Free Web NovelChapter 302: Chapter 302: Returning Home
As soon as Su Qing heard the other party’s surname was Fang, she knew it was someone from An Zhihan’s side looking for her. So she nodded and said, "Brigade Leader, I understand. By the way, is there any news from Yun Province about the village party secretary?"
Speaking of Wang Xuehong, Zhao Youcai sighed. He had been waiting for a call from Yun Province for days, but it never came. He was very worried. "No."
Hearing this, Su Qing pressed her lips together. ’It seems they haven’t found any clues in Yun Province yet.’
After exchanging a few more words with Zhao Youcai, Su Qing called An Zhihan’s number. As it happened, An Zhihan himself answered the phone.
An Zhihan recognized Su Qing’s voice immediately. "Su Qing."
"Yes, it’s me," Su Qing replied. "I heard from the brigade leader that Uncle Tian went to the village to look for me. Is Uncle Tian with you?"
"I was the one looking for you," An Zhihan said.
Hearing it was An Zhihan who was looking for her, Su Qing was momentarily confused about why. Honestly, she didn’t have much to do with An Zhihan. Aside from their ginseng transactions, they didn’t interact much. In Su Qing’s mind, An Zhihan was just a very generous and somewhat familiar buyer. She never would have imagined he would go out of his way to investigate the current gangs in Xiangcheng just because of a single question she asked.
"Is something the matter?" Su Qing asked.
An Zhihan smiled faintly and said, "You asked about the Xiangcheng gangs last time. As it happens, I came across some information by chance these past two days. I thought I’d share it with you, though I’m not sure if you’d be interested."
After their meal that day, Fang Lutian had secretly made some inquiries. He learned about Wang Xuehong’s disappearance in Yun Province and that it was vaguely connected to the gangs in Xiangcheng.
In fact, for years, An Zhihan had been secretly investigating a certain gang in Xiangcheng. The members of that gang had orchestrated a car crash that killed his parents, and then they all vanished. For several years, An Zhihan and his people had been unable to find any trace of them.
Although An Zhihan hadn’t deliberately looked into Xiangcheng’s other gangs, that didn’t mean he lacked the channels to do so. So, after learning Su Qing’s reason for asking about the Xiangcheng gangs, he had Fang Lutian use his connections to find out more.
"Ah." Su Qing was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "I’m interested. Of course I’m interested."
After speaking, Su Qing smiled at An Zhihan and said, "Thank you."
Even though An Zhihan claimed to have found out by chance, Su Qing knew in her heart that he must have gone to the trouble of looking into it for her.
"You’re welcome." Hearing Su Qing’s thanks, An Zhihan’s lips couldn’t help but curve into a smile. He said, "Right now, there are three major gangs in Xiangcheng: Yishan Hall, the Hetian Association, and the Jiu Ying Gang. The rest are all smaller factions. As for getting involved in... that sort of thing... honestly, a lot of gangs are involved. The profits are considerable, after all. Anyone with the means would never pass up a slice of that pie."
Su Qing listened, lost in thought. ’If that’s the case, investigating this will be extremely difficult.’
Then, An Zhihan’s voice came from the other end of the line, "Su Qing, if you want to know more, I can give you someone’s contact information later. You can ask him your questions. When the time comes, just say Uncle Tian sent you."
"Oh, would that be alright?" Su Qing asked.
An Zhihan laughed. "It’s no trouble at all. When are you coming back? Come see me after you get back, and I’ll give you the contact information."
Su Qing thought for a moment, then said, "I’ll be back in a couple of days."
"Alright, I’ll be waiting for you."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Su Qing returned to the guest house with a frown. She calculated the time. She had promised to go back and take the college entrance exam. She’d been away for over ten days already, and by the time she got back to Beijing, there would only be a few days left before the exam. She decided to wait a little longer for news from Yun Province. If there was still no word after the exam, she planned to go to Xiangcheng herself.
After all, Wang Xuehong was the party secretary of Lihua Village and had helped her before. She couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. At the very least, she had to do everything in her power to find him. She had to find him, dead or alive.
Having made her decision, Su Qing immediately bought a ticket back to Xiyuan County. First, she went to find An Zhihan to get the contact information for the person in Xiangcheng. While she was there, she also transferred some of her green mist to him. After that, she returned to the village to give her contact information to Zhao Youcai, telling him to notify her immediately if he heard any news about Wang Xuehong. Finally, she went to say goodbye to Fu Yuzhen and her family before setting off for Beijing.
By the time Su Qing got back to Beijing, there were only seven or eight days left until the college entrance exam.
Seeing Su Qing return, Li Huan was ecstatic. She hugged Su Qing and refused to let go. "I’ve been waiting for you to come back! You have no idea, my mom has been breathing down my neck about studying these days. It’s reading books and doing practice problems every single day. I’m even cramming for exams in my dreams at night! It’s not easy, you know!"
Shang Yuqi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at Li Huan’s words. "Didn’t you make a bet with your brother that you’d study hard and get a good score? Am I wrong to push you? Honestly, you..."
Shang Yuqi lightly tapped Li Huan on the forehead, then turned to Su Qing with a smile. "Xiao Qing, how is your studying going? There are still a few days left. Little Huan has some review books here. Why don’t you take a look and see if there’s anything you don’t understand."
Su Qing smiled and said, "It’s going okay. I’m just going to give it a try this year. If I get in, I get in. If not, I’ll try again next year."
"Ah, Su Qing, I was so hoping we could be classmates!" For some reason, Li Huan was absolutely certain Su Qing would pass the college entrance exam this year. She had a strange, unshakable faith in Su Qing. That was why she had been studying so hard herself lately, terrified that she wouldn’t be able to get into the same university as Su Qing.
Seeing their granddaughter back, Mr. Li and Mrs. Li were overjoyed. They immediately ordered a feast to be prepared for dinner and pulled Su Qing close, fussing over her and asking all about her trip. They were worried she might have suffered while traveling alone.
Su Qing smiled and answered Mr. and Mrs. Li’s questions, then took out the gifts she had brought for everyone and handed them out one by one.
From the moment she entered the house, Su Qing noticed that Li Wan wasn’t home. She asked, "By the way, where’s my mom?"
"Your mom?" Shang Yuqi smiled and said, "She probably went to the department store. I expect she’ll be back a little later."
Su Qing nodded, not thinking much of it.
However, just before dinner, she saw Li Wan and Gu Xinsheng walk through the door together. Understanding dawned on her, and she couldn’t help but smile, pressing her lips together.
When Li Wan suddenly saw her daughter was back, she was absolutely delighted. She rushed forward, hugging Su Qing and looking her up and down. "You definitely didn’t eat well while you were away," she said repeatedly. "Look at you, you’ve gotten thinner."
Su Qing laughed. "Mom, I did eat well. Don’t worry."
With that, she tilted her head and greeted Gu Xinsheng with a smile, "Uncle Gu."
Instantly, Li Wan’s face turned bright red.
