Chapter 291 - 291 290 Settling Accounts

Words : 1871 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

291: Chapter 290 Settling Accounts 291: Chapter 290 Settling Accounts Qian Rong shuddered in fear, his eyes fixed on a face as cold and cruel as King Yan’s approaching the window. There was no way he was getting out! No way! “Bang!” Zhong Xiao threw a punch and shattered the car window, then pulled Qian Rong out—there was no need for all that wasted chatter. “Who are you? What do you want to do? Do you even realize what this is? You... this is illegal!” Qian Rong stuttered frantically at Zhong Xiao, feeling as helpless as a chick in front of this man, completely powerless. “You know the law? Get lost! Go catch up with your cronies!” Zhong Xiao kicked Qian Rong hard on the backside. Stumbling forward a few steps, Qian Rong steadied himself and then froze, feeling a chill throughout his body. Weren’t these seven people who had just scattered in different directions fifteen minutes ago? The bomb had just exploded, and they had already been caught. After the blaze erupted, the villagers near the factory and warehouse were dreaming when suddenly the earth shook, followed by collapsing buildings and then a massive wave of heat and pressure hit them. In an instant, the area turned into a mortal Purgatory, cries and curses filling the air. Leading the second team, Li Tou followed Shi Hu and rushed into the site immediately. He lifted his hand towards the barely recognizable houses and said to the second team, “Five from the Li Family, three from the Zhao Family, six from the Wang Family... We mustn’t miss one! No one should die! Take those with minor injuries to the village entrance; carry those with serious injuries back to camp! Report any missing persons to Shi Hu for a search! Disperse!” At Li Tou’s command, the second team members swiftly spread out into the fire site, searching for victims based on the received population info. The villagers from Qiantou Village and Wanbao Village, originally deep in sleep, were also awoken by the enormous explosion. They donned their clothes and stepped out, their spirits lifting as soon as they saw the flames from the direction of the ditches. They hurried to the village entrance and some even wanted to check out the scene in the ditches, but just as they reached the entrance, they realized someone was already waiting for them. “What are you doing? What’s going on here? Why don’t you all go back to sleep instead of crowding here?” Qin Yue stood with her arms akimbo, ready with a thousand ways to deal with these troublemakers. “Qin Yue, didn’t you see? There’s been an explosion! It blew up! We... We have to see what’s going on!” Old Li Tou, always the most restless one, tried to meddle in everything. “What’s there to see? Police, firefighters, doctors, they have all arrived. Don’t you hear the sirens outside? Do you need to worry unnecessarily? Just go back and sleep!” Qin Yue told the villagers. “Qin Yue, that’s not right to say. We’re fellow villagers, concerned about each other; that’s how it should be!” Wang Dajiao also chimed in, just curious to watch the excitement, actually. “There’s nothing to be concerned about! You’ll just make things more chaotic if you go!” Qin Yue stepped up on a large rock, pointed at the villagers, and declared, “I’m laying down the law here! Anyone who adds to the chaos today will have their money docked!” “Dictatorship! Qin Yue, I’m telling you! This is oppression! You’re forbidding us from seeing what’s happening! You’re depriving us of our rights! You’re overbearing! Just wait, we... we’ll tell Liu Hun! We’ll elect a new village chief ourselves!” Old Li Tou grumbled discontentedly, seeing that Qin Yue was not buying his antics, reluctantly took his gossip-hungry heart and sullenly walked back. “Whoever feels like complaining can go ahead! Everyone else, go back!” Qin Yue waved her hand broadly, finally managing to dismiss the curious and idle villagers. Wanbao Village had its own share of difficult locals. Thanks to the gentle persuasions of Luo Xiangjun and Qin Rou, Qiantou Village saw no issues. The moment the explosion sounded, sisters Xiao Yanzi and Xiao Yanzhu immediately directed their subordinates into action. Xiao Yanzi was busy coordinating the different departments, with the most crucial tasks being reporting to higher-ups and handling public relations. Xiao Yanzhu, too, wasn’t idle; although Li Tou took away those who were seriously injured, she still had to attend to those with minor injuries, one by one. By four-forty, Iron Guard personnel had fully returned to Jun Mountain camp. As the rescue team, some members sustained minor injuries, but there were no other issues. The seven severely injured villagers were also brought to the camp. After the injured villagers received treatment, Liu Hun sent the third team to take them back the way they had come, of course, while the villagers were still unconscious. “I am very satisfied with your action today! Congratulations on becoming the best Iron Guard!” Liu Hun said as he walked over and shook hands with each of the Iron Guards. “Take advantage of tonight’s chaos and immediately descend the mountain. After you go down, Zhong Xiao, help arrange for accommodations, uniforms, and salaries. Also, rent a ground floor in Yuhua City away from the city center but make sure it’s accessible. It will serve as the office for the ‘Iron Guard Security’ company; we also need a facade. As for the paperwork, once I settle the village issues, I’ll handle it.” After explaining to Zhong Xiao, Liu Hun wrote him a check for a million, believing that no amount of money was too much for his Iron Guard. As a special investigation team, the four Night Ravens also followed Zhong Xiao. During their time on the mountain, they had more or less trained with Zhong Xiao and others. Zhong Xiao, along with Iron Guard, had collected the things planted on the mountain and stored them back in the cellar warehouse of the small two-story building before they left Wanbao Village. That night, no one paid attention to who was doing what, or what exactly was done. It was not until the next day at noon that, from the reports of the media and TV stations from the County Government to the Township Government, all the villagers finally learned thoroughly what had happened the night before. There were no casualties, the government at all levels responded promptly, and the medical departments cooperated fully. What should have been a massive disaster became, under Liu Hun’s planning, a commendation of the government and medical departments. For Xiao Yanzi and Xiao Yanzhu, the incident had passed and they even received some praises. But for Liu Hun, it was just the beginning. “Qin Yue! What do you have to say now? My pears! Those big ones, taken just like that, talking about industrial upgrading, what could I say? I didn’t utter a word! And now? Blown up to the sky! My heart, oh, how it hurts!” Zhang Ju, raising her voice, blocked Qin Yue outside the two-story building, ranting. Just as Zhang Ju finished her rant, Old Li started, yelling, “Last night, you just wouldn’t let us all go see what was going on. Even said you would dock our pay! Fine! Now we didn’t see it! Didn’t look! Where’s the money? Is there still any?” When this ranting started, everyone began calculating their own losses, initially taking it easy, but soon becoming shameless, demanding compensation of two million. This made Qin Yue furious. “Wow! What a big scene! What’s this about? Holding a constituency meeting?” A man, holding a briefcase, came over smiling, followed by three young men in suits. “Who are you! Why are you making a fuss! What does a constituency meeting have to do with you?” Wang Dajiao looked at the man uncomfortably, feeling uneasy about everyone around. “I am...” “Oh! Mr. Qiao! You’re here! Look at this mess, please come in!” At that moment, Liu Hun came out from inside and immediately spotted Qiao Guangbi clutching his briefcase. Regarding Qin Yue, the villagers still dared to rant in front of Liu Hun, but they could only murmur a few words, knowing well that without Liu Hun, they would still be living in crumbling mud houses. After Qiao Guangbi entered the house with his associates, Liu Hun said to Old Li and the others, “Uncle Li, you along with Aunt Zhang and Aunt Qi, come in to represent, the matter today concerns your interests. My small house can’t accommodate everybody; you can represent them.” The three kind of puffed up, acting as if they were going to a meeting at the Great Hall of the People, alternately saying, “We will decide for you,” and, “Please, the public, rest assured,” and strutted into the house. “Mr. Liu, I came today because it seems something is wrong.,” Qiao Guangbi asked Liu Hun with a sly fox-like face, pretending to care deeply. Liu Hun smiled and replied, “There was a bit of trouble with my factory, it’s not a big deal. What brings you here today, Mr. Qiao?” “Look at your memory, didn’t we have a bet?” Qiao Guangbi cheerily responded, clearly delighted, and quickly had his lawyer and the notary fetch the wager contract. “Oh! That’s what this is about!” Liu Hun said, seriously examining the wager contract, remaining silent, not in a hurry. Qiao Guangbi had already thoroughly understood the situation, hence the timing of his visit. With the whole village exploded and still dragging on time, he directly said to Liu Hun, “Mr. Liu, seeing as the average income of the people in these three villages might not reach a hundred thousand now, huh?” “What? A hundred thousand! Hey! Don’t mess with me! Didn’t you see? The factory roof got blown to the sky, still talking about a hundred thousand!” Old Li couldn’t help but blurt out. Wang Dajiao and Zhang Ju wanted to speak, but Qin Yue quickly glared at them, and they shut up. “Mr. Qiao, whether it exploded to the sky or not, we still need to go through a process. We need to assess the actual income of these villages, then make a judgment, wouldn’t you agree?” Liu Hun said to Qiao Guangbi, making him strut a bit. “Certainly! Of course!” Qiao Guangbi couldn’t hide the smile on his face, clearly understanding that even if all the land in the three villages was sold, it wouldn’t amount to an average of a hundred thousand per person. After a morning of assessment, the final conclusion drawn by the lawyer and the notary was—less than three thousand per capita. “What are you saying? What do you mean less than three thousand! Look at you, young man, quite likable, but doing things so dishonorably? Look at our Wanbao Village, does it look like it’s less than three thousand per capita?” Old Li was instantly dissatisfied, as it was a question of pride.

Chapter 291 - 291 290 Settling Accounts

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