A crowd had gathered outside the village chief's house at the entrance to the village,
Chen Yi, his mother, and Chen Ran made their way over. Some of their neighbors instinctively backed away on seeing them,
Allergic rashes had appeared on the faces of Chen Yi's mother and Chen Ran. Rumors had been circulating in the village that they had a contagious disease.
Given the circumstances, Chen Yi didn't bother greeting the crowd. Instead, he made his way straight to the front,
Where he saw Wang Dachui and his son, Wang Xiaochui, kneeling on the ground, their hands bound behind them. Bruises covered the parts of their bodies that were visible.
Standing to the side were three men dressed in black; on the chest of the portly man leading them was an embroidered dragon fish,
Upon closer inspection, it was Fatty Li who collected the entrance fee at the market's gate!
Fatty Li's kindly smile was nowhere to be seen. He looked ruthless as he said,
"Everyone, look at Wang Dachui, your village chief, and his son, Wang Xiaochui. They have conspired with traitors in the gang, secretly soliciting fishermen to sell fish directly to them, thereby earning a profit from the gang tax difference. Today, they've been caught red-handed!"
"After discussion with the gang elders, it has been decided that Wang Xiaochui, as a traitor, will have one of his arms cut off and be expelled from the gang. Wang Dachui, as the village chief and broker, will receive fifty lashes, and Wang Family's properties will be seized to deter others!"
"Chop!"
With a swift movement from the profiteer standing nearby, Wang Xiaochui screamed in pain as his left arm was cut off at the shoulder, blood spurting everywhere.
Quite a few of the villagers covered their children's eyes, not allowing them to watch.
On the other side, the sound of lashes landing on Wang Dachui's body resounded through the place. However, just a few strikes in, his skin had already been torn open, his flesh bloodied and bruised.
After a while, the punishment was over, a few men had hauled out all the valuables from the Wang home, then they dumped the two men onto the ground like dead dogs.
The faces of the surrounding villagers were as white as a sheet, and their mouths remained clamped shut,
Wang Dachui had been a powerful figure in West Lake Village for more than ten years, but no one had expected him to end up like this,
All because of his audacity.
Fatty Li scanned the crowd before saying,
"I know there are people in your village who can catch large fish weighing over five pounds. If any of you have broken the rules, step forward now and pay double the due. If I have to discover it myself, then you've already seen what fate awaits you!"
Fatty Li's gaze rested on a few villagers, lingering particularly on Chen Yi and another sturdy man named Wang Zhuang,
Chen Yi remained unmoved,
Whereas Wang Zhuang, who was standing nearby, was visibly shaking with fear. He could no longer stand upright,
After receiving another pair of critical looks from Fatty Li, he wet himself, then stepped forward and knelt before him, saying,
"Mr. Li, I was wrong. I shouldn't have listened to the village chief. I sold three fat white silver carps weighing around seven to eight pounds each to him. Here are the thirty copper coins I earned from selling fish, it's all yours, I won't do it again!"
Wang Zhuang, a skinny and dark-skinned man, knelt on the ground, repeatedly bowing to Fatty Li.
Fatty Li accepted the coins, satisfied, he waved his hand widely, "That's good as long as you realize your mistake. We won't pursue this matter. But remember, if you repeat your offence, your family will be ruined!"
"Thank you, Mr. Li! Thank you, Mr. Li!"
Fatty Li pushed Wang Zhuang aside and turned his gaze towards Chen Yi, saying,
"Is there anyone else who's not being honest and doesn't want to confess?"
Swish, swish, swish!
The people around Chen Yi stepped away, distancing themselves from him,
Even Chen Yi's mother was trembling. She grabbed Chen Yi's arm and said in a quavering voice,
"Yi, you haven't been secretly selling large fish too, have you? If you have, take the money out now, don't make Mr. Li find it difficult."
Meanwhile, Widow Sun, who was standing at one side, sarcastically remarked,
"I wondered why the Chen Family has been preparing three meals a day lately. So they've been earning a fortune by secretly selling fish!"
"Be careful with your words, Widow Sun. Xiao Yi grew up in front of my eyes, and he would never do such a thing." The ship-repairer Tan Youfu next to her soon advised her, pulling at her sleeve.
Chen Yi glanced at Widow Sun and said nothing,
He then looked at Uncle Youfu, nodded silently. He remembered the kind-hearted man who defended him under the pressure of the gang.
Then he looked straight into Fatty Li's eyes, tranquil.
Fatty Li's brow furrowed under his gaze. He didn't pretend any longer and shouted,
"Chen Yi! Don't think that I don't know that you can catch ten-pound fish. I don't believe that Wang Dachui didn't approach you. Did you secretly sell large fish or not? Be truthful!"
Chen Yi calmly took out a piece of cloth from his bosom. When he unfolded it, it was a one-foot-square piece of cloth,
On it, written in charcoal were notes: July 25, sold six-pound silver carp for ten copper coins, levy paid three copper coins; August 1, sold nine-pound green fish for twelve copper coins, levy paid four copper coins; August 10, sold ten-pound green fish for fourteen copper coins, levy paid five copper coins...
Chen Yi read them out one by one, then asked,
"Mr. Li, each time I catch a big fish, I record it when selling it at the market, check and see if we have ever short-changed you!"
Fatty Li had a bad feeling when Chen Yi took out the piece of cloth. His face darkened even more when Chen Yi started to read out the amounts he had paid each time,
"Stop, stop, stop that. Don't read anymore."
Fatty Li looked livid: "You can read and keep accounts?!"
Over the years, Fatty Li, as the market manager, had been skimming off the top of the protection funds going to the gang,
He used to bully the illiterate fishermen, charging the fee for seven pounds of fish when they had only sold five. The extra money naturally went into his own pocket,
How else could he have become a fat man in this era of high grain prices?
But now he had met a fisherman who kept accounts; it was unacceptable, and to add fuel to the fire, he announced the tax amounts in front of a crowd of villagers and two gang members,
If this reached the ears of the gang's upper echelons, they would want him to verify the accounts. Fatty Li probably would have a much worse end than Wang Dachui.
Both had embezzled, one had clawed outwards while the other had secretly pocketed it in — they both behaved the same way.
Thinking of this, Fatty Lin broke out in a cold sweat, chuckling,
"Hah, hah, let's forget about it. I must have remembered wrongly. How could a sensible person like young brother Chen Yi associate himself with the gang and collude.
Now that our misunderstanding is clarified, that's all that matters!
That's it, let today's matter end here! Let's disperse!
Hurry up, disperse, let's end this matter here!"
Fatty Li waved his hand, urging the villagers to leave,
Finally, he walked over to Chen Yi, and whispered: "Young man, you're pretty tough, secretly keeping accounts. Don't do that anymore, why don't you sell the account book to me?"
Chen Yi understood the situation very well. He knew that the item he held was like a death warrant to the man,
After all, that man was part of the gang's middle management. Even if Chen had become aware of his strength, he had no intention of really going against him.
Prevention is better than cure. Chen Yi quickly scrunched the cloth into a ball and stuffed it into Fatty Li's hand,
"It's just a piece of old cloth and is worthless. Please, Mr. Li, help me take care of it."
"Sure, sure." Fatty Li pocketed the cloth, his expression somewhat relieved. He gave Chen Yi a long, hard look before leaving West Lake Village with his two gang members.
However, Chen Yi had a creased brow. He had a feeling that Fatty Li didn't seem entirely satisfied after getting his evidence,
This bastard, he wouldn't be thinking of getting rid of the evidence and silencing me, would he?
I just want to keep the peace, don't you dare bring trouble upon yourself.