Chapter Forty-Two: Rescue

"Anyway, I've always felt this kid doesn't seem like a good person. You all should keep an eye on him from now on. I'm leaving," Feng Weizhi said, standing up and departing from Wu De and the others.

All of this was observed by Chen Huajiang. He didn't know what Feng Weizhi had said to Wu De and his companion, but he was certain it couldn't be anything good.

Another day passed. After packing up their things, Chen Huajiang and his colleagues headed home. To get to where he lived, Chen Huajiang had to pass through a dark alley.

As he reached the entrance, he heard the sound of an argument and hurried over. He saw a group of young thugs surrounding a boy of about sixteen or seventeen.

"Lele, where's the money I told you to bring? Didn't you say you'd give us twenty? It's been days now and you still haven't come through. Are you trying to get out of the group?" The leader, a shifty-looking man, spoke harshly.

"I... My father didn't give me any money. Can I give it to you in a few days?" The boy inside was timid, clearly having been bullied for some time.

Chen Huajiang couldn't understand why such a young boy was out so late at night, and why his parents weren't worried.

"We don't care about that. If you don't pay us tonight, we're going to beat you up," the leader threatened, ready to lay hands on him.

"It's the middle of the night—why are you making such a racket? What are you doing bullying a child?" Chen Huajiang shouted as he approached.

Seeing someone arrive, the boy immediately ran to Chen Huajiang's side. "Uncle, please help me! They've robbed me several times already," Lele cried, his face filled with fear as he hid behind Chen Huajiang.

It was a turbulent era indeed.

"Who the hell are you? Get lost before we beat you up too," the thugs snarled, full of bravado.

Chen Huajiang only smiled, still trying to persuade them. "You’re old enough to find a proper job—what do you get out of robbing a kid?"

The leader strode up to Chen Huajiang and, without a word, swung at him. But the next moment, he froze.

Chen Huajiang caught the leader's arm mid-swing, gripping his wrist with a force like iron pincers—he couldn't move at all.

With a simple flick, Chen Huajiang sent him stumbling back several steps.

"Brothers, get him! Beat him to a pulp!" the leader shouted, and all the thugs rushed forward.

To Chen Huajiang, these boys were nothing. With a punch here and a kick there, he knocked them all down in no time.

Seeing this, the leader was instantly shocked.

Chen Huajiang strode over, pointing at him and barking, "If I ever see you doing this again, none of you will get away. I'll drag you straight to the police station."

At the mention of the police, the thugs instantly lost their nerve.

"Sir, we know we were wrong. We won’t dare do it again—please, just let us go!" They all begged Chen Huajiang pitifully.

With a wave of his hand, Chen Huajiang sent them fleeing.

Turning to Lele, he asked, "Where do you live? I'll take you home."

"Not far from here," Lele replied, pointing in a direction.

Chen Huajiang escorted him home. Judging by Lele's clothes, his family seemed quite well-off, though Chen Huajiang wondered why he lived in this area.

As they arrived, a man and a woman rushed out of the courtyard.

"When did the child sneak out? Luckily I woke up and noticed he was gone."

"Never mind, let's hurry and look for him."

It was clear these were Lele's parents.

As they reached the gate, they saw Chen Huajiang returning with Lele. The couple paused in surprise, then quickly embraced their son, anxiously asking where he had been.

"Your child is already this grown—can't you be more attentive? He was nearly beaten up by a gang of thugs just now," Chen Huajiang remarked casually.

The couple gave him a puzzled look, and Lele then explained everything in detail.

Lele had been struggling with insomnia, the pressure from his studies weighing heavily on him. Unable to sleep, he’d gone out for a walk and ran into the thugs. He’d encountered them before but had been avoiding them lately. Used to demanding money from him, the thugs had surrounded him as soon as they saw him tonight.

"Young man, thank you. If it weren’t for you, who knows what would have happened to my son? What’s your name? Do you live nearby?" Lele’s father shook Chen Huajiang’s hand with gratitude.

"I live just ahead. I was coming home after work when I stumbled upon this," Chen Huajiang replied.

"You work the night shift at the Red Flag Factory, don’t you? Only people from there work late hours—nowhere else around here does," Lele’s father observed.

Indeed, only the Red Flag Factory in the neighborhood had night shifts; without them, Chen Huajiang’s diner wouldn’t have so much business.

"I run a small diner at the factory gate. After cleaning up, it was already late—so I was just heading home when I saw him," Chen Huajiang explained.

At that, Lele’s father realized who he was. He’d eaten at Chen Huajiang’s place before and thought the food was quite good.

"Now that you mention it, I remember—you’re the owner of the diner. Several of my colleagues from the Food Safety Bureau have eaten there. I myself went just a few days ago, but you probably didn’t notice with so many customers."

Lele’s father was actually Zhang Donglai, director of the Food Safety Bureau. All matters relating to food and dining establishments in the area fell under his purview.

Chen Huajiang, ever astute, saw the value in befriending someone from the bureau.

"My place does get a bit crowded. Next time you come by, ask for me—I’ll treat you. By the way, what’s your surname?"

"I’m Zhang Donglai—just call me Old Zhang. You’re Chen, right? Everyone calls you Boss Chen," Zhang Donglai replied with a genial smile.

Though he was in charge of food supervision, Zhang Donglai took pride in having successful businesses and factories in his district—it could even help his prospects for promotion.

"I’m hardly a boss—just running a little food stall. But I won’t keep you; I’ll be heading back. We just started serving lamb stew at the shop. You should come try it sometime."

"No problem, and thank you again for saving my son. If you ever need anything, just let me know," Zhang Donglai said warmly.

He only had this one son; had Chen Huajiang not intervened in time, Lele might have ended up in the hospital after a beating from those thugs. These days, young troublemakers knew no restraint.

After Chen Huajiang left, Zhang Donglai turned sternly to Lele.

"What were you doing out so late? What if something had really happened? Go to bed this instant!"