Chapter 713: Chapter 700: Ransom (Part 1)
The two strong men exchanged a glance and said nothing. One of them slowly stepped forward.
"What do you want?" Liu Fugui’s subordinates, sensing the ill intent of the newcomers, almost simultaneously blocked their way with an outstretched arm.
The strong man gave Liu Fugui’s men a furious look: "Do you TMD understand the rules or not? Pat down at the door, are you Nima kidding me or what!"
Sure enough, Liu Fugui couldn’t help but frown. The words confirmed his doubts. It seemed these guys were definitely trouble. How today’s situation would unfold was truly unknown!
In the short moment Liu Fugui was lost in thought, his escort was on the verge of turning a verbal exchange with the opposing side into a physical confrontation.
He quickly refocused, calmed down, and raised his hand to push aside the two subordinates blocking his way. He stepped forward with a smile, saying: "Two brothers, I’m here to pick up my son. There’s no need to make such a big fuss, right? Besides, I’m just a middle-aged man; can I really turn things upside down?"
"You damn son of a bitch, don’t waste my time. Damn it, if you want to see your son, step TMD over here obediently."
"Mind your TMD language!"
It had been a long time since anyone spoke to Liu Fugui like that, and hearing it now was quite disconcerting for this old hand in the field. Nevertheless, he chose to stop his men from defending him verbally.
After all, he was here not to fight for territory or negotiate business, but to rescue his son.
His son was in their hands, and he had no advantage to negotiate terms. Any rash actions that incited the other side could harm his son and could make it difficult for his group to leave alive.
Liu Fugui believed these underworld associates were definitely prepared and wouldn’t let him leave easily, so caution was advisable.
Just as Liu Fugui was about to lower his status and accept the body search, a young man ran out from inside the shop, appearing to be a small leader based on his demeanor and speech. Otherwise, how could he scold the two strong men so loudly?
"TMD, why are you two dawdling? I told you to bring people in, and it’s taking this long! Are you embroidering? Brother Chun is waiting impatiently inside!"
Brother Chun, Liu Fugui quickly searched his mind for this name but couldn’t place it. Clearly, this person wasn’t a local figure. He made a mental note of the name for later.
"Brother Xi, it’s not that we’re dawdling! It’s just these folks not willing to submit to a body search, so..."
"Sigh, alright, alright!" The young man, referred to as Brother Xi, raised his hand and rudely cut off his subordinates’ words. He turned to Liu Fugui: "You’re the one named Liu, right?"
While speaking, the young man began to approach Liu Fugui, whose subordinates promptly blocked his way again. The young man smiled slyly: "Wow, quite a scene you have here. What, untouchable, are we?"
In normal times, Liu Fugui wouldn’t pay attention to such small characters, but at this moment, he couldn’t dismiss the implications of their words. After all, the young man might be a key figure among these people.
So Liu Fugui chuckled twice and first scolded his subordinates in a reproachful tone: "What are you doing? Clear the way. We’re here to talk, not to act hostile, understand?"
After receiving affirmative responses from his men, Liu Fugui spread his arms and stepped forward, full of apology: "Sorry, my brothers are not very polite. I hope you, Brother Xi, can forgive us! Go ahead, search me!"
The young man made no reply, just waved his hand twice and simply said, "Search!" before stepping back.
The strong man behind him immediately understood and stepped forward. Knowing the person inside was impatient, he didn’t dare to take up too much time. He merely ran his hands under Liu Fugui’s arms and downwards, and when he felt nothing protruding, he made a gesture to allow him through.
As soon as Liu Fugui moved, his four accompanying subordinates naturally wanted to follow, but at that moment, the two strong men blocked their way: "You guys stay here!"
"What? For what reason? Who the hell do you think you are! Get out of the way!"
"You guys stay behind!" Liu Fugui’s low voice was authoritative and left no room for refusal. Without another word, he adjusted his collar and followed the young man into the shop.
This was a tobacco and liquor shop, probably chosen by the owner for its proximity to the Fulinmen Grand Hotel, aiming to boost sales with the busy foot traffic. But the shop’s display windows had already been smashed to pieces, and the once fully-stocked shelves had been looted empty. It seemed most of the goods had been pocketed by these people.
After walking about 9 meters through the store’s front, Liu Fugui and the others entered the back, which used to be the store owner’s resting area but was now a venue for their negotiation.
"Mr. Liu, a pleasure to meet you. You’ve kept me waiting!" The room wasn’t well-lit, but following the voice, Liu Fugui saw a middle-aged man about his age sitting upright on a military cot, looking his way.
From the voice, Liu Fugui identified this person as the one who had been contacting him via the hand-held radio: "Brother Chun, right? Pleasure to meet you, and my apologies. The heavy snow came suddenly, and visibility was terrible. We couldn’t help it, but I hope you understand!"
The man’s expression paused, clearly surprised that Liu Fugui could call out his name, but quickly figured out that one of his own men must have slipped up outside. No matter, he squinted his eyes slightly and chuckled: "Hehe, ’Brother Chun’ is just a nickname my brothers gave me. How could I let you call me that too? Just call me Spring Xiu!"
Liu Fugui shook his head with a smile, considering it a response. His main intention was to bring his son back. He didn’t have time for small talk, as leaving the Factory to He Lei was a last resort, and he didn’t want it to turn into a bloodbath by the time he got back: "Where’s my son? Where is he?"
"Hehe!"
"Clap, clap!" Spring Xiu clapped his hands lightly twice, and after that, the curtain of the innermost storage room was lifted. A shadow was forcefully shoved out from inside. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
