Ten minutes later, Wang Xiaoqiang's mobile phone received a text message from the Agricultural Bank.

Considering there were no banks in the countryside and it was inconvenient to check accounts, Wang Xiaoqiang had set up a mobile text alert service when he opened an account with the Agricultural Bank. Whenever a deposit or withdrawal was made, his mobile phone would receive an alert.

Wang Xiaoqiang pulled out his phone to look and sure enough, there was a deposit alert for 120,000 yuan that had just been credited to his account.

Compared to the last time Zheng Dana delivered 80,000 yuan in cash, the shock of the string of digits representing 120,000 yuan on the text message was noticeably less intense, but Wang Xiaoqiang still felt a surge of excitement.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and Tang Xiaofei returned.

In her hands, she carried a large bag of snacks, including chocolate, cashews, pistachios, chestnuts, honey dates, as well as two bottles of Nongfu Spring water and two bottles of green tea beverages.

These were obviously for Wang Xiaoqiang and his companion to eat on the road. Wang Xiaoqiang politely accepted the bag, and Tang Xiaofei returned Wang Xiaoqiang's Agricultural Bank card, saying, "The money has been transferred. Later, when you get outside, you can check it on an ATM..."

"No need, I trust you." Wang Xiaoqiang replied politely, then said goodbye to Liu Juyi and left.

The Tang father and daughter accompanied Wang Xiaoqiang and his companion all the way to the gate of the residential community. Tang Xiaofei then hailed a cab for them, handed the cab driver a hundred yuan, and instructed him to take them to the Huagui County bus station.

The County Committee Family Courtyard was located in the new district of Huagui County, which was quite far from the Huagui County bus station. Halfway through the journey, Wang Xiaoqiang's mobile phone rang.

On pulling it out, he saw it was an unfamiliar number. Slightly surprised, Wang Xiaoqiang still answered the call.

Although it was an unfamiliar number, the voice on the other end was a familiar one, "Hello, Little Qiang? It's your Uncle Sanwa..."

It was Xia Sanwa's voice, tinged with tears. Xia Sanwa was Xia Guifang's gambling-addicted father.

"Ah, Uncle Sanwa! What's the matter? You calling me for something?" Although Wang Xiaoqiang despised Xia Sanwa's character and his usual behavior, after all, they were from the same village and he was Xia Guifang's father, so he used a respectful form of address when speaking.

"Oh, Little Qiang, come quickly to the Old Street Water Station in the county town. I'm getting roughed up here..."

"What's the matter, Uncle? Is it because of gambling again?" Wang Xiaoqiang frowned. Xia Sanwa had been beaten up many times for not paying gambling debts. If it was indeed about gambling, Wang Xiaoqiang wasn't interested in intervening.

"It's not about gambling; it's about Little Fang. Guo Biao is blocking my way, demanding the bride price. What do you think I should do?" Xia Sanwa's voice carried a hint of reproach. "Last time, you stood up for Little Fang at our home field, remember?"

"What about it, I stood up for Little Fang, and there's something wrong with that?" Wang Xiaoqiang, sensing the resentment in Xia Sanwa's words, retorted.

Xia Sanwa's tone changed, "Oh, Little Qiang, it's not about who's right or wrong now. Now that Guo Biao is asking me for the bride price, if I can't produce the money, they'll beat me to death, and they're threatening to sue me for marriage fraud… You know, I gambled all the bride price away… Ouch—don't hit me…"

"This old gambler! He's asking for it!" Wang Xiaoqiang hung up the phone and cursed angrily.

Liu Juyi asked what was going on, and Wang Xiaoqiang explained the situation to her.

He thought she would blame him for standing up for Xia Guifang and would advise him not to meddle, but to his surprise, Liu Juyi affirmed his actions, "Little Qiang, you did the right thing in standing up for Xia Guifang… And as for Xia Sanwa's issue, since we are in the county town, we should still go have a look…"

Wang Xiaoqiang hadn't expected his sister-in-law to have a righteous side, which actually matched his own sense of chivalry. Before Liu Juyi could finish speaking, Wang Xiaoqiang shouted to the cab driver, "Master, turn around, we're going to the Old Street Water Station."

The taxi driver immediately turned the car around and drove towards the Old Street Water Station.

Huagui County Town's Old Street had become an eyesore, with dilapidated buildings and narrow streets, not to mention the special kind of dirtiness and disorder which, of course, was most evident in the area's security chaos.

After the car arrived at the Old Street Water Station, Wang Xiaoqiang and Liu Ju got out. Wang Xiaoqiang took out his phone and dialed the number. When the phone connected, the sound of Xia Sanwa crying for his father and mother in pain came through—it seemed that he was not faking being beaten up.

"Ouch, my back... hey... Little Qiang, if you don't come soon, they'll beat me to death... Ouch... stop hitting me..."

"I'm already here, where are you..." Wang Xiaoqiang said, but the person on the other end of the line hung up.

Then, two men emerged from a secluded alley. Wang Xiaoqiang knew both of them, and both had suffered losses at his hands before—one was Guo Biao, the other was the tattooed man he had encountered on the bus to the county town today.

Seeing Guo Biao didn't surprise Wang Xiaoqiang, but the tattooed man did make him suspicious for a moment. It was then that he suddenly realized that something was off. The timing of Xia Sanwa's call was too coincidental; it didn't come a day earlier or later, but specifically when he was in the county town.

Clearly, there was a trick to it, or perhaps it was a plot against him, and obviously, the two men in front of him were in league with each other. Today's event was clearly targeted at him, Wang Xiaoqiang.

In fact, the tattooed man and Guo Biao indeed hung out together.

The tattooed man was named Hua Tianlong, and he, like Guo Biao, was a member of the Green Dragon Gang, an underworld organization in Huagui County Town. With eight core members, their main hideout was in the Old Street area, and the boss of the Green Dragon Gang was none other than Hua Tianlong himself.

After Hua Tianlong had warned Wang Xiaoqiang at the station, he had followed the duo from a distance and called for backup, including Guo Biao. When Guo Biao recognized it was Wang Xiaoqiang, he gritted his teeth in resentment.

Considering the recent crackdown on public security, they didn't dare attack Wang Xiaoqiang openly on the street but planned to lure him to Old Street, which was their territory and more convenient for an ambush. Xia Sanwa, who was gambling in the Old Street, became the bait.

In fact, Guo Biao wanted to settle both new and old scores with Wang Xiaoqiang to prevent future interference in his and Xia Guifang's affairs.

"Kid, you've really got guts! Yo~~~ And you've brought along such a pretty chick. Dressing fancy, playing fancy, you bagged two at once, huh? Not so long ago you even went after my fiancée, and now you've got another one... Tsk tsk~~~" Guo Biao said, his gaze towards Liu Juyi full of ill intent, sparks of lustful light in his eyes, thinking how can these country girls be so alluring one after another?

This chick is no worse than Xia Guifang!

Of course, Guo Biao had not given up on Xia Guifang. If it weren't for the recent security crackdown, he would have long since attempted to snatch her away by force.

"Guo Biao, don't get any ideas; she's this guy's sister-in-law..." Hua Tianxiong said with a teasing tone, chin in hand, his lustful eyes still on Liu Juyi. He had heard Wang Xiaoqiang call Liu Juyi "sister-in-law" on the bus.

Guo Biao's smile was lewd: "Bah, as the saying goes, nothing tastes better than dumplings, good... "

"Keep talking nonsense, and I'll knock your teeth out!" Wang Xiaoqiang shouted coldly, stepping forward.

Hua Tianlong and Guo Biao immediately shut up. Having learned their lesson, they were genuinely wary of Wang Xiaoqiang, who seemed electric to the touch, and they still remembered that unpleasant sensation.

"Where's Xia Sanwa?" Although Wang Xiaoqiang had seen through their scheme, he did not back down or try to escape. He knew that a matter to be settled would eventually have to be faced.

"If you want to see Xia Sanwa, come with us," Guo Biao and Hua Tianlong, wary of Wang Xiaoqiang's martial skills, didn't dare to lay hands on him right there but pointed towards the secluded alley. Sinister smiles crept over their faces.

When Liu Juyi saw the tattooed man Hua Tianlong, her heart skipped a beat, knowing that things were not as simple as they seemed. Seeing that they were trying to lure Wang Xiaoqiang into the alley, she covertly grabbed Wang Xiaoqiang's left hand, signaling him not to go.

Wang Xiaoqiang reached into his jacket pocket with his right hand, pulled out Old Tang's phone, and placed it into Liu Juyi's hand, patting her hand and saying, "This matter has to be dealt with sooner or later, wait for me here."

Understanding his intention, Liu Juyi let go of his hand at his words.

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