I couldn't take it anymore; when I went home for Chinese New Year, the family genealogy book ha

Top floor office building in CBD of Qinghe City.

Manager Liu stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, holding a glass of 1982 Lafite, looking down at the city below, which looked like a matchbox.

He was enjoying the thrill of revenge.

On his phone screen was a message just sent by his informant in Qingshui Town.

"Boss, there's still no movement from Jiangjia Village! Those hundreds of tractors at the village entrance have been broken down for three days, looking like a pile of scrap metal!"

Manager Liu's smile deepened.

"Jiang Chen, you brainless nouveau riche, do you really think you can do whatever you want just because you have a few stinking coins?"

He gently swirled the red liquid in his glass, his eyes filled with disdain.

"Trying to impose a trade blockade on me? You're still too green."

"I'd like to see how you're going to manage your 20,000 mu of land this year!"

Just then, the office door was suddenly kicked open.

An assistant wearing gold-rimmed glasses rushed in, almost dropping the tablet he was carrying because he was running so fast.

"Mr. Liu...Mr. Liu! Something terrible has happened!"

Manager Liu frowned, clearly disliking this panicked demeanor.

He took a sip of red wine and asked slowly, "What's the matter that's making such a fuss?"

The assistant held the tablet computer up to Manager Liu, his fingers trembling with fear.

"You...you see for yourself!"

On the screen was the video that Wang Dagou had just sent.

In the video, two hundred menacing, black spider-like sci-fi mechs work silently and efficiently across a vast field.

In the sky, a massive formation of drones blotted out the sun, precisely sowing seeds.

The entire scene was completely free of black smoke and noise.

It is filled with the coldness and power of futuristic technology.

At the end of the video, the camera focuses on the hundreds of brand-new but motionless traditional tractors on the ridges of the fields, accompanied by Wang Dagou's line, "High-tech spring plowing is just this simple, unpretentious, and boring," which is full of sarcasm.

"Clang—!"

The wine glass in Manager Liu's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

Expensive red wine mixed with shards of glass splashed onto his handmade leather shoes, which cost over ten thousand yuan a pair.

He stared intently at the "octopus" mechs on the screen, his eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

"No...it's impossible..."

His voice was trembling.

"What...what is this? This can't be real! It's movie special effects!"

He snatched the tablet, trying to find flaws in the fabricated video.

No matter how much he zoomed in or slowed down the playback, he couldn't find a single flaw.

The tracks left by the machines as they rolled over the earth, the texture of the churned soil—it all felt so real it sent chills down his spine.

"Ring ring—!"

Just then, the office landline, which was used specifically for handling finances, started ringing like crazy.

The assistant glanced at the caller ID and his face instantly turned ashen.

"Mr. Liu... this is... this is a debt collection call from Dongxing Microfinance..."

This phone call is like a signal.

Immediately afterwards, all the phones in the office started ringing one after another.

Landline, assistant's cell phone, Manager Liu's own personal cell phone...

Each call came from a different lending company.

Every phone call used the most vicious language to urge him to repay the money.

In order to monopolize all agricultural diesel fuel in Qinghe County and even the surrounding urban areas, Manager Liu borrowed from every available high-interest loan company with the mindset of a gambler.

His original plan was to wait for the spring planting in Jiangjia Village to fail and the cash flow to break down, then sell the batch of diesel at a high price and make a fortune.

But now, Jiang Chen doesn't need diesel at all!

The tens of thousands of tons of diesel fuel in his hands instantly transformed from a scarce strategic resource into a pile of hot, unwanted garbage!

"Mr. Liu! Something's happened again!"

Another subordinate rushed in, holding a freshly printed financial news article.

The headline, in the largest bold font, read: "International Crude Oil Prices Collapse! Plunging 30% Overnight! The Largest Drop in Ten Years!"

This news became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

Manager Liu felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

It’s over.

It's all over.

He purchased diesel fuel at a price 20% higher than the market price in order to stockpile it.

With international oil prices plummeting, domestic oil prices will inevitably follow suit.

Even if he could sell this batch of goods, the price would be much lower than his purchase price.

The compounding interest of usurious loans, coupled with the market collapse.

His situation is no longer as simple as bankruptcy.

He's willing to go bankrupt, even risk his life!

"Jiang Chen... Jiang Chen!"

Manager Liu muttered that name in despair.

He suddenly seemed to grasp at a last straw and scrambled to his feet.

"To Jiangjia Village! Quickly! We need to find Jiang Chen!"

He grabbed his assistant by the collar, his eyes bloodshot, looking like a madman.

"He definitely needs diesel! There are so many generators and vehicles in his village! He definitely needs it! We'll sell it to him at a discount! No! We'll sell it to him at the original price! As long as he's willing to buy it, we can still save him!"

Late that night.

A dilapidated Jinbei van, with only one headlight on, came to a shaky stop outside the imposing archway of Jiangjia Village.

The car door opened.

Manager Liu tumbled out of the car.

In just one day, he looked twenty years older.

His hair was a mess, his expensive suit was full of wrinkles and stains, his eyes were bloodshot, and his dark circles were so heavy that it looked like he had been punched.

Looking at the brightly lit Jiangjia Village, which resembled a fairyland, he could no longer hold on.

With a "thump," he knelt down on both knees, facing the direction of the archway, and roared with all his might.

"Boss Jiang! I was wrong! I was blind to your greatness!"

"Please, have mercy and take the diesel fuel from my hand!"

"I...I've kowtowed to you!"

He shouted as he slammed his head against the hard bluestone slab, making muffled "bang" sounds.

At the village entrance guard post, Ding Xiuzheng leisurely brewed a cup of goji berry and chrysanthemum tea.

Hearing the commotion outside, he slowly walked out, carrying his thermos.

Looking at Manager Liu kneeling on the ground, crying with snot and tears streaming down his face, Ding Xiu's face remained expressionless.

He stepped forward and gently nudged Manager Liu's shoulder with his toe.

His tone was so flat, as if he were just saying the weather was nice today.

"Get lost."

"Don't block the way here."

Manager Liu looked up, as if he wanted to beg for something.

Just then, a deep engine roar came from behind.

A black Mercedes-Benz G-Class slowly drove out of the village.

The car window rolled down, revealing Jiang Chen's young face.

He didn't even glance at Manager Liu; he seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps deliberately speaking to someone else.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot."

"The old-fashioned diesel generators that were used as spares in the village were taken to the scrap metal recycling station by Wang Dagou last week because they were taking up too much space. They were sold by weight."

After saying that, he glanced at Manager Liu, who was kneeling on the ground and whose face was ashen, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"As for the diesel fuel you have..."

"You should keep it and drink it slowly yourself."

After saying that, Jiang Chen stepped on the gas.

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class roared and sped away, leaving only a faint trail of exhaust fumes behind.

"Drink it slowly by yourself..."

Manager Liu repeated those words, the last glimmer of light in his eyes finally extinguished.

He felt a sweet taste in his throat, couldn't catch his breath, and his eyes rolled back.

He collapsed and died at the entrance of Jiangjia Village.

In the car, Su Qing, who had been silent the whole time, couldn't help but speak up when she saw Manager Liu being dragged onto the bread truck like a dead dog by his subordinates in the rearview mirror.

"You're just going to let him go like that?"

"Let him go?"

Jiang Chen smiled, held the steering wheel with one hand, and took a lollipop from the storage compartment next to him with the other, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth.

"Let him live, burdened with debts he can never repay, relentlessly pursued by loan sharks with nowhere to turn."

"This is much more interesting than killing him with a single blow."

As the car drove out of the village, on both sides stretched endless fields of fertile land, freshly sown.