Power and Wealth

Outskirts.

Along a minor road.

The weather was not very good these days, and it started getting foggy again.

A black Land Rover was surrounded by a group of men armed with poles and farming tools. They were shouting and hitting the car.

“Get out!”

“You are arrogant earlier! Come out now!”

“Go on! Call the County Leaders!”

“Are you all going to pay for the repair fees?”

“Hide in the car? We are going to smash your car!”

Inside the car.

They had been hiding inside the car for a few minutes.

Zhen Shui County people looked at the angry mob outside and did not say anything. They could only wait for the Police.

One minute….

Two minutes….

Three minutes….

The Police have not arrived.

Zhen Shui County’s backup is not here yet, and the local police car did not appear.

It’s about ten minutes.”

“Why are the police not here yet?”

“Mayor Jiang, we cannot wait any longer.”

A villager got mad at Zhang Feng’s stare and spat at him.

Spat!

The thick phlegm hit the windows, and it was gross.

Zhang Feng cursed. Yan Yizhi and Old Wang were furious.

“You dare to scold us?”

“These people are too arrogant!”

A few villagers started to push the Land Rover, making it sway.

Chen Xiaomei felt the car shake and gasped. “Ah….”

Zhang Feng and Old Wang were not sitting properly and almost hit their head.

Compared to them, Dong Xuebing was not so lucky. He was severely injured and could not move. He could not hold on to the seats to protect himself. When the villagers pushed the car hard, his body moved towards the left, and he hit his head against the window. He inhaled deeply from the pain. His head was injured and painful when he hit the wound.

“Mayor Dong!”

“Mayor Dong!”

Dong Xuebing moved his right hand with difficulty to indicate he was fine.

Chen Xiaomei was furious. “These bastards.”

Yan Yizhi took a deep breath. “Why are our people not here yet?”

The villagers laughed when they saw Dong Xuebing hit his head, and they started to shake the car again.

This time, Jiang Fangfang held Dong Xuebing’s head to protect him. “Be careful.”

The car shook again. Jiang Fangfang and Dong Xuebing almost fell off their seats and hit the car door. Dong Xuebing braced himself for the impact but felt no pain. He turned back and saw Jiang Fangfang use her hand to protect him. But the impact hurt the back of her hand.

“Mayor Jiang.” Dong Xuebing looked at her.

Jiang Fangfang replied. “I am fine.”

Old Wang said. “We cannot continue like this.”

Zhang Feng said. “These people are becoming more aggressive. If they continue to push the car, they might flip it.”

Dong Xuebing took a deep breath and said. “Try to drive through them, Old Chen.”

Chen Xiaomei was shocked. “Drive through them? But we are surrounded by them.”

“They will move once you start the engine. Just knock them if they do not move. They asked for it if we ran over them. Who asked them to try to rob us?”

Zhang Feng agreed with Dong Xuebing. “That’s right. Drive through them.”

Jiang Fangfang closed her eyes. “I disagree.”

Zhang Feng smacked his lips. “Mayor Jiang, this is an emergency. We must protect you. We cannot allow them to continue shaking our car.”

Jiang Fangfang looked at him. “What if someone is killed?”

Zhang Feng kept quiet. That’s right. Although the villagers were trying to extort money from them, they would be at fault if they killed someone. The Land Rover is big and heavy. The villagers might be dragged under the vehicle if they drive forward.

Dong Xuebing said. “Try starting the engine first.”

Chen Xiaomei started the engine, and the engine roared.

The villagers were surprised, and a few took a step back.

But the middle-aged villager laughed. “Don’t be afraid of them! They don’t dare to drive off. They are trying to scare us.”

The other villagers heard him and continued to surround the car.

Chen Xiaomei pressed the honk, and the villagers refused to move. Instead, they got more aggressive.

“They are not scared.”

“What should we do now?”

“Mayor Jiang! Mayor Dong!”

Dong Xuebing does not know what to do because of his injuries. He could not even sit properly, let alone get out of the car.

What should he do?

How is he going to get out of this situation?

Everyone looked at Jiang Fangfang.

Jiang Fangfang opened her eyes slowly. “Give them the repair fees.”

“Ah? Give them the money? But…” Zhang Feng and Yan Yizhi refused to accept this. It would hurt their ego if they gave the villagers money.

Jiang Fangfang said calmly. “Give them the money, and we will settle the score later.”

Zhang Feng looked at her. “But… that will….”

Jiang Fangfang interrupted. “You all should know about Mayor Dong’s condition. He suffered fractures all over his body, and he could not move. His condition will worsen if this carries on. We must bring him to the hospital as soon as possible. Since we can settle this problem with money, give it to them.” She took out her wallet. “I have 2,000 RMB.”

Dong Xuebing said. “Mayor Jiang.”

“Don’t say anything.” Jiang Fangfang said. “Just follow my orders.”

Yan Yizhi sighed. “Let’s see how much we have. I have 1,000 RMB.”

“I got 400 RMB.” Chen Xiaomei said embarrassedly.

Dong Xuebing disagreed with Jiang Fangfang’s decision but had to follow her because she was her leader. He said to Chen Xiaomei. “My wallet and phone are with you. I got money inside.”

Chen Xiaomei took out Dong Xuebing’s wallet and saw two bundles of cash. One bundle is 10,000 RMB.

Yan Yizhi, Zhang Feng, and Old Wang looked at Dong Xuebing.

This guy brings so much cash with him.

Chen Xiaomei took out a bundle of notes. She hesitated because she was afraid of winding down the window.

“Give it to me.” Yan Yizhi took the money from her.

The villagers quieted down when they saw the stack of money.

Yan Yizhi waved the money at the people outside. “This is the repair fee. Step back, and I will throw it to you.”

The middle-aged villager laughed. “Hand it over!”

Yan Yizhi said. “Move back first!”

The middle-aged villager stared at him. “Just hand it over!”

Yan Yizhi saw the other villagers staring at him, and he winded down the window slightly. He dared not wind down the window entirely and only opened a gap big enough for his hand to stick out. He threw the 10,000 RMB out of the window. When he was about to close the window, a villager stuck a pole through the gap and prevented him from winding the window up.

“What are you doing?” Yan Yizhi shouted.

The atmosphere became tense again.

The leader of the villagers picked up the money and counted it. He nodded and was interrupted by a young villager when he was about to say something.

“They still have 10,000 RMB!”

“Huh? They still have 10,000 RMB?”

“Yes! I saw it in that black bag.”

“I saw it too. They still have another stack of money.”

The leader smiled and walked closer. “The repair fee was 10,000 RMB, but it has increased to 20,000 now.”

All the villagers’ eyes lit up. They could only get 100 RMB at most when they extorted money from other drivers in the past. After all, the people living in the area were poor. But this time, they might get 20,000 RMB.

Yan Yizhi was furious. “You all!”

Jiang Fangfang calmly said. “Give it to them.”

“Mayor Jiang, they….”

“I said give them.”

Chen Xiaomei clenched his teeth and looked at Dong Xuebing. She saw him nodding and took out the other bundle of cash. She gave it to Yan Yizhi, and he threw it out of the window.

“That’s more like it.”

“You all should have given us the money earlier.”

A younger villager picked up the money and started counting.

Yan Yizhi coldly said. “Can you move the tractor now?”

The middle-aged villager looked at him. “Who do you think you are? Who are you to order us?”

Yan Yizhi suppressed his anger. “We had given you money. What else do you want?”

“You dare to shout at us?” The middle-aged villager spat at Yan Yizhi. The thick phlegm flew through the window gap. “F**k you1”

The spit flew past Yan Yizhi and landed on Jiang Fangfang’s suit, sitting in the middle of the rear passenger seat.

Everyone in the car was shocked.

Dong Xuebing was shocked. He took a deep breath, and his expression changed.

“Old Chen.” Dong Xuebing narrowed his eyes.

Chen Xiaomei looked at him. “Ah?”

Dong Xuebing said coldly. “Help me out of the car.”

“Ah? What?”

“Help me out of the car!”

Dong Xuebing could tolerate it if he were alone. After all, he was injured. But Mayor Jiang was with him, and someone spat on her. He will not tolerate this. He doesn’t care about his injuries now.