Before Chen Yuanbao could get up, he heard a series of chaotic footsteps outside the courtyard, probably from seven or eight people.

The voice of that old fox, Li Fugui, came first; it could be heard clearly even through a layer of earthen wall.

"Is Chen Yuanbao home? I, the village chief, have come to see this great man in our village!"

That was said in a sarcastic tone.

Wang Fugui frowned as soon as he heard the noise.

Having lived in the city for so many years, he had seen it all, and he knew from the tone of the voice that the visitor was up to no good.

He turned to Chen Yuanbao and said:

"Master Chen, is this the village chief you were talking about?"

Chen Yuanbao nodded, slowly picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, his expression very calm, like an old gentleman waiting to watch a play.

"Boss Wang, please sit inside for a moment. I'll go check on him."

"Master Chen, I'll go with you." Wang Fugui stood up and straightened the hem of his suit jacket. "In this situation, you can't go out alone. You need to let others know who's behind you."

Chen Yuanbao smiled and said, "Wang Fugui is quite knowledgeable and reasonable."

Two people walked out of the house one after the other, followed by the lawyer and the official from the Land Bureau. When the four of them stood at the door, they exuded an imposing aura.

Li Fugui stood outside the courtyard with about five elderly people from the village. He originally intended to teach them a lesson as the village chief, but when he saw a black Audi parked in the courtyard and then looked at the three men in suits following behind Chen Yuanbao, the muscles on his face twitched.

The elderly people who came with him were also stunned.

"What's going on here?" Li Ergou whispered from behind Li Fugui, "Why is there someone driving an Audi at Chen Yuanbao's house?"

Li Fugui coughed, barely maintaining his composure, and said with a smile:

"Yuanbao, the village chief has come to see you. What brings so many distinguished guests to your house?"

Chen Yuanbao didn't stand on ceremony, leaning against the doorframe and glancing sideways at Li Fugui:

"Village chief, you've brought so many people to my house so early in the morning. Are you here to wish me a Happy New Year? But it's not New Year's Day yet."

Li Fugui choked for a moment, his face turning pale. Standing behind him was an elderly man with white hair, an old clan elder in the village named Li Laoshuan.

"Yuanbao, that's not right. Your village chief is an elder; how does coming to visit you constitute a New Year's greeting?"

Chen Yuanbao smiled, ignoring him, and turned to Wang Fugui, saying:

"Boss Wang, take that document to the village chief."

Wang Fugui understood immediately, and then took a stack of documents from his briefcase and handed them to Li Fugui:

"Village Chief Li, right? Hello, hello, I'm Wang Fugui from Fugui Real Estate. This is the land deed for Master Chen's house, the land use right certificate stamped by the Land Bureau, and a notarized document. Please take a look."

When Li Fugui heard the words "Master Chen," his eyelids twitched.

After he took the document and flipped through a couple of pages, his expression turned ugly, turning pale and then flushed.

Officials from the Land and Resources Bureau also said:

"Village Chief Li, Comrade Chen Yuanbao's land has been registered since his ancestors' generation. According to the latest Rural Land Contract Law, no unit or individual may forcibly occupy, allocate, or requisition it under any pretext. If there are any village plans involving this land, the homeowner's written consent must be obtained, and all legal procedures must be completed."

After saying this, Li Fugui's face immediately turned ugly.

He originally intended to make a strong statement today and finalize the matter of land acquisition for road construction, but he didn't expect that Chen Yuanbao had already thought of what would happen next.

"This-this-" Li Fugui opened his mouth but couldn't say a word for a long time.

Li Laoshuan was also stunned. He leaned closer and saw that the official seal on the document was a bright red blob, which was indeed from the Land and Resources Bureau.

Chen Yuanbao then slowly said:

"Village chief, you're an old man in our village, and you've always taken good care of me. Before, when I wasn't so clear-headed, I just listened to whatever the village arranged. Now that I'm clear-headed, I understand a lot of things. This land was passed down from my Chen family ancestors, and not an inch of it can be lost."

Li Fugui took a deep breath and forced a smile:

"Yuanbao, how could the village chief possibly take your land? I came here to see you and also to let you know that there's a village meeting tomorrow to discuss road repairs, and you should come too."

"Road repair?" Chen Yuanbao raised an eyebrow and said, "Okay, I'll go."

When Li Fugui didn't get the answer he expected, his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and he slunk away with the old men.

As Li Ergou reached the village entrance, he was still muttering to himself:

"Village chief, Chen Yuanbao is no ordinary person. How come he even invited a city boss?"

"Shut up!" Li Fugui said angrily. "Go back and prepare. I'm going to make him cough up the 20,000 yuan at the meeting tomorrow!"

After seeing Li Fugui and the others off, Chen Yuanbao turned around and bowed to Wang Fugui:

"Boss Wang, thank you very much today."

"Master Chen, you're too kind." Wang Fugui quickly shook his head, his smile as bright as a blooming chrysanthemum. "Just let me know if you need anything in the future. By the way, Master Chen, there's something else I wanted to discuss with you when I came here—"

"you say."

Wang Fugui swallowed hard, and the smile on his face became somewhat ingratiating:

"After the acupuncture you gave me last time, I slept for three days and felt like I had lost ten pounds when I woke up. But these past few days, I've started to feel tightness in my chest again, and I've been having a lot of nightmares at night, dreaming that people I've offended in the past are coming to pick a fight with me."

Chen Yuanbao understood immediately. Wang Fugui was in the real estate business in the city, so he must have some shady dealings. He had done a lot of cheating and swindling, so it was normal for him to have nightmares at night because he was full of resentment.

However, Chen Yuanbao didn't point it out; he simply nodded.

"Boss Wang, you seem to have a mental block. But I can help ease your mind. How about this, wait a few days, and after I've taken care of things here, I'll go to the city to give you a proper check-up."

Wang Fugui was delighted upon hearing this:

"Oh, Master Chen, thank you so much! Coming to the city, the food and lodging are the best!"

After seeing Wang Fugui and the others off, Chen Yuanbao went back into the house, put the 100,000 yuan into the stove hole with the other money, then closed the door and went out into the yard.

There is an abandoned dry well in the southwest corner of the courtyard.

This well was dug by Chen Yuanbao's grandfather's generation. After the water vein was cut off, it remained dry. At the bottom of the well, there were some dried leaves and stones.

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