Chapter 38.3
If the vegetable farmers wanted to repay with vegetables, they would say since they have received the protection fees, helping them when they met difficulties was just a trivial matter.
The vegetable farmer was so shocked his jaw dropped. He went back to tell others about it, but no one believed him. Until more and more people were helped, a group of people was still dubious about the fact that the little ruffians became hot-blooded youth.
Especially one day, when a thief was caught by one of the ruffians when he stole something from a stall. In the past, if they caught one, they would beat him up and let him go after. At most, they would also swindle some money from the thief.
But this time, after grabbing the man and that ruffian directly pressed him to apologize to the stall owner. They also told a crowd of people who were watching the scene, “Coming here to steal, yet you don’t even ask where you are?! This land is under our protection. These people are all us brothers’ folks. Next time, if I catch you bullying our folks, I will beat you half to death and send you to the police. Locked up for 8 to 10 years, see if you still dare?!”
In the cheering of the surrounding villagers, the thief shivered with fright and hurriedly said a string of apologies before being let go.
This time, this event finally gave the villagers a feeling of reliability.
In the past, they had to solve all the problems themselves, but now they dared to go to these people who collected protection fees. As long as they have paid the protection fee, they would definitely get a fair response.
Since then, the number of petty thieves and perverts of this street had decreased exponentially. Even those who liked to scheme to get more freebies when buying didn’t dare to do as they did before. After all, if he dares to start something, those vegetable farmers would directly shout at the top of their lungs. Then at the lightest, these people get would get a beating from the small group; at worst, they will get beaten more than once.
One has to know, the harder the perpetrators are beaten, the louder the people around the little ruffians would applaud and cheer. The ruffians who have recently felt how wonderful it was to be popular are desperate to be praised.
In just a few days, the atmosphere in the county completely changed.
The ruffian group, that people were afraid of in the past, has become popular with everyone. Now, nobody would say that they were hoodlums. Everyone would say that they are serious young men. After all, they were not forced to give the money. The reality proves, they would be protected after paying. For example, if there are things at the stall that couldn’t be taken away at night, they could ask these men to help them keep watch. When they came back the next day, they could guarantee that all the things were still there.
Now, when people meet them on the road, they wouldn’t hide from them anymore. Instead, they rush up to say hello; there’s even an old lady who wanted to introduce someone to one of the good-looking gangsters.
Not to mention, the girl introduced by the old lady was really good. Although the family was a little poor and only lives with her mother, however, the girl was down-to-earth and didn’t even mind that he’s considered an unemployed person, delicate and pretty. On the first day they met, the guy was blushing and even had a spring in his step.
With him in the lead, this group of young men, who were just trying to get rid of the possibility of being in prison in the future, finally found another benefit of people liking them.
It was easier to find a girlfriend!
One has to know, before, let along finding a girlfriend, girls with even a little bit of beauty would hide when they see them. Mentioning this only make their heart even more depressed.
It turns out that doing good deeds could get them girlfriends!
This discovery made these young men feel addicted to doing good deeds, so they happily helped the people around them every day.
***
While when they are doing good things around the county, Lin Shiheng and Aunt Lin still haven’t settled the matter of renting land.
Aunt Lin and Zhang Quezi are actually both willing. Their family is only short on land while they are both diligent. Of course, if they had more land, they would willing be willing to plant more. However, old lady Zhang instead disliked that Lin Shiheng wanted too high of a rent.
“Thirty percent won’t work. It has to be ten percent, you two are only renting out the land but my son is the actual person taking care of it. Thirty percent for rent is too black-hearted.”
This was what Widow Zhang said to Mother Lin. She was bold because Mother Lin was good to Aunt Lin, her sister-in-law, and at the same time knowing Mother Lin’s temperament definitely won’t tell these matters to her son.
As a result, Lin Shiheng only learned about the incident afterward from a brother in the village.
He didn’t do anything else. He just directly told Mother Lin that since the talks couldn’t be concluded, then he just wouldn’t rent it out.
Either way, seeing how Widow Zhang was, it seemed that even if the land was rented out, his aunt wouldn’t get any benefits.
Mother Lin always took her son as the decisionmaker. After hearing her son, she nodded and gave all the fields to her elder brother to farm.
Widow Zhang, who deliberately wanted to use Mother Lin to control Aunt Lin, became foolish.
Thirty percent for rent was not high within the village. After all, they had less land on their side, and the Lin family’s land was good land especially bought by Lin Shiheng after making some money. Asking for 30 percent was only because they were relatives.
However, Widow Zhang was just that stingy, relying on Mother Lin’s good temper and how she didn’t like to trouble Lin Shiheng, tried to cut down the price. Unexpectedly, Lin Shiheng, who was usually not very interested in the village affairs, intervened this time.
***
She was so angry that she wanted to go to the Lin family and make a scene. As soon as she arrived in front of their courtyard, she heard Mother Lin exclaimed in surprise, “So much money, where did you get this from?”
Widow Zheng was startled, then hurriedly raised her head over the wall to see. Just in time to see Lin Shiheng put the money into Mother Lin’s hands.
The red color of that stack of money pierced her eyes.
So much… So much… So much money!
So much money! Where did Lin Shiheng get it? This kid had been restless since childhood, Mother Lin said he had a job, but Widow Zhang didn’t believe it. She went to the county several times and saw Lin Shiheng on the streets, walking around, dressed messily. She heard that he was connected with the group of gangsters in the county.
She looked on greedily and suddenly had a good idea.
Lin Shiheng has so much money, he definitely didn’t care for those few acres of land. She could use the source of the money to threaten him to rent the land to her for free.
Lin Shiheng smiled and handed the money to Mother Lin, and took a glance at the sneaky figure outside the wall.
His eyebrow raised to a sharp arc and the corners of his lips slowly hooked up.