My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 90 The whole story
"I can let this go for your sake..."

"Thank you, please compensate me..."

Before Awei could finish speaking, Xu Guoqing waved his hand and said, "He doesn't need to pay for the damaged sunglasses. This kid probably doesn't have much money, so you can't pay for it for him, can you?"

"How does this work?"

"Alright, let's leave it at that. We're brothers, and I'll definitely pursue the matter with others, but I'll give you face. Besides, I know his brother, so I'll let it go for the sake of his deceased brother."

"But Ah Wei, you'd better give this kid a good talking-to when you take him back. He can't get by on the streets with that kind of brain. He was lucky to run into me today, and with your connections, what if he runs into someone else next time? Are you going to clean up his mess again? How shameless do you think you are? Do you think people will give you face?"

Xu Guoqing patted Awei on the shoulder and said earnestly, "If he doesn't learn from this lesson, he might suffer an even bigger setback next time. If we really investigate what he did today, he could be sent to a labor camp for a few years without any problem. Is this kid planning to get himself a peanut next time?"

Ah Wei knew that Xu Guoqing was right. It was just a coincidence that he met Xu Guoqing today. If it were someone he didn't know, it wouldn't have been so easy to resolve.

"I'll definitely teach this kid a lesson when I take him back. If he goes out and messes around again, I'll break his legs!"

Xu Guoqing nodded, agreeing with Awei's attitude. However, besides this matter, there was another thing he needed to clarify with Awei: what exactly was Jiang Bin, who had instigated Amao and the others to cause trouble, and what was the ins and outs of this matter? Since Awei had protected Amao today, this matter would fall on Awei's shoulders, and he had to give him an explanation.

Awei readily agreed to the request. Even if Xu Guoqing hadn't brought it up, Awei was determined to find out exactly what was going on with Jiang Bin. To put it bluntly, A Mao's predicament today was all because of Jiang Bin. Without this kid's instigation, A Mao wouldn't be in this situation now. From any perspective, Awei was determined to find Jiang Bin and get to the bottom of things.

After discussing the matter and exchanging a few more words, Xu Guoqing said that was it for today, and that the matter should end there. He told Zhang Jianguo to handle things himself, and that Awei would take A Mao and the other two away later.

The timing and occasion aren't right today. Let's wait a few days and then have a nice drink together.

Awei nodded repeatedly, thanking Xu Guoqing for giving him face once again. Xu Guoqing smiled, patted him on the shoulder, stood up, said "wait," and then went out and returned to Zhang Jianguo's office. After going in, he spoke with Zhang Jianguo, essentially saying that they had reached an agreement, the other party had provided compensation, and the matter was settled.

This was a trivial matter for Zhang Jianguo. Since Xu Guoqing wasn't going to pursue it further, he nodded in agreement to release them. Zhang Jianguo called over his men and gave them a few instructions. The men then went out and pulled up A Mao and the other two, who were handcuffed in the corridor, and unlocked their handcuffs.

"You three better behave yourselves! I'll let you off the hook today, but if I see you causing trouble in the West Palace again, it won't be so easy next time!" Zhang Jianguo's men handed the three men over to Awei, who was waiting, and gave them a stern warning.

"Brother Wei..." When A Mao looked up and saw Wei's cold expression, his heart skipped a beat, but he still managed to call out.

"a shame!"

Ah Wei cursed in exasperation, then kicked him, saying, "What are you still standing there for? Get out of here! I'll show you when we get back!"

Leading A-Mao and the other two out, A-Wei glanced back as they left and saw Xu Guoqing standing in the corridor watching him. They nodded slightly to each other, and A-Wei led his men away from the security office. After they left, Xu Guoqing thanked Zhang Jianguo again before departing.

Back at their stall by the entrance, Zhou Jiye and the others were busy. When they saw Xu Guoqing return, they were about to ask him something when Xu Guoqing waved his hand, indicating that they should focus on business first and discuss other matters after closing up shop.

They worked like that until closing time, packed up the remaining items, and then the four of them rode their bikes back to the warehouse. Only then did Xu Guoqing tell everyone about what had happened at the security office that day.

“I made this decision without consulting you. Ah Wei is my brother, and I have to give him face no matter what. Since he has spoken, I let Ah Mao take it back. I also didn’t ask him to pay for the damaged glasses. I will cover the loss. We can deduct it directly from my share when we settle the accounts.”

"Brother Qing, what are you saying? What's with all this talk about money? Why are you being so calculating?" Zhou Jiye shook his head repeatedly. It was just three pairs of sunglasses; there was no need to make such a fuss. Besides, Awei was Xu Guoqing's friend, so he was everyone's friend. The four of them had agreed to cooperate, so any losses should naturally be shared.

“That’s not how it works. Bridges are bridges and roads are roads. Since these losses were caused by me, it’s natural that I should compensate for them,” Xu Guoqing insisted.

“Brother Qing, you’re mistaken about that,” Lin Ying said. “We agreed to be partners, and we’re only able to set up a stall in Xigong because of your connections. If you’re so calculating, doesn’t that mean you’re taking advantage of me? Aren’t you being too formal?”

“Yes, Aqing,” Old Wen also said, “We’re all brothers, why be so formal? Besides, is it really necessary? Lin Meimei is right, you’re being too distant, you don’t treat us like family!”

Seeing everyone's stance, Xu Guoqing shook his head and smiled wryly, feeling a warmth in his heart. He ultimately agreed with their assessment: whatever the loss, it would be deducted from the final profit as cost expenditure. "By the way, we've figured out the cause and effect of this matter. Lin Ying, Ah Mao confessed that he was acting under orders today, and the person who gave the orders was named Jiang Bin. Do you have a grudge against him? When did you offend him?" Xu Guoqing, remembering Jiang Bin's affair, couldn't help but ask Lin Ying.

Upon hearing Jiang Bin's name, Lin Ying was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized what he meant, and Zhou Jiye, who was beside her, showed the same expression.

"What? You all know each other?" Xu Guoqing asked in surprise, noticing their expressions.

“We know each other, how could we not?” Zhou Jiye sneered. “Not only do we know each other, we’ve also lived together for more than half a year.”

"Live together?"

At this moment, Lao Wen seemed to have thought of something. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "I remember now, are you talking about the house we stayed at before? I remember the landlady was an old woman surnamed Wang? Her husband and son's surname was Jiang, I think? Could this Jiang Bin be...?"

“Brother Wen, you guessed right! This Jiang Bin is the son of our landlady, Aunt Wang,” Lin Ying interjected.

"The landlord's son?" Xu Guoqing was very puzzled. He didn't know about the conflict between Zhou Jiye and his family and Aunt Wang's family. But Lao Wen was different. He had asked Lao Wen for help finding a house when he moved, so Lao Wen knew a thing or two about what happened back then.

Lao Wen immediately told Xu Guoqing the whole story of how Zhou Jiye and his group had a conflict with the landlord, Aunt Wang's family, over renting a room, which eventually turned into a falling out and even attracted the attention of the police. After hearing this, Xu Guoqing suddenly realized what had happened.

"That little scoundrel is no good!"

Old Wen couldn't help but curse, "You couldn't extort money, so you went to the police to report it? And when that didn't work, you held a grudge and sent people to cause trouble, leading to this whole mess today?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. This kind of despicable person was indeed no good. Zhou Jiye and the others hadn't bothered with him before, but this kid actually held a grudge and pulled this stunt today? He was simply audacious.

Old Wen said indignantly, "These kinds of people won't learn their lesson unless we teach them a lesson. We let them off too easily last time."

Zhou Jiye agreed. He never expected that his leniency in only making Aunt Wang's family pay the deposit and the extra rent without pursuing anything else would lead to Jiang Bin holding a grudge against them. Today, while he was away, Jiang Bin actually paid someone to cause trouble for Lin Ying. Luckily, he returned at the right time. If he had been any later, Lin Ying would have suffered a great loss and he would have regretted it too late.

Enraged, Zhou Jiye immediately wanted to go and cause trouble for Jiang Bin.

When we caught A-Mao and the others today, we didn't see this kid. He probably sensed something was wrong and ran away. But it's okay, he can't hide forever. His house is right there; where can he go? Let's go straight to his house and see where he hides!
Just as Zhou Jiye was angrily about to go to Jiang Bin's house to teach him a lesson, Xu Guoqing stopped him.

"What's the rush!" Xu Guoqing stopped him: "You don't need to worry about this, someone else will handle it."

"Brother Qing, my wife was almost beaten up today, and our stall was also robbed. You're telling me I shouldn't care about something this big?" Zhou Jiye blurted out in anger.

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Ying grabbed him. Seeing that he was still stubborn, she kicked him. Zhou Jiye, in pain and confusion, turned to look at Lin Ying, only to see her say calmly, "Brother Qing told you not to rush, so don't rush. Would Brother Qing let his brother suffer? Of course, Brother Qing has his reasons, right, Brother Qing?"

Xu Guoqing chuckled and pointed at Lin Ying, saying, "You, you're quite the character, Lin Ying."

"Hehe, what's so special about a little woman like me? It's very simple. Anyway, I knew Brother Qing wouldn't let us suffer."

"Hahaha!" Xu Guoqing couldn't help but laugh: "Alright, alright, you don't need to get involved in this. I wasn't lying when I said someone would handle it. Since we've given Awei face today, and I've already spoken to him, Jiang Bin has to give us an explanation for this matter."

"If I'm not mistaken, Ah Wei should have learned about Jiang Bin's situation from Ah Mao by now. I know Ah Wei well; he's a man of his word. Just wait patiently, he'll give us an explanation in a few days."

Hearing this explanation, Zhou Jiye calmed down, thought about it carefully, and apologized to Xu Guoqing with some embarrassment, saying that he had misunderstood him.

Xu Guoqing waved his hand magnanimously, saying that his brother's misunderstanding was cleared up, and besides, this was not only their matter but also everyone's matter. He said they should wait for Awei's explanation, and if the result was not ideal, they could take direct action then.

(End of this chapter)