False evidence

Chapter 72 Plain Noodles (Part 1)
I just think that there are at least two things in Chen Zudao's account that don't make sense.

However, I did not intend to ask any questions.

At this moment, although Chen Zudao was not drinking, he was clearly immersed in memories of the past.

This is undoubtedly the best opportunity to get information out of him.

However, as the old saying goes, it's not the god-like opponents you should fear, but the pig-like teammates.

Bai Jing clearly had also thought of what I had thought of, waved her hand, and said directly to Chen Zudao:

"No! What you're saying can't be true!"

I immediately realized that she was acting out of professional habit and tried to wink at her, but she just frowned and stared intently at Chen Zudao.

Chen Zudao said "Oh," and turned to her, asking, "What do you mean?"

Bai Jing countered, "How big is your earthenware jar that holds kerosene?"

Without a second thought, Chen Zudao said, "It's about the same size as the wine jar used for Taohua Bai wine, no, maybe a little bigger. You have to understand, I originally planned to bankrupt that rich family! Not kill them, but definitely prevent them from putting out the fire! Of course, we need to bring enough kerosene!"

Bai Jing frowned even more deeply:

"That's at least fifteen to twenty liters in capacity. Such a big jar, how much noise would it make if it broke? Not only did it not disturb the main family, but Lü Xin was also able to go inside to get his clothes?"

Chen Zudao stiffened his neck and said in a lecturing tone:
"Why are you always in such a hurry, little girl? Can't you let me finish what I have to say?"

Bai Jing finally looked at me, and our eyes met. She seemed to realize that she shouldn't have interrupted Chen Zudao at this moment, and quickly turned her face away from Chen Zudao, saying:
"Grandpa, I was wrong, please continue."

Chen Zudao seemed to really like this 'little girl,' nodding with a smile, but said:
"You silly girl, you're so smart, how come you can't think straight when it really matters?"

He turned to me, a sly glint in his eyes:
“You’re so slow on the uptake, but you must have figured it out.”

I said in a muffled voice:

"Do you even need to think about it? That man in white isn't from the same clan, nor is he a guard. He's probably just like you, someone who's become rusty. You're skilled and daring, while he's just clever and resourceful. He certainly couldn't have smashed the fire all by himself. He dared to be so arrogant because he probably used a drug to knock out the whole family."

"Snapped!"

Chen Zudao clapped his hands together. "That's right! That's exactly what happened! That day I changed into the clothes my little brother gave me... Damn it, those clothes were way too small. When I put on the pants, half of my calves were sticking out, not to mention the robe, which I couldn't even button up!"

I glanced at him and said, "The original owner of those clothes was either a fat man or a burly bodyguard."

I say this because, unless it's one of those two types of people, for Chen Zudao, ordinary men's pants are not capri pants; even if he could wear them, they would have to be skinny jeans!
Chen Zudao suddenly sighed:
"You...you're right. That's a guard's uniform, and the guard is a big fat guy. But he's a bit shorter than me, and that uniform...hehehe."

I asked, "What did Lü Xin say to you back then?"

"Speak frankly and honestly!"

Chen Zudao answered crisply, "That night I changed my clothes and followed him to that breakfast stall. Two bowls of plain noodles and a jar of Jiafan wine. I drank three bowls in a row, and my younger brother drank three bowls with me. In just the time it took to drink those three bowls of wine, he told me his secret."

During the day, I saw the rich man bullying the beggar, and he saw it too. They were of the same mind; they both wanted to teach the rich man a lesson. The younger brother was someone who hated trouble, but he was quick-witted. I went at night, but he went to the rich man's house in the afternoon and poisoned the water vat in the kitchen!
I don't kill, I only set fires. He was different! When he saw the rich man bullying the beggar, he was already filled with murderous intent, vowing to wipe out the rich man's entire family! That's what he thought, and that's what he did; within days, the rich man's family was truly destroyed!

"You guys are bastards!" Bai Jing finally couldn't help but swear. "Is it really necessary? Does that rich man want to take the life of a beggar?"

Chen Zudao sneered: "The rich man didn't want to kill the beggar; he just gave him food."

Bai Jing was taken aback, then became even more furious: "Then you're just a bunch of bastards! Giving food to beggars, how is that bullying?"

Chen Zudao also raised his voice: "Do you know what season it is? Do you know how that rich man gave it to you?!"

"Stop talking!" I grabbed an old-fashioned rattan pillow and threw it at Bai Jing.

Chen Zudao's expression softened somewhat, but his tone became even more resentful:
"My brother and I wore only thin clothes because we were both martial artists! It was the dead of winter! A beggar was just kneeling at a door begging for scraps, but that rich man ordered his men to bring over a bucket of swill and pour it over his head! Where would a beggar get spare clothes? He would have just been waiting to freeze to death!"

"Damn it," I blurted out, referring, of course, to that heartless rich man.

Chen Zudao nodded vigorously, but said, "Just like that, it wouldn't have been enough to wipe out the whole family. I later became close friends with my younger brother, so I don't blame him for being ruthless; there was another reason."

He turned to Bai Jing, his neck stiff, and said, "Girl, you should know what kind of temper your great-grandfather has. I won't kill someone who doesn't deserve to die, and if someone else does, I'll stop them. But that time, not only did I not stop my little brother, I even helped him. Do you know why?"

That's because the rich man amassed his fortune through shady means! The younger brother, being lazy by nature, initially didn't intend to intervene when he saw the rich man bullying the beggar. But then he noticed the rich man take off his hat and see the scab on the back of his head, and immediately recognized him!

"Does he know that rich man?" Bai Jing asked.

Chen Zudao nodded vigorously: "Yes! I was originally a young master from a wealthy family. I ended up wandering the world because I was kidnapped as a child (a method of child abduction in the early days) and sold to a distant place. Children may not remember what people look like, but he remembers the person who kidnapped him, who had a scab the size of a fist on the back of his head!"

Bai Jing was shocked, then suddenly realized: "That rich man started out as a kidnapper? If that's the case, then his whole family should really be wiped out."

Chen Zudao nodded repeatedly, "That's right! That's right! That's right!"

As he said this, his large hands clenched so tightly they made a "crackling" sound.

Seeing his posture, I was genuinely a little scared.

Therefore, I made a quick decision and said:

Where was that place back then?

"Suzhou!" Chen Zudao was still angry, reminiscing about the past.

I looked at him for a moment, and then suddenly laughed.

Chen Zudao was stunned. "What...what are you laughing at?"

Instead of answering, I asked, "Then a breakfast shop is a stationary business, but since it's a breakfast shop, it probably won't be very big."

"It wasn't big, just a small storefront! I remember it clearly, just two square tables!"

I smiled and said, "In the early hours of the morning, in a small shop with only two tables, over two bowls of plain noodles and a jar of Jiafan wine, you and... Lü Xin, were already having a heart-to-heart talk?"

(End of this chapter)