Yang Bingning headed outside as she spoke, and when she encountered a peasant woman, she quickly asked, "Aunt Fang, do you know where my parents have gone?"
"Bingning, youâre back! Thatâs great! You should hurry and go to your familyâs orchard. Village Chief Liu Biaozi has brought in an excavator and wants to dig up all of your familyâs fruit trees. Your father and mother are both there right now trying to stop them from digging up the trees."
The peasant woman hastily said.
"What!"
Yang Bingningâs face changed, and she rushed towards the distance.
"Wait for me!"
Ye Luo quickly called out and followed.
Behind this small mountain village lies a large mountain, and at the foot of this mountain stretches a vast orchard.
And at this moment, outside this orchard, stood a large excavator, in front of which a group of people was engaged in a heated argument.
The disputing couple was simplily dressed, with heads of graying hair and faces etched with wrinkles. At this moment, the man held a long iron shovel in his hands and stared angrily at the stout, bald man in front of him.
"Liu Biaozi, Iâm telling you, if you dare to dig up my orchard today, I, Yang Dahu, will never let you off the hook!"
The man with the shovel was none other than Yang Bingningâs father, Yang Dahu, and the man he confronted was the village chief, Liu Biaozi.
"Hmph, Yang Dahu, you think Iâd be afraid of you? You still think youâre a policeman, trying to scare me. Youâre now just a cripple. Dare to hit me and see if I donât have you visiting the detention house within minutes!"
Liu Biaozi looked at Yang Dahu with disdainful arrogance.
"I donât believe it, just try me!"
Yang Dahu held the shovel up, his face murderous as he stared down the group.
"Dad, why bother being polite with him, letâs have our men teach this old guy a lesson first."
Standing in front of Liu Biaozi was a sleazy-looking young man, the epitome of a thug, none other than his son, Liu Quan.
"Come on, go get him!"
Liu Biaozi nodded and ordered directly, and a dozen men holding shovels and iron rods charged forward.
"Stop!"
Just as the two sides were about to clash, a sharp shout rang out, and Yang Bingning hurriedly ran over.
"Bingning, youâre back!"
Seeing Yang Bingning, both Yang Dahu and his wife were overjoyed.
Liu Biaozi also shifted his gaze towards Yang Bingning, while his son Liu Quan looked at her with a sleazy, greedy expression.
"Mom and Dad, are you both alright?"
Yang Bingning asked, her face full of concern.
"Bingning, youâre back. Weâre fine; you just stand aside. Liu Biaozi wants to destroy our orchard. I absolutely cannot let him!"
Yang Dahu replied coldly with a snort.
"Dad, what on earth is going on?"
"Isnât it because Liu Biaozi saw our orchard making good sales and earning money, he became greedy and wants to reclaim this land for himself!"
Yang Dahu glared at Liu Biaozi and shouted.
"What do you mean by âfor himselfâ? Yang Dahu, donât wrong me. I am merely reclaiming this land as per the contract, returning it to the village as public property."
Liu Biaozi quickly retorted.
"Village Chief Liu, I seem to remember that our family leased this land for thirty years. How many years has it been now, and youâre already taking it back? May I ask what you mean by this?"
With an intense gaze, Yang Bingning observed Liu Biaozi, radiating the sharp presence she usually had during investigations.
Intimidated by the imposing aura Yang Bingning exuded, Liu Biaoziâs face slightly changed, but he still asserted,
"There were some loopholes in the original contract, so the thirty-year term is invalid. After our village committeeâs decision, we are taking back this piece of land for the committeeâs ownership immediately."
"Hmph, what village committee decision? Itâs really just what you say goes. I donât care about all that; this orchard is the Yang Familyâs foundation. If anyone dares to touch it, Iâll fight them to the death!"
Yang Dahu declared with a fierce face.
"Village Chief Liu, if thereâs a problem with the contract, let me have a look at it," she said.
Yang Bingningâs eyes fixed on Liu Biaozi, whose gaze flickered for a moment before he said, "No need, this matter has already been decided. If you continue to obstruct, donât blame me for being unkind."
Immediately, Liu Biaoziâs entourage glared menacingly at Yang Bingningâs family.
"You..."
Anger flashed through Yang Bingningâs eyes. She reached for her waist to draw a gun to intimidate this group, only to realize she wasnât on duty today and didnât have her gun on her.
"Liu Biaozi, let me remind you, I am a police officer. Youâd better not deceive me, or Iâll definitely be harsh with you!"
Yang Bingning shouted coldly.
"Hmph, youâre just a lowly police officer. Do you think Iâd be afraid? Your father was also a police officer. Look how that turned out for him; he even ended up crippled," Liu Biaozi said unconcernedly.
Yang Bingning had only told her parents that she was the chief of the criminal police in Zhonghai City; nobody else knew, just that she had become a police officer. Liu Biaozi obviously thought Yang Bingning was just an ordinary cop and didnât take her seriously at all.
"Bingning, actually, I have a very good solution, but it depends on whether youâre willing to agree to it or not," Liu Quan said as he approached Yang Bingning with a lecherous, sly smile, his eyes greedily scanning her.
"What do you want to do?"
Yang Bingning frowned and uttered a cold command as she looked at Liu Quan.
"As long as you marry me, become my girlfriend, then our two families will be one. We wonât need this piece of land anymore; your family can keep planting your orchard! How about that? Isnât my idea great?"
As Liu Quan spoke, he couldnât restrain his hand from reaching toward Yang Bingning.
"Scram!"
Yang Bingningâs face turned cold, and with a swift kick, she sent the man flying.
"Awesome, even I donât dare to lay a hand on that woman, and this kidâs got some guts!"
Ye Luo, who was standing aside enjoying the drama, smiled and gave Liu Quan an approving look.
"Quanâer, how are you? Are you alright?"
Seeing his son sent flying, Liu Biaoziâs face changed immediately as he rushed over to help Liu Quan up. The latter was pale, curled up, sweating cold sweats, and wore an expression of pain.
"Dad, it hurts so much. Teach that damn bitch a lesson; I want her to pay!"
Liu Quan roared furiously, his eyes filled with venomous resentment as he glared at Yang Bingning.
"Damn woman, how dare you hit my son, get her!"
Liu Biaozi ordered coldly while looking at Yang Bingning, and then those dozen men, armed with shovels and iron rods, charged at her.
"Who dares lay a hand on my daughter!"
Yang Dahu bellowed, ready to charge in to protect her, but before he could act, a young man darted forward, sweeping his foot in a continuous motion, sending the dozen men flying in less than a second.