Chapter 24: Li Youcai Steps Forward

Chen Dabao quickly dodged to the side and hid in the shadows.

Deng Hongyan looked around, circled the village a few times, and then quietly arrived outside Li Youcai’s house. It was no wonder this old woman had been having an affair with Li Youcai for so many years without being discovered; she was quite vigilant.

The gate to Li Youcai’s courtyard was unlocked. Deng Hongyan pushed it open, stepped inside, and quickly locked it behind her. Chen Dabao scanned his surroundings and quietly climbed up onto the courtyard wall.

As soon as Deng Hongyan entered the house, she fell into Li Youcai’s embrace.

"Where is that bitch Ma Jinlian?"

"She went to pray; she won't be back for at least an hour!"

"Then let’s be quick. Li Fugui went out for a drink; let’s make sure he doesn't find out!"

Before long, the two were locked in a passionate embrace.

"The village chief’s head is truly glowing green," Chen Dabao muttered. His eyes darted around, and he took out his phone to record the scene. He hadn't expected that, despite his age, Li Youcai could actually last ten minutes.

Once they were finished, Chen Dabao put away his phone, climbed down from the wall, and ducked aside. A few minutes later, Deng Hongyan poked her head out and scurried away. Chen Dabao followed suit, phone in hand.

After returning home, Chen Dabao didn't bother cooking. He sat cross-legged and continued his cultivation. By the time the sky was just beginning to brighten the next morning, he rode his motorcycle to the strawberry patch in the back of the village and began to harvest.

It took him over an hour to fill the two large baskets on his motorcycle, which likely held around a hundred pounds of strawberries. Afterward, he cast a small "Gathering Spirit Spell" on the remaining three plots of land before setting off on his motorcycle to deliver the goods to the city. Today was his first day of delivery; he couldn't afford to be late.

Just as Chen Dabao returned to the village, he saw the damn Chen Desheng and a few others banging loudly on his large iron gate.

"Chen Dabao, open up! Open this door right now! Don't think you can dodge your debt by hiding. If you don't pay up today, I’ll have you locked up in jail!" Chen Desheng shouted at the top of his lungs while pounding on the gate.

Chen Dabao frowned, turned his handlebars, and rode over to them.

"Chen Desheng, what do you think you’re doing?" Chen Dabao asked, his brow furrowed.

"What am I doing? What else but making you pay your debts?" Chen Desheng turned to see Chen Dabao. He opened his small bag and pulled out the IOUs. "I’m telling you, if you don't pay, I’ll have you arrested immediately. This Officer Liu is from the police station. Dare to refuse payment and see what happens!"

"What kind of 'Officer Liu' is this? He’d be lucky to even be a police auxiliary!" Chen Dabao glanced at the man with utter disdain. These days, what real police officer would follow someone around to collect debts and announce their own identity? Even if such a person existed, it wasn't someone Chen Desheng could afford to hire.

"So what if I'm an auxiliary? If you don't pay, do you think I won't handcuff you?" The man surnamed Liu’s expression shifted, and in a fit of rage, he pulled out a pair of handcuffs.

"Go ahead, try to cuff me. I don't think you want to keep your job!" Chen Dabao smiled scornfully and held out his wrists. Liu’s face changed; he didn't actually dare to cuff Chen Dabao. If he cuffed him without cause and Chen Dabao made a scene at the station or posted a video online, the station would certainly fire him. These temporary workers were meant to be scapegoats, and if he brought trouble upon himself, who else would they fire but him?

Seeing that things were going south, Chen Desheng hurriedly blocked Liu. He had brought Liu along to intimidate Chen Dabao, but he hadn't expected Chen Dabao to treat him as nothing at all.

"Chen Dabao, I’m telling you, I have the 120,000-yuan IOU right here. If you don't pay today, you’ll have to transfer your house to me!" Chen Desheng threatened viciously.

"Keep dreaming," Chen Dabao retorted bluntly.

"Chen Dabao, you’re trying to welsh on the debt, aren't you? Do you believe I’ll take you to court?" Chen Desheng’s face stiffened as he barked in frustration. He couldn't scare Chen Dabao, and if Chen Dabao refused to pay or give up the house, he was truly out of options. Even if he sued, the court might not even accept the case, as he wasn't the original lender. If he wasn't the creditor, why would the court listen to him?

"Go ahead and sue. I’ll be waiting!" Chen Dabao laughed dismissively. Chen Desheng had forgotten that he had been accepted into a top university; he understood basic law much better than Chen Desheng did. For Chen Desheng to sue him, he wouldn't just need the IOUs; he would need written authorization from the original creditors. Those creditors had already acted dishonorably by selling the IOUs to Chen Desheng—would they really bother writing him an authorization? Even if they did, a lawsuit would take months or years to resolve. Whether he could even win was another matter entirely. Chen Dabao wasn't afraid of a lawsuit at all.

"You... you!"

Chen Desheng was shaking with rage. He looked around at the gathered villagers, wondering why Liu Dafu, who had promised to help him deal with Chen Dabao yesterday, was nowhere to be found.

Chen Dabao understood immediately. Chen Desheng must have been sent by that old bastard Liu Dafu to annoy him. This bastard was truly becoming a nuisance, showing up every other day.

"Dabao, I am your uncle, after all. Even if you don't pay the full 120,000, surely you can pay 100,000?" Seeing the situation failing, Chen Desheng changed his tone, sounding almost like he was negotiating. "How about you give me 100,000, I give you these IOUs, and we call it even?"

Chen Desheng had spent 20,000 yuan to buy those IOUs. He thought he had the helpless Chen Dabao cornered, but he hadn't expected Chen Dabao to be this difficult. He couldn't win a fight, and a lawsuit would take forever. Chen Desheng gritted his teeth and decided to settle for a smaller profit.

"Are you still daydreaming?" Chen Dabao scoffed. How could he possibly agree to that?

Chen Desheng’s face turned from red to blue. He had already decided to take 20,000 less, so why was this brat still so stubborn?

"Chen Dabao, don't get cocky. Brother Desheng, if this brat won't pay, I’ll help you sue him. I have a relative at the court. I’ll take you to pull some strings; we can definitely get the case filed and a judgment issued quickly. Once that happens, if he doesn't pay, we’ll just sell his house!" Li Youcai suddenly appeared from out of nowhere and interjected.

"Brother Youcai, are you serious?" Chen Desheng’s eyes lit up. As the saying went, it was easy to get things done when you had people in the government. If he could resolve this easily, he wouldn't mind giving up half of the 120,000-yuan debt to grease the wheels. That would still net him 30,000 to 40,000 yuan.

"Of course I’m serious! Who in the village doesn't know about that?" Li Youcai gave Chen Dabao a triumphant glare. Chen Dabao had ruined his attempt to bully Chuntao and had taken back the land he occupied; Li Youcai was eager to teach him a harsh lesson.

"It seems Li Youcai really does have a relative in the court!"

"I think they're even from the same clan!"

"Isn't this just bullying? That’s despicable!"

The villagers watching the spectacle began to whisper among themselves.