Sensitive
"So it was this kid who did it!"
Li Jiabao glanced at Zhao Xiaojun, who was bowing his head and remaining silent, and his expression instantly turned ugly.
Recently, Li Jiabao, emulating his idol Brother Dong, has been taking great care of the people in Stone Ridge County, even going so far as to be considered extremely kind and righteous. Unexpectedly, he was stabbed.
Zhao Xiaojun's video is not only trying to destroy the company, but also preparing to send himself to prison!
Noticing the change in Li Jiabao's expression, Zhao Xiaojun's parents became even more frightened and apologized repeatedly.
"Come in." Li Jiabao sneered, turned around, and sat down on the sofa with an air of nonchalance, ready to see what this family of three had to say.
Zhao Xiaojun and his family of three naturally dared not sit down, but stood with bows, their expressions humble and ingratiating.
The two adults were clearly not good at social graces, and they kept repeating the same few apologies over and over.
Looking at this scene, Li Jiabao didn't feel happy; instead, he felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Stone Ridge County is a small place.
If they wanted to make connections, two locals could always find some kind of kinship.
Zhao Xiaojun's father then talked about the friendship between their ancestors who had been working on the river in the county in the last century, and cited a lot of witnesses and physical evidence, including the old Party Secretary of Li Household Hollow, one of the witnesses at the time.
Unfortunately, the old Party Secretary has dementia and cannot come to be a witness.
Zhao Xiaojun's mother kept criticizing her son for being disobedient and even slapped him hard several times. Her voice was dull, indicating that she had really used force.
Li Jiabao looked dazed, and the unease in his heart grew stronger.
Seeing Li Jiabao's expressionless face, Zhao Xiaojun's parents became anxious.
Zhao Xiaojun, who had studied from a young age and attended university elsewhere, had no idea how terrifying Stone Ridge County was.
As a coal mining area, Stone Ridge County naturally has no shortage of organized crime.
In the early days, people died every year in the struggle to seize mining resources!
In particular, Li Jiabao has the backing of County Magistrate Duanmu and is also a sworn brother of gangster boss Hu Shihao. He is a truly ruthless person who has connections in both the legal and illegal worlds.
Even if they dared not cause death but only injury or disability, Zhao Xiaojun's parents would not be able to accept it.
Zhao Xiaojun's mother was always nagging and complaining, but in fact she doted on Zhao Xiaojun since he was a child. Seeing that Li Jiabao was not speaking for a long time, she suddenly knelt down.
Zhao Xiaojun's father turned his face away and remained silent.
Zhao Xiaojun was shocked and quickly went to help his mother.
Li Jiabao felt a sudden boom in his head.
I remember now.
No wonder it looked so familiar.
Back when I was a gangster, I broke into supermarkets and stole money. My parents brought me to their door to apologize and ask for a settlement. It was exactly the same scene as what I was seeing now.
It's just that the positions are reversed.
Li Jiabao looked up and met Zhao Xiaojun's gaze.
Just like myself back then, I felt no regret or fear, only stubbornness, humiliation, anger, and unvented hatred.
"Get up." Li Jiabao sighed, waved his hand casually, and surprisingly said the exact same thing as that supermarket owner from years ago, "It's nothing. Kids are kids, it's normal to make mistakes impulsively."
Zhao Xiaojun's parents were clearly taken aback and remained speechless for a moment.
"Come sit down and have some tea." Li Jiabao ignored Zhao Xiaojun, poured a cup of tea for Zhao Xiaojun's father, and casually said, "Digging canals, isn't that just ancient corvée labor? Young people today certainly won't believe it, but in the 1990s, you not only had to pay grain taxes, but also perform corvée labor."
Zhao Xiaojun's father sat down carefully, picked up his cup but didn't dare drink, just held it in his hands, trying hard to recall and agree, "Yes, young people nowadays have never experienced hardship. Back then, digging the river was all done by hand, and it was in winter. It took more than twenty days a month to work continuously. Going there once would have almost cost you your life."
Li Jiabao was somewhat surprised. "You've dug before?"
"No, no." Zhao Xiaojun's father gave an awkward smile and quickly explained, "Back then, people were selected by household, one person from each family. I never went; I heard it from Xiaojun's grandfather."
"Oh, I knew the ages didn't match up." Li Jiabao recalled, "Back then, the workers digging the river stayed at my abandoned old house. They were all elderly, living in shacks, and had to cook for themselves. I even ate there a few times."
"Yes, yes, yes." Zhao Xiaojun's father was slightly relieved and said cautiously, "I heard Xiaojun's grandfather say that the two families used to visit each other frequently. After the old man passed away, the contact gradually stopped."
Li Jiabao chuckled and nodded, saying, "Yes, you're welcome to come visit often."
The Zhao Household.
When Zhao Xiaojun's parents returned home, they felt a sense of joy, as if they had survived a disaster.
They even started fantasizing about turning misfortune into good fortune and getting involved with Li Jiabao.
Zhao Xiaojun felt no relief whatsoever. He silently returned to his room, took a voice recorder out of his pocket, and threw it on the table.
It's a pity that they suffered a humiliation for nothing and didn't get any usable footage.
If we could record Li Jiabao abusing his power, threatening and intimidating others, posting it online would definitely generate a huge amount of traffic.
Zhao Xiaojun took out his phone and checked. His followers had increased significantly, and the trending topic was still there, but its ranking had dropped considerably.
Many people have sent me private messages asking why the video is gone.
Zhao Xiaojun released the hidden video again and made some suggestive comments in the comment section, such as visiting someone's home and force majeure, which aroused anger and concern among many fans.
"We can't wait any longer, we need to speed things up." Zhao Xiaojun had met Li Jiabao and found that he was not the foolish and arrogant country bumpkin boss he had imagined. On the contrary, he was quite shrewd and meticulous in his work.
It would be embarrassing if someone else posted the material you've worked so hard to prepare before you could.
Zhao Xiaojun uploaded the second video.
This time, the news is even more explosive.
"Disgusting! Isatis root oral supplement actually won a major government contract?!"
After sending the message, Zhao Xiaojun picked up his backpack and went out, saying to his parents, "I'm going to stay at my aunt's house for a few days to relax."
After saying that, he ignored his parents' questions and left in silence.
If you leave it, and your parents find out that you not only didn't delete it but also sent another one, they'll definitely start arguing again.
Moreover, I'll be doing live streams soon, so I can't stay home any longer.
As for my aunt's house, that was just a front.
Zhao Xiaojun had already contacted a high school classmate whose family had an elderly miner with pneumoconiosis who had received a relief package from the Civil Affairs Bureau—perfect material for a live stream!
Zhao Xiaojun's second video is much more explosive than the first.
After all, food safety news such as formaldehyde-treated cabbage and the use of dichlorvos to disinfect restaurants has been trending on social media, so the impact of a health product factory's substandard production process is really limited.
The collusion between officials and businessmen is most likely to stir up sensitive nerves among netizens, especially during a period of economic downturn.
Not only did Zhao Xiaojun's videos generate a massive amount of traffic, but those who jumped on the bandwagon also raked in tons of views.
"Unveiling the legendary life of Li Jiabao of Rejuvenation Valley Pharmaceutical: Is he a late-blooming genius, or a puppet and a front man?!"
"How did he go from a street-side supermarket owner to a multi-sector tycoon in just two years?!"
Who is Duanmu Ren?! Let's talk about my old classmate who has had a life full of ups and downs.
"Firsthand inside information: I unexpectedly overheard my uncle, who works in the provincial government, offering some sharp commentary at a family dinner."
Duanmu Ren received a call from the provincial government, whose voice was very serious. "Duanmu, you're getting too much attention online. I heard the Beijing Cyberspace Administration even called to inquire about the situation. You'd better find someone to suppress it."