Chapter 34: Perfectly Under Control

"Everyone, gather 'round and take a look!"

Lin Yang shouted at the top of his lungs, shoving his way through the crowd like a nimble fish. Standing tall with his chest puffed out, he declared, "Old Man Zhang and his wife are ingrates who tear down the bridge after crossing it. You all need to see their true colors so you don't get swindled by them in the future. They are the ones who are guilty, yet they're the first to lodge a complaint, trying to turn black into white!"

Every eye in the crowd turned toward Lin Yang, their curiosity piqued instantly.

Lin Yang calmly pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, waved it high in the air, and said with a resonant voice, "You all know I've made some money these past two days, right? Not just because I hunted a flying dragon on the mountain, but also because I caught two giant soft-shelled turtles in the river! I'm sure you've all heard about that!"

He paused deliberately, scanning the crowd to gauge their reactions.

Someone in the crowd immediately chimed in, "We know, we know! That's been the talk of the village for a while now!"

Lin Yang continued, "The other day, Zhang Xiumei stopped me in public and insisted on getting to the bottom of how I made my money. I refused to tell her. After all, that was a method I had painstakingly figured out on my own; how could I just tell anyone? When she didn't get an answer, she turned around and had Old Man Zhang come find me."

"He told me his two sons were good-for-nothings who spent their days idling about. He said he had to support the whole family and life was so hard they were barely scraping by. He begged me to teach him how to catch turtles, offering fifty catties of rice and two laying hens as payment."

The villagers nodded subconsciously. Everyone in the village knew about the time Zhang Xiumei had cornered Lin Yang to demand his secret, causing an unpleasant scene with the Lin family.

Someone couldn't help but shout, "Yangzi, you didn't actually tell him, did you? Don't be a fool!"

Lin Yang felt a surge of joy—this was exactly the response he had been waiting for. He slapped his thigh, feigning deep regret, and said, "Indeed! I admit I was a bit of a loafer in the past, and I let you all down."

"But I've turned over a new leaf now. Thinking we're all neighbors and seeing each other every day, and seeing how pathetic he sounded, my heart softened. I agreed to share my secret recipe, and he even signed a written agreement as proof."

With that, Lin Yang handed the paper to an elderly man nearby. The villagers stretched their necks, crowding around to get a look. There, in clear black and white, was the agreement, marked with a bright red thumbprint that looked particularly striking in the sunlight.

Old Man Zhang’s face turned purple with rage, as if he were an over-inflated balloon about to burst. He hopped on one foot, pointing a finger at Lin Yang, and shrieked, "Lin Yang forced me to write this! He threatened to kill me if I didn't! I was coerced!"

Lin Yang sneered, unfazed. "You have a mouth, so you can say whatever you like. But the real question is, do you have any proof? The evidence is firmly in my hands!"

"Furthermore, you cut your own finger to press that bloody thumbprint as a sign of your sincerity. I saw you were desperate and was moved by your gesture, so I bit the bullet and shared my method. Now you turn around and try to extort my family? Do you have no conscience? Has it been eaten by dogs?"

As Old Man Zhang tried to protest further, Lin Yang didn't give him a chance to speak. "Fellow villagers, I have more evidence! Today, I will show you all who the real liar is!"

At these words, everyone's eyes lit up with renewed interest. A sense of foreboding washed over Old Man Zhang, as if an invisible hand were clutching his heart. His voice trembled slightly: "Y-you... what other evidence could you possibly have? Don't go spouting nonsense!"

Just then, the old village chief arrived, leaning on his cane. He walked with a steady, dignified pace, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Held in high regard for his fairness, he had settled many disputes, and most villagers trusted his judgment. His intuition told him there was more to this than met the eye.

Lin Yang stepped forward respectfully. "Chief, I told him how to catch the turtles. Following my method, while not every single attempt is a success, the odds are very high if there are turtles nearby. You also end up catching plenty of small fish and shrimp."

"Everyone knows only my father knows how to weave the specific traps for these turtles. We can go to his house right now. If we find them, won't the truth be plain to see?"

Lin Yang knew that a stingy man like Old Man Zhang would never throw away those six traps, nor would he have finished all the fish and shrimp at once. People like him were calculating and would surely hide the goods at home, intending to enjoy them slowly.

Old Man Zhang turned red with panic. "Those were traps I pulled out of the river! That river belongs to the village, not just you. You weren't even watching them—who knows if they were yours? They could have belonged to anyone! Don't you dare frame me!"

Lin Yang spread his hands with a confident smile. "You see, everyone? Old Man Zhang is trying to frame me and smear my reputation. I have proof of my innocence, but I'm not a pushover."

"Perhaps you aren't aware, but back in '80, the country added a new article to the Criminal Law—framing someone is punishable by three years in prison!"

"I ask all you fellow villagers to be my witnesses. Let's go to his house and search it to see if he stole my traps. Who is willing to come with me? Let's get to the bottom of this and see who is right and who is wrong!"