Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 193: Enemies Often Cross Paths

Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Enemies Often Cross Paths

Hearing the name Tian Gaofei from Wang Zhaodi’s mouth surprised Yang Fan greatly.

What in the world was this guy up to? Why was he everywhere?

"What’s the deal with Tian Gaofei?" Yang Fan asked.

Wang Zhaodi obviously wasn’t very clear on the details either, and she vaguely said, "I’m not sure about the specifics. I just heard that he was involved in this case, it seems like some of the loaned money was his investment, probably something like that."

"That officer didn’t reveal much to me, he just told me the person who made the loans seemed to be called Luo... Luo Baomao, and Tian Gaofei’s money was invested with him, then loaned out to us fools."

"He and Tian Gaofei are both under control in the hospital now. I don’t know what happened to those two, they were nearly beaten to death yesterday, and they’re still in the hospital now. I don’t know anything about what happened afterwards, the officer didn’t tell me much either."

A chill ran through Yang Fan’s heart—could it really be such a coincidence?

Yesterday, Tian Gaofei was with Wang Tianhu and his two companions, could it be that those bastards were the ones responsible for the harmful loans?

"Did the officer mention someone named Wang Tianhu?" Yang Fan asked in a deep voice.

Wang Zhaodi thought hard for a moment before saying, "No, that name didn’t come up."

"Alright, I’ve got it," Yang Fan took a deep breath, "I’ll come over to your place when I have some free time."

"...Mhm," Wang Zhaodi’s voice suddenly grew softer, and her tone seemed somewhat shy.

"Brother Fanzi, you must come, okay? I... I will prepare well for it."

Yang Fan smiled knowingly, the girl was still very sensible.

After hanging up the call with Wang Zhaodi, Yang Fan drove to the city.

Old Zhou’s shop was still bustling, it seemed like all the visitors today were scattered farmers, jamming the entire storefront so that no one could get through. Yang Fan wanted to cut in line to get Old Zhou to weigh his goods first, but he couldn’t even squeeze through the crowd.

With no other choice, Yang Fan had to make a call to Old Zhou.

"Old Zhou, I’ll unload the goods at the warehouse first, then go for a little stroll, and when I come back, we can settle up together," Yang Fan said directly after the call connected.

With so many people, who knows how long he’d have to wait; time was money now!

"What’s the rush? Wait a sec, I’m coming out soon; I have something to discuss with you anyway," Old Zhou said.

His phone was full of the noisy sounds of haggling, making Yang Fan’s head start to feel somewhat overwhelmed just listening.

"Okay, I’ll be by the roadside," Yang Fan responded briefly and then hung up the call.

In the sweltering weather, casually squatting by the roadside, all one could see was scenery.

The times were rapidly advancing, and women’s clothes were quickly evolving. Whether skirts or trousers, they were all trending toward greater brevity.

Yang Fan squatted by the roadside for just a few minutes, and of the women who walked past him, nine out of ten were baring their legs. The most exaggerated one had shorts so short that most of her butt was exposed, and with the sway of her steps, a hint of yellow beneath the denim shorts was faintly visible.

"Such women must be quite experienced," Yang Fan couldn’t help but remark to himself.

Suddenly, a large hand fell on Yang Fan’s shoulder, followed by Old Zhou squatting beside him with his short legs, "Fanzi, I’ve got good news and bad news, which do you want to hear first?"

"I wish you would stop being so mysterious and just tell me!" Yang Fan said, exasperated.

Old Zhou chuckled twice, his gaze somewhat sly.

"You choose first," he said, making faces.

Yang Fan shook his head with a low chuckle of resignation, "Let’s hear the good news first."

Old Zhou nodded, "The good news is, Luo Baomao and Tian Gaofei have been arrested, and Diwu Ming also seems to have no intention of troubling you, so you should be fine for the moment, so there’s no need to be nervous."

Yang Fan looked on somewhat puzzled, "Luo Baomao I can guess a bit about, probably one of Wang Tianbao’s partners or something. But who is this Diwu Ming? Where did this bizarre name come from?"

"The owner of Han Palace, that woman you beat up last night," Old Zhou said somberly, "Her surname is Diwu, a compound surname. There was a famous person named Diwu Zhong, and there’s also Diwu Yuanxian."

"See, I told you to study properly, but you insisted on dealing with shoddy goods. Do you still think it’s some kind of code? Let me tell you, there’s not only the surname Diwu, but surnames from Diyi to Diwu all exist, and they used to be one clan."

Old Zhou seized the opportunity to show off his knowledge to Yang Fan, completely forgetting the important matter he had to discuss, spitting as he spoke.

It wasn’t until he had finished explaining the origin of this surname that Yang Fan couldn’t help but interrupt his showing off, "So Luo Baomao is part of Wang Tianbao’s group, right?"

Old Zhou sat down on the ground, opened the thermos he brought along, and sipped two mouthfuls of hot tea to moisten his throat before saying, "Part of the same group, but not a partner. The way Wang Tianbao made his fortune was through shady dealings, and now he’s mainly involved in two businesses. One is loan-sharking, managed by Luo Baomao. The other is similar establishments to Han Palace, and that is run by his cousin, Wang Tianhu."

"Moreover, just how utterly conscienceless this bastard is, he targets female students from not-so-wealthy families for loans. He lends them money, then badgers them for repayment relentlessly, threatening and intimidating them. When the borrowers can’t take it anymore, he throws out the option to work off the debt by working in his establishments. Not only ruining their futures, but also squeezing every last bit of value from them."

"Sadly for these three, you nearly crippled them last night, and now they’re all laying in the hospital."

Yang Fan then understood, "So you’re saying they’re too preoccupied to deal with me right now, right?"

Old Zhou nodded, "Exactly, they’re temporarily too preoccupied, it’s not that they won’t come after you. I’ve been busy since last night trying to gather this information. Once you have some money, kid, you ought to treat me to another trip to Han Palace, got it?"

Yang Fan chuckled, "Alright, considering all the trouble you’ve gone through, I’ll definitely treat you to a good time."

Old Zhou flashed his yellow and white teeth in a satisfied smile, "That’s more like it!"

"What’s the bad news?" Yang Fan asked.

"The bad news is, it seems that Luo Baomao has taken all the blame, and Tian Gaofei probably won’t get into any trouble either, so you don’t have much time," Old Zhou said worriedly, "Fanzi, you need to come up with a plan soon."

"Diwu Ming used the opportunity you created last night to give Wang Tianbao a severe beating. Not only did she expose his loan-sharking business, but she also nearly knocked out his establishment in one go. That guy definitely won’t let you off."