Chapter 82: What a Coincidence

Master returned home with the prize money, and his wife, in her delight, spent some gold coins, which was noticed by an old enemy. The enemy, seeking revenge, informed the local ruffians that Hu Daniu’s family had come into money. Thus, the gang set their sights on the Hu family.

It was strange, really—after all, such a gang had broken Master’s leg. Surely the town police shouldn’t have just ignored it. Why hadn’t Master called the authorities, and why hadn’t anyone in the village reported the crime?

As these thoughts crossed Chen Yun’s mind, he saw Master and Mistress walking away and hurriedly followed on his bicycle. He watched as they approached a house and, after glancing at the layout on his small map, took another route to circle around, pretending to bump into them by chance a few meters from the door.

“Hey! Chen Yun, what are you doing here?” Hu Daniu was utterly surprised to see Chen Yun suddenly emerge from a side alley.

“Master?! Weren’t you at the hospital? And this is…” Chen Yun’s performance rivaled that of an Oscar-winning actor; his look of shock was as convincing as could be.

“Our legs just got better today, as if by some miracle, so we came home,” Hu Daniu replied.

“Your legs are healed?” Chen Yun feigned amazement. “That fast?”

“Exactly! Not only were we confused, even the doctors couldn’t make sense of it. But enough about us, Chen Yun—what are you doing here?” Hu Daniu asked.

“I’ve been busy lately, just wandering around for a bit of fun. Heard there’s a place called Daniu Village here, so I came to have a look. Never thought I’d run into you two. What brings you here?”

“We live in this village. What a coincidence—just wandering around and you end up here. We really are bound by fate as master and disciple. Come on, let’s go home and have some tea.”

Inside the house, Li Xiaohua was rummaging through boxes, packing things away. Outside, at the tea table, Master Hu Daniu sat, brow furrowed, sipping his tea absentmindedly. Though his leg was healed and his disciple had come, his spirits remained low; after all, nobody is happy about having to leave the home they’ve lived in for so many years.

“Master, what’s wrong?” Chen Yun asked, feigning ignorance.

Hu Daniu glanced at him, hesitated, but decided to speak. “Chen Yun, we’re planning to rent a place in the county for a while.”

“Why?”

He sighed. “I hadn’t meant to tell you, but since you’re here, I might as well. Our legs were broken by some punks from town… That’s what happened. This time, we healed quickly, thanks to the blessing of Tianlong, but I’m worried those thugs will come back, so we’re packing up to lie low in the county for a while.”

When Master finished, Chen Yun smiled. “You two needn’t worry about this.”

“What do you mean? It’s no small matter. Those lowlifes will do anything for money,” Hu Daniu protested, displeased by Chen Yun’s nonchalance.

“Master, let me show you something.” Chen Yun produced a firearm permit and handed it over. “This is a special permit personally approved by General Jiang Tian, stamped with the general’s seal. With this, I can mobilize the garrison. A few petty thugs are nothing to me.” The last part was complete fabrication, but had Chairman Jiang heard it, he would have been shocked, for Chen Yun’s lies were, in fact, reality.

There were two types of general’s seals—a common red one, and a special gold one. Any document stamped with the gold seal was like a military tally from ancient times, granting authority to mobilize the garrison. Chairman Jiang hadn’t told Chen Yun this, fearing that he’d refuse the permit if he knew its real power.

“What? Mobilize the garrison?” Hu Daniu was startled. He knew General Jiang Tian valued Chen Yun greatly—after all, he’d offered him five percent of Yanhua Group to recruit him—but he hadn’t expected Chen Yun to be trusted to such an extent, with even the authority to move troops. Chen Yun was right: no matter how tough those thugs were, they were nothing compared to the army.

“Garrison? What garrison?” Li Xiaohua, hearing the word “army” from inside, hurried out.

“Master, Mistress, rest assured. I promise no hooligans will trouble you again. You don’t need to go to the county—I’ll stay right here and wait for them. If they come, I’ll deal with them one by one. Scum like that are a menace to society.” Chen Yun grinned. “Though, it’s not a bad idea to move to the county. Master, your job there is steady, and Mistress, you won’t have to toil in the fields.”

“No way. I’m a farmer through and through—what would I do in the county?” Li Xiaohua scoffed. “These days, all the young people want to leave for the big cities, but I don’t see what’s so great about them.”

“I don’t see what’s good about the cities either,” Hu Daniu agreed. “Every time I go to the county, I can hardly breathe with all the smog and exhaust. If it weren’t for the higher pay, I’d never go.”

“Exactly. Look at those people living in high-rises in the city—they’re like birds in a cage. Such a tiny space, and so expensive. You can’t compare it to the freedom of village life.”

“Yes, look at Old Meng’s daughter. She lives in the county, and last time she came back, she said she still doesn’t know her neighbor’s surname. She tried to chat, but her neighbor looked down on her because she’s just a worker.”

“Looked down on her? Why?”

“Apparently her neighbor works for some bureau or another—much better than a factory worker. I didn’t really get it.”

“That means the neighbor’s a civil servant, obviously. What bureau? You’re just inexperienced. Civil servants have iron rice bowls—of course, that’s better than working odd jobs.”

“Well, I’m just a villager. So what if I’m inexperienced? My son’s one of the top three in his school. If I were more worldly, would I have married you?”

“Hah! If you hadn’t married me, how would you have a son in the top three?”

Listening to their back and forth, Chen Yun was speechless—the conversation had gone completely off track.

“All right, Master, Mistress, that’s enough. Look at what you’re talking about; how did we get here?” Chen Yun quickly reined them in as the two grew more animated.

They suddenly remembered the disciple in their midst and blushed in embarrassment.

Meanwhile, in the western part of Daniu Village, at the Li family’s home—the only household in the entire village without a man named Daniu.

“Say something, will you! Our son is over thirty and has finally found a match. We can’t let it fall through just because we can’t afford the bride price!” A haggard woman in her late forties pleaded anxiously, while beside her, a man even more aged puffed silently on his pipe, staring at a chili plant outside the door.

“If you can’t bring yourself to ask, I’ll go. If you don’t want a grandson, I do!” Li Ping declared and made for the door.