Chapter 43: Exerting Every Effort

Chen Yonggui heard the sound of a car in the courtyard and was startled the moment he stepped out.

Two trucks full of shipyard workers jumped down, looking so chaotic that anyone unaware would think they were there for revenge.

Before he could rush back inside to grab a weapon, he barely caught sight of Tang Er, whom he had met once, which made him relax slightly.

Immediately after, Tang Er revealed the news that Tang Wen had been kidnapped.

"What?!"

Chen Yonggui was shocked, then jumped up and pointed at Tang Er, scolding:

"Right at your factory gate, with so many people around, how could little Tang still get kidnapped? What are you all doing?!"

As the future economic pillar of Dawan Village, Tang Wen ranked only second to his grandson in the village head's heart; after a round of scolding, he paced anxiously in place.

Although Tang Er felt ashamed, he still explained Zheng Hai's demands and the trouble of being unable to withdraw the money.

"Five hundred thousand! That's a bold ask indeed."

Chen Yonggui frowned, looking at the dozen or so system workers before him, and for a moment had no idea what to do.

Zheng Hai is at Golden Sand Beach; he probably prepared a ship to flee long ago, planning to take the money and leave.

But whether he releases the hostage is uncertain; those scoundrels have no honor to speak of.

Two guns are nothing; with just one wave of his hand, the village could immediately gather a hundred or so old and young men, and there would be no problem beating the two reckless kidnappers into a sieve.

However, Tang Wen is being watched closely; if anything unexpected happens, it would be a major loss.

The shipyard can only provide over a hundred thousand, but gathering the remaining three hundred thousand from the whole village immediately is not realistic.

In fact, Zheng Hai might not have considered one issue: withdrawing such a large sum at once from the town's credit union is very troublesome and will surely be noticed as unusual.

Report it directly to the police?

In this situation, that would probably only complicate matters further, and they likely wouldn't have any particularly good solutions anyway.

Golden Sand Beach is open terrain; there isn't even a place for a sniper to hide, completely bare with nowhere to conceal anyone.

There is only an hour and a half left; nearly a quarter of that time has already passed, so a decision must be made as soon as possible.

"Don't go to the town to withdraw money; I will gather the villagers now to see how much we can raise."

Chen Yonggui said in a low voice, and Tang Er immediately asked:

"Can the village raise five hundred thousand?"

"We can't, but we can gather a few thousand to put on top to fool them, and put fake spirit money underneath.

Damn it! They dare to kidnap someone in Dawan Village, thinking we villagers are all honest folks, are they?!"

Having lived through the entire turbulent era, he became village head not by being a peacemaker; he knew absolutely they could not follow the bandits' demands.

Chen Yonggui looked at Tang Er:

"I will go to the broadcast station immediately to call people; you all go get some weapons too, take whatever you can find.

When the time comes, I will go to pay the ransom and rescue him; everyone else will follow my orders."

Tang Er understood only vaguely; this was beyond his scope of duty, so he chose to obey the village head's command.

"Alright, we'll go back to get weapons."

With a clear objective, a group of burly men climbed back onto the trucks, floored the accelerator, and rushed back to the shipyard.

Meanwhile, Chen Yonggui ran frantically toward the broadcast station, telling anyone he saw along the way.

A few minutes later, the broadcast began announcing that the village's young man, little Tang, had been kidnapped.

The villagers, who had just been happy about donating money to repair the road for Tang Wen a few days ago, upon hearing the news, immediately rushed to the broadcast station if they were at home.

Located on the coast, Dawan Village has an extremely strong clan atmosphere, with one prominent feature being unity.

The village head is always chosen as the person everyone considers most prestigious, and when the village head calls, people gather in response.

Before Chen Yonggui had even caught his breath at the broadcast station, villagers began arriving one after another, carrying long sticks wrapped in newspapers or snake-skin sacks.

In less than fifteen minutes, half the courtyard outside the broadcast room was filled with people.

Upon hearing it was kidnappers, the villagers felt no fear; instead, each one was eager to act.

Even the lame, single old man in the village had eyes shining, boasting that in his youth he was a militia shooting champion who could hit a target with a single shot from eight hundred li away.

Even the chatty auntie who usually gossiped held a sports rifle bought from a state-owned store in the past against her chest, displaying its two-times optical scope like a treasure.

The folk customs in coastal areas are already fierce; in less than twenty minutes, Chen Yonggui had directly gathered them.

If there were enough time to fully utilize them...

A crowd squeezed into the courtyard, making a racket, offering strategies and plans from all sides.

After Chen Yonggui coughed to calm the scene, he issued orders:

"... No one is allowed to act recklessly. Little Tang is someone you all watched grow up, and now he is earning money to repair the road for the village; if anything goes wrong, none of us can bear the responsibility.

Wait, everyone will follow my orders; only when I give the command can anyone move!"

"Right now, everyone check how much cash your family can produce; we will pool it together. Also, bring any spirit money you have!"

"Golden Sand Beach is a bit far; those with tractors, drive them; those without, squeeze into the shipyard's trucks!"

The simple rescue plan was broken down into specific action items and assigned; the villagers had no objections and dispersed to prepare.

Chen Yonggui was just thinking whether to send someone to file a police report when he saw the shipyard's car appear in the village again, and could hear villagers on the roadside shouting.

Looking out,

it seemed all the shipyard's trucks had been driven out, but... what was in the truck beds?

By now, the shipyard's convoy had arrived near the broadcast station; many villagers who had just dispersed followed back, constantly crowding onto the trucks.

Chen Yonggui finally got a clear look at the lead truck; compared to when it had just left, it now had some extra things on it.

Half a body stuck out of the observation window on the roof, holding...?

Tang Er jumped down from the lead truck and asked him anxiously:

"Village head, all our weapons are here, just these, hurry and take us to rescue him!"

Chen Yonggui, already frozen in place with his mouth agape, shuddered once more and asked, word by measured word:

At this moment, the lame, single old man who had followed climbed into the truck bed and touched the cold, flashing steel.

"This is a real weapon! Then what do we have to fear from kidnappers?"