Chapter 794 — There's Still Someone in the Building
Kang Zhaoming thought it over: what Wei Zhao said made sense. That agreement was really just a formality — it bound no one to anything. Even if Xiaofen kept quiet, Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaobo could talk. A mouth belongs to its owner; you can't very well make every last person sign a confidentiality agreement.
With that thought, Kang Zhaoming set his mind at ease. "Then I'll trust you. Go on, hurry back. Is there a TV here? I'll watch for a while."
"There is, but the sunlight outside is too harsh. Xiaofen, go draw the curtains, then turn on the TV for Kang Zhaoming," Wei Zhao said to Xiaofen.
Xiaofen found it odd that Wei Zhao would treat Kang Zhaoming so well, but she did as she was told.
The television in Xiaofen's home was the oldest kind — a twenty-one-inch curved-screen model, long since obsolete, though it would still do in a pinch.
Kang Zhaoming was pleased and made no complaints; he sat on the sofa and watched the children's channel with relish.
Wei Zhao took Kang Xiaobo and Xiaofen downstairs. It was exactly seven fifty-five; the workers on the bulldozer and the excavator over there were already in position and about to come tear the building down.
Only then did Kang Xiaobo suddenly understand Wei Zhao's intent: he meant to leave Kang Zhaoming in Xiaofen's home, to be demolished along with it by the bulldozer!
Holy crap, that's savage. Would it actually crush Kang Zhaoming to death?
Kang Xiaobo cast a pitying glance back at the three-story building, then followed Wei Zhao and Xiaofen toward where Wei Zhao had parked.
The three of them had not yet reached the car when they heard the bulldozer and the excavator start up. Then, with a rumbling roar, half of the three-story red-brick building was toppled in an instant.
"Ah!" Xiaofen clapped a hand over her mouth in horror, staring in disbelief as her family's building was knocked down before her eyes.
"Find a bank and withdraw the money," Wei Zhao said. He had no interest in whether Kang Zhaoming lived or died — a man like that was better off dead. In any case, he hadn't killed him; let the Kang family go settle accounts with Zhao Qibing.
"But Kang Zhaoming..." Xiaofen had never harmed anyone in her life, and seeing Kang Zhaoming crushed before her eyes was still hard to accept. "And my family's house... I have to tell my parents..."
"You've got five hundred thousand now — who cares about the house?" Kang Xiaobo was more easygoing about it. "A man like Kang Zhaoming deserves to be crushed to death. Who told him to hurt you so badly before?"
Xiaofen sighed. Since Kang Xiaobo had said as much, she could only nod. Say any more, and Kang Xiaobo might get the wrong idea that she still had feelings for Kang Zhaoming.
Wei Zhao drove Xiaofen and Kang Xiaobo to a bank and withdrew the money without a hitch. It turned out to be a bearer-type wealth-management savings card. Who knew what Kang Zhaoming had been thinking, handing over the money so trustingly?
They opened a new account in Xiaofen's name, and the five hundred thousand truly landed in Xiaofen's pocket. Then Wei Zhao drove back to the shantytown.
By now the shantytown was in an uproar — the residents of the three-story red-brick building were beside themselves. They had never imagined that after what happened to Tang Yun's family last time, Li Cihua would still dare to carry out a forced demolition! And this time it wasn't even a single-story house — it was the three-story red-brick building!
Standing beside Li Cihua, Jin Gubang, and Zhong Fabai was a pack of burly men in black clothes and sunglasses, got up like gangsters. The residents of the three-story building were furious, but none dared step forward to make trouble.
Xiaofen's parents had assumed that since theirs was a building, they could at least demand a bit more compensation. Then they would ask Mother Tang to put in a word with Wei Zhao and see if they could buy a cheap clearance unit somewhere — a leftover apartment in a less desirable spot.
The other residents of the building thought much the same: ours is a building, so surely we should get a bit more compensation?
But now all their hopes were dashed. Their homes were gone; they no longer even had the leverage to negotiate. Take the money they offered — you had to take it whether you wanted to or not. What else could you do?
Of course, all that was secondary. When they saw their homes pushed down, the first thing in Xiaofen's parents' minds was that Xiaofen was still inside! With the building down, what would become of Xiaofen?
Xiaofen's mother went mad, trying to run home, and her father was the same. Together with the other residents of the three-story red-brick building, they ran toward their homes.
The other shantytown residents whose houses had been demolished had the same first thought: run home. Their furniture and appliances were still inside — whatever could be salvaged had to be salvaged first.
But the burly men blocked their way. They would not let them go back.
The last demolition had nearly cost lives. How could Li Cihua possibly let these people run back this time? That was why he had specially brought in some of Zhong Fabai's burly men to hold them off.
"Let me through — my daughter is still in the building! Get out of my way!" Xiaofen's mother, ignoring the men's blockade, tried frantically to push them aside and break through the wall of bodies.
Pushed past the end of his patience, the burly man seized Xiaofen's mother by the hair and shoved her back.
How could Xiaofen's mother stand up to a man like that? With a scream, a great clump of her hair was torn out, and a slap landed across her face. "Stay put and behave yourself if you don't want to die!"
"Mom!" Xiaofen had just gotten out of the car when she saw her mother struck by one of the men. She was frightened nearly to tears, and heedless of her lame leg, she ran toward her mother as fast as she could.
Kang Xiaobo, worried about Xiaofen and seeing his future mother-in-law beaten, was seething with rage. He charged over, ready to fight the man to the death.
Wei Zhao was not about to let Kang Xiaobo rush over and get hurt — he was no match for these men. Wei Zhao locked the car and charged in alongside Kang Xiaobo. Before Kang Xiaobo could even raise a hand, Wei Zhao kicked the thug who was beating Xiaofen's mother square in the waist, sending him flying backward. He hit the ground with a thud, his eyes rolling back, and lay there unconscious.
Kang Xiaobo knew Wei Zhao was formidable, but he had never expected a single kick to produce such a devastating result. Astonished, he still remembered to warn him: "Boss, look out!"
The other burly men had not expected Wei Zhao to charge in swinging, and with such vicious force. They dropped what they were doing and closed in around him.
Li Cihua, watching from the front, also spotted Wei Zhao. Seeing him charge over and start beating people, he was stunned at first — but then he saw the lame girl beside Wei Zhao, the one called Xiaofen, call the beaten woman "Mom," and he thought to himself, This is bad!
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