Chapter 526: Chapter 509 Like Hell (1)

Old Geng had originally planned to drop Lu Jiajie off at the Lu Family’s doorstep in the Forty-Nine City and then head back, concluding that his mission would be accomplished once he got him home.

Seeing him about to leave, Lu Jiajie grabbed hold of his arm and said, “Older brother, I met a few people in the mine, and two of them are from the Forty-Nine City. If their families can afford the ransom, could you help get them out?”

Old Geng looked at him, with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, “Your ransom was ten thousand greenbacks, and my fee is another ten thousand greenbacks. Plus, if more people are ransomed, the other side may raise the price. Are you sure your two friends’ families can come up with that much money? Or rather, are they willing to?”

The gold mine’s owner was a local bully with connections above, but they were all ultimately after money. If families were willing to pay a high ransom, they would certainly release the captives.

Lu Jiajie was shocked, “Your fee is ten thousand greenbacks?”

Seeing his reaction, Old Geng scoffed, “Without a high reward, who would go to all corners of the earth to look for someone? My ten thousand greenbacks is actually on the lower side. Those two brothers you saw earlier, their fee was fifty thousand greenbacks. If it weren’t for the boss being so wealthy and willing to spend, you wouldn’t have survived this year.”

The fellow was also lucky to have a rich sister who was willing to spend money on him. Over two hundred thousand greenbacks, his life was indeed valuable, too bad he didn’t appreciate his good fortune.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Jiajie said, “I owe them a lot for looking after me when I first arrived; without them, I would never have waited until you came. Give me two days, I will ask their families.”

If these two families were really willing to pay up, that would mean an income of twenty thousand greenbacks for him, and he could take a good rest, “Alright, I’ll come to look for you in two days.”

“My house is spacious enough to accommodate people.”

Old Geng gave him a glance and walked away. Stay in his house? What a joke. What if those two families couldn’t come up with the money and pestered him? Those in his line of work preferred clients like Boss Lu, who just wanted their matters handled efficiently without worrying about the money; they dreaded those who didn’t have money yet still expected them to get things done. Their business was actually very dangerous, and one misstep could cost them their lives. If they wouldn’t pay or tried to haggle, they were better off finding someone else.

Lu Jiajie let out a bitter laugh. He knew it was a difficult task, but without the care of those two people, he would have had a hard time getting through the initial period. Just the thought of his days in the mine gave him palpitations, and he would often wake up from nightmares in the middle of the night.

It was only upon reaching his home’s doorstep that Lu Jiajie remembered he didn’t have the keys. Fortunately, his elder brother’s house was not far away. As he was approaching Lu Jiaguang’s house, he was stopped by an old lady.

The old lady asked, “Who are you, and what are you doing in our alleyway?”

With a wry smile, Lu Jiajie said, “Big Aunt Li, it’s me, Jiajie. My Third Uncle, Lu Hongjun, and my elder brother, Lu Jiaguang, live here. Also, Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng live at my brother’s place.”

Big Aunt Li’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, “You’re Lu Jiajie? How is that possible? It’s only been half a year since I last saw you, how could you look like this?”

The man in front of her was emaciated, with hollowed eye sockets, resembling a refugee. No, he looked even more frightening than the refugees from the natural disasters over twenty years ago.

Having looked in the mirror, Lu Jiajie knew he had become as thin as a skeleton, “Big Aunt Li, I apologize, I need to find my brother and sister-in-law.”

It was fine if his brother and sister-in-law weren’t home since they would be at work – they had an aunt at home!

Big Aunt Li, who had come back to her senses, urged him to go inside quickly, worried about what suffering he must have endured looking like that. But, whatever had happened, at least it was a stroke of luck he’d made it back alive.

Big Aunt Li had been out to buy soy sauce and on a whim, stopped by Lu Hongjun’s house and went inside. Seeing Lu Hongjun drinking tea in the courtyard, she raised her voice, “Old Comrade Lu, your nephew has returned.”

Lu Hongjun was getting on in years now, his mind not as sharp as before, “Who has come back?”

“Your nephew, Lu Jiajie, has returned. Oh, it’s pitiful to see, he’s become nothing but skin and bones, I don’t know how much suffering he went through.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Hongjun could no longer care about his tea and promptly called for the caregiver to help him over to Lu Jiaguang’s house. When he saw Lu Jiajie, his eyes reddened with heartache.

“Where have you been? We had people looking for you everywhere, with not a single piece of news.”

Supported by Lu Jiajie as he sat down, he briefly described his recent ordeal, “Thankfully, Jiaxin kept sending people to look for me, otherwise I would have certainly died in the mines.”

Lu Jiaguang had already informed him of the matter, so Lu Hongjun had never mentioned it in front of Lu Jiaxin, to avoid her feeling disgusted and abandoning the search.

Without blaming him, Lu Hongjun believed that if such a harsh lesson hadn’t been learned, there was no cure, “Have you called your elder brother?”

“Just did. Big brother said he’s coming back right away, Jiaxin wasn’t home, it was her maid who answered, and second brother said he will come later with his wife.”

Lu Hongjun said, “This afternoon I’ll take you to see Doctor Zhao, he’s an expert in orthopedics, let’s have him take a good look at you then.”

Seeing how Lu Hongjun needed assistance to walk, Lu Jiajie couldn’t possibly allow him to take him, “Third Uncle, just give me the address, I can go on my own.”

Lu Hongjun waved his hand and said, “No worries, I’ll make a phone call, they’ll come to pick me up this afternoon.”

Lu Jiajie was puzzled, and only when he asked did he learn that Madam Guh had gone back to Hong Kong, leaving the car for Third Uncle to use, of course, only for medical appointments or matters concerning the lives of the Lu family members.

“Madam Guh has returned?”

Lu Hongjun was somewhat sighing, “Madam Guh has dementia and doesn’t recognize anyone. Jiaxin, fearing that she would be bullied and being unable to help from Hong Kong, brought her back.”

After saying this, he asked, “Have you visited Jiaxin’s residence? It’s a five-section large estate, both spacious and beautiful, the kind of place that used to be inhabited by royalty and nobility.”

Lu Jiajie saw the delight in his eyes, “Jiaxin rarely comes back, and the house being empty and uninhabited for so long can easily fall into disrepair. If you split with that woman, Jiaxin might agree to let you move in.”

If you haven’t split with that Tang woman, then forget it. That woman has all sorts of schemes up her sleeve; not to mention moving in, she shouldn’t even be allowed to touch the door, or who knows what might go missing from the house.

Even though Lu Hongjun always threatened Tang Sufen with separation, it was all talk and he had no real intention of breaking up. At his age, it would be difficult to find someone else to his liking if he separated from Tang Sufen, “The view at that house is pretty; it’s okay to swing by now and then, but to live there, let’s not. It’s too big, too empty for one person to live in.”

Lu Jiajie was just offering a suggestion; if he didn’t listen, there was nothing that could be done.

Lu Hongjun talked about the deeds of the Ma family, “Not long after your disappearance, rumors spread that you had been harmed, and Ma Lili’s parents wanted to take away Qiangqiang and Xiao Fengfeng. They were refused by your elder brother. Unexpectedly, last week Ma Lili went to the school and told the two children that you were gone, wanting to take them back to live with her at their previous home.”

Lu Jiajie’s expression darkened. Ever since Ma Lili remarried and became pregnant, she had not visited the two kids and only cared for the new baby she had. Taking the children to live with her was just an excuse; her real goal was the house and the money he had left behind.