Chapter 2479: Chapter 2382: Inviting Wolves Into the House

Wu Jun’s expression froze, and he instinctively looked over at the old man speaking. His gaze fell on the deeply wrinkled face of the old man. After a pause, he hesitantly called out:

"Are you Liao Agong?"

The old man immediately broke into a smile. His wrinkled face lit up as his eyes shifted between Wu Jun and Wu Ya, nodding repeatedly:

"Yes, yes, yes, it’s me. How have you siblings been doing outside? Why have you come back to the village so suddenly?"

Wu Jun motioned for Yaya to greet him, and she obediently called out "Liao Agong." The old man showed his yellow teeth, smiling broadly.

Wu Jun hadn’t returned to the village for many years. He was less familiar with the villagers than Yaya. The tea-picking women working in the tea garden before were strangers to him, likely having married into the village after he went into the military.

The several old men carrying hoes coming over now, he didn’t recognize them at first either. But after hearing the name "Liao Agong," he hazily began to remember.

"Shan Bo, Chen Sigong, Uncle Ding, are you all working in the tea garden?"

Wu Jun called out their names one by one, but the old men looked puzzled, unable to recognize who Wu Jun was.

Liao Agong quickly reminded them: "Oh, it’s the soldier from the Wu Family, Big Wu Family’s!"

Only then did they react, looking at Wu Jun with a mix of surprise and astonishment.

They initially intended to chat with Wu Jun, but suddenly, for some reason, their expressions changed. Awkward and complicated glances were exchanged, and they avoided approaching Wu Jun, instead finding excuses to leave.

Wu Jun was puzzled and wanted to ask what was going on, but Liao Agong, who was still present, suddenly spoke up:

"Xiao Jun, you’ve just returned, why are you causing trouble in the tea garden? You have guts, but don’t you know, you’ve offended someone big this time. That Boss De, he’s no easy character!"

Wu Jun’s face darkened upon hearing this: "Liao Agong, you say that too? What is the background of this Boss De? Can’t he be above the law?"

Liao Agong’s eyes scanned over the thuggish guards not far away, and he sighed:

"The law? In this impoverished backwater of ours, who cares? That Boss De, he’s said to be the county chief’s brother-in-law and has connections in the municipal government. Even the town’s police station listens to him. Who can control him?"

Wu Jun’s eyes flickered, and his gaze fell on the vast tea garden. He pursed his lips and said:

"I only came back to pay respects at my parents’ graves, but upon returning, I found the entire village changed beyond recognition. I can’t even locate my parents’ graves. What’s going on? Agong, can you tell me?"

Liao Agong was evidently aware of the situation with Wu Jun’s parents’ graves. His eyes flickered as he glanced again at the nearby thuggish guards, mouth opening as if to speak, but he seemed too scared to continue.

Seeing this, Wu Jun understood immediately and gave a cold laugh, raising his fist at the thugs:

"You guys better stay away from me, or don’t blame my fists for being impolite!"

The thugs were startled and uncertain, but faced with Wu Jun’s aggression, they didn’t dare provoke him. They knew that if Wu Jun really wanted to leave, they wouldn’t be able to stop him.

So they looked at each other, and sensibly backed away seven or eight meters to the other side of the tea rows, though they continued to keep a close watch on Wu Jun, clearly not forgetting the task given by their boss.

Now, having distanced them so far, Wu Jun could speak more quietly with Liao Agong without worrying about the thugs overhearing.

Wu Jun finally turned to Liao Agong:

"Agong, when was this tea garden built? What’s really going on?"

Liao Agong’s expression darkened: "What else could it be? That scoundrel of a village head, bringing disaster upon us. It was he who brought Boss De here."

"Boss De promised the village head huge profits, so he sold our mountains to him at a cheap price."

Wu Jun’s expression tightened. He pressed on:

"Sold? No, that can’t be. The country’s laws don’t permit the sale of forest lands. That can’t be done legally!"

Liao Agong’s countenance was grim: "It’s not allowed to sell, but they never said anything about leasing or contracting. The village head leased out the entire Yingfeng Ridge, thousand acres of mountain forest to Boss De at a very low price. The lease term is a hundred years! How’s that different from selling it?"

"What? A hundred years?!"

Wu Jun’s face turned a dark shade, shocked by the village head’s shamelessness. This was destroying the village’s foundation! Even after a hundred years, people would still condemn it!

Liao Agong nodded: "Boss De leased it under the guise of the government, and we dared not speak out. But the hundred-year lease term went too far, especially the pricing, it was absurd, practically giving it away!"

Wu Jun couldn’t help but ask eagerly:

"How much did he pay for nearly a thousand acres of forest?"

Liao Agong laughed bitterly: "Every household here has two or three acres. According to current market rates, an acre of forest should rent for a hundred or two a year. Our land is fertile, and even planting fruit trees would yield considerable returns."

"But Boss De was outrageous. He paid a lump-sum price: for a thousand acres of forest, leased for a hundred years, he only paid one million!"

"A million, divided among families, means each gets two or three thousand. Only two or three thousand, and these forests no longer belong to us. They have nothing to do with us for a hundred years!"

Wu Jun was beyond furious. This was absurd. It was 2009 already: two or three thousand could barely accomplish anything. How was this different from a forced seizure?

"You didn’t protest? This is no better than being tossed scraps! It’s outrageous!"

Liao Agong’s eyes showed unspeakable indignation and helplessness:

"Protest? Of course, we did, but do you know what kind of person Boss De is? He’s ruthless and inhuman. When villagers protested, he sent his henchmen to intimidate and threaten households, even ransacking those leading the protests. One family’s son had his leg broken!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.