Chapter 233: Farewell to the Miserable Li Jianzhang
by xennovel“Stop the car.”
Suddenly, Xu Shaochen shouted to Long Yi.
He had just seen a vaguely familiar face through the car window.
On the roadside, four street punks were beating up a middle-aged man, punching and kicking him mercilessly. The man was in a pitiful state.
That middle-aged man was the same one Xu had rescued previously, the one whose company went bankrupt, whose wife cheated on him, whose son wasn’t his biological child, and who was on the verge of committing suicide by drinking poison.
Xu Shaochen had never imagined he would encounter someone so miserable, which made a deep impression on him.
“Stop it!”
Xu Shaochen stepped out of the car and strode over, shouting. Long Yi and Long Er naturally followed closely behind him.
“Kid, who the hell are you? I’d advise you not to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, or you’ll pay for it.”
The four punks paused. The leader, a young man with dyed yellow hair, looked at Xu Shaochen with an arrogant expression.
“Smack!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Long Er slapped him hard across the face and said coldly, “Our boss wasn’t talking to you. Keep your mouth shut, or I’ll ensure you never speak again.”
“Damn, you dare to hit me? Are you looking to die? Brothers, kill him!”
Feeling the sting on his face, Yellow Hair was furious. In his view, with a four-against-three advantage, victory was certain.
All four charged at them, malicious expressions on their faces.
But just as they moved towards Long Er, they abruptly stopped in their tracks. Long Er had revealed the handle of a gun from his jacket and was glaring at them coldly.
“If you have a death wish, take one more step forward. I’ll oblige you.”
“Gulp~”
The four looked at each other, their faces pale, and forced out smiles more pitiful than crying. “Big Brother, this is a misunderstanding! We’re in the same line of work, after all. It’s all illegal business. We’ll just leave quietly.”
As they finished speaking, they turned to run, but Long Yi had already blocked their escape route. “Our boss didn’t say you could go. Stay where you are and don’t move.”
The four immediately looked as if they were about to cry. They couldn’t move forward or backward, so they stood still, hearts filled with trepidation.
They weren’t a match for someone with a gun.
“Are you okay?”
Xu Shaochen helped the middle-aged man up and patted the dust off his shoulders.
“My benefactor, you’ve saved me again. I owe you more than I can ever repay.” Li Jianzhang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and gave Xu Shaochen a bitter smile.
That night, after Xu Shaochen had stopped him from committing suicide, Li had decided to start anew, hoping to one day repay Xu for saving his life.
But it hadn’t been long since then, and he had already needed saving again.
Xu Shaochen nodded and pointed at the four punks. “What’s going on? Also, I don’t think I got your name.”
“My benefactor, my name is Li Jianzhang.” Li Jianzhang sighed. “As for this situation, it’s a long story…”
That night, after Xu Shaochen had persuaded him, Li decided to adjust his mindset and start over.
He contacted old friends, hoping to borrow some initial startup funds, but they all turned him down with various excuses or only offered a small amount.
Finally, out of desperation, he turned to his parents, asking to borrow their savings for his business.
That’s when he found out his parents had been scammed out of their money by a group posing as an investment company. They had even signed a contract.
When Li saw the contract, it was clear to him, as a former company CEO, that the deal was fishy. This wasn’t a real company, just a scam outfit targeting the elderly who didn’t understand the law or investments.
He went to the investment company to get the money back, but when they refused, an argument broke out and he was beaten and thrown out.
“Sorry to let you witness my humiliation, benefactor.” Li Jianzhang sighed deeply after recounting his story.
Xu Shaochen turned his cold gaze to the four punks. “Is that how it went?”
Xu had heard about such scammers before, preying on elderly people by targeting the savings they’d accumulated over a lifetime. These criminals were utterly heartless.
Their tactics were straightforward: first, they’d establish rapport by giving small gifts, then they’d invite the elderly to free classes and lectures.
This is where the brainwashing and deception would begin, ultimately swindling the seniors out of their money.
These scams were particularly common in remote towns and rural areas, where many people had their life savings wiped out.
“Big Brother, please spare us! We’re just small fry; this has nothing to do with us!”
The four punks were drenched in cold sweat, their knees buckling as they fell to the ground, begging Xu Shaochen for mercy.
“Is the company upstairs?” Xu Shaochen pointed at the office building beside them and asked Li Jianzhang.
Li Jianzhang nodded, gritting his teeth in anger. “Yes, they even rented a whole floor to make their scam seem more legitimate, coaxing the elderly to come and visit.”
“Let’s go. I’ll go up with you.” Xu Shaochen said calmly. Since he had come across this, and had the ability to intervene, he would take action.
He only hoped the scammers hadn’t spent all the money yet. With any luck, the police could help get it refunded to the elderly victims.
Moreover, Xu wanted Li to work for him. Li had built a company from scratch before; he probably had some valuable skills.
Xu Shaochen needed a capable manager for his philanthropic efforts. Someone had to manage the team and handle day-to-day operations.
Li Jianzhang was deeply touched. “My benefactor, thank you so much, really, thank you.”
“No need to be so formal, Brother Li. This ‘benefactor’ business feels a bit awkward. I’m Xu Shaochen. You can just call me Xiao Xu.” Xu responded with a smile.
“Well…” Li Jianzhang hesitated, glancing at Long Yi and Long Er before saying, “Then I’ll call you Young Master Xu.”
He was perceptive enough to know when someone was just being polite.
Xu Shaochen was likely just being courteous. Taking such politeness seriously would be a mistake.
In life, it’s important to know your place and capabilities.
They all headed into the office building, with the four punks reluctantly trailing behind.
“Who are you people…”
As they entered the scam company’s office, someone immediately approached, but Long Yi stopped them in their tracks. Xu Shaochen kept walking steadily towards the general manager’s office.