Chapter 10: Taking the Whole Village to Loan-Shark the Loan Sharks
Linjiacun Village, Central Square.
A massive concrete plaza had been constructed here, equipped with fitness gear, a soccer field, and a basketball court. Whenever there was an event, it was where all the villagers gathered. In a remote mountain village, this was an extreme rarity.
At this moment, the square was packed with the villagers of Linjiacun. Many of the elders who had been taken to the police station earlier had already returned. Those who remained in custody were mostly the younger ones, though even they were seventy; they couldn't be held for long. Ultimately, this whole affair would likely fizzle out. There was no helping it—the ones who had died were human traffickers, and in the final judgment, such people forfeited their human rights.
Lin Xian stood at the eastern edge of the square. Behind him, a giant screen had been erected, seemingly to project something.
Wang Heng followed behind Liu Ruyan, camera on his shoulder, and arrived beside Lin Xian.
"Heh, so you're all set?" Lin Xian asked, smiling at Liu Ruyan.
Liu Ruyan nodded. "That's right. The live stream has already begun. Why don't you say hello to everyone?"
After the recent buzz, the number of viewers in the stream had surpassed 100,000.
Lin Xian gave a cheerful wave at the camera. "Hello everyone, I’m Lin Xian, the Party Secretary of Linjiacun Village and a college freshman."
The netizens watching the live stream felt a shiver of dread as they looked at the smiling Lin Xian.
"His psychological composure is insane. He’s committed so many crimes, yet he can still smile so happily under the sun."
"Truly. If I didn't know the inside story, I would have been completely fooled by his appearance."
"My god, and he's only a college freshman? Which school is this? Any experts out there willing to look him up?"
The netizens were in a heated discussion.
"Are you ready to start?" Liu Ruyan asked, looking at the massive crowd of villagers.
Lin Xian nodded. "It's about time. Everyone is here."
"To lead the villagers to prosperity—are you going to have them invest in something?" Liu Ruyan couldn't help but ask. As far as she knew, the only legitimate path to riches for a large group of people was investment.
Lin Xian shook his head. "Investing is too slow. This way is fast. Every household here should be able to walk away with at least 300,000 yuan today."
"Oh, 300,000..." Liu Ruyan started to nod, but suddenly, her eyes widened and her voice shot up an octave. "300,000?!"
What could possibly make money that fast? In one afternoon, helping every household here get 300,000 yuan! There were at least a hundred households here! That would be over thirty million yuan! What was this man planning? Every method Liu Ruyan could think of for making money that quickly was written in the Criminal Law!
The netizens in the live stream were also shocked by the figure Lin Xian had blurted out.
"My god! Is this for real? 300,000 in one afternoon? I couldn't save that much in five years!"
"Damn, this guy isn't actually going to commit crimes in front of so many people on a live stream, right?"
"This is intense. I'm ready. Since it's a live stream, I’ll just do whatever he does. Maybe I'll get 300,000 too."
"Brother, what he’s doing is likely illegal! The kind of stuff where you take the money today and get arrested tomorrow!"
"Exactly. I heard there's a direct line to the Provincial Public Security Department. Buddy, if you reach for that money today, you'll be in cuffs tomorrow!"
The netizens were in an uproar. In the control room, the police officers watching the scene also wore expressions of shock; they knew far more than the netizens. Naturally, they understood that anything capable of generating that much money in such a short time had to be a staggering criminal act.
Zhao Guoan also looked surprised. What was this guy doing? Surely he couldn't be stupid enough to commit crimes in front of so many people.
Inside the live stream, Lin Xian smiled, knowing they wouldn't believe him. "Just wait and see."
Lin Xian picked up the microphone and tested the volume. "Ahem."
He looked at the villagers of Linjiacun. Almost every household had an elder. Some had four—both sets of grandparents living in the same large courtyard. These were the perfect avenues for making money!
"Dear friends and family of Linjiacun, in college, I’ve seen many classmates go down a path of no return because of online loans—those high-interest predatory loans from shady software!" Lin Xian’s voice echoed over the village through the speakers. "How hard it is for a family to raise a college student! And it’s all ruined by these platforms!"
Lin Xian sounded filled with righteous indignation.
The villagers below, while unfamiliar with the term "online loans," knew exactly what high-interest loans were. They agreed with Lin Xian—raising a college student wasn't easy! Their faces filled with anger.
"Those loan platforms don't look like anything good."
"Exactly. Charging usury—people like that should be beaten to death! They're just like human traffickers."
"I have a classmate who jumped off a building because they couldn't pay back a high-interest loan," someone in the crowd remarked with a sigh.
There were college students in the crowd, too, but they couldn't understand why Great-Grandfather was suddenly bringing this up. Not just the villagers, even the netizens in the live stream were confused.
"Why is this guy talking about online loans? I’ve had people around me get involved in them; it ended in attempted suicide and a massive mess."
"Regardless, these platforms are indeed detestable. Last time I needed money urgently, I borrowed 5,000, and damn it, I only received 1,000! The interest rates are terrifying!"
"True, someone should deal with these platforms. For once, this guy is actually saying something sensible."
"Agreed."
Liu Ruyan stood stunned. She still didn't grasp what Lin Xian was aiming for. Some unregulated platforms were indeed a scourge; often, people would borrow ten or twenty thousand, only to receive a thousand or two, with service fees that were sky-high. The interest rates were the same—leading to debt that snowballed until it was impossible to repay. Many college students had been ruined, with some turning to crime or suicide.
But what did this have to do with Lin Xian leading the villagers to make 300,000 yuan in an afternoon?
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Liu Ruyan. She looked at Lin Xian in astonishment. She thought she understood how he planned to lead the villagers of Linjiacun to prosperity. But was this approach not completely insane? Could this actually work?
Lin Xian looked at the people of Linjiacun and smiled. "So, today, I am going to lead you all to take down these platforms!"
"Good! That’s what the people want!"
Hearing their Great-Grandfather’s words, the villagers below broke into smiles. As always, their Great-Grandfather was a man of great kindness.
As he spoke, a slide appeared on the screen behind Lin Xian, displaying various online loan platforms. Lin Xian pointed to the assortment of mini-programs—*Urgent Borrow*, *Fast Cash*, *Easy Loan*, *Rapid Credit*, *Low-Interest Loan*—all sorts of apps, all of them without exception non-compliant. The only "benefit" to such platforms was fast approval, but the amount received was almost always slashed by ninety percent.
"These platforms are all illegal black-market outfits! I don't know how many lives they’ve ruined!"
"Today, I, Lin Xian, will lead all the villagers of Linjiacun to root out these black-market platforms!"
Lin Xian delivered another righteous speech. Liu Ruyan looked on with a strange expression. Root them out? How?
"All villagers over forty! Bring your ID cards and bank cards and come to me! Today, I, Lin, am not just going to wipe out these platforms, I am going to secure a blessing for the villagers of Linjiacun! That is—we are going to loan-shark the loan sharks!"