The villagers of Yaoxi Village looked at each other, a little embarrassed.
They couldn't win a fight, and they couldn't win an argument.
What were they going to do?
Finally, someone stepped forward and stated their true purpose for coming – to demand money!
A middle-aged woman stepped forward and said, "Alright, alright. I don't know much, and I won't waste your time with small talk. I'm here for one thing today: compensation."
Lu Ming chuckled.
Compensation?
On what grounds?
The middle-aged woman continued, "It's because of you that my husband was arrested, and our family's income has been cut off! How am I supposed to live? How will our children go to school? Asking you to compensate us a little isn't unreasonable, is it? I won't ask for too much, a lump sum of 500,000."
What nerve.
Her husband was a human trafficker, and after his arrest, she dared to come to Lu Ming for compensation?
Why didn't she go to the police for compensation?
Did she really think Lu Ming was easy to bully and could be manipulated at will?
In reality, this was just the local custom of Yaoxi Village.
Under normal circumstances, they liked to gang up on outsiders, fabricating justifications even when they were in the wrong. Most people, faced with such a crowd, would choose to compromise.
The middle-aged woman continued, "Lu Ming, don't think you're so tough that you don't have to fear us. I'm telling you, if you don't pay up today, our Yaoxi Village will never let you off! So many of us will harass you and torment you every day, taking turns. You will live in fear and suffering for the rest of your life!"
The other villagers echoed her sentiments.
"That's right, we have so many people, we'll follow you every day and wear you down."
"You can't be on guard every single moment; you'll slip up eventually."
"We can make countless mistakes, but you can't afford to make even one!"
These people were the epitome of scoundrels.
The middle-aged woman put her hands on her hips, tilted her head up to look at Lu Ming, her expression one of utter confidence, as if victory was assured.
Unfortunately.
This tactic wouldn't work on Lu Ming.
Lu Ming looked at them coldly, "What nonsense are you spouting? Harassing you every day? Heh, you're not foolish enough to think you'll leave here today, are you?"
Huh?
The villagers were taken aback.
The middle-aged woman asked doubtfully, "What do you mean?"
Lu Ming said, "I never intended to let any of you go today! You dogs, you're all unfit to be human. Prison is your only destination!"
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of police cars arrived.
Liang Jiadong had contacted Lu Ming early on, arranging to apprehend them.
How laughable that these villagers thought they could extort money from Lu Ming, when in fact, Lu Ming had no intention of letting them go! Men, women, old, young – none of them would escape.
All those who came to cause trouble today were arrested.
Lu Ming and Liang Jiadong cooperated flawlessly. The entire arrest process was swift and decisive, leaving Jiang Mengxin stunned.
She really didn't know when Lu Ming and Liang Jiadong had developed such a good rapport.
In fact, it wasn't just these villagers.
Lu Ming had also handed over another person to Liang Jiadong in advance – Jia Zheng!
This scoundrel who had secretly passed information to the snakehead was also arrested.
Thus.
The long-standing human trafficking case plaguing Modu finally reached a conclusion.
...
The dust settled.
Lu Ming and Jiang Mengxin returned to the Xiao family residence and entered the living room.
Jiang Mengxin rubbed her arms, feeling as if it were all unreal. Not long ago, a large group of people had been causing a ruckus at the entrance, and in the blink of an eye, Lu Ming had resolved it so decisively.
She asked curiously, "Lu Ming, since when did you become so close with Director Liang?"
Lu Ming smiled but said nothing.
In fact, Liang Jiadong now had a clear understanding of Lu Ming's identity. Although he hadn't explicitly stated it, his actions were very proactive. As long as Lu Ming spoke, Liang Jiadong would cooperate fully.
Neither Lu Ming nor Liang Jiadong said much to each other; they understood each other without words.
Seeing Lu Ming's silence, Jiang Mengxin rolled her eyes at him and said, "Alright, you've hobnobbed with important people, so you don't want to talk to us common folk anymore, huh? Heh, true colors of success."
No matter how great Lu Ming's achievements were, Jiang Mengxin's opinion of him wouldn't change.
A grave digger was still a grave digger.
It wouldn't change in a lifetime.
Lu Ming was too lazy to explain, secretly contemplating how to bring up the matter of going to Wudu with Jiang Mengxin.
Who would have thought.
Jiang Mengxin spoke first, "Lu Ming, I have another matter to discuss with you today. I'm going to Wudu, I'm done with all this nonsense. You decide, will you stay in Modu, or will you go back to Jinling to help Xiao Lan with her work?"
Lu Ming was taken aback, "You're going to Wudu too?"
Too?
Jiang Mengxin frowned slightly.
"Ahem." Lu Ming quickly said, "I meant, why are you going to Wudu out of the blue?"
Jiang Mengxin explained, "My best friend's grandfather passed away. I need to attend the funeral."
What?
Lu Ming asked, confused, "What does it have to do with you if someone else's grandfather died?"
Jiang Mengxin replied, "You don't understand. Our families are very close, and her grandfather was a close friend of my grandfather. When we were young, my friend and I both studied business under her grandfather for a year. Therefore, whether it's from a family perspective, a friendship perspective, or my personal feelings, I have to go."
Someone who could be a close friend of Jiang Dingbian must also be an extraordinary person.
Lu Ming asked curiously, "What's your best friend's grandfather's name? He must be very famous, right?"
Jiang Mengxin smiled, "Oh, he's extremely famous. My best friend's grandfather is the chairman of 'Origin Project,' one of Wudu's three major conglomerate companies, the head of the Su family – Su Changhe."
What?
Lu Ming was shocked.
This was too much of a coincidence!
Chen Xian had been bought by someone from a Wudu-based Origin company, and just as Lu Ming was planning to investigate Origin in Wudu, the chairman of Origin had passed away.
Perhaps there was some connection between the child trafficking and the chairman's death?
Lu Ming smiled slightly and proactively said, "Mengxin, I think I can neither go back to Jinling nor continue to stay in Modu. I should go with you to Wudu to attend the funeral."
"Ah?" Jiang Mengxin looked at Lu Ming with clear disdain, clearly not wanting to bring this troublesome guy along.
Lu Ming countered, "With me by your side, I can at least guarantee your safety, can't I? Besides, we're engaged. If you go alone, people will think you're divorced."
Ugh...
Jiang Mengxin was speechless.
After much hesitation.
Jiang Mengxin finally decided, "It's not impossible to bring you along, but you have to promise to listen to me and not cause any trouble."
Lu Ming smiled and nodded, "Of course, I'll behave myself."
Behave?
Heh.
Jiang Mengxin rolled her eyes. It would be a miracle if Lu Ming didn't cause trouble, let alone behave...
However, Wudu was indeed dangerous. With a super-fighter like Lu Ming by her side, Jiang Mengxin would indeed be much safer.
This was the only reason Jiang Mengxin brought Lu Ming.
And so it was.
Jiang Mengxin bought two plane tickets and took Lu Ming with her to the mysterious and unknown Wudu.