C4 Something Happened

In the afternoon, Chenxi came home and immediately clung to Chenxuan's arm, playfully whining, "Hey, big brother, where's the stuff you promised me? You said you'd bring it back for me over summer break!"

Chenxuan was taken aback. His memories were all from 2019, so he had no idea what he was supposed to bring back for his sister. After a moment's thought, he realized it was the magazines she liked to read during vacations. Every break, he'd borrow a couple of issues for her.

Quickly, he apologized, "Sorry, I didn't manage to get them. I'll take you to buy some next time I have a chance."

Chenxi pouted, her big eyes staring at him for a few seconds. "Never mind, I borrowed a couple myself!"

Looking at his sister, still so innocent and a bit childish, Chenxuan felt a pang of sorrow. No one could have guessed that when she went to college, she'd have a boyfriend, and after a tragic incident, she would end up unable to have children.

But this time around, Chenxuan was determined not to let that happen.

With a doting smile, he said, "Let me take a look!"

"I'll get them for you!" Chenxi rummaged through her backpack and handed him two thin magazines. "Where's Mom?"

Chenxuan took the book. "They're digging sand from the river near our field. They should be back soon!"

"I'll go check it out! When I was coming back, I saw a lot of people upstream. I thought they were fishing!" Chenxi said as she dashed out of the house.

Chenxuan watched his sister's retreating figure for a long moment before turning back to his book. He flipped through the pages, realizing he'd already read this issue.

In his previous life, Chenxuan had been a civil servant, a department head in a quiet office, with a penchant for reading and writing. He even submitted his own work occasionally. He was a bit of a self-entertained writer.

He'd read many well-known magazines, both in print and online. Because of this, he remembered most of what he'd read, allowing him to skim quickly. As he turned another page, he spotted a "Call for Submissions" and had a sudden inspiration—he could submit his own stories!

Chenxuan was familiar with the types of stories different magazines preferred. For instance, "Story Club" favored pieces that depicted the hardships of everyday life, often with a tragic twist. Submitting something along those lines would likely increase his chances of getting published.

With his extensive background in reading and writing from his past life, his writing skills were solid. As for stories, he could borrow ideas. Once the thought struck him, Chenxuan decided to put the sand-selling issue aside and focus on writing.

Over the next month, Chenxuan wrote nearly six to seven thousand words daily, submitting them not only to "Story Club" but also to magazines like "Readers' Digest" and "Legends of Today and the Past."

The Legend of Today and Yesterday mainly featured a long story that shamelessly borrowed from the plot of Feng Ge's "Kunlun."

A month flew by in the blink of an eye. Every day, Chenxuan buried himself in writing, completely ignoring the sand-digging business.

"Bro... Dad's gotten into an argument! You need to help!" Chenxi burst into the room, grabbing Chenxuan and pulling him along.

Chenxuan quickly put down his pen and followed his sister toward the river. "What's going on?"

"Dad's truck got blocked by someone, and he went to argue..." Chenxi explained as they ran.

On the second day of Chenxuan's writing retreat, a second "sand-digging team" joined in. They didn't have Xiuyuan's connections, so they resorted to stopping trucks on the road, and surprisingly, it worked.

The success of this second team made many villagers envious. On average, a person could earn nearly ten dollars!

In those days, making three dollars a day in the countryside was considered a high wage. Xiuyuan, working as a laborer, was among the higher earners. Most people needed someone willing to show them the ropes to get started.

In just a month, a dozen teams had jumped into the sand-digging business. Each team "claimed" a section of the river. Those with connections arranged for trucks to come directly to them, while others had to stop trucks on the road.

No matter how you looked at it, the more people involved, the fiercer the competition became.

Yang Xiuyuan had a steady arrangement with a company that regularly hauled river sand from him. But today, one of their trucks was stopped by a group, and the driver was handed a pack of cheap cigarettes. After accepting the cigarettes, the driver took his business elsewhere.

Upon discovering this, Yang Xiuyuan immediately went to confront them, and a heated argument ensued. By the time Yang Chenxuan arrived at the riverbank, the situation had escalated into a full-blown dispute, with two distinct factions.

On one side was Yang Xiuyuan's group, consisting of those with connections who could secure orders, along with a few close allies. They were fewer in number. The opposing group had no connections and relied entirely on intercepting trucks to sell their sand.

The scene was chaotic, with people shouting and brandishing shovels and hoes, almost ready to fight. As Yang Chenxuan approached, he heard his father yelling at the leader of the other group, "Do you have any shame, stealing business like this?"

The leader of the opposing group was Wu Daxiang, a short, rugged man in his thirties with sun-darkened skin from years of farming. Wu Daxiang shouted back, "The drivers can haul sand from wherever they please. It's none of your business. If you can't handle it, that's your problem. People like you deserve to be pushed around!"

Yang Xiuyuan's supporters quickly jumped in to argue, "Wu Daxiang, you're full of it! You're the ones in the wrong here!"

"What did we do wrong? Did we sell you any sand? If a truck's on the road, aren't you going to try to stop it?"

"You knew that was the Yang family's truck, yet you still stuffed cigarettes in it. That's just shameless!"

"Say that again!"

"Shameless!"

"I'll beat you up!"

The exchange heated up, and both sides were getting riled up, ready to throw down.

Yang Chenxuan shouted, "Stop!"

However, with everyone yelling, hardly anyone heard him.

Yang Chenxuan walked over to a parked tractor, picked up a few fist-sized rocks from the ground, and tossed them onto the vehicle. He climbed up, grabbed a rock, and slammed it down hard on the metal.

"Bang..."

"Bang..."

The loud noise finally got the villagers' attention.

Yang Chenxuan tossed a couple more rocks onto the tractor and shouted, "You're all grown adults, yet you can't see things as clearly as a teenager! Are you really going to kill each other over a truckload of sand?"

"Damn it, Chenxuan, get out of here!" Wu Daxiang yelled, not taking Yang Chenxuan seriously.

Yang Chenxuan hurled a rock straight at Wu Daxiang.

Wu Daxiang and his group were furious, ready to fight.

Yang Xiuyuan was anxious, genuinely worried that Wu Daxiang might attack his son, and rushed to intervene.

Chenxuan let out a cold laugh, his face tense with anger, almost looking unhinged. "Trying to act tough with me? Go ahead, hit me! If you kill one or injure a bunch, you'll all end up in jail. Chenxi, call the cops and have these jerks locked up!"

As he spoke, Chenxuan pulled three dollars from his pocket and handed it to his sister by the car. This money was meant for sending off some manuscripts with his mom.

Chenxi had never seen her brother this furious and was momentarily stunned. "Really... should I? Mom and Dad are in there too!"

The mention of calling the police froze everyone in their tracks, all eyes on Chenxuan.

He pressed the money into Chenxi's hand, speaking loudly, "Go now! There's a phone in the next village. If you call the police now, it'll just be a warning. But if a fight breaks out, with shovels and hoes, who knows who might get killed. Hurry!"

Chenxi glanced at their parents. "What should I say?"

"Tell them there's a brawl in Lower Bay Village and that Daxiang has killed a few villagers."

Daxiang panicked upon hearing this. "You liar, Chenxuan! Stop spreading rumors!"

Chenxuan motioned for his sister to leave and stood up, shouting at Daxiang, "Weren't you all about fighting? If you don't kill a couple of people, how will you prove your point? I'm just giving the police a heads-up to come and arrest you all. Leave the village full of old folks and kids to fend for themselves!"

Chenxi hesitated as she walked away, prompting Daxiang to panic and run after her. "Chenxi, stop right there!" he shouted.

Chenxuan grabbed a rock and hurled it at Daxiang. The fist-sized stone whizzed past Daxiang's forehead and landed in a pile of sand.

Daxiang broke out in a cold sweat. "Are you crazy? If the cops get involved, your parents will be in trouble too!"

Everyone's eyes were on Chenxuan.