Chapter 29: It Was All a Misunderstanding

"Hmm!"

Chen Dabao nodded slightly, preparing to take Bai Yu and leave.

The confident expression on Huo Jian's face froze, and his complexion turned ugly. This little beauty had a tough backbone; usually, when he threw money at a girl, she would乖乖 (obediently) crawl into his bed that night, regardless of whether she had a boyfriend or not. He hadn't expected Bai Yu to dare to refuse him.

"Kid, you think you can just walk away after stealing a girl I, Huo Jian, have set my sights on?" Huo Jian sneered, waving his hand viciously to signal his three thugs to deal with Chen Dabao.

However, the three thugs had already been dealt with by Chen Dabao previously. Instead of stepping forward, they retreated several steps in fear.

"Useless trash!"

Furious, Huo Jian stomped his foot and decided to take matters into his own hands, reaching out to grab Chen Dabao by the collar.

"You little bastard, daring to fight me for a woman? I think you're tired of living, you mother—ah!"

Just as Huo Jian was about to grab his collar, he felt a sharp pain in his face and let out a scream. He was sent flying by a single slap, landing on the ground disoriented and unable to get up for a long time.

"Brother Dabao, why did you hit Huo Jian? Let's go, quickly!" Bai Yu said in a panic, hurriedly pulling Chen Dabao away.

As soon as the two returned to Xianxian Fruit Shop, they ran into Huo Annie.

"Manager Huo, I... I want to resign!" As soon as they met, Bai Yu bit her lip and spoke. Xianxian Fruit Shop offered good benefits and the work wasn't too demanding; she had been enjoying her time there. If it weren't for what had just happened, she wouldn't have considered leaving.

"Xiao Yu, you've been doing so well, why resign?" Huo Annie asked, looking startled.

"I... I hit your brother!" Bai Yu lowered her head, taking the blame upon herself, fearing it would affect the partnership between Chen Dabao and Huo Annie.

"It wasn't Xiao Bai who hit him, it was me. Manager Huo, your brother was harassing her, so I slapped him. If you don't want to continue our partnership, I'll bring back the deposit you paid tomorrow!" Chen Dabao couldn't let Bai Yu take the fall, so he spoke up directly.

"You hit Huo Jian?" Huo Annie was taken aback, but instead of being angry, she nodded and said, "Good job. Huo Jian has been lawless for too long; it's about time someone taught him a lesson!"

"Manager Huo, you're not angry?" Chen Dabao was a bit surprised, realizing that Huo Annie's family situation was quite complicated.

"Why would I be angry? With the things Huo Jian has done, I've wanted to break his legs myself for a long time!" Huo Annie said through gritted teeth. If it weren't for their parents constantly shielding him, she would have dealt with him long ago. His lawlessness would eventually harm others and himself; perhaps a harsh lesson now would help him turn over a new leaf.

"Xiao Yu, don't resign. I'll arrange for you to work at another branch so Huo Jian won't find you," Huo Annie said generously. "Brother Dabao, keep delivering your strawberries. Don't let that brat affect our partnership!"

Huo Annie immediately arranged for Bai Yu to work at another location and asked Chen Dabao to deliver another batch of strawberries later. The "Sweet to the Heart" strawberries were selling well, and once the reputation spread, sales would surely skyrocket.

Chen Dabao dropped Bai Yu off at the branch store, rode his motorcycle back to Peach Blossom Village, and after making another strawberry delivery, he took the ledger and prepared to find Liu Fugui to collect the debt.

"Young Master Huo, Young Master Huo, are you alright?" It took ten minutes for Huo Jian to recover from the slap.

"Bastard! How dare he hit me? Where is that little mutt?" Huo Jian roared, his mind full of rage.

"He... he ran away!" the yellow-haired thug stammered.

Huo Jian rushed to the main branch of Xianxian Fruit Shop, only to find Bai Yu was gone. Huo Annie told him she had been fired and refused to give him her contact information, leading to a heated argument between the two.

"Huo Annie, I'm telling you, this isn't over! Don't let me find that kid and that little bitch, or I won't let them off!" Huo Jian shouted with a twisted expression. "Don't forget who provided the money for you to open Xianxian Fruit Shop!"

"Huo Jian, worry about yourself!" Huo Annie replied with a cold face.

"Fine! I'll have Mom and Dad settle this. You just wait!" Huo Jian left in a huff, driving away in his car. Huo Annie sighed, feeling helpless about her brother.

Chen Dabao returned to the village, took the ledger given to him by Li Youcai, and went straight to Liu Fugui's small villa.

*Bang!*

With a kick, he shattered the large iron gate and stormed in with a cold expression. In the courtyard, Liu Fugui was humming a tune with a cigarette in his mouth, nearly falling over in fright from the loud crash.

"Chen Dabao, what do you think you're doing?" Seeing it was Chen Dabao, Liu Fugui's face darkened immediately. He found the "jinx" difficult to deal with and despised his presence.

Upstairs, Xiao Lian poked her head out to look, then turned and nudged Liu Tianjie. "Tianjie, Dabao is here!"

"I know. I'll go find him tonight!" Liu Tianjie muttered, burying his head in silence before staring blankly at the TV. Xiao Lian sighed softly; she knew he was unhappy, but she was truly out of options.

"Liu Fugui, I said it before: within three days, I want to see the compensation money left by my father. Where is it?" Chen Dabao demanded, his face icy.

"Chen Dabao, stop your nonsense! Your father's compensation money was used to settle debts. Between your medical bills and your father's funeral, that money is almost gone!" Liu Fugui said, his hands behind his back, looking impatient. Since there was no proof, he could say whatever he wanted. If Chen Dabao had the guts, he could go to court; if not, he had to swallow it.

"You hired a barefoot doctor to treat me, and adding in the funeral expenses, it only totaled 3,800. There was hundreds of thousands in compensation—you think 3,800 covers it?" Chen Dabao questioned coldly.

"Three thousand eight hundred? How... how do you know that?" Liu Fugui was shocked. Only a few people in the village knew that figure. They had publicly claimed that treating Chen Dabao cost tens of thousands, and the funeral cost tens of thousands more. Only a handful knew the real cost, which was how they managed to embezzle the rest.

"Look at this!" Chen Dabao pulled out the pages of the ledger and flashed them in front of Liu Fugui.

Liu Fugui glanced at them and tried to grab them, but Chen Dabao pulled them back.

"Liu Fugui, embezzling my father's money is just one thing, isn't it? Over the years, you've skimmed plenty from the poverty alleviation funds, new rural construction grants, agricultural subsidies, and home renovation subsidies, haven't you?" Chen Dabao said coldly.

Even if he ignored everything else, the home renovation subsidy alone was enough to prove Liu Fugui's greed. The government provided at least 20,000 to 30,000 for rebuilding dilapidated houses, but in Peach Blossom Village, one had to bribe Liu Fugui just to get a 5,000-yuan application approved. If he hadn't been taking money from everything, how else could he have built this villa?

"Dabao, it's a misunderstanding! Look at how this turned out—it's all just a misunderstanding!" Liu Fugui's expression changed instantly, and he put on a fawning, servile smile like a stray dog.