In a bedroom with the door tightly locked.

Old Zhong was trembling uncontrollably, his face drained of all color.

The furious shouting and cursing from outside had already left him slumped on the floor.

He didn't dare open the door. He was convinced that if he did, the villagers he had lived with for decades would beat him to death.

But...

He was innocent!

He would never have imagined that the Hengda Group would build the stadium in the outskirts, let alone that the municipal government would extend the subway line to Jinzong Village.

Had he known, he wouldn't have sold—not for one million, not even for three or five million!

"Ye, you bastard! Not only did you scam me, but you ruined me too!"

Zhong Jianshe cried out, looking up at the ceiling in despair.

"Zhong Jianshe, come out!"

"You dog of a man! Come out here, you scoundrel!"

"We're giving you five minutes. If you don't come out, we're tearing the door down!"

The yelling outside continued.

But Zhong Jianshe dared not leave.

Although he knew he was innocent and that, logically, the villagers of Jinzong Village couldn't blame him for what had happened, he also knew that reasoning with them at this moment was useless.

Back then, when he told the villagers that a big developer was offering to buy the village land at a price of one million yuan per house, they had been overjoyed. They agreed without hesitation.

How could this be his fault?

And besides, wasn't he also part of the group that had sold at a loss?

But Zhong Jianshe knew these explanations wouldn't help now. The villagers had already decided he was in cahoots with the developers to cheat them.

"Old Zhong, what kind of karma is this?!" cried his wife beside him, sobbing in panic.

"What karma? Did I force them to sell? Did I trick them into it? The moment they heard one million, they were over the moon, calling it heaven's blessing on Jinzong Village! And wasn't I also scammed? If I'd known the government would extend the subway line, if I'd known Hengda would develop the area, I wouldn't have sold even for five million!"

Old Zhong cried too.

He felt wronged.

He felt aggrieved!

"Then why don't you go out and explain to them? What's the point of hiding here in the room? How long can we hide? Can we stay here without eating, drinking, or using the bathroom forever?" his wife lamented.

"If I go out now, they'll kill me. If not, they'll drown me in spit! They're furious right now, completely irrational. No matter what I say, they won't listen. Going out now is just asking to die!" Zhong replied.

"Then what do we do? Just stay locked up here while they cause a scene?!" his wife cried.

"Call the police. Call the police and have them come. Once the police arrive, they'll have to calm down!" Zhong said.

"Oh, oh..."

His wife nervously reached for her phone.

But calling the police was unnecessary.

The police were already on their way.

Other residents of the building had called the authorities earlier.

After all, the shouting and cursing of dozens of people was far more than just a noise complaint.

"What's going on here? This is a residential area! You're causing a serious disturbance. Can't you handle this civilly?"

Several police officers entered the room filled with people, their voices firm as they addressed the chaotic scene.

Hearing the officers, the furious yelling from the villagers immediately ceased.

"Officer, we're not trying to cause trouble! It's that bastard Zhong Jianshe! He's hiding in his room and won't come out!" one of the villagers shouted.

"What's this about? Why is he refusing to come out?" the officer frowned.

"He's a scoundrel! He tricked us! He sold us out—he sold out all of Jinzong Village!" the villager explained.

"Jinzong Village?"

The officers exchanged looks.

The extension of Subway Line 10 and the Hengda stadium project had been trending news recently, bringing Jinzong Village into the spotlight.

The officers raised their eyebrows in understanding.

"Explain. How did he trick you?"

"It's like this..."

The villagers began to explain, speaking over one another in indignation.

One of the leading villagers added, "We must make Zhong Jianshe come out and give all of us in Jinzong Village an explanation!"

After hearing the story, the officers were dumbfounded.

They couldn't understand how this situation could be pinned on Zhong Jianshe.

"You, go and get Zhong Jianshe out of there," the lead officer instructed his colleagues.

He then turned back to the villagers. "Listen carefully: when Zhong Jianshe comes out, none of you are to act out of line. If you do, don't blame us for taking you down to the station!"

"Fine, let him come out. We promise not to hit him!" the villagers agreed.

The room fell into an uneasy silence.

Under the officers' knock and announcement of their presence, Zhong Jianshe and his wife finally emerged, trembling.

"Zhong Jianshe, you bastard!"

"Zhong Jianshe, you heartless swine!"

"Give us back our land and houses!"

The moment the villagers saw him escorted out by the police, their fury reignited as they shouted accusations.

"Calm down! Do you all want to end up at the station? Do you think the station's accommodations are better than here?" the lead officer barked.

The villagers reluctantly quieted down.

Zhong Jianshe, on the verge of collapsing from fear, burst into tears. "Officer, they've misunderstood me! I'm innocent! I didn't scam anyone! I'm just as much a victim here!"

"Zhong Jianshe, if you hadn't come to us, would we have sold? If you hadn't pushed us with talk of 'a once-in-a-lifetime deal,' would we have agreed? We asked around—if we'd held onto our land and houses, the value would've increased fivefold, maybe tenfold by now! Give us back our land and houses!" a villager shouted.

"Yeah, give it back! If we don't sell now, it's worth much more! And since you brought that so-called boss to us, you're responsible for getting it back!"

"Zhong Jianshe, I think you've been bribed. You must've been working with them, or why else would you be so eager to bring us that deal? Everyone knows you're selfish—how could someone like you want everyone to profit?"

"We don't care! Zhong Jianshe, you must get our land and houses back! If you can't, we won't let this go!"

"If you can't get it back, fine—then tell that boss to pay us compensation. Four million per household will do!"

"And we even gave you 3,000 yuan as a thank-you! How could you betray us like this? How could you betray Jinzong Village's ancestors?"

"Tell us the truth, Zhong Jianshe! How much did you pocket from this deal? How much did they pay you to trick us into selling?"