Chapter 21: Xu Zhixia, You’ve Lost Your Mind

The village chief pointed at the group of men in suits across from us and said to me, "Those heartless bastards are here to dig up the ancestral graves of Changshui Village!"

Amid the crowd, I recognized a familiar face.

"Xiao Zhu, what are you doing here? Did you bring these people?"

Xiao Zhu seemed surprised to see me at this moment, looking at me with astonishment. He glanced around and then walked over, handing me a folder.

"Brother Jiang, you're back. This is the official document from above. Just take a look, and you'll understand."

Xiao Zhu’s eyes darted nervously, clearly uneasy.

I carefully read through it—it was indeed an official document. I handed it to the village chief. “Uncle, you didn’t know about this land acquisition?”

“I knew about the land acquisition, and the village had been notified in advance, but not this soon!”

“Besides, even if there’s a land acquisition, the resettlement houses should come first. Only after relocating our ancestors' remains properly can the excavators enter. How can they just start by disturbing the graves?”

Exactly, this made no sense at all!

Xiao Zhu then explained, “Brother Jiang, didn’t the document say that according to the land area and population of each household, resettlement houses will be allocated in Huacheng Garden in the county town?”

“As for the ancestral remains, arrangements will be made at the county cemetery according to the number of people, ensuring no one in Changshui Village is treated unfairly.”

Indeed, the document laid out solutions for these issues and offered generous compensation.

But the timing and sequence of their arrival were suspicious.

The demolition of Changshui Village had been planned by higher authorities for years, but it hadn’t been implemented until now. How did it suddenly fall into the hands of the Xu Group so quickly?

It was strange. Everything seemed reasonable on the surface, but the more I thought about it, the more doubts arose.

Noticing Xiao Zhu glancing repeatedly toward the village entrance, a thought crossed my mind.

“Xiao Zhu, is Xu Zhixia here too?”

“Ah, Brother Jiang, how did you know?”

Sure enough, it was Xu Zhixia’s doing. That explained why Xiao Zhu, as her assistant, had come along with the Xu Group.

So it really was Xu Zhixia’s handiwork.

I looked at the two excavators surrounded by villagers, unable to proceed. They had clearly ignored common sense to start disturbing the graves, likely under Xu Zhixia’s orders.

She spared no means to exact revenge on me.

Some people nearby noticed the situation and approached me. “Xiao Si Jiang, you know someone from the Xu Group? Have you figured out what’s going on?”

“Yeah, you all keep blocking them. I’ll make a call and find out.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

With that, I took the document and headed toward the village entrance. Xiao Zhu sensed something was wrong and followed me.

Descending from the back mountain and entering the village, Xiao Zhu finally spoke.

“Brother Jiang, are you going to see President Xu?”

“Brother Jiang, if I were you, I’d just soften up to President Xu. Someone with her background isn’t someone small fry like us can afford to offend!”

“Heh, no matter how strong the background, she’s just flesh and blood. Everyone dies eventually, right?”

When I said that with a cold sneer, Xiao Zhu’s face turned pale. He grabbed my arm tightly, not daring to let me go.

“Don’t be impulsive, Brother Jiang. Let’s talk this through calmly. Doing illegal things isn’t something we advocate!”

“There’s still some fire left in this clay doll. Since Xu Zhixia wants to push me to the brink of death, she’d better be prepared to perish with me!”

I shrugged off Xiao Zhu’s hold and strode quickly to the village entrance. Xu Zhixia’s car was parked right there—an ostentatious luxury vehicle glaringly out of place on the bumpy dirt road.

I opened the rear door directly, and a blast of cool air from the air conditioning hit me. Xu Zhixia was leaning back in the seat, looking at her phone.

She wasn’t surprised to see me. She just glanced at me lightly and said, “So you’ve hidden back in your hometown.”

“Xu Zhixia, what do you mean? Our village hasn’t even received official notice, yet you’re letting the construction crew in to start forced demolition?”

“Do you think the compensation from above isn’t enough? I can add another 100,000 yuan to every household. But by tomorrow at the latest, Changshui Village will be leveled.”

Though not large, Changshui Village had about a hundred households. Adding 100,000 yuan per household totaled over ten million yuan.

An ordinary family might never earn that amount in a lifetime, yet Xu Zhixia spoke of it as if it were pocket change.

“Xu Zhixia, you’re insane! You can’t relocate the entire village, people and graves, in just one day!”

She glanced at her watch carelessly. The diamond-studded Patek Philippe on her wrist glittered in the sunlight, radiating wealth and luxury.

“I’m only responsible for the money. What happens next is none of my business. Those two excavators are just a warning. The rest of the crew is still on the mountain road. They should arrive in about half an hour.”

“So you mean the graves in Changshui Village must be dug up today, right?”

“Ha, Jiang Jian, I remember your father’s buried here, right? I advise you, instead of confronting me, you’d better dig up his urn yourself. Otherwise, once the excavators start, it’ll all be crushed.”

“Xu Zhixia, how dare you!”

Seeing the cruel and contemptuous smile spread across her heavily made-up face, I was consumed by rage. I reached out to strangle her, wanting to silence that mocking smirk forever.

Xiao Zhu quickly grabbed me and pulled me back. “Brother Jiang, calm down!”

“Calm down my ass! Xu Zhixia, you destroyed my father’s relics and now want to dig up his grave! Are you even human?”

“You’re nothing but a beast. If you dare touch my father’s grave, I’ll drag you down with me—even if it costs me my life!”

I struggled wildly, but Xiao Zhu held me tightly, gritting his teeth and refusing to let go.

Xu Zhixia was startled by my outburst but relaxed when she saw Xiao Zhu had restrained me.

She reached out with her pale, slender hand and lightly slapped my face. Her sharp nails deliberately scratched, leaving faint red marks.

“Jiang Jian, this is the price of resisting me. Even if I destroy your father’s grave, what can you do to me?”

“Xu Zhixia, if you dare touch the ancestral graves of Changshui Village, the villagers will never forgive you!”

Suddenly, Xu Zhixia laughed. Her once clear, bell-like laughter now sounded like a demon’s sinister cackle—piercing and harsh.

“Jiang Jian, after all this time in society, you’re still so naive?”

She leaned close to my face, a smile playing on her lips but no warmth in her eyes.

“You’re so naïve it’s laughable—just like you.”

“It’s just a piece of land. As long as I pay enough, they’d all be willing to kneel down and thank me.”

“Those ancestors who’ve been dead for who knows how long—yes, they’re our bloodline, but what good does that do?”

“When you have no money to eat or pay for medicine and are about to die, can you exchange ancestors’ remains for money?”

“Jiang Jian, between ancestral graves and the money they’ll never earn in their lifetime, what do you think they’d choose? What do you think they’d want more?”