Chapter 126 The Lobbyist

The construction project was progressing at a remarkably swift pace. With an ever-growing workforce, the site buzzed with intense activity amidst the biting winter chill. The enclosing wall stretched outward like a massive serpent, the foundation of the first building had already been laid, the steel reinforcement bars were firmly tied, and carpenters were busy nailing together the wooden formwork. Pouring had begun on the foundation of the second building, and it was estimated that the groundwork for that one would also be completed within a couple of days.

Standing on an elevated vantage point, Le'er gazed out over the sprawling construction site, now beginning to take recognizable shape, and felt a quiet surge of pride. After all, this was his very own project. True, a small fortune had already been spent, but there was no use in wincing over the cost—regret would change nothing. Luo Yinxiang kept a mercilessly tight grip on every single ledger, scurrying back and forth across the site from dawn till dusk. Every single cart of gravel, every single cubic inch of concrete had to pass under her watchful eyes and meet the rigorous test of her measuring tape, accounting for every fraction without a single leak.

"Le'er, you son of a bitch, you've really hired yourself a proper head housekeeper," several of the engineering contractors had grumbled with good-natured exasperation. "We're all terrified of her. She won't let a single grain of rice slip through the cracks—she calculates things even more meticulously than she would for her own household."

Though the contractors occasionally voiced mild complaints, Luo Yinxiang never actually shortchanged the hardworking laborers; she simply measured and calculated with absolute precision, leaving everyone secretly pleased in the end.

On this front, Le'er was thoroughly satisfied. Luo Yinxiang never shirked from hardship or trouble, tirelessly throwing herself into every task from morning until night. At the same time, she felt a quiet sense of triumph, basking in her newfound authority and prestige, which would have gladdened anyone in her position. Whenever she caught sight of Le'er, her gaze invariably carried a lingering look of grievance, yet she found herself entirely powerless to change her situation.

Just as Le'er was planning to head over to the quarry to check on things—given the ever-increasing demand for gravel—Tao Huan came running from a distance, shouting as he approached.

"Le'er, it's bad! That damn You-neng has grabbed a knife and is heading over to Lili's place to kill people!"

"What on earth is going on?" Le'er demanded, his expression shifting to one of sheer astonishment. "Has the bastard lost his mind?"

"No, it's not that simple. You-neng had already bought everything needed for the engagement, but Lili's family suddenly backed out of the agreement," Tao Huan gasped, out of breath. "Lili's father locked her up... locked her away so she couldn't see You-neng. You-neng flew into a rage, grabbed a chopper, and threatened to hack someone to death. Right now his old man is trying to hold him back, and I barely managed to snatch the knife away from him, but I'm afraid he's still going to go after them."

Le'er was momentarily stunned. Lili's family had given their full consent previously, and Tao You-neng's family had already purchased all the engagement goods. How could they flip the script so suddenly?

"Hurry up and come with me. The son of a bitch won't listen to a word we say; you're the only one who can keep him in check."

Without a second thought, Le'er broke into a run alongside Tao Huan toward Upper Tao Village.

As they ran, Tao Huan recounted the sequence of events. A matchmaker had recently approached Lili's family with a marriage proposal on behalf of another household. Although that family wasn't particularly wealthy either, they were considerably better off than Tao You-neng's. Lili's father had been tempted by the offer and reneged on his promise, wanting to marry Lili off to the other suitor instead.

When they arrived at Tao You-neng's house, You-neng was locked inside his room by his father, screaming and jumping up and down, still determined to march over to Lili's place and exact bloodshed. He swore he would slaughter Lili's father along with the rival who dared to poach his intended bride. Tao You-neng's father had hastily summoned Village Secretary Tao to intervene, but You-neng refused to listen to reason, continuing to howl and curse inside.

Upon seeing Le'er arrive, Secretary Tao wiped the heavy sweat from his forehead.

"Le'er, hurry up and talk some sense into this stubborn bastard. Damn his toes, he won't listen to a single word."

Secretary Tao was not only the village secretary but also an elder relative of Tao You-neng, granting him the seniority to scold him freely.

"Secretary Uncle, don't bother wasting your breath on him; let him go die if he wants to," Le'er shouted from outside the door. "The damn fool thinks he's invincible just because he's holding a kitchen knife, completely devoid of any brain cells. Uncle Tao, open the door and let him go hack someone to death and throw his life away."

How could Tao You-neng's father dare to open the door? He looked from Le'er to Secretary Tao, his hands trembling violently.

"Brother Shigui, listen to Le'er and unlock the door. Can you possibly lock him up for the rest of his life?" Secretary Tao sighed. "Let Le'er go in and talk to him."

With trembling hands, Tao You-neng's father finally unlocked the door.

Tao You-neng's face was streaked with tears, and clutching another kitchen knife in his hand, he lunged forward, desperate to break out.

"Put that knife down," Le'er glared at him and said in a calm, measured tone. "What kind of world do you think this is? You think you can murder someone and not pay with your own life? Is your life really worth less than that old man's?"

"I... I don't want to live anymore," Tao You-neng wailed loudly.

"If you don't want to live, go drown yourself in a puddle of your own piss instead of running around trying to kill people," Le'er said, effortlessly wresting the knife from his grip. "You want to throw your life away over something this trivial? Are you even a man?"

"They... they went too far! Those bastards bullied me, so I'm going to hack them to pieces," Tao You-neng shouted, his neck bulging with thick veins.

"Oh, absolutely, you're quite the heroic bastard, aren't you?" Le'er sneered sarcastically. "You refuse to use your brains, and apparently, your skull is even more useless than a kitchen knife. Is your head filled with water, or is it just packed with fresh cow dung? Let me ask you: do you actually genuinely like Lili?"

"Of course I like her!"

"If you like her, your first instinct is to try and hack her father to death? Is that your idea of affection?"

"They... they locked Lili up!" Tao You-neng's genuine anguish broke through again as fresh tears streamed down his face. "I..."

"Alright, stop sticking your ox-head out like that," Le'er patted him firmly on the shoulder. "If you truly like Lili, you need to figure out a proper way to marry her and bring her home. Do you honestly think you can chop your way to a bride with a kitchen knife?"

"What other choice do I have? I have no idea what to do!"

Le'er paused for a moment of reflection and turned his gaze toward Secretary Tao.

"Secretary Uncle, why don't the two of us make a trip over to that girl Lili's house?" Le'er produced a pack of cigarettes and offered them around. "You're the village secretary; your words carry far more weight than mine, and you're much more persuasive."

"An old man like me, how much weight do my words really carry... cough... very well then, let's go over there and see what kind of twisted logic they're trying to spin."

Secretary Tao was initially reluctant; playing the mediator in such disputes was a thankless task that earned no praise. If the mediation succeeded, all well and good, but if it failed, he would exhaust himself for nothing, ruin his reputation, and inevitably offend people in the process. However, since Le'er had already proposed it, and given his own standing as both an elder and the village secretary, refusing outright would be improper.

"Uncle, don't you worry," Le'er smiled reassuringly. "Let me see if I can invite Chief Xie to come along with us."

"Ah... if we can get Chief Xie to accompany us, well then, victory is assured," Secretary Tao's confidence instantly surged. "With his presence, would they dare refuse to show a little face?"

Le'er placed a call to Chief Xie, succinctly outlining the entire situation to Xie Dahpao.

"Well now, Le'er, you always seem to drag me into these ridiculous messes of yours," Xie Dahpao chuckled on the other end. "Alright, just for your sake, I'll tag along and see what's going on."

"Many thanks, Big Brother."

"Heh heh... Besides, that damn You-neng hauling a knife around to commit murder is something I'm duty-bound to handle anyway," Xie Dahpao laughed heartily. "If a tragedy really happened, our police station would bear some responsibility, wouldn't we? Wait for me in the village; I'll drive over and pick you up."

Tao You-neng's parents were, naturally, overwhelmed with gratitude.

Before long, Chief Xie arrived in a police vehicle accompanied by an officer. Secretary Tao and Le'er ushered Tao You-neng into the car. Lili's family lived in a place called Shenjiachong, which was only about seven or eight li away from Upper Tao Village. However, the road conditions were rather poor, and it took them over half an hour of driving to finally arrive.

Lili's family home was situated slightly off the main road. Shenjiachong nestled between two modest hills, with houses built along the slopes, comprising roughly a hundred households. The moment the police vehicle appeared, numerous villagers flocked over to watch. Being a somewhat remote area, cars rarely traversed the local roads, let alone official police vehicles, making it quite a spectacle.

A swarm of children led the way, and a few sharp-eyed villagers recognized Chief Xie sitting inside, prompting looks of astonishment. Police officers rarely ventured deep into mountain villages, and seeing a group of figures heading straight toward Lili's house, the onlookers immediately began murmuring and gossoping amongst themselves.

"Whose family in the Qingshan household is in trouble?" asked the villager who had recognized Chief Xie. "Is Chief Xie here to make an arrest?"

Lili's father was named Shen Qingshan.

Someone had already run ahead to alert him. Upon hearing the news, Shen Qingshan was deeply startled; his only son was away working in Guangzhou—could something have happened to him? Puzzled and anxious, he stepped out of his courtyard gate, only to see Tao You-neng arriving in the company of officials and outsiders, causing his expression to darken instantly.

However, being an ordinary countryman, how could he ever dare to offend the head of the local police station? He hastily forced a smile and stepped forward to greet them.

"Chief Xie, what rare wind has blown you into my humble den?"

Shen Qingshan appeared to be in his early forties, not particularly tall but solidly built, clearly a man accustomed to hard manual labor. His home lacked the modern finish of concrete and red brick, consisting instead of traditional fired-clay tiles, though the structure appeared newly built. His family's financial standing was neither particularly poor nor well-off—falling squarely into the middle-lower stratum of rural society, which also testified to his diligence.

Xie Dahpao maintained a stern expression.

"Are you Shen Qingshan?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Word has reached us that you've locked your daughter up inside the house?" Xie Dahpao asked with an air of absolute official gravity.

"Indeed I did. The girl wouldn't listen to reason, so I locked her up to keep her from running wild."

Shen Qingshan cast a hostile glare at Tao You-neng, instantly deducing that he must have been the one to file a complaint; otherwise, how could the police chief have possibly known?

"Are you aware that what you've done constitutes a violation of the law?"

"That's considered breaking the law?" Shen Qingshan retorted with visible dissatisfaction. "The damn girl is my own flesh and blood; what law am I breaking by locking her up? Chief Xie, don't try to scare me—it won't work."

"Heh heh... Do you really think that just because she's your daughter, you're exempt from the law?" Xie Dahpao refrained from using profanity in such formal circumstances. "She may well be your daughter, but first and foremost, she is a citizen of the People's Republic of China. As a citizen, she is protected by the Constitution and possesses the fundamental right to personal freedom. You've violated several laws here: the first is the crime of infringing upon another person's personal freedom; the second is the crime of unlawfully detaining a citizen; and I won't even bother listing the third. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to go consult the courthouse, and I'll gladly wait right here to slap the handcuffs on you."

"This... this is actually a crime?"

Hearing the chief put it so seriously, Shen Qingshan's confidence wavered, and a seed of genuine doubt took root in his mind.

"Do you take me for a liar? If I were deceiving you, that in itself would be breaking the law, and you could report me to the court."

"Well... in that case, I'll release her... only..."

He glanced briefly at Tao You-neng and trailed off without finishing his sentence. Secretary Tao, seasoned in the ways of the world, immediately stepped forward and grasped Shen Qingshan by the arm.

"Brother Qingshan, we didn't come here today to put you on trial," he said with a conciliatory smile. "Let me introduce everyone first. My name is Tao Shiren, secretary of Taojia Village. Chief Xie needs no introduction since you already recognize him, and this young man here is Sha Le'er, a prominent entrepreneur who happens to be a good friend to both You-neng and your daughter Lili."

"Sha Le'er?" Shen Qingshan's eyes lit up instantly. "I've heard that name before—they say you've started a massive company and are raising snakes."

"Hello, Uncle."

Le'er pulled out his cigarette pack, offering one first to Shen Qingshan before passing them around to the others, deliberately bypassing Tao You-neng.

"Ah... Chief Xie, Secretary Tao, and Sha Le'er, please come inside and take a seat," Shen Qingshan's demeanor softened considerably upon realizing they weren't solely there to cause trouble. "You're all distinguished guests."

"You-neng, stay right here outside," Secretary Tao instructed.

Not daring to disobey, Tao You-neng stood rooted to the spot outside the threshold like a wooden pillar. Meanwhile, a multitude of curious villagers had gathered from afar, forming several distinct crowds to watch the unfolding drama.