Chapter 261: That’s Right, I’m the Overlord of the Arena!

During this busy period, Li Xian hadn't had much chance to call home. When he did manage to make a call, the conversations were brief. Although the family wasn't financially strained by phone bills, old habits die hard, and Li Daoyun, now in charge of the phone, kept the conversations as short as possible, cutting off calls at exactly 60 seconds if he could help it.

Conversely, if the call wasn't cut off within a minute, Li Daoyun would create some random topic to extend the conversation until it reached exactly 60 seconds before hanging up, regardless of whether the issue at hand was resolved.

Listening to the busy signal on the other end of the line and recalling the urgency in Li Daoyun's voice, Li Xian immediately redialed.

But the phone rang for a long time without anyone answering.

"Brother, Aunt Su should have finished cooking by now. Shall we head back to the house?" 

Zhou Yong, who had been waiting at the county government office, ran over as soon as Li Xian emerged from the building.

During Li Xian's absence from Bangye, Zhou Yong had been enjoying himself, driving the only Cherokee in the county around, no longer needed to visit karaoke lounges—he'd been using the vehicle for wedding processions and had become quite popular with the ladies.

Now that Li Xian had returned, Zhou Yong was nervous about being caught using the public vehicle for personal purposes and was overly attentive.

Li Xian ignored him and signaled for Wang Tiecheng, who had been quietly waiting like a shadow, to come over.

"Head to Eight-Nine!"

…

Upon learning that something had happened at his brother's home, Zhou Yong floored the accelerator.

The 4X4 Cherokee roared into action, turning a four-hour drive into just two and a half hours. On the rural roads from the Linye Bureau to the Eight-Nine Forest Farm, the Cherokee maintained an average speed of over ninety miles per hour.

Throughout the journey, Li Xian made several more phone calls, but none were answered, increasing his anxiety.

When they finally arrived at the forest farm, Li Xian, Zhou Yong, and Wang Tiecheng rushed into the new house. They knocked on the doors of the four large brick houses but found no one inside.

As Li Xian stood in the yard, anxiously pacing, the snot-nosed grandson of the neighbor, the Ma family, saw him and ran up. The child was particularly excited to see Li Xian, who had previously given him twenty bucks for New Year.

"Second Uncle, why didn't you bring any treats?"

The child, only six years old, was thinking about food.

Even though the child was young, Li Xian walked over and wiped the kid's nose. "Do you know where Grandpa Li and Grandpa Li Daoyun have gone?"

The child noticed that Li Xian wasn't carrying the usual bag of goodies and felt disappointed—this meant he wouldn't get to enjoy the special treats during the evening's visit from the adults. Nevertheless, with the memory of the New Year money, the child pointed towards the east.

"They went to Uncle Li's house!"

…

Even though it was the busy farming season, the Li Qing household was abuzz with activity.

As soon as Li Xian got out of the car, he was struck by the sight of a row of slogans scrawled haphazardly on the red brick walls of Li Qing's house:

"One child is fine, two children are not allowed; three or four children must be stopped!"

"Taking pride in using protection, shame in ignoring it!"

"Witness pregnancy, hold a certificate for childbirth!"

"Failure to comply, house collapses and cows are dragged away!"

Li Xian had seen such slogans frequently since his return, but usually, they appeared on one or two walls in the village. He had never seen them so prominently displayed on the walls of a single household.

This made him suspect there might be someone deliberately targeting the family.

In the yard, a group of ten or so people dressed in plain clothes with red armbands marked "Family Planning Office" stood around the house, surrounding Li Qing's residence.

Among the group, besides Li Qing, were Li Daoyun, Li You, and Li Pi, spanning three generations, along with Zou Ni, all confronting the intruders.

Li You was furious, shouting at the officials with expletives.

"Bastards! Are you out of your minds, or are you deliberately trying to make trouble for me?! The previous child was from my previous wife! How many times have I told you?!"

"I warn you not to defy the law, understand? Haven't you seen the Family Planning Law? If not, let me explain it again! According to Article 64 of the Family Planning Law, if one party is in their first marriage and the other is remarried with only one child from a previous marriage, or if both are remarried with one party having one child and the other none, they can apply for permission to have one more child after the county-level family planning administrative department reviews and approves the application."

Li Qing was indeed remarried, but did you apply for a second child? Did we review it? Did we approve it? Did we issue a second-child certificate? What does "certified childbirth" mean? What does "family planning" mean? Without our approval, you're having a second child quietly, which is illegal! No more talking; hand over Li Qing now.

Whatever excuses you have won't help. Those who don't take family planning law seriously must be made an example of! Sterilize him! Must be sterilized!"

As Li Xian reached the entrance to Li Qing's house, he heard these shouts.

Seeing the red armbands and the messy slogans on the wall, his pupils constricted.

"Second Brother! Second Brother is back!"

As Li Xian pushed through the crowd and walked into the yard, Ma Auntie, who had been standing anxiously by the gate, spotted him.

At her shout, the neighbors immediately turned around. Seeing Li Xian's stern face, they quickly made way.

"Second Brother!" "Grandson!"

"Second!"

"Second, you've finally come back!"

Seeing his second brother stride forward, the family was overjoyed. Zou Ni could no longer hold back and burst into tears, "These bastards want to take your eldest brother away and sterilize him! You must think of something!"

Zou Ni had never been to school and didn't know what sterilization was. She only understood it as something that would prevent their eldest from having more children, which Li Pi had explained to her.

In her view, it was the same as castrating donkeys and horses back in the day.

Li Xian waved to the three of them and walked over to Zou Ni, holding her arm gently, "Mom, don't worry, I'm here."

After reassuring her, he scanned the area and noticed that none of the family planning officials were familiar faces. He then asked in a deep voice, "Who's in charge here?"

A middle-aged man with a flat head, a red nose, about 1.60 meters tall but weighing around 170 pounds, stepped forward.

After sizing Li Xian up, the man frowned, "Who are you to this family?"

"Your great-grandfather!"

Li Xian lowered his head, glared, and kicked him!

The Family Planning Office had been a bully in various forest farms since the 1980s. Over the years, they had forcibly dismantled houses and seized livestock, and those who enforced the law were often ruthless.

Seeing their supervisor in trouble, the officials didn't waste words. They charged at Li Xian, their eyes red with anger.

"Zhou Yong!"

Li Xian didn't move, but shouted loudly from his spot.

The next second, a red-armed official charging at Li Xian was sent sprawling by a swift kick to the side!

Seeing his brother in trouble, Zhou Yong, unsure of how to act, shouted loudly and grabbed a piece of firewood from the yard to protect Li Xian.

Though they were outnumbered, Wang Tiecheng's fighting skills and Zhou Yong's rough past made them formidable. For a moment, the two managed to hold off the group of ten or so officials with their fierce determination!

"What kind of bastards are you? Defying the law will land you in jail, you know that?"

On the ground, a short and chubby official groaned in pain, sweating as he pointed at Li Xian, cursing.

"Law?"

Li Xian grinned, pointing at the ground.

"Here, I am the law!"