Jing Shu's single shout brought Jing An and Grandpa Jing, both splattered with cement, sprinting from the back.
Wang Zhong stared, stunned at the indistinct figure in front of him. Before he could react, a fist the size of a sandbag crashed in.
Two big teeth arced into the air. Was it the call of the wind or their roots refusing to hold. Wang Zhong had no time to ponder such mysteries, because the other sandbag fist was already swinging again.
Unlike Wang Zhong's blanked-out mind, his body gave the most honest response. The sharp pain ripped a scream from his mouth.
After a dozen punches, Jing An felt something was off. "Why did this guy look so familiar." Jing An clicked on a flashlight. The man lay sprawled on the ground, scooting back and wheezing, "Stop, stop."
"Wang Zhong?" Jing An finally saw clearly, surprise flaring into anger. "What did you do to my daughter."
Black-and-blue and swollen, Wang Zhong also finally recognized Jing An. Wang Zhong wailed that he had come out of kindness, to bring gifts and check on Jing An after so long. Who knew the girl would keep denying things; he had not done anything to Jing An's daughter.
Jing An looked to Jing Shu, puzzled.
Jing Shu blinked. "He asked me if I was Jing Zhu. I told him I was not."
"Lao Jing's daughter is Jing Zhu, right. You are his daughter, so stop denying you are Jing Zhu," Wang Zhong said through the gaps where two teeth used to be.
Jing An frowned. "Wang Zhong, my daughter's name is Jing Shu."
"Ah?" Wang Zhong stood there, embarrassed for several seconds before it sank in that he had the name wrong. "Look at my pig brain, causing such a misunderstanding. Lao Jing, you were hard to track down. See what I brought—one bag of dried noodles, one bag of walnuts, all rare goodies. Come on, let us go inside and talk. Hey, is that tempered-glass canopy from the old factory? Great quality. Lucky you installed it yourself. Money well spent."
Jing Shu narrowed her eyes at Jing An.
"Say whatever you have to say out here. The house is inconvenient," Jing An said, blocking Wang Zhong at the door.
"Are you still mad at me, brother? We have twenty-plus years of friendship. I admit I was wrong back then, but I had no choice when I made you cash out.
I felt bad too. Besides, you are a lucky man. You took the payout and did plenty with it, right. Not long after you left, I sold the company for grain, though it was not much.
Now grain is tight and I am here to apologize," Wang Zhong groaned acted pitifully. "Brother, you really hit too hard."
"Dad, take the shovel and keep at it," Jing An said, handing the tool to Grandpa Jing. "I will talk a bit."
"Okay," Grandpa Jing said, and left.
The pain was killing Wang Zhong. When Jing An stayed unmoved, Wang Zhong switched tactics.
"Lao Jing, you are my savior. My family is counting on you. I only came because I had no choice. I heard you work at the Livestock Breeding Center. Can you get me in. Be my recommender. Sweeping, feeding pigs or cows—anything is fine. I know the rules. Recommenders want grain. I will give it to you."
Jing An glanced at the bags. "You can trade those at the supermarket for a recycler job."
"I know, but there is no future in that. Only the Livestock Breeding Center and the Planting Industry R&D Management Department have prospects. With meat and vegetables so scarce, they will only get rarer. You cannot get into the Livestock Breeding Center now. I heard you can get eggs there, trade them for lots of rice. That is why I am begging you. Brother, we have been together over twenty years."
"I do not have any recommendation slots. Find someone else," Jing An said. He really did not want to get tangled with these people again; Jing An had seen through it all.
"Lao Jing, please. If it is not enough, I will bring more food. Just get me in. Say the word and I will agree."
Jing An shook his head. "Sorry. I am powerless." Just like you were to me back then.
Wang Zhong gritted his teeth. "Lao Jing, you really will not leave any room for sentiment."
"From the moment I left the company, I had no more ties with anyone. No more sentiment," Jing An said evenly.
Jing Shu cheered inside, almost clapping. All that daily nagging at her parents had worked. The family's mindset had changed without their noticing. No one here was a doormat anymore.
Wang Zhong jabbed a finger at Jing An. "You ungrateful wolf. I built this enterprise and at least let you drink a bowl of soup. Not kicking you out sooner was already mercy. Aside from decent skills, you are a block of wood. I told you to cut corners and you would not, and look how much material you wasted."
Jing An's face tightened. "For over twenty years I worked like an ox and a horse around the clock, supervising jobs. Because I held the line on quality, the company earned its reputation. Half of the clients were my repeat customers. How much revenue did I bring in? Do you really not have a clue?
I watched you slowly eat away at the company shares. My stake went from fifty percent to two percent, and I said nothing. In the end, you still kicked me out. Damn it."
Jing An rolled up his sleeves and laid into Wang Zhong again. This time it was not the call of the wind nor the roots refusing to hold. It was a firm massage from an iron fist, and two more teeth decided to take a spontaneous one-way trip. Goodbye forever.
"So refreshing," Jing An said, slowly letting out a long breath. The long-suppressed knot finally loosened. Jing An now understood a brutal truth: if you can use your hands, do not waste breath.
Wang Zhong never expected his first use of Big Data's SOS would be like this.
"You are all done for," Wang Zhong said, thinking of the criminals who had been dealt with in recent days. Bloodied gums bared, he smirked. Big Data was a wonderful thing, and thankfully it existed.
Beep, beep… Emergency video connecting. Based on your location we have found your community's Consolation and Counseling Specialist, Wu You'ai. Connecting…
"Help. I am at the community villa area, being beaten to death. The family across from me is named Jing An," Wang Zhong shouted into the camera, then shot a taunting look at Jing An and Jing Shu.
Jing An blinked, thrown for a moment.
"Oh. Then pass the phone over here so I can ask about the situation," came a classic homebody voice from the video.
Wang Zhong hesitated. "In this kind of case, should you not first comfort the victim, learn the details, then send people to arrest them and rescue me?Since when do you ask the suspect for their side first."