Chapter 190: Eliminating Pests for the People

He Yuzhu looked up and saw three young men wearing silk-padded jackets and melon-skin caps standing on the bank, looking down at them from above.

The man in the lead had a flat, round face, but his facial features were small.

"Qin Huairu, my father came to propose marriage and you were unwilling. Now I understand; it turns out you have a lover!"

"Zhao Laoer, my business has nothing to do with you. Stop having designs on me from now on!" Qin Huairu retorted without any courtesy.

"Heh! You've got someone to rely on, haven't you? I saw a truck parked in your village. Just wait, I'm going to find my brother and report your Qin Family Village for colluding with the Red Bandits!"

He Yuzhu asked in a low voice, "Who is this person?"

Qin Huairu whispered, "The second son of the big landlord Zhao Congzhou from the next village, nicknamed Zhao Laizi. Their whole family is no good. If it weren't for my uncle-in-law holding them back, they would have come over to cause trouble long ago!"

"Heh! Qin Huairu, are you bad-mouthing me again?" Zhao Laizi kicked a clod of dirt down in a slouching manner, and the dirt clod flew straight toward He Yuzhu's head.

He Yuzhu reached out and caught it steadily, weighing it in his hand while looking at the three people on the bank with a half-smile.

"Zhao Laizi, stop coming to my house to propose marriage from now on. Even if you come 100 times, I will never marry you!" Qin Huairu said angrily.

"Let's not talk about that today. You are fishing in our family's river, so you have to pay. One Big Ocean per fish. Xiao Wu, Xiaojiu, go down and count them, and collect the money while you're at it!"

The two lackeys with crooked caps rolled up their sleeves and ran down the slope, looking like they would fight anyone who tried to stop them.

He Yuzhu flicked his wrist, and two pebbles flew out, hitting the two lackeys precisely on their knees.

The two felt their kneecaps go numb and, unable to stand steadily, tumbled and crawled down the riverbank, falling into a mess on the ice.

Seeing this, Zhao Laizi cursed with a show of bravado, "You little brat, I think you're tired of living! You just wait for me!" After leaving this threat, he turned and ran.

He Yuzhu flicked his fingertips again, and a pebble whistled through the air, hitting the back of Zhao Laizi's head perfectly.

He let out an "Ouch" and fell to the ground. When he climbed up and touched his head, his hand was covered in blood. He immediately cursed, "You dog bastard, just you wait!" He scrambled away, his speed surprisingly fast.

He Yuzhu was somewhat taken aback for a moment.

What kind of character is this grandson? He yells louder than anyone, but runs faster than anyone?

The two lackeys who had fallen on the ice saw their master run away and immediately panicked, quickly dropping their posture to curry favor: "Big Brother, we're sorry, we're sorry! Our young master has a bit of a problem here," one of them pointed to his own head, "the little ones had eyes but failed to recognize a master, we offended you, excuse us, excuse us!" The two limped away on the ice, stumbling several more times before they had gone far, looking utterly wretched.

He Yuzhu turned to Qin Huairu and asked in confusion, "Is this grandson just bluffing? He was so fierce just now, how did he disappear in the blink of an eye?"

Qin Huairu's face turned pale, and her voice trembled slightly: "It's bad. This person has been like this since he was a child; if he can't win, he runs to call for help. He must be going to find his big brother! Old Master Zhao dotes on this youngest son very much; you've really stirred up trouble now."

"Tell me in detail, what is the background of this Zhao family?"

"The eldest of the Zhao family is the Regimental Commander of the Changping Security Regiment. This Old Master Zhao is a famous big landlord in the area; he is a smiling tiger, sinister and ruthless. Several people in our village who owed his family money have disappeared inexplicably; some say they were sold into coal mines." The more Qin Huairu spoke, the angrier she became.

"So, this Zhao family is not only rich and powerful, but also has a criminal record—a typical landlord bully?" He Yuzhu pressed.

Qin Huairu nodded heavily: "Zhao Laizi said just now that this river belongs to his family, and he wasn't wrong; the land on both banks is indeed theirs. But he didn't come by this land honestly."

He Yuzhu said immediately: "Don't eat these fish for now, let's go back quickly, I have urgent business!"

Chen Daya said hurriedly: "You go first, we can walk back."

"No, you come with me in the car, hurry!" He Yuzhu picked up the two heavy wooden buckets and strode toward the truck.

The two girls had no choice but to trot to keep up.

As soon as they returned to their lodging, He Yuzhu pulled He Daqing into an empty room and lowered his voice excitedly: "Dad, there's a way to solve the food problem in the regiment! There's a bully landlord in the nearby Zhao Village. If we take him down, we might have enough food for a year!"

"This... isn't that a bit against the rules?" He Daqing looked serious.

"This landlord bullies men and women, and his son is a Regimental Commander of the Security Regiment. What are you still hesitating about?" He Yuzhu continued to incite him.

"Even if Regimental Commander Yang and the others bring troops over, it will take at least ten hours. We are so close to Si Jiu Cheng here; what if the Guangtou Party sends a large force to surround us?"

"If that happens, we can still retreat into the mountains. Once we have food, what is there to fear?"

"That's true!" He Daqing rolled his eyes and asked: "Besides this, you must have other motives."

"No, but even if we don't move against him, I suspect they will look for trouble. Today, when I was fishing, I beat up the Zhao family's second son. Mainly because he threatened Qin Huairu, saying Qin Family Village was colluding with the Red Bandits. He also saw our truck... Without Miss Liu protecting Qin Family Village, all sides want to take a bite... If we don't eliminate the Zhao family, my Siqiang won't be able to stay in Qin Family Village securely."

He Daqing still had concerns: "I'm just afraid the Regimental Commander doesn't know the specific situation and won't send anyone over."

"We can make the situation sound more dire, saying we've been targeted by a landlord bully, and if he doesn't send reinforcements, this platoon of men might not make it back."

"You little brat, you really are more ruthless than your father. I'll write the letter immediately and have the messenger send it back."

"No need for that much trouble, I have a radio, I can just send a telegram directly to the Regimental Commander."

"Look at me, I was so anxious I forgot about that!"

He Daqing immediately drafted the telegram and had the messenger send it out.

In less than half an hour, the reply came: The troops would arrive at dawn.

"Dad, I must go immediately to guard the road leading into the city. You send a few men to follow me. If we let the Zhao family send a message out and they act first, our few men won't be enough to handle it!"

He Daqing said nervously: "With you doing this, I'm actually a bit scared! If we're not careful, we'll be plotted against."

"Isn't that so? Who told us to be in enemy-occupied territory. I can't talk to you anymore, I must go to guard the intersection immediately."

"Dad, you send some men to meet our army, and as soon as the main force arrives, come find me. We'll set an ambush at that location."

"Good, I'll go do it right away!"

He Yuzhu did not delay, took a capable hand named Liu San from Chen Qingshan's men, and drove the truck straight toward the county town.

When the car reached a crossroads, He Yuzhu stopped and asked: Liu San, from Zhao Zhuang to the county town, besides this road, are there any other paths?

Liu San replied hurriedly: Young Master, if we don't go this way, we have to take a mountain road of several dozen miles, which is time-consuming and laborious.

He Yuzhu jumped out of the car and instructed the four accompanying soldiers: The five of us will set up a checkpoint here; tell outsiders we are collecting taxes. For all passing goods, we take one-tenth. If you see anyone with guns, invite them into the small woods nearby; all men, women, and children coming from Zhao Zhuang should also be invited in. If anyone asks, say we are from the County Security Regiment.

Having said that, he took out the Guangtou Party uniforms he had prepared in advance and distributed them to everyone.

After hiding the truck, He Yuzhu was afraid the soldiers were not familiar with such extortion, so he simply demonstrated it himself.

Just then, a middle-aged man carrying a load of Chinese cabbage passed by. He Yuzhu stepped forward to stop him, searched him, and seeing he had no weapons, asked in a rough voice: Where are you going?

To, to the county town to visit relatives. The man replied timidly.

He Yuzhu grabbed his hand and examined it carefully. Seeing no calluses from a gun, he waved his hand: Leave ten cabbages, and you can pass.

The man wanted to argue, but He Yuzhu kicked him to the ground and cursed: Are you looking for death?

The man was too scared to say more, honestly took out ten cabbages, and left sheepishly.

The soldiers had never seen such a way of treating the common people, and they could not help but look at each other in dismay.

He Yuzhu said sternly: "Remember, we are currently posing as the Security Regiment. If we don't act the part and are seen through by the Zhao family, they will run to the city to bring reinforcements, and none of us will survive!"

The soldiers finally realized the truth, and one after another, they tilted their caps and put on a slovenly appearance.

He Yuzhu took command in the small woods, specifically to interrogate suspicious individuals.

By the afternoon, two soldiers brought in a man in black under guard.

This man had a Box Cannon tucked into his waist, and as soon as he saw He Yuzhu, he hurriedly tried to curry favor: "Officer, I am a guard for the Zhao family, and I am heading into the city today to visit relatives. We are all one family, could you make things convenient for me?"

"You're going to deliver a message, aren't you?" He Yuzhu said coldly.

The man's eyes darted around, and he said with a fawning smile: "To tell you the truth, I actually just wanted to go to the brothel to have some fun..."

He Yuzhu let out a cold laugh: "It seems you are an old hand; have you already guessed our identity?"

"No, no!" The man waved his hands repeatedly.

Before the words had even faded, the Dagger in He Yuzhu's hand had already pierced into his thigh.

The man in black let out a beast-like howl.

He Yuzhu twisted his wrist, and the man immediately fainted from the pain.

A pot of cold water was splashed down, and the man in black slowly regained consciousness.

"Are you going to talk or not?"

The man in black finally broke down, gasping as he said: "I, I am delivering a message to Regimental Commander Zhao... telling him that a group of Red Bandits has come to Qin Family Village..."

"Before you, was there anyone else who went to report the news?" He Yuzhu asked.