The news of the railway casino spread quickly through Xunsi River, and Xiong Er once again became a laughingstock, effectively suppressed by Li Jin.
This was a fatal blow to Xiong Er. The industries left by Brother Xiong were still there, enough for Xiong Er to squander for a while, but his residual prestige and subordinates were all depleted.
If Xiong Er had honestly managed the industries, he could have remained a well-off and carefree rich man.
But he still wanted to court disaster in the underworld and contend for temporary dominance. He might die a terrible death because, after this incident, other forces would not take him seriously.
Those with weak bones were destined not to be leaders.
Li Jin and Yang Jian did not fully believe the promises made by Xiong Er and Song Jianhao, so they still organized over fifty people to stand by that night.
As soon as Xiong Er and Song Jianhao continued to organize red money operations, they would be dealt with most severely.
Fortunately, nothing happened overnight. Song Jianhao truly did not dare to confront Li Jin and Yang Jian.
The next afternoon, after the railway casino incident concluded, Biao Biao went to collect ten thousand yuan. Only then did Yang Jian believe that Song Jianhao and Xiong Er had behaved themselves.
With the casino matters sorted out, Yang Jian planned to rest for a night before returning. There were too many matters at home, and many migrant workers were still waiting to be paid.
However, he hadn't seen his sister in a long time, so Yang Jian decided to pick her up for a late-night snack that evening.
Without prior notice, Yang Jian drove to the school at nine o'clock and called Yang Rui at the main gate.
The main purpose of doing this was to prevent Yang Rui from being led astray by Su Ya again, and he wanted to see if she was still at school at this hour.
Fortunately, Yang Rui answered the phone. She was playing basketball with some roommates who were preparing for postgraduate entrance exams and hadn't gone home for the summer. The sound of basketball could be heard over the phone.
Yang Rui needed to go back to her dorm to shower and change, asking Yang Jian to wait for half an hour.
It was already the beginning of autumn in Hancheng in August. Although the temperature during the day was still as high as thirty-six or thirty-seven degrees Celsius, it was not as hot at night, and the occasional breeze was cool.
Out of boredom, Yang Jian took a bottle of red tea, stood by the car, took a few sips, then casually placed the bottle on the hood and started a long phone call with Lu Yao.
After chatting for more than twenty minutes, estimating that his sister should be coming out soon, Yang Jian ended the call with Lu Yao and looked towards the school gate.
Just then, a young girl who had just gotten off a bus walked up to the car, glanced at Yang Jian from the side, then picked up the red tea bottle, walked to the passenger seat, and got in directly.
Yang Jian was startled by the sound of the door closing. He turned and leaned over to look into the car, only to find a beautiful girl inside.
"What the heck, who are you? Why are you getting in my car?"
"Stop pretending. You just want to drive, right? Come up and let's talk."
The girl was very calm, thinking Yang Jian was a novice trying to act tough.
"Beauty, I do want to drive. Do you need me to give you a ride?"
Yang Jian checked the time; it was almost ten o'clock. He guessed the bus service had stopped, and this girl probably mistook him for an unlicensed driver moonlighting as a taxi, known locally as "da tu zi" (hustling for fares).
The girl smiled faintly, "You're so handsome, of course, I need one. The price is negotiable, you can take me as far as you want."
"What do you mean, as far as I want? Where do you want to go?"
"Let's talk inside the car. Isn't it awkward talking through the window?"
Yang Jian scratched his head, looked back at the school gate, and saw his sister had come out, accompanied by three other girls.
With no time to do a good deed, Yang Jian waved at Yang Rui, opened the car door, and got into the driver's seat, intending to dismiss the girl.
"Handsome guy, you're so masculine and handsome, why are you driving a red car? It doesn't match your image at all."
The girl's eyes were fixed on Yang Jian's handsome face, her expression a little excited, almost drooling.
"Oh, this is my girlfriend's car. My car was borrowed, and I had something urgent to do, so I came over in hers."
"You have a girlfriend and you're still out here looking for trouble? Men are all the same, always wanting what's in the pot while eating from the bowl."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"It means nothing. Let's talk price directly."
Before Yang Jian could speak, Yang Rui had already reached the car and directly pulled open the passenger door, then froze.
"Wow, who is this beauty? Brother, who is this?"
Facing his sister's question, Yang Jian scratched his head again, "I don't know who she is either. She probably wants me to give her a ride. Beauty, I'm sorry, we're going for a late-night snack by the lake. If it's on the way, I'll give you a lift. Otherwise, you'll have to take a taxi."
As he spoke, Yang Rui's three classmates had already gotten into the back seat.
The girl in the passenger seat was a bit exasperated. She threw the red tea bottle at Yang Jian, pushed Yang Rui aside, got out of the car, and ran off.
"Brother, what's going on?"
Yang Rui sat in the passenger seat and closed the door.
"I don't know either. I just finished talking to Yao Yao, and this person got into the car and even took my red tea. I don't know if she drank it. It's really unhygienic."
As soon as Yang Jian finished speaking, the three girls behind him burst into laughter, leaving him bewildered.
Yang Rui stifled a laugh, "Brother, where did you put your red tea just now?"
"On the hood, why? I haven't even drunk half of it."
"You really don't know what it means to put a drink bottle on top of a car at the school gate?"
"No, I don't. Is there some special meaning to this?"
"Brother, I feel like you're out of touch with society. You sound so old-fashioned. Don't you ever read the news?"
Yang Jian was still confused, "How am I out of touch? I watch the news every day. What does putting a drink bottle on a car have to do with anything?"
"Forget it, it's embarrassing for us girls to say. You can look it up on Baidu when you get back, or ask your casino buddies. They all know."
"Everyone else knows, and only I don't?"
"Yes, you can ask your wife too. She'll explain it to you. Let me introduce you. These are my roommates, Song Bingbing, Tong Xiao, and Zhang Zihan. Out of our six roommates, five are preparing for postgraduate exams, and one has gone home. The four of us play basketball for a while after studying every day to exercise."
"Hello, Brother Jian."
"Brother Jian is so handsome!"
"Brother Jian, do you have a girlfriend?"
The three girls in the back rushed to greet him.
Yang Rui smiled, "Don't get any ideas, girls. My brother is taken. My sister-in-law is very beautiful."
The three girls immediately fell silent.
Yang Rui laughed heartily, "Brother, why did you change your car again? And it's red, it really doesn't suit you. Is it for Sister Yao Yao?"
"This is her car. My car was lent to Director Jiang, and I'm planning to buy another one."
"Ah, you bought such a nice car for her? I want one too, the same model."
"You wish. Yao Yao bought this herself with money from her parents. I only contributed a few thousand yuan."
"I don't care, you have to sponsor a car for me too."
"You can have a car too, but only after you get into graduate school, as a reward. If you don't get in, you get nothing."