Chapter 32: You laid hands on our people, and Uncle Dong is not pleased.

Watching the bleached-blond youth in front of him keep provoking him right in his face, the veins on Wang Dalong’s forehead began to bulge. He was short-tempered by nature, and this was happening right in front of all his underlings. If he didn't do something, how would they view him in the future? Wouldn't he lose all face as their boss in an instant?

'Endure,' he told himself. 'We are only here to intimidate, not to fight. Once violence starts, the situation changes.'

Wang Dalong took a deep breath, but just as he calmed his nerves, he heard one of his men let out a miserable shriek.

"These blond punks started it!" someone shouted immediately afterward.

"Huh?" Wang Dalong opened his eyes, a cold glint flashing through them. 'Since they struck first, this counts as self-defense!'

Looking at the blond youth before him, Wang Dalong could hold back no longer. He reached out and slapped him across the face.

*Smack!*

The crisp sound was satisfying, and for a moment, it felt as if the world had suddenly gone quiet. Seeing their boss make the first move, the rest of his men swarmed the dozen or so youths and began to beat them.

Manager Wang let out a cold hum. He hadn't noticed anything amiss at first, but when his peripheral vision caught sight of Lin Wendong at the entrance of the village committee building, his pupils contracted upon seeing the man's calm expression.

"Oh no!" he shouted, wanting to stop his men, but it was too late. Everyone was already involved in the fray.

"Uncle Dong is here."

Suddenly, Wang Dalong and his hundred-plus underlings stopped in their tracks, all of them looking up in unison. The once clear, blue sky was suddenly blanketed by a massive dark cloud from the east, covering everything in an instant. The light dimmed.

*Thump, thump, thump.*

A rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed from the east. Manager Wang and his group looked over, their bodies trembling violently. From that direction, an endless sea of people, stretching as far as the eye could see, was rushing toward them.

"This..."

"This..."

Wang Dalong’s lips trembled as he stared at the surging human tide, as vast and bottomless as the dark clouds above.

"Is the entire village here?!" someone gulped, speaking with extreme caution.

Then, everyone’s gaze fell upon Manager Wang. "Do these people all owe you money?"

"What are you afraid of? We live under the rule of law; do you really think these people would dare to lay a hand on us?" Manager Wang, feeling his scalp tingle under their gazes, forced himself to speak with bravado.

Soon, the thousands of villagers from Ta Zhai surrounded Manager Wang, Wang Dalong, and their group. The hundred-plus men, who had been so imposing and arrogant just moments ago, were now cowering like frightened mice. The bleached-blond youths, who had just been pinned to the ground and beaten, stood up one by one, bruised and swollen.

"You come to our Ta Zhai and start beating our people without a word? You... you are far too arrogant!"

"I hadn't even reacted before they smacked me! This is simply bullying us too far!"

"..."

These youths acted as if they had suffered a great grievance, and under their influence, the indignation of the other villagers surged.

"Don't you dare spout nonsense! Just now—just now, it was clearly you who started it!" Wang Dalong shouted at the sea of people. As long as he was in the right, he felt no fear.

"Who hit you? Did you see anyone start a fight?"

"I didn't do anything just now."

"Don't talk rubbish! None of us did anything!"

The blond youths looked at each other, all denying they had started a fight. Wang Dalong was stunned. He had clearly heard his own men scream, and he had heard the cry, "These blond punks started it!" Could that have been a lie?

"You come to our Ta Zhai, and without a word, you beat our people."

"Even if you want to bully someone, this is not how you do it!"

"Damn it! Our people in Ta Zhai didn't take a beating for nothing. You must give us an explanation!"

"That's right! We demand an explanation!"

The villagers were furious, all taking a step forward and forcing Wang Dalong and his men to shrink back.

"Don't think that having more people makes you right! This world is governed by law. Do you dare to violate the laws of China?" Manager Wang, sensing the situation was dire, immediately played the legal card.

Just then, a voice rang out from the crowd: "Uncle Dong is here."

Instantly, the noisy crowd fell silent. All the villagers parted to the left and right, consciously clearing a path. Two men walked through the passage: one wearing a Zhongshan suit and gold-rimmed glasses, looking every bit the scholarly teacher—this was Lin Yaodong, walking in the center. Beside him was the head of the Third Branch of Ta Zhai, Lin Wendong.

"It's you!" Upon seeing Lin Wendong, Manager Wang gritted his teeth.

Uncle Dong reached the front of the crowd, looked at Manager Wang, and said in a flat tone, "Uncle Dong is happy that you could come to Ta Zhai, but I do not like that you injured our villagers the moment you arrived."

"Hmph, it was clearly your people who started it! We were acting in self-defense!" Wang Dalong retorted with a cold snort.

"You... you are the village chief?" Manager Wang looked at Uncle Dong, his anxiety dissipating. Although the other side had more people, he was in the right! They had lent the money, and the villagers had attacked first. They could report this to the police!

"Ta Zhai never does anything illegal. You broke into our village and injured our people; you must give us an explanation," Uncle Dong said faintly.

Manager Wang was stunned, then let out a cold laugh. "Heh, you borrow our money and refuse to pay it back, then you start a fight, and now you're trying to shift the blame and frame us?"

Suddenly, Lin Wendong, who had been silent until now, spoke in a ghostly tone: "When did we ever borrow money from you?"

"Still playing the act?" Manager Wang almost laughed out loud, a playful expression appearing on his face. "I want to see how long you can keep up this charade!"

Lin Wendong smiled slightly. Everything was proceeding exactly as he had anticipated.