From the expression changes of the man in the flowered shirt, Luo Yang could tell there was a significant story inside.
"Brother, this will kill me," the man in the flowered shirt said with a mournful face, "unless you really have 'Mu Tan'."
"I have 'Mu Tan'," Luo Yang said emphatically.
He wanted to capture Mr. Shen alive, hoping to understand from Mr. Shen's mouth what serious trouble Hong Zhong had encountered.
The man in the flowered shirt worked up the courage to ask, "Brother, can you let me see the 'Mu Tan'?"
Already impatient, Hong Jiaxin suddenly kicked the man's left shin, causing him to kneel on the ground. The man grimaced in pain but dared not speak out.
"I'm kindly reminding you. My apprentice is in a bad mood tonight, with a mind to kill. You'd better behave, or she'll beat you until even your grandmother won't recognize you," Luo Yang coldly said.
Hong Jiaxin indeed had a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent, and before Luo Yang could finish speaking, she kicked the man in the flowered shirt in the head. With a thud, he fell to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
The young man who had been hit by Hong Jiaxin until his nose bled trembled with fear, and didn't dare to lift his head.
"Drag him up," Luo Yang said, staring at the young man with the nosebleed.
The guy hurried to help the young man in the flowered shirt up, then changed positions, standing as far from Hong Jiaxin as possible.
The man in the flowered shirt knew that if he persisted, he would only get beaten more but dared not call Mr. Shen, so he said with a mournful face, "Brother, if I don't find 'Mu Tan' and call Mr. Shen claiming I found it, he will beat me. Please, I'm begging you."
When dealing with thugs, one couldn't be soft-hearted or too reasonable, a fact Luo Yang well understood. He walked behind the man in the flowered shirt, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him up.
"Kick him in the groin," Luo Yang said, looking at Hong Jiaxin.
"Don't kick! Don't kick! I'll call Mr. Shen right now," the man in the flowered shirt said frantically.
In his panic, he could barely hold onto his phone as he searched for a number and dialed it. The phone was on speaker, and both Luo Yang and Hong Jiaxin could hear.
After the call connected, Luo Yang heard just one sentence to know that the caller was indeed Mr. Shen.
Back in the town, Luo Yang had heard that mysterious Mr. Shen's voice.
Mr. Shen asked, "Have you found the 'Mu Tan'?"
The man in the flowered shirt answered, "I found a seller. He says he has 'Mu Tan'. He's right beside me, you can talk to him directly."
Immediately, he handed the phone to Luo Yang.
"Mr. Shen, can we meet in person?" Luo Yang took the phone.
"First, take a photo of the 'Mu Tan' on-site and send it to me. I want to see what your 'Mu Tan' looks like," Mr. Shen requested.
Not expecting this step, Luo Yang wondered why Mr. Shen had to be so cautious.
"My 'Mu Tan' is at home. How about I show it to you when we meet tomorrow?" Luo Yang improvised.
"First, take a photo of your 'Mu Tan' and send it to me. There are too many swindlers, and I don't have that much time to waste," Mr. Shen was unwilling to compromise.
"Okay. I'm still on a business trip outside. I will be home in a couple of days, and I will send you the photo of the 'Mu Tan' then. Just a question, what's the price of the 'Mu Tan'?" Luo Yang asked, interested.
"As long as it's the one I want, I guarantee you'll never have to work another day in your life, and you'll never run out of money from selling 'Mu Tan'," Mr. Shen declared grandly.
"Just one piece of charcoal is worth so much money?" Luo Yang was curious.
"Yes. Send me the photos of your family's charcoal as soon as possible. You might just become a billionaire overnight." Mr. Shen urged.
All of a sudden, Luo Yang felt as if he were chatting with a scammer, and he laughed to himself.
If it had been a diamond, it would have made sense to not have to work for a lifetime, but becoming a billionaire overnight with just a piece of charcoal was even more absurd than a fairy tale.
After hanging up the phone, he exchanged glances with Hong Jiaxin, who also laughed.
However, remembering that his parents had to ask someone for help with their trouble overnight, and that trouble might very well be related to the so-called priceless charcoal, Hong Jiaxin's smile faded, and she pondered a solution.
After interrogating the man in the floral shirt and others again, it turned out they also had no idea where Mr. Shen was. If released, they would likely call Mr. Shen and reveal the truth, making it even harder to meet Mr. Shen.
Luo Yang then called Zhu Li, asking her to send someone to take the man in the floral shirt and his group away, placing them under house arrest until they could locate Mr. Shen.
Suddenly trying to find a piece of charcoal a foot square was a difficult task. Even ordinary charcoal, if it were the size of a human head, was considered large, let alone one measuring more than 30 centimeters in length, width, and height.
But that wasn't the main point, the most puzzling thing for Luo Yang was, why did Mr. Shen want such a large piece of charcoal? What secret was hidden behind this?
After spending some time at Laixi Bar, just as he intended to take Hong Jiaxin home to drop off her luggage, he conveniently received a call from Tang Guihua.
Through their conversation, he learned that Lin Yuqing was already at Tang Guihua's house.
After ending the call, Tang Guihua came to Laixi Bar to pick Luo Yang up in her Peugeot 308. When she saw Luo Yang bringing along a pretty girl, Tang Guihua was quite surprised.
"Your relative?" Tang Guihua asked curiously.
"No. She's my classmate, my class leader. Her name is Hong Jiaxin. Class leader, this is the village doctor, Sister Guihua," Luo Yang introduced.
The two beauties exchanged a few polite words, and then Tang Guihua drove back to Hongyun Brigade. She thought Hong Jiaxin would get off at a bus stop along the way, but Hong Jiaxin ended up going all the way back to the village with the car.
Luo Yang and Hong Jiaxin sat in the back seat of the car, as he glanced at her graceful curves, thinking that he would live with her for a while, he couldn't help but let his imagination wander.
Upon entering the village, Tang Guihua couldn't help but ask, "Jiaxin, do you have relatives in Hongyun Brigade?"
This question embarrassed Hong Jiaxin, and Luo Yang answered for her, "She ran into a bit of trouble and has to stay at my place for a few days."
Upon hearing this, Tang Guihua's heart skipped a beat, thinking, "He must have gotten her pregnant! Her family wants him to marry her!"
Considering this, she felt somewhat embarrassed, but her curiosity escalated, and she couldn't restrain her gossipy nature, and laughed, "Then our village has gained another great beauty."
Luo Yang chuckled but said nothing, Hong Jiaxin felt slightly embarrassed, seeing his laughter, she pursed her red lips and gave him a light glare.
"Sister Hua, should I go to your house first or go home?" Tang Guihua asked.
"I'll go home first," Luo Yang said.
The car quickly reached Luo Yang's house, and after Luo Yang and Hong Jiaxin got out, Tang Guihua gave a reminder and drove away.
When Luo Yang's parents saw that their son had brought back a very pretty girl, they were shocked. Luo Yang took his parents outside for a chat, briefly explained Hong Jiaxin's situation, and handed over 5,000 yuan as food expenses to his mother.
Hong Jiaxin was quite polite, addressing them as Uncle Luo and Auntie Lin, although she seemed a bit uneasy. She did not leave Luo Yang's side; wherever he went, she followed.
Usually, Luo Yang and his brother shared a room. Now that Hong Jiaxin was here, he had to find a place for her to stay. After thinking for a moment, he remembered a household that often accommodated guests, which was Qin Piao's house.