When Zhang Zhili returned home, the Tang family members had already retired for the night. After freshening up, he went back to his room to meditate. There's a saying in the Book of the Immortal Physician: "Seeking the Three Thousand Great Dao is as difficult as ascending to the heavens; one must not slacken for a single day." The next morning, Tang Yanran went to work early, while Zhang Zhili leisurely ate breakfast. During breakfast, Tang Dapeng chatted with Zhang Zhili for a few moments, but midway through a phone call, his expression changed abruptly, and he rushed out the door. Seeing this, Zhang Zhili asked, "What's wrong, Dad?" Tang Dapeng replied solemnly, "There's been an incident at the plantation. They said over ten mu of Chaihu fields were flooded with water!" "It's autumn now, just when the Chaihu is about to be harvested. This flooding could easily cause the roots to rot, rendering the entire crop useless..." Zhang Zhili frowned, "Who would do such a thing?" "We don't know yet. The person in charge there is in a panic!" Tang Dapeng said, grabbing his car keys and heading out. Zhang Zhili thought for a moment and followed, saying, "I'll come with you." Tang Dapeng nodded, and the two in-laws drove off towards the medicinal herb plantation.
The Tang family's medicinal herb plantation covered hundreds of mu and was located in the outskirts of Nanbin City. The land was leased from the village committee, and most of the workers were local farmers. Tang Dapeng was a fair man and had almost no conflicts with the workers or nearby villagers. He was puzzled as to who would commit such a despicable act. Tang Dapeng led Zhang Zhili to the plantation's office area. As soon as they entered, a middle-aged man with a young boy came up to them. The middle-aged man bore some resemblance to Tang Dapeng; he was Tang Xinghuai, Tang Dapeng's younger brother. The young boy was Tang Ming, Tang Xinghuai's son. "What the hell have you, a little shrimp, done?" Tang Xinghuai came up and pointed at Zhang Zhili, cursing angrily. Tang Dapeng was taken aback, "What does this have to do with Zhili?" Tang Ming said with displeasure, "A bunch of thugs were diverting water into the fields. They specifically said Zhili had offended their leader and wanted our whole family to be ruined!" Tang Dapeng nodded, looking at Zhang Zhili. Zhang Zhili shook his head slightly; he couldn't guess whether it was Chen Yaoyang or someone else, but he needed to find out. "Let's go take a look first," Zhang Zhili said calmly. Tang Xinghuai sneered, "You're acting all high and mighty now that you're cured, aren't you? Go take a look? Do you even know how many people they have?" Tang Dapeng furrowed his brow, "We don't know what's going on yet. What's the point of blaming our own people first?" "Who knows if he's relapsed and caused trouble again! Stirring up trouble outside!" Tang Xinghuai said angrily, believing that Tang Dapeng's marriage to Zhang Zhili was a mistake due to Zhang Zhili's mental illness. "Maybe he's jealous of Tang Yanran and offended some playboy! Anyway, there are plenty of suitors for Tang Yanran!" Tang Ming added disdainfully, casting a glance at Zhang Zhili, whom he considered a waste compared to other suitors. Zhang Zhili glanced at Tang Xinghuai and his son, feeling annoyed. "Alright, if you want to talk nonsense, go ahead. I'll go check it out first," he said before walking away. Tang Xinghuai was furious, "Look at your son-in-law's attitude!" "Dad, don't bother. Don't you understand? He's just scared and hiding behind going to the bathroom!" Tang Ming sneered. Tang Xinghuai sneered, "Elder brother, I won't agree if you want to transfer the shares of the plantation to Zhang Zhili in the future. How can we give our family business to outsiders? Especially to such a waste!" Tang Dapeng glanced at Tang Xinghuai, a flash of anger crossing his face, but he didn't explode. The Tang family always considered Tang Dapeng's daughter and son-in-law outsiders, but Tang Dapeng owned half of the plantation shares and had hinted many times that he would give them to Zhang Zhili in the future.
"Let's focus on the matter at hand. Why are we talking nonsense?" Tang Dapeng said and headed straight for the Chaihu fields. He knew there must be something going on; the Tang family had been running the plantation here for five or six years, and they were familiar with the local police station and had many workers in the fields. Normally, people wouldn't dare to cause trouble here! As for Tang Ming's words, Tang Dapeng didn't believe a word. He knew his daughter well; Tang Yanran was cold and proud. Even if she didn't like Zhang Zhili, there was no way she would get involved with anyone else during her marriage. Tang Xinghuai and his son glanced at each other before following. The medicinal herb fields spanned hundreds of mu and were divided into different areas based on the type of herbs grown. Each area had its own manager, workers, and temporary resting sheds. At this moment, there were over a dozen distressed workers gathered under the shed in the Chaihu fields. Outside the shed, there were three or four dozen burly men. They had taken water pipes from the canal and were trampling and flooding the Chaihu fields. These men looked fierce and menacing, and many of them were carrying weapons like knives and steel pipes around their waists. The workers glared at them, gritting their teeth, but didn't dare to move rashly. Seeing Tang Dapeng, the foreman hurriedly approached with a distressed expression, "Look at these bastards! Our hard work for the past half a year has been ruined!" Tang Dapeng nodded, his face serious, and shouted at the burly men in the Chaihu fields, "I'm Tang Dapeng, the boss here. If there's any conflict, let's talk it out!" The troublemakers had already seen them and were whistling and spraying water at Tang Dapeng. In an instant, Tang Dapeng was sprayed all over, his face and body drenched. The high-pressure water hose caused swelling on Tang Dapeng's face immediately. The thugs laughed incessantly at Tang Dapeng's plight. One of them, a burly man with a crew cut and a bare upper body, sneered, "Talk? What are you going to talk to me about?" "We're just having fun! We'll water your Chaihu fields today and graze sheep in your Fu Zi and Gan Cao fields tomorrow! I've already bought the sheep! Either let Zhang Zhili come and beg, or get lost!" The crew-cut man said, spraying water wildly with the hose. Tang Dapeng and his entourage had to dodge around to avoid the water. The more miserable they looked, the more the thugs laughed. Back in the office area, Tang Dapeng and his two companions were all soaked, hastily wiping themselves with tissues. At this moment, Zhang Zhili came back from the bathroom, but before he could say anything, Tang Xinghuai angrily interjected, "You little bastard, you're hiding and only coming out now, just to watch the show, right?" Seeing Tang Xinghuai persistently targeting him, Zhang Zhili also became somewhat angry, "You're just a bully! You're submissive to outsiders but aggressive towards your own family! You like to bully the weak!" Tang Ming, hearing his father being criticized, jumped up and cursed, "If you have the guts, go and deal with it! Why are you hiding? You coward, how dare you insult my father?" Zhang Zhili replied calmly, "I'm about to go and resolve the issue. No need for your useless talk!" Tang Xinghuai and his son sneered at Zhang Zhili. If Zhang Zhili could resolve their father and son, they would drink up all the water in these over ten mu of Chaihu fields!