Chapter 452 - 450: Not to Be Trifled With
"Li," Qian Shucai said, his face dark as he stared at Li Xiangyang. "If you don’t clear out of that pig farm for me by next month, you’d better watch your pigs!"
Li Xiangyang walked right up to him, scanned him from head to toe, then leaned in and whispered in his ear, "From this day on, if there’s even the slightest sign of trouble at my pig farm, you’ll lose a body part. Don’t believe me? Just try it and see."
Qian Shucai, utterly terrified, took a step back and pointed at him. "You dare..."
Li Xiangyang grinned and patted him on the shoulder twice. "Hey now, I didn’t do anything to you, did I? Look how scared you are. Don’t worry, this is a modern society now. We have to obey the law, or we’ll end up in jail, you know!"
The man with Qian Shucai looked at him, confused. "Old Qian, what did he say?"
Li Xiangyang smiled. "I was just telling him that if you guys want the pig farm, it’s simple. As long as you pay, I can even sell you the pigs inside."
The more Li Xiangyang denied what he’d just said, the more unsettled Qian Shucai felt. With a grim face, he said to the three men who had come with him, "Let’s go."
Seeing the dark look on his face, the three men quickly followed him out.
Li Xiangyang said to Old He, "I’m going to the brigade office. You and Er Han tidy up what needs to be tidied."
"Alright!" Old He agreed.
Li Xiangyang left the pig farm and rode his bike toward the Red Star Brigade headquarters. The grain had already been harvested, and the fields were full of withered yellow stubble and straw.
About ten minutes later, he arrived at the drying ground, where several women were raking grain with long-handled rakes.
Li Xiangyang got off his bike and walked along the edge of the drying ground to the brigade office. He saw a man sitting in a chair, head down, writing something.
He knocked on the door. "Captain Yang, busy day?"
Captain Yang looked up, saw him, and smiled. "Boss Li, when did you get here?"
"If I hadn’t come, my pig farm would be about to be torn down," Li Xiangyang said with a wry smile. "Captain Yang, Qian Shucai brought some men to my farm to cause trouble. Do you have any way to resolve this?"
Captain Yang started playing dumb. "Qian Shucai and his buddies are clamoring to take the pig farm back, and I’ve tried to dissuade them. But you know that almost everyone in the Red Star Brigade is named Qian. A captain like me is basically just a figurehead. There’s nothing I can do!"
Li Xiangyang looked at him coldly. "Captain Yang, that pig farm was originally a piece of wasteland. I spent a lot of money to build it. It’s only been a few years! I haven’t even earned back the money I invested in construction, and our lease isn’t up yet. Are you people planning to break the contract?"
Captain Yang sighed, a troubled look on his face. "Boss Li, Qian Shucai and his gang are pestering me about this every single day. They’re even spreading rumors that I took bribes from you. I didn’t get any of the reward, just all of the trouble!"
’Still thinking about rewards? Aren’t you afraid you’ll get an upset stomach and diarrhea!’
Seeing him put on an act, Li Xiangyang said coldly, "Since you can’t do anything, I’ll take my contract and find the commune officials. I may just be a pig dealer, but I still know a few people in the East Market. I refuse to believe there’s nowhere to find justice!"
With that, he turned and walked away.
"Boss Li, let’s talk this out!" Captain Yang scrambled to his feet and grabbed his arm. "We don’t intend to break the contract! It’s just a few hooligans in the brigade who are jealous of your pig farm’s success. They’ve been pestering me, and I’m at my wit’s end!"
Li Xiangyang looked at him impassively. "Captain Yang, if you’re stopping me because you want to solve this problem, I’ll stay. If not, I’m going to find someone who can."
He snorted coldly. "They want to snatch my pig farm without paying a single cent? I’d like to see if they have what it takes."
Captain Yang forced a smile. "Boss Li, please, have a seat and be patient. I’ll go get Qian Shucai and his men. We can all talk this over reasonably."
Li Xiangyang glared at him angrily. "Qian Shucai was just at my pig farm! He even threatened that if I don’t clear out by next month, I’d better ’watch my pigs’! What is there to discuss with someone like that?"
"That’s completely unreasonable! You just sit here for a moment, I’ll go find him!" Captain Yang said as he started to walk out. Li Xiangyang started to follow him. "Captain Yang, lock the office before you go."
"Ah, you’re being too cautious!"
"This is your brigade’s office. If I’m left in here alone, it could lead to unnecessary suspicion. That wouldn’t be good."
Seeing his insistence, Captain Yang had no choice but to turn back, lock the door, and hurry to a nearby house. He spoke directly to the man inside, "Hongwei, that Li guy went to the brigade office. Do you people still want the pig farm or not?"
Qian Hongwei immediately replied, "Yes, of course we do! Brother-in-law, let me tell you, I’ve been watching the street vendors in town lately. Meat that doesn’t require coupons is selling like hotcakes! I’ve already checked the prices for piglets. As soon as that Li guy moves out, we’ll buy them."
Captain Yang frowned at him. "If you want it, then you need to come up with a solid plan, and fast. That Li guy doesn’t seem like someone to mess with!"
Qian Hongwei said quickly, "I already sent Qian Shucai and the others to find him, to scare him..."
"Bullshit! The man is waiting outside my brigade office right now, and he’s threatening to report me to the commune! I heard the old captain say before that this Li guy has a relative in the East Market who’s a high-ranking official."
"He’s just a butcher. What kind of connections could he have?"
"Hmph, he’s the one who helped the old captain buy his television. You tell me if he has connections or not!" Captain Yang paused, then warned, "I served the old captain loyally for years after I left the army, and I finally managed to become the brigade captain. Don’t you dare cause trouble for me!"
Qian Hongwei pouted. "Brother-in-law, it’s not like I’m the only one who’ll benefit from getting the pig farm. You have a stake in this too. So tell me, what’s your position on this?"
Before Captain Yang could speak, Qian Shucai walked in with a dark expression. "Captain, Third Brother, that Li guy is a ruthless one. He threatened me... I can tell he wasn’t just talking. He’d actually do it!"
Captain Yang’s heart sank when he heard this. "It seems this Li guy has connections in both the government and the underworld. I think we’d better just offer him some money..."
"Brother-in-law, what are you afraid of? Even a mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake. No matter how tough he is, once he’s on our turf, if he’s a dragon, he’ll have to coil up, and if he’s a tiger, he’ll have to lie down."
Qian Hongwei looked at the two of them. "Brother-in-law, you go back and keep him occupied. Shucai, you go find a few guys and hide them in the woods. When he passes by, we’ll throw a sack over his head and give him a brutal beating. Let’s see if he still dares to act so tough!"
"An ambush?" Captain Yang frowned at him. "You think one beating will solve the problem? When the time comes, he’ll report us. Never mind you ending up in jail, I’ll be stripped of my captain title for sure."
He was displeased. ’This brother-in-law of mine is the real ruthless one,’ he thought. ’For money, he doesn’t give a damn about my future!’
Seeing that he was unhappy, Qian Hongwei put on an apologetic smile. "Brother-in-law, since you’re not willing to offend that Li guy, I’ll go along with your idea. How much money do you think we should offer him?"