The Unorthodox Tomb Raider

If these forces were to harbor any ill intentions, the Gu family would certainly face some threat.

If Gu Tingfang really did take the item, Fang Yun naturally wouldn't bother getting involved and would be happy to watch them fight it out.

But now, the difference is that Miss Gu has handed the beads over to me.

Although Gu Tingfang couldn't do anything if he insisted on taking it, he still owed her a favor. Regardless, Fang Yun had to repay this favor.

"It would be better to go and give them a heads-up, so they don't suffer any unnecessary harm because of this."

Fang Yun was naturally aware of the current situation of the Gu family. If the Gu family were truly powerful, he wouldn't need to worry about it. However, what the Gu family lacked was precisely strength.

Their purpose in seizing this bead was to enhance their overall strength, but they didn't realize that it was a double-edged sword.

"I wonder where they've gone. Oh well, I'll just go to the Gu family's place and wait for them."

Fang Yun knew that Gu Tingfang and the other woman were definitely avoiding everyone, which meant they wouldn't be moving too fast. But since he didn't know where they were, he could only go to the Gu family's house and wait for them.

"Hopefully they won't be too impatient."

Fang Yun then left the spot. Just then, the men heard the noise and rushed over to Fang Yun's side, but when they found the grass empty, they realized it was just the wind blowing and that they had been too sensitive.

When Fang Yun returned to Guangling City, he was quite emotional. Before coming to Guangling City, he had never thought he would have such an encounter. He had only come to learn about the situation here. He never expected that he would be able to obtain something like the Puppet Suppressor Pearl.

Sometimes, opportunity and fate are indeed much more important than ability.

What's the use of having ability if you don't have the opportunity?

At this moment, Fang Yun had no intention of going back to find Li Jiaying. The young master of the Li family, whose name was something like "820," had left a very bad impression on Fang Yun, which in turn affected his overall impression of the Li family.

Although Li Jiaying treated me well, that's just how people are; negative things are always more memorable than positive ones.

Moreover, Fang Yun didn't want to cause any trouble for the Li family. After all, if he wanted to protect the Gu family, he would inevitably have to contend with various forces in Guangling City. If someone found out that he had any connection with the Li family, it would likely have some impact on the Li family as well.

Fang Yun disliked owing favors to others and didn't want to cause any negative impact on others because of his own actions. So, after thinking it over, Fang Yun decided to avoid contact with anyone for the time being.

Let's settle this matter with the Gu family first, otherwise, holding this bead in my hand will feel strange, like I'm always holding something back from Gu Tingfang. That's not a good feeling.

Chapter 500 The Ancient Family

However, Guangling City is so big, Fang Yun really didn't know where the Gu family was. Thinking of this, Fang Yun walked to the middle of the road and flagged down a car.

"Master, go to the Gu family."

As soon as Fang Yun spoke, the driver shouted "Okay!" and started the car.

After the car had traveled several kilometers, Fang Yun suddenly realized that he had said he was going to the Gu family without any explanation. And the driver hadn't even asked, which was strange.

"Master, do you know where the Gu family is? I'm talking about the one that runs the Gu Family Jewelry Store. Don't go to the wrong place."

Upon hearing this, the driver smiled and said, "Sir, there are no people with the surname Gu in Guangling City. Judging from how frank you were earlier, I knew that the Gu family you are looking for is definitely not a small, insignificant family."

"And there's only one Gu family that you can name in this city. Don't worry, you won't go to the wrong place."

The driver confidently offered his analysis, which made Fang Yun smile. It was clear that the Gu family was no small fry; in Guangling City, they were considered a giant among ordinary people.

Of course, they had no idea that the struggle between these giants would be so intense.

Since the driver seemed to know the way well, Fang Yun decided to look at the surrounding scenery. He had heard that Guangling had beautiful scenery, but he had encountered various things since arriving, so he hadn't had a chance to properly see the city.

Unexpectedly, there was a rare moment of peace in this taxi.

However, although this city is beautiful, it is not a place for just anyone to live. For example, this city has a population of several hundred.

Of these people, how many are merely embellishments in this city, or have worked hard to earn even a small foothold here?

Countless thoughts flashed through Fang Yun's mind. Even in his youth, he could always hear the neighbors talking about who had returned from some big city.

Although it sounds like a tale of glory, one look at the man's white hair and frosty beard reveals the hardships he endured.

Just as Fang Yun was pondering, he smelled the aroma of fried dough sticks, seemingly wafting from a small stall on the street.

Just then, the road was a bit congested, and the taxi had been stuck in one spot for a long time without moving. Fang Yun searched around and finally found the source of the fragrance.

At the street corner, a small black iron pot was placed on a small stove, and steam was constantly rising from the pot, wafting out the aroma of fried dough.

Although he didn't hear the sound of the oil frying, even from such a distance, Fang Yun could almost see the sizzling hot oil in the pot, and the snow-white, chewy dough gradually becoming crispy and golden in the oil.

Thinking of this, a drop of oil involuntarily dripped from the corner of Fang Yun's mouth, making him chuckle as he quickly wiped it away. If he were a child, Fang Yun wouldn't have felt ashamed; he would have just been annoyed that the fried dough was too fragrant.

But now, Fang Yun will wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth, but he no longer feels the same excitement and longing for those street foods as before.

This is where things changed.

At this time, there were relatively few people around the stall, with only a few people coming occasionally. So the stall owner, a man from Central South China wearing a white vest, simply placed the fried food on the shelf.

When someone arrives, they are well taken care of, and in their spare time they can wave a fan and sing a little tune.

Behind the middle-aged man was a small table where a boy of about five or six years old was doing his homework. He seemed to have finished the last question. Suddenly, the boy jumped up and happily asked the man for a piece of fried dough as a reward.

The middle-aged man also had a big smile on his face. He looked at his son and tapped him on the head with a lot of affection, seemingly saying, "You can't eat so much. I'll tear off a small piece for you to try."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man prepared to take a piece of fried dough and use chopsticks to break it into several pieces for the boy, since the boy was still young and could not eat too much oily food.

Seeing the little boy jumping around, Fang Yun imagined how happy the child would be when he ate the fried dough (it was money), and couldn't help but feel a little sweet herself.

This reminded him of his childhood. Wasn't he just like this child? If he could finish his homework and have some snacks, that would be one of life's greatest pleasures, enough to make him happy all day long.

Just then, an SUV came around the corner. The car had a black exterior and tires that were more than half a meter high. When it drove up to the stall, it braked suddenly.

Although the sudden noise startled both father and son, the middle-aged man wiped his hands and prepared to take the job as soon as he saw a business opportunity.

"Selling fried dough sticks? Pack me thirty, just enough to take home for the servants."

Chapter 501 Heartache

Fang Yun was in the car, watching the scene with great interest.

I thought to myself that my father must be very happy to have landed such a big deal, since such orders are not easy to come by.

So the middle-aged man agreed with a smile and then quickly started working in the oil pan.

He was the only one at the stall, responsible for kneading dough and frying, and the customer was in a hurry and ordered a large quantity, so the middle-aged man wished he had two more hands.

Before they had been working for very long, beads of sweat were already streaming down their foreheads.

"Hurry up, I'm in a rush."

The man on the bus impatiently urged him again, so the busy middle-aged man had no choice but to speed up.

At this moment, the little boy who had been standing to the side shouted, "Dad, there's one for me too!"

The middle-aged man was too busy to pay attention to his son's voice and didn't respond. The child thought his father hadn't heard him, so he called out again, "Dad, don't forget about the fried dough sticks!"

At this moment, the middle-aged man turned around and snarled at the boy: "Eat, eat, all you know is how to eat. Can't you see I'm too busy to handle everything?"

Upon seeing the middle-aged man's appearance, the boy's eyes welled up with tears, but he kept his head down and didn't let himself cry. Instead, he silently returned to his seat.

When the middle-aged man realized he had lost his composure, he no longer cared about comforting his child. He already had enough pressure in life; what if a customer was dissatisfied with the service and just turned around and left?

Thinking of this, the middle-aged man continued to knead the dough under his hands vigorously.

"hurry up."

"It'll be soon, it'll be soon."

Finally, about ten minutes later, the man packed the fried dough sticks into a paper bag and handed it to the man in the car. The man dropped a hundred-yuan bill down and drove away without saying a word.

Only then did the man's face relax, and he carefully put the banknote back into his purse.

Only then did he notice that the boy had his back to him. He called out twice, but the boy did not respond.

Fang Yun sat in the car and watched, sighing. This was the life of ordinary citizens, their backs already crushed by life.

They have to compromise their families' needs to make a living, but there's nothing they can do about it.

Just like that popular saying, you need to hold bricks in your hand to hug you, otherwise you can't support yourself. You have to make a choice between the two.

The boy was very stubborn. His father called him several times, but he didn't respond. He just kept his head down and wrote and drew with a pen.

The man, unaware of his son's anger, walked over, patted the boy on the shoulder again, and gave him a slight smile.

"Xiaoguo, Dad has just saved up enough money. Your backpack is all worn out. I'll take you to buy a new one later."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man took out all the money he had earned that day from his pocket, one bill at a time. Many of the bills were still stained with oil. When he counted the last bill, it was exactly three hundred yuan.

"Let's buy that brown bear one. Your mom said not to buy anything too expensive, but I think the one with the back strap is more comfortable..."

Unbeknownst to Fang Yun, tears welled up in the boy's eyes again, and Fang Yun herself felt a lump in her throat.

Back then, my parents were just like that, struggling to make a living, but in the end, the money was still spent on me.

"The road is open, let's go."

Just then, the driver in front shouted that the two cars that had collided had been towed away and traffic had returned to normal.

As the fried dough stall outside the window receded into the distance, Fang Yun also put aside his thoughts, and a sharp glint reappeared in his eyes.

The price of growing up is losing some of your sensitivity and gaining a bit more resilience. Fang Yun used to think there was nothing wrong with that, but now she's less sure.

Soon, the taxi entered a more bustling area, which should be close to the city center. The driver said that the Gu family's mansion was located in the most expensive commercial district.

It is also in the style of the Gu family mansion, with an antique appearance from the outside. Almost everyone in Guangling City knows it, and some people even regard it as a tourist destination for taking photos.

The driver kept talking as he drove, as if the Gu family truly held a high status, and even discussing them made him feel different.

"If you ask me, those who usually deal with the Gu family are all either rich or powerful. Although the Gu family is still quite a distance from being the richest family, they are definitely in the top ten. For ordinary people like us, they wouldn't even dare to dream of it."

"By the way, I heard that the Gu family also has some overseas influence, and there are quite a few Gu family laborers abroad who specifically provide the Gu family with ores and some rare jade artifacts. So the Gu family's jade business has always been very good."