Chapter 64: Su Yang

Before the jeep had even come to a steady stop, Li Bo jumped out. "Town Mayor Su..."

"Director Li, I believe you are already aware of the situation here. Do I really need to tell you what to do?"

Su Yang looked at Li Bo and said coldly.

Li Bo's face was extremely ugly. According to the law—or rather, even without the law—he knew in his gut that his father-in-law and brother-in-law were absolutely in the wrong. As for the truth behind this plot of land, he knew that too.

He stammered, "Town Mayor Su, regarding this matter, perhaps we should all sit down and mediate?"

But Su Yang didn't give him the chance, stating directly, "I am going to have the villagers return to the collective land that belongs to them. If any thugs or hooligans cause trouble, you can handle it yourself."

He then turned to the old Village Party Secretary, Liu Ximin, and the others, saying, "Fellow villagers, everyone, please head inside. Get settled and do what you need to do. I am here."

Hearing his words, a few of the bolder young men walked straight inside.

Seeing this, Zhao Da Yong roared, grabbed a wooden club, and charged forward, intending to strike the villagers.

Meanwhile, Li Bo stood there like a fool, neither rushing forward to intervene nor ordering the police officers and auxiliary guards behind him to move.

Seeing this, Su Yang sneered. With a single stride, he lunged forward and smashed a fist into Zhao Da Yong's face, knocking him down, then immediately reached out and locked Zhao Jiefang in a chokehold.

"What are you doing? You're a Town Mayor! The Town Mayor is hitting people! The Town Mayor is trying to kill someone!"

Zhao Jiefang had never expected Su Yang to have such sharp, agile moves. Seeing he couldn't gain the upper hand, he immediately began his hooligan act, screaming at the top of his lungs.

But Su Yang didn't give him the chance. He dragged him by the neck to the side and said, "Do you know why I insisted on having the villagers move to this land today? Let me tell you: first, this is collective village land, and settling the villagers here is the right and proper thing to do. Second, do you really not know what you have done yourself?"

"If you don't remember, let me remind you. Ten years ago, you went to work in the coal mines in another province with two of your cousins. Eight years ago, three of you went out, but only two returned. You two told the wife of the third cousin that he had died in a water-inrush accident in the mine. You claimed that because it was so far from home, you had helped bury him there."

"At the same time, you risked your lives to demand a burial fee of 10,000 yuan from the mine owner."

"However, in reality, the mine owner gave you 50,000 yuan at that time."

"Six years ago, another cousin who went out with you didn't return. Only you came back alone. Once again, you told everyone that he had died in the mine, and the mine owner gave you another 10,000 yuan for the burial."

"But in fact, the mine owner gave you 80,000 yuan that time. Just from those two incidents, you pocketed at least 100,000 yuan."

"Later, when coal was discovered here in Huatian Town, you stayed on as a foreman."

"At the time, those two cousins' wives were incredibly grateful to you. Under your various schemes and flowery words, they willingly became your concubines."

"You frequently visited their homes under the guise of 'taking care of them,' but in reality, you were just taking advantage of them."

"How exactly did those two cousins of yours die? Don't you have any idea?"

"You are truly cold-hearted. Two human lives—you killed them just like that. So, tell me, what should you do now?"

Zhao Jiefang had gone from acting like a hooligan to being stunned, terrified, and now he was limp, his face pale and his body trembling.

He muttered to himself, "These... how do you know... No, that's impossible. No one should know... Those two mines were already shut down."

"Heh, if you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place. Otherwise, why do you think I dared to face you and your son alone?"

Su Yang said with a cold sneer.

It was true; this was a secret to everyone in Huatian Village, and aside from himself, no one knew about it.

But years later, the owner of one of those small, shut-down coal mines was arrested for smuggling, which led to the investigation of the deaths at the mine, and he confessed to everything.

At the time, he had suspected Zhao Jiefang of killing his cousins, but for a mine owner, it was better to avoid trouble. If the authorities had been alerted to deaths at the mine, it would have cost hundreds of thousands to settle, whereas a few tens of thousands was nothing to the families of the deceased.

He knew which was more important.

After he revealed this suspicion, the investigators at the time arrested Zhao Jiefang, who was then the Village Party Secretary of Huatian Village.

After his arrest, Zhao Jiefang confessed in detail to how he had murdered his two cousins.

This case was later frequently broadcast on legal programs, so Su Yang remembered it very clearly.

That was why, when he learned that the Village Party Secretary of Huatian Village was Zhao Jiefang, he was essentially certain that he was the murderer from that case.

That was why he had deliberately provoked Zhao Jiefang and intentionally brought Li Bo here.

His goal was to make an arrest on the spot and resolve this matter.

At this moment, Zhao Da Yong had climbed up from the ground and was calling for others to rush over and save his father.

Meanwhile, the old Village Party Secretary Liu Ximin, Liu Laohan, and a large group of brave, strong villagers began to move forward, ready to fight to the death against Zhao Da Yong's gang of thugs.

Just then, Su Yang shouted, "Stop! Zhao Jiefang, do you want me to tell everyone everything? If you stop now, you might still keep a shred of dignity in the village. Otherwise, not only you, but your son, your wife, and your entire family will never be able to show their faces here again."

Zhao Jiefang was struck as if by lightning and suddenly came to his senses. He shouted at Zhao Da Yong, "Stop! Don't do anything reckless!"

Then he tried to say something to Su Yang, but Su Yang cut him off: "Don't say anything to me, and don't try to find excuses or bribe me. It won't work."

"Don't think that just because we are in your village, you can get away with it. You don't have a single chance." He then turned to Li Bo and said, "Director Li, come here."

Li Bo's previous display of helplessness had been a tactic to let the situation escalate, to let the two sides fight and create a mass incident, and then intervene. But he had miscalculated.

Now that Su Yang was calling him, he felt a hidden sense of dread.

"Town Mayor Su, what are your instructions?"

"Director Li, your father-in-law here wants to turn himself in. He has committed murder in the past. Take him with you immediately to the County Public Security Bureau."

Li Bo was stunned. He looked at Su Yang in disbelief, wondering for a moment if he had misheard.

But his father-in-law was now ashen-faced and trembling, making it clear that what Su Yang said was the truth.

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Su Yang barked.