Chapter 11: Making Money Again

“Oh no! How did I bump into you!”

Seeing Master Xiong knocked to the ground, Wang Yong’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly rushed forward to help Xiong Ying up, his tone sincere and his attitude unusually attentive—completely different from his earlier self.

“Grandpa, are you okay?”

Shui Miao had a good idea that his grandfather was probably unharmed. When the collision happened, he had already braced the bike with his foot, so at worst, Grandpa had just taken a minor fall.

Xiong Ying was sitting on the ground, a bit scraped on the elbow from the concrete, but nothing serious. He had originally intended to just dust himself off and stand up. But upon seeing that it was Wang Yong who had hit him, he quickly feigned pain and groaned, “Oh no, my back… Don’t move, don’t move, I’ve pulled something…”

“Pulled something!”

Since back strains were common among the elderly, Wang Yong immediately said, “Master, you wait here. I’ll go get a tricycle and bring you to a great back-rubber I know.”

With that, Wang Yong hurried off to find a tricycle.

Once Wang Yong was out of sight, Xiong Ying smiled slightly and whispered to Shui Miao, “I was just worried about finding an excuse to stay at his place, and now an opportunity came so quickly. You just play along and keep quiet.”

Upon hearing this, Shui Miao immediately understood—Grandpa was faking it! His plan was to stay at Wang Yong’s house in order to get close to that valuable item!

“Okay…”

Shui Miao nodded and quietly asked, “Grandpa, what about Sun Jihong?”

“You go check. If he’s at the villa, tell him about the accident and bring him over. If not, just come right back.” Xiong Ying glanced at the road. It was lunchtime, so there weren’t many people around, and not many tricycles either. As for Sun Jihong, Xiong Ying didn’t really care. After all, Wang Yong had his phone number, and he could just call him later.

Shui Miao hurried off toward the villa…

Sun Jijun was sitting on a stone bench by the roadside smoking, while Sun Jihong was lying on the ground, his clothes torn and blood on his face.

Seeing this, Shui Miao was taken aback, thinking maybe the rich guy had been attacked by enemies. Scared, he quickly ran back…

Meanwhile, Wang Yong had already found a tricycle and was on his way back.

“Grandpa, something’s wrong! Sun Jihong has been beaten up and is lying on the ground, and there’s someone with him…”

Shui Miao was so nervous that he shouted a bit too loudly.

But Wang Yong, having already seen everything, hurried over and whispered, “It’s okay, it’s okay. That person isn’t a bad guy—it’s Sun Jihong’s older brother, Sun Jijun. Their sibling business is none of our concern. Come on, let’s go get that back rubbed first.”

With that, Wang Yong helped Xiong Ying up and walked him toward the tricycle.

He was in a hurry, as if something urgent was burning in his mind.

Xiong Ying immediately caught on—Wang Yong must have heard something important. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come charging out like a mad dog. Xiong Ying signaled Shui Miao to take the bike and leave. Wang Yong also got into the tricycle and leaned close to Xiong Ying’s ear, whispering everything he had seen and heard. Shui Miao cycled behind them, wondering what Wang Yong was secretly talking about. Could the brothers’ fight have anything to do with him?

Shui Miao couldn’t possibly guess Wang Yong’s complicated thoughts.

Wang Yong had told Xiong Ying everything mainly because he considered him just a village feng shui master who wouldn’t interfere, and also because he was excited—so excited that he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

But Xiong Ying, upon hearing the story, sensed an opportunity—an opportunity to get his hands on the treasure within just a few days.

After listening to Wang Yong, Xiong Ying feigned reluctance, “Well, this kind of thing… I’m just a feng shui master, I shouldn’t really get involved… Oh no, my back… my back…”

He kept groaning in pain, which quickly discouraged Wang Yong from continuing.

Behind them, Shui Miao couldn’t help but admire his grandfather’s acting skills. Who would have thought he had such a trick up his sleeve? Truly cunning and full of hidden talents.

After a few more cries of pain, Xiong Ying asked Wang Yong to call Sun Jihong and inform him of the situation.

Wang Yong had been thinking about how to approach Sun Jijun, so when Xiong Ying asked him to make the call, he quickly dialed Sun Jihong’s number. It took a while before Sun Jihong finally answered…

“Who is it?” Sun Jihong had just stood up and was about to leave.

Wang Yong quickly said, “Jihong! I accidentally hit Master Xiong, and I’m taking him to see a doctor now. He asked me to call you so you wouldn’t worry.”

“…”

Hearing this, Sun Jihong was speechless. He hadn’t expected that instead of being tricked by Master Xiong, he had been beaten by his brother. Thinking of Xiong Ying, Sun Jihong felt a mix of emotions. He had spent several thousand yuan on a meal, and now he had even ended up in a fight with his older brother. Should he thank Xiong Ying or resent him? Unable to make sense of it all, Sun Jihong hung up without a word and turned off his phone.

He felt he needed some time to think about what to do next.

The fight today had made him suddenly feel very powerless. As a child, he was controlled by his father; as an adult, by his older brother. When would this kind of life ever end?

Sun Jihong didn’t tell Sun Jijun anything and just left.

Back in the tricycle, Wang Yong frowned in annoyance after being hung up on. He tried calling again, but the phone was off. He immediately cursed, “What the hell! Daring to hang up on me? You little bastard, looks like your lucky days are over!”

“Call his older brother,” Xiong Ying suggested directly.

Wang Yong hesitated. He felt strangely uncomfortable, as if he had become a clueless underling taking orders from someone else. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what bothered him.

Still, he followed the suggestion and called Sun Jijun.

Sun Jijun was chain-smoking. He had hit his brother harder than intended. He was already stressed about the villa issue, and now this new problem had come up. It felt like when things go wrong, even drinking plain water can cause a toothache.

His phone rang. Seeing it was Wang Yong calling, Sun Jijun quickly put out his cigarette and answered, “Brother Wang, I was just about to call you. That… I sent Jihong to pick up Master Xiong, but this idiot ended up offending him. Master Xiong is so angry he left…”

“Oh no! Master Xiong hasn’t left—he was hit by me on the way! I’m taking him to see a doctor now. Hey, I just told Jihong about this, didn’t he tell you?” Wang Yong, still angry about being hung up on, clicked his tongue and continued, “Brother, I’m not trying to blame you, but you really didn’t handle this well. Is Master Xiong just anyone? I worked hard to get him here, and you sent a young kid to pick him up. You didn’t even let him ride in a car, making him take a bike instead, and that’s how I ended up hitting him. You should really talk to your brother. When I told him everything, he just hung up on me. Not even bothering to tell you? How could he do that?”

“Yes, yes… I just beat him up earlier, and I’ll definitely deal with him again later. Brother Wang, about the medical expenses and everything else, I’ll cover all the costs. I’ll come over right away.”

Sun Jijun was clearly more considerate. Whether he was right or not, he took responsibility for the costs first, making it easier to continue the conversation.

“Great, that’s settled then… Then come to No. 89 Wenhe Road. We’ll wait for you there.”

Wang Yong’s mood improved at the thought of getting some free money.

After hanging up, Wang Yong smiled and said, “Sun Jijun is pretty sensible. He should have just said this earlier. Master, you need to act like you’re in more pain later. I’ll also tell the doctor to exaggerate your condition a bit, so Sun Jijun has to pay more. Then we can split the extra money. It’s money we’d be silly not to make, hehe…”

“…”

Xiong Ying gave an awkward smile. He had been faking the pain all along, but now it had become a legitimate excuse to earn some extra cash. Why not go along with it?

※※※

Cycling behind the tricycle, Shui Miao overheard their conversation and felt deeply impressed. Being a feng shui master sure made it easy to make some easy money. Looks like today would be a profitable day!