Chapter 620 - 616: Investigating Leng Yuan
Old Nine knew what An Dongyang was like.
He never paid a visit unless he wanted something.
After ushering him into the room, Old Nine was the first to speak. "Young Master An, what brings you here this time?"
An Dongyang didn’t beat around the bush.
"I was going to ask for your help investigating someone, but seeing the state you’re in... I’d better find someone else."
"Who are you trying to investigate?"
"Leng Yuan. He’s a teacher at the commune."
The moment An Dongyang mentioned his name, Old Nine cried out in surprise, "Leng Yuan? Why are you investigating him?"
An Dongyang hadn’t been expecting much, but from Old Nine’s tone, it sounded like he knew the man. He asked, intrigued, "What? You know him?"
Old Nine nodded, a venomous look appearing on his gaunt face. He then began to explain, "I know him. I got into a fight with Lu Yuanbin last time. He was no match for me, but then this guy came out of nowhere and gave me a serious beating."
"Afterward, I had my boys look into him. Turns out he doesn’t have any powerful connections. He’s just a villager from Qingshan Team with the surname Leng. His is the only family with that name there; they came from somewhere else, fleeing a famine. He married and had children in Qingshan Team and has kept his head down all these years."
"Leng Yuan’s parents died young, and he’s cut ties with all his other relatives, so you could say he’s all alone. He got lucky later and married one of the ’educated youth’ sent to the countryside, and that’s how he managed to build a life for himself."
After explaining Leng Yuan’s situation, he looked at An Dongyang curiously.
"So why the sudden interest in investigating him?"
An Dongyang now knew everything he needed to. He had been wary of Leng Yuan and hadn’t dared to make a move, but now that he knew the man had no powerful connections, he instantly knew what to do.
He didn’t mention Gu Jiaojiao to Old Nine, however. He just fobbed him off by saying the two of them had a small conflict.
From An Dongyang’s expression, Old Nine could tell their conflict had turned into a real grudge. A calculating glint appeared in his eyes as he lowered his voice.
"Leng Yuan and Lu Yuanbin are on good terms. If you want to get to Leng Yuan, you might as well start with Lu Yuanbin."
He had tried to make trouble for Leng Yuan himself, but after a long investigation, he couldn’t find any dirt on the man.
The man lived far from the main part of the village, and even the Leng Family couldn’t dig up any dirt on Leng Yuan. Targeting him directly was clearly pointless.
Lu Yuanbin, on the other hand, had ties to the black market. It would be very easy for the An Family to find something on him.
An Dongyang had gotten what he came for. He was aware of the bad blood between Old Nine and Lu Yuanbin, but he didn’t care—as long as it could be used against Leng Yuan and Gu Jiaojiao, that was all that mattered.
He left Old Nine’s place and went straight to the bureau.
Soon after, there was a knock at Lu Yuanbin’s door. Still half-asleep, he assumed it was Chen JianShe or one of his own boys. He grumbled curses as he opened the door, only to be taken away.
The arrest caused quite a stir, and one of Lu Yuanbin’s men raced directly to Qingshan Team.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
The knocking was urgent and loud.
Fortunately, the Leng family home was situated away from the village; otherwise, the racket would have woken all the neighbors.
Gu Jiaojiao opened her eyes in a daze, wondering who could possibly be here in the middle of the night.
Leng Yuan got up to answer the door. Seeing Gu Jiaojiao’s eyes open, he leaned over and gently kissed her brow. "You go back to sleep. I’ll go see what’s happening."
With that, Leng Yuan got up, threw on some clothes, and went outside.
When he opened the door, he saw a stranger.
Leng Yuan didn’t recognize the man, but the man clearly recognized him.
"Brother Leng, there’s trouble! Lu Yuanbin’s been arrested!"