Chapter 173: Chapter 173: Should I Dig Up His Grave to See If He’s Really Fearful?

“Yes, his name is Xu Zaisen. Brother, how do you know his full name?”

Chen Xiao didn’t explain why he knew the name Xu Zaisen; after reminding Xiaoji and the others to be safe, he hung up the phone.

Holding the phone, Chen Xiao didn’t immediately return to Chen Xianzu’s tombstone.

He needed to digest this news.

This news was shocking to him!

He vividly remembered that time fishing by the Wild River, chatting with fisherman Zhang Zhuang about Jade Ice Burn and the prominent figures who emerged from Dongzhou.

Many who ventured into the sea succeeded in getting what they wanted.

Some, in the south, relied on their industrious hands to support their aged parents, send their children to school, buy new clothes, and build new houses.

Others, in the south, faced repeated setbacks, never breaking free from the confines of poverty.

Still, some stood out, amassing unimaginable wealth there.

Fisherman Zhang Zhuang and Sister Yan fell into the second category, whereas Xu Zaisen was the last.

Zhang Zhuang once said that Xu Zaisen’s hotel was remarkable, filled with people skilled in a multitude of arts.

Because of this, Chen Xiao fabricated and elaborated a story.

But Chen Xiao never imagined that an offhand mention of Xu Zaisen by Zhang Zhuang would come up again.

And Xu Zaisen’s reappearance clearly signaled something to Chen Xiao.

There was a possibility that Xu Zaisen was not actually a Xu; he may be a Chen!

Because Xu Zaisen was the man behind Lu Yuling, who received a 200,000 yuan remittance from Chen Yuan in 1995.

Chen Yuan and Lu Yuling likely didn’t know each other, so the remittance could only have been sent to someone very important to him.

Could this person have been Chen Xianzu, who should be lying in the grave?

Chen Xiao still didn’t rush back to find Chen Ding but instead dialed another call to Sister Yan.

“Sister Yan, have you heard of Xu Zaisen?”

“Who hasn’t heard of Xu Sheng! He’s a big figure who emerged from our Dongzhou!” Sister Yan praised without reservation.

Chen Xiao asked again, “Have you or anyone you know ever seen Xu Zaisen?”

“Uh? Well… we truly haven’t. He’s such a big boss; why would he meet with small fry like us?”

“Has anyone seen him?”

Sister Yan thought for a moment, “It seems I haven’t heard of anyone seeing him. Some who claimed to have seen him, from what I know, are just bragging.”

“Then how do you know he’s from Dongzhou?”

“Everyone says so. They say whenever Xu Sheng speaks Mandarin, he has that Dongzhou accent. Some even joked about Xu Sheng’s Dongzhou-style Mandarin!”

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao frowned.

He thought this wasn’t enough; surely someone had seen him. Otherwise, how could they confirm Xu Zaisen was from Dongzhou just by his accent?

“Sister Yan, think again. Are you sure no one has ever seen Xu Zaisen?”

“I really don’t know, but I can ask around. Anyway, among the folks I know, none have seen Xu Sheng.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for your call.”

After ending the call, Chen Xiao finally returned to Chen Ding’s side.

Chen Ding seemed absent-minded, pulling weeds yet with only a palm-sized patch cleared after all this time.

“What’s wrong with you today? You seem like your soul is lost,” Chen Xiao asked calmly.

Chen Ding paused his hands, smiling, “Maybe it’s because there’s been too much going on these days, and I haven’t rested well. I tend to daydream.”

“Hmm, you were pretty close with Xianzu, weren’t you?”

“We were brothers born of the same mother, of course, we were close. Do you remember the nickname ’King of Repeating Grades’? When he first started elementary school, he was so dense I wanted to hang him up and beat him daily. I really couldn’t understand how someone so dim could come from the Chen family.”

“But later, I realized that kid was intentionally rebelling against the whole family. It wasn’t that he couldn’t learn; he just didn’t want to. Plus, with the family spoiling him, he always acted out. After I beat some sense into him a few times, he finally started to behave and showed his talent.”

“At that time, I was motivated daily; no one wanted to improve the family more than I did. But I knew that no matter how much money I earned, the family would just be nouveau riche without cultural depth. Nouveau riche don’t last, so every day I hoped he would quickly grow up and become successful!”

“Maybe because I focused all my attention on him, the second brother resented me, never close to me since childhood, preferring to starve outside rather than ask me for money, which led him into the path of pyramid schemes.”

“Then there’s the third brother, also not close to me or the other brothers. If he had been, he wouldn’t have gone to play by the water alone that year, and wouldn’t have drowned.”

At this point, Chen Ding couldn’t help vigorously rubbing his face.

Almost simultaneously, Chen Xiao asked, “Do you regret it?”

“I…,” Chen Ding paused before saying, “Back then, I had no regrets. For the sake of the whole family, I definitely needed to invest more in Old Four, undeniably. There’s no blaming me; blame only Old Two and Old Three for their lack of ambition. But with Old Four’s untimely death, all my efforts those years went to waste.”

Chen Xiao smiled, “If I didn’t know better, I’d almost think you were your father.”

“Is there a difference? My father never did anything proper his whole life, never achieved anything. I managed everything in the family big and small. As the eldest brother acting as a father, Old Two, Old Three, and Old Four could resent me, but they couldn’t refute me!”

Chen Ding fell silent.

After kicking aside the weeds Chen Ding had pulled, Chen Xiao suddenly said, “Do you remember in ’91 how suddenly dog meat restaurants became all the rage in our area?”

While saying this, Chen Xiao kept an eye on Chen Ding from the corner of his eye.

He clearly saw Chen Ding’s body tense up, though he quickly regained composure. But to Chen Xiao, that slight movement was enough to indicate something.

“I know, now in our Songtan Town, there’s still the famous Songtan Dog Meat brand.”

“Yes, because of that brand, dogs can’t survive around here. As soon as they appear, they’re taken away to be sold.”

“As long as it’s something that can make money, it gets cleared quickly. People are like that,” Chen Ding shrugged.

Chen Xiao nodded, “However, the following year, someone significant came to our village. Do you know who?”

“I don’t know, who?”

“Han Zai, have you heard of him?” Chen Xiao looked at Chen Ding.

Chen Ding appeared confused, shaking his head, “Don’t know him, who is he?”

“Back then in Dongzhou, he was considered like a god of police. He came here to seal off the mountains to catch fugitives.”

Chen Ding suddenly realized, “Oh, him. I remember my dad telling me about it, saying it caused quite a stir.”

“Was your dad also anxious?”

“Who wasn’t anxious!”

“What about Chen Xianzu?”

“I told you, everyone around here was on edge. Little Zu probably freaked out, never having seen such a scene!”

“You’re wrong. Back then, I wasn’t scared. I was waving a flag, following behind Han Zai, shouting that I wanted to go into the mountains to catch fugitives!”

Chen Ding laughed, “Ha, you were a troublesome kid from the start. Because of you, your dad suffered a lot!”

“Then Chen Ding, do you think I was smart as a child?”

“You’ve become a great detective now, so surely you were smart from a young age!”

“If even I wasn’t afraid, why would Brother Xianzu, the smartest person our village had seen for years, be scared?”

As Chen Xiao spoke, Chen Ding’s expression changed, but Chen Xiao didn’t give him time, saying again:

“How about I dig open his grave to see if he was really anxious back then!”

Chen Xiao said with a smile, staring directly at Chen Ding!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep