190 – Village

The short and skinny woman, holding onto her daughter's hand, walked into the unfamiliar street. She had traveled by bus in order to arrive at the clinic her neighbor had recommended. Walking along the street, she asked various people for directions.

She arrived at a store that appeared to be a herbal shop. However, since she was underneath a canopy, she wasn't able to see the sign. 

"The clinic isn’t open?" Her face scrunched in a confused look. Even though she was from the countryside, she thought the clinic opened later than 6pm.

"Did you travel far?” Bizi thought the woman looked pitiful.

The woman nodded. "Yes, yes."

"Then have a seat inside."

Bizi nodded and pointed to the chairs near the entrance. The woman, with her daughter, shared a seat together. Since there wasn't anyone in the shop, Bizi chatted with the woman. The woman was soft-spoken and replied with simple answers.

Judging from her dark coloring and flabby skin, it was likely the woman was a farmer from the countryside. Her eyes were darker than usual.

"What village are you from?" Bizi continued asking. "I used to be in Chenda back in the days, but my parents thought I wasn't suited to be a farmer, so we moved here."

Ms. Ji, the woman, replied that she was from Baodu.

"Wow! You have traveled from very far away! Doctor Li's reputation must be spreading!"

Ms. Ji wasn't sure about Doctor Li's reputation, but she heard from her neighbor that the doctor didn't charge for consultation if the patient provided a good reason. She wondered if she should ask before waiting for too long.

"Miss Bizi, is it true that Doctor Li doesn't charge a fee?" she asked.

"Well, it depends. I have seen him charge someone up to 10,000 yuan before."

Ms. Ji grasped. Her monthly salary was 10,000 yuan.

"Ah, but don't worry, most of the time, Doctor Li will only charge for what you could afford and even for free."

Ms. Ji was a bit relieved.

Li Yun walked into the storefront to make sure everything was cleared up before closing. He immediately noticed Ms. Ji and her child. Both the mother and child's faces were off, so Li Yun shook both of their hands.

"Doctor! You have to help my daughter, she has been sick for a while, but the other doctors weren't able to figure anything out."

Li Yun nodded and immediately took the mother and daughter to the back. Li Yun wrote everything up on a piece of paper, but seeing the mother confused expression, it was likely she was illiterate.

"Ms. Ji, it is likely that you and your daughter both have hepatitis B," Li Yun said, and then everything to her about the illness.

The daughter had likely experienced acute symptoms, but the mother was suffering from chronic symptoms. In rural areas, not all doctors were capable of diagnosing the condition. However, even when it was diagnosed, there was no cure. The diagnosis frightened the woman.

"Is my daughter going to be alright?" asked Ms. Ji.

"Looking at her daughter, she should be able to make it if she has proper health," Li Yun thought they were both suffering from malnutrition. Besides hepatitis B, there was a bigger problem that the mother and daughter were facing. "Have you considered moving to the urban settlements?"

Although the lifestyle in the rural areas was calm, peaceful, and without many people, the advantage of the city was easier access to healthcare. Especially with people who have hepatitis B, it would be easier to manage.

"You have been experiencing this for a while, why not go to a nearby hospital?" Li Yun asked.

"It's…"

Ms. Ji likely had little money, but the government should be able to provide for the most basic tests. Li Yun could tell by her demeanor that she also suffered from spousal abuse.

"Do you have any family in your hometown?" Li Yun asked.

Ms. Ji shook her head. She was a bride from a different hometown after her parents passed away. She had never been outside of the two rural towns. This was the first time, but only because her husband had a weekend getaway with his friends and she took the opportunity to escape.

"Do you want to stay in this city with your daughter? There are several spare units in this apartment. I could assist you with employment and you can lease out a space on your own."

Ms. Ji was shocked at the doctor's suggestion. She wanted to escape from her marriage, but it was frowned upon. The only way to truly escape was to drop everything and start a new life elsewhere. When she left her village with nothing but her daughter, was she hoping to find a safe home somewhere else? A part of her never wanted to return.

However, she was concerned about the doctor's supposed kindness. Although she wasn't a beauty, she was still propositioned by men, which made it difficult for her to trust people. She had already been fooled by the matchmaker to marry someone who was abusive..

"If you feel more comfortable, my girlfriend will help you settle everything," Li Yun said to ease her mind.

Rouxi was upstairs studying, so it didn't take her long to head down and greet the mother and child. Ms. Ji thanked them for helping her. After Rouxi helped her settle into an apartment, Li Yun contacted Ju De to hire her at the greenhouse.

“Yun, Ms. Ji, she’s from the village that will be up on the market,” said Rouxi showing him a portfolio of a rural village.

“They are selling off the Baodu village?” asked Li Yun glancing at the data on Rouxi's tablet.

“Yeah, the village chief there is selling off the land,” said Rouxi. Rouxi passed him files on some unusual movements around the area. “The company negotiating the deal is a new startup company called Safe Harbor Investment. They have also been attending the bid auction in Yide. Before, it seemed like they had been buying properties in Angao City and Qinbei.”

Li Yun raised his brow. If Rouxi investigated them, it was likely because she saw them as dangerous opponents.

“Are they grifters?” Li Yun asked.

“They could be, they seem sharper and more cautious than most people,” said Rouxi. “They haven’t entered the market here, just scoping around.”

Li Yun flipped through the files and thought about Shudi’s gang. He had been investigating their movements, and it looked like they were trying to expand. The problem was, it was too organized. 

According to his source, Shudi was raised in Angao City and dropped out of high school. He started a small prostitution ring but was busted by the police. After he got out of jail, he turned a new leaf and opened many night clubs. He seemed to be an overly cautious person, and something like taking over multiple cities was beyond his ability. There must be someone behind him that ran the operation.

Wherever Shudi opened a nightclub, the crime rates increased and police presence disappeared. As for the reason, Li Yun thought about the real estate market.

"Could they purposely create problems to decrease the land value?" Asked Li Yun.

Rouxi tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Angao City's real estate had a steady increase of 10%, but in the past 5 years, it barely went up by 4% and some inner-city areas had decreased dramatically with many residents moving out."

"Anyone buying up the properties?" Li Yun asked.

Rouxi searched her database. "There are three startup companies that had been buying the bulk of the real estate in Angao City, they recently started buying up properties in Qinbei."

It may be a coincidence that those companies were buying up land near Shudi's nightclub, but Li Yun didn’t believe in too many coincidences. Unfortunately, there weren’t any public documents available to see who was behind the startup companies. 

This scheme wouldn’t work in big cities like Magic City and Imperial City, but due to the disjointed nature of how properties were managed by government officials in the outlying cities, it made streamlining national policies difficult. However, sensing that change was coming, many companies were buying up as much land as possible before a national policy could be put into place. 

It was likely that whoever planned the operation was using Shudi as the fall guy. Li Yun wasn’t sure if Shudi himself was aware, but if Shudi was as cautious as reported, he must have a backup plan in case the entire operation was a bust.

That was the nature of the underground. Everyone kept dirt on everyone else. If one person fell, everyone less involved would be exposed. The only way to survive was for everyone to remain silent and work together. Only the craftiest and cunning would get away.

If such a person existed, then Shudi might not have any information at all. Li Yun turned his attention to the file for the lawyer, Wing Bo.

Wing Bo’s parents both passed away in a car accident. He was sent to an orphanage, and was adopted by a middle class couple at the age of fifteen. After graduating from college, he worked in a law firm before becoming a defense lawyer. 

Without meeting with the lawyer personally, Li Yun wasn’t able to determine Wing Bo’s motivation for helping an underground gang. There were too many factors to analyze. However, if the purpose was to buy out properties, then there must be someone behind Wing Bo.  If Li Yun finds Wing Bo and his direct superior, he may miss out on finding the person at the top. The problem was, how far up the chain of command? The layers and hierarchy of any organization were complex.

Li Yun threw the file down on the corner of his desk. He had been preparing his own network to deal with Shudi’s gang in case the authorities couldn’t handle them, but it was a big risk. He needed more time to prepare.