Seeing Liu Chengjiang’s firm stance, the villagers clearly didn’t dare to push too far. After all, the old man wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
One of the more reasonable villagers spoke up timidly, “Accountant Liu, we’re not here to cause trouble. We just wanted to ask about Tongtong—about why her father and our husbands were arrested.”
“Ask what? Ask why they were arrested? Or ask why my granddaughter reported them?”
“Well…”
Just then, a woman named Li Cuihua couldn’t hold back any longer and blurted out, “Accountant Liu, you can’t say it like that. Yes, gambling is wrong, and they should be disciplined, but come on—how serious is it really? Which man in the village doesn’t dabble in it a little? But now, with the New Year just around the corner, my husband’s been locked up, leaving just us women at home. How are we supposed to celebrate?”
“And Accountant Liu, you know my Old Wang—he gambles, sure, but never big amounts. At most, it’s just small games with wins or losses of a few dozen yuan. Last night, he didn’t even bring money—he was just there to watch. But now he’s been arrested too, and I heard he’ll be locked up for at least a few days and fined thousands before he can get out. Isn’t that too unfair?”
Several other villagers in similar situations quickly chimed in.
“Accountant Liu, we’re not here to blame anyone. My husband was just there to watch too. A few days in jail is one thing, but a fine of thousands? Even if we sold everything we own, we couldn’t scrape together that much!”
“That’s right, Accountant Liu! My man was just there for the fun of it—he barely gambled at all!”
“Accountant Liu, you’re an elder, respected and wise—please think of a way to help us! We’re begging you!”
“Yes, Accountant Liu!”
“……”
Now truly at a loss and not daring to pressure Liu Chengjiang, they switched to emotional appeals.
Some of them were telling the truth—among those arrested, there were indeed some who had just been bystanders, and even when they did gamble, it was only small amounts, hardly worth an arrest.
Of course, that would depend on what the police concluded after reviewing the surveillance footage.
Still, Liu Chengjiang wasn’t about to pay their fines for them. They had no business going to that good-for-nothing’s house to “watch the fun” in the first place.
Serves them right!
Just as he was about to say something more…
Liu Yutong stepped out from behind him.
“Uncles and aunties, if what you say is true—if your family members were wrongly arrested—I’ll cover all the fines.”
Liu Chengjiang, startled by his granddaughter’s sudden appearance, quickly said, “Tongtong, why did you come out? I told you not to.”
Liu Yutong reassured him, “Grandpa, I’m not a child anymore. They wouldn’t dare do anything to me.”
But Liu Chengjiang thought differently: I’m not worried about what they’ll do to you—I’m worried about what you’ll do to them.
Earlier, he hadn’t wanted her to come out not just to shield her from the confrontation, but also because he feared she might lose her temper and do something… “unwise.”
He believed in her integrity, but her employees? They looked downright shady!
The villagers, unaware of Liu Yutong’s background, perked up at her offer to pay.
“Really? You’d really help us with the fines?”
“You’re not lying to us, are you?!”
Liu Yutong nodded. “I always keep my word. But only if they’re truly innocent, as you say. If the police confirm they were involved, then I’m sorry—I won’t pay a cent.”
“Also, grievances have their roots. If you want to blame someone, blame Liu Jianyi. He’s the one who set up the illegal gambling den—he’s the main culprit. Take it up with him. This has nothing to do with me.”
Truthfully, Liu Yutong didn’t have to bother with these families at all. She wasn’t afraid of them making trouble—she had plenty of ways to shut them up.
But her grandparents still lived in the village. If relations with the villagers soured completely, it wouldn’t be good for them.
In a small village, people saw each other every day. No one wanted to be gossiped about constantly.
If a little money could solve the problem, she’d rather spend it.
And if these people were reasonable and didn’t make unreasonable demands, she wouldn’t mind supporting the village’s development either.
This had been her plan all along. Whether out of social responsibility to give back to her hometown or to ensure her grandparents could live out their remaining years respected and happy in the village, she had to do this.
While walking through the village yesterday, she and Gao Min had seen villagers hauling cartloads of cabbages to feed to pigs. They’d also overheard that these cabbages were essentially free—because they couldn’t be sold, were hard to store, and hiring workers to harvest them would cost more than they were worth. The only option was to give them away or feed them to livestock to minimize losses.
They’d learned this wasn’t an isolated case.
Some villagers had invested in greenhouse vegetable farming, hoping to earn more, but due to small-scale operations, scattered crop varieties, and unstable sales channels, they’d ended up losing everything.
Of course, while many lost money on vegetable farming, a few profited.
For decades, Duan Village had focused on rice and wheat. But in recent years, a trend of growing vegetables and other crops had emerged—fueled by someone pulling strings behind the scenes.
The goal? To lease land at rock-bottom prices.
Liu Yutong knew agriculture would inevitably move toward large-scale, farm-based operations in the future.
As urbanization progressed, rural labor would migrate to cities, drastically reducing the farming workforce.
Many villagers, unable to farm as they aged and with their children settled in cities, would naturally lease their land to contractors.
Duan Village was already seeing this trend. The village chief’s family had been among the first to capitalize—his son, Sun Ergou, had leased at least a hundred acres under his name.
But the rent he offered was shockingly low: just 300 yuan per acre.
Given that Duan Village’s flat, fertile farmland normally leased for no less than 800 yuan per acre, how had they managed this?
Simple—they’d tricked the villagers.
The village chief had secretly hired people to pose as dealers, convincing villagers that policy-backed, high-price vegetable sales were guaranteed. They’d lured them into borrowing money to build greenhouses and grow vegetables for profit.
Most villagers were poorly educated and easily fooled. They’d rushed to take loans and start farming.
The result? The devastation Liu Yutong and Gao Min had witnessed.
Not only had they failed to recoup their greenhouse investments, but selling the vegetables at all had become a struggle.
Bankrupt and desperate, the villagers had turned to the village chief for help—after all, as their leader, who else could they turn to?
And in the entire village, only the chief had the connections to come up with that kind of money.
In the end, the villagers took the money, paid off their previous debts, packed their belongings, and left to work elsewhere—farming the land was no longer an option.
According to Liu Yutong's knowledge, the village chief had been systematically exploiting the villagers step by step, allowing his son to lease nearly a thousand acres of land and profit handsomely. Moreover, he abused his position to apply for government subsidies.
Wang Ergou would later become the first person in Duan Village to amass a fortune exceeding ten million.
Liu Yutong stepped forward, promising to pay the fines for the more innocent villagers. Soon after, Gao Min also appeared, revealing her identity and warning that anyone causing unreasonable trouble would be arrested on the spot.
Faced with this, the villagers dared not protest further and quietly dispersed.
................
