South of the Bridge.
Chengqiao Village.
Many villagers whose homes had yet to be demolished encountered something particularly bizarre—or rather, terrifying—today.
A group of yellow-haired thugs suddenly appeared in the village, knocking on doors one by one while shouting, "Open up! The community is here to deliver warmth!"
But when the doors opened, the villagers were met with the sight of hooligans with cocky grins, flashing their teeth and wearing expressions that were supposedly friendly but sent chills down the spine.
And the first thing these guys asked was, "Hey, old man, let me ask you—Chu Yang—"
Before they could even finish, the villagers either panicked and said, "Don’t know," or stammered vague replies like, "No clue, none of my business..."
Some even slammed the door shut with a loud "bang!" without daring to say another word.
They looked absolutely terrified.
The villagers clearly mistook these yellow-haired thugs for employees of the demolition company—the lackeys of the local tyrant, Niu Ben.
Even when the thugs insisted they weren’t from the demolition company, who would believe them?
Even questions about the demolition compensation were met with trembling hands and nervous dismissals: "It’s settled, it’s settled, don’t ask anymore..."
Everyone avoided them like the plague, afraid that saying one wrong word would bring disaster upon themselves.
Of course, not everyone reacted this way.
Take Chu Dalong, the son of the village chief, Chu Fugui, for example.
Chu Dalong was playing cards with a few idle cronies in front of the village grocery store when one of them leaned in and whispered, "Brother Long, a bunch of yellow-haired guys are going door to door asking about Chu Yang!"
The moment Chu Dalong heard this, his eyes lit up.
With a loud "smack," he threw his cards onto the table, stood up, dusted off his pants, and said, "Let’s go check it out!"
He wasn’t looking for trouble—he wouldn’t dare. Instead, he assumed these thugs were Niu Ben’s men and saw an opportunity to cozy up to them.
After all, the village demolition wasn’t just a windfall for Niu Ben’s crew—his family stood to profit too.
The demolition paperwork required the village chief’s signature, and that signature didn’t come for free. His family was skimming a hefty cut from the deal.
Besides, Chu Dalong, as the village’s resident small-time bully, had always idolized the gangster lifestyle.
Every time the demolition crew came around, he’d shamelessly try to ingratiate himself with them.
Ma Da was leading his men through the village, questioning people about Chu Yang, when he suddenly spotted a man in a garish shirt jogging toward them.
The guy’s collar was wide open, a gaudy gold chain dangling from his neck, and he was trailed by a few shady-looking characters—classic small-town thugs.
The way he ran over was almost comical, like a lackey greeting his superior, his face plastered with an obsequious grin.
"Big bro, you must be here on official business, right? Man, just looking at you, I can tell you’re someone important! I’m Chu Dalong, the village chief’s son. I know everything about this place—if you need any help, just say the word!"
Chu Dalong didn’t recognize Ma Da, but judging by his imposing presence, he naturally assumed he was one of Niu Ben’s top enforcers.
After the last group got beaten up by Chu Yang, it made sense they’d send a new leader to handle the demolition.
As he spoke, Chu Dalong quickly pulled out a pack of Huazi cigarettes from his pocket, deftly offering them to Ma Da and his men.
"Here, have a smoke!"
Ma Da took the cigarette and glanced at it. "Huh, Huazi? You’re living large."
Chu Dalong grinned obsequiously. "All thanks to you, big bro! If it weren’t for your visit, I’d never splurge on such good smokes!"
Ma Da didn’t respond, just narrowed his eyes and studied him for a few seconds before asking, "You said you’re the village chief’s son? Perfect. I’ve got some questions for you. How much do you know about Chu Yang?"
Chu Dalong’s heart leapt.
Just as he thought—Chu Yang had beaten up Niu Ben’s men, and now they were here for payback. Asking about him was obviously to plan a proper retaliation.
"Big bro, to be honest, Chu Yang’s technically my cousin. He calls my dad ‘Uncle.’"
"He’s your cousin?" Ma Da raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah!"
Chu Dalong nodded eagerly, then put on an indignant expression. "But I don’t claim him, big bro. I’m 100% on your side, fully supportive of the demolition! That guy Chu Yang is just ungrateful—even I can’t stand him. The demolition’s a great policy, and the compensation they offered his family was more than fair, but he just wouldn’t budge. Last time, he even beat people up. If you ask me, someone like that needs to be taught a lesson!"
"And his sister’s just as stubborn—same rotten attitude. Want me to take you to their place?"
Ma Da waved a hand. "Not yet. Let’s head to your place first, get some background. That a problem?"
"No problem at all!" Chu Dalong was overjoyed, waving his hands enthusiastically.
He’d been racking his brain trying to figure out how to get closer to this big shot.
If he could latch onto someone like this, maybe he could finally break out of this backwater village and make a name for himself in the county.
After a few steps, Chu Dalong suddenly remembered something. "Oh, big bro, I didn’t catch your name?"
"Ma Da," Ma Da replied flatly.
"Brother Ma!" Chu Dalong immediately switched to a more familiar tone. "Don’t worry, anything you need in this village, just ask Chu Dalong! I’ll make sure it’s handled!"
"Lead the way."
"You got it, Brother Ma! Right this way!"
Soon, they arrived at Chu Dalong’s house.
The moment they stepped into the courtyard, Ma Da’s gaze was drawn to a brand-new Passat parked there.
A Passat wasn’t cheap in those days—how could a village chief afford one?
Hell, even the Young Miss didn’t have her own car yet.
For some reason, a pang of guilt shot through Ma Da’s chest.
The Young Miss treated them so well, yet she still didn’t have a car of her own.
They just hadn’t worked hard enough!
No—he'd have to push the brothers to hustle harder and earn more.
As the saying went: If you don’t grind and I don’t grind, how will the Young Miss get a Ferrari?
If it meant the Young Miss could ride in luxury, they’d gladly eat scraps—because it was all about face, about prestige!
The Young Miss was the head of the Ten Thousand Dragons Society. Her dignity was their dignity.
Especially since the Young Miss and Yun Cheng would be arriving soon, Ma Da immediately pulled out his phone and called one of his underlings, ordering him to rent a luxury Mercedes-Benz to pick her up.
No way were they rolling up in some beat-up van, looking worse off than some village bumpkin. That’d be downright embarrassing!
After the call, Ma Da followed Chu Dalong inside.
Though the house was old, the interior was anything but cheap—genuine leather sofas, a massive flat-screen TV, a refrigerator, all the modern conveniences.
Definitely not something an ordinary village chief could afford.
Chu Dalong’s father wasn’t home, leaving just the group of them inside.
Eager to curry favor with Ma Da, Chu Dalong spilled everything he knew.
In his eyes, Ma Da was one of his own—a fellow underworld type—so there was no need to hold back.
For example, his cousin Chu Yang's family was originally supposed to receive around 100,000 in compensation, but in the end, they only got 20,000. The rest was pocketed by Niu Ben and his crew.
So when Ma Da brought up the topic of making money, this guy got more excited than anyone else.
"My dad is the village chief, and besides, with you and your people handling the demolition, who dares to talk trash?"
"By the way, Brother Ma, when can you introduce me to the big boss?"
Chu Dalong really didn’t hold back—in no time, he was already calling Ma Da "brother" and shamelessly trying to get Niu Ben to take him under his wing.
