Chapter 637 - 624: Sinister Villain

Chapter 637: Chapter 624: Sinister Villain

“It seems that someone really is hidden in Village Chief Su’s cellar,” Zhuang Qingning surmised.

At these words, Su Zhengshi’s mind reeled, and he was at a loss for words.

Zhuang Qingning didn’t bother with an extended conversation. He stood and walked towards the cellar.

Su Zhengshi, pulling himself together, hurried to intercept him. Fearing his strength wouldn’t be enough, he also called over the wolf-dog that was lying down nearby, untying the rope from its neck.

Freed from its ties, the wolf-dog charged directly at Zhuang Qingning.

But Zhuang Qingning acted swiftly. He slapped a muzzle on the wolf-dog as it sprang at him.

The dog, which had been poised to attack, was now tightly muzzled. Unable to open its mouth, it began to retreat in surprise, pawing at its face and unable to remove the obstruction. Finally, it ran away with its tail between its legs.

Watching this unfold, Su Zhengshi was stunned. But when he noticed Zhuang Qingning’s chilling expression and the way he crushed a brick in his hand, his concern heightened. He backed away until he hit a wall, then sank to the ground in terror, “Manager Zhuang, I… I…”

“If you let them out now, there might be a chance that you can plead for mercy. But if Village Chief Su still insists on being stubborn…” Zhuang Qingning casually picked up a small wooden stick and threw it. It embedded itself halfway into a tree nearby.

“I’m sure Village Chief Su doesn’t want to end up like that tree.”

“Even if I don’t act here, you should know what happens once you’re taken to the County Government Office.”

Su Zhengshi was well aware of what could happen. The more Zhuang Qingning explained, the more terrified he became. Drops of sweat dotted his forehead and rolled down his face. He quickly begged Zhuang Qingning, “I’ll release them right away. Right away…”

Then, in a haze of panic, he rushed over to the cellar, lifted the wooden planks that covered it, and stooped down to enter.

Zhuang Qingning lit a torch and followed him down.

Most of these cellars were dug into a pear shape: a small entrance followed by a spacious interior.

Zhuang Qingning walked a few steps, pushed open a bamboo pole gate, and observed the hidden world inside.

Despite its low ceiling, the room was considerably larger. Amongst piles of turnips and mustards, two figure were tightly bound and gagged.

It was Shang Chengen and Kugua.

At the sight of someone entering the cellar, they were extremely anxious. Instinctively, they tried to shift away, especially at the sight of Su Zhengshi. Aside from anger, the two also felt a strong sense of fear.

But the sight of Zhuang Qingning following close behind sparked an exchange of glances between them.

Finally, someone had come to rescue them!

If they weren’t restrained, Shang Chengen felt like he might hug Kugua and burst into tears.

Su Zhengshi urgently untied them and helped them out of the cellar.

Experiencing fresh daylight, being able to feel solid ground, washing off dirt from their faces and hands, all reminded them of hope. Furthermore, they were given a cup of hot tea.

Sniffing the tea, Shang Chengen managed to suppress his desire to fall kneel at Zhuang Qingning’s feet and kept expressing his gratitude. “Thank you, Manager Zhuang, for saving our lives.”

“It was nothing, Manager Shang. You don’t have to be so formal,” Zhuang Qingning laughed. “However, I still need to ask why this has happened to you, and that Village Chief Su…”

What had transformed this supposedly honest and integral man into an evildoer plotting to profit from and imprison Shang Chengen and Kugua?

“This started three months ago,” Shang Chengen began. He took a breath and continued,

“Three months ago, someone came to me claiming to be the village chief of the Feng family village, named Feng Yongfu. He insisted that Master Ding had already agreed to open a noodle workshop in Feng’s village and had made him, Feng Yongfu, the manager.”

“However, I suddenly emerged as the new owner, allegedly stealing what should’ve belonged to the Feng’s village. So, they are demanding me to return the workshop.”

“I thought his demands were unreasonable, so I largely ignored him. But he continually pursued this matter, following me everywhere, and kept making a fuss in public about how I seized the livelihood of their village, branding me as a wicked merchant.”

“Seeing my refusal, he collected a group of people to occupy all the seats in my noodle shop. They neither ordered any food nor left, only stared directly at my customers until they left out of unease.”

“When I reported it to the authorities, some officials came to talk to them, and they left. But they would return the next day! This continued unabated for many days. In a situation where I was helpless, the only thing I could do was close the shop temporarily.”

“Then Feng Yongfu found me again, insisting that if the situation continued, then they would occupy my shop every day it was open, ensuring I would not have a peaceful day.”

“In my years of doing business, I’ve never seen such a shameless man. The more unreasonable he was, the firmer my refusal became, even if it meant no business at all, I wouldn’t let his scheme succeed.”

“Realizing that I remained firm, Feng Yongfu then portrayed himself as a victim, repeating his requests. He even suggested that if I didn’t want to return the workshop to them, at least I could employ some folks from their village so they could make a living.”

“But when I looked at the people in Feng’s village, either they were cunning, or they weren’t diligent enough, thus ill-suited to work in the workshop. I rejected his proposal.”

“Upon seeing my refusal, Feng Yongfu left in anger. I thought he had given up, but that same day, I was detained when leaving the village after sunset; a sack was dropped over my head and I was struck unconscious.”

“When I came to, I found I was in this cellar with Kugua. Feng Yongfu continued to threaten me, demanding I surrender the workshop. Even Su Zhengshi echoed his threats and demanded that I hand over all the silver stock of the workshop.”

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“I’ve long been used to Feng Yuefu’s wickedness. What really shocked me was that Village Chief Su, who I’d worked with for quite a while and trusted, had also turned on me.”

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