Chapter 601: Chapter 601 North Fifty Stores Village_1
"Qingzi, listen to your brother’s advice, stay away from these kinds of guys in the future, it’s no good,"
Brother Gong said to Li Qing with heartfelt concern, "Although we have to rely on them for some things, the longer you stay with them, the more certain it is that trouble will find you. It’s better to keep your distance for safety."
"I feel uncomfortable all over just seeing this kid, it’s distressing!"
Li Qing couldn’t help but laugh out loud, "Brother Gong, that’s you, but it’s got nothing to do with me. I’m involved in legitimate business, it can withstand scrutiny."
"Besides, where in the world can you find a mouse that isn’t afraid of a cat? You’re the one, you see, who’s been left with a psychological shadow from past events. Now that you’re engaged in a proper trade, why bother with him?"
He was now shouldering responsibilities for the Ninth Bureau, and his dealings with Wang Baichuan were only going to increase, definitely not decrease.
So Brother Gong’s advice was something to listen to but not to take too seriously.
Although they were closely intertwined, there was actually a difference in many things.
Brother Gong grimaced and whispered mysteriously, "The things Lü Zong is involved in may look legitimate on the surface, but they won’t stand up to an investigation, Qingzi. Just look at the operations inside the Lü Family Restaurant, if they were really investigated, they’d have to shut down and close business in a heartbeat."
Li Qing smiled wryly.
That was indeed the case.
The entertainment venues under Lü Zong’s control, to say they were clean would be a far cry from the truth, they had all sorts of shady deals.
Now he was making them even more high-end.
But then again, such things have existed since ancient times.
Because it’s too profitable, it’s definitely unstoppable; it’s just a matter of whose luck runs out first.
Lü Zong had built his fortune on these things, so asking him to stop was clearly unrealistic, and he couldn’t let go himself.
"Alright, let’s hurry to Wushi Pu Village," Li Qing said gravely.
Brother Gong slapped his forehead hard, "Right, right, let’s go quickly!"
"Talking about that little bastard made me almost forget about Lü Zong’s safety, got me sidetracked with you. Qingzi, should we bring more people? Just in case those bastards plan to threaten us with Lü Zong, we could have some leverage."
Li Qing waved his hand and directly rejected Brother Gong’s suggestion, "Just the two of us will do. The police are key in this matter, we can only adapt according to the situation. More people would not only be useless, but they could also disrupt the police’s arrangements."
Brother Gong was clearly hesitant, "Qingzi, do you really plan to rely on the police?"
"Are you being seriously naïve? Could we handle it on our own?" Li Qing said irritably, "Stop wasting time, let’s get going!"
"Your men are brave and fierce, they can certainly hold their ground, but we’re dealing with a kidnapping case. Our rash actions could end up costing Lü Zong his life. I’m telling you, you must not act recklessly."
After being lectured by Li Qing, Brother Gong gave an awkward laugh and said, "That’s true, as people often say, leave professional matters to the professionals. I was indeed panicking and being irrational, always feeling like we need to rely on ourselves."
"That’s not panicking and being irrational, you’re just biased," Li Qing said with a smile.
Brother Gong and Lü Zong had suffered a lot at the hands of Wang Baichuan in the past, and Li Qing knew about it to some extent.
With such a prejudiced point of view, how could he suddenly change his attitude and choose to trust?
It seemed quite unlikely.
As they talked, the two men quickly descended the stairs, Brother Gong drove, and they headed straight to North Fifty Stores Village.
North Fifty Stores Village wasn’t, in fact, far from the county town.
This place was just like Shili Yi, adopting the old village names from ancient times.
Shili Yi used to be a post station ten miles outside the city, and North Fifty Stores Village served about the same purpose.
Wushi Pu was exactly fifty miles from Tongcheng, clearly remembered in its name.
It took only half an hour by car before the two arrived at the fork leading into the village.
"Let’s park the car outside and walk over the mountain. Driving is too conspicuous," Li Qing said to Gong Ge.
Gong Ge nodded, "This must be the only road in and out of Wushi Pu Village that Wang Baichuan mentioned. Qingzi, you get out first. I’ll find a spot to hide the car to avoid drawing their attention."
Li Qing nodded and got out of the car first.
Though he felt Gong Ge’s actions were somewhat superfluous, glancing at the surrounding mountains that enclosed North Fifty Stores Village made him agree it was better to be cautious, lest they accidentally endanger Lü Zong’s life.
The main road was at the foot of the mountain. If someone were hiding on the slope, they could clearly see the cars and pedestrians on the road below. If they were dealing with seasoned criminals, it was likely they would indeed do so.
After some thought, Li Qing entered a small shop across the road and bought a box of bread, carrying it in his hands.
Once Gong Ge parked the car and saw what Li Qing was holding, he asked with some surprise, "Qingzi, are you hungry?"
"No, it’s just a disguise. I’m worried about being watched from the mountain," Li Qing explained. "It may be overthinking things, but better safe than sorry, to avoid alerting those thieves."
Gong Ge gave Li Qing a thumbs up, "No wonder you’ve expanded your business so quickly; your mind really is more meticulous than I thought. I only thought of hiding the car, not anything more."
"If someone really was watching from the mountain, seeing me hide the car and then two big men sneaking up the mountain would definitely raise suspicions. Instead of hiding our tracks, we’d only end up alarming them."
Li Qing nodded, "In this line of work, we’re not professionals after all. We can only be as careful and cautious as possible."
The terrain was steep with hardly any trees, just barren land unfit for farming.
In the late autumn weather, it looked quite desolate.
The two of them took a good half-hour to climb over the mountain and reach a flat area at the summit.
A shepherd sat under a willow tree, stripped of its leaves, puffing away at his pipe. Not far from him, flocks of sheep, like clouds in the sky, grazed slowly on the grass.
Li Qing glanced at the man before turning his attention to the village on the mountainside.
Here, was North Fifty Stores Village.
However, judging by its size, there must be more than one neighborhood.
The road into the village continued past it, following the river and winding its way north, with seven or eight small and large clusters of homes nestled in the rolling hills ahead.
Opening the map on his phone, Li Qing carefully compared it with the scale of North Fifty Stores Village and was instantly overwhelmed.
North Fifty Stores Village wasn’t like Sanhe Village, where the population was mostly concentrated in one place; here, there were six different neighborhoods.
And it wasn’t just what Li Qing could see; there were even more distant ones.
And the roads that specifically led to these neighborhoods likely had no surveillance at all.
In other words, Lü Zong could be hiding anywhere here.
This wasn’t a simple task of finding someone; it was massive.
