With a "bang", Chen Changyuan smashed the wooden stick in his hand to the ground, raising dust.

He stared at the fire in the distance, his teeth chattering. "Set fire? How cruel!"

He glanced at Zhou Dazhu and snorted coldly: "You are lucky today, so you can save your life first."

He called out to his men: "Quick, go to the city!"

Zhou Dazhui's legs went weak and he wanted to slip away, but as soon as he moved, someone grabbed his shoulders.

The subordinate laughed sarcastically: "Don't worry, Brother Zhu, let's talk about it after our boss comes back."

Zhou Dazhu swallowed and dared not say a word.

The city's medicinal materials warehouse was engulfed in flames and choking black smoke.

Zhang Mazi jumped up and down in front of the ruins and cursed until his voice was hoarse: "These sons of bitches, they're taking my property!"

Half of his little finger was shaking like a sieve.

Seeing Chen Changyuan arrive, he grabbed his arm, his eyes red: "Brother, you're here! This batch of medicinal materials is worth 5,000 yuan, it's all gone!"

Chen Changyuan patted his shoulder and said, "Don't panic, Brother Zhang. The fire won't burn us down."

He looked at the firefighters and asked, "Are you hurt?"

Zhang Mazi shook his head. "No one's hurt, but the goods are all destroyed. There's even oil spilled at the door. Someone must have set the fire on purpose!"

"Oil?"

Chen Changyuan's eyes were sinister, "There's something fishy going on."

Pulling Mr. Wei over, he whispered, "Brother Wei, find out who did this. There's always someone in town who saw something."

Mr. Wei patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I'll give you the final answer in three days."

Two days later, Mr. Wei brought back the news.

Chen Changyuan sat in Zhang Mazi's teahouse, cup of hot tea in hand, listening to Mr. Wei's detailed account: "The arsonists were some of Wang Fugui's men, led by Liu Saner. That night, someone saw them sneaking toward the warehouse carrying oil drums. When the fire started, they ran away."

Mr. Wei paused and lowered his voice, "I also heard that Wang Fugui deliberately wanted to ruin your business with Zhang Mazi. He was afraid that you would join forces to become bigger and threaten his dirty money."

Chen Changyuan sneered and knocked his teacup onto the table. "Wang Fugui, that old bastard, has been playing the role of a smiling tiger for so long that he really thinks he's a man-eating tiger."

He turned to look at Zhang Mazi, "Brother Zhang, can you swallow this?"

Zhang Mazi gritted his teeth and slammed the table. "Swallow the shit! I wish I could chop that piece of shit up and feed it to the pigs!"

Chen Changyuan nodded and squinted his eyes and said, "Then let's do him a big job."

Chen Changyuan was busy in the next few days.

He first had someone secretly keep an eye on a few of Wang Fugui's confidants. Those guys were arrogant and domineering on a daily basis, and they indulged in eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, and they even happened to be in charge of the village's account books.

Not long after, his men brought back the evidence - a pile of account books, which clearly stated that Wang Fugui had embezzled at least 3,000 yuan of public funds from the village over the years, and had withheld relief grain twice, not even sparing the elderly and widowed.

Chen Changyuan flipped through the account book, a sinister smile on his lips, "Wang Fugui, Wang Fugui, let's see how you turn things around this time."

At the same time, he took out a batch of medicinal herbs that he had stockpiled long ago and sold them to Zhang Mazi at a low price.

Although this batch of goods is not top-notch, it is enough for Zhang Mazi to get through the current difficulties.

Zhang Mazi took the list, his eyes welling up. He grabbed Chen Changyuan's hand and shook it, "Brother Changyuan, I'll remember this favor! From now on, if you say go east, I'll never go west!"

Chen Changyuan smiled, patted his back and said, "Brother Zhang, who are we? But this matter is not over yet. If Wang Fugui doesn't come, we will have to live with our heads held high."

Zhang Mazi immediately became excited when he heard this. He rubbed his hands and said, "Then what do you say we should do? How about I find some friends and go to his house and throw manure on him, making him notorious?"

"Humph, throwing manure? That's too cheap for this old dog."

Chen Changyuan lowered his voice and said, "I have a brilliant plan. It will make him kneel down and beg for mercy!"

Chen Changyuan picked up a cigarette and thought of some bad idea while puffing away at it.

Glancing at Zhang Mazi, he muttered, "Look at Wang Fugui. He smiles all day long, but he's actually quite evil behind the scenes. If we want to punish him, we have to make him feel so much pain that he can't even complain!"

"Tell me about it!"

Zhang Mazi's eyes flashed and he came forward and shouted.

Chen Changyuan blew out a smoke ring. "Just taking the account book isn't enough. This old guy has deep roots in the village, and he's protected by people above him. We have to cut off his way to make money first, and force him to come out on his own!"

After a pause, he grinned, "I heard that he's been doing medicinal herb business with Zhang Qinghai from the county, trying to use the village land to make some dirty money. Let's start here!"

"high!"

Zhang Mazi slapped his thigh and said, "This old man is like a mad dog when he has no money to make. He will definitely bite people!"

Chen Changyuan nodded, tapping his fingers on the table. "Find a few smart people to keep an eye on his lackeys. These guys love to gamble. I'll have someone set a trap for them. Once we have enough evidence, Wang Fugui will have to deal with them himself!"

"Hey, these bastards are playing mahjong in the Spring Breeze Teahouse every day. I'm sending someone to keep a close eye on them!"

Zhang Mazi's eyes lit up.

Chen Changyuan flicked the ash from his cigarette. "That old fox has been flirting with Zhang Qinghai from the pharmaceutical company lately. He's probably trying to cash in on the medicinal herbs business."

He snorted coldly, "I've made inquiries. Zhang Qinghai is very greedy. If you give him enough benefits, he would even sell his own father!"

"Then let's..."

Zhang Mazi rubbed his hands, with a fierce gleam in his eyes.

"Don't worry," Chen Changyuan waved his hand. "I've already spread the word that Zhang Qinghai is looking for a supplier of medicinal materials. That old man will definitely be upset when he hears that!"

Sure enough, the next morning, Wang Fugui ran to the county.

Chen Changyuan's men followed him and watched him sneak into Zhang Qinghai's office.

After a while, Wang Fugui came out with a smile on his face, holding the contract in his hand.

"Oh, I thought I got the upper hand."

Chen Changyuan sneered, turned to Zhang Mazi and said, "Brothers, get ready. We'll meet at the county teahouse tonight!"

As night falls, the teahouse is filled with smoke.

Wang Fugui's lackeys gathered around the mahjong table, shuffling the cards and laughing happily.

Little did they know that this game had been set up long ago.

Among the mixed crowd in the teahouse, Chen Changyuan's spies were hiding.

"Let's wait and see." Chen Changyuan picked up the teacup, his eyes cold, "Wang Fugui, Wang Fugui, you like playing dirty? Today I will play with you to your heart's content!"

The sounds of mahjong in the teahouse gradually became lively, and Wang Fugui's lackeys gambled more and more, and their eyes turned red.

Chen Changyuan glanced at Mr. Wei in the corner, who nodded knowingly and made a silent gesture.

Not long after, a drunk man stumbled in and sat down in the empty seat next to the lackeys.

"Hey, this card game is really exciting! Can I play a couple of rounds too?"

"Get lost, can't you see we're busy?"

One of the lackeys waved his hand impatiently.

The drunk man pulled out a wad of bills and slammed them on the table. "One hundred dollars, if you lose, it's my treat!"

The lackeys' eyes suddenly widened.

This is half a year’s salary!