Elder brother's garrison

Page 1716

"Here, have some hot water!"

Yu Gan knelt by the bed and handed over the hot water she was holding.

The man on the bed turned his head, took a sip of hot water, coughed more violently at first, then calmed down a lot, and then collapsed onto the bed.

The man shifted his gaze from Yu Gan to Xiao Bai and the other two.

"These three people are..."

“We are Miss Yu Gan’s friends,” Xiao Bai smiled at the man on the bed. “You must be Miss Yu Gan’s father?”

“…Oh, friend…”

The man on the bed scrutinized Xiaobai, then the light in his eyes dimmed. He didn't continue to answer Xiaobai's question, but instead turned over a few times on the bed, turned his back to everyone, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

The man's attitude seemed somewhat indifferent.

"I'm sorry, my dad isn't feeling well." Yu Gan stood up as if she was used to this. She brushed the dust off her knees and explained to Xiao Bai, quite apologetically, "Um... actually, my dad used to be very gentle... he's probably sick now and doesn't have the strength to greet you... please forgive me..."

Chapter 2350 The Bitter Truth

York, standing behind Xiaobai, pouted at the man's cold attitude, seemingly quite dissatisfied. They were the ones who had just driven away the troublesome debt collectors surrounding the door, and instead of being grateful, this man was treating his admiral with such indifference.

—Those people were going to kidnap your own daughter and do those unspeakable things to her, how come you, as her father, didn't react at all?

Compared to York's dissatisfaction, Yu Gan seemed completely oblivious to the feeling of not receiving positive feedback from her father. Even though her father was so indifferent to everyone in the house, she still diligently took care of him. Under the watchful eyes of Xiao Bai and the other two, Yu Gan boiled a kettle of water and placed it by the bedside. She then carefully pulled the blankets covering her father before getting up and speaking apologetically to Xiao Bai and the other two.

"Miss Bai, um... I'm really sorry about today... Please wait for me for just one more minute, I'll go and wipe the dust off myself and then I can go out with you."

“There’s nothing we can do about this,” Xiaobai shook her head. “But Miss Yu Gan, with all this happening in your family today, there’s no need to rush to work here. Take care of things at home first.”

"No, it's alright! I already wasted Miss Bai's entire day yesterday, how could I possibly rest again today!" Yu Gan said urgently.

"At least... fix the door before you leave." Xiaobai smiled and glanced back at the collapsed door.

"Uh..." Yu Gan's expression froze. She stiffly turned her head to look at the door, an embarrassed look on her face. "Well... you're right... Miss Bai, please wait a moment, I'll go and hold the door open..."

“I’m here too.” Xiaobai took out a few bills from her wallet and handed them to Baltimore beside her. “Baltimore, you and Miss Yu Gan go out to the nearby grocery store and buy some tools for repairing the doorman.”

"Miss Bai, no, no need, I can do it myself..." Upon hearing Xiao Bai's words, Yu Gan panicked and quickly waved her hand.

"It was nothing, don't be so formal," Xiaobai smiled. "Besides, the sooner we get your place sorted out, the more at ease we can go out, right?"

Yu Gan looked at Xiao Bai's smile, lowered her head, and remained silent.

After a long time.

Yu Gan lowered her head and responded in a very weak voice.

"……Thanks."

Yu Gan reluctantly accepted Xiao Bai's offer.

"We don't know if those debt collectors really left or if they were just pretending. Just in case, it would be troublesome if they were waiting outside for Miss Yu Gan to come out. Baltimore, please keep a close eye on Miss Yu Gan when you're with her." Xiaobai turned to Baltimore with a smile and instructed him.

"Understood!" Baltimore accepted Xiaobai's money and nodded seriously.

Yu Gan and Baltimore left the room and headed towards a nearby general store.

Soon, only Little White, York, and Yu Gan's father remained in the dilapidated room.

The room was very quiet. The man on the bed was motionless. If it weren't for the faint breathing that could be heard from him, most people would think he was dead.

York walked to the door, first peeking outside on tiptoe, then turning back to ask Xiaobai curiously inside, "Miss, do you think those debt collectors outside will come back for us?"

"probably not."

"Did they go to Miss Yu Gan's place?"

"Hmm... probably not."

"Huh? They just left like that?" York exclaimed in surprise. "I thought they wouldn't leave until they got the money."

"If they're professional debt collectors, then maybe that's true." Xiaobai found a chair in the room, sat down, put her hands on her thighs, and looked at the middle-aged man on the bed. "But... what if they're not debt collectors?"

Right now.

The faint breathing on the bed paused slightly.

"Not debt collectors? What do you mean?" York's curiosity was piqued by Xiaobai's words. She walked back to Xiaobai's side, squatted down, and looked at her curiously. "Miss, do you mean... those people are just thugs?"

“Ordinary thugs wouldn’t stand guard at the door of someone they have no grudge against all day,” Xiaobai sighed. “York, you said before that you didn’t sense any hostility from them, and they were indeed too weak. They ran away after you scared them off easily. I guess they’re not really debt collectors at all, but rather… they’re here on someone’s behalf.”

"Are you so sure?" York asked in surprise.

“Yes, I’ve met real debt collectors before,” Xiaobai smiled at York. “I’ve even played mahjong with them.”

"Oh, oh..." York nodded like a chick pecking at rice, his face full of admiration. "As expected of Miss!"

However, York's expression quickly turned puzzled again.

“Wait, something’s not right.” York frowned. “Since you’ve said, Miss, that they’re not real debt collectors or troublemakers, then who else could they be sent by? And why would they do this? Miss Yu Gan’s family is already in such a state; what’s the point of bullying them like this?”

“Well…” Xiaobai turned her gaze away from York and looked at the man on the bed. “It depends on what the person involved thinks.”

York was taken aback.

York followed Little White's gaze to the man on the bed.

Just as their eyes met, a rustling sound came from the bed. The middle-aged man on the bed slowly propped himself up and sat up.

"This is the person you found, right, Uncle?" Xiaobai asked the middle-aged man.

"Huh? What?" York stared wide-eyed at the middle-aged man in surprise.

"Hmm." The middle-aged man raised his head, looking at Xiaobai with a weathered expression, his gaze as lifeless as a deep pool. "I did it."

"So, those people were hired by you!" York jumped to his feet, staring at the middle-aged man in disbelief. "You, you... how could you! That's your daughter! How could you send people to snatch your daughter away! You! Your daughter took care of you when you were down on your luck, she was so good to you, what did she ever do to you that you could treat her like this!"

"Hehehe..." The middle-aged man looked at York's anxious appearance, and for some reason, a relieved smile appeared on his weathered face.

The man's demeanor at this moment was completely different from his indifferent attitude when Yu Gan was still in the house.

Seeing the man's change, York frowned. She seemed to remember something, and her anxiety subsided, replaced by caution.

"You... do you have some unspeakable difficulty?" York asked.

"Cough, cough, cough..." The man coughed twice with a laugh. He shifted his body and swayed off the bed. He first went to the bedside, poured himself a glass of water, and drank a few sips. His deathly pale face improved a little. Then he put down the glass and smiled at Xiaobai and York again, "Girls, you three... are guests of Yugan, right?"

"Why do you ask?"

“Sigh…” The man put down his water glass. He didn’t answer York’s question, but sat back on the bed. After thinking for a while, he muttered to himself, “Yu Gan told me when she got home these past two days that she met some very nice guests. They are three very kind-hearted girls who are very beautiful, gentle, smart and quick-witted, and also very good at fighting. It seems that you are the ones.”

The man looked up at Xiaobai, his gaze gentle yet profound.

"What do you think of Yu Gan?" the man asked.

"Miss Yu Gan?" Xiao Bai replied, "Yes, Miss Yu Gan is cheerful and enthusiastic, very honest in business, and a very good person."

"Ha, haha..." The man chuckled upon hearing Xiaobai's assessment. "Cheerful and enthusiastic...right? Yes...she really is cheerful and enthusiastic now."

"what happened?"

“This is an old photo of her.” The man laboriously reached into his chest, pulled out a crumpled photo, and handed it tremblingly to York, who was closest to him.

York stepped forward, took the photo, glanced at it, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"Oh, miss, look."

York handed the photo to Xiaobai.

The crumpled photo showed a girl wearing glasses, with neat shoulder-length hair, carrying a schoolbag, and looking very quiet and shy.

"This is... Miss Yu Gan?" Xiao Bai asked, puzzled.

"Yes." The man looked up, his gaze blank as he looked at the dilapidated roof. "Yu Gan was very introverted from a young age. She didn't like to talk or move around. She was very obedient and well-behaved, and she had very few friends. She was like a doll. She's completely different from how she is now, isn't she?"

"Girls really do change a lot as they grow up..."

"The photo shows...Yu Gan six months ago."

"Huh?" Xiaobai and York looked at the man in surprise. "Only half a year?"

Hearing Xiaobai and York's surprised exclamations, the man nodded deeply, then slowly bent over and covered his head with his hands.

The man's voice was trembling.

“She has to work, she has to solicit customers, she has to support this useless person like me… If she doesn’t become more cheerful, more enthusiastic, and doesn’t fake a smile at strangers, how can anyone be willing to come to her place?” The man grabbed his hair, his voice barely audible, like a powder keg ready to explode. “I’m a useless person… I’m a burden. I spent all the family’s money on treating these illnesses, and I’ve left her with a mountain of debt, forcing her to drop out of school and work. She’s still young, she’s as beautiful as her deceased mother, she’s only sixteen this year, how can she waste her whole life on me…”

"I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy..."

“I’ll have someone scare her, I’ll ignore her, that way she’ll leave me, and she can live ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times better than she does now. She can have enough to eat and a house to live in. She can be herself again…”

The man lowered his head, tears streaming down his face.

Chapter 2351 I am the world's strongest admiral!

The man was desperately pulling at his hair on the sofa, seemingly hating his own weakness and powerlessness, as well as his ailing body that was barely clinging to life.

Hearing the man's words, Xiao Bai silently withdrew the mental tentacles that were wrapped around him.

"Sigh." Xiaobai sighed.

The guilt one feels after using mental power on this kind of person is significantly greater than when using it on someone like Chen Rui.

Actually, Xiaobai had a feeling something was wrong as soon as she arrived at Yu Gan's house.

There were so many people outside Yu Gan's house at the time. Yu Gan's house was just a dilapidated thatched hut. Let alone a grown man, even a few unruly children could easily barge in. Why did this group of debt collectors spend the whole morning at their door? Later, when York chased away the debt collectors, he told Xiaobai that they were incredibly weak and had no fighting spirit whatsoever. That's when Xiaobai started to have some ideas.

Probably... he was hired by someone to come and scare people.

The ins and outs of this matter are not hard to figure out.

"I heard from Miss Yu Gan's friend that you used to be a fisherman here, and your family owned a boat, is that right?" Xiao Bai handed the photo back to the man and asked him.

"Yes, but so what? I can't even get out of bed and walk a few steps now, let alone fish or sail a boat." The man took Yu Gan's photo, looked down at Yu Gan in the photo, and his despair seemed to ease as if he had found something to lean on. Then he gave a bitter laugh and said to Xiao Bai.

"I see." Xiaobai lowered her head, took off her mask, and took a few breaths.

The man stared at Xiaobai's face for a while, his gaze puzzled.

Long before Xiaobai became a celebrity and spread throughout the country, Yu Gan's family had already gone bankrupt. Now, there are no appliances in this small, dilapidated house, no internet, and no television, which means the man doesn't know Xiaobai.

Xiao Bai smiled slightly at the man.

"It feels more comfortable not wearing a mask than wearing one," Xiaobai said to the man, pulling the mask back into her clothes.

The man didn't seem to understand what Xiaobai meant; he just stared blankly at her.

"A father who can raise a kind-hearted girl like Miss Yu Gan can't be a bad person, right?" Xiao Bai continued. "Hmm... Well then, Uncle, how much money do you owe for your medical treatment?"

"I borrowed several hundred thousand yuan back then, all at high interest rates, and now it's ballooned to who knows how much more..."

"Didn't you borrow money from a legitimate bank?"

“How could such a legitimate institution lend money to someone like me who has no ability to repay…” The man took a deep breath and lowered his head. “I’ve emptied my house to pay for the treatment. I thought I had to at least stay alive to take care of Yu Gan, but I never expected… Now the disease is still not cured, and I’m about to die.”

The man coughed violently twice as he finished speaking, then grinned self-deprecatingly.

Xiaobai opened her mouth to comfort the man, but before she could even open her mouth, her cell phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket.

buzzing-

Xiao Bai stopped what he was doing, looked down and took out his phone to take a look.

Xiao Bai recognized the phone number; it was a call from Z31.

"York, watch over here for me, I'm going to take this call." Xiaobai said to York beside her, bowed apologetically to the man, then took the phone to the door and answered, "Hello? This is Lu Lin."

"Hello, hello!" A lively and adorable voice rang out from the other end of the phone, "Is this Admiral Lu Lin? This is Z31 and Fletcher!"

"It's you guys." Xiaobai smiled, glancing back into the room. York was handing the man a tissue, looking cautious. "Is there something you need calling at this hour?"

"Yes, yes," came Z31's smug voice from the other end of the phone. "Yesterday, Admiral Lu Lin, didn't you ask us to investigate Chen Rui's company members?"

"Is there any result?"

"Yes! Because it was a mission entrusted by Admiral Lu Lin, I treated it as the highest priority!" Z31 said happily. "When we sent people over, those company employees initially refused to say anything. It wasn't until we used the prisoner's dilemma technique with the evidence provided by Admiral Lu Lin that they gradually started talking. Um... I'll send the interrogation transcripts to Admiral Lu Lin later. I'm calling you now because I want to tell you the most important discovery mouth-to-mouth! Hehe, aren't we amazing!"

"As expected of the Governor's Mansion, they're really impressive." Xiao Bai laughed into the phone. "So, what's the major discovery?"

"We learned the origin of that deep-sea video from Chen Rui's company employees!" Z31 chuckled twice and then said, "That deep-sea video wasn't actually filmed by Chen Rui. He bought it from a local fisherman by chance. He also bought the boat along with the video, and now that boat is hiding in a trench in Peicheng! I'll send you the location later!"

"Okay." Xiaobai's face lit up with joy. "Then, do you have information on the fishermen who traded with Chen Rui?"

"We've investigated that too." The sound of flipping through papers came from the Z31. "According to our investigation, the fisherman who traded with Chen Rui's company, who is also the owner of that boat, is a long-time local resident of Peicheng, whose family has lived there for three generations. His name is Yu Liang, he's 42 years old, male, and his ID number is..."

Xiao Bai raised an eyebrow as he listened to the voice coming from the other end of the phone.