Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"This is a big fish!"

Inside the rented room, the four men looked at Chen Dong's photo in a newspaper spread on the square table. One of them said, "Brother, the newspaper says this kid came from America, and he can casually pull out a hundred million US dollars!"

"Hijacking him is so much better than us going through all that trouble hiding and selling drugs!"

"Let's pull off a heist, get the money, kill the hostage, and head to Hong Kong by boat. The brothers there will be living the high life!"

As soon as this man finished speaking, the other two immediately chimed in, "I think that's a good idea. This kid is so flamboyant; the newspapers have even published where he lives. It saves us the trouble of investigating ourselves. Let's just kidnap him, hide him in the mountains, and force him to hand over a million or two. That'll be enough to make the brothers happy!"

The man in the lead, addressed as "Big Brother," chewed on a steamed bun, remaining silent while his eyes were fixed on Chen Dong's photo in the newspaper. After a long pause, he finally addressed the other three, saying, "We came from Fujian Province to make money. The police are cracking down hard on drug trafficking, and I've wanted to quit for a long time. Since we've got such a big fish, let's go for it!"

"Old Luo, you and Niu Zi go to Jipinglian Village these next few days to find out what kind of guy he is and where he usually goes. We'll plan the route, find a time, and tie him up!"

Old Luo, a long-faced, muscular man, nodded and said okay. Niu Zi, however, asked, "Are we bringing our weapons?"

"Don't take them yet. Let's find out first. Be careful that the militia doesn't notice. If they question you, just say you went to Lianzhai to ask if the factory is still hiring," said 'Big Brother' Bai Shuibao.

"Okay, I understand!"

"Old Shan, come with me to the black market and see if we can get some more ammunition. This kid probably won't be so easy to tie up," Bai Shuibao said to another man with a thick beard.

The bearded man called Lao Shan nodded, and the four of them picked up the buns on the table and began to tear into them, wolfing them down as if they hadn't eaten for days.

Lianzhai Village

Cai Liansheng led the water buffalo from the field ridge onto the village's cement road. The mud on the buffalo's hooves fell onto the cement road like little mud flowers as they walked towards the village.

Not long after Cai Liansheng left, he was stopped by someone he knew in the village. The two of them stood by the roadside, smoking and chatting. Behind them, Lao Luo, riding a bicycle with Niu Zi on the back, wobbled past Cai Liansheng and Niu Zi.

The man who had been chatting with Cai Liansheng watched the two people ride past on their bicycles and asked Cai Liansheng, "Uncle Liansheng, do you know those two people? I've never seen them before."

Lao Luo and Niu Zi had their backs to Cai Liansheng and had already ridden far away. Cai Liansheng had no way of recognizing whose sons they were, so he said, "They're probably factory workers. I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going home for dinner."

"Okay, then take care, I still need to fill the paddy field with water, otherwise I'm afraid there won't be enough water when it's time to transplant the rice seedlings."

Cai Liansheng walked home with his hands behind his back, and the water buffalo followed behind him. Even without Cai Liansheng leading it, the buffalo knew the way home. The two of them walked home together, and Cai Liansheng saw Lao Luo and Niu Zi parked their car at the village store again.

Now that they were face to face and could see each other clearly, Cai Liansheng carefully examined them and found that they were indeed not from their village. He walked over and asked, "Where are you from? Are you here in Lianzhai on business? Are you looking for someone or what?"

"Old man, what's it to you...?"

Before Niu Zi could finish speaking, Lao Luo kicked him, stopping him from saying anything more. Lao Luo smiled and said to Cai Liansheng, "Uncle, I'm sorry, my brother here has a foul mouth and doesn't know how to speak properly."

Cai Liansheng got angry after Niu Zi cursed at him, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to slap him across the face, yelling, "You little brat, what did you say?!"

"Uncle, uncle, calm down. My brother just has a sharp tongue. Don't take it to heart. Here, have a smoke," Old Luo hurriedly took out a pack of Hongmei cigarettes, pulled one out, and was about to hand it to Cai Liansheng.

Cai Liansheng didn't take it. Instead, he pointed at Niu Zi and said, "You little bastard, don't you dare run away. You wait here, I'll teach you to be arrogant!"

As he spoke, Cai Liansheng stopped leading the water buffalo and quickly walked towards the brigade headquarters not far away, where his nephew Cai Gensheng was.

Watching Cai Liansheng run towards the village headquarters, Lao Luo cursed his bad luck and glared at Niu Zi. "You have such a foul mouth! You're always chattering away. Can't you just shut up? You offend people with every word you open. Get out of here!"

"Damn it, run for my ass! I'd be a coward if I was afraid of him," Niu Zi spat at Cai Liansheng's retreating figure. "If you piss me off, I'll grab a gun tonight and mow his whole family down!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Old Luo hissed, "How can you say such things outside? Get out of here!"

"Hey, Uncle, where's that scoundrel you were talking about?" At the entrance of the village brigade office, Cai Gensheng, holding the 'keys', quickly ran to the open space outside the brigade office and looked at the small shop, but did not see the person his uncle was talking about.

Cai Liansheng followed them out and saw that only his water buffalo was still standing there. The two people from before had already ridden away on their bikes. "You little brat, you're lucky you ran fast! Oh well, if they ran away, so be it. Gensheng, you can go do your thing."

"Okay," Cai Gensheng took the Peony cigarettes that Cai Liansheng gave him and tucked them behind his ear. If those two brats who dared to insult his uncle hadn't run away so fast, he would have taken the "car keys" and given them a good beating to vent his uncle's anger.

Anyone who dares to bully people in their Lianzhai village is now called "Uncle" by everyone in the village. With the connection of Uncle Chen Dong, Cai Gensheng has gained more confidence when speaking at the village headquarters.

They dared to bully the Cai family! Even if you're a local, you can't do anything about it, let alone if you're an outsider!

As for Lao Luo, he rode his bicycle out of Lianzhai Village at high speed. He rested for a while at the entrance of the village road. "Damn it, I didn't get a single question and I ran out like this. I'm sure to get a scolding from the boss when I get back."

Niu Zi chuckled sheepishly, "Brother Luo, it's my fault, hehe. If you ask me, we don't necessarily have to go into the village to ask. Isn't there another village over here, not far away? Why don't we just go into this village and ask someone?"

"Are you stupid? Asking the people in the next village? You'll get nothing out of them," Old Luo scolded him irritably, then rode back home. "Let's go back first."

The two rode their bikes past the entrance of Shangzhai Village. Because of the many road construction workers there, a small stall had been set up there to sell soup noodles. When Niu Zi saw it, he called out, "Brother Luo, are you hungry? Have a bite here before you go back."

"You haven't done a single thing, what are you eating!"

"Hey, have something to eat. I'll carry you back later, okay?"