After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

It was 5:30 in the morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Chen Pingfang, already wearing an old jacket and carrying a hoe, walked out of Granny Li's yard.

At the edge of the village, several elderly farmers were weeding in the cornfield.

Chen Ping walked over without saying anything, rolled up his sleeves, squatted down, and started working.

"Hey, young man, what are you doing?" An old man looked up, a little puzzled.

"Help me weed," Chen Ping replied without looking up.

The old man paused for a moment, then said, "You're from the city, aren't you? City people do this kind of thing?"

"My grandfather was a farmer, and I learned about farming when I was a child," Chen Pingfang replied casually.

The old man laughed, "Then you're much better than those officials who come to inspect. Those people can't even hold a hoe."

Chen Ping didn't reply and continued working.

Half an hour later, the sun came out.

Sweat beaded on Chen Ping's forehead, but he didn't stop, working until the old men finished their work.

"Young man, take a break and have some water." The old man handed him an enamel mug.

Chen Ping took it and gulped down a few mouthfuls. "Thank you, sir."

"What's your name?"

"Chen Pingfang."

"Little Chen, what brings you here?" the old man asked tentatively.

Chen Ping wiped his sweat. "I just came to take a look. I heard there's going to be development here, and I wanted to find out more about it."

The old man's expression changed. "Are you with the government?"

"I guess so," Chen Pingfang said without denying it.

The old man was silent for a while, then sighed, "Xiao Chen, you'd better not cause any more trouble. We can't afford to mess with Lai Laosi."

"Why can't we afford to offend them?"

"He has people under him. Anyone in the village who dares to speak ill of him will have trouble at home the next day." The old man lowered his voice. "Last time, Old Zhang's son said a few words, and all the chickens in his house were poisoned that night."

Chen Ping nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

……

For the next few days, Chen Pingfang wandered around the village every day.

He helped villagers repair water pipes, chopped firewood for the elderly, and played football with the children; he didn't seem like an official investigating a case.

On the third day at noon, Chen Ping squatted at the entrance of the village store, eating a steamed bun and drinking a bottle of mineral water.

Several villagers gathered around and offered him a cigarette.

"Xiao Chen, the way you've done as a cadre is unlike any we've ever seen."

Chen Ping took the cigarette, smiled, and said, "I'm just a gofer, I'm not pretentious."

"Then tell me, what exactly is going on with this demolition?" a middle-aged man asked.

Chen Ping flicked his cigarette ash. "Do you know how much compensation each household in your village should receive for the demolition?"

The group looked at each other.

Lai Laosi said, 50,000 per household.

"Fifty thousand?" Chen Ping laughed. "According to the city's standards, each household in your village should receive at least 150,000."

"What?" Everyone was stunned.

"If you don't believe me, you can go to the city to check; the demolition compensation standards are all publicly available."

Chen Ping took out his phone, pulled up a document, and said, "Take a look for yourselves."

Several people gathered around, their expressions changing as they looked at the numbers on the phone screen.

"What about our money?"

"It was intercepted," Chen Ping said calmly.

"Who?"

Chen Ping didn't answer, but just glanced in the direction of Lai Laosi's house at the village entrance.

The group immediately understood.

"That bastard!" the middle-aged man spat fiercely.

"Xiao Chen, can you help us?"

Chen Ping stood up, patted the dirt off his pants, and said, "I will do my best."

……

On the evening of the fourth day, Chen Ping knocked on the door of a dilapidated bungalow.

The person who opened the door was a man in his fifties who walked with a limp.

"You are..." the man asked warily.

"My name is Chen Pingfang, and I'd like to talk to you about Lai Laosi."

The man's expression changed. "I don't know anything. You...you, you should leave."

"Accountant Liu, how did you break your leg?"

The man's body froze.

"Was it Lai Laosi who had him beaten up?"

Chen Pingfang continued, "Because you discovered he was falsifying accounts and wanted to report him."

The man gripped the door frame tightly.

"Do you want revenge?"

The man raised his head, and his lips moved slightly.

"I guarantee your personal safety."

Chen Pingfang took out a business card. "This is my work ID. I am the head of the General Affairs Section of the Municipal Government Office."

The man took the business card and looked at it for a long time.

"Can you really protect me?"

"Yes! You must trust the government and trust us."

The man turned and went into the house, pulling an iron box from under the bed.

The box contained yellowed ledgers and several bank transfer records.

"These are all evidences. Over the years, Lai Laosi has embezzled at least two or three million yuan from the village."

"I remember every single detail clearly."

Chen Ping took the ledger and quickly flipped through it.

"Accountant Liu, you've really done a great thing!" Chen Ping closed the ledger.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll be living in the city. I'll arrange for someone to protect you."

The man's eyes reddened. "Thank you, Xiao Chen."

……

The next day, early in the morning, Chen Pingfang's voice came over the village loudspeaker.

"Good morning, fellow villagers! I am Chen Pingfang from the Municipal Government Office."

"Today, I have something to announce to everyone."

"Someone has embezzled the demolition compensation funds for your village."

"Now, I will announce this door-to-door..."

"Grandpa Zhang's family received 150,000 yuan in compensation, but only 50,000 yuan was actually received."

"Grandma Li's family received 120,000 yuan in compensation, but only 40,000 yuan was actually received."

"Wang Er's family..."

One name after another, one account after another, were broadcast throughout the village via loudspeaker.

The villagers rushed out of their homes and gathered at the village entrance.

"What?! My house is missing 100,000?!"

"Damn it, my house is missing 150,000!"

"That bastard!"

The crowd grew larger and larger, with hundreds of people rushing directly to Lai Laosi's house.

In Lai Laosi's courtyard, several thugs looked at the situation with some bewilderment.

"Fourth Brother, what do we do now!"

Lai Laosi stood by the window, looking at the angry villagers outside, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"What's the panic!" he said defiantly. "Go and call everyone over. I don't believe they'll dare to lay a hand on us!"

The thugs rushed out, trying to disperse the crowd.

But when they saw hundreds of villagers holding hoes and shovels, their legs went weak.

"Get out of my way, all of you!" one of the thugs shouted, mustering his courage.

"Fuck you!" Someone in the crowd threw a stone, which hit the thug on the head.

The thug covered his head, and blood flowed down his face.

When the other thugs saw this, they turned and ran.

The crowd immediately became chaotic and started banging on Lai Laosi's door.

"Lai Laosi, get out here!"

"Give us our money back!"

"Kill this bastard!"

Lai Laosi hid in the house, his face ashen.

He trembled as he took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, Secretary Sun, help me..."

There was only a busy signal on the other end of the phone.

The number has been blocked.

Lai Laosi's phone fell to the ground, and he slumped into a chair.

Just then, Chen Pingfang's voice came from outside the courtyard.

He stood in the crowd, holding a megaphone, and his voice clearly carried into the room.

"Lai Laosi, if you turn yourself in now, it can still be considered a meritorious act. But once the police arrive, it will be a serious crime involving organized crime."

You have five minutes to consider.

Lai Laosi looked out the window at the angry villagers, then at the number that had been blocked on his phone.

He knew he was finished.

Five minutes later, Lai Laosi opened the door.

He walked out of the courtyard, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed three times to the villagers.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault."

The crowd quieted down.

Just then, the sound of police sirens came from the village entrance.

More than a dozen police cars drove up, and SWAT team members jumped out of the cars fully armed.

Chen Ping walked up to Lai Laosi and looked down at him.

"take away."