The next morning.
Li Chonglou drove the car gifted by Cao Chunhua and returned to Qin Province with Lu Yunxu.
Along the way, Lu Yunxu shared her thoughts on the development of the appraisal platform with Li Chonglou, which she had pondered all night.
Unfortunately, Li Chonglou was not interested or had the energy to listen to these matters for the moment, only telling her to take full responsibility.
Lu Yunxu could tell he was distracted.
Knowing that Li Chonglou's mind was heavy at this moment, she secretly resolved to handle the appraisal live streaming aspect well, so that he wouldn't have to worry.
Upon arriving in Qin Province, after sending Lu Yunxu home, he went straight to the hospital.
Rushing into the ICU, he looked at Xu Lie, who was wearing a respirator, and Li Chonglou's nose suddenly stung.
In just a few days, this fierce tiger had withered away to skin and bones.
The three bullet holes on his body had been bandaged, and the bullets had been removed.
Fortunately, his heart was congenitally displaced, which prevented it from being destroyed.
Coupled with practicing the sheepskin scroll's heart method, his vitality was far greater than before, but even so, it was still uncertain if he would wake up.
"Brother Xu, rest easy."
Li Chonglou silently vowed, "I will personally catch the culprit and make him kowtow and beg for forgiveness in front of you!"
"Qianqian is taken care of by me, I'm waiting for you to wake up!"
After speaking, he sat by the bed, waiting for Xu Qianqian to return with the water.
The girl looked haggard, her hair messy, as if she hadn't tidied it properly for days.
Her eyes were filled with despair.
The moment she saw Li Chonglou, Xu Qianqian burst into tears and cried, "Brother Li, you're finally back."
Ever since Xu Lie had an accident and was rescued and sent to the hospital.
She had been facing medical expenses of nearly ten thousand yuan a day.
To fund her studies, Xu Lie had no savings to begin with.
Li Chonglou had also disappeared, completely cutting off the source of income. If it went on for a few more days, whether she wanted to or not, she would have to give up treatment.
"Qianqian, I'm sorry, I had some matters to attend to in Yong'an during this period, so it was delayed until now." Li Chonglou felt a sharp pain in his heart. How could he not know Xu Qianqian's situation?
The salary he had given Xu Lie was only enough for a few days in the ICU.
He was eager to return to Qin Province precisely to resolve this matter.
But seeing Xu Qianqian looking so haggard, he couldn't help but feel extremely self-reproachful.
*Bang!*
As soon as he finished speaking, the slightly ajar ward door was violently kicked open.
A group of people walked in.
The leader was someone familiar.
It was the buzz-cut man who had brought Xu Qianqian to the pawnshop to sell jade last time.
"Yo, everyone's here? What a coincidence!" The buzz-cut man was clearly taken aback upon seeing Li Chonglou, but his face immediately took on a stern expression.
Looking at Xu Qianqian, he shouted, "The money you borrowed is due, pay up!"
Seeing this person, Xu Qianqian's face immediately showed fear, and she hid behind.
Li Chonglou stood up and asked indifferently, "Pay what money? Didn't we settle it last time?"
"Stop pretending." The buzz-cut man sneered, "Seven days ago, she borrowed another sum from us, saying she wanted to start a business."
"Now that seven days have passed, it's only right to repay the debt!"
"Pawnshop kid, are you still planning to pay it for her?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Qianqian immediately became anxious and shook her head.
Crying, she said, "Brother Li, it's not like that. I didn't borrow money from them. They harmed me."
After pawning the jade last time, Xu Qianqian thought she could finally study with peace of mind.
Who would have thought that these loan sharks were so well-connected? Knowing she could repay the money, they deliberately targeted her.
They even had her classmates ask her for a signature without her knowledge.
To obtain her ID card, they borrowed another sum of money in her name.
A total of two hundred thousand yuan.
After knowing about this, she had intended to tell her brother and seek legal help.
But before she could say anything, her brother was shot and hospitalized.
The high daily medical expenses had already made her frantic, let alone bothering with this mess.
She didn't expect these people to have found the hospital.
"Don't worry, as long as you didn't borrow it, no one can falsely accuse you." Li Chonglou's eyes flashed with coldness as he shielded Xu Qianqian behind him.
He believed Xu Qianqian's words.
This girl usually had no bad habits, and last time she was harmed by a scumbag.
There was no reason for her to get involved with loan sharks.
Even if she had borrowed it, with her brother Xu Lie's life and death uncertain, he, as her sworn brother, could not let his little sister be bullied by these social scum.
"Kid, do you really think you have supernatural powers?" The buzz-cut man, seeing Li Chonglou's nonchalant attitude, immediately glared with fierce eyes and shouted, "I've inquired about your bottom line. You're just a worthless son-in-law. I heard the Xiao family went bankrupt a few days ago."
"The IOU is here. Since you're going to meddle in this, settle the account for me."
"Otherwise, I won't let you leave the hospital gate!"
His words were a naked threat.
Li Chonglou took the IOU and glanced at it.
He immediately tore it into pieces.
He knew it was just a copy, so tearing it was useless. This action clearly indicated his intention to confront the buzz-cut man.
Before the buzz-cut man could react, he said coldly, "I've never seen people so shameless to pick on one person. The door is there, disappear from my sight immediately."
"Not a single cent will be paid."
"If you're not satisfied, you can sue me in court."
Loan sharks were inherently illegal, and moreover, Xu Qianqian claimed her ID and signature were stolen by others.
If this matter were brought to the legal level, she would have a strong case.
Even if, as a last resort, Xu Qianqian had borrowed it herself, it would not be too late to repay the principal then.
"You damn it, you're pushing your luck, you little bastard, beat him!" The buzz-cut man was furious and waved his hand.
The subordinates behind him immediately surged forward, intending to attack Li Chonglou.
Xu Qianqian's face turned pale with fright, and she trembled uncontrollably.
Xu Lie had always protected her very meticulously.
She had never witnessed such a scene.
Overwhelmed with fear, she regretted her actions and blamed herself, thinking she had implicated Li Chonglou.
*Clap, clap, clap!*
Just then, several thugs who hadn't had time to act were sent flying out of the ward.
They fell to the ground one after another, screaming and struggling.
Li Chonglou remained motionless, staring coldly at the buzz-cut man.
No one could clearly see his movements.
The buzz-cut man's eyes widened, and he was dumbfounded.
It took him several seconds to react, and his expression twisted in anger as he roared, "How dare you hit my people!"
"Do you know who my backer is?"
Li Chonglou had no intention of paying attention to him, but upon hearing this, he narrowed his eyes and asked, "Tell me, who is it?"
In this small place like Qin Province, he now had a clear understanding of who had influence and how much.
Except for Lu Weishen, who had some strength, he didn't take anyone else seriously.
However, although Lu Weishen was cunning, he was not involved in illegal industries like loan sharking.
"Our boss is from Yong'an. Even the Xiao family of Yong'an treats him with great respect and considers him an honored guest!" The buzz-cut man's words made Li Chonglou's eyelids twitch.
He never expected such words to come from a loan shark thug.
Had the Xiao family of Yong'an become that commonplace?
Were they used to compare with everyone?
Or was someone instructing them to say this?
After all, it was very unusual for a mere thug to know about the Xiao family of Yong'an and use them as a comparison.
"What's your boss's name?" Li Chonglou stepped forward, forcing himself close to the buzz-cut man, and coldly demanded from above, his eyes filled with chilling intent, making the buzz-cut man tremble and feel a chill run down his spine.
He couldn't help but take several steps back.