"Don't... don't hit anymore! Don't hit anymore! We'll never dare again."
"Stop hitting, we were wrong. We'll pay."
"Big brother... sir... grandpa... please, don't hit."
Xu Sanhuai and the other two knelt outside the peach grove, wailing. Their faces were swollen like pig heads, unrecognizable even to their mothers.
When Shen Xinyi and Liu Ruyan arrived, the three men had almost cried themselves dry.
"Lu Fan! Stop it, you can't hit people!" Shen Xinyi rushed over, grabbed Lu Fan's hand, and shouted in exasperation.
"These people must be held accountable for their actions. Not hit? Are you letting them destroy my peach grove without being hit?" Lu Fan said, annoyed.
"Their actions will be punished, but you can't just hit people! You're breaking the law too!" Shen Xinyi said urgently.
"Punished? If I recall correctly, you took them away a few days ago for blocking the road and robbing people. How did you punish them?" Lu Fan asked, his voice tinged with anger.
"They... they didn't manage to steal anything, and you beat them up, so it didn't constitute a major crime. We educated them and let them go," Shen Xinyi said, blushing slightly.
"Hmph! Did your education work? Because of your leniency, they dared to come and damage my peach grove again. Don't tell me you educated Tiger Brother and Demon Sister too and let them go?" Lu Fan scoffed.
"No, Tiger Brother and Demon Sister refused to confess anything and were handed over to the county bureau!" Shen Xinyi quickly explained.
"These guys were instigated to specifically destroy my peach grove! They knocked off seven peaches, damaging this tree. They owe me three thousand five hundred yuan. Pay the money, and I'll let you take them away," Lu Fan said, pointing at the peaches on the ground.
"Three thousand five? That's... that's too much!" Shen Xinyi's mouth twitched. Were your peaches immortal fruits to be so valuable?
"It's not about how much they're worth, it's about a real lesson. Do you think a few words from you will make them change their ways and learn? You have to be ruthless with these kinds of people," Lu Fan said coldly.
"Who instructed you to cause destruction?" Shen Xinyi asked Xu Sanhuai and the others.
"An... an old man. We don't know him. He gave us five thousand yuan and asked us to find out where Lu Fan's peaches came from and how they were grown," Xu Sanhuai said quickly.
"Gave you five thousand yuan? Then three thousand five doesn't seem like much. Let's just pay the money then," Shen Xinyi swallowed. He knew Lu Fan's peaches sold for fifty yuan per jin. One peach was over twenty yuan. It was indeed infuriating that they were damaged. Moreover, if Lu Fan hadn't caught them, the entire peach grove could have been ruined, leading to much greater losses!
"Pay... pay... we'll pay!" Xu Sanhuai hurriedly kowtowed like pounding garlic, afraid Lu Fan would start hitting again.
Xu Sanhuai and the other two quickly pooled together three thousand five hundred yuan and handed it to Lu Fan. Then, Shen Xinyi let them go.
"Xinyi! Why did you just let them go like that?" Liu Ruyan asked from the side.
"What else could I do? They've been beaten into pig heads and paid money, so it's settled privately. Even if we took them back, we could only educate them. Then your big brother here would scold me again," Shen Xinyi shrugged helplessly.
"Go away! He's *my* big brother!"
"He's *your* big brother! Hee hee!"
"He's *your* big brother... Hahaha!"
The two girls immediately started giggling. Lu Fan was speechless. Whose big brother am I? Have you decided yet! I'm going home with you.
...
The next morning, early, Liu Ruyan, Shen Xinyi, Wang Yan, and Taohua all came to help pick peaches. The peaches from the two trees were picked and, along with yesterday's mushrooms and wild vegetables, were taken away by Bai Xuemei's van.
Lu Fan secretly handed the spiritual liquid he had collected over the past few days to Liu Ruyan, then followed the van into the city. Today, he was going to take his driver's license test. Although he didn't know how the principal managed to let him complete all four subjects in one day, Lu Fan didn't doubt the Bai family's connections. This small matter was nothing.
As expected, just after they finished selling all the peaches, he received a call from Principal Luo, notifying him to come for the test earlier today.
When Lu Fan arrived at the driving school, he saw Principal Luo and Coach Liu Mei already waiting for him. Upon seeing Lu Fan, two people immediately came forward.
"Mr. Lu! We've been waiting for you. Take this with you and follow Liu Mei's instructions! I guarantee you'll get your license," Principal Luo said, slipping a miniature earpiece into Lu Fan's ear.
"Principal Luo! This... is it necessary? As long as you can arrange the test, I feel I can pass," Lu Fan took out the earpiece and handed it back to Principal Luo.
"Mr. Lu! Is... is that okay?" Principal Luo looked somewhat hesitant. He couldn't afford to offend the Bai family. What if Lu Fan really failed...
"Don't worry! I've been putting in a lot of effort these past couple of days. I'll definitely pass," Lu Fan said, patting his chest.
"Ah! Alright! If you really can't pass, we'll figure something else out," Principal Luo said with a helpless expression, clearly not expecting Lu Fan to do this. This was a privilege others would dream of.
However, for Lu Fan, these things were not a problem at all. Although he had only glanced at the driver's license guide a few times in his spare time, the information was already etched into his mind. He didn't know why he could remember it so well; it was as if he didn't have such memory capacity when he was in school.
Principal Luo was truly efficient. Subjects one through four took only half a day. Lu Fan was even more impressive, scoring full marks on all theoretical questions. His practical driving was also like a fierce tiger, passing all stages. This made Principal Luo marvel, even suspecting that the young man had learned these things before. Otherwise, how could he remember everything from three days ago?
"Mr. Lu! You just need to go back and wait. Your license will definitely be ready tomorrow! I'll have someone deliver it to you!" Principal Luo said, holding Lu Fan's hand before he left.
"Thank you, Principal Luo!" Lu Fan shook hands with Principal Luo.
"Bro! What do you think of this rough stone? Does it have enough translucency?" As Lu Fan was about to leave the driving school, two men in their thirties walked past him. One, a stout fellow, was holding an egg-sized stone and showing it to the other.
"Holy cow! Where did you get this material? It really looks like it has something!" The other man picked up the stone, held it up to the sunlight, and said with flattery.
"Holy cow!" Lu Fan sneered. It was just an ordinary stone, with something in it? Not a chance!
However, as Lu Fan was about to leave, he suddenly thought of something and quickly turned back, shouting, "Hey! Buddy, where did you get this material?"
The stout man turned around, saw Lu Fan, and didn't recognize him. He shrugged and said, "Brother! You like playing with stones too? A new gambling stone shop just opened in the antique market, and I heard they have a lot of good material. You should go check it out if you like."
"Gambling stone shop? Heh heh! I should go and see!" Lu Fan suddenly smiled.