Days of Living with My Sister-in-Law-Chapter 100: No Solution

Chen Xiaobei said angrily, "You old bastard, who have I deceived?"

"You’ve deceived the villagers!" Li Xinghe sneered. "These watermelons could sell for at least a few thousand yuan each. But you? You want to lease the land from the villagers for a mere two thousand yuan per mu. How is that not cheating them?"

"Damn it! Good thing Elder Li reminded us, or Chen Xiaobei might have really screwed us over!"

"Exactly! These watermelons are so delicious. Two thousand per mu is way too little, isn’t it?"

"Right, right, right! We absolutely cannot agree to lease it to him so cheaply!"

Incited by an insider, the villagers were immediately disgruntled.

"The hell—" Chen Xiaobei was startled. He hadn’t actually considered this problem, and Li Xinghe had seized on the crucial point.

Li Xinghe continued, "Moreover, you keep talking about building a factory. Do you have the money? Do you have investors? Young man, not everything can be solved with just words; it all comes down to money!"

Pointing at Qiu Xingcai, Li Xinghe went on, "Villagers, I’ve investigated this woman. She is Qiu Xingcai, the CEO of Songshan Tianlong Construction Group. What you don’t know is that her company is on the verge of bankruptcy! She simply doesn’t have the capacity to take on such a large project. So, from the very beginning, Chen Xiaobei has been planning to pull off a scam with zero investment. People like him are the most despicable!"

A collective gasp ran through the crowd as the villagers’ anger was instantly ignited.

Qiu Xingcai shouted, "Li Xinghe, my company has already secured working capital! Stop spouting nonsense!"

"Alright, alright," Li Xinghe said, looking even more composed as he faced this young upstart. He smiled. "Even if your company can manage its cash flow, is it enough to build a factory? Is it enough to build roads? I’m sure you’re not an idiot. Do you have the money to keep this up? Or perhaps, Chen Xiaobei, you’ve found an incredible investor? What’s the matter? Why don’t you answer me?"

Facing Li Xinghe’s barrage of soul-crushing questions, Chen Xiaobei was suddenly speechless. He had fallen out with Luo Qingcheng, so he genuinely had no investor. He had done the calculations, though. With the one hundred million yuan he had, he could still build the factory. But he never expected to be cornered by Li Xinghe like this!

The villagers were now beyond furious, shouting in unison, "Chen Xiaobei, so you’re a fraud! To think we actually trusted you!"

"I’ve thought it over! It’s not that you can’t lease the land, but there’s a condition: five thousand yuan per mu, and you have to sign a ten-year lease up front!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"If you don’t agree to this demand, we won’t sign a contract with you!" These words came from the village chief, Huang Wenjun. Having taken money from the Li Family, he was obligated to take their side.

Chen Xiaobei’s temper flared. Five thousand yuan per mu? Was this not blatant robbery? Shanhe Village had about two thousand mu of land, meaning the annual rent alone would be one hundred million yuan. How the hell was he supposed to compete with that?

Just then, He Yongkun arrived, accompanied by his son.

"Mr. Chen, my apologies for the delay. I was held up," He Yongkun said, stepping onto the stage and giving Chen Xiaobei a respectful bow.

"Magistrate He... and the town mayor... What are you—" Huang Wenjun was scared witless, his legs trembling.

Li Xinghe’s face burned with fury. He never imagined that Magistrate He would stoop to come here and support Chen Xiaobei. But so what? He already had Chen Xiaobei completely in his grasp.

With that in mind, he laughed. "HAHAHA, Magistrate He, your presence here is quite a surprise to this old man! Please, arrest this swindler Chen Xiaobei at once!"

"Arrest him? I think the one who should be arrested is you," He Yongkun scoffed, his eyes narrowed. "Li Xinghe, let’s not even talk about you letting your subordinates commit murder in public. The very act of starting development without going through the proper government channels is a serious crime! I came here today to inform everyone that the government has never planned to develop this part of Shanhe Village. Even if you’ve signed some contract with the Li Family, it’s completely invalid!"

The moment he said this, the crowd went wild.

"Are you kidding me? Why isn’t it being developed?"

"Exactly! We finally have a chance to live in proper buildings! Why does your one word cancel everything?"

"Some ’parent officials’ they are! They deserve to die!"

"All of you, shut the hell up! Are you looking to die?" Zhao Caixia bellowed, brandishing her machete. But even for a powerhouse like her, she couldn’t control such a large crowd. The villagers’ faces were contorted with rage, looking as if they wanted to slaughter He Yongkun on the spot.

"Everyone, quiet down! I haven’t finished speaking!" He Yongkun remained calm throughout. "Although the government does not plan to develop real estate, it will not obstruct other forms of economic construction. Mr. Chen Xiaobei is a promising young man. He has already discussed his plan with me, and I support it one hundred percent. I ask all of you, my fellow villagers, to trust me. Give Mr. Chen a little more time, and the future of Shanhe Village will certainly be brighter."

Beside him, He Lisan quickly started clapping. The villagers, however, completely ignored him, leaving him in an incredibly awkward position.

The villagers continued to shout, "Cut the crap! Anyone can make empty promises! But does he have the money?"

"If he wants the contract, fine! Five thousand a year for ten years!"

"Otherwise, get the hell out of our way and let us sign with the Li Family!"

The villagers had completely lost their minds. Huang Wenjun even risked his neck to offer his advice, "Magistrate, it’s hard to go against the public’s anger. The villagers have suffered for so many years. If their demands aren’t met, I’m afraid they might revolt."

"This..." He Yongkun’s expression grew tense. He shot Chen Xiaobei a displeased glare. I went out on a limb for you, and it turns out you have no money? Are you trying to screw me over?

Officials feared nothing more than public outrage, and right now, He Yongkun truly didn’t dare to speak.

This made Li Xinghe ecstatic. He clapped his hands and said, "Villagers, it seems Chen Xiaobei is out of money! Since that’s the case, let’s hurry up and sign the contracts. Once you sign, you can move into your new homes tomorrow!"

"Oh yeah! Long live Elder Li!"

The villagers went into a frenzy, each one desperate to be the first to sign.

"Brother Bei, what do we do? Want me to just chop them all down for you?" Zhao Caixia asked, at her wit’s end and filled with rage.

Chen Xiaobei didn’t answer. His eyes were bloodshot, a murderous glint flickering within them. Shanhe Village was simply too important to him. He would rather face the wrath of the entire village than let it fall into Li Xinghe’s hands.

Down in the crowd, Shen Jiawen sobbed uncontrollably, her heart filled with a sense of powerlessness. It’s all my fault. I’m too weak. I can’t even help him. And I thought I could be his wife? How ridiculous!

Just then, at the very moment Chen Xiaobei ran out of options and was preparing to make his move, a voice cut through the chaos. "Everyone, please don’t sign with the Li Family just yet. I am Chen Xiaobei’s investor. Could you allow me to say a few words first? The benefits I’m offering are far greater than anything the Li Family can provide!"

All eyes turned toward the source of the voice. It was Luo Qingcheng, whom he hadn’t seen for days, striding forward with an undeniably commanding presence.