20demayo Chapter 528 The Thief!
Chapter 528 The Thief!
At noon, Zhou Changli stayed at Kuiyong's house for lunch. Kuiyong's wife cooked a table full of dishes. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she had a gentle face and seemed easy to get along with and good at managing a household. Looking at her, Zhou Changli was genuinely happy for his childhood friend.
After dinner, Li Kuiyong got out of the car. Zhou Changli, having nothing else to do, suggested going out for a drive with him to see how much the capital had changed in the years he'd been away.
Before leaving, he took out two thick red envelopes from his pocket and stuffed them into Xiaojun and Xiaowen's hands.
The envelope looked quite bulging, so Kuiyong's wife curiously opened it and found a thick wad of brand-new US dollar bills inside. She roughly estimated that if it were converted to Chinese yuan, it would probably be worth tens of thousands of yuan!
Startled, her hand trembled, and she almost dropped the red envelope. She quickly showed it to her husband, saying, "Honey, this...this is too precious!"
Li Kuiyong glanced at his childhood friend: "Xiao Jiu, this is... too much money, take it back quickly..."
"Brother Yong, sister-in-law," Zhou Changli said seriously, "this isn't for you. It's a small token of my appreciation for my two nephews. It has nothing to do with the amount of money."
If you don't accept it, I'll really get angry.
Looking at his childhood friend's serious expression, Li Kuiyong knew that he wasn't just being polite or showing off; he genuinely had the means to back up his money.
“Alright…” Li Kuiyong sighed, then turned to the two children and said, “Well… keep it, thank you, Uncle Zhou.”
"Thank you, Uncle Zhou!" The two children bowed in unison, their little faces beaming with joy.
Leaving the courtyard, I walked through the familiar alley and came to the street outside.
Parked there was a Toyota Crown taxi made in Japan. In Beijing, where yellow minivans are everywhere these days, this car could definitely be considered a "luxury car." At present, the mainstream taxis in Beijing are still those yellow minivans that can fit six or seven people. They won't leave until they're full, just like squeezing onto a bus.
The two got into the driver's and passenger's seats, and the car slowly drove away. Li Kuiyong's route mostly circled between the Second and Third Ring Roads. Zhou Changli sat in the passenger seat, watching the street scenes rushing past the window; many places bore the marks of their youth.
"Xiao Jiu, the changes in Beijing in the past two years have been tremendous." Li Kuiyong said while driving. "Buildings are being constructed everywhere, demolishing and rebuilding, building and demolishing again. In some places, if you don't go for half a year, everything will be completely different when you go back, and you won't even recognize the roads anymore."
Zhou Changli nodded: "Now, the coastal cities that are developing rapidly are building infrastructure like crazy. In the special economic zones, sometimes a 20 or 30-story building can be built in just one week. The market is booming, and people are flocking to the city. People from the countryside are also scrambling to come in and work, hoping to make big money."
Looking out the window at the construction sites and newly built residential areas, he became more serious: "Kuiyong, if you have some spare money, I advise you to buy a few more houses. They will definitely appreciate in value in the future. Even if you don't sell them, you can rent them out and be a landlord, sitting at home collecting rent. Life will be comfortable."
Li Kuiyong nodded: "Okay, you're right. If we find a suitable one later, your sister-in-law and I will think about it."
He suddenly remembered something and turned his head to say, "By the way, Xiao Jiu, you should still remember Li Yuanchao, right?"
"Huh?" Zhou Changli raised an eyebrow. "Of course I remember. What's wrong?"
“I heard Yuemin mention him at the previous gathering,” Li Kuiyong said. “This Li Yuanchao is… quite something now. He works at that Zhengrong Group, which I heard is a large state-owned enterprise. He’s risen to the position of deputy general manager. He’s quite capable…”
"Ability?" Zhou Changli snorted, his tone full of disdain. "Brother Yong, don't overestimate this guy. How much 'ability' can he possibly have?"
He knew all about Li Yuanchao's despicable and underhanded dealings, and he despised such a person from the bottom of his heart.
"He was simply born into a good family and has a powerful father. Without his family connections, would he have been able to get into such a lucrative state-owned enterprise?"
Zhou Changli's tone was tinged with disdain.
"Brother Yong, just you wait and see. Don't be fooled by your current success. The higher you climb, the harder you'll fall!"
"What do you mean?" Li Kuiyong pressed.
"You will understand later."
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When Zhong Yuemin left Liu Jing's house and arrived at his own home, it was already afternoon.
He was dragging a suitcase and carrying several bulging shopping bags, all gifts brought back from Hong Kong Island—some for his wife, some for his little daughter, and some for his father…
The courtyard gate was tightly closed. At this hour, his wife Xiaobai was still at work at the hospital, and his daughter Ling'er should be at kindergarten. He called out a few times, but it was quiet inside, and no one answered. He guessed that his father had gone out for a walk or to chat with Aunt Wang next door.
I went to check next door, and the gate was closed too, and there was no one there.
He didn't bring his keys.
Standing at the doorway, looking at the pile of luggage at my feet, I scratched my head a little. So much stuff, I couldn't just leave it all piled up at the door, could I? These days, while people are generally honest and kind, no one's that careless.
After thinking for a moment, he looked up at the courtyard wall and decided to climb over.
The wall was not short, more than two meters high, but it was nothing to him. Back when he was sent to the countryside in northern Shaanxi, he had traversed countless steeper terrains, going up and down mountains and down gullies.
I put my luggage at the door, walked over to the wall, took two steps back, and with a sudden push of my right toes, I lightly leaped upwards. I used my left foot to propel myself up against the wall, and my right hand firmly gripped the top edge of the wall.
With a burst of strength in his arms and a twist of his waist, he flipped himself up and squatted on the top of the wall.
I was just about to slip down using the branches of the old osmanthus tree in the yard—
"What are you doing?! Get down!"
A sharp shout suddenly came from outside the courtyard wall.
"You've got some nerve! Stealing in broad daylight?! Get down here!"
Zhong Yuemin turned his head and saw several young men wearing red armbands. Judging from their attire, they should be the patrol team from the compound.
"It's a misunderstanding, gentlemen." He squatted on the wall and explained, "I'm not a thief, this is my house, I forgot my key."
"Don't give me that!" The young leader didn't believe him at all, pointing his rubber baton at him with an air of knowing exactly what he was doing.
"At least come up with a fresh excuse. This one's all over the place. Climbing over the wall and breaking into a house—what else could you be but a thief? Get down here right now! Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite. There are people all over this yard, inside and out. Do you think you can escape?"
The young men quickly dispersed, forming a near encirclement, gripping their rubber batons tightly and watching the "uninvited guest" on the wall warily.
Zhong Yuemin had no choice but to jump off the wall to try and explain, but several people quickly surrounded him and subdued him.
"Don't move, stay still!"