The Black Card

Chapter 186 - Something Bad Happened At Home

Translator: Lav

Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia

Shi Lei began to strongly question Wei Qing's sexual orientation based on the words that had just come out of his mouth.

Wei Xingyue covered her mouth and laughed, glancing over at Shi Lei with her alluring eyes. She actually had the same feeling as Wei Qing, but not the sense of familiarity which he had toward Shi Lei. After all, her encounter with Shi Lei possessed a strong motive. However, after she interacted with him, she realized that he was the most comfortable person to hang out with. They became closer from the numerous incidents that had occurred between them.

In the middle of the meal, Shi Lei's phone rang. When he fished it out and checked the caller ID, he found that it was unexpectedly his cousin.

Shi Lei's family had a relatively good relationship with their distant relatives, but because they were all ordinary citizens and spread out across the city, they didn't meet up that often, only during New Year's. Shi Lei had been studying in Wu Dong for a long time. Around two years ago, there was this one time when a younger cousin had visited the city because he'd wanted to go to college in Wu Dong, and Shi Lei had taken him around the city after the high school standardized tests were over. In the end, this cousin of his didn't make it and opted to go to a school in northern Jiangdong province. Ever since then, none of his relatives took the initiative to contact him.

This was the most common of relationships between relatives. There were no disagreements, but also not a lot of contact. The one thing they relied on to maintain the relationship was their shared blood.

But his cousin calling him today was truly surprising.

"Excuse me, I need to pick up a call." Shi Lei grabbed the phone and walked out of the room. He answered it in the corridor. "Jing jie, what made you think to call me?"

His cousin, who was around four or five years older than him, was called Xu Jing, the daughter of his aunt. She was already married and working, with a child more than one year old to take care of.

Shi Lei's tone sounded relaxed, but Xu Jing's voice was rather panicked. "Shitou, are you busy studying right now? Ugh, it doesn't matter if you are. Hurry up and come back to Run Zhou. Your dad, he…" She paused in the middle of the sentence.

Shi Lei was shocked. "Jing jie, spit it out. What happened to my dad?" he quickly asked.

"Uncle is in the First People's Hospital right now. He's injured. He didn't let us tell you because he was worried that it would affect your studies, and it's not like you can do much about it even if you do come back. But I thought about it for some time and decided to tell you!"

When Shi Lei heard what Xu Jing had said, it was as if he was struck by lightning, standing frozen on the spot.

From her words, he knew that his father definitely wasn't sick or accidentally injured. Something had happened at home.

Perhaps his father got hit by someone? But the man was a sincere person. He would, at most, crack a few jokes. It would never cross the bottom line, so how could he have such troubles?

Or maybe their house was being forcefully demolished? That was also impossible. The house was a benefit given by the factory, which was built with money from both parties. The factory covered a part of it and the workers paid for a part of it themselves. They used the factory's land, so was impossible to have conflicts over such a thing.

"Shitou…Shitou…" Xu Jing, who hadn't heard any sounds for a while, called in panic.

Shi Lei snapped out of his thoughts and quickly asked, "How was my dad injured? How severe is it?"

"He was hit in the head and fainted on the spot. His leg is also broken. My mom just asked the doctor, who said that his life isn't in danger, but there might be sequelae(1). His leg needs a steel bar to reinforce it. Anyway, it's just very serious. Uncle just had his surgery and isn't awake yet!"

Shi Lei exploded when he heard it."Someone hit him?!" he yelled into the phone. "My dad is such a nice person! How―"

"I think it has something to do with your house," Xu Jing said in a panic. "A bunch of people came over. Aiya, I don't really know the details. Find outyourself after you come back."

Shi Lei understood that Xu Jing's family probably went to the hospital after the incident and didn't really ask about the details. He had to go back to find out what happened.

"Okay, Jing jie. Please look after my mom. I'm scared that something will happen to her, too. I'll go back immediately."

With that said, Shi Lei quickly hung up and walked back to the room.

Both Wei Qing and Wei Xingyue had heard Shi Lei's yell. They knew that something bad had happened, and had something to do with someone getting hit. Shi Lei had a grim expression when he came back. They exchanged a glance with each other, then asked in unison, "Did something happened to your family?"

Shi Lei nodded. "I'm sorry. I need to go back right now."

"Do you need help?" Wei Qing and Wei Xingyue asked at the same time again when they saw Shi Lei turning around to leave.

"No, it's fine!" Shi Lei left them with this and ran out of the hotel. He only remembered to call for a car when he was already standing out on the street.

Of course, Shi Lei knew that no matter what happened, everything would be solved easily with Wei Xingyue and Wei Qing's help. With their families' power, whatever happened between his father and the factory owner was nothing. But Shi Lei felt that there was no need to flaunt their relationship and seek help with even the tiniest problem. If he did that, then how was he any different from the people Wei Xingyue and Wei Qing knew before?

He called for a car on his phone and headed straight for Run Zhou.

On the way there, Shi Lei suppressed the anxiety and worry in his heart and didn't call his mother. Since something like this had happened and she didn't let their relatives tell him about it, then it was obvious that she didn't want him to know. If he called, then his mother would only worry more. She was fifty years old and Shi Lei was really worried about something happening to her as well.

In the room at Da Zhong Ting, Wei Xingyue and Wei Qing stood up together as they watched Shi Lei leave. After exchanging a glance, they sat down again.

"We should find someone to check what happened…" They spoke at the same time again. They had spoken in unison three times already, and yet neither of them had the time to marvel at the coincidence.

They made each calls. Wei Xingyue knew quite a lot about Shi Lei's parents since she had investigated him before. Wei Qing wasn't far behind as he called and found Shi Lei's parents' names in the police safety system in Run Zhou, then learned about his father's workplace. He called again and, not long after, both of their phones rang. They heard the entirety of the story before even Shi Leii, who was still on the highway.

About half a month ago, Shi Lei's father was forced to rescind his labor contract under the company's need to lay off an overabundance of workers. In simpler words, he was laid off. Then the factory said that his family's house was the factory's resource, and because Shi Lei's father was no longer a worker at the factory, they wanted the house back. Shi Lei's father argued against it with logical reasoning, expressing that he also paid for part of the house. So the factory made the repulsive decision of returning all the money the family had spent on house, telling them to, in turn, move out within three days.

There was no way Shi Lei's parents could agree to such a condition. They built the house ten years ago. It was a small house with a certificate of property ownership, but no certificate for the ownership of the land. The funds didn't surpass 30,000 yuan. However, even if it was a small property, its market price would be around 300,000 to 400,000 yuan. It was bullying them by only returning the 30,000 yuan.

Shi Lei's parents didn't want to move out, so a bunch of people came in the morning to chase them away. Conflict arose between the two parties, and in the end, they broke his father's leg, smashed a hole in his head, and knocked him out right then and there.

Chapter 187 - View Shi Lei's Father as a Role Model

Translator: Lav

Editor: Seliniaki Ilikia

Run Zhou was approximately ninety kilometers away from Wu Dong. Traveling by high-speed rail was the fastest option, which would get him there in around twenty minutes.

But if Shi Lei went to the station, bought a ticket, then waited for the train, it would probably take more than an hour. If he went by car on the highway, then he would arrive in around an hour, no matter the circumstances on the road.

The driver picked up speed, seeing the Shi Lei's panic. He kept going as fast as the speed limit of the highway would allow, and within fifty minutes, they were inside Run Zhou city.

Shi Lei was anxious and fidgety the entire way there. Anyone would feel the same in such a situation, no matter who they were. But with the car's speed, Shi Lei was finally able to calm down a little.

From Xu Jing's words, Shi Lei had a rough estimate about what happened. Although he didn't know what the truth was, the clues were very obvious.

Their house had initiated conflict with his father and the factory. He still didn't know the reason, but the factory eventually ordered people to evict his parents, which led to a dispute. The situation deteriorated and ended with his father severely wounded in the hospital.

Needless to say, the police were called. But Shi Lei knew that it was meaningless. It was definitely a public-private dispute, so the people who beat up his father would, at most, be in the detention center for a few days while the mastermind behind it—the factory owner—would be safe and sound. If the factory tried harder, then they could put together a statement from people saying that the outcome of the incident was unintentional. Then the people who hurt his father may not even have to serve time and instead just pay the medical fees. Although the factory his father worked for didn't give them good benefits, it was still an entity with a higher social status, making it impossible for the Shi family to act against it.

However, even if the police acted justly, as long as the offender insisted that he unintentionally injured Shi Lei's father while carrying out given orders and the factory was willing to compensate for the medical expenses, then it was impossible for them to look into the person who gave the orders. Unless the offender sold the factory owner out and said that he was told to hurt Shi Lei's father…but that was obviously impossible.

Seeing that the car was driving into the city, Shi Lei guided the way for the driver and asked, "If I want to rent this car, how do the fees work?"

The driver was blank for a moment, but said, "The price for this trip is generated on the app so it can't be included in the rental fees. If you want to rent it, then the food and living expenses will be calculated separately because it's in another city. We usually don't exceed eight working hours…"

"I definitely need you to be ready at any moment, 24/7," Shi Lei quickly cut in. "Of course, I will give you sufficient time to rest. I have no problem paying the food and living expenses as well. And I will cover the price for the gas and anything else. Just tell me how much money you want per day." 

The driver pondered for a while, then said, "Well, since you're willing to cover all the fess, then I want 2,000 yuan per day. I don't have high standards for accommodation, so any hotels close to your house will be fine. It just has to be clean. I have no other requests. I don't really care about food that much. The 20 yuan per meal standard will be fine."

Shi Lei nodded. "Okay, it's decided then. I might need you to stay for the next few days. When we get there, call your family and let them know."

The driver agreed. They quickly arrived at Run Zhou's First People's Hospital.

Shi Lei got off the car, gave the drive the 2,000 yuan deposit, and ran into the hospital. He then finally called his mother. She was obviously very surprised, stuttering over the phone. "I already know everything," Shi Lei simply said. "Where are you now? I'm at the hospital."

Although Shi Lei's mother was surprised, she still told him the room number.

Shi Lei sprinted to the inpatient ward and pushed the door open after finding the right room. As soon as he entered, he saw his father lying on the bed, still unconscious. For the sake of saving money, his mother had him put in a normal room, shared with four other patients. His family wasn't rich, and all the money was spent on Shi Lei's university tuition. Even the cost of the surgery had to be put together by their relatives.

Because it happened early in the morning, they had rushed over, comforted Shi Lei's mother, and gave them some support. They all had work and eventually left. Only his cousin, Xu Jing, had requested a leave from work to stay with his mother.

"Shitou, why did you come back?" Shi Lei's mother spoke, flashing a glance at Xu Jing.

Xu Jing lowered her head, but Shi Lei said, "Until when did you plan to hide this from me? It's fine if you don't tell me the small things that happen, but you don't think to tell me anything when my father's in such a state?!"

"You are graduating next year…" his mother stammered.

"Exactly! I'm a senior, and everyone's busy contacting companies and securing internships. The school doesn't even care anymore, so why are you worried? Forget it. How is he?" Shi Lei looked at his father, who lay on the bed motionlessly. His head was thickly wrapped with bandages and his leg was also elevated. It was thick, which obviously meant that it was already in a cast.

Shi Lei was overwhelmed with anxiety. His eyes stung and he couldn't control the tears welling up. 

Shi Lei's mother was sobbing. "He just had the surgery. The doctor said that it depends on the recovery. His leg is fine. It's in a cast and has the reinforcing bar. He just has to strengthen it. It's the blow to the head that's worrying. There's a chance that there will be brain damage…"

Shi Lei's eyes were filled with anger. From his point of view, it didn't matter what kind of conflict they had. This was way too much.

Suppressing his fury, he held his mother's hands and sat down next to his father's bed. "Mom, don't worry too much. Heaven helps those that are worthy, so he will be fine. What happened? You have to tell me."

"Shitou, what can you do even if I tell you? The police came to ask about the situation. They said that will take care of it and told us to not worry about the medical expenses…"

Shi Lei took a tissue and wiped away the tears of her face. "Mom, don't worry. They will definitely pay for the medical expenses," he said, keeping his cool. "This isn't the problem. I didn't tell you and dad, but I did a project with my friends in Wu Dong and earned quite a lot of money. I was going to tell you when I come back for the winter holiday. You don't have to worry about money at all. Your son will take care of all the expenses. What I need you to do is to tell me what happened at home. Dad is such an honest man, so how would he have such a big dispute with others? And what's wrong with our house?"

Shi Lei's mother continued to cry. Shi Lei finally learned the whole story from between her broken sobs.

Shi Lei's father was an honest man. The factory was cutting down on workers, and it was expected for his father to be one of those to go because he had always been compliant. Although he was only a little over fifty years old, it was definitely a problem to be suddenly laid off. However, that in itself didn't lead to a physical dispute. Without a choice, Shi Lei's father could only gather a few people who were also laid off and seek an explanation. But the factory treated Shi Lei's father as someone who liked cause trouble and wanted to use him as an example for others. They said that the Shi family's house was a benefit given by the factory. Now that he didn't work there anymore, he had to give the house back.

It was basically pushing his father into a dead end. His family wasn't wealthy to begin with. To leave them without a house…did they expected the couple to sleep on the street?

Chapter 188 - Seeking Help From The Lawyer

Translator: Lav

Editor: GemVoo

Shi Lei's father went to look for the owner of the factory quite a few times. Except for the first time, he never managed to find him again. Every time his father was downstairs in the office, he would promptly be chased away by the security guards; oftentimes, even getting beat up in the process.

The last time, which was three days ago, the factory even transferred the 20,000 yuan he had initially paid for the house into his father's bank account, before giving him the final notice.

He had paid 20,000 yuan ten years ago to buy the house and with so many years having passed, its value was surely not the same as before. How could Shi Lei's parents agree to it? Besides his father's job, this house was the last fruit of his labor from working his whole life.

But the factory forced Shi Lei's father to relinquish it within three days. Face with such an unforeseen predicament, it didn't matter how earnest Shi Lei's father was, he eventually exploded. He threatened that whoever dared to wrongfully evict him from his own house, he would simply live in that person's house instead.

Today was the fourth day, which was also the last day stipulated by the notice. Early in the morning, people had arrived, brandishing the notice, and sought his father out to claim ownership of the house. Obviously, Shi Lei's parents weren't resigned to simply giving in so easily and a heated verbal altercation shortly ensured. That gang of people began to resort to violence. They had initially limited their targets to the inanimate objects of their house. Shi Lei's mother wanted to call the police and her fright. Unfortunately, one of the people in the gang was the department head of the guards in the factory. He ordered his subordinates to seize the phone in her hands.

Shi Lei's mother was pushed over and the phone was shattered from the impact. Shi Lei's father, who was always quiet and reserved, ultimately lost his composure and smashed a stool on that person.

The person who got hit was probably only slightly injured. The gang encircled them and proceeded to assault Shi Lei's father. His father's leg would have surely been broken from the abuse, yet they callously threw him off the stairs. His father's head solidly landed at the base of the stairs, causing blood to flood out, at which point, he fainted on the spot.

These people saw that the situation was beginning to devolve into something beyond their control and left quickly.

With the neighbours' assistance, they called the police and sent his father to the hospital. It was fortuitous that a surgery was able to be immediately arranged for Shi Lei's father. He was quickly brought out of his previously critical condition quickly but was still unconscious.

During the period Shi Lei's father was undergoing surgery, the police recorded down his mother's statement. They assured her that they would register it as a case and continue to investigate things at the factory. Many neighbours also spoke up and testified for what had transpired. But when they were asked to sign the statement, they all backed off. After all, everyone in the building was a worker at the factory and they didn't dare to offend the leaders lest their livelihoods be placed in jeopardy.

Shi Lei's mother said, "Those neighbours ... they claim themselves to be your father's brothers, but when it comes to times like this, none of them are willing to step up as a witness……"

Shi Lei patted his mother's back and consoled, "Don't blame them. They are still working there and need to support their family. Mum, don't worry about this, I will definitely get us an explanation." Shi Lei's furious heart belied the calm exterior he showed his mother. Shi Lei's mother was immensely startled and she cried for the whole day, before finally falling asleep under Shi Lei's comforting.

Shi Lei immediately called the nurse and said that he wanted to change to the best rooms in the hospital.

After Shi Lei had paid for it, the hospital immediately provided his father with the best treatment. Under Shi Lei's insistence, they sent his father into the ICU intensive care.

Shi Lei then left the hospital and headed for the local police station. He asked and found that they hadn't even registered the case. Needless to say, it was evident that the factory owner had used his clout to push the case back. Shi Lei asked a few more questions and the police from the station sternly advised him not to interfere with the police when they were handling a case, claiming that they would naturally handle this.

Shi Lei laughed coldly and told that civil police, "Remember what you said. This was originally a civil case of dispute, but my father is still lying in the ICU intensive care centre, this is a criminal assault case. I suggest you register it quickly, otherwise, I will seek recompense for the transgressions committed by all parties involved.

The civil police naturally disdained Shi Lei's threat. In his eyes, Shi Lei's family were just comprised of small characters. A worker who had just gotten fired, lacking any substantial background, with neither money nor connections. He credited Shi Lei's bluster to the fact that he had received a university education, and now seemingly armed with a self-inflated sense of understanding towards law.

"I don't need you to teach me how to handle a case. Whether this is a civil or criminal assault case, what you say is irrelevant. Go back and wait for further news!"

Shi Lei was outraged as he pointed wordlessly towards the police before leaving the police station with a dark expression.

He then returned home only to be met with a rude surprise. Little did he expect that during the time his father was undergoing treatment in the hospital, the factory had already forcefully claimed ownership of the house, even changing the lock and placing sealing strips on the door to cordon off the house.

But Shi Lei didn't care for all this. He kicked the door open roughly. His neighbours heard the commotion and rushed out to observe. Seeing that Shi Lei was back, they all expressed their concern and asked how Shi Lei was. Shi Lei wasn't in the mood to talk to them too much, simply saying that they were still waiting for the police to investigate the case. The neighbours saw that Shi Lei's attitude wasn't good. They were slightly ashamed and told him that it wasn't that they didn't want to be the witnesses, but that their livelihoods depended on the factory. Their conditions under the factory were far from ideal in the first place and if they were to lose their jobs by antagonizing the factory owner, their situations would then become truly desperate.

"Uncles and aunts, I know you have your difficulties, I don't blame you. But my father is still in the ICU intensive care unit, I'm not in the mood to greet you all, so please go back. In short, I will handle this by myself, I won't trouble you and won't drag you all into this. Please go back…."

It was only after his assurances that they finally left.

Shi Lei sat down and looked at the house which was now unrecognizable from how badly it was damaged. He looked over to the stairs which had been cleaned, but with marks still left on it. He tried to calm his emotions and thought of how he could seek reparations from the factory. Especially that owner, Shi Lei simply wanted to diced him up with a rusted knife.

But Shi Lei understood that he was relatively helpless in his current situation. He was only an university student who was just a bit over twenty years old. Unless he had 700,000 or 800,000 yuan in discretionary funds he could use himself, there was really nothing else he could do.

The only thing he could rely on was for the police to conduct their investigation justly; but now, not to mention that, it was even impossible to ask the owner of the factory to show his face as the police's attitude was blatantly clear.

Police! Local police station!

Shi Lei suddenly thought of Er'jie's mother, Zhang Meimei. She was a renowned lawyer in the entire province. He heard that she always dealt with criminal assault cases and if Zhang Meimei could be a part of this, Shi Lei assumed that the local police station, or even the sub-bureau would have to reconsider.

Shi Lei couldn't fret the details too much and immediately called Zhang Meimei.

Over the phone, Shi Lei explained the situation as easily and perspicuously as possible, which also caused Zhang Meimei to erupt in a furor, especially at the fact that the police was dawdling with registering the case despite someone being grievously injured. She comforted Shi Lei and said, "Teacher Xiao Shi, don't panic, don't ever do anything unreasonable out of anger. I will take this case, don't worry about the fees. I can't leave at the moment, wait till I finish dealing with what I have right now and I will be at Run Zhou tomorrow. I will talk to the Ministry of Justice in Run Zhou first and hope that they quickly register it."

Shi Lei was relieved after hearing what Zhang Meimei said. But no matter what, Shi Lei definitely had to see that factory owner.

All the expensive and important objects were already packed up with the help of his relatives and there was nothing to steal. Shi Lei had already broken the door by kicking it down and didn't have any scruples in doing so. He left the house and went to find the owner in the factory.