Chapter Thirty-Seven: Wen Xiuting’s Hometown

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Shen Ye drove the car, chatting casually with Wen Xiuting in the back seat. "What does your husband’s family do?"

"They farm," Wen Xiuting replied.

"How much land do they have?" Shen Ye asked.

"They originally had just six acres, but they also work other people's land, so altogether it's more than thirty acres," Wen Xiuting answered.

"More than thirty acres—should be quite profitable, right?"

"Not really." Wen Xiuting shook her head. "In theory, thirty acres ought to earn a decent living. But our village is different from others. In our village, there's a local bully named Lu Daqi. He monopolizes the fertilizer business in town—no one else can sell fertilizer, only him. And his prices are outrageously high, much more expensive than anywhere else. Whatever little profit people make from farming, it all ends up in his pocket."

"In the 1980s, he went to prison for stabbing someone. Afterwards, he was in and out of jail several times. He’s always been a violent man, and in recent years he’s recruited a few thugs to work for him. It's said that he has connections with some people in town, a strong backing. Someone once tried to report him, but it was useless—they got beaten up by Lu Daqi for their trouble."

"A bully in the township," Shen Ye muttered, surprised. "If his fertilizer costs so much more, why don’t people go to neighboring towns or the county to buy it?"

"There are only a few sellers around. If any of them tried to sell fertilizer to people from our town, Lu Daqi would go there and make trouble. He’s a scoundrel, and his thugs go with him. Over time, no one dares sell to us. So everyone has no choice but to buy from him," Wen Xiuting explained softly.

A sharp, murderous glint flashed in Shen Ye’s eyes.

Major villains like Lu Youwei or Ma Guosheng must be dealt with, of course. But small-time bullies like the township thug, since he’d encountered one, ought to be eliminated too.

Of course, this was only one side of the story. He needed to meet Lu Daqi himself, use the Eye of Justice to see if he truly was the local scourge.

...

The car stopped in front of the Wen family's house.

It was a small two-story building. Country houses like this were cheap—a twenty thousand yuan could easily build one.

"Sister-in-law, we’ve arrived," Shen Ye said as he opened the car door.

Wen Xiuting got out.

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Then, a haggard woman in her fifties came to the door. She looked at Wen Xiuting first, then turned her curious gaze toward Shen Ye. "And who is this?"

"Mom, you’re here," Wen Xiuting said quickly. "This is Shen Ye, cousin to Shen Die. He runs a restaurant now, and I work there as a waitress—the pay is very good. He just bought a car, and since I needed to bring Xiao Nan home, and the journey is long and the bus crowded, he gave me a lift."

Shen Ye hurriedly greeted her, "Hello, Aunt Wen."

"So you’re Xiuting’s boss! Thank you for bringing her home. It’s nearly noon—why not stay for lunch?" Aunt Wen smiled warmly.

"No, no, that's not necessary," Shen Ye tried to decline politely.

But Aunt Wen was insistent, her hospitality unwavering, and eventually Shen Ye had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Wen Xiuting opened the trunk and took out a bag of apples, a bag of milk, a ginseng root, and a packet of Tianqi. "Mom, how’s Dad’s illness? Is it serious?"

"You child, coming home is enough, why bring so many things?" Aunt Wen scolded lightly. Hearing Wen Xiuting ask about her father's health, she sighed. "Your father, he’s sick from anger."

"How could Dad get sick from anger? What happened?" Wen Xiuting pressed.

Aunt Wen sighed. "We keep a cow, right? One day while grazing, it moved a bit too fast and stepped into Lu Daqi’s rice field. Lu Daqi demanded compensation. We all know he’s a bully, so we thought, if the cow trampled some rice, we’d pay for it."

"But Lu Daqi insisted his rice was some special experimental kind—extraordinarily precious, a national premium variety. So he demanded five thousand yuan in compensation."

"For the few stalks of rice the cow trampled, it was barely worth a few dozen yuan. He wanted five thousand."

"Of course, we refused."

"But then Lu Daqi barged in with his thugs."

"In the end, we had no choice but to pay four thousand. That was the end of it."

"But it became a burden on your father’s mind, and not two days later, he fell ill with anger."

Four thousand yuan might mean nothing to high-salaried city dwellers.

But for rural folk who live off farming, it’s a huge sum.

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Wen Xiuting, hearing this, grew furious. "What? The cow only trampled a bit of rice, worth at most a few dozen yuan, and he demanded four thousand? Is there any law here at all?"

Aunt Wen shook her head and sighed. "You know this place is nothing like the county town. Lu Daqi is a thorough scoundrel. Talking about law is pointless. That’s why I want you and your brother to stay in the city and never come back. Both of you are thin and frail—if you return to the village, won’t Lu the bully torment you to death?"

Wen Xiuting went in to see her father, but the illness was mostly anger and not serious. Seeing his beloved daughter home, he recovered somewhat.

And so Wen Xiuting stayed at her parents’ house for a few days to care for her father.

Shen Ye drove his new Ford back to N County. After returning to his seaside cottage, he resumed normal business—nothing unusual at all.

After closing at nine that evening, Shen Ye hailed an unlicensed taxi and headed directly to Nanling Town.

He kept his face low in the cab, avoiding the driver’s gaze so as not to be recognized.

Erasing all suspicion before taking action was basic discipline.

Upon arrival, he paid fifty yuan for the ride.

Then, quietly, he approached Changling Village.

It was around ten o’clock at night.

In the city, this was the hour nightlife just began—many young men and women were dancing, partying, enjoying themselves in clubs.

But in the countryside, it was late; most homes had already turned off their lights. If anyone passed by, the dogs would bark ceaselessly.

Shen Ye’s target was clear—the address of Lu Daqi’s house, which he’d confirmed earlier that day. There were several hungry dogs there; before they could bark, Shen Ye tossed in a few meat buns laced with poison. Moments later, the dogs collapsed.

Shen Ye slipped quietly inside.