Chapter 401

Time flew by; before anyone realized, the villagers had already received a week's delay compensation.

During that week, no conflict occurred in the village, and neither the Zheng father and son nor government officials came to the village to force everyone to sign the land acquisition agreement.

This meant the villagers didn't have to do anything at home and could collect 500 each day.

Some villagers who had tasted the sweetness hoped each day that the Zheng father and son would never come to the village, but this unrealistic wish was ultimately naive and somewhat endearing.

Morning of the eighth day.

Zheng Sanshui, who had been stabbed in the kidney, after completing discharge procedures, the first thing he did upon leaving the hospital was to bring people back to the village to seize villagers' houses and land.

Some villagers also became savvy, thinking that if they confronted Zheng Sanshui head‑on, they would certainly gain no advantage.

In case they were beaten and injured by Zheng Sanshui's men.

Unfortunately, they might end up with a lingering ailment.

By then, the delay compensation they had received from Boss Fan would not be enough to cover medical expenses and medicine.

So they either locked their doors and hid inside pretending to be dead, not coming out; or they put a lock on the door and stayed outside, not going home. Each had their own method, but the point was to avoid any direct confrontation with Zheng Sanshui.

This made Zheng Sanshui furious.

He grabbed a loudspeaker and shouted angrily in the village: "Are you all playing hide‑and‑seek with me? Believe it or not, I'll have a bulldozer come over right now and knock down your shabby houses!"

The villagers hiding inside, not coming out, were frightened and trembling.

Someone sent Chen Xiaoyu a message: "Zheng Sanshui is going to demolish the houses—quickly get Boss Fan to think of a solution. My whole family is stuck inside; if the house collapses, what will we do?"

"You haven't signed anything, and the house isn't his, so he wouldn't dare to push it—don't be afraid."

Chen Xiaoyu's reply seemed to say that, but it was actually useless; the villagers who should be nervous remained nervous.

But thinking that each extra day meant another 500 yuan, everyone felt they could hold out a bit longer.

In 2013, Haishan Shi's city center averaged 9,000 yuan per square meter, but the demolition compensation was only 5,000 yuan per square meter—far too little to buy a home in the urban area.

Therefore, the government urged everyone to give up the compensation and choose relocation housing instead.

Choosing relocation housing meant they no longer had to worry about buying a house.

However, relocation housing would take several years to be built; before it was ready, everyone had to rent a place, which was a huge expense many villagers could not afford.

Psychologically, the villagers were originally unwilling to sign the house acquisition agreement.

Zheng Sanshui, wielding a loudspeaker, shouted around the village; usually lively Xiaoyu Village was today like a deserted village—empty and deserted, with nobody coming out.

This made Zheng Sanshui quite angry.

Coincidentally, he arrived at Zheng Lao Pi's doorstep, saw the gate tightly shut, and Zheng Sanshui kicked it, shouting: "Zheng Lao Pi, piss on your mother! I know you're home—are you coming out or not?"

"We're both surnamed Zheng, sharing the same ancestral hall and forefathers!"

When they turned against each other, it was a genuine betrayal.

After Zheng Sanshui's angry kicks had no effect, he turned and bellowed to his subordinate Scarface Qiang: "Get the bulldozer and excavator over here—demolish this house!"

"I'm on it."

Scarface Qiang turned and walked while making calls, contacting the person in charge of the demolition crew.

At that moment, the old wooden door creaked open from inside: "Zheng Sanshui, when you were a child the waves swept you away, and I saved you! Is this how you repay me?"

Opening the door and retorting, Zheng Lao Pi still had a bit of spirit.

Zheng Sanshui chuckled intriguingly: "Hey, who's this? You look just like my uncle Pi."

"What do you mean 'look like'? I am!" Zheng Lao Pi adopted an elder's demeanor, trying to use his uncle status to suppress Zheng Sanshui's arrogance.

Zheng Sanshui lightly laughed: "Sorry, I must have misjudged. Turns out you're home and still alive? I thought you'd gone out to sea and died there, never to return."

"How dare you speak like that?" Zheng Lao Pi snapped: "You have no respect!"

Zheng Sanshui stepped forward and produced a house acquisition agreement: "If you want to hear pleasant words, that's fine. Take the lead, sign this agreement, and leave your handprint."

"If I sign this thing, where will I live?" Zheng Lao Pi asked.

Zheng Sanshui replied: "Are you blind or illiterate? It's clearly written there—you can choose money or relocation housing. If you don't want to wait for relocation housing, you can take the money. With money, why worry about having nowhere to stay? Go to a hotel, rent a room, and call in two ladies—that's how a man ought to live."

Hearing Zheng Sanshui say that, Zheng Lao Pi suddenly felt a bit tempted.

"Open a hotel room, call the ladies!"

Such a bubbly‑good thing—he could only fantasize about it while smoking and squatting by the sea; in reality, it was hard to come by, truly beyond his means.

Zheng Lao Pi weakly asked Zheng Sanshui: "How much compensation can I get for this house?"

Zheng Sanshui glanced at his shabby house: "It's about sixty‑plus square meters; at 5,000 per square meter, you could get over 300,000 yuan in compensation."

Upon hearing that figure, Zheng Lao Pi felt a bit disappointed again.

Zheng Sanshui added: "It's not little. Think about it—your dilapidated house couldn't sell for even 100,000 to anyone else. Now you're getting over 300,000; what more do you want? One should be content."

"By seniority, you should call me uncle, and since I saved your life, couldn't you give a little more?"

As soon as Zheng Lao Pi finished speaking, Zheng Sanshui's expression turned much colder.

Zheng Sanshui snapped: "Do you think this is a fish market where you haggle? Sign the agreement and you're my uncle; refuse to sign and I become your ancestor! Choose whether you want to be an uncle or a grandson—it's up to you."

"!!!"

Zheng Lao Pi stared at the acquisition agreement in his hand, feeling that being human is damn hard—being an uncle is painful, being a grandson is painful, only being a grand master feels easy.

But the problem is, you need money to be a grand master.

After hesitating back and forth, Zheng Lao Pi ultimately took the agreement back home, placed it on the table, and picked up a pen ready to sign and leave his handprint.

Just as he finished writing the first character "Zheng", a harsh shout came from the doorway: "No signing!"

Zheng Lao Pi lifted his head to look.

He felt that life was truly unbearable—debt collectors everywhere.

The newcomer was Chen Xiaoyu, backed by someone, followed by the formidable Liu Wei and Liu Wu, as well as paternal uncle Chen Dingchao and the newly recruited sailor Chen Shaolong.

Zheng Sanshui coldly stared at Chen Xiaoyu: "Chen Xiaoyu, I wasn't looking for trouble with you, yet you've come here to pick a fight with me—do you not want to live?"

"I have bodyguards—try laying a hand on me and see what happens."

Xiao Yu is still badass, speaking with head held high and chest out, not treating Zheng Sanshui as a person at all.

Zheng Sanshui glanced at Liu Wei and Liu Wu behind Xiao Yu, endless anger sinking into his heart, then feeling as suppressed as a grandson, wanting to vent but unable to.

Damn it!

Someday I'll go hire a few professional bodyguards who can fight!

Zheng Sanshui couldn't be bothered with Xiao Yu anymore, turned and barked at Zheng Lao Pi: "She says she won't sign, so she won't? Don't forget your surname is Zheng and hers is Chen! Sign quickly."

"What signing? This house is mine!"

Before Zheng Lao Pi could react, Xiao Yu directly snatched the house requisition agreement from the table.

Zheng Lao Pi glared angrily: "Now you rely on having bodyguards, learning to be a bandit like others, right? You little girl, quickly return the agreement to me!"

Having said that, Zheng Lao Pi reached out to grab.

Xiao Yu hid it behind her back with a backhand, then said solemnly: "You owe me a 100,000 gambling debt unpaid; the whole village can testify! This house is confiscated to offset the debt."

"When did I ever say I'd take the house to pay the debt? Return the agreement to me!"

Zheng Lao Pi was about to move to seize it, but Liu Wei pointed a finger at him warning: "Try moving her!" Zheng Lao Pi wilted again, not daring to take a breath.

"In the past, when others owed Shui Ge money and couldn't pay, didn't Shui Ge also just take houses when he wanted and take land when he wanted? I, this is what I learned from Shui Ge."

The young Xiao Yu gave Zheng Sanshui a cold smile, indeed bearing somewhat the air of a big sister.

Anyway, Zheng Lao Pi didn't dare argue further.

Because Xiao Yu had already shifted the blame, if he denied Xiao Yu's right to take the house, it would be equivalent to denying some of Zheng Sanshui's past practices.

Zheng Lao Pi looked at Zheng Sanshui's reaction.

Seeing Zheng Sanshui also feeling as suppressed as a grandson, Zheng Lao Pi seized the moment to berate him: "This time it's not that I refuse to sign; she's learning your debt-collection tactics. Otherwise, you first help me pay off that 100,000 gambling debt."