RYEY – Chapter 114 Unexpected or Not

A group of young men with red armbands on their sleeves rushed straight inside. Worried about Cheng Qiao’s safety, Li Huan also followed them in. Not seeing any trace of her, he knew she must have hidden well. He stood firmly by the door, watching the group run around.

“Boss, nothing here.”

The burly man with fleshy cheeks also came in. Looking at the bare and empty house, his beady eyes suddenly widened. That damned woman dared to lie to him—she must be getting bold.

“This comrade, may I ask what exactly happened?”

“You’re the owner of this house?”

“Yes. The place is too run-down, so we haven’t moved in yet. Since the busy farming season is over, we thought we’d clean it up a bit. Once we have some money, we’ll fix it.”

“You’re just a farmer. How could you own a house in the county?”

“Ah, my father bought this back in the day—before he even married my mother. Later, when it got too dilapidated and we couldn’t afford repairs, we moved out to the countryside.”

The burly man said nothing. Situations like this were common in the county. Besides, the house did look utterly broken down, with part of it already collapsed outside, so he didn’t dwell on it.

Still, he wasn’t ready to give up. That woman had sworn up and down that there was black-market trading going on here. He decided to investigate personally, knocking on walls, tapping around, hoping to discover something.

He searched the place thoroughly. Other than brooms and dustpans, there wasn’t a scrap of food, drink, or supplies. The house didn’t even have a cellar.

“We’ve got the wrong place. Let’s go.”

“Wait, may I ask who reported me? You know how it is, I try to live decently… but inevitably, I might offend someone.”

The burly man studied Li Huan’s handsome face and, as if compelled, suddenly asked: “Do you have a woman you like? Or maybe a woman who likes you?”

“Whether any woman likes me, I don’t know. But I know I only like one woman—my wife.”

“You’re married?”

“Mm. We even have a child.”

“Let’s go.”

A sudden anger welled up in the burly man’s chest. He felt strongly that he had been used. But exactly how he had fallen into this trap—he would need to think carefully.

The young men followed their leader out. Just as Li Huan was about to step inside, his eyes narrowed at the sight of the last short fellow leaving.

Cheng Qiao secretly winked at him before slipping away with the group.

She had discovered earlier that if she stood under the ginseng tree in the black soil, she could hear and see everything outside the space.

Even with their underground trading kept so secret, someone had still reported them. The urgent matter now was to figure out who this person was, and how they had found out about their base here.

Cheng Qiao rummaged through the general store for Li Huan’s clothes and put them on. Though big on her, children’s clothes were usually made oversized to last several years.

She added Li Huan’s thick cotton hat and a big scarf, covering most of her face, leaving only a pair of autumn-like eyes exposed.

She even found a pair of shoes a size too large, stuffing them with straw paper to add height. Her short stature was a glaring flaw, but there was nothing she could do.

Luckily, she had noticed earlier that some of those red-armband youths weren’t even fully grown—barely around 150 centimeters. She could blend in.

The group arrived at the county’s state-run restaurant. The burly man bought each of them a bowl of plain noodles, then left. Cheng Qiao quickly hid away—she had no armband and wasn’t about to take advantage of that.

She quietly tailed him to a neat, clean courtyard. A beautiful woman came to open the door, and Cheng Qiao’s heart skipped—Chen Chunhua.

As if sensing something, Chen Chunhua glanced in her direction. Cheng Qiao darted into her space, standing under the ginseng tree, listening in.

“You’re back. Did you catch them?”

Slap!

“You… why did you hit me?”

“Get inside!”

Covering her face with her hand, head lowered, Chen Chunhua followed the burly man in. But her eyes held bitter hatred. Good—she had one more enemy to add to her list.

Once the gate closed, Cheng Qiao slipped silently out of her space and hurried toward her house. She had too many questions and needed to ask Li Huan.

But in her haste, she failed to notice a pair of terrified eyes peering from a corner not far away, masking a deep, calculating thought.

The man was Zhao Hui. Only after Cheng Qiao left did he step out from the corner. He had come to seek revenge on the burly man. Overnight, his father, his wife, and his two children had all been taken away—no one knew where.

A friend had hidden him just in time, quietly telling him that the one who reported his family was his own coworker. That man had since been transferred to a county in the northeast.

There, a Committee had been formed, and that man had taken the lead post—issuing orders, raiding homes, seizing property, living comfortably.

At midnight, Zhao Hui sneaked back home, packed a few clothes, dug up the bankbook hidden under a tree, and withdrew the money the next day. His friend also procured him a few blank introduction letters. Zhao boarded a train straight to the northeast.

After nearly a month of investigation, he learned that his “good colleague” was not only extorting money everywhere under the Committee’s name but had also taken many lives.

He also discovered the truth about the woman in that courtyard. She was the wife of Butcher  Wang from the meat factory. Wang was no good man—he dumped his wife at a brick kiln for hard labor while he squandered her wages on food and drink.

At first, Zhao Hui had pitied Chen Chunhua, thinking she was trapped in a miserable life with no escape. But when he saw her sneaking into men’s dorms at night to save up money, he realized his sympathy was wasted.

Later, when she was cleaned up and sent to the burly man, Chen Chunhua seemed to come alive, gradually revealing her unique charm.

The burly man had met plenty of women, but it was his first time with someone like Chen Chunhua—a rural woman more beautiful than most city girls. His eyes lit up.

After a word with the foreman at the brick kiln, Chen Chunhua’s wages continued, but she herself was moved into the burly man’s private residence.

A week with him transformed her completely. The rustic air about her was covered by wool coats, wool trousers, and leather-lined shoes.

Drawn by the man’s wealth, and learning she wasn’t his only woman, Chen Chunhua schemed with all her wit, competing fiercely to secure more benefits.