Chapter 344: Ten Thousand Toll

Village Chief Chen Jinhai, I, Lao He, from the dock, why do I have to pay a toll just to bring my vehicle into your village?

Chen Jinhai gave a cold snort, thinking to himself, "It's you I'm collecting from, to get Ye Cheng to find a sales channel."

"He Lao Ban, there's nothing I can do, this is also the village's rule, not something I decided on my own." Chen Jinhai said slowly and deliberately.

He now has Ye Cheng's lifeline pinned down, so he's not in a hurry.

"No, I'm here to collect clams from Ye Cheng, and you still charge a fee?" He Lao Ban was speechless: "I come to collect clams, and you take my money?"

"This, we're just following the rules; we don't care what you're doing, if you pass through you have to pay."

"No, this road has been here for hundreds of years, you want to charge, go ahead." He Lao Ban's temper flared, he retorted aggressively, looking to start an argument.

He dares to be tough, but the Chen family members dare even more.

Chen Jinfa shoved He Lao Ban aside, pointing at him and shouting,

"What do you want to do? Let me tell you, this is Baiyun Village; coming into our village you must follow our rules."

"You want to fight? Come on."

Behind them, a group of Chen family members also stepped forward, instantly surrounding He Lao Ban.

Seeing this situation, He Lao Ban also understood, this couldn't be settled peacefully.

"Fine, tell me how much, I'll pay the toll!"

"A strong dragon doesn't overwhelm a local snake; today running into these people, Lao He admits defeat, this loss, I'll make it up later."

"Ten thousand!" Chen Jinfa held up one finger.

"How much? Ten thousand? Why don't you just go rob?" He Lao Ban couldn't believe it, ten thousand.

"I thought I'd only have to pay a few dozen bucks, at most a hundred, just a toll."

"Now they just demand ten thousand outright—holy shit, that's basically robbery."

"Hey, we're not robbing, we only collect tolls—ten thousand dollars; you can pass if you want, or not if you don't."

Chen Jinfa spread his hands, then said to the others, "Come on, come on, make way for He Lao Ban, so we don't get accused of robbery."

Ten thousand dollars—He Lao Ban would never pay that; he could only pull out his phone and call Ye Cheng.

"Ah, you've arrived."

"Collecting a toll? And ten thousand?"

"They must be crazy for money, fine, I'll come right away."

Ye Cheng hung up, greeted Ye Guowei, said he was going to pick up the vehicle, then rode his motorcycle alone toward the village road.

Upon reaching the village entrance, he indeed saw the Chen family group standing in the middle of the road, having blocked it with a wooden post, preventing vehicles from passing.

"Heh!"

Ye Cheng twisted the throttle hard!

The motorcycle shot forward with a sudden burst of speed.

"Beep beep beep—"

"Move! Move! You'll hit someone!!!"

Seeing Ye Cheng shouting as he charged forward, the Chen family members scrambled and hid behind the wooden post; Ye Cheng took the opportunity to swing past from the side and stopped beside Lao He.

"Lao Er, what's going on in your village? Demanding ten thousand toll—this isn't robbery?" Lao He grabbed Ye Cheng and started complaining, this pent-up anger making him feel terrible.

"He Lao Ban, don't rush, wait a moment, we'll be able to pass soon without paying." Ye Cheng comforted him.

Speaking, he then took out two packs of Hua Zi cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to the driver.

Then he pulled He Lao Ban aside to chat.

"Do you have a solution or not? I told you, I've already arranged things with them, they've found a sales channel—if there's no goods, you'll have to compensate me!" He Lao Ban spoke rather rudely.

"Of course, if this deal falls through, he'll also lose money."

"If it were for other reasons, that'd be fine, but damn, it's just because of a toll."

"And it's Ye Cheng's own village; if Ye Cheng is this incompetent, I won't work with him again."

He Lao Ban was anxious like an ant on a hot pan, while Ye Cheng remained calm, pulling He Lao Ban to sit by the roadside,

"Ah, don't worry, it'll be settled right away."

"Then go negotiate—sitting here smoking with me doesn't count as solving anything." He Lao Ban was speechless: how could he meet such an unreliable person, as if expecting the Chen family to back down on their own.

Ye Cheng smiled, "He Lao Ban, you talk as if my negotiating would guarantee success, but you're not unaware of my relationship with the Chen family."

"Then figure something out!" He Lao Ban shouted anxiously.

Over there, Chen Jinfa, who was blocking the road, saw the two like that and felt delighted inside.

He turned and gave Chen Jinhai an OK sign.

"We must win today!"

"Our Chen family will also get some meat today."

Chen Jinhai sat in the back, calm and composed.

Ye Cheng.

"Let you fight me."

"If you're not convinced, bring your people and fight me."

"We are a clan; those you hired are just outsiders—few of them will actually fight."

"So, my Chen family is still sure to win."

Ye Cheng said nothing; He Lao Ban vented for a while, to no avail, and could only sit there seething.

After sitting five minutes, Ye Cheng had smoked two cigarettes, but still remained unhurried.

He Lao Ban could no longer hold back,

"How long are you going to wait? Even loading the vehicle later takes time."

Ye Cheng pulled out his phone, checked the time; it should be about right.

He raised his head to look down the road, his face lit up with joy, he patted his butt and stood up,

"All right, the savior has arrived."

"What savior?" He Lao Ban, looking clueless, followed Ye Cheng's gaze over.

Just then, a small car drove up the road, heading toward Baiyun Village.

Is this the savior Ye Cheng was talking about?

He Lao Ban followed Ye Cheng over, half-believing, half-doubting.

Ye Cheng had already waved by the roadside; the car soon pulled up in front of him, the door opened, and a person stepped out.

"Deputy Township Head Li, I've finally been waiting for you." Ye Cheng enthusiastically stepped forward to shake hands.

The person was indeed Deputy Township Head Li, the big shot Ye Cheng had invited from the township yesterday.

He Lao Ban saw that it was the township's Deputy Township Head Li, and hurried over to shake hands.

"Leader, this is He Lao Ban, also from our Shilin Township; this time he helped me find a sales channel—what a fine comrade!" Ye Cheng gave high praise.

Upon hearing they were there to buy clams, Deputy Township Head Li eagerly reached out to shake He Lao Ban's hand, wearing a friendly expression.

"Our township needs talents like you to help boost the local economy."

Although a deputy township head isn't exactly a high official, being spoken to like this made He Lao Ban feel somewhat flattered and surprised.

"Leader, this is just what we should do."

After exchanging pleasantries, Deputy Township Head Li pointed at the truck ahead and asked doubtfully,

"Are you waiting for me to go into the village together?"

Upon saying that, Ye Cheng hadn't spoken yet, but He Lao Ban spoke first.

"No, Leader, let me tell you, I'm here to collect clams, ha.

"Damn it, that bastard Chen Jinhai found out and actually had people block the road, demanding a toll."