Chapter 55 The Wheel of Fortune Turns, and Today It Spins Especially Fast

After listening by the wall for a while, Xu Lin grew bored and used her mental powers to survey the surroundings—scanning both the front and back courtyards. What she discovered delighted her: the rooms were piled high with essential goods—several sacks of rice and flour, as well as soybean oil, lard, and other foodstuffs. Most importantly, she found what she’d been hoping for: nearly half a room filled with coal briquettes, easily several hundred pieces, enough to keep her warm for a long time.

In the back courtyard, tucked into a corner, she found a hidden chamber of about forty to fifty square meters, packed with crates. In one corner of this secret room was a heap of books, poorly kept, some already eaten through by insects. The sight made Xu Lin’s heart ache.

She found no radio equipment or anything similar, so she quietly returned to the front yard to resume her eavesdropping.

This time, the men were no longer laughing and joking—they’d tied the woman to a chair and begun interrogating her.

“You wretched woman, tell us who you are! Why are you snooping around here?”

“Speak up! Are you going to talk or not?”

With the sharp crack of slaps and a barrage of curses, the woman finally spoke.

“Who I am is none of your concern. All you need to know is that I’m not someone you can afford to provoke.”

“Oh, really? You think there’s anyone in Qingshan County we can’t handle?” The pockmarked man let out a loud, exaggerated laugh, then suddenly cut it off, grabbed a knife from the side, and stabbed it into the woman’s finger.

“I’ll show you who’s not to be provoked! So you’re someone important, huh? Go on, tell us your identity. See if you can scare me to death. I’ll tell you what, if you don’t scare me to death, I’ll kill you myself!”

The more he cursed, the more worked up he became. This wretched woman, caught by him, still dared to act defiant. Did she really think Old Ma was afraid of her? As if! Old Ma would never be intimidated by a mere woman.

Ma was a twisted degenerate, with an innate contempt for women and a penchant for tormenting them. Few women who fell into his hands ever met a good end.

The others knew Ma’s nature well. Seeing him go wild, no one thought it odd—instead, they cheered him on with grinning faces.

Xu Lin, watching from outside, grew grim. She disliked the woman, but she despised Ma and his gang even more. None of these people were any good.

After about ten minutes of Ma’s torture, the woman finally yielded and revealed her identity.

Her name was Zhou Xuemei. She was from the black market and worked as a procurement agent for a food factory. She’d come to Qingshan County to source raw food materials.

Of course, this was only Zhou Xuemei’s official identity, and while it carried some weight, it didn’t frighten Ma. With no other choice, Zhou Xuemei revealed another layer.

“I work for Brother Seven. If you kill me, he won’t let you get away with it.”

“Brother Seven? The Brother Seven from the black market?” Ma froze, a flicker of fear crossing his face.

Xu Lin’s brows knitted in confusion. Was this Brother Seven so famous?

Judging by the faces of Ma and his gang, they were clearly terrified of this Brother Seven.

“I’m here on Brother Seven’s orders. You’d best let me go immediately, or you’ll face consequences you can’t imagine,” Zhou Xuemei threatened loudly, her eyes red with hate. If she made it out alive, she’d make sure Brother Seven destroyed these people.

Ma, knife still in hand, hesitated, then suddenly grinned and tapped the blade against Zhou Xuemei’s cheek.

“Qingshan County is a big place. Brother Seven might never know you died at our hands, right?”

Zhou Xuemei’s heart seized with terror. She realized these bastards were seriously considering killing her. She couldn’t die here—not when she had a mission to complete.

“Brother Seven knows I’m here to inspect goods. If you want to sell your stock, you won’t find a buyer except through Brother Seven’s channels. All he has to do is follow the trail, and you’ll be caught. You’re better off letting me go. I swear I won’t pursue the matter.”

Zhou Xuemei, battered and squinting through her injuries, studied Ma’s expression. Seeing he was unmoved, she glanced at the others.

Interest flickered across the other men’s faces—perhaps there was room to negotiate.

“It was Ma who hurt me. If you get rid of him and let me go, I’ll pay each of you two hundred yuan—blood money for my life. And I promise not to hold you responsible for any of this. How about it?”

She fixed her gaze on the burliest man, who swallowed hard at the offer of two hundred yuan—tempted, but Ma grew even more enraged.

“You filthy whore, you’re begging for death!” he spat, then lunged with his knife at Zhou Xuemei’s throat. The big man and his companions panicked—she was Brother Seven’s agent, and they couldn’t afford to make an enemy of him, so they hurriedly moved to restrain Ma.

Though Ma was their leader, he wasn’t the strongest among them—certainly no match for the others combined. In no time, he was pinned to the ground, cursing furiously.

“You idiots, are you tired of living? If you dare hurt me, my brother-in-law won’t spare you. Even if you get the money, you won’t live to spend it. Think carefully!”

“Your brother-in-law is just a local committee head. Brother Seven could deal with him easily. If you’re willing to side with Brother Seven, I can guarantee your safety,” Zhou Xuemei promised earnestly, breaking out in cold sweat. The sweat seeped into her wounds, making her vision swim with pain.

But she couldn’t care about pain now—her life was on the line, and she couldn’t falter for a second.

At this point, Xu Lin suddenly had an idea. Without hesitation, she slipped back to the rear courtyard, quickly opened the entrance to the hidden room, and began stashing everything away. In a few minutes, she’d emptied the secret room and, thoroughly pleased, returned to the front yard.

Listening carefully, she realized Ma was still alive—the standoff continued. Ma, seeing his brother-in-law’s name had no effect, tried to tempt the others with money. Men in their line of work never lacked for cash, but Ma now feared dying before he could spend his.

Xu Lin, seeing the deadlock would last a while, headed to the storeroom next door to collect their supplies, especially the coal briquettes—she took every last one, giddy with satisfaction. In no time at all, she’d emptied an entire room of goods.

She then wandered into the kitchen, finding more rice, flour, and oil, which she also took without hesitation. As for the two large iron cauldrons, she didn’t leave those behind either—such things were rare, requiring industrial coupons to purchase.

After gathering everything, Xu Lin positioned herself beneath the window, listening to Ma’s agonized screams. She couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly fortunes could change.

Zhou Xuemei had been rescued, while Ma was now suffering under the very implements of torture he so delighted in using on others. When he’d used them on others, Ma had found it exhilarating, almost transcendent. Now that they were used on him, he wanted nothing more than to die.