Perhaps because everyone was eager to return home for the New Year, the county police station processed the case unusually quickly.
With the evidence being sufficiently solid, a portion of those involved were soon released without even having to pay fines.
A few others, whose gambling amounts weren't too substantial, were let go after paying their fines.
True to her word, Liu Yutong had arranged for someone to wait at the police station in advance and directly covered the fines for those villagers.
She handled the matter with remarkable generosity, earning profuse gratitude from the villagers' families before they took their loved ones home.
Everyone assumed the gambling crackdown would subside for the time being.
The villagers had their own sense of fairness and knew Liu Yutong had already gone above and beyond.
Moreover, from those who had been released, they learned the "truth"—that Liu Jianyi was the mastermind behind it all.
It was indeed this man who, unwilling to repay his gambling debts, had resorted to such a reckless, mutually destructive scheme.
Liu Yutong was just a college student, naive and unsophisticated—how could she possibly be so cunning?
Wasn’t there a term to describe college students like her?
Pure-hearted!
Besides, Liu Jianyi had always treated his daughter poorly—a fact well-known in the village—so it made sense that he would force her into this.
That was just his reputation!
Those who had been released were now in the clear.
But the deeper gamblers who remained detained were in dire straits.
Not only were their gambling funds confiscated, but they also faced hefty fines. Worse yet, the verified gambling amounts from the surveillance footage had to be repaid.
Combined, the losses were staggering.
Wang Ergou, in particular, was ordered to repay over 700,000 yuan in gambling debts.
Including the confiscated million yuan, he was looking at a total loss of nearly two million.
Even though his family was among the wealthiest in the village, with a hundred acres of contracted land, there was no way they could cough up that much money under the current circumstances.
Village chief Wang Degui was so furious he smashed countless dishes at home.
"Fine! Fine! That Liu family brat really wants to bankrupt us!"
Wang Degui overturned a table in rage. "Then let’s all die together!"
Over the past few days, he had pulled every string he could to get his son out, only for the police to show up demanding repayment of the 700,000 yuan, citing irrefutable evidence.
It was only then that Wang Degui learned his son had also borrowed a million yuan from outside sources.
All told, they were staring at a loss of over 1.7 million yuan—how could he stay calm?
The money he’d embezzled over the years wasn’t even enough to plug this gaping hole.
So, he needed someone to foot the bill.
That someone could only be Liu Yutong.
Unlike the villagers, Wang Degui knew more details—this gambling bust couldn’t have been Liu Jianyi’s idea; it had to be Liu Yutong’s doing!
He began scheming how to force her to pay up.
Though he’d shouted about dying together, that was just rage talking—empty threats.
1.7 million was a fortune, but as long as he remained village chief, making money later wouldn’t be a problem.
Back when the township road was planned as a straight line, he’d made it curve right past his doorstep.
A million-plus was just a matter of time.
The only issue was the immediate pressure.
Just as Wang Degui was drowning in stress, another headache landed on his doorstep.
A large portion of the land he’d leased in his son’s name still had unpaid rent owed to the villagers.
He’d promised before the New Year that payments would be settled by Spring Festival.
Now, creditors were knocking.
Wang Degui had no money left—his son Ergou had squandered it all. Where would he find spare cash?
If Liu Yutong wouldn’t let his family live in peace, then he wouldn’t hold back either!
The villagers relying on that rent for the New Year would surely riot once they realized it was gone.
In the village, even owing someone a single yuan would earn endless gossip—let alone this much.
Wang Degui was no fool. Without skill, he couldn’t have stayed village chief for so long, nor convinced villagers to lease land to his son at rock-bottom prices.
With his silver tongue, he redirected the blame squarely onto the Liu family.
First, he questioned how a college girl like Liu Yutong could possibly earn so much money—it had to be fraud.
Then he claimed the gambling bust was a setup by Liu Yutong and her father to swindle the villagers, leaving even his family ruined.
That money was supposed to go to them.
Now, if they wanted compensation, they should go after Liu Yutong.
Incredibly, the villagers bought it. A mob soon gathered at Liu Yutong’s door.
But Wang Degui never expected that after all his scheming and stoking the villagers’ fury, Liu Yutong would dismantle it all with one sentence:
"If Chief Wang can’t afford to lease your land anymore, I’ll take over. I’ll pay upfront—600 yuan per acre."
The rent had just doubled from 300 yuan. The villagers’ reaction was predictable.
They cursed Wang Degui’s shamelessness and rushed to inform him they were withdrawing their land. The unpaid rent could wait—they weren’t budging.
No room for negotiation. Even those who’d leased land to him before refused to renew.
"That damn girl is my curse!"
Wang Degui smashed another set of dishes. His house was running out of intact tableware.
This couldn’t end here.
As village chief, he couldn’t openly suppress the Lius or bully the girl.
That night, Wang Degui invited over seven or eight village troublemakers—notorious thugs who’d always run with his son—for drinks at his place.
One stood out: Cao Wang.
Even Wang Degui hesitated to cross him.
Cao Wang was a towering, brawny man with formidable fighting skills—and a ruthless, reckless streak.
Years ago, he’d hacked a villager over a dozen times in a fit of rage. No one dared intervene.
Miraculously, the victim survived, avoiding fatal wounds.
Cao Wang fled, drifting into the underworld. Later, after stirring trouble in another province, he slunk back to Wushui County.
There, his fearlessness earned him a fearsome reputation.
Wang Ergou’s cousin ran with him, now connected to Wushui’s underworld figures.
Cao Wang’s ability to return unpunished owed much to Wang Degui, who’d mediated to settle old grudges.
Cao Wang owed him big.
Wang Ergou’s unchecked bullying in the village—and even the town—relied on Cao Wang’s backing.
In town, Cao Wang was a name that commanded fear.
He owned the only two internet cafes in town.
It wasn’t like others hadn’t tried opening their own before, but Cao Wang had beaten them all into submission—no one dared compete with him for business anymore.
On top of that, with Wang Degui’s backing, he also ran a grain-buying operation that raked in hefty profits every year.
Of course, Wang Degui didn’t help him out of kindness.
Whenever it was time to elect the village chief, Wang Degui just had to call Cao Wang in, and practically no one would challenge him for the position.
After all, when Cao Wang turned ruthless, he was downright terrifying.
There wasn’t a soul in the village who didn’t fear him.
