Chapter 434 - Chapter 434: Chapter 434: Particularly Envious (1/2)

Chapter 434: Chapter 434: Particularly Envious

Liu Zhengyi frowned at his younger brother, opened his mouth to say something, but ended up just giving a single instruction: “Just listen to me, alright.”

Speaking of it, he had only actually met Xiang Kun three times. Once before New Year’s when they had an encounter in Chongyun Village, once when Liu Feibao sent people to make him apologize to Xiang Kun, and the third time was yesterday afternoon when he delivered goods to Xiang Kun’s place.

He could tell that Xiang Kun was a person of great importance, but it wasn’t something he had perceived directly from Xiang Kun himself. If he had just looked at Xiang Kun, there would be only one conclusion he could make — he wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight against him.

As for where Xiang Kun came from, what his strengths were, and his real purpose for coming to Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village, Liu Zhengyi couldn’t figure that out. He didn’t have the ability to investigate like Liu Feibao and Chu Xiuwen could.

However, he had his own way of making judgments and assessment standards. He would use his ability to assess a person as a benchmark for comparison.

For instance, when he first started mixing in society as a teenager, he greatly admired and was in awe of his distant uncle who ran a food stall in town. He thought his uncle knew a lot of people and could smooth over any problem.

That changed one evening when he and his brother were eating at his uncle’s food stall. Liu Feibao and his men happened to come by for a late-night snack. That’s when he saw his usually pompous uncle behaving rather obsequiously and apprehensively towards “Brother Bao”. After Liu Feibao left, his uncle told them many stories of “Brother Bao”‘s deeds and his power in Tongshi Town. It was then that he realized “Brother Bao”‘s power and influence in Tongshi Town far surpassed his uncle’s. His actual experiences in Tongshi Town and more tales confirmed this fact.

That’s why, he hankered to have a chance for him and his younger brother to latch onto Liu Feibao’s coattails, to mix it up with “Brother Bao” and his crew.

Thus, Liu Feibao “Brother Bao” became his new highest standard, replacing his uncle in his mind.

However, after the incident before the New Year, based on everything he saw and heard, including the talks and attitudes between Liu Feibao, Chu Xiuwen, and Liu Caifu towards each other, he had a new assessment of their strengths:

He

He had never actually met Boss Qi of the Haoguo Group, and moreover, he hadn’t seen Liu Feibao again after that night when he made the “apology”. But he could still deduce their attitude from the conversations and recent behavior of people like Liu Caifu and Chu Xiuwen. They all cared a lot about, were wary of, and even somewhat ingratiating towards, Xiang Kun. This level of deference was even greater than how his uncle spoke about Liu Feibao.

He didn’t know the specific reason for this, but he knew his judgment must be correct. Clinging to Xiang Kun could be the best opportunity for him and his younger brother to turn their lives around.

That morning, after they returned from the mountain and went to Liu Caifu’s house to report what they’d seen, Liu Zhengyi instinctively observed Liu Caifu and Chu Xiuwen’s reactions. He also unexpectedly noticed Chu Xiuwen’s somewhat abnormal reaction. This led to some inexplicable and sudden speculations, which was why he had such a strong reaction to his younger brother’s words just now.

However, these speculations seemed preposterous and irrational to him, so it wasn’t appropriate to elaborate them to Liu Gao. Otherwise, he would probably not only fail to convince his brother, but also undermine his authority as the elder brother.

…

Star City.

It was dinner time. Liu Shiling, who had been helping her mom set the table, suddenly heard a piece of news from the TV and paused. She moved in front of the TV, hugging her bowl.

Custard Pie, who was coiled up under the table ready for a nap, noticed that his little master didn’t appear by the table as expected. He raised his head and gave a glance, then yawned and got up, trodded to the living room, and curled up at Little Fatty Girl’s feet to continue his nap.

The news on TV was about the aftermath of the two escaped convicts from Wushu Mountain Prison getting struck by lightning. They were continuously playing a video of the lightning storm, shot and uploaded online by a netizen from their home.

Even though the video was of poor quality and shot from far away, one could still feel the terrifying power of the lightning storm. It had a surreal impact.

Seeing her daughter, who hadn’t paid much attention to the TV in a while, suddenly standing in front of it, Shiling’s Mom, who had just walked out of the kitchen with a dish, couldn’t help but follow her daughter. She stood beside her and watched the news report as well.

The news of the two escaped convicts getting struck by lightning was something Shiling’s Mom had already read about earlier that afternoon on the internet. So she told her daughter: “See, that’s why people shouldn’t do bad things, otherwise, not even the heavens will let it slide. If they had just behaved themselves in prison and served their sentences, they definitely wouldn’t have been hit by lightning. Wrongdoers must pay the price, or they’ll face even greater punishment.”