Chapter 39: Wind Over the Ten-Mile Camp

With a dozen or so shovel handles swinging down, the men who had blocked the road—young and old alike—didn't even have time to react before they were sprawled all over the ground.

Yu Yang, having worked on construction projects in another timeline, had seen scenes ten times more chaotic than this; he was naturally unfazed by such a minor skirmish. He signaled his eldest brother to drag the bodies into the truck bed, then steered the heavy tractor back onto the dirt road.

As luck would have it, people from the village they had just passed were approaching. Dozens of men, women, and children appeared, led by the same old man who had previously blocked their path to advise them to take a detour. When the beam of their flashlight hit the scene, the entire group came to a dead stop.

Yu Yang waved a hand. "Moving on!"

He left behind a crowd struck dumb with astonishment. In the distance, accompanied by the rhythmic *chug-chug-chug* of the diesel engine, a few lines of a song could vaguely be heard:

"Be a good man..."
"Strive for self-improvement every day..."
"Hey! You demon, take a blow from my staff!"

The sturdy men, finally getting a chance to flex their muscles, stood excitedly in the truck bed, spinning their shovel handles like wheels.

***

That night, in over a hundred villages across the surrounding area, sleep was nowhere to be found. Beneath quilts and on heated brick beds, nothing but whispers could be heard.

"My goodness, one strike of that rod and his neck was crooked!"
"Can he even survive that?"
"Then those toughs just snapped it back into place, and he started rolling his eyes back."
"..."

"Honey, you're back. How is it out there?"
"Black Three, the one who always robs people at Cross Slope? He’s a goner."
"What?"
"Guns were pulled. He got a big hole in his head. They dumped him at the Hange Police Station. The station chief praised the vegetable vendor on the spot, calling it a service to the people. He even awarded him a thousand yuan and issued him a gun permit."
"This is going to turn into a real mess!"

"You little brat, what are you doing running around in the middle of the night?"
"I followed the convoy to Shili Camp."
"What’s it like over there?"
"The hundreds of bandits and road thugs they hauled back are all squatting by the edge of the pit, crying and fouling themselves. That pit is over ten meters deep, left over from digging clay for the brick kiln, and hundreds of laborers are standing around the perimeter with shovels."
"My god, are they going to bury them? Where did Yu Sanyuan get the guts?"
"It must be from the person who lost those wheels, but according to folks in Shili Camp, this is just the beginning."
"Hiss..."

***

In the early hours.

"Boss, here is the list of local thugs provided by the bandits."
"How many of our people are willing to go and round them up?"
"The vegetable vendors heard they’d get a crate of bean sprouts tomorrow, so they’re all eager to go. Some are even waiting at the edge of the fields, saying they know the area well. There are too many of them to count."
"Split them into a hundred teams. Assign two technicians to each team to lead. Bring all the thugs on that list here. For the truly vicious ones, find a way to take them out."
"Got it!" Sixth Uncle pursed his lips and began issuing orders to the people gathered in the parking lot.

The township head looked worried. "If this blows up, won't you be in trouble?"
"A big blow-up is exactly what we need. Only by throwing a punch can we prevent a hundred others from coming our way. Otherwise, how are we supposed to expand our bean sprout business nationwide?"
"I'm worried about the higher-ups."
"The higher-ups are itching to sweep the house clean. Besides, the person who lost the wheels already paid a down payment: three high-power water pumps and an electrical substation."

"Bring the guns, I'm going too!"

***

There are mountains in Western Lu. Though they rise no higher than a hundred meters, they roll on endlessly, stretching beyond the horizon. Nestled among these mountains are the ruins of the Qi Great Wall, and at its foot lies a village.

The village is a sprawl of broken bricks and rotting tiles, with rubble and mud-bricks everywhere. Dried, yellow corn stalks stand before and behind every house, reflecting the withered branches and rotting leaves of winter—a truly desolate sight.

That morning, smoke curled from chimneys, and a thin mist hung low. Following the cry of a mountain bird, a shout suddenly erupted from the village.

"Thief! Someone’s stealing a dog!"

The next moment, countless men, women, and children rushed out of their courtyards, wielding hoes and dung forks.

"Where? Where is he?"
"Ran toward the small woods to the west. The village chief is already in pursuit."
"After him!"

A swarm of over a hundred people surged into the woods. Soon, they found a middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle, his pants pulled down, tied to a tree trunk with his back to the crowd.

"That's him!"
"Looks like a decent enough fellow, can't believe he'd steal a dog!"
"I'll beat you to death!"

Hoes and forks rained down, quickly leaving the man tied to the tree a bloody mess. The village chief rushed to stop them, calling the police at the same time. "Break it up, break it up! Don't kill him."

In the crowd, a man who frequented the city caught a glimpse of the man's face. He froze, his expression turning to one of horror. "Isn't that Biao-ge from Xiguan?"
"What Biao-ge?"
"The toughest boss in our county town. Rumor has it he's got four or five lives on his hands, and shopkeepers on several streets have to pay him tribute. How did he end up here?"

The villagers realized what was happening and grew anxious. "Won't his men come back for revenge?"
"Fear nothing!" The village chief spat. "Don't you know what happened last night?"
"What?"
"All the local thugs from the surrounding villages and nearby counties have been invited to Shili Camp."
"Hiss..."
"I reckon this Biao-ge got word early and was trying to run, but he ended up here."
"What do we do now?"
"They’re offering a thousand-yuan reward for every bandit caught. Turning this Biao-ge in might be worth ten thousand!"
"Let's go, let's all go!"

***

Shili Camp, south of the Yu Family Village, at the kiln pit.

Dozens of sturdy men held shovels, keeping a perimeter line. Countless villagers and vegetable vendors watched from up close, some carrying long pipes, others wielding tire irons, large wrenches, and pliers.

At the edge of the pit, the bandits were packed on the left, and the local thugs were crowded on the right. Yu Yang, wrapped in a military cotton coat and wearing a Russian-style hat, held a small megaphone. "I’ll ask you one thing: who stole the bean sprouts, and who stole the wheels?"

The site was deathly silent.

"You know this is Shili Camp. After the Battle of Pingdong Lake in '92, no one ever came looking for trouble."

As he finished, the toughs began tossing men into the pit.

"Boss Yu, it was our first time blocking the road, we really didn't know!"
"Boss Yu, we only mess around in the small county towns, we've never provoked Shili Camp!"
"I don't want to die!"
"Me! I know a gang that steals wheels. Their hideout is in Taiqian Town. The leader is called Wang Mazi."

Yu Yang signaled, and the Director of the Investment Promotion Office immediately gathered a team and headed straight for Taiqian.

***

Pingdong County.

"Leader, things have blown up over at Shili Camp. Calls are coming in from several places."
"How bad is it?"
"They’ve rounded up a lot of bandits and local thugs. They have them gathered by the deep pit at the brick kiln and have already started using the shovels."
"Damn it!"
"But, the wheels were found in Taiqian."
"At a time like this, forget the wheels! Just get the situation under control!"

***

*Beep, beep-beep...*

Sirens wailed along the dirt road to the Shili Camp kiln. Ten motorcycle sidecars and five police cruisers arrived, followed by three familiar military trucks.

Yu Yang glanced at the bandits, who were now looking hopeful, and the local thugs who had narrowly escaped death. He felt quite regretful.

"Got careless. Didn't think they'd arrive so quickly."
"I'll spare you this time, but if there's a next time, I'm taking you to the Yellow River!"

Everyone trembled in fear.

***

Soon, the local thugs heard chilling news through the villagers' gossip:
One boss had died under a dung fork.
Another leader had fallen headfirst into a septic tank.
A ruthless headman and two of his underlings had been killed in a car accident...

In a single night, the wind had swept through the ten miles and eight villages, taking with it fifteen or sixteen prominent figures.

"A bloody case caused by a few wheels," Officer Zhou sighed as he stepped out of his car. He then signaled his men in green to assist the police in handling the aftermath.

The county station chief nodded in gratitude, then turned back to his megaphone. "Round up those bandits. Shoot anyone who resists on the spot. All other innocent civilians, leave the scene immediately!"

At noon, the county radio broadcasted: "Last night, our county launched a new round of special crackdowns on bandits and road thugs... ensuring the safety of the lives and property of the people."

***

In the evening, at the small villa.

"Village Chief Yu?"
"Right here!"
"To support local enterprises, the county has allocated three Santana sedans to Sanyuan Agriculture."
"Huh?"

Yu Yang walked out of the first-floor living room and looked up. Parked in the courtyard were three near-new Santana sedans—the same ones that had lost their wheels and later had them replaced—lined up side by side.

The license plates had already been changed.

What was this? A final payment?