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Chapter Eighteen: A Fortunate Encounter
"Wei Dong, wake up." Zhang Qiu shook Song Weidong's shoulder vigorously, but he remained unconscious.
"Let me try." Liu Fangfei approached and squatted down beside him. During her university military training, she had learned some basic battlefield first aid. Liu Fangfei started with simple pressure points and even thought that if mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was needed, she could ask Zhao Pingchuan, the host, to help. Unbeknownst to Zhao Pingchuan, who was still worried about Song Weidong, he had already caught Liu Fangfei's attention.
Fortunately, after a few presses from Liu Fangfei, Song Weidong slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing Zhang Qiu, he excitedly sat up and shouted, "It really is you! Hahaha, Zhang Qiu, I recognized your voice! I can't believe it's really you. This is great! How did you end up here?"
"We came to have some fun. You... what happened to you?" Seeing that Song Weidong was okay, Zhang Qiu felt relieved. After all, they had fought together before, and their bond felt closer than that of ordinary friends.
Song Weidong forced a smile and shifted his body slightly. "Could you help me get untied first?"
"Sure, sure!" Zhang Qiu laughed and, in her haste, forgot that Song Weidong was still tied up. The group worked together to untie the ropes. Once free, Song Weidong rubbed his arms and thighs before pulling out his phone to make a call. From a distance, Zhang Qiu could only hear words like 'Dad,' 'Hai Group,' and 'kidnapping.'
Liu Fangfei, not knowing Song Weidong, asked Zhang Qiu, "Is he your friend?"
"Yes."
"What does he do? How did he get kidnapped?"
Zhang Qiu thought for a moment and replied, "Probably for money. His family is in real estate; they're quite wealthy."
Liu Fangfei nodded in agreement. She was well aware of the real estate market. In recent years, it had been one of the most profitable industries; local governments relied on it for rapid development. One of her close friends bought a house for nine hundred thousand and saw its value double within a year.
Having finished his call, Song Weidong walked over to thank Zhang Qiu again, gripping her hand tightly and shaking it repeatedly. "Zhang Qiu, I can't thank you enough this time. I just called my dad, and he asked me to thank you too; you've really helped us out!"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Qiu was confused. While it was true that she had rescued him from the kidnappers, she couldn't see how much money that would save him. The ransom could easily be covered by selling a few properties; it was a drop in the bucket for the Song family.
Song Weidong said, "Let's find a place to talk in detail; I'll explain everything to you."
"Alright." Zhang Qiu nodded in agreement. After climbing the mountain all afternoon, he was already hungry, and after just having a scuffle with someone, his stomach was growling. He felt like his stomach was starting to eat itself.
Song Weidong led the way and guessed that Zhang Qiu and the others hadn't eaten. It seemed they were like most people, coming to see the night view of the Ancient City after visiting Yan Mountain. At this moment, Song Weidong had the chance to observe the few people following Zhang Qiu. He recognized one of the boys as a student from the first high school; he had seen him during the Ancient City Battle, and it appeared he was one of Zhang Qiu's capable subordinates.
As for Jiang Xue, Song Weidong knew her well. Her presence shattered his traditional views about girls; it wasn't just tomboys who were suited for great tasks. A delicate girl like Jiang Xue could also stand shoulder to shoulder with men. The other two girls, however, did not ring a bell for him; he was certain they were not students.
Just by looking at Rui Rui's hair color, it was clear she was part of society, and Liu Fangfei gave off a more mature vibe. Both girls seemed to be a year or two older than Zhang Qiu, and their demeanor was distinctly different from his student-like air. How did they end up together? Each of these girls, taken individually, was a stunning beauty. With Jiang Xue already by Zhang Qiu's side, it was obvious they weren't there for Zhao Pingchuan. Song Weidong smiled to himself; Zhang Qiu really had quite the fortune with women.
"We're here, this is the place."
Song Weidong brought everyone to a street in Southern Luan Ancient City, surrounded by two-story buildings made of blue bricks with intricately carved pointed roofs. Each shop had wooden signs hanging outside, flanked by bright red lanterns. The establishment Song Weidong led them to had a sign on the door that read "Harmony Inn" in large red characters written in Song typeface.
As guests followed the host's lead, Song Weidong seamlessly took over as the host from Zhao Pingchuan. Zhang Qiu was happy to let Song Weidong take charge and joked, "Wei Dong, I’m going to feast on this rich guy today."
"Sure! Everyone eat and drink as you please; today it's all on me," Song Weidong said with a bright smile, relieved that they had managed to escape danger.
The boss dressed in satin came out from behind the counter, while a waiter in coarse cloth approached them at the reception: "Hello, esteemed guests! How many of you are there?"
"Six."
"Great! Right this way."
Song Weidong asked, "Do you have private rooms?"
"Sorry, esteemed guest. It's quite busy today; all the private rooms are full."
Looking around the restaurant, Song Weidong pointed to a secluded spot by the window and said, "Then let's sit there."
"Of course! Right this way," the waiter guided everyone to the table Song Weidong pointed out. He dusted off a long bench with a handkerchief draped over his shoulder before inviting them to sit down and poured tea while handing over the menu before standing by attentively.
"Come on, come on, take a look at what you want to eat, don't be polite with me."
Zhang Qiu looked at the several girls and smiled, "Ladies, go ahead and order. Remember to get a lot of meat; I'm starving."
Jiang Xue smiled sweetly and said, "I'll help you order."
"Hehe, I knew my wife was the best."
Song Weidong watched from the side, thinking he should bring Si Yu over. This Zhang Qiu really never forgets to show off his affection wherever he goes.
The waiter took the menu and left. Song Weidong smiled and said, "How is this place? Don't be fooled by the ancient decor outside; inside it's not much different from modern times. At most, it's a modern shop dressed up as an ancient inn. This place is different; the shop owner and waitstaff are all in traditional costumes, speaking in old-fashioned language, and even the cooks use stoves to cook. However, they still use modern lighting."
After hearing Song Weidong's introduction, Zhang Qiu couldn't help but take a few more glances. Indeed, the decorations in the restaurant had a strong ancient style. The pure wooden tables with visible grain patterns, long benches, wooden lattice windows, and even the ceiling lights were covered with lantern-shaped lampshades. With the shop owner and waitstaff dressed in traditional attire, sitting here truly felt like stepping back into ancient times.
Zhang Qiu got straight to the point, saying, "Since the dishes haven't been served yet, what's going on?"
Song Weidong glanced around; no one was paying attention to their table. He chose this secluded spot precisely for convenience in conversation. Now that Zhang Qiu asked, he answered directly: "I was kidnapped; someone wants to use me to threaten my father."
Zhang Qiu frowned; it seemed things were not as simple as she imagined. Behind this simple kidnapping case lay deeper issues. Song Weidong thought Zhang Qiu would ask him something else but seeing that she remained silent, he continued: "I know who kidnapped me; they are thugs hired by Hai Group. They want to use me as leverage against my dad."
"You and your dad came to Nanlan County for what purpose?"
Zhang Qiu finally spoke up. Song Weidong felt his emotions rising as memories of his kidnapping replayed in his mind. Someone had handed him a note telling him there was something important by the ancient city river that he needed to collect, something related to this auction. Song Weidong had always wanted to share his father's burdens and without hesitation contacted them to set a time and place.
Who would have thought it was all part of their scheme? They lured him to the riverside where two strong men grabbed his arms and legs from behind. He wanted to scream but was gagged. A minute later, Song Weidong found himself tied up tightly with a black bag over his head. Surrounded by darkness, he had no idea what they intended to do with him and struggled wildly. One of them said to him reassuringly that they wouldn't kill him; they just wanted his father to give up on the bidding.
At that moment, Song Weidong understood who had kidnapped him when he heard a familiar voice. Was that Zhang Qiu? How could she be in Nanlan County? Forgetting everything else, Song Weidong mustered all his strength to make a sound and finally heard someone shout, "Stop!"
After taking a couple of sips of water to calm himself down, he continued: "This time my father brought me to Nanlan County for a local real estate bidding event. He has been eyeing this piece of land for a long time; the whole company has been working on it—it’s crucial for us. However, there’s also a local company in Nanlan County called Hai Group that is keen on acquiring this project as well. There are dozens of companies participating in the bidding, but only we two have enough strength for it. The official bidding is about to start soon; it seems they are really desperate."
"Do you mean that this piece of land will definitely be yours?"
"Not necessarily, they might get it too."
"Then why do it this way?"
"They wouldn't want to give up such a juicy piece of meat to others. Hai Group is a large real estate company in Nanlan County, and they never expected us to come from Beilan County to bid."
Zhang Qiu didn't understand the business dealings between them, but one thing was clear: Hai Group was secretly using underhanded tactics, and such behavior was despicable. Zhang Qiu asked Song Weidong, "So what do you plan to do?"
"I've already called my father to let him know I'm safe, and I reminded him to be cautious and pay attention to safety in the last few hours before the bidding starts." Song Weidong added, "We brought bodyguards with us."
Zhang Qiu nodded and raised his cup, saying, "Wishing you success."
"Thank you!"
The two tea cups clinked together, while Zhao Pingchuan and the three women watched them with interest, each lost in their own thoughts.
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