Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Buying Peace with Money
Lin Anran took a closer look, confirming that the people outside were up to no good. She turned to Zhang Yan and Li Ming and asked, "Are those people Road Bandits? Do they want to rob us too?"
Zhang Yan and Li Ming protected Lin Anran firmly at the moment the car lost control, so although Lin Anran was affected by the car's loss of control and hitting the tree, he was not injured.
"I guess they are here to collect tolls." Li Ming said after observation.
Lin Anran looked at the group of people outside. A rough count showed that there were no less than fifty of them, all of them looked young and strong. Are all the young and middle-aged men in this village doing this?
She looked at the eight car thieves who had been left carelessly in the aisle and asked, "What should we do with these people?"
Zhang Yan put her arm around Lin Anran's shoulders. She glanced at her face, put the hat on her head, pushed it down, and said, "We'll see what happens."
Lin Anran gritted her teeth, touching the warm, furry hat on her head. It took her so long to restore herself to her previous appearance. Was it just to keep looking ugly? She might as well just continue to live with her old wrinkles. Was there anything wrong with her love of beauty? Was there anything wrong with showing herself off openly? She even hired two powerful bodyguards for this very reason.
The ones who are wrong are those who have dirty eyes and dirty hearts.
Lin Anran knew that Zhang Yan was doing this for her own good, but why did she feel so aggrieved? Some things and some people were just too unfriendly to girls.
She quickly passed these thoughts over in her mind. Now was not the time to think about those things. She had to resolve the current crisis first. Lin Anran looked up at the other passengers in the bus. Some of them were unlucky and had hit their heads when the bus lost control. There were even more who had minor bumps and bruises.
Li Ming: "The bus is not on the original route."
"..." Lin Anran kicked the bleeding bus driver on the ground with an unsatisfied look on his face. If these people hadn't misdirected the bus, how would it have ended up on this road? And what bad luck had it run into another group of robbers?
Lin Anran became even more worried. If the entire nearby village was really doing this dirty work that deserved imprisonment, then the people on their bus would be a group of lambs to be slaughtered. Moreover, they had just knocked down eight robbers who were trying to rob their car, and the whole car was filled with the smell of blood. Would the people outside be very alert after seeing this?
It is very likely that the two sides will start fighting again if they disagree.
"Do they have wooden warehouses?" This was what Lin Anran was most worried about. She had just taken a few glances and found that most of these people were holding sticks, knives, hoes and shovels, and there didn't seem to be any wooden warehouses.
Zhang Yan: "We haven't observed any so far, but we can't rule out the possibility that they are hiding."
Just as Lin Anran and the other two were discussing how to deal with the crisis, the other passengers, alerted by the driver, also immediately realized that they were surrounded. In an instant, despair filled the faces of many passengers, who cried, shouted, and cursed.
Lin Anran automatically filtered out all the Chinese curse words, clenched the iron rod in her hand, and swung it forward: "I'm ready to continue hitting your head." She bought this iron rod in the city for self-defense, and she actually used it.
"Bang, bang, bang!" The people outside knocked on the car door with the weapons in their hands and shouted to open the door. Seeing that the driver did not respond, some of them directly smashed the windshield with a hoe, hitting it several times in a row, almost cracking the windshield.
The driver was so frightened that he quickly lowered the window and shouted to the people outside: "Brothers, I'm driving a car full of passengers and I have to send them home safely. I have a few cigarettes here. Can I give them to you brothers?"
The driver's skill in passing cigarettes through the crack in the car window was so adept that it made people want to cry.
The movement of the windshield stopped, but an iron rod suddenly inserted into the window, forcing the window glass down. If the driver had not left the driver's seat in time, he would have been hit on the head.
"If you pass by our village, we will charge you a toll!" Someone stuck his head in and shouted loudly.
"Five hundred per person. You can't leave without paying the toll. There are plenty of people in our village!"
As soon as the words fell, the villagers who had surrounded the bus raised their weapons and knocked on the bus body. The various "bang bang bang" sounds scared all the passengers so much that their faces turned pale. Everyone had no doubt that if they didn't pay, these road bullies would definitely smash the windows or pry open the doors to break in.
Lin Anran didn't have much hope for the strength of the current car windows. It was obvious that this bus was driven here from above, and the tire of the bus was burst. Someone had to get off the bus to change the tire, otherwise they could not leave and would be trapped here.
If paying a toll of 500 yuan would allow him to leave safely, Lin Anran had to pay. It was better than a real fight between the two sides. Swords have no eyes, so if you can avoid fighting, then don't fight. Spending money to buy safety is frustrating, but it is useful.
Zhang Yan and Li Ming obviously also agreed with Lin Anran's decision. Even though they were good at fighting, two fists could not beat four hands. Their main purpose was to protect Lin Anran. There was a village behind the people outside, and no one knew if they had any other tricks up their sleeves. This was their territory.
I don’t know if they had ever been robbed before, but most of the passengers were willing to spend 500 yuan to buy safety, especially the female passengers, who paid the fastest. The small number of passengers who were unwilling to pay were also persuaded by others, otherwise those who didn’t spend money would be left behind. Who wants to be left behind?
The man outside threatened the driver to open the car door and come in to collect the toll. After getting the passenger's consent, the driver had no choice but to open the front door. However, as soon as someone outside stepped into the car, he was greeted by a smell of blood. He reacted extremely quickly and jumped out of the car. He pointed his weapon at the open door and shouted, "Fuck! There's a dead person in the car!"
Lin Anran heard a commotion outside the bus and saw those people holding their weapons tightly, staring at them vigilantly, as if there was some dangerous place inside the bus.
This scene is really ironic.
The people outside did not get on the bus again. They instructed the driver to get off and asked him to collect the money and give it to them.
Some passengers were scared by the people outside and didn't want to pay the toll anymore. They even stood up and said, "Let's resist them together! Why are they charging us 500 yuan for a toll? Why don't they just rob us? No! They're just stealing our hard-earned money! Brothers and sisters, you've practiced this before, right? You lead the charge, and we'll follow you! Let's take them all down!"
The big brother and big sister were calling Li Ming and Zhang Yan. No passenger could forget how the two of them easily suppressed three car thieves just now.
Many people looked at Li Ming and Zhang Yan with expectation, hoping that they would step forward. If possible, no one would be willing to spend their money in vain. It would be bad luck to get robbed after finally returning home.
Li Ming shook his head and said seriously, "They are outnumbered and have a village behind them. If we really confront them head-on, we will be in trouble."
The most likely outcome is that both sides will suffer losses, and perhaps even someone will be killed. Even though Li Ming and Zhang Yan are no longer soldiers, they are retired soldiers and their current careers are bodyguards. They must first protect Lin Anran and also hope that other passengers can be safe.
Perhaps they noticed that the passengers in the car had changed their minds, so the people outside started making all kinds of "bang bang bang" noises again. The noise was very loud and scary, accompanied by various intimidation and threats. They also arranged for several people to squeeze into the car. When they saw the eight dead bodies lying on the ground, their expressions changed drastically, but then they said nothing and asked nothing. They just kept urging the passengers to pay, otherwise they would kick all the passengers off the car.
The male passenger who first called Li Ming and Zhang Yan to lead the way slid down to his knees the fastest and swiftly took out five hundred yuan. Under the close scrutiny of all the traffic bullies, the driver collected the five hundred yuan from the front to the back of the car and handed the money to the traffic bullies for counting.
There are more than 40 passengers in a full car, which means that these road thugs can make a net profit of more than 20,000 yuan per trip. The money comes so easily, they will definitely continue to rob in the future.
Before leaving, the road bullies forced the driver to replace the tires with theirs. This change required another thousand yuan. When paying, the driver's face looked as if he was dead.
The Luba tyrants who got the money smiled as if it was New Year's Day, and walked away with their weapons without looking back.
There was dead silence inside the bus, and people were relieved to have survived.
The driver was bleeding profusely, but he was also the fastest to recover. He immediately turned the car around and went to the nearest county public security bureau, where he threw the eight robbers out of the car. No one cared whether they were dead or alive. The police officers expertly dragged them in and locked them up. Send them to the hospital? Are you kidding? The robbers didn't get that treatment. Once the investigation revealed the severity of their crimes, they could even be executed.
The driver reported the encounter with a bully to the police. They said they would investigate and, if confirmed, educate the perpetrators. As for the money? Be prepared for the possibility of not getting it back.
After all, it was a village. Should we arrest the entire village? Those road bullies didn't hurt anyone, so it's impossible to sentence them. We can only educate them and prevent them from committing the same offense again.
Lin Anran felt tired about this, and she really had nothing to say. What happened on the bus today made her very exhausted. She never wanted to see that bus again, let alone get on it, but the driver still had to continue driving the full bus of passengers home. The passengers had bought tickets, and even if they didn't want to get on the bus and face the unwashed bloodstains, their thin wallets made them unable to say no.
Lin Anran thought for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and said, "Let's continue to take this bus."
Zhang Yan looked at Lin Anran worriedly: "Are you sure? Don't you plan to change one? Or we can rent a car."
"No, forget it." Lin Anran had considered renting a car in the city before. It would definitely be more convenient, but she felt that a small car would be too conspicuous, more like a fat sheep. She gave up. Renting a car back to Lin Village? Would it definitely attract more attention?
"Every bad time will bring good times. We have experienced so much bad luck before, and everything will definitely go smoothly from now on." Lin Anran said it very confidently. She didn't believe that she could continue to be unlucky. It must be time to rebound.
The passengers and the driver set off with trepidation, but just as Lin Anran said, they had a smooth journey afterwards. The bus stopped at the bus station in the county where Lin Village was located. It was already the next morning. They had stayed at the county public security bureau for quite some time.
"Let's go have breakfast first." Lin Anran looked at the strange yet familiar county town, feeling a little touched, but not much. There was really nothing interesting to see in the county town of this era.
Seeing that Lin Anran looked fine, Zhang Yan asked her with a smile, "Anran, how far is your home from the county town?"
Lin Anran recalled: "It takes more than an hour to take the bus from the county to the town. It takes about half an hour to walk from the town to the village."
"It's not far. We should be able to get back to your house before noon." Zhang Yan said.
Her home?
Lin Anran lowered his head, silently eating noodles, and said vaguely, "As long as there are no problems on the bus, it's fine. But when we get to town, there's no rush to go back to Lin Village. I'm going to the town police station to handle the household registration transfer procedures first."
She estimated that it would take eight days to travel to and from Lam Tsuen, but eight days was actually not enough. Too much time was wasted on the road. She didn't know how many days it would take to complete the formalities. If it was slow, she would have to wait.
Lin Anran had a very bad experience returning to Lin Village this time. She felt that she would rarely come back in the future. In fact, occasionally calling or writing letters to the Lin family was a very good way of getting along with them, and they were also very friendly to her.
If Lin Anran hadn't experienced it personally, he wouldn't have known that the road conditions in this era were so bad, transportation was very inconvenient, and there were all kinds of unexpected dangers. Thinking about the motherland more than 30 years later, with strong infrastructure and well-connected railways and highways, he really hoped that the motherland would prosper soon.
"safely?!"
Lin Anran, Zhang Yan, and Li Ming had just walked out of the town police station. Bewildered, she looked up at the person standing before her. When she saw the person's face clearly, she was stunned for a moment: "...I'm back."
When Mother Lin saw Lin Anran's face clearly, she was shocked: "You are Anran?! Are you my daughter Lin Anran?"
"Yes, I am," Lin Anran smiled, looking at the surprised Lin mother, and said lightly, "...Mom, now that I've turned white, you can't recognize your daughter?"
Mother Lin couldn't hide her surprise. She said, "An Ran, you've become whiter, but you shouldn't look like this."
Lin Anran smiled and asked, "What kind of situation is this?"
Mother Lin looked at Lin Anran again and again, her mouth moving. She couldn't tell what this meant, nor did she know what she wanted to say, but she just felt that her eldest daughter had changed so much, so much that she felt like they were two different people.
"I'm your child. I'm getting better and better. You should be happy for me," Lin Anran began to fool Lin's mother skillfully again. She had always used this trick on twins before, so she had some experience and experience. "I knew I would surprise you, haha!"
Lin Anran had no intention of playing the original owner from the beginning, and the Lin family had to accept her changes even if they didn't want to.
When Lin Anran took her hand, Lin's mother felt relieved. Her daughter was still willing to be close to her. She looked at Zhang Yan and Li Ming who had always been by Lin Anran's side and wondered, "Anran, who are these two?"
Lin Anran immediately introduced her as a friend, offering to give her a ride home, and then added, "We encountered a car thief on the road—"
"What? Are you okay?" Mother Lin nervously pulled Lin Anran's hand and looked around.
Very good, now Lin Ma’s attention is fully focused on the danger she is facing.
Lin Anran was happy to use this incident as an excuse. She told her mother Lin in detail about her troubled journey back home. Her mother Lin's emotions were up and down as she listened, and she had no intention of thinking about the strange feeling in her heart.
Finally, Lin Anran posed a question: "Are there any road bullies in our county?"
Mother Lin pondered, "Some small-time thugs in the county collect protection fees. I haven't heard of any road bullies, but there might be villages that collect tolls."
"Protection money? You were charged?" Lin Anran's eyes widened instantly.
Mother Lin nodded and shook her head. "At the beginning, we had some. We were a new self-employed family with no roots in the county. Those little hooligans were fearless and wanted money over life. I paid them the first time, and then I went back home to find someone to support us, and no one dared to take them anymore."
When Lin Ma said going home, she meant going back to her mother's home. The Lin family has a very close relationship with Lin Ma's mother's family.
Lin Anran recalled her mother's family. There were four brothers. After they got married and had children, they gave birth to a string of boys, all of whom were tall and strong. In other words, she had more than a dozen cousins. Just standing in a row with these cousins was definitely intimidating.
Mother Lin said, "Thanks to your uncle and his help, our business wouldn't be able to thrive otherwise."
It is said that there is strength in numbers, and the Lin family is the best proof of this. In rural areas, the more men there are in a family, the less likely people will dare to bully you.
The original owner's ex-husband was doing well in business in the county, and he had a group of gangsters under him. The Lin family dared to beat the original owner's ex-husband into the hospital because Lin's mother had many brothers on her side of the family. Because they had support, the original owner's ex-husband's family did not dare to cause trouble for the original owner, and they just cut off contact with each other.
After hearing Lin's mother say that she would pay her family's wages, Lin Anran nodded without asking any further questions. She did not intend to interfere in the Lin family's business.
Mother Lin took the initiative to ask: "An Ran, how did you just get out of the police station?"
"I'm going to handle the household registration transfer procedures." Lin Anran explained.
Mother Lin was stunned: "Moving already?"
Lin Anran: "It will take a few more working days to complete."
"Then how many days can you stay at home? Until the Chinese New Year? Oh no, no, the Chinese New Year is still a long time away, and you have to rush back to Shenzhen to work and earn money to pay off your debts." Mother Lin thought of Lin Anran's debts and her face was filled with worry.
Lin Anran just smiled. She had said too many words of comfort before. Even if she said more now, it would not make Lin's mother completely at ease. She would never admit that her debt was a lie.
Zhang Yan and Li Ming were walking behind with their luggage. When they heard that Lin Anran owed a debt, their expressions did not change at all, and they did not even have any intention of asking more questions. They were very dedicated and reliable.
Although Lin's mother was worried, she said to Lin Anran on the way, "Your father and I have agreed that in addition to making hair ties, we will try making hairpins and then towels to sell. We will make cheap towels and sell them in rural markets. They will sell very well."
Lin Anran was slightly surprised: "Making hairpins and towels? Why are you suddenly making these two things? Can you buy the raw materials?"
Mother Lin said, "When we were selling hair ties, many customers asked us if we had any nice-looking hairpins. We bought some and made them according to the recipe. It wasn't difficult. Selling towels was something I came up with myself. Everyone needs towels. City people are willing to spend money on good towels, but we country people use them, but we don't need such good ones. The color or pattern doesn't matter, as long as it works. It's just a simple piece of cloth, so I planned to sell it cheaply, making a small profit but a large turnover. Just like hair ties, I can buy the raw materials."
Lin Anran turned to look at Lin Ma and said in shock, "You said I've changed a lot, but Mom, you haven't changed much less than me. Mom, is this how you do business?"
Her shock was genuine. Lin Anran's mind was buzzing as she tried to recall, but the images of her mother were mostly of her hunched over, head down, working. What was she thinking? The original owner hadn't known that the Lin family's poverty meant they had no time to pause and reflect; thinking was a luxury for them.
Mother Lin: “Ah?”
"How did you come up with that idea?" Lin Anran asked.
Mother Lin caressed Lin Anran's head lovingly and said, "Mom and Dad should save some money while we're still able to. That way, we can help you if anything goes wrong in the future."
Although Lin's mother didn't mention helping to pay off the debt, Lin Anran was so smart that she figured it out as soon as she heard it.
At this moment, Lin Anran's mood was very complicated, but she was very clear that joy was spreading from the depths of her heart, and seemed to gradually fill her heart. She did not need the Lin family's money, but she was really happy when she heard what Lin's mother said.
Is this what parents are like? Even if their children don't need it, they still provide their children with everything they can with love, just like her parents in her previous life gave everything to their children born after a second marriage. They even want to take more benefits from her just to let the children they love get more.
Lin Anran looked at Lin's mother. Lin's mother and father were different from those two people. They decided to work hard to make money and provide for their children.
Lin Village is not far from the town, so Lin Anran and his group returned to Lin Village quickly. New Year's Day had just passed and the weather was cold. Everyone stayed at home and no one was seen walking on the village road. However, Lin Anran's house was very lively because he opened a small workshop and people came to work every day.
Mother Lin said, "When we hire people to do work, we pay them by the piece. The more work they do and the better it is, the more money they get. This also prevents some people from slacking off."
Lin Anran nodded, watched Lin Ma push open the courtyard gate, and followed behind. A group of people were making a fire in the living room to keep warm while working. An aunt looked up and greeted Lin Ma. Then, seeing Lin Anran following behind Lin Ma, she exclaimed, "Anshan Ma, where did you bring back such a beautiful girl?!"
Everyone also looked up and looked outside the door, then stared at Lin Anran closely. They were first amazed, then confused. They felt that this beautiful girl looked a little familiar, but they didn't know where.
"Open your eyes and look, this is my eldest daughter Anran!" Mother Lin happily and proudly pulled Lin Anran to the front and announced loudly.
All the aunties and sisters were stunned, looking at Lin Ma and then at Lin Anran in disbelief.
"Hello, Auntie." Lin Anran glanced at these people and greeted them with a smile. The people that Lin's mom and dad invited to work at home all had a good relationship with their family.
Everyone was silent until the aunt who had the best relationship with Lin Ma asked, "Are you really An Ran? Are you not lying?"
Lin Anran didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Is there any money to be made by deceiving you?"
"Okay, you guys continue working. Anran has been sitting in the car for so long and is scared. She wants to rest." Mother Lin did not forget the dangers Lin Anran encountered on the road.
Lin Anran said a few words to Mrs. Lin who was sitting next to him, and then left the living room with Zhang Yan and Li Ming. Father Lin and Brother Lin were out delivering goods and were not at home.
The house is not small and has been built for some time. It is a brick house that Lin's father and mother worked hard to build before their father fell ill. The four children all have their own rooms. Lin Anran and Zhang Yan can sleep in one bed, and Li Ming lives in Lin Anhua's room, which is just right.
Lin Anran was indeed physically and mentally exhausted. She wanted to have a good sleep in bed. The bed was very warm and the quilt had a light fragrance, which smelled very nice. She fell into a deep sleep quickly and slept until she woke up naturally in the evening.
"Anran, are you awake?" Zhang Yan asked immediately after hearing the movement on the bed.
Lin Anran didn't want to get out of the warm bed. She said lazily, "Yeah, I'm awake." She turned over and blinked, "There's so much talking outside?"
Zhang Yan: "Indeed, many people came, including your relatives and villagers. They all wanted to see you."
Lin Anran: “…”
She could already imagine how lively it was outside without even going out.
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