Yes, in just five or six minutes, seven or eight burly men lay sprawled on the ground like chopsticks carelessly tossed about. They dared not move, for even the slightest movement would send shivers of pain through their buttocks.
A chorus of groans filled the air.
Suddenly, a villager rushed over, brandishing a tree branch he had somehow acquired, and began to brutally smash the men's rear ends, eliciting another round of agonizing screams.
"Bastards, you wretched creatures! You dared to steal our land, you dared to try and kill us! Heaven has eyes… Die! Die!"
The other villagers, including women and children, rushed over, wielding wooden clubs to beat the wolves.
Guo Fuyun merely glanced at them, then dragged her meteor hammer to the side.
Lu Chen, holding Du Haoling's hand, walked over, patted Guo Fuyun's head, and said with satisfaction, "Not bad, Yunyun, you're a complete martial arts master now, you're ready to graduate."
As he spoke, he frowned and stopped the group of villagers, asking what was going on.
One of the old men began to speak, tears welling in his eyes.
The guys who had been beaten belonged to Hongqing Company. Hongqing Company wanted to seize their rice paddies to build some kind of commercial center. Originally, they agreed to the land acquisition; it wasn't like they hadn't had their land seized before, as long as the compensation was adequate.
However, the market price for one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) of rice paddy was around 350,000 yuan, while Hongqing Company was only offering 150,000 yuan per mu—more than double! How could they accept that? Of course, everyone disagreed, arguing, appealing, and petitioning, but Hongqing Company had bribed the relevant departments, to no avail. Instead, they used every means to force them to give up the land.
And now, they were even being chased and beaten.
Upon hearing this, the villagers were all in tears. "They seized our houses, and now they're seizing our land. How are we farmers supposed to live without our land? They say it's for public good, we can't do anything about it, the government wants it, we can't fight city hall, right? But they should at least give us reasonable compensation! House prices are so high now, the money you give us after seizing our land isn't even enough for us to buy a house!"
The atmosphere grew even more somber as they spoke.
Lu Chen's brow furrowed deeply.
He knew, of course, that the land on the other side of the mountain wasn't going to be used to build a commercial center, but rather a first-class theme park. And Hongqing Company was actually Hongqing Hall.
It was quite a coincidence; the land that Du Ling and Frank both wanted was separated from the Country Garden residential complex by only a small hill.
A couple of days ago, Du Ling called, saying he had already discussed it with Frank and decided to cooperate.
Frank would invest 1.3 billion, and he would invest 1.1 billion, raising a total of 2.4 billion to jointly build Fuhai Province's first first-class theme park. Over the phone, Du Ling meticulously sought Lu Chen's advice on how to initiate the collaboration. Lu Chen, drawing on his knowledge, provided extensive guidance, leaving Du Ling completely convinced.
Finally, he added that once the first-tier Nice Park was built and operational, he would hire Lu Chen as a consultant, without a salary, but with a guaranteed 0.5% profit share annually. If Frank and Liu Sha contributed more, regardless of the amount, he would add one percentage point to their profit share.
This 0.5% may seem small, but when calculated, it becomes astonishing.
The second-tier Nice Park, managed by Wan Qian, conservatively estimates annual profits at around 200 million, with about half of that profit coming from the two Golden Week holidays alone.
Based on 200 million, a 0.5% profit share would amount to one million.
Furthermore, considering the scale and location of this first-tier Nice Park, it is far more powerful than the second-tier Nice Park. If you add in the profits from Liusha, even a conservative estimate tells Lu Chen he could earn over five million annually. And that's money he gets without doing any work!
Developing a first-class Nicedi requires more land than building a commercial center, so Du Ling and his team are now working even harder, applying for the necessary documents from the relevant departments and beginning to acquire land around the original site.
Lu Chen had also said at the time that the interests of the surrounding villagers must be genuinely protected; they should be compensated exactly what they deserve, and these displaced farmers shouldn't be owed anything.
Du Ling had readily agreed then, so why is this happening now?
Lu Chen suddenly felt a little dissatisfied.
He raised his hand to smooth things over and said calmly, "It's alright, I'll help everyone resolve this!"
These words stunned the villagers. They had only come to complain; they hadn't expected this person to be able to solve anything! What, he said he could? Was he some high-ranking official making an incognito visit? But he was so young, it didn't seem like it!
Regardless, Lu Chen possessed an undeniable aura, a truly impressive one. Therefore, his words immediately instilled a strange sense of trust in the villagers.
"Brother, are you serious? You really can solve this? That's wonderful!"
"Young man, if you can help us solve this, every household will set up a longevity tablet for you!"
"Brother, you really can solve this? If you really can, we…we'd be willing to do anything for you!"
…
These sincere words further solidified Lu Chen's determination to step forward.
Besides, he felt this should be a small matter.
And those thugs who were lying on the ground, hearing Lu Chen's words, couldn't help but grin menacingly. The thug who had led the charge roared, "Kid, where did you spring from? Do you know who we are? Hongqing Company, Hongqing Hall! You know Hongqing Hall, right? One of the three major gangs in Yunzhou City! Go against us, and you're dead!"
The others chimed in:
"Damn it, is that little wench one of yours? You sent her to beat us up? She dared to hit us, you're got no guts! Just you wait, we'll get you soon enough!"
"Ugly little wench, you've hit my ass! Wait till our big guys arrive, you'll see! Whether it's you or those ungrateful bastards, we'll cripple both your legs!"
"That little wench, we'll arrest her and take turns with her every day! And the other one, not bad either! Wait, wait, we've made the call, don't try to run away!"
...
They'd been beaten to the ground, yet they were still yelling so fiercely; they were all courting death. But no wonder, someone must have secretly made a distress call; it seems reinforcements will arrive soon.
The villagers were terrified, their eyes wide with fear, unsure what to do, pacing back and forth, trying to escape.
Lu Chen said calmly, "If you're scared, find somewhere to hide. If you trust me, you can stay and watch the show. But I said I'd help you, and I will!"
His composed demeanor strengthened the villagers' trust and made them feel safer. So, one by one, they shouted firmly:
"No hiding, brother, we trust you! We'll stay and fight alongside you!"
"Yes, your little sister is so strong, you must be even stronger!"
"I could tell at a glance you're no ordinary person, we'll follow you!"
...
Soon, they showed complete devotion to Lu Chen, gripping their sticks tightly, ready to fight the enemy together. This trust made Lu Chen feel somewhat flattered.
Lu Chen nodded, chuckled, then looked at Guo Fuyun and coldly instructed, "Yunyun, did you remember who said those nasty things?"
Guo Fuyun's face grew even colder, and she nodded.
Of course she remembered; she had almost lunged at him again with her meteor hammer.
"Fine, do whatever you want," Lu Chen declared.
Guo Fuyun nodded again, then thought for a moment, took a tree branch about the thickness of two thumbs from a villager, and bent it into several pieces.
Then, she walked towards them.
A sudden unease rose in Lu Chen's heart. He wanted to stop her; after all, they were Du Ling's men—even when beating a dog, one should consider its owner! However, he hesitated.
What those guys had said was indeed too offensive. Lu Chen was furious!
Seeing Guo Fuyun's sinister expression, the guys also sensed something was wrong! They scrambled to their feet, trying to stand or dodge, but each movement aggravated their wounds, causing them to cry out in pain and freeze in place.
They cried out in terror:
"Y-you...what do you want to do? Don't come any closer!"
"What are you going to do with that branch? Don't do anything rash, I'm telling you!"
"This is a society with laws. If we've done anything wrong, you can call 110! Don't hit us!"
...
A cruel smile appeared on Guo Fuyun's face. She walked up to the leader of the thugs, raised a branch, and said coldly, "You just resigned, saying my brother Chen has dog eyes. That's not right!"
With that, the branch plunged down!
Ah—Ouch!
This scream of pain made Lu Chen's face change color. He had experienced some things, but he had never heard such a miserable scream.
The villagers were also quite shocked. My goodness, that little girl's methods were too cruel!
The thug's buttocks were twitching violently, causing the wooden stick attached to them to sway slightly. It looked as if the stick was an extension of his buttocks.
Of course, the placement was very precise, like a perfect hole for a carrot.
Then, Guo Fuyun moved to the next thug.
Her tone was even colder: "I don't know what you mean by 'taking turns every day,' but it certainly isn't a nice thing..." She raised another wooden stick.
"Grandma, spare me! No...please, I'll never do it again...ow!ow!"
This man's cries were even more pitiful than the previous one.
As Guo Fuyun left him, his buttocks continued to twitch violently, another wooden stick swaying slightly. Blood was seeping out, and his crotch was soaked. It looked incredibly gruesome.
A chorus of pleas for mercy erupted from the scene!