*Chapter 189: The Solution (Part 4)*
Hou Weidong called the Construction Commission office again. This time, he reached an acquaintance from his past. She sounded surprised. "Director Zhang and the commission leaders have gone on a business trip to Northeast China. They’ll be away for twelve days, and the itinerary is already set. Didn’t she tell you?"
Hou Weidong gave a vague reply. "She was just telling me about it when her phone suddenly died."
Xiaojia had originally been reluctant to go on the trip. But after hearing that Hou Weidong and Li Jing had gone to Lingxi, she followed them to Northeast China out of spite.
"This time, it’s going to take some serious thinking. That damn Bu Gao."
Hou Weidong, still carrying the weight of alcohol, drove his pickup truck down the mountain. Su Yajun, Zhou Jing, Fu Jiang, and the rest of the group saw the heavy scent of liquor on him and noticed his bloodshot eyes. None of them dared to ride in his car. They crowded into the Changan van instead. Fu Jiang advised Hou Weidong to sleep it off on the mountain before driving, but Hou Weidong refused. He drove straight toward Shangqinglin.
The car sped along like the wind, smooth and relentless, overtaking vehicle after vehicle. It seemed the only way to vent the frustration churning in his chest. As he entered the winding mountain road, he navigated several sharp turns. On the fourth sharp bend, the pickup truck suddenly lost control. It careened straight toward the cliff edge. Hou Weidong didn’t have time to react. There was a loud boom, and the front of the truck wedged itself firmly between two large trees.
During the Great Leap Forward era, when the whole country was smelting steel, the locals of Shangqinglin relied on the mountains for survival. They cherished the large trees, protecting them fiercely. As a result, the big trees on Shangqinglin Mountain were well-preserved, an anomaly in the entire Shazhou region. Because of this, the two large trees at this bend had thick, sturdy trunks that clamped the pickup truck tightly in place.
Hou Weidong’s head rang with a dull thud, thud. The shock sobered him up instantly. He looked down through the windshield. The front of the car was suspended, wedged between the two trees. Below lay a steep drop of dozens of meters.
He squinted, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down. Then, he slowly crawled toward the back seat. As he moved, the car body shook several times, like a scene from a James Bond movie. It took great effort to crawl out through the rear door. By the time he emerged, his clothes were soaked with sweat.
Hou Weidong sat down heavily beside the car. Dozens of meters below, hard rocks were exposed on the slope. He pulled out a pack of Jiaozi cigarettes. He tried to light one several times, but the lighter failed to spark. Finally, with trembling hands, he managed to light the cigarette. He took a deep drag, only to be immediately overcome by a violent coughing fit.
At that moment, the Changan van from the Social Affairs Office arrived. Seeing the bizarre sight of a car sandwiched between two trees, everyone was startled and hurried out. Propaganda officer Zhou Jing stood near the front of the truck, looking down at the jagged rocks dozens of meters below. Her legs trembled, and a chill ran down her spine. She quickly averted her gaze and stepped back.
Fu Jiang saw Hou Weidong’s pale face and knew he had been terrified. He smiled and said, "Township Head Hou, surviving a great disaster brings future blessings."
The cigarette in Hou Weidong’s hand had burned down to the filter, but he hadn’t noticed. Fu Jiang handed him another cigarette. "Smoke, smoke." Su Yajun, quick-witted, made a call to the office. "Yang Feng, Township Head Hou has had a car accident. Please ask the insurance company to come to the Shangqinglin road, specifically at the Ninth Bend."
More trucks came down the mountain. Seeing the strange sight of the car wedged between the trees, they couldn’t help but stop. Most of the truck drivers knew Hou Weidong. Each one leaned out to look at the rocks below, clicking their tongues in relief, as if a naked beauty had been lying there instead. After averting their eyes, they handed Hou Weidong various brands of cigarettes—high-end, mid-range, and low-end—as a gesture of sympathy.
By the time a large truck pulled the pickup free, Hou Weidong was holding a handful of cigarettes. Only when he truly calmed down did he mutter, "Lucky." If not for those two trees, he would have ended up on the rocks of Shangqinglin today. He took out his phone and called Xiaojia again. This time, it connected.
"Xiaojia, are you still angry?" After this incident, Hou Weidong’s mindset shifted suddenly. Without waiting for her answer, he said, "Let’s get married and have children."
Zhou Jing hadn’t expected Hou Weidong to bring up this topic so suddenly. She covered her mouth and laughed softly.
Xiaojia was sitting on the train, watching green trees and farmlands blur past. Her trip to Northeast China was a temporary assignment. Now that she was on the train, far from Shazhou and Lingxi, her anger had subsided considerably. She sighed. "Husband, I don’t want to argue anymore. After this trip, let’s get married. Let’s try to get you transferred back to Shazhou as soon as possible."
Hou Weidong had originally wanted to tell her about the near-fatal accident, but realizing she was on a train, he knew mentioning it would only worry her. So he held back.
While Hou Weidong was in danger, at Zeng Xiangang’s home in Jianshan Village, Zeng Xiangang and Zeng Xiangyong were plotting something.
"Bu Gao is Mayor Bu’s son. If we beat him up, won’t it cause trouble?" Zeng Xiangyong was worried about Zeng Xiangang’s sudden idea.
"What trouble could it cause? When police investigate cases without leads, they often start with the motive. As long as we leave no traces, only God knows what motive they could come up with."
Zeng Xiangang felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Hou Weidong and always wanted to do something for him. Today, he had heard Hou Weidong’s determination to teach Bu Gao a lesson.
The idea of beating Bu Gao was bold and absurd, even Zeng Xiangyong couldn’t accept it. He countered, "We don’t even know Bu Gao."
"Crazy Man said Bu Gao is Mayor Bu’s son and also the boss of Xinyue Tower. If we find Xinyue Tower, we can find Bu Gao."
Zeng Xiangyong shook his head continuously, looking at the somewhat frenzied Zeng Xiangang.
Zeng Xiangang tilted his head, thinking for a long time. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead. "I remember! Last time Crazy Man came to the village office, he pointed to several photos in the Shazhou Daily and said he bought an apartment in Xinyue Tower. One of those photos featured Bu Gao."
He grabbed Zeng Xiangyong and ran toward the village office. The Shazhou Daily, Lingxi Daily, and Yiyang Daily were party newspapers. Every village had a mandatory subscription quota. The village spent over a thousand yuan each year on these papers, though few people actually read them. They opened the village office and saw a thick stack of newspapers thrown onto a dusty, old tea table. Many of the papers had yellowed and faded. Jianshan Village was located in the middle section of Shangqinglin. Since no one collected newspapers there, they were casually dumped in the office, like neglected wives cast into cold storage.
After searching for about half an hour, they finally found that issue of the Shazhou Daily. On page seven, there was a news article: "Xinyue Tower, Our City’s First High-End Residential Community." It included exterior photos of the community and a close-up portrait of Bu Gao.
This article was a soft advertisement Bu Gao had arranged with friends at the Shazhou Daily to promote Xinyue Tower. It had been very effective.
With the newspaper in hand, Zeng Xiangang studied it carefully, then went down the mountain with Zeng Xiangyong.
July 6th. On this day, Bu Gao was also busy to the point of dizziness. The third phase of Xinyue Tower had already started construction, and he had set his sights on another piece of land. This plot was the former Shazhou Food Factory, occupying over ten acres in the south of the city. The food factory had gone bankrupt, leaving a dilapidated factory compound in a prime location in Shazhou. Many people were interested in this land, including Wu Kening, who had come from Lingxi.
Bu Gao had made a fortune from Xinyue Tower, significantly strengthening his company’s financial power. With his father’s connections, he was determined to secure this land.
That day, Bu Gao spent his time strategizing around this land, dealing with various people.
At 11 PM, after finishing a mahjong game with the head of the Land and Housing Bureau and the divisional leader, he drove home. Bu Gao’s company had drivers, but he preferred to drive himself. For these semi-private, semi-official social engagements, he usually didn’t bring a driver to avoid feeling constrained.
Bu Gao’s home was a standalone villa, surrounded by a fence-style wall with a Western style. He drove up to the gate, got out, and prepared to unlock it with his key. He had considered replacing this gate with a remote-controlled one several times, but after consulting several companies, he wasn’t satisfied with any of them, so he still used this old-fashioned gate.
As soon as he got out of the car, two figures emerged silently from the grass outside the fence. They rushed toward Bu Gao. Bu Gao was in the middle of unlocking the gate when his vision went dark. A sack was pulled over his head.
A low voice came from outside the sack. "Don’t scream, or I’ll stab you to death."
The two shadows were Zeng Xiangang and Zeng Xiangyong. After arriving in Shazhou with the newspaper, they had begun their hunt. Zeng Xiangang had previously chopped off Heiwa’s hand and dealt with the murderer of a wife. He was experienced in ambush attacks. After arriving in Shazhou, he had spent several days tracking Bu Gao’s movements, mapping them out clearly.
Both Zeng Xiangang and Zeng Xiangyong were former stone masons, with heavy hands and feet. They pinned Bu Gao to the ground and delivered a flurry of punches and kicks.
Bu Gao was an intellectual, with no ability to fight back. He curled up like a shrimp in pain, but his mind remained clear. From the details of how they pinned him at the door, he realized they weren’t trying to kill him. So he endured the pain without screaming, afraid of attracting more trouble.
Bu Gao received a heavy kick to the head. The blow was severe, and he couldn’t help but cry out. A low voice from outside the sack said, "Don’t scream. Do you want to die?" Bu Gao said from inside the sack, "Friends, we have no grudge against each other. Please stop. There’s money in the car. Take it all."
Zeng Xiangang felt the timing was right. He kicked Bu Gao hard on the outer thigh, an area rich in nerves. Bu Gao screamed in pain again.
"Today is a lesson for you. Think carefully about how to behave as a person," Zeng Xiangang threatened. "I’m a man who lives by the sword, risking my head every day. If you continue to纠缠 (entangle/harass) us, next time I’ll chop off one of your arms."
By the time Bu Gao managed to stand up, dizzy and confused, and removed the sack from his head, his attackers had long vanished into the night.