護花近衛 - 第223章 鄒家父子 - 清風書屋

Because he had something more important to do today: "Bing Shao" had come to Songshan, and he meant to gather a few brothers and go pledge himself to Bing Shao. As for the matter of Tang Zhi and Wei Zhao, naturally he would not bother with it now.

Though he hated Wei Zhao with every fiber of his being, Li Erlan firmly believed that once he had Bing Shao's backing, fixing Wei Zhao would be the work of minutes, and Tang Zhi would sooner or later be his plaything.

Casting one last hate-filled glance back at Wei Zhao, Li Erlan quickened his pace. He knew well enough why Bing Shao was recruiting him at this moment. Before, he had still harbored misgivings; after all, he was one of the shantytown's own, raised there since childhood, and helping Bing Shao move against the shantytown residents was, in any light, hard to justify.

But Wei Zhao's appearance had hardened his resolve.

Wei Zhao, of course, had no idea what was going on in Li Erlan's head. Seeing the man pass by without a word, he was rather puzzled. "He's not bothering you anymore?"

Tang Zhi shook her head in equal confusion, but not in answer to whether Li Erlan had stopped harassing her. She simply could not make sense of what had gotten into Li Erlan today.

He walked Tang Zhi to her door but did not go in. "I'll be off, then?"

"Mm..." Tang Zhi was rather annoyed. If you're leaving, just leave, why announce it to me? Am I supposed to invite you in to sit? Isn't that plainly asking me to say it? And if I don't invite you, I'll look terribly rude. Helpless, Tang Zhi said, "Won't you come in and sit a while?"

"I'll go straight back." Wei Zhao smiled.

"Oh..." Tang Zhi was even more annoyed. I've swallowed my pride and invited you, and you still won't come in, what is that supposed to mean! She turned and, without another word to Wei Zhao, hurried back into the house.

On Monday, Zhong Yongliang had barely arrived at school before he could not wait to summon Zou Ruoming out.

"Liangzi, you were looking for me?" Zou Ruoming was in a foul mood. Yesterday's business had left him thoroughly vexed and thrown his entire plan into disarray. He had intended, just as Zhong Yongliang suggested, to have someone snatch Tang Zhi and then take her by force.

He had already worked it out with his elder brother, Zou Ruoguang, for him to bring men and help. But when he got home last night, he made the tragic discovery that his brother had been beaten badly; both his hands were crippled, and he would need a good long while to recover. His plan would have to be postponed.

This was how it had happened: Zou Ruoming came home to find his father, Zou Tiandi, sitting there with a face like thunder.

"Dad, what's the matter?" Zou Ruoming was puzzled. Why did his father wear that expression, as though he had been robbed?

Zou Tiandi had not been robbed of money; he had been robbed of a hospital room. In Songshan City, he was not the sort whose stomp made the ground tremble, but he did, more or less, carry some weight, and his connections ran deep. Yet a few nameless bumpkins had snatched a hospital room out from under him. If word of this got out, would he not be laughed to scorn?

How was he supposed to keep his footing in Songshan's high society after that?

So Zou Tiandi had straightaway ordered Zhao Guangdong to call his eldest son, Zou Ruoguang, the local thug boss of the North District, and tell him to bring men to the hospital and settle the score. If those bumpkins were not taught a severe lesson, this grievance could never be swallowed.

But just as he was waiting at home for news of his son's triumph, he received a bad report: his son had been beaten by the people in that hospital room. Though the details were still unclear, his son was already on his way home, and Zou Ruoguang had taken a heavy loss.