Happy Little Farmer
Chapter 658

Chapter 658: Chapter 658

When Yang Fan decided to take Zhang Yulan back home, this was the problem he had to face.

Moreover, if nothing unexpected happened, Little Mother would have known by now.

If sister-in-law were to mention the threat of assassination by Chen Zhong, mentioning Zhang Yulan first was inevitable.

Sitting behind the tea table, Yang Fan went over the whole situation several times.

He thought he had figured it out, but the problems followed suit.

It seemed that besides accepting the design of fate, he had no other choice.

He had already made clear to his sister-in-law what was going on, so she would definitely follow the script he provided to inform Little Mother. What more could he do? It seemed like there was nothing he could do.

"Alright, time to await fate’s judgment, no other choice," Yang Fan laughed lightly, saying resignedly.

He calmly made himself a cup of tea and sat waiting for the results.

But in the middle of his tea-drinking, it wasn’t Little Mother who stormed in like a whirlwind, but rather Old Zhou and Wei Jin appeared unexpectedly.

The unexpected arrival of these two surprised Yang Fan a lot.

"How did you guys get here?" Yang Fan stood up in surprise.

Old Zhou laughed heartily: "Fanzi, today we are bringers of good news. If you don’t treat us well, we won’t be happy."

Yang Fan immediately said, "I won’t ask what it is first, as long as it’s related to good news. Today you two can ask for anything, as long as it’s not an immortal fairy from the heavens or a ten-thousand-year-old turtle from the sea; anything else, feel free to ask."

"Wow, Fanzi, that’s some big talk," Old Zhou exclaimed in awe.

Yang Fan chuckled, "Well, I have to show some generosity."

"I definitely don’t want any fairy or ancient turtle. Get some good cigarettes, good liquor, good tea first. We’ll drink and chat as we discuss where this joy comes from," Old Zhou said with a hearty laugh.

"Wait a moment, I’ll go get prepared for you gentlemen. The tea is grown by us, so it’s guaranteed to be good, but I don’t have any good liquor or cigarettes," said Yang Fan. "You two sit, I’ll be right back."

Seeing this, Old Zhou joked, "Are you really going to do it?"

"Of course, you’re bringing joy, how can I skimp on it? Sit for a while; I’ll go and get ready for you," Yang Fan said, and he was indeed serious. It wasn’t easy for these two to visit his place; even if they hadn’t brought any good news, he had to treat them well.

Wei Jin stopped Yang Fan, "Brother Fanzi, there’s no need, we can just sit and talk for a while."

Old Zhou pushed Wei Jin aside and sat down, saying, "Let him go. We’ve brought such great news, how can he not show some gesture? Don’t stop him, he should bleed a little."

Seeing Old Zhou’s attitude, Yang Fan immediately understood.

The good news was brought by Wei Jin.

That gave even more reason to show his appreciation.

Yang Fan immediately raised the bar he had set in his mind even higher, preparing to get something even better.

Turning right out the door, Yang Fan walked into the supermarket.

Without much superfluous talk, Yang Fan directly asked for the best liquor, most expensive cigarettes, tucked them under his arm, and strode back to the store. The supermarket mistress saw Yang Fan’s sudden big spending and wanted to tease him but didn’t have time to do so.

"This kid won the lottery?" the landlady muttered with a chuckle, slipping a pack of cigarettes—originally prepared as a giveaway—back into the drawer.

Fine tobacco, fine liquor, fine tea; Old Zhou’s trifecta of requests had all been duly procured by Yang Fan.

Old Zhou picked up the bottle of liquor to inspect it and said to Wei Jin with a smile, "Old Wei, the kid is really bleeding money today."

"You’re the one who’s too harsh, I didn’t ask for anything," laughed Wei Jin.

With a dismissive gesture, Old Zhou said nonchalantly, "Fine, you be the good guy and I’ll play the villain; either way, I get to enjoy first. Pity, though, we’ve got fine liquor but no fine food."

"Poking fun at me again?" Yang Fan said with a laughter, "Have some tea first, then we’ll head to a restaurant."

"Don’t bother with such trouble. Just order a few dishes, and we’ll eat here. Drinking at a restaurant is the least enjoyable. Here, we can drink comfortably at our leisure, pass out right after, and save both hassle and comfort," Old Zhou insisted.

Wei Jin nodded in agreement and support.

Seeing this, Yang Fan didn’t insist, "Alright, then we’ll head to the backyard later. My place isn’t big, but it’s really a fine spot for drinking. Let me make a call to order some dishes."

"Brilliant!" Old Zhou winked at Yang Fan and gave him a thumbs up.

Yang Fan thought to himself, I hope the joy you bring is truly joyful; otherwise, you old rascal better brace yourself for a beating.

While always willing to help and adept at getting things done neatly, Yang Fan kept a tab for Old Zhou in mind.

"Fanzi, do you know who Old Wei just met with, before coming to us?" Old Zhou spoke with an air of mystery.

"Who?" Yang Fan asked.

Wei Jin meets countless prominent figures every day, so it would be impossible for Yang Fan to guess who it could be.

With an enigmatic smile, Old Zhou revealed a name, "Chen Zhong!"

"Who?!" Yang Fan was startled, his surprise turning towards Wei Jin.

But after a moment’s thought, he understood.

Wei Jin is well-connected within Xin’an’s upper echelons, so knowing Chen Zhong was not unusual at all; it would actually be odd if they weren’t acquainted. What truly surprised Yang Fan was the fact that after meeting with Chen Zhong, Wei Jin made a point of visiting him with Old Zhou in tow.

For Wei Jin, that must have been an earth-shattering matter.

Wei Jin set down the cup of tea that was between his fingers and said lightly, "Chen Zhong has been having an awful time lately. It’s gotten to the point where he can’t keep a lid on it, so he came to me to see if there was any way I could help him out."

"Boss Wei surely has a means, right?" Yang Fan’s brows knitted slightly.

Wei Jin shook his head, "He can’t escape his impending prison fate this time; I can only help to reduce his sentence somewhat. Basically, instead of a death sentence, I have a little trick that could give him life imprisonment with a possibility of commutation."

"However, I later came to know something that changed my mind. So I gave him some advice that turned his death sentence into the imminent kind—if nothing unexpected happens, there should be news in a couple of days."

"An official who ranks seventh or eighth in hierarchy—if he causes too big of a mess, others will certainly consider sacrificing him to protect the benefit of the collective. Chen Zhong’s scales were already tipping towards doom, yet he didn’t know to stop and tried to handle things his usual way. Trouble was bound to come sooner or later."

"Looks like it must have something to do with me," Yang Fan said with a smile, "Can I know what specifically it’s about?"

"That’s the good news Old Zhou was talking about," said Wei Jin with a faint smile. "After I finished giving him advice, he mentioned he had a little something else in mind—he wanted to kill two people and asked if I had any good methods. I said I wouldn’t get involved in such matters. The business I’m doing is already testing the limits of God’s tolerance; if I were to do something immoral, I’d meet an even quicker end."

"Chen Zhong was still not giving up, and then he brought up the threat you and his ex-wife pose to him, trying to convince me. He succeeded in convincing me, made me change my mind and consider dispensing some divine justice."