Volume One, Chapter 10: Country Bumpkin, Come With Me to the Police Station

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For a moment, Lu Yang completely forgot about the rules. But many things were still uncertain now, and even if he didn’t leave, holding onto certain assets might actually be more beneficial for future development.

“All right, let’s follow the rules on this as well.”

“As for the matter of property, I already mentioned earlier that the existing bamboo groves in our village, along with any newly planted ones in the future, will be managed by the cooperative.”

“This is the foundation of the cooperative and its cost. To give back to the villagers, I will divide the cooperative’s net profit into two parts.”

“Let me clarify: net profit means the money left after deducting all expenses.”

“Sixty percent will be used for developing the cooperative, and forty percent will go towards improving everyone’s living standards.”

“If, before then, we need to establish a new cooperative and use part of this money, I will hold another meeting to discuss it with all of you.”

The villagers immediately expressed their support.

“Little Village Chief, as long as you lead, we’ll definitely make money. You decide how to divide it.”

“Yes, Little Village Chief, if you want to do something, just spend the money directly without consulting us.”

“...”

Trust!

One hundred percent trust!

Favorable timing, advantageous geography, and harmonious relationships.

Among these three, harmony among people is the most crucial.

Without it, no enterprise or collective, regardless of who forms it, can go far.

Lu Yang suddenly felt a surge of motivation.

If the entire village trusted him this much, staying might even bring greater achievements than going out.

...

After the meeting, Lu Yang called Wu Qingshan and a few others to the mess hall and took out the braising ingredients he had bought earlier.

“Old Wu, thank you all for your hard work tonight. We’ll come back to pick up the food at one o’clock tomorrow morning.”

Wu Qingshan smiled, “Little Village Chief, you’re the one working hard, having to head into the county early tomorrow morning for our affairs.”

“No problem! Oh, remember to braise a bit in each vat and mark them in order. Before braising, rinse the ingredients to remove the marinating flavor.”

Wu Qingshan nodded.

Lu Yang looked around the room.

Though it was a kitchen, it wasn’t very sanitary—cobwebs everywhere, and traces of smoke stains.

“Before braising, clean the kitchen first.”

Wu Qingshan smiled and nodded, “Little Village Chief, I know—quality control!”

Not knowing is not frightening; what’s frightening is pretending to know.

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Lu Yang gently patted Wu Qingshan on the shoulder. “Do a good job! When the time is right, we’ll start a braised delicacy cooperative!”

At precisely one o’clock the next morning, Lu Yang arrived at the team’s place.

The women had already gone home to rest, and only Wu Qingshan was guarding against mice.

Lu Yang roughly counted the catch.

There were over a thousand sparrows; wild chickens and wild rabbits were fewer than yesterday.

But today was just a trial run, so there was no need to catch too many.

Unexpectedly, more people had come because it was market day.

As soon as they brought out their braised wild game, many gathered around, chattering and asking what it was.

“All these mountain goods are poisoned, what else could they be? Poison, of course!”

Before Lu Yang could reply, a voice came from behind the crowd.

Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately grew wary, some even angry.

Lu Yongchun, upon hearing it, grabbed a borrowed weight and seemed ready to fight the troublemaker.

But to act now would only show insecurity and fall right into the other’s trap.

Lu Yang held him back and smiled slightly, “Wang Youfu, hiding behind others and spreading nonsense—what kind of hero is that? If you have the guts, come forward and face us.”

Seeing Lu Yang’s calm expression and composed demeanor, the crowd relaxed somewhat and glanced toward the man behind.

He was about forty, well-fed, completely unperturbed, even a bit arrogant.

“Fine, if you want to come forward, come on up. I’m standing up for the people. I’m not afraid of you, a shady merchant!”

Wang Youfu sneered, stepped forward, looked at the crowd, and shouted to those farther off,

“Everyone, come see! Someone here is buying poisoned wild game!”

At that moment, the crowd was large, and as people were shopping, they quickly gathered.

During this, Lu Yang said nothing and, like Wang Youfu, calmly observed the crowd.

Wang Youfu grew uneasy seeing Lu Yang so unfazed.

He recalled that a month ago, this high school student was only slightly more talkative than an ordinary farmer.

But today, facing such an opposition, he was not afraid at all, even seeming a bit excited.

Damn it, these high school kids just love to show off—scared out of their minds but pretending to be calm.

When Wang saw most people had arrived, he loudly said, “Lu Yang, didn’t you want me to confront you? Fine, I’ll confront you!”

Originally, Wang Youfu planned to use capitalist tactics to scare off Lu Yang and his group.

But today Lu Yang not only showed up but turned the wild game into braised delicacies.

This meant he already knew the government encouraged such small businesses.

Still, Wang was a seasoned hustler who had cheated many honest people and had a few tricks up his sleeve.

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He took a silver needle from his pocket and waved it in front of everyone.

“Dear fellow villagers, watch closely. This silver needle is silver-white.”

He then plunged the needle into a braised sparrow and looked at Lu Yang with a smug smile.

Braising products, like arsenic, will cause silver needles to change color.

Many people didn’t know this.

“Lu Yang, let’s see how long you can keep fooling everyone!”

Daring to show off such a petty trick—did he think I wasted twenty-plus years as a village official for nothing?

Lu Yang only smiled faintly and looked at the eggs in an elderly woman’s basket.

Wang Youfu said nothing more, waiting half a minute while staring at the silver needle before pulling it out.

“Everyone, see that? The silver needle turned black. You all know what that means, right?”

In this era, Jin Yong’s martial arts dramas and Qiong Yao’s romance series dominated the screens.

Many dramas had scenes where silver needles tested for poison.

But people only knew arsenic could change color, not that it was due to sulfides.

“Poisoned! It’s really poisoned!”

“These three rustic farmers actually want to poison us!”

“Someone call the police!”

“...”

Some began cursing, others shouted, and some even tried to take action.

“Country bumpkin, come with me to the police station!”

Wang Youfu loved this outcome and reached out to grab Lu Yang.

“Fuck off!”

Lu Yongchun stepped forward, grabbed Wang Youfu’s hand, and twisted his arm behind his back.

Wang Youfu screamed in pain, “Hey! Fellow villagers, help! I exposed these bumpkins’ trick, and now they’re attacking me!”

“Damn, they actually hit first!”

“Lawless! Let’s go! Arrest them and take them to the station!”

Though the food was poisoned, no one had bought any.

But now these people had started the fight.

A few hot-blooded men saw this and immediately moved to intervene.