Chapter 29: Danger Encounter

Li Guangrong was much more composed than Jiang An’an had imagined. Despite feeling deeply tempted, her face remained stern and serious. “Ten pieces of clothing will count as one work point, but we must strictly control the quality. If the stitching is crooked or the buttons are not sewn properly, they won’t count. If the fabric gets stained, compensation will be required. With that in mind, we can estimate taking on work for six female workers each month.”

Did that mean she agreed?!

Jiang An’an’s face lit up with joy. “Of course, no problem. We will prioritize ensuring quality.”

Both sides were satisfied with the agreement, and the contract was successfully signed.

As Jiang An’an left the garment factory, the sun was just about to set, and the brilliant colors of the evening sky occupied most of the horizon, resembling a beautiful painting.

Jiang An’an dared not waste a moment. She pulled her collar up and hurriedly hopped onto her bicycle to head back.

The straight road to Nanxi Village was unobstructed, but even as she rushed, by the time she was halfway home, it was already completely dark.

The round moon hung above, casting a silver frost over the earth.

On her right, the mountains were shrouded in darkness, and the rustling of leaves in the wind was occasionally interrupted by the howls of animals.

Jiang An’an’s palms were sweaty, and she couldn’t tell whether it was from pedaling too fast or from her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

Suddenly, she thought she saw figures up ahead.

As she got closer, she could hear the sound of several men talking and laughing.

One, two, three, four… There were at least eight men. In this desolate area, far from the village and any shops, Jiang An’an didn’t dare take a chance with their intentions.

Almost instinctively, she slammed on the brakes, turned her bike around, and began riding back.

The town was nearby, and she could either stay in a guesthouse or spend the night at the police station, then return to the village early the next morning.

The tires screeched against the ground as the men turned around, hearing the noise. Perhaps seeing her alone, their malicious intent grew.

Before long, the group of men shoved each other and began to chase after her. The young, strong men were fast and quickly caught up to her bike.

“Huff! Huff!”

It was Jiang An’an’s heavy and rapid breathing!

At that moment.

A group of sneaky individuals were caught in the mountains. These young, reckless men had heard rumors about a treasure and boldly decided to sneak in and operate an excavator to mine the mountain.

Mining?

Destroying public property could get them detained!

If it weren’t for the road collapse that had raised Zhou Yinghuai’s suspicion last time, leading the police to work around the clock with their search, they wouldn’t have been able to catch these troublemakers so quickly.

When the group was captured, they had already dug down over ten meters. According to their confession, they had started digging after hearing the treasure rumors before the New Year, and there were at least a hundred deep pits of various sizes.

Wu Jianguo murmured to himself, “Could it be true that there’s treasure hidden in the deep mountains around Nanxi Village?”

It wasn’t just him; the police officers present were also curious.

“If there really is treasure, why doesn’t anyone in Nanxi Village know about it?”

“Do you think it could be that a landlord from Jianguo’s time hid gold and jewels? If they found the treasure, their descendants would never have to worry about food and clothing.”

“Zhou Zhiqing, you’re from the big city, well-traveled and knowledgeable. Do you think there’s really treasure?”

The surrounding discussions suddenly stopped, and everyone straightened up, eager to listen.

The operation had gone exceptionally smoothly, thanks to the action plan designed by Zhou Zhiqing.

He was just an ordinary educated youth, but his skills in both reconnaissance and combat were far superior to those of the police officers, earning everyone’s respect.

So, they were genuinely interested in hearing his opinion.

“The treasure is just a baseless rumor!”

Zhou Yinghuai scoffed lightly, his deep voice sounding particularly cold in the late autumn night, “The treasure hunters are still hiding in the corners, and what awaits them is a sentence of over three years.”

These young men had been tricked. The mastermind had used them to search for treasure, but their real goal had been to locate that batch of high-end equipment.

Fortunately, they hadn’t succeeded.

But this indirectly proved that there were enemies lurking in the shadows, waiting to make their move.

“Three years in prison?!”

In an instant, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and their previously heated minds began to cool.

Now, no matter how big or small the crime, all criminals were sent to the farm for reform. The farm was harsh, and the conditions were tough—if they didn’t die, they would be scarred for life.

Even if they managed to finish their sentence, it would follow them for the rest of their lives, becoming a permanent stain on their record. If their descendants wanted to become civil servants, no matter how outstanding they were, they wouldn’t pass the political review.

The group quickly refocused, sealing off the crime scene and escorting the thieves down the mountain. However, they hadn’t gone far when they heard the sound of a fight from far down the road.

Damn!

Wasn’t this just a gift-wrapped case for them?

“MD! That damn girl is ruthless, she just broke Strong Brother’s arm!”

“She’s already knocked out. What do we do next? What if she recognized us and goes to the police station tomorrow to report? I don’t want to go to prison.”

“What if… we just kill her?”

Silence descended upon the group for a moment.

Kill, kill, kill… murder?!

Everyone’s face turned pale in an instant.

They only wanted to steal the bicycle and take advantage of the beautiful woman. But to actually commit murder and arson, even if they were given a million chances, they wouldn’t dare.

The first to object was Jiang Yongsheng: “Jiang An’an is my cousin, after all. You can take the bicycle, but you absolutely cannot harm her life.”

“Yeah, murder is punishable by death. I’m not getting involved, I’m going home.”

“Me too.”

The thugs, whose relationship was already shaky, immediately started to bicker among themselves.

“Ah!”

A sudden scream ripped through the night.

Jiang Yongsheng fell forward, face-planting into the ground. After writhing for a while, he finally managed to crawl up, but before he could stabilize himself, he received another punch, causing him to roll on the ground and howl in pain.

The thugs were collectively terrified.

Liu Qiang’s eyes were sinister: “That little bitch Jiang An’an has seen our faces, none of us can escape.”

A sharp pain shot through his left arm. Thinking about how he had carelessly fallen for Jiang An’an’s trick, his eyes seemed to be spitting fire. He muttered a few curses under his breath and vented his anger by kicking Jiang Yongsheng in the stomach.

“…” Jiang Yongsheng was wronged. You’re going to settle the score with Jiang An’an, why are you taking it out on me?

At this moment, he regretted it deeply. He shouldn’t have listened to Liu Qiang’s suggestion and ambushed Jiang An’an on the road. If something really happened to Jiang An’an, this guy would definitely shift all the blame onto him.

“Tonight, all of us brothers will be blessed. After we finish playing with the little bitch, we’ll throw her into the deep mountains, no one will ever know.” Liu Qiang suggested, his lascivious gaze lingering on Jiang An’an inch by inch.

The silver moonlight fell upon her beautiful face, her willow-like eyebrows, she was breathtakingly beautiful, making Liu Qiang’s mouth go dry, his lustful fire burning down to his lower body, consuming his sanity.

Liu Qiang slowly unbuckled his belt and reached for Jiang An’an’s clothes.