Chapter 25: Is the Video Good?

"Li Youcai, you old dog, are you looking to stick your nose into business that doesn't concern you?" Chen Dabao sneered, looking at Li Youcai with a meaningful glint in his eyes.

"Hmph, Chen Dabao, I stand by principles, not people. Debt must be repaid—that is the law of the land, no matter where you go!" Li Youcai retorted smugly.

"Fine. I actually like that stubborn streak in you." Chen Dabao nodded. He pulled out his phone and beckoned Li Youcai to come closer.

"What kind of trick are you pulling? Let me tell you, Chen Dabao, I, Li Youcai, cannot be intimidated!" Li Youcai said, his face full of wariness.

However, as he heard the suggestive sounds emanating from Chen Dabao’s phone, he couldn't help but lean in. When his eyes locked onto the screen, he was struck dumb with horror.

"Chen Dabao, you... you?"

Li Youcai’s eyes widened. Weren't these images of him in a passionate embrace with Deng Hongyan? If this got out, the village chief, Li Fugui, would surely kill him. His face drained of color, and he lunged to grab the phone.

Chen Dabao pulled his hand back, switched off the screen, and pocketed the device. He then picked at his ear and asked, "Li Youcai, what was that you were saying earlier? I didn't quite catch it."

Li Youcai’s eyelids twitched. He glanced around; if Chen Dabao leaked that video in front of everyone, he would be finished.

"Brother Dabao, of course, debts must be repaid, but you’ve already paid off more than half of what you owed. Even if this went to court, I have connections to help you out. Don't worry, we’re all from the same village; I’ll definitely help you!" Li Youcai said through gritted teeth.

"Brother Youcai, what nonsense are you spouting?" Chen Desheng was stunned. How could a single glance at Chen Dabao’s phone make Li Youcai change his tune so drastically?

"Chen Desheng, I am on the side of justice, not kin!" Li Youcai spat out.

Chen Desheng was so angry he could have coughed up blood. If Liu Fugui’s gang hadn't come to him and convinced him to help them deal with Chen Dabao, would he have spent his own money to buy these IOUs?

"Chen Desheng, did you hear that? If you've got the guts, go ahead and sue me!" Chen Dabao said with unyielding firmness.

Going to court would be a nightmare. There would be endless paperwork, hiring lawyers, and waiting for the trial—it could drag on for months or even a year, and in the end, there was no guarantee of how much money he would actually recover. It was too time-consuming and exhausting; Chen Desheng certainly didn't want that. Besides, with Li Youcai having relatives in the court, if he really helped Chen Dabao, there was a good chance the lawsuit would be lost anyway, especially since these IOUs were bought second-hand.

After hesitating for a long time, Chen Desheng forced a smile and said, "Dabao, I am your uncle, after all. We are blood relatives, and I do care about you. How about this: for these one-hundred-thousand-yuan worth of IOUs, you just pay me fifty thousand. How does that sound?"

Chen Desheng had only spent twenty thousand to buy the notes. If he could get fifty thousand back, he would make a clean thirty-thousand-yuan profit. That was better than losing his entire twenty thousand.

"In your dreams!" Chen Dabao rejected him without hesitation.

His family’s debts had been mostly cleared while his mother was still alive. At most, there were only twenty or thirty thousand left, and some of the relatives had even waived the debts out of kindness. After his parents passed away and he had fallen into his "foolish" state, no one had bothered to collect the rest. Some of the creditors had simply torn up the papers, while others had kept them. But there were those who lacked even a shred of conscience—seeing his mother terminally ill, they had taken the money but never bothered to return the IOUs. It was inhumane. Currently, the actual debt was at most twenty or thirty thousand; the idea that Chen Dabao would fork over fifty thousand was laughable.

"Fifty thousand won't do? Then give me forty-five thousand. You have to pay back something, right?" Seeing that playing dirty hadn't worked, Chen Desheng shifted to lecturing. "Debt must be repaid, otherwise your parents won't rest in peace, and your reputation will be ruined!"

"Ruined reputation? Even if theirs was poor, could it possibly be worse than yours, Chen Desheng?" Chen Dabao sneered. Tired of the bickering, he said, "I'll give you ten thousand. You hand over all the IOUs, and then get out!"

Ten thousand? Chen Desheng’s eyelids twitched. That was too little—it wouldn't even cover the cost of what he had paid to buy the debts.

"Dabao, add a bit more. Give me thirty thousand, and I'll hand over the notes," Chen Desheng said, his heart aching. He had expected to make an eighty-thousand-yuan profit when he bought the notes, but now it looked like he’d only walk away with ten thousand.

"Ten thousand, not a penny more. Take it or leave it, and if you don't want it, get lost!" Chen Dabao declared forcefully.

Chen Desheng was involved in such malicious schemes; there was no way Chen Dabao would let him turn a profit. He was only offering ten thousand because he couldn't be bothered to deal with him anymore. Otherwise, without Chen Desheng filing a lawsuit, he wouldn't get a single cent.

"Ten thousand is way too little!"

"Get out!" Chen Dabao began to push him away.

"Fine, fine, fine! Ten thousand it is!"

Fearing he would end up with nothing, Chen Desheng quickly agreed as he saw Chen Dabao moving to kick him out. He reluctantly handed over the IOUs. Chen Dabao, not wasting another word, threw ten thousand yuan at him. After checking the notes, he set them ablaze until they were nothing but ash.

"Chen Desheng, you can leave now. If you ever dare to step foot in my house again, I’ll break your legs!" Chen Dabao said, his face cold as he ushered him out.

Relatives who kicked people when they were down were bottom-feeders, and they were better off cut out of his life.

Chen Desheng left, feeling the sting of the loss; losing ten thousand on this deal felt like cutting a piece of flesh from his own body. The villagers, seeing that the show was over, began to disperse one by one.

"Brother Dabao, everything before was a misunderstanding. It was all Liu Fugui who put me up to it. I promise I’ll never cause you trouble again. Could you please delete the video?" Li Youcai said, bowing and scraping with a fawning smile.

Chen Dabao sneered. What a joke. With a character like Li Youcai’s, his words were as worthless as wind. Only a fool would believe him.

"Li Youcai, you can spare me that garbage. I’m asking you—for my father’s funeral expenses and the money the village claimed to have spent on doctors for me, how much was it really?" Chen Dabao asked, getting straight to the point.

"It... it cost three thousand eight hundred," Li Youcai muttered, his head lowered.

The biggest expense had been the cremation; everything else the village had handled as cheaply as possible. As for the medical expenses, they had just put on a show by hiring a barefoot doctor who prescribed a few dollars' worth of medicine, and Liu Fugui had paid the man a hundred yuan to send him away.

"Li Youcai, you bastards are truly heartless. It cost three thousand eight, and you had the nerve to ask me for eighty-eight thousand? Are you even human?" Chen Dabao asked, his anger flaring as he grabbed Li Youcai by the collar.

"Dabao, it was all Liu Fugui’s idea. He’s the wicked one, but he’s the village chief! We couldn't disobey him!" Li Youcai stammered in his defense.

"Liu Fugui is wicked, but are you any better?" Chen Dabao pushed him away and said coldly, "You’re the accountant. There must be a ledger for the village accounts, right?"

"Bring me the ledger, and I’ll delete your video."