Chapter 91

According to the young friends in the neighborhood, Guo Yuhang had already been discharged from the hospital. After his discharge, he was directly taken home by car and then stayed at home, not leaving the house except for his parents, no one had seen him again. If it weren't for Zou Hua, who brought seven or eight henchmen and stormed to the door in a menacing manner, Li Mu wouldn't have known whether the rumors were true or false. The coincidence was unbelievable; the day Guo Yuhang was discharged, Zou Hua was also released on bail. Logically, he should have been detained for causing minor injuries to Guo Yuhang, especially with Guo Lin's connections and pressure. However, the police released him, giving him face. There were rumors that Zou Hua was released because Song Liang had spoken up. Many people didn't believe it, thinking that a small-time thug like Zou Hua wasn't worth Song Liang's attention. But Li Mu believed it. At this time, releasing Zou Hua would make the Guo family the most uncomfortable. Such a coincidence could only be orchestrated by Song Liang, no one else.

As soon as Zou Hua was out, he went to the Guo family's door, demanding compensation for his almost totaled Honda Accord. His new car hadn't even been broken in when it was smashed by Zhang Wanjun's men. Zhang Wanjun said the debt was on Zou Hua's head and told him to come after him. How could Zou Hua dare? Losing over 200,000 yuan, Zou Hua couldn't let it go. Although he was still facing charges for causing minor injuries, he still threatened Guo Lin: if he didn't pay, he would make his son watch out, and if pushed too far, he would take him down with him.

Guo Lin reported it to the police, but when they arrived, they only looked around the scene and warned Zou Hua: you can collect debts, but don't go too far. Then they left without even driving Zou Hua away. Guo Lin was stunned. The police's actions clearly favored Zou Hua. Did this guy have some background?

Seeing that the police didn't care, Zou Hua's arrogance grew. He brought his henchmen to block the Guo family's door, determined to stay until he got what he wanted. Guo Lin was already in a difficult situation, and now Zou Hua was making things worse. He was worried that Zou Hua might do something rash, so he thought about giving him money to make him leave. However, he didn't dare to pay 200,000 yuan at once, as he was in a precarious position and his old leader had warned him not to cause any trouble. Paying out such a large sum would give the other side leverage.

In desperation, Guo Lin asked his brother to give Zou Hua 280,000 yuan, finally getting rid of this troublemaker. After Zou Hua left, the Guo family felt as if a huge stone was blocking their hearts, almost suffocating them. Their son was beaten, and they couldn't avenge it. Now they had to pay 280,000 yuan to the person who beat their son. Was there anything more humiliating than this?

Xue Guilan was rolling around at home, cursing that they were being bullied by a dog. But even she knew that her husband was in a dangerous situation, and they had to swallow their pride. Guo Lin and Xue Guilan had been through a lot, and they knew when to bend. But Guo Yuhang, young and hot-headed, couldn't swallow this humiliation. All his anger was focused on Li Mu, but thinking about the powerful figures like Song Liang and Zhang Wanjun behind Li Mu made him feel as if he was living in hell.

...

While Guo Yuhang was living in hell, Li Mu's life was sweet. Li Mu would visit his store every day to check on the renovation progress. Coincidentally, a gym had opened on the second floor opposite his store, so he got a monthly membership and went there to work out for an hour and a half every day. In his previous life, he had become nearsighted, overweight, and unhealthy at a young age due to his technical work. This time around, he started to pay attention to his health.

After an hour and a half of intense exercise, Li Mu took a shower in the gym's locker room. Wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts, he walked out of the gym as the sun was setting, the cool breeze refreshing his face. He felt invigorated and extremely happy. Crossing the road, the renovation at the store was still in full swing. The hard装修 was almost finished, and they were now installing the lighting. In a couple of days, the cash register, shelves, and fitting room accessories would be delivered, and the renovation would be basically complete.

Li Mu counted on his fingers. His parents would be back the day after tomorrow, and his free life would be over soon. With not much to do at the moment, Zhao Kang was handling the water army, and Kong Lingyu was handling Yi Ting. He could take some time to visit Shanghai and see Chen Wan. Since their last meeting at the Nanjing train station, Li Mu often found himself missing her.

After staying at the store for about ten minutes, Li Mu was about to go home when he received a call from Song Liang.

"Little Mu, where are you?"

"I'm at the store, about to go home. Is there something, Brother Liang?"

"Nothing much. When you're done, take a walk around the Radio Building. I have a little gift for you."

Li Mu asked in surprise, "What kind of gift, Brother Liang?"

"See for yourself."

Curious, Li Mu left the store and walked a few hundred meters to the Radio Building, a thirteen-story high-rise that was one of the few tall buildings in Haizhou. The Haizhou TV and Radio Station were located there. Puzzled, Li Mu suddenly saw a huge banner advertisement hanging on the side of the building, about five stories high. It featured a large photo of King Guo and the Metersbonwe logo, with the text: "Metersbonwe Haizhou Specialty Store Grand Opening Soon! Address: 58 Nanjie, West Gate..."

Li Mu was stunned. He had seen large building advertisements before, but he never imagined that his specialty store would have such a dominant one. Haizhou was a small city, and such an advertisement would be known city-wide within three days, with even more impact than a local TV ad.

Recalling that Song Liang had mentioned that some building advertisements would be available in early August, Li Mu was moved and called Song Liang, saying, "Brother Liang, this is too much..."

"Don't be so formal," Song Liang said casually. "All the building advertisements in the city over eight stories are in my hands. My last real estate project sold out, and these spots were just sitting idle."

Li Mu didn't want to owe Song Liang too much. He already owed him a big favor for helping with Guo Yuhang. Although the four of them had come to invite Song Liang to dinner to repay and curry favor, Li Mu felt he hadn't fully repaid the favor. Now, Song Liang was giving him another big gift.

However, to Song Liang, putting up these building advertisements for free was a small effort. He even paid to have the huge banners made, following his principle of doing good to the end. Moreover, Li Mu didn't know that Song Liang had a deep respect for him.

Even before Li Mu sought his help, Song Liang had picked up some information from Ye Tianming's father, Ye Youdao, about Li Mu's online promotion of the Simple Plan, which even Ye Youdao admired.

However, this wasn't enough to make Song Liang respect Li Mu, an 18-year-old boy.

What truly made him respect Li Mu was the recent heated discussion in Haizhou about Guo Lin's affair with a college student. Others didn't know the inside story, but Song Liang had guessed it. The guy Li Mu beat up was Guo Yuhang, and Guo Lin was his father. Not long after Song Liang helped Li Mu, a wave of mysterious netizens started attacking Guo Lin online, providing concrete evidence of his affair. When Xue Guilan attacked Zhao Lina at the education bureau, it made Guo Lin's situation even worse. Combining the two events, Song Liang immediately guessed that Li Mu was the mastermind behind it.

An 18-year-old boy could stir up such powerful destruction and hide himself so well. This boy was no ordinary person and deserved respect. Song Liang firmly believed that Li Mu's future was limitless. He even had a hunch that Li Mu's achievements would far surpass his own. Therefore, Li Mu was worth his full support, and doing something to help was nothing.

"This afternoon, I put up four building advertisements for you. This is just one of them. The other three are also in the city center. You'll see them if you take a walk around."

Li Mu quickly said, "Thank you, Brother Liang. When you have time, I'll treat you to a meal."

"Sure, in a couple of days," Song Liang said with a smile. "I'm busy lately, but I'll find you when I'm free."

"Alright!"

After hanging up, Li Mu walked around the city and saw the other three building advertisements, all about the same size and in very prominent locations. Li Mu thought that the exposure for his store would be unprecedented.

More importantly, Song Liang's building advertisements not only increased his exposure but also sent a clear message to those in power, business, and the underworld in Haizhou: Song Liang's resources were never used for others, even if they were idle. Now, he was giving such a big advertisement to a clothing store, signaling that this store was closely related to him. Knowing this, everyone would understand that after the Metersbonwe store opened, no one from the business, tax, or city management departments would dare to interfere. When any green lights were needed, they would not hesitate to help.

This intention was more important than simply increasing exposure.