Yang Hui quickly pulled her younger brother back when she saw him draw out his extendable baton.
"Second brother, don't be impulsive, listen to me."
"Sister, tell me, who did this? I don't care about the reason. Brother-in-law isn't someone who looks for trouble; he must have been bullied."
Seeing that their elder sister couldn't persuade him, Yang Rui also grabbed her brother's arm. "Brother, just listen to Big Sister first. This is a society governed by law; don't always talk about fighting and killing. Be careful not to get yourself caught while seeking revenge."
Gao Daqiang had also woken up by then. "Er Jian, sit over here. Let's discuss this slowly."
With his brother-in-law speaking, Yang Jian finally calmed down. "Brother-in-law, tell me, what happened?"
"It's like this, your sister and I don't want to do long-haul trucking anymore. Besides being hard work, it's also very dangerous. Most importantly, my parents aren't well and can't help us look after the children. So, we sold the truck and want to do something locally.
We have a piece of land at the intersection of the outer ring road leading into the city. It's about two and a half mu. I planned to build a car repair shop there. The main structure of the workshop is almost done, costing thirty to forty thousand.
Just as we were about to start the renovation and install equipment, the night before last, around nine o'clock, I was keeping watch in the tent when a group of masked men rushed in and beat me up. Not only that, they brought an excavator and knocked down the entire workshop I had just repaired. The loss is tens of thousands, and my leg was broken."
Yang Jian was already furious. "Didn't you call the police?"
"I did, but those people were all masked, and it was at night. I couldn't provide the police with any physical descriptions of the attackers, nor were there any witnesses. The police are investigating, but they don't have any leads."
"These people are too lawless. Brother-in-law, they beat you and demolished your workshop, they must have been coveting your land, right? Has anyone approached you about buying the land before?"
Yang Jian immediately thought of the crux of the matter.
"Yes, to be honest, the geographical location of our land is indeed very good. It's bordered by the outer ring road to the north and the main road leading into the city to the east. People have wanted to buy this land for a long time, but my father refused. In the last two years, the city has expanded rapidly, and the area beyond the outer ring road is now considered part of the city, so more and more people want to buy this land."
"You mean you can't identify who attacked you? Is there no suspect at all?"
Gao Daqiang shook his head. "It's hard to say. There are two people who are suspicious."
"Tell me."
"One is named Zhou Tao. He's a small-time developer. He approached me many times, offering good terms. The deal was that I provide the land, and he provides the capital to build a six-story commercial and residential building. I would get ten ground-floor storefronts and ten apartments upstairs, and he would handle all the paperwork.
The other one is Pan Wenbin. He wanted to buy one and a half mu of land to build a gas station, offering only twenty thousand per mu. This price, according to national land acquisition standards, is not low, but I directly refused because I also wanted to build houses there, and I had even reserved three plots for you. The policy states that there can be no residential buildings within a hundred meters of a gas station."
Yang Jian memorized these two names and decided to investigate them.
"Brother-in-law, who do you suspect more between these two?"
Gao Daqiang thought for a moment and said, "Although Zhou Tao has a fierce appearance, he's a very kind person. He always spoke to me personally and never used any coercive language. Even after I started building the repair shop, he still wanted to jointly develop the remaining land with me. I didn't agree, but I didn't refuse either, just said I'd consider it after getting the car repair shop up and running. He shouldn't be the one to do this."
Yang Jian nodded. "Hmm, this person doesn't seem to have a motive. What about Pan Wenbin?"
"This person is quite well-known in Chengguan. The development and engineering projects in the southern part of the city are almost monopolized by him. I haven't met him; every time someone came to talk to me, it was his subordinate, named Hu Yunfei, who was my junior high classmate. Although his attitude towards me was decent, he always had a subtle threat in his words."
Gao Daqiang suspected Pan Wenbin more, but the man's influence was too great, and he didn't dare accuse him to the police without concrete evidence.
"Sister, Brother-in-law, I came today to return the money to you. I'll transfer it to you at the bank later. Rui Rui, you stay here with Big Sister and help her look after the two little nephews. You can take the bus back tomorrow."
Yang Jian asked no more questions. Pan Wenbin was the most suspicious. He would investigate him first.
Yang Hui grabbed him. "Where are you going? Where did you get a hundred thousand yuan?"
"Let Rui Rui tell you. I'm going to fix the car."
Yang Jian couldn't wait another moment. He shook off his sister's hand and rushed out of the ward. His sister and brother-in-law were his soft spot; even if the king of heaven himself had done it, he would seek justice.
Yang Rui shouted from behind, "Brother, don't be impulsive! Don't do anything illegal!"
"Don't worry, I won't do anything foolish."
Yang Jian waved his hand back and turned to go down the stairs.
As soon as he reached the outpatient hall, he saw Biao Biao and Liang Liang walking towards him, carrying a pile of things.
"Brother Jian, what are you doing here?"
Biao Biao saw Yang Jian first and ran over quickly to greet him.
"I came to see my brother-in-law. When did you guys get back? What are you doing here?"
"We rushed back this morning. It was too expensive to stay in the hospital in Hancheng, so Brother Hao transferred Si Gou and the others back for treatment. Jian Min just finished the hospital admission procedures and went home. We're buying some daily necessities for Si Gou and the others."
"Oh, how many people were injured yesterday? Was it serious?"
"A total of six people were injured. Brother Sixi is the most serious and is still in the intensive care unit. Brother Hao is waiting there. Si Gou and the other five had their legs broken and will likely be recuperated for several months. Brother Hao suffered a huge loss this time; the medical expenses alone are estimated to be over a hundred thousand."
"Damn it, Brother Xiong is too ruthless! Why did he take his grievances with Xiao Wu out on our gambling company?"
Yang Jian couldn't help but feel a chill of fear. If Li Jin hadn't tipped him off in time, he would have been even worse off than Sixi, probably wouldn't have even kept his life.
"Brother Jian, Brother Hao probably won't be opening any venues for a while. We're free now. If you have any good opportunities, remember to bring us along."
Liang Liang looked at Yang Jian with hope. The last time he brought them to gamble for a few days, they earned several thousand yuan. He thought Yang Jian was more reliable than Brother Hao.
Hearing this, Yang Jian's heart stirred. He needed people to investigate his brother-in-law's assault, and these two were perfect. They were familiar with the ways of the world and had a sense of loyalty.
"Biao Biao, Liang Liang, I actually have some troublesome matters. I wonder if you're willing to help me?"
"Brother Jian, what are you saying? We're brothers who have gone through thick and thin with you. If you have something, of course, we'll face it together. Tell us, what do we need to do?"
Biao Biao agreed without hesitation. He knew Yang Jian was naturally generous and that doing things with him wouldn't be a loss.