Chapter 39: Turning the Tables

  Lin Dawu rushed down the mountain, and soon several people came up to start digging the water channel. Lu Zhengdong was also afraid of trouble, so he and Lin Dawu Ye Kaisheng found a place to watch from a distance.

  A few people dug for about a dozen or so yards, and the orchard owner came to find them. As soon as they saw someone digging an irrigation ditch, they started shouting. The people digging the ditch also responded without showing any weakness.

  Lin Dawu smiled and said with a grin:

  "It's almost noon, and the people in the orchard want to cook but there is no water. Now let's see if Gao Dao Ming is anxious or not."

  Ye Kai's eyes were fixed on the other side, his voice a little tense as he said:

  "I see they're arguing, I hope it doesn't come to blows."

  Lin Dawu smiled:

  "I specifically found a few brave and eloquent ones, letting them argue without resorting to violence. If more people come to the orchard, he dares to fight, if there are too many people, we will reinforce from the momentum, suppressing them so they don't dare fight. Anyway, this ditch is within our territory, close by, let's see how they react...if they want to repair it, we'll just dig again..."

  Lin Dawu was also from a military background, and doing such things seemed to excite him somewhat. Lu Zhengdong glanced at him and thought to himself, "This Lin Dawu, though he looks rough, actually still has some twists and turns in his mind..."

  The people in the orchard quarreled for a while, but one person couldn't contend with many mouths, and left dispiritedly.

  Ye Kaiyan saw the fruit garden owner leave with a gloomy face and said with a smile:

  "Lao Lin, I reckon Old Yang from the orchard will be coming up to look for you soon. You'd better keep your mouth shut tight."

  Lu Zhengdong thought for a moment and reminded him:

  "The people from the orchard will come to you, anyway everyone is pretending not to know about this matter. If the people from the orchard really ask urgently, just push it off, but be sure to grasp the situation and don't cause any unexpected trouble."

  Lin Dawu smiled:

  "Well, I'll save myself. My daughter is also in this village, so I'll go to my daughter's house and hide out, secretly observe the situation, and not have a run-in with the people from the orchard for now."

  Three people saw that the villagers who were digging canals on the other side had already come down from the mountain, and they also came down the mountain while talking.

  Since he was going to pretend he didn't know, Lu Zhengdong didn't plan on going to Lin Dawu's house for dinner and instead prepared to head back to the countryside.

  As Lu Zhengdong came down from the mountain, he saw a person sitting by the side of the road from afar, whose figure seemed to be Lin Donghe. So he took a closer look and it was really him, his long hair had been cut off, and his clothes were much more regular, the whole person had changed beyond recognition, no wonder he didn't recognize him at first glance.

  Lu Zhengdong hesitated for a moment before asking Lin Dawu:

  "Lin Zhishu, you are from the same village as Lin Donghai, don't you recognize him?"

  "I know, Lin Shuwan and my family haven't even reached the fifth blessing yet. Speaking of which, Lin Shuwan is still my uncle. Lin Donghai, this kid, didn't used to be very sensible, with such a situation at home and no proper behavior. However, since he came back from the county town recently, he seems like a different person, being quite well-behaved at home... How does Director Lu know him? Did he get into some trouble outside?"

  Lu Zhengdong saw Lin Dawu and didn't mention that Lin Donghai was in the county town, so he just smiled and said:

  "No, it's just that his sister and my mom work in the same factory, so I asked."

  Lin Dawu nodded:

  "So it was like this after all. Speaking of which, Donghe can also be considered a city person, but she is also an unfortunate maid..."

  Lin Dawu said with a hint of sighs and obviously knew about Lin Donghe's situation, but didn't ask much even when they were about to part ways...

  Lin Donghai saw them coming down and also stood up.

  Lin Dawu asked:

  "What are you doing here in Donghai?"

  Lin Donghai looked a bit nervous and uncomfortable when he saw him, and said with some embarrassment:

  "My dad asked me to invite Director Lu and Secretary Ye to come over for dinner at our place."

  Lu Zhengdong had long wanted to visit Lin Donghe's home, and since he was in the mountains and countryside, he would try his best to take care of him. However, today was not very convenient, so he said:

  "Let's put it off till another day. I'll definitely visit your home in the village another day. Today, I really have something on and didn't even go to Lin Zhishu's dinner invitation."

  Lin Donghai's face fell, and he looked at Lu Zhengdong with a mixture of disappointment and unease. He then turned to Lin Dawu, clearly hoping that Lin Dawu would also help persuade Lu Zhengdong to stay. Lin Dawu glanced at Lu Zhengdong and understood that he was afraid of running into people from the orchard, so he also smiled and said:

  "Dong Hai, Lü Xiangzhang is really inconvenient today. Look, I didn't even keep him for dinner. Next time he comes, I'll definitely help you keep Lü Xiangzhang here, not only will we let him eat at your house, but also soak in the hot springs of our Lingdong Village. Our Lingdong is a poor and barren land, but one good thing is that there are many springs..."

  Lu Zhengdong knew that Lin Donghai's family was not well-off and looked at Lin Donghai with a somewhat self-deprecating expression, and said warmly:

  "Well, I'll definitely try if I have the chance. Lin Donghai, you can go back now, and I'll visit your home another day."

  Lin Donghai's face looked a bit better, and Lu Zhengdong also bid farewell to several people and walked far away. Lin Donghai caught up with him, carrying a package of things.

  "Director Lu, my dad asked me to bring you some fresh vegetables and also the money you lent..."

  Lu Zhengdong saw Lin Donghai panting and holding a large stack of money wrapped in a newspaper, so he asked:

  "Where did you get so much money?"

  Lin Donghai saw Lu Zhengdong's gaze was a bit stern and hastily stuttered:

  "Dad sold two pigs..."

  Lu Zhengdong furrowed his brow upon hearing this, Lin Donghai's parents were in poor health, and their family could only raise two pigs at most. The meat for the whole family next year would basically rely on the cured pork made from these two pigs. If they sold both pigs, how would the family make a living? So he said:

  "I told your sister, didn't I? Don't rush to pay me back. Take the money and go buy a pig for Chinese New Year, keep the rest at home as petty cash. The money I lent you, we'll talk about it later..."

  Lin Donghai saw him hand over the money and said from a distance:

  "My dad said that Village Chief Lu saved me without saying a word, this debt has been owed for a long time...... I'm going back......"

  Lu Zhengdong watched Lin Donghai turn around and hurry away, looking quite intimidated by him, not daring to talk to him much. In his heart, he couldn't help but mock himself a little, wondering if he was really that fierce? Why did Lin Donghai, such a stubborn person, look like a mouse seeing a cat when he saw him?

  Thinking about it again, I took a look at the money in my hand and thought for a moment. Anyway, I'll be going to the county seat in a few days, so I'll just let Lin Donghe bring the money back then...

  Lu Zhengdong returned to the countryside, had dinner and then went to Wu Zhonghe's office, telling him about Gao Daoming's attitude. Wu Zhonghe was secretly delighted that such a big and complicated road construction project had been progressing so smoothly, which was a good omen. Upon hearing that the orchard director Gao Daoming had sung this tune, he also got a bit angry, saying:

  "This guy thinks he can take advantage of the situation? He's just asking for trouble..."

  He said, pausing for a moment and then continued:

  "Have you made all the arrangements? This is just to scare them a bit, after all, we still need them now, especially don't fight or make trouble, making things irretrievable. Now is not the time, can't afford to make mistakes..."

  Lu Zhengdong nodded:

  "Head of the village, please rest assured, I have repeatedly instructed Lin Dawu and Ye Kaisheng to be polite, firm and moderate. If they find that things are not going well, they must think of ways to stop them and report back to the village immediately, and are not allowed to make things big."

  Wu Zhonghe nodded and said:

  "Let's pretend we don't know about this, it's entirely the personal behavior of the villagers. If the people from the orchard come to our door, we'll just mediate and negotiate. Hehe, now let's learn from Jiang Taigong and sit stably on the fishing platform..."