Chapter 306: Chapter 303 [Li Qingshan’s Achilles’ Heel]
Chapter Three Hundred Three: Li Qingshan’s Weakness
Chen Nuo had never been particularly fond of Li Qingshan.
The old man was cunning and greedy, and that was putting it mildly. His shady background wasn’t the primary reason. Brother Lei’s background wasn’t clean either, but that didn’t stop Brother Lei from becoming one of Chen Nuo’s most trusted people.
Li Qingshan actually possessed far greater influence and wealth than Brother Lei. Chen Nuo was well aware that bringing Li Qingshan into his inner circle would mean many tasks could be handled more smoothly by Hall Master Li than by Brother Lei. Despite this, Chen Nuo still hadn’t invited him.
The main reason was quite simple: Hall Master Li was involved in the flesh trade.
This point alone was enough for Chen Nuo to hold the old man in low regard.
Even the underworld has its hierarchy of disdain.
In their past dealings, Li Qingshan had done his utmost to suck up to him and had been quite helpful. During that incident in the northwest, when Sun Keke was captured, Li Qingshan had also put in a lot of effort. For this reason alone, Chen Nuo felt he had to repay this favor.
This was also why, even though he was in a foul mood in the middle of the night, Chen Nuo was willing to make the trip when trouble arose on Li Qingshan’s end.
But now, it seemed he really didn’t want to help!
"...That was a lot of money."
Li Qingshan lowered his head, his eyes red, his face etched with remorse and guilt, yet his words seemed to habitually make excuses for himself. "It was the eighties. My second brother and I were running that kind of business in Myanmar, risking our lives. We only made a few tens of thousands a year, and that was in Huaxia Currency. Over a million US dollars... you... you wouldn’t understand, Chen Nuo. In that era, such a fortune was enough to turn father against son, brother against brother!"
Chen Nuo sneered, "So, even though you drew the death lot, your brother, out of loyalty, went to his death for you! And you still swallowed his half of the money?"
"...It was a lot of money, far too much..."
Chen Nuo no longer wanted to get involved and turned to leave, but Li Qingshan suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Chen Nuo’s arm.
The old man pleaded desperately, "Mr. Chen Nuo, help me! At least, let me finish, please?"
Chen Nuo frowned at Hall Master Li. He still owed the man several favors. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Tell me about your brother’s family... what’s their situation now?"
"His mother passed away from an illness ten years ago... Don’t look at me like that; I didn’t do anything wrong! Her death was natural. When I found out, I helped arrange for the hospital and treatment. After the old lady passed, I even helped with the funeral arrangements."
Chen Nuo’s expression softened slightly. "And then?"
"He has a wife and a daughter back in Jinling," Li Qingshan said in a low voice. "His wife used to sell clothes at a stall near the Confucius Temple, and I genuinely supported her business, I really did. She made a little money, saved it up, and two years ago, she leased a counter in a shopping mall, still selling clothes. But I heard that business has been tough these past two years. Young people prefer trendy brands and are less interested in going to malls for clothes. So, her business is just barely getting by—not great, not terrible. But their family should be living reasonably well."
"Reasonably well?"
Chen Nuo let out an angry laugh, pointing at Li Qingshan. "Reasonably well? Hall Master Li, over a million US dollars would be about ten million Huaxia Currency now, right? Reasonably well? What kind of life do you lead every day? And them? Living ’reasonably well’?"
Li Qingshan, thoroughly ashamed, clamped his mouth shut and said no more.
Chen Nuo suppressed his anger, gently shook off Li Qingshan’s hand, and sat back down on the sofa.
"Continue. What exactly happened?"
Li Qingshan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At least he didn’t storm off immediately.
"My second brother... he’s not dead."
"Hmm, he’s not dead, so now you’re in trouble, right?" Chen Nuo sneered.
Li Qingshan sighed.
"After I took that money and ran, I struggled to make my way back to the country.
"The sum was so large... My greed got the better of me, and I took it all.
"With that money, I built my business step by step, making it bigger and bigger.
"I knew I’d wronged my second brother; half of that money should have been his.
"But... let’s not dwell on that. It was truly my fault.
"I thought he was dead, and that no one would ever find out.
"As for my second brother’s family...
"After I returned, I didn’t abandon them.
"I was greedy, but I’m not entirely heartless.
"My second brother’s wife and daughter lived with his elderly mother.
"His family was very stubborn.
"They felt that since my second brother died out there, they held a grudge against me and didn’t want any contact.
"It’s no surprise. During the years my second brother and I went south to do business together, his family always urged him to return.
"So naturally, they disliked me, his partner in illegal business.
"And when I came back, but my second brother didn’t, they truly hated me in their hearts.
"I helped arrange a funeral for my second brother in Jinling. I bought a grave plot and buried a few of his remaining clothes and personal items there, as a memento for his family.
"They’re all very stubborn by nature.
"They resented me because my second brother died far from home, so they refused to associate with me.
"My second brother’s wife was more reasonable, at least polite on the surface, though cold and distant.
"My second brother’s mother, however, cursed me and threw me out twice.
"So eventually, I stopped visiting.
"But, privately, when my sister-in-law—my second brother’s wife—later set up a stall to sell clothes, doing small business, I genuinely had people secretly help her out.
"Otherwise, think about it. In that era, she was a lone woman, with no support, trying to make a living selling clothes from a stall in a large market. How could she have managed so smoothly?
"The reason she could maintain her business, and those local tyrants and thugs didn’t harass her, wasn’t it all because I had people secretly dealing with them for her?"
Chen Nuo shook his head, his tone laced with sarcasm, "He gave you his life, and you swallowed half his life-risking money! You think dealing with a few thugs absolves you in your own heart?"
"I..." Li Qingshan was speechless.
"Go on. Then what?"
"Then, while she was selling clothes at the stall, those were good times, and business was pretty good. She managed to earn some money. It’s just that she endured a lot of hardship."
When Li Qingshan said this, his tone was peculiar, and Chen Nuo noticed.
"Hardship? What kind of hardship?"
"...She... once, when she went to get stock. She used a tricycle to haul the goods. While going downhill, the tricycle went out of control and overturned. She... Her leg was crushed. Even after it healed, she still walks with a bit of a limp..."
Seeing the anger flare in Chen Nuo’s eyes again, Li Qingshan quickly added, "That was a genuine accident! It had nothing to do with me! Rainy and snowy weather makes the roads slippery. She was a woman going to get stock by herself. The goods were piled too high, she wasn’t strong enough, and the tricycle overturned going downhill... It truly was an accident!"
Chen Nuo nodded but stared at Li Qingshan. "An accident is an accident. But Hall Master Li, if you hadn’t swallowed her husband’s money, that widow and her child wouldn’t have been left to desperately struggle for survival and to earn a living on their own. Why else would a woman brave rainy, slippery weather to push a tricycle loaded with goods to get stock by herself? If her family had those millions, would she have needed to go to such lengths?"
Li Qingshan’s expression was bitter. "It’s not that I didn’t want to help her, but her family is incredibly stubborn. They felt that their man had gone into business with me, and I came back alive while he died mysteriously abroad. They’d curse me out if I even tried to visit... I..."
"Tell me about this ’second brother’ of yours," Chen Nuo said, shaking his head. "You’re so terrified this time. It seems he didn’t die, right? And not only is he alive, but he’s probably very powerful now, powerful enough to make you this afraid?"
"He really didn’t die," Li Qingshan said, his face grim.
Back then, Li Qingshan had brought a large sum of money back to Huaxia and returned to Jinling City. At that time, it was impossible to continue doing business in Myanmar. The scandal over the robbery of the warlord’s mining area funds hadn’t blown over yet; if he had returned to Myanmar then, he would have been doomed if caught.
Even after returning to Huaxia, Li Qingshan didn’t dare contact the jade buyers in the country. He didn’t dare reach out to his former business associates along the border, fearing news from Myanmar would reach them and expose his appropriation of over a million US dollars. He worried that if word got out, someone’s greed might lead them to harm him.
Thus, Li Qingshan quietly returned to Jinling with the money, virtually cutting off all contact with his old acquaintances in the jade trade on the border. Those people had always assumed that both Li Qingshan and his second brother had perished abroad.
A year or two later, Li Qingshan discreetly sent people to Myanmar twice to make inquiries—he himself didn’t dare go. But inquiries of that nature were unlikely to yield any information. So, in Li Qingshan’s mind, his second brother must have died.
Later, with that windfall as capital, coupled with his cunning and ruthless nature, Li Qingshan prospered over the following years, eventually becoming the notorious "Hall Master Li."
Initially, he did secretly look after his second brother’s family. But because the women of that family were cold towards him, and later, due to his guilty conscience and a complex mix of emotions including shame turning to anger, he gradually stopped concerning himself with their affairs.
Li Qingshan had thought this matter would remain buried in his heart forever.
To his surprise, his second brother actually hadn’t died.
Having said this, Li Qingshan stood up, walked back into the room, and soon returned with an object, which he placed on the coffee table in front of Chen Nuo.
It was a small cloth bag. Gently opened, it revealed a pendant strung on a hemp cord.
The object looked ancient. The cord was already blackened. The pendant below was a brassy-yellow bullet casing.
Chen Nuo reached out, picked it up, and weighed it in his hand. He quickly noticed a small character etched onto the casing.
Chen Nuo nodded. "Fang?"
"My second brother’s surname is Fang. This was something he always wore," Li Qingshan said softly. "This item was delivered to me yesterday."
"Yesterday? How was it delivered?"
"By mail."
Chen Nuo pondered for a moment, then put the object down.
Li Qingshan’s voice grew agitated. "This pendant was always worn by my second brother! He never took it off during all those years! That time... when we were together, he was always wearing it around his neck! I remember it clearly! When this thing suddenly arrived by mail, I opened it and was stunned! He’s not dead! He’s come back for me!"
"A man missing for nearly twenty years suddenly returns... You, the great Hall Master Li, shouldn’t be this scared," Chen Nuo said, shaking his head. "Someone like you wouldn’t be this terrified merely out of guilt! What hold does he have on you? Or how did he manage to frighten you so badly?"
"He kidnapped someone on my side."
As Li Qingshan spoke, his expression gradually changed, a hint of ferocity appearing. "He kidnapped my son!"
Chen Nuo was taken aback.
What the hell? Wasn’t Li Qingshan always claiming to be childless? He has a son?!