Chapter 45: This Is Truly Incredible
In the afternoon.
Xu An was chopping firewood in the courtyard, while the two little ones helped stack the chopped wood neatly to the side.
At first, the two little ones were very serious about their work, but as they went on, they started to fool around.
They each found a stick of similar length and thickness to use as a longsword and began a martial arts competition, their back-and-forth duel a spectacular sight.
Xu An had only given them a task to keep them busy, not expecting much real help. He didn’t stop them when they started fooling around; he just moved a little farther away so the flying wood chips from his chopping wouldn’t hurt them.
The two were in the heat of their battle when Xu Kang’s hand suddenly slipped, and the stick in his hand flew uncontrollably toward Xu An.
RIP!
With that sound, Xu An’s crew-neck T-shirt was transformed into an ultra-deep V-neck. He felt a sudden cool breeze on his back in the sweltering summer heat.
Knowing they’d caused trouble, the two immediately dropped their sticks, stood in an unusually well-behaved line, and waited for Xu An’s scolding with their heads down and lips pursed.
Xu An reached back and felt two flaps of cloth fluttering in the air, along with his own sweaty back.
’This was my only decent shirt for going out!’
Xu An was about to scold them, but seeing the two little ones’ pitiful expressions, his anger instantly vanished.
’It wasn’t on purpose, and they’re my own brother and sister. What can I do? I just have to tell myself not to get mad. They’re family!’
He glanced at their clothes. They were bought last year, and though he’d intentionally bought them one size up, they were already looking a bit small. Their little bellies would peek out whenever they made big movements while playing.
Then he looked at their shoes; the backs of their heels were almost completely exposed, a clear sign they didn’t fit anymore.
Today was the ninth. There was no market in Qianhai Town, but Beitun Town had its Four-Nine Market. ’Maybe we should go to the market in Beitun Town.’
The scolding was spared, but misbehavior still warranted punishment. Xu An gave each of them a light slap on the butt.
The slaps weren’t hard, but they both quickly covered their little bottoms with their hands and looked at Xu An with tears welling in their eyes, their expressions clearly saying, ’If you hit us again, we’re going to cry for you.’
Tsk.
Xu An tsked, then reached out and ruffled their hair into messy nests. "Big brother is taking you to the market."
Hearing him mention the market, the two children’s eyes instantly lit up. No longer afraid of being hit again, they hugged Xu An’s arms and started chattering away.
"Big brother, I want to eat tanghulu!"
"Big brother, I want to see the lion dance!"
"Big brother..."
Beitun Town held its market on the 4th and 9th of every month, which is why everyone called it the Four-Nine Market or the Four-Nine Dragon.
On market day, the itinerant vendors, craftsmen, and acrobats who usually roamed the surrounding villages would all appear, bringing a day of fleeting prosperity to the otherwise quiet town.
The market was crowded. Xu An, alone with two children, didn’t dare let go of their hands for a moment, afraid they would perform a vanishing act the second he did.
Although they couldn’t run around, the two kids were still overjoyed just looking at the various stalls along the road.
Especially when watching the acrobats, their little mouths were agape in an "O" shape, looking as if the performance had opened the door to a whole new world.
The acrobats’ tricks grew more and more numerous, and the crowd became increasingly dense.
People who arrived late couldn’t see from the back and kept pushing forward. Even though Xu An’s group was at the very front, they were still jostled about.
Seizing a gap in the performance as the actors changed, Xu An quickly squeezed out of the crowd with the two children.
Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the decorative trellis the acrobats had set up was apparently kicked over by a mischievous child, causing a wave of gasps from the crowd.
The same people who had just been desperately pushing their way in were now fighting to get out. The once festive scene instantly descended into chaos.
Two stout men in suits and leather shoes, who had just walked up beside Xu An, were sent stumbling by the sudden chaotic surge. The briefcase one of them was holding fell to the ground, scattering documents everywhere.
One of the items fell near Xu An’s feet, and he instinctively glanced down.
’Qiansheng Group’
Before he could see any other information, he was pushed aside by the surging crowd.
Relying on his strength, Xu An carved a path through the torrent of people and slipped into a nearby alley.
Thankfully, the trellis had only just begun to be set up—only the base was complete. So although it was knocked over, no one was hurt; it just caused a brief panic.
’We’d better not watch this kind of spectacle next time,’ Xu An thought, looking at his brother and sister with lingering fear.
The two kids’ faces were flushed red from being squeezed by the surging crowd. Their hair was soaked and plastered wetly to their faces, which were a mess of tears and snot. They looked terrified, clinging tightly to Xu An’s arm.
Xu An felt a wave of relief. It was a good thing he was strong enough now to protect both of them. Otherwise, given the situation just now, someone could have easily gotten hurt in the crush.
Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Xu An tensed up, instantly pulling his brother and sister into his arms before turning to see who it was.
’Oh, it’s Uncle Dongliang. Never mind.’
"Uncle Dongliang, what are you doing here?" It was just after four in the afternoon; Uncle Dongliang should have been at the construction site.
"Our crew didn’t have a shift this afternoon. I figured since today’s the Four-Nine Dragon, I’d come check out the excitement," Uncle Dongliang explained as he wiped the sweat from Xu Kang and Xu Le’s faces. "What happened to you two? You’re soaked in sweat."
"There was a little accident over by the acrobats’ stage. Everyone started pushing and shoving, and this is the result."
Hearing Xu An’s words, Xu Dongliang looked up toward the acrobats’ stall and saw the two men in suits, letting out a soft "Huh?"
"Uncle Dongliang, what is it?" Xu An asked, his curiosity piqued by the sound.
"That stout man over there, the one in the black suit and red tie... I think he’s the boss of the Anxin Food Processing Company."
Xu An followed Xu Dongliang’s gaze and did indeed see the stout man Uncle Dongliang had mentioned. This was the first time he had ever seen the boss of the Anxin Food Processing Company, so he took a longer look, committing the man’s face to memory.
"Uncle Dongliang, how do you know about that company?"
"Heard about it from friends chatting," Xu Dongliang said, then asked in return, "How do you know about it?"
Xu An briefly explained the whole story. Xu Dongliang patted Xu An’s shoulder, a look of relief and approval on his face.
"You did the right thing. Don’t even think about getting involved in that illegal stuff. They might look impressive now, but sooner or later, they’ll end up in jail."
Xu An nodded, his mind flashing back to the ID badge he’d just seen. The name on it was ’Qiansheng Group’.
Qiansheng Group was a leading enterprise in Hai City, primarily focused on aquaculture and agriculture.
Two years ago, leveraging its excellent supply channels, it had entered the supermarket industry. The company opened five large supermarkets and twelve smaller ones in Hai City, all to great acclaim. It seemed they had also acquired two plots of land at the beginning of this year to venture into real estate.
’Why would someone from Qiansheng Group be with the boss of Anxin Food Processing Company? Could they be working together?’
A news report suddenly surfaced in Xu An’s mind: Victory Supermarket, a subsidiary of Qiansheng Group, was caught repackaging expired food with new dates and putting it back on the shelves for sale.
’That report isn’t supposed to come out until next year. Once it does, Victory Supermarket, which had been doing so well in the industry, starts to go bankrupt one after another.’
Expired food! Anxin Food Processing Company!
Xu An’s eyes suddenly shot wide, and his breathing became ragged.
’I think I’ve stumbled upon something huge!’