Chapter 38 - 39: On the Authority of the Contract

Chapter 38: Chapter 39: On the Authority of the Contract

"Give it to her?"

Qin Fen paced anxiously at the edge of the pond, stomping his feet. "Damn it, Yuan — don’t tell me you actually don’t have the paperwork for this place?"

"What are you talking about? You think I’m that kind of guy? Just pay her. I’ll handle this."

Chen Yuan threw on his clothes as fast as he could, stuffed the lease contract and business license into a document envelope, then slipped on his flip-flops and bolted downstairs.

"What a mess."

Qin Fen stared at his phone — Chen Yuan had already hung up — then looked over at the three elders surrounded by a cluster of villagers. He shook his head helplessly and walked toward them.

"What did Chen say?"

Mr. Qin and the others looked over.

"He told us to pay her."

Qin Fen spread his hands, completely baffled by what Chen Yuan was thinking.

"Chen really doesn’t have the paperwork?"

Mr. Qin widened his eyes, genuinely surprised.

He hadn’t known Chen long — they’d only just met yesterday — but over the past couple of days he’d come to think quite well of the young man’s character. It didn’t seem like the kind of careless mistake he’d make.

The other two elders felt the same way.

"Come on, Yuan’s not that kind of person."

Chen Yuan hadn’t explained himself, but Qin Fen trusted his buddy all the same.

At that, the three old men exchanged glances, and the surprise in their eyes slowly gave way to knowing smiles — it seemed they’d figured out exactly what Chen Yuan was up to.

"Pay the fishing fee, son."

Having worked out Chen Yuan’s plan, Mr. Qin relaxed.

"We’re seriously paying her?"

Qin Fen’s head was spinning. He couldn’t figure out why Mr. Qin would want to pay either, and the last thing he wanted was to hand a single yuan to that awful woman.

"Pay up."

The moment Liu Fang heard Mr. Qin’s words, she puffed up like a rooster that had just won a fight and thrust her hand out in front of Qin Fen.

"Pay her~"

Mr. Qin repeated himself, and Qin Fen reluctantly pulled out his phone.

"No cash on me. I’ll send it on WeChat."

Cash or WeChat, as long as it was money, Liu Fang was happy. She whipped out her phone and held it up in front of Qin Fen, her face splitting into a grin.

"You sure you want this? Easy to take, not so easy to give back."

One of the elders gave Liu Fang a meaningful look.

"Stop your jabbering and just pay already."

Give it back?

There was no way she was giving anything back. Four hundred yuan, easy money. If as many people showed up today as yesterday, that’d be thousands — and forget giving it back, she wouldn’t let Chen Yuan see a single cent of it.

It was all hers.

This pond — she was going to bleed it dry.

"In that case, how about we set up a membership? Any deals if we top up five thousand upfront?"

The other elder smiled pleasantly.

"Oh, that works out perfectly! If you top up five thousand, I’ll give you ninety days for the price of one. How’s that sound?"

Liu Fang’s grin stretched even wider.

City folks really were something — practically throwing money at her. Yesterday they’d wanted to top up five thousand too, but that idiot Chen Yuan had turned them down. She wasn’t about to make the same mistake.

Free money was free money.

The villagers watching from the sidelines were green with envy. She was making this look way too easy.

"Transfer five thousand, son."

Mr. Qin smiled and held up five fingers.

"On it~"

Qin Fen smiled and made the transfer.

He wasn’t stupid. Between Chen Yuan’s attitude on the phone, the way the elders were acting, and now this deliberate five-thousand-yuan transfer — that wasn’t a random number.

These men had retired from the courts, after all.

She had no idea what was coming.

"Where are you running off to in such a hurry?"

On the other side of the house, Chen Yuan had just sprinted downstairs and nearly ran straight into his parents, who were heading toward the kitchen.

"Did someone show up at the fishing ground, or did another delivery arrive?"

Chen Jun called back to Tang Ying to throw together some breakfast while he headed toward the three-wheeler, ready to go help his son.

"Neither. Someone’s causing trouble at the fishing ground. I’m going to sort it out."

Chen Yuan thought about it and decided to just tell them the truth. His parents would find out anyway — there was no hiding it — and it wasn’t like it was some unsolvable crisis.

"What?!"

Tang Ying let out a sharp cry, suddenly wide awake.

"I’m coming with you. I’d like to see who has the nerve to pull something like this. Actually — wait, I’m going to get your uncle and aunt too."

Tang Ying had been storming toward the pond, but she spun around and dashed off toward the uncle’s house at the back instead.

Chen Yuan tried to call her back, but she’d already disappeared around the corner into the yard.

"What exactly happened?"

Chen Jun’s expression darkened. The fishing ground had only just taken off and was already the family’s main livelihood. Whoever dared stir up trouble had another thing coming — the Chen family wasn’t some pushover.

Chen Yuan gave him a quick rundown, then held up the document envelope.

"Dad, don’t worry. We have all the proper paperwork. Nobody can touch us — doesn’t matter how jealous they are."

Chen Jun felt a chill run through him when he heard that.

Just a few days ago he’d thought it was pointless to bother with any contract — the village pond was there for anyone to use. Only now did he truly understand how important that paperwork was.

His son really had thought this through.

"Yuan, what’s going on?"

His uncle and aunt came pedaling over on their three-wheeler, calling out anxiously. Tang Ying, already in the back of the cart, waved for the father and son to get on — never mind the details, they’d sort it out when they got there.

The two families rode their three-wheelers to the pond, and along the way Chen Yuan gave everyone a quick summary of the situation.

Even though they had proper documentation and had nothing to fear, everyone was furious.

Tang Ying especially. Gossiping around the village was one thing, but now Liu Fang had the nerve to set her sights on their pond? Did she really think they were that easy to walk over?

"Liu Fang, you shameless bitch! How dare you come to our fishing ground and collect money?! Hand it back right now~"

Tang Ying jumped off before the three-wheeler had even stopped, eyes blazing, and charged straight at Liu Fang with her sleeves already rolled up like she was ready to throw down.

Chen Yuan and the others couldn’t grab her in time and rushed after her.

Five people charging in at once — the onlooking villagers scattered in alarm.

"This is going to turn into a brawl — somebody stop them! If it gets physical it’s going to be bad!"

"Someone go get the village secretary!"

"Better call Chen Dequan back too!"

Villagers crowded in to break it up, some rushing off to notify the secretary, others trying to reach Chen Dequan.

This was serious business.

There’s an old saying — cut off a man’s livelihood and it’s the same as killing his parents. Nobody could be expected to stomach what Liu Fang had done, and if Chen Jun’s crew actually got their hands on her, there was no telling what state she’d end up in.

"What do you mean ’your fishing ground’? This pond belongs to the village — anyone can use it. I put fish in this pond too. If people are catching my fish, why can’t I charge for it?"

Liu Fang, of course, wasn’t about to stand her ground in the open. She ducked behind Zhou Jianming and his wife and the cluster of villagers, pulling out her phone to show everyone a video of herself stocking the pond with fish.

The villagers looked on with contempt, but as underhanded as it was, they had to admit she had a point.

Tang Ying wasn’t listening to any of it and kept pushing toward Liu Fang.

For a moment, the whole scene descended into chaos.

Chen Yuan pressed his palm to his forehead. He never should have told his mom. He could’ve handled this himself, and now here he was holding ironclad proof with no chance to use it.

"Enough~"

It was Chen Wenbin’s voice that cut through the noise and brought everything to a halt.

He’d been jolted awake at the crack of dawn by the commotion, and once he heard what Liu Fang had actually done, he was absolutely livid.

He’d only just started taking a real interest in the Chen Yuan Fishing Ground, and already it had this mess dumped on its doorstep — right when the anglers from the city were about to arrive.

This was an embarrassment to all of Yu City Village.

"Return the money to Chen Yuan, apologize, and get out."

Chen Wenbin walked up to Liu Fang, his face like a thundercloud.

Liu Fang was a little scared. The village secretary was an official, after all — usually he seemed approachable enough, but when he actually put on that face, it was intimidating.

Still, she steeled herself and shot back, "Why should I give it back? This pond isn’t his family’s property. What gives him the right to use it and not me?"

"What gives him the right? The fact that Chen Yuan went to the village committee, signed a contract, and paid for it — that’s what."

Chen Wenbin spotted the envelope in Chen Yuan’s hand and knew exactly what it was. He grabbed it, pulled out the contract, and shoved it right in Liu Fang’s face.

"Read it carefully. Ten-year lease. Full rent paid upfront. This pond belongs to Chen Yuan now. What you’re doing is called misappropriation of someone else’s property."

"Pull this kind of stunt a few decades ago and they’d have put a bullet in your head."

"Even today, Chen Yuan has every right to have you thrown in jail."

Chen Wenbin was shaking with rage. If they’d been in his office, he’d have smashed his desk by now.

The villagers were stunned.

Zhou Jianming and his wife were stunned too.

Everyone in the village had always just used the pond freely whenever they liked — and Chen Yuan had actually gone and made it official? A ten-year lease, with the entire rent paid in one lump sum? What on earth had been going through that young man’s head?