tang Jizhong started working at the steel mill, both he and his wife had worked at the textile factory, and there were only two hospitals near the factory.
If Li Hongmei had indeed shown signs of premature labor back then, she would most likely have been taken to the nearest hospital.
Therefore, it was quite likely that Tang Jizhong and his wife had encountered Tang Xue’s biological mother at either the Xinjing Town Health Center or the County Hospital.
Since the county hospital was right in town and easily accessible, Li Yi decided to visit the Xinjing Town Health Center first that afternoon.
However, realizing that nearly 20 years had passed, he knew it would be no easy task to uncover the truth.
Besides, Li Yi was also worried that if Tang Xue had indeed been given away by her biological mother back then, the truth would be far too cruel.
He was genuinely worried that Tang Xue might not be able to handle it!
So, he was still somewhat hesitant about whether he should really uncover the truth!
Ultimately, though, it all depended on Tang Xue’s wishes. If she insisted on knowing the truth, then no matter the cost, Li Yi would have to uncover it.
Just as Li Yi was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from outside.
Immediately afterward, furious kicking and stomping echoed outside their room, startling Tang Xue awake from her slumber.
Li Yi had exceptionally keen hearing; he could already make out Tang Lei’s loud, boisterous voice.
Realizing what was happening, he told Tang Xue to stay inside and not go out.
He then got up, put on his shoes, and opened the door!
A dozen or so men had gathered in the hallway outside the room—all young and burly, each looking menacing as they stared intently at Li Yi as he stepped out.
Despite being surrounded by so many people, Li Yi showed no fear.
He strode up to them and said coldly, “Who just kicked the door? Who was it?”
At that moment, a middle-aged man in his forties shouted, “It was me…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi suddenly took a swift step forward and slammed his fist out!
“Thud!”
The middle-aged man took Li Yi’s punch squarely in the face. That single blow sent him reeling backward five or six steps as if he’d been hit by a truck, and he finally collapsed to the ground.
After hitting the ground, blood, tears, and snot streamed from his face. He was dazed and disoriented, as if he had lost consciousness!
The scene fell deathly silent!
No one expected Li Yi, facing so many of them alone, to not only show no fear but actually take the initiative to strike first.
What was most terrifying was that the moment he struck, he showed no mercy—he was brutally fierce!
But after a brief moment of shock, Tang Jizhong roared angrily, “You little bastard, you dare to act so brazenly! If you don’t pay Brother Tan 1,000 yuan today, don’t even think about leaving!”
At the same time, the men behind Tang Jizhong chimed in, “That’s right! Don’t even think about getting off easy without 1,000 yuan!”
“Right, and there’s the injuries to Bingbing and Xiao Cheng—at least two thousand yuan!”
“Two thousand is a bit low…”
For a moment, the crowd was truly in an uproar, and the looks they cast at Li Yi were pure, unadulterated greed!
It was no wonder these people were so greedy. After all, when Tang Jizhong had called them over earlier, he’d told them Li Yi was a rich man, and mentioned that yesterday the guy had handed out 3,000 yuan in a single go.
He’d also said that no matter how much compensation was paid this time, his daughter Bingbing and Tan Cheng would each take 20%, and the rest would be split evenly among everyone.
Tang Jizhong’s brothers and friends were all money-hungry types. After hearing this, they were all fired up, as if they’d been injected with adrenaline, and that’s why they’d come to cause trouble for Li Yi.
Little did they know that, in Li Yi’s eyes, they were nothing but a bunch of lowly, unsavory scum—not even worth mentioning!