novelraw Chapter 311 - 308: Good Advice Is Wasted on a Damned Fool
Chapter 311 - 308: Good Advice Is Wasted on a Damned Fool
When Xu Xiaobo saw Li Xiangyang and the others leave, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Lan glanced at him and said, "Littlebo, are you sleeping in the side room tonight or the main room on the west side?"
Xu Xiaobo thought for a moment, then glanced at Wu Shuhui before saying, "I’ll sleep in the side room."
’Only now did he realize Lin Lan’s room was next to the kitchen. If he wanted to get to the kitchen to open the back door, he’d have to pass her room. But if he stayed in the side room, he could just open his door and head straight to the backyard. He’d open the back gate, let them in, and then figure out the rest.’
Lin Lan had no choice but to let Wu Shufen and Wu Shuhui sleep in the main room. She then brought out quilts and sheets and had them make the bed.
Xu Xiaobo hurried forward to help carry the bedding to the main room on the west end. When he looked inside, he saw there was nothing but a bed and two large vats.
’The two bicycles are in the main hall,’ he thought. ’The television and sewing machine must be in Lin Lan’s room.’
An idea sparked in Xu Xiaobo’s mind. He looked at Wu Shufen and asked, "Auntie, why doesn’t my cousin put the television out?"
Wu Shufen smiled. "Your cousin is planning to move into the city, so she had her husband move the television to their house there."
Xu Xiaobo was stunned for a moment. ’But the bicycles and all that meat are still here,’ he thought, then asked, "My cousin has another house in the city?"
"Mhm!" Wu Shufen glanced at him and said, "Xiangyang bought it for Lin Lan. It’s good for them to move there. Xiangyang’s good buddies live right across the hall. One is the captain of the joint defense team, and the other is the captain of the criminal investigation team. They won’t have to worry about any burglars once they move."
’Xu Xiaobo’s heart sank. Li Xiangyang already looked like he wasn’t someone to mess with, and now he finds out the captains of the criminal investigation team and the joint defense team are his close friends. If he got caught by any of them, he’d end up behind bars.’
’Forget the sewing machine, TV, and bicycles. I should just steal some meat and get out of here.’
Wu Shuhui said enviously, "Xiangyang is so generous to Lin Lan. He even bought her a house."
"Little Lan bought the house with her own money," Wu Shufen said, gesturing to the empty room. "The chests and trunks we had made for her were all gambled away by that bastard, Yang Laoyao. All that was left was this four-poster bed."
She turned to look at Xu Xiaobo again. "Listen, you must never go down the wrong path in life. Once you take that step, it’s too late to turn back."
’Xu Xiaobo felt there was a hidden meaning in Wu Shufen’s words. ’Have they figured me out?’ He thought about how he had acted all day and decided it was impossible.’
Wu Shuhui also glanced at Xu Xiaobo. "Littlebo, you need to make something of yourself, for your own sake and for your mother’s. Learn a trade from your cousin, and one day you can live in the city too."
"I know," Xu Xiaobo said, annoyed.
After making the bed, the three of them went to the kitchen. Lin Lan and two others were at the counter rolling kidney bean rolls. The pumpkin cakes Lin Yuezhen and the others had been making were already baked.
Wu Shufen got some hot water and said to Wu Shuhui, "Let’s wash up and go to bed. Little Lan and the others won’t be done with the rolls until after eleven."
Wu Shuhui nodded. "Alright, we’ll head to bed then."
After the mother and son finished washing up, Wu Shufen led Xu Xiaobo to the side room to settle in. She then saw Wu Shuhui off to bed before going back to wash up herself.
Lin Lan saw Wu Shufen head to the backyard with her rinsing cup and followed her. "Mom, what did you tell him?"
She had already told Wu Shufen her suspicions about Xu Xiaobo and had asked her to tell him about Xiangyang’s connection to Yang Dingbang and Dongzi.
"He asked me where the television and sewing machine went, so I told him..." Wu Shufen looked at Lin Lan. "He seemed really agitated after that. I think your suspicions might be true."
Lin Lan said grimly, "Good advice is lost on those determined to be damned, and mercy can’t save a person who chooses self-destruction. You’ve said what you needed to. If he still refuses to listen, then we’ve done everything we could."
"Sigh!" Wu Shufen heaved a long sigh and instructed Lin Lan, "Little Lan, you must remember this. In the future, with Douzi, and with any children you and Xiangyang have, you absolutely must not spoil them. If you do, you’ll just be repeating my mistakes."
Lin Lan nodded solemnly. "I’ll remember, Mom. You go get some sleep and don’t worry. I’m guessing Xiangyang and his men will be here a little after twelve."
Wu Shufen felt a heavy weight in her heart. For now, it was just a suspicion from Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang. She couldn’t tell Wu Shuhui, but she also couldn’t just ask Xu Xiaobo if he was really here to learn a trade or to steal from them.
If she had to choose, she’d rather believe Lin Lan and Li Xiangyang were just being paranoid than accept that Xu Xiaobo would actually bring people to rob his own cousin.
It was nearly twelve when Lin Lan and the other two finally went to bed.
Xu Xiaobo fought to stay awake, patiently waiting for Lin Lan and the others to fall fast asleep.
When he thought enough time had passed, he got out of bed. As he opened the door, he saw Wangcai lying under the eaves of the veranda, its head raised, staring right at him.
He hurried to the small gate in the backyard, slid open the bolt, and let out a few hisses toward the pitch-black bamboo grove. PSST... PSST...
Triangle-Eyes and Round-Face emerged from the bamboo grove, their necks hunched down. They sidled up to him, and one whispered in his ear, "How is it? Are they all asleep? Is the dog tied up?"
"It’s tied up," Xu Xiaobo whispered. "We can’t go through the front. We need to get the latch on the kitchen’s back door open to get inside." With that, he led the two men into the yard and quietly closed the gate.
A moment later, Li Xiangyang and Brother Yong emerged from their hiding spot. They walked to the small gate, pushed it open, and stepped inside. The beams of their flashlights pinned the three men crouched by the kitchen’s back door.
Li Xiangyang stared at him coldly and barked, "Xu Xiaobo! How dare you bring people to rob your own cousin’s house!"
Wangcai erupted in loud barks. WOOF! WOOF!
The three of them turned pale with fright. Xu Xiaobo shielded his eyes from the blinding light, staring at Li Xiangyang in terror. "Brother-in-law! This has nothing to do with me! It wasn’t my idea! It was Boss Jiang..."
’What do I do? So my aunt really did mean something by what she said. How did they figure it out?’ His thoughts were a tangled mess.
"You son of a bitch, Xu Xiaobo! I’ll kill you!"
Seeing that the situation had gone south, Triangle-Eyes bolted toward the washboard. Li Xiangyang lunged forward and sent him sprawling with a single kick.
Triangle-Eyes scrambled back to where Round-Face and Xu Xiaobo were. He and Round-Face saw Li Xiangyang and Brother Yong advancing with wooden clubs, their eyes filled with menace. One of them twisted Xu Xiaobo’s arm while the other seized him by the neck.
Triangle-Eyes pressed a switchblade against his throat. "You son of a bitch. You set us up."
The cold steel on his neck made Xu Xiaobo’s legs tremble like a leaf. "No, Brother Jiang, I didn’t..." he stammered.
Boss Jiang said grimly, "Then tell him to let us go. Otherwise, I’ll kill you."
Li Xiangyang shook his head dismissively. "Be my guest. Kill him, and you can wait for a prison cell and a firing squad."
Seeing that Li Xiangyang couldn’t care less if Xu Xiaobo lived or died, Triangle-Eyes was out of options. The groups were locked in a stalemate.
Inside, Lin Lan and Wu Shufen had woken up at the sound of Wangcai’s first bark.
Hearing Li Xiangyang’s shout from the backyard, Wu Shufen turned on the light, her heart sinking.
Wu Shuhui looked at Wu Shufen, her eyes still heavy with sleep. "Second Sister, Wangcai’s barking. Is there a burglar?"
Wu Shufen pulled on her padded jacket. "I heard Xiangyang yelling for Littlebo. Shuhui, did your Littlebo really come here to learn a trade, or did he come here to rob us?"