Chapter 339 Baili Family's Swift Exit
The two elders walked out shortly after, and Zi Yisheng knew Baili Xi was finished.
"Alright, I'm taking my people back. We've just been bothering the elders."
Returning to his room, Zi Yisheng sighed inwardly at the lifeless body on the ground. If only Baili Xi hadn't been so attached to the Baili family's legacy and had left with wealth that could last a lifetime, his life would have been different. Sometimes, it's necessary to take a step back when one should.
"Everything has been clarified, even the remaining manpower of the Baili family has been accounted for."
"Take the monetary assets, and hand over the rest to the higher-ups. I've worked hard to eliminate the remnants of the Baili family, so they won't be in a position to ask me for money, will they?"
What could Ah Can and the others say? In any case, Young Master Zi was always right.
"Dispose of the body. Transport it far away and bury it."
The next day, when Baili Xi and the others in the room discovered that the person was missing, they initially assumed he had gone out. It wasn't until evening, when night fell and the person still hadn't returned, that they notified the village chief and the head of the brigade.
The old village chief squatted on the ground, lighting and smoking two of his usually treasured cigarettes. He smacked his lips and said.
"Ai Dang, why is it that these educated youths seem to clash with our Bai Rong Brigade? Why are there incidents every few days?"
Gong Ai Dang also wore a troubled expression. He really didn't want to go to the Youth Office anymore; now, Director He wanted to run whenever he saw him.
"Uncle, should we have people search throughout the night?"
The old village chief propped himself up on his aged legs and let out a long sigh.
"Search, we must. Otherwise, it's our dereliction of duty. Go and beat the gongs. Everyone who comes out to search tonight will get an extra five work points. Once the person is found, they will be compensated with money. Who knows why they would run off like this."
The men from the educated youth dormitory were all mobilized. Almost every household sent someone, and even the Ye family had Ah Can tag along for two hours.
Naturally, there was no success. The next day, the brigade leader went to the Youth Office like a frost-bitten eggplant. Director He wanted to crawl under the table upon seeing him, and with a mournful expression, he was forced to ask.
"Who is it this time?"
The brigade leader's face was as dead as a fish. Even his usual flattery was gone. For a moment, he actually resented Director He, wondering if he had worshipped some deity to have all the troublesome incidents assigned to their brigade.
"The newcomer named Hong Jun, missing for a day and a night. We've searched everywhere and can't find him. His luggage is still neatly placed in the room."
The brigade leader spilled out everything he knew and then stood aside like a dead man. Director He's head twitched as he flipped open the personnel registration book.
Director He flipped through it, couldn't find the person, then quickly flipped through it again. Still no one. He immediately tensed up.
"Say who again?"
"Hong Jun, Hong from flood, Jun from handsome."
Director He flipped through it again, even pointing at each name as he read. Still no one.
"Where is your acceptance form? I don't have this person listed here at all."
The brigade leader also became nervous. Had he received the wrong person? He quickly took out the form from his pocket. He glanced at it first, and upon seeing Hong Jun's name, he breathed a sigh of relief. Losing one person was bad enough; if he received the wrong person, he wouldn't have to be the brigade leader anymore.
"Here, it's this person. Please take a look."
Director He's heart sank deeper and deeper as he looked at the form. The form was indeed issued by the Youth Office, but this person was clearly not on his list. The five people assigned to Bai Rong Brigade this time were all accounted for. There was a problem within their Youth Office.
Adhering to the principle of not airing dirty laundry, Director He smiled and sent the brigade leader away, assuring him that Bai Rong Brigade would not be held responsible.
The matter was thus resolved. The specific details of how the Youth Office handled it were not communicated to Bai Rong Brigade. It was only a few days later that someone came to collect Hong Jun's belongings. However, the old village chief stubbornly haggled and managed to extract thirty yuan from Hong Jun's luggage, openly stating it was to compensate for the work points spent by the brigade in searching for the missing person.
Both Bai Hui and Hong Jun were like damp firecrackers, fizzling out without a sound, leaving little impression on anyone.
The next morning, Min Xing was already waiting at Zi Yisheng's doorstep. Min De even specifically brought a chair, blocking the doorway. He didn't believe Zi Yisheng could kick him away.
As Zi Yisheng opened the door after getting ready, he was met with a large face. Instinctively, he wanted to raise his foot, but thinking of Baili Xi's situation, he forced himself to restrain.
Upon seeing Zi Yisheng, Min Xing displayed an extremely fawning smile, completely devoid of the demeanor of a young master from the Min family.
"I'm here today to tell you that Hong Jun secretly went up the mountain."
Zi Yisheng leaned against the doorframe, looking at Min Xing as if he were an idiot.
"Hehe, I know you must have already known, but I just wanted you to know that I care about you too."
"I used to care about you this way too, it's just that you no longer care now."
"My heart has been in great pain. I betrayed you for a promise, and it was my fault. I'm willing to change. Can you give up on our years of feelings?"
Zi Yisheng suddenly saw someone standing not far away. He was about to walk over but stopped in his tracks.
Upon seeing the approaching person, Min De's entire face contorted. He wondered if he should immediately stop his young master from continuing his impassioned speech.
Ye Shengsong felt she had neglected her boyfriend for the past couple of days. She didn't expect that upon reaching the neighboring door, she would overhear such a fervent "confession." Seeing Zi Yisheng about to approach, she quickly stopped him, wanting to hear how one man would "confess" to another.
"I know you're angry with me, feeling that I betrayed you. But you don't know how much pain and conflict I went through at the time. I truly made a mistake then, can you give me another chance to reform?"
"I promise I will be absolutely sincere with you from now on, and there will be no more betrayal."
After speaking, Min Xing looked at Zi Yisheng, who had been listening patiently without any sign of impatience. His heart rejoiced, feeling that the clouds were finally parting to reveal the moon. He reached out his hand to grab Zi Yisheng's.
Zi Yisheng had tolerated it until now, just to let his little girl watch the show. But he had given this fellow Min Xing a chance to take advantage of the situation, and it disgusted him. With a raise of his hand, he pushed Min Xing, making him stumble.
Min Xing's foot directly twisted on the steps, and he fell onto his backside in front of Ye Shengsong. Looking up at the person before him, his mind went blank.
Min De, who had been steeling himself, quickly helped his young master up, lest he continue to embarrass himself.
Min Xing, being quick-witted, quickly reviewed what he had just said in his mind. It all sounded rather strange, especially with Ye Shengsong present.
"Do you want to forgive such a devoted person?"
Zi Yisheng walked to Ye Shengsong with a helpless expression, reaching out to tap her forehead.
"If you didn't want to watch the show, would I have endured this long?"
"He's actually quite pitiful."
But Ye Shengsong's face showed no pity for Min Xing.
"Min De, let's go."
Min Xing felt like crying. It was too embarrassing. He was carried away on Min De's shoulder and ran off.
"Hahahaha, Min Xing is quite an interesting person."
Upon hearing this, Zi Yisheng was displeased. He pulled Ye Shengsong into his house, and luckily, her elder brother wasn't home. He pulled her into the room and then shut the door, pulling her into his embrace with force.
"You can't find other people interesting."
Ye Shengsong rolled her eyes. This man was becoming more and more childish.
"You haven't been paying attention to me lately. You're always reading. I'm starting to feel insecure."
Hearing Zi Yisheng say this, Ye Shengsong felt a pang of guilt. There were too many people around her; she'd chat with this person, talk with that person, and there wasn't much time left. Time spent alone with Zi Yisheng was truly scarce, and this was indeed a problem.
Ye Shengsong wrapped her arms around Zi Yisheng's waist and buried her face in his chest.
"How about I spend two hours alone with you every day from now on? Just the two of us."
Zi Yisheng sniffed Ye Shengsong's neck. At this moment, he finally felt that the little girl truly belonged to him.
"You must do as you promised."
"Mmm-hmm, I definitely will."
How could she be so untrustworthy that this guy would doubt her.
Zi Yisheng immediately pulled her and was about to walk out. He wanted to find a secret dating spot where no one could find them, so that someone wouldn't find Ye Shengsong later.
"Where are we going?"
"To the mountains."
"You haven't had breakfast yet."
"What breakfast? Time is of the essence."
"Pfft~~~"
However, Ye Shengsong still informed her family. Otherwise, if she disappeared for more than half an hour, her whole family would definitely come looking for her.
Zi Yisheng bravely pulled Ye Shengsong away under Ye's father's glare, openly taking her.
"Alright, they're already engaged. What are you still guarding against every day? Besides, Zi is a well-behaved young man, he won't do anything out of line."
Ye's mother's comfort did not calm Ye's father's anger.
"Can you believe what a man says when he's trying to win someone over?"
Ye's mother pondered this sentence carefully and immediately grabbed Ye's father's ear.
"Oh, so you're finally telling the truth, aren't you? Come inside now, let's see how I'll deal with you."
After much effort, Zi Yisheng finally found a hidden cave, concealed by overgrown grass. Zi Yisheng entered first to inspect it before pulling Ye Shengsong inside, which made Ye Shengsong feel like a lamb walking into a tiger's den.
As expected, her boyfriend pulled her in and began kissing her passionately. If Ye Shengsong had known what Ye's father had said, she would have given him a thumbs-up.
Chen Tangtang had had enough of the people in the educated youth dormitory. She had seen so many classmates at school, and none of them argued in such varied ways every day. She felt that these people were not tired, with their endless energy.
Chen Tangtang had worked in the fields for two consecutive days and felt her waist was not a waist and her legs were not legs. She had never experienced such a terrible living hell.
She had originally wanted to find the village chief to talk about housing the next day, but who knew someone would go missing from the educated youth dormitory. Her elder brother said it wasn't the time to add fuel to the fire, so Chen Tangtang had been enduring it. Every day was already exhausting, and not only was the food bad, but even a good night's sleep was a luxury. She felt she had lost a lot of weight in just a few days.
What made Chen Tangtang even more distressed was that she had no time or energy to find Shengsong. She thought about how brutal the harvest season would be.