Chapter 123: The Regret of a Piece of Shit

Le'er arrived at the town and, after some thought, decided to seek out Tao Haiying first. He had no personal concern for Tao Gaolong; he only came because of his relationship with Haiying and their parents.

When he reached the middle school, classes were in session, and the campus was quiet.

"Excuse me, teacher, could you tell me where the first-year grade is?"

Guided by the teacher, he found the first-year wing, but not knowing which class Haiying was in, he had to ask from the first class onward. There were four classes in the grade, and he finally found her in Class Three.

"Le'er, why did you come to find me?" Seeing Le'er, Haiying was so excited her face flushed red.

"You need to ask for leave and come with me right now."

"What's the matter?" Haiying asked, looking a bit shy. "Look, the other students are all watching us. They'll think we're dating."

"You still have time to worry about dating?" Le'er frowned. "Hurry up and ask for leave. Your brother is in trouble again."

Haiying's face turned pale instantly. "What happened?"

"Don't worry about it for now. Just get your leave. He's at the police station."

Hearing this, Haiying collapsed onto the ground, tears streaming down her face. Seeing this, Le'er hurriedly requested leave on her behalf, then pulled her up and led her away.

Once they were outside the school, Haiying stopped moving. Her face was covered in tears, and her hands were cold.

"What's wrong?"

"Le'er, my heart is broken," Haiying sobbed, wiping her tears. "I don't care about him anymore. Let him die if he wants to. Our whole family has been ruined by him."

Le'er didn't know what to say, so he just watched her quietly. Haiying crouched on the ground, weeping until she was breathless. Watching her, Le'er felt a pang of heartache himself. Her crying drew the attention of passersby. Several people gathered around, casting disdainful looks at Le'er, and some even began to make snide remarks.

"Young people today are truly shameless. They're still students, surely something scandalous has happened."

"Did that brat take advantage of that girl and now refuses to own up to it? Why else would she be crying like that?"

Hearing these comments, Le'er felt his face burn.

"Haiying, let's get up and go see him."

Haiying, feeling embarrassed by the onlookers, stood up and followed Le'er toward the police station, drying her tears as they walked while people stared at them strangely.

"Le'er, I'm sorry."

"Forget the apologies. Let's just go. Chief Xie is waiting."

Le'er brought Haiying to see Xie Dapao, who was cursing Tao Gaolong for being a good-for-nothing. "That piece of trash... he lost money gambling, then started a fight, only to get beaten half to death and dragged here."

With teary eyes, Haiying accompanied Le'er to see Tao Gaolong. He was in a small room, handcuffed, his face deathly pale. He had clearly been beaten badly; one eye was bruised black and blue, and half his face was swollen. When he saw Haiying enter, he turned his face away, acting as if she were the one who owed him money.

Le'er, following behind, was infuriated by his attitude, though he kept his silence. Haiying, seeing him like this, was livid.

"Le'er, let's go. I don't care if he dies!"

Le'er turned to leave without a word. Seeing Haiying about to walk away, Tao Gaolong panicked. "Haiying!"

"Why are you still calling me?" Haiying couldn't control her tears. "Haven't you ruined us enough? Haven't you drained Mom and Dad dry? If you want to go to jail, go ahead! I never want to see you again!"

Haiying ran out, covering her face.

"Call Mom and Dad here—" Tao Gaolong shouted at her retreating back.

"Give up that idea," Le'er said coldly. "If I hadn't asked Chief Xie to hold you here, you'd already be in prison. Are you even human? Why call your parents here? To suffer more? The person you beat wants five thousand yuan in compensation. Do you have that kind of money?"

With that, Le'er turned to leave. Tao Gaolong suddenly burst into tears, slapping his own face. "I'm not human, I'm not human..."

"What's the point of hitting yourself now?" Le'er shouted angrily. "You're useless. A person like you is just a waste of food. You can't make money, yet you've driven your family to poverty. You still have the nerve to show your face?"

"Le'er... I don't want to go to jail. Get me out of here," he pleaded, kneeling before Le'er. "I know you're close with Chief Xie. Please, put in a good word for me!"

He was a mess of snot and tears, but Le'er didn't believe him.

"Get you out? With what? Bring the money. Five thousand yuan. Once you have the money to pay the person you beat, I'll talk to Chief Xie," Le'er said, pulling no punches. "You're just a pile of stinking dog excrement. Why should I get you out? So you can go back to playing mahjong, gambling, and fighting? So you can cause more trouble?"

Since he had started, Tao Gaolong spent every day in town gambling. When he had no money, he would go home and berate his parents until he squeezed some out of them. The family’s small savings had been completely squandered by him.

Tao Gaolong only continued to weep and beg.

"Think it over yourself. I'm going to talk to your parents and your sister to see if they are even willing to get you out," Le'er said, heading for the door. "I suspect they've run out of money and the heart to save you."

"Get me out... Le'er... I beg you."

Le'er ignored him and walked out. Haiying was still crouching outside, crying.

"Haiying, go home and comfort your parents. They must be worried sick," Le'er said, pulling her up. "I'll talk to Chief Xie; it shouldn't be a problem. If you want to get your brother out, you'll need to gather the money. I'm heading to the city to pick up some steel bars. I'll be back tonight, and we can come back tomorrow."

"Okay..." Haiying nodded, thinking of her parents, her heart heavy with anxiety. "Le'er, thank you so much..."

"Go on now."

Le'er walked into Chief Xie's office. "Chief Xie, I'm treating everyone to drinks tonight."

"Good," Xie Dapao laughed. "Drinks sound good. But that Tao Gaolong is a real piece of work—a spineless wretch who doesn't know when he's pushing his luck."

After chatting for a while, Le'er left to pick up the steel bars. He returned three hours later, dropped the supplies at Xiasha Village, and then headed back to town to treat Xie Dapao and the other officers to a good meal. It was past nine when Xie Dapao finally drove him home.

The next day, Le'er went to Haiying's house. A miserable atmosphere hung over the home; Haiying's mother was crying, her father looked devastated, and Haiying was feeding the pigs. Seeing Le'er, her mother cried even harder.

"Le'er, please save Gaolong... Oh heavens, how will we ever go on?"

"Auntie, don't cry. Getting him out won't be a problem. I treated Chief Xie to dinner last night, and he agreed."

Haiying came out, her eyes red. They had sold their cow and slaughtered the pig meant for the New Year, only managing to scrape together 2,200 yuan. Being poor and desperate, they couldn't borrow any more, and the two elders were at their wits' end.

"Auntie, don't worry about the money. I have some here; I'll cover the rest for you," Le'er, who was relatively well-off, decided to help them out. "Chief Xie said he'd pressure the victim to accept less. But if Gaolong goes back to his old ways after he's out, then this was all for nothing."

Hearing this, the elders’ expressions softened.

"Le'er, thank you. You're such a good person; we don't know how to repay you. Is there any work you have that I could do?" Haiying's father stood up. "I'll work for you. Our family is in such a state... if we don't earn some money, I don't know how we'll survive next year."

He wiped away tears as he spoke.

"Uncle Tao, go find my uncle and ask him to arrange something for you," Le'er said, knowing the fifty-something-year-old man was still a hard worker. "But in my opinion, Gaolong needs to be the one working once he's back, or no matter how hard you work, things won't get better."

"Sigh, that unfilial son... how could I ever persuade him?"

"If you're firm, you can persuade him," Le'er said, committed to seeing this through. "If he doesn't start working, he'll never be able to find a wife."

"That's true, that's true, it's killing us," Haiying's mother sobbed. "Le'er, you're so sensible. Why is my son so foolish? He's already twenty-four!"

Le'er and Haiying went to retrieve Tao Gaolong. Through Xie Dapao’s threats and persuasion, the victim was forced to lower the demand by a thousand yuan. Le'er also played his part, making Tao Gaolong cry repeatedly before Chief Xie finally released him.

This time, Tao Gaolong was truly deflated.

He wanted to work, and Le'er personally took him to see several contractors, with Haiying following behind, but no one wanted to hire him.

"Hire him?" Uncle Shengui shook his head faster than a rattle drum. "That brat... I'm afraid he'll just cause trouble. I can't handle him, and I don't want to fight him."

"You piece of trash, tell me, are you just a pile of stinking dog excrement?" Le'er’s temper flared. Tao Gaolong didn't dare talk back this time; he knew his reputation was ruined and no one wanted to deal with him. Le'er thought for a moment—there was no point in asking Dalong or Dahai. His only option was Qiangzai.

When Tao Qiang saw Le'er bringing Tao Gaolong toward him, he immediately turned to run.

"Uh... Qiangzai, where are you going?"

"I... I need to use the bathroom."

Tao Gang and Tao Hu glared at Tao Gaolong.

"Brother Hu, Brother Gang..." Tao Gaolong felt nervous facing the two men; they were the only ones in the village he dared not provoke. "I..."

"You... you spineless brat! Not only do you cause trouble yourself, but you also corrupted Xinhua and Fushu. I have half a mind to kill you with a hoe!"

Tao Xinhua and Tao Fushu, who were working nearby, glared at Tao Gaolong with hatred. After a long while, Tao Qiang returned and looked at Tao Gaolong.

"Stinking dog excrement!"

"Qiangzai..."

"Don't call me that. Just hearing your voice makes me feel sick," Tao Qiang spat. "So, you want to work? If it wasn't for Le'er bringing you here, I would have kicked you out already."

After Sha Le'er spoke with them for a while, he finally managed to offload this pile of "stinking dog excrement" onto Tao Qiang.