Chapter 122: Looking for Trouble
The Liu siblings cried their hearts out in the hospital room, and Xiao Han felt like an outsider, making it inappropriate for him to stay long.
......
At the Second People's Hospital.
Li Hao was taken into a room where a series of disinfection and stitching procedures were performed. Accompanied by more than ten classmates, Fan Jian rushed from No. 7 Restaurant to the hospital, where they quietly waited outside Li Hao's room. Li Hao's head was injured, bleeding quite a bit. The doctor shaved all the hair from his scalp before stitching up five cuts.
"The wound is all stitched up," the doctor put his tools down and then said to Li Hao, "You better get some imaging done later to see if there's any brain damage."
"Ouch, it's killing me," Li Hao nodded and said, "I reckon I'm done for now, if it's not bleeding inside the brain, it's a concussion for sure."
"Not necessarily!" the doctor shook his head and said, "Let's talk after the imaging."
After saying that, the doctor turned around and left, leaving a female nurse to tend to Li Hao's wounds.
After seeing this situation, Fan Jian and the others went inside.
"Classmate Li, are you alright?" Fan Jian quickly asked.
"I'm fine," Li Hao shook his head, then said, "Damn it, I can't let this kid off easily!"
While talking, Li Hao struggled to sit up from the hospital bed. The nurse by his side quickly advised, "You just had stitches, try not to get too worked up. Getting agitated could cause the stitches to rip, and if that happens, we'll need to stitch them up again."
"Yes, yes!" Li Hao hurriedly nodded.
After the nurse finished her work, she walked out with the tray. In the room, only Fan Jian and a group of close classmates remained.
"What do you think we should do about this?" Fan Jian curiously asked.
"Fan Jian, how do you think we should deal with that kid?" Li Hao, in pain, contorted his facial expression and gritted his teeth, "Damn it, that kid dared to hit me, shit, I've never been hit since I was a kid, and here I am in my twenties getting hit. Just thinking about it makes me furious."
"Hehe…" upon hearing this, Fan Jian chuckled and said, "What we do next can be light or severe, depending on what you want."
"Can we get that kid behind bars?" Li Hao asked.
"If handled well, naturally, we can!" Fan Jian nodded.
"Humph!" upon hearing this, Li Hao immediately said, "Then let's get this kid behind bars."
"Getting someone behind bars requires evidence!" a male student hastily said, "The police won't just arrest someone without reason, will they? You at least need some evidence."
"What evidence?" Li Hao quickly said, "Damn, that kid was just looking for trouble, and he smashed a bottle on my head. Not only do I need to get my pride back, but I also have to put him behind bars. I, Li Hao, am not someone to mess with."
"In a society ruled by law, you can't just act rashly!" Chen Dongmei quickly said, "Although Xiao Han acted impulsively and hurt you, just let him compensate you with some money, why stoop to a high school student's level?"
Li Hao hesitated for a moment.
It was then, Fan Jian spoke up, "People like him need a lesson."
"Right!" Li Hao immediately nodded and said, "That little bastard, if we don't show him some colors, he really thinks I'm someone easy to bully."
"What do you plan to do?" Fan Jian asked.
"About that..." as he was holding his head, Li Hao looked at Fan Jian and said, "Fan Jian, what do you think... we should do?"
"Don't go overboard, just teach him a suitable lesson!" Fan Jian's mouth curved slightly upward, then he said, "Make sure he stays away from Liu Xiao Lei."
"Got it!" Upon hearing this, Li Hao immediately nodded and said, "Classmate Fan, don't worry, I'll definitely handle this for you."
"Alright, you better go get your head examined," Fan Jian said, "If there's nothing wrong, then we can discuss more in detail. If something's wrong with your head, we can't take responsibility. Responsibilities have to be pursued where due."
"Fine," Li Hao nodded.
After the imaging, it quickly ruled out any brain issues, no internal bleeding, and no concussion. It was all superficial damage to the skin. Even if the police were called, it would probably just be settled by negotiation, compensating some medical and nutritional expenses, essentially ending the matter.
Right then, other classmates also gradually left, leaving only Fan Jian and a few close classmates behind in the hospital.
"Glad you're fine," Fan Jian smiled and then said, "Now, how shall we deal with that kid?"
"Fan Jian, if you ask me, let's just get a concussion certificate," Li Hao's mouth slightly raised, then he said, "That way, we can pin the blame of intentional injury on him. What do you think?"
"That… might be tricky," Fan Jian frowned and said, "Isn't that essentially forging? If the police investigate, wouldn't that be troublesome?"
"What does it matter!" Li Hao chuckled, saying, "Aren't you the director of the street office? Don't you have some connections with the police station? Just communicate with them a bit, and you can lock this kid up for a few days, hehe..."
Upon hearing this, Fan Jian's mind raced. If he really were to use his connections, it might end up being counterproductive. He was just a minor official, and he wasn't well-connected. Using these connections for a classmate he wasn't very close to was obviously not ideal. Besides, even if Xiao Han were put away, it wasn't certain that Liu Xiaolei would end up with him.
Fan Jian carefully considered all the pros and cons.
In the end, Fan Jian shook his head, "No, a slight punishment will suffice; we all work at the same factory, why should we sour our relations, right? Moreover, Xiao's family is now in decline, and if you torment him like this, his old mother might not make it. So..."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Li Hao asked.
"Make him pay money!" Fan Jian's mouth curved slightly, then he said, "Xiao's family is poor, as the saying goes, 'a mere penny can stymie a hero'; if you press him with money, he might just compromise with you. What do you think?"
"That might indeed work!" Li Hao nodded.
"Hmm!" Fan Jian nodded.
......
At the entrance of Fuxing Community.
A cool Yamaha motorcycle roared past, its rider wearing a safety helmet.
The bike sped toward Xiao Han.
Screech...
Suddenly, the motorcycle fishtailed, leaving a black mark on the ground.
"Big Fatty?" Xiao Han looked at Li Dapang, puzzled.
"Hehe..." Li Dapang took off his helmet, then said with a big smile, "Xiao Han, Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year," Xiao Han smiled, "What are you up to on the first day of the New Year?"
"I came to discuss something with you," Li Dapang hurriedly said.
"What is it?" Xiao Han was stunned for a moment. Li Dapang wasn't the type to bring up anything good, especially not on the first day of the New Year.
"Here's the thing..." Li Dapang looked at Xiao Han, saying, "My cousin came back from out of town a few days ago; he said he wants to stay in LJ City and work. Do you think... we could keep him in our store? We don't need to pay him much. Just the basic wage like everyone else in our store. Do you think it's possible?"
Xiao Han immediately felt a headache coming on.
Unexpectedly, the situation he had always hoped to avoid had finally come to pass. This was exactly what Xiao Han dreaded the most. The reason why he never wanted to tell his mother the full truth included a fear that she might oppose his entrepreneurship, potentially affecting his studies; another reason was his fear that friends and relatives would all turn to him with job placement requests.
Unexpectedly, Li Dapang had brought up this very issue.
"What's wrong?" Li Dapang, looking puzzled at Xiao Han, seemed to sense his reluctance.
"It's nothing!" Xiao Han shook his head, saying, "Big Fatty, this time, you decide for yourself. But, I have to tell you, on the road ahead, you will meet more and more people like this. Moreover, you will find that as your business succeeds, the troubles you face will multiply."
"This..." Li Dapang was stunned, then said, "Then... what should I do? After all, he's my uncle's son; it's difficult for me to refuse!" Enjoy new adventures from empire
"Yes!" Xiao Han nodded, saying, "What will you do when your uncle's other sons, your aunt's sons, and so forth, continue to come to you seeking help?"
"Me!" Li Dapang didn't know what to do; he awkwardly said, "Then... maybe I should just refuse him outright."
"Forget it!" Xiao Han shook his head, saying, "If you refuse them, you'll offend all your relatives."
"Sigh..." Li Dapang held his head with both hands, saying, "Then what should I do? My parents are currently very proud, seeing how much money I've made, they boast everywhere that I'm smart, can make money, and even say that I have shares in that Apple Store, where I don't have to work to earn money. Sigh..."
"If you hadn't talked about these things, who would know?" Xiao Han smiled indifferently.
Li Dapang sniffled, knowing he looked pathetic; if he hadn't shared those things with his family, he wouldn't have these troubles now. Li Dapang sighed deeply, looking helplessly at Xiao Han, "Big bro, just tell me, what should I do now?"
"You decide for yourself," Xiao Han glanced at him, saying, "I can only say that even if you help this one, there will be another one after him, and it will never end."
"Damn!" Li Dapang spat, saying, "Then I'll go back and reject them. Just say the store has enough staff."
"What if they ask you to fire someone to make room?" Xiao Han asked with a smile.
"Damn, that's not up to me to decide," Li Dapang chuckled, "Let them talk to the major shareholder. I'm just a minor shareholder, I don't have the say."
"Then they'll blame you for not helping your own relatives!" Xiao Han smiled.
"That's true." Li Dapang nodded, he said with a bitter smile, "It seems I'll have to help after all. At least I'll maintain a good reputation, but I will need to figure out how to refuse them later on. Otherwise, how are we supposed to keep the store running?"