Biao Biao and Liang Liang rode their motorcycles back to the county town the next morning and went directly to where Yang Jian was on guard.
"Brother Jian, are you staying here tonight?"
Biao Biao was greatly surprised to see Yang Jian emerge from the tent.
"This is my sister's land. Her house was demolished, and my brother-in-law was beaten into the hospital. I have to guard these construction materials for her."
Yang Jian explained the whole story to them.
"Damn, this is too much bullying. No one can stand this, Brother Jian. No matter how big the thugs are, we must get justice."
"Of course. Look, that village is called Liu Zhuang. You two go into the village these few days and investigate a person named Hu Yunfei. Find out all his family members, living habits, routes, transportation, and other information. Be careful not to alert the enemy and do not expose yourselves."
Yang Jian pointed to Liu Zhuang not far away and repeatedly cautioned them.
"Don't worry, Brother Jian. We're not as good as you at fighting, but we're old hands at tracking, kidnapping, debt collection, and gathering information. We guarantee to get all this person's information clearly in three days."
"Good, be sure to pay attention to safety. Don't conflict with anyone. If you sense danger, just slip away. I'll handle the action."
"Got it. We'll be fine."
Biao Biao responded and rode away with Liang Liang.
Yang Jian was not idle either. He had called his father the night before to help for a few days. His father would guard the site during the day and return to his sister's house at night to take care of his two nephews, as Yang Rui only had three days of leave and had to go back to school, only able to stay one night.
He himself planned to gather people and restart the construction.
Since the perpetrators did not show themselves, he would force them out. By guarding the site himself, he wanted to see if anyone else would dare to demolish the house.
Yang Shuanglin settled his family affairs and took a ride over in the morning. Seeing the house, which was supposed to be intact, reduced to ruins, he was furious.
"This is outrageous and lawless. Second, you go find people to rebuild it. I'll stay here and see who dares to commit violence again. I'll drag one down with me even if I have to sacrifice my old life."
Yang Shuanglin, who had always been upright and hot-tempered, could not tolerate this insult. If Yang Hui had not concealed the truth from him before, he would have come long ago. Although he was sixty years old, he was still very robust, and if he went berserk, he could handle two young men.
"Dad, I'll handle this. Someone collecting scrap metal will come to take away all these sheet metal steel beams. You talk to them about the price. I'll contact Big Sister to get the previous师傅 (shīfu - master worker) to start work. If anyone causes trouble, don't get impulsive. Wait for me to come back."
Yang Jian gave instructions and rode his brother-in-law's motorcycle into the city.
First, he hired ten laborers from the labor market to go to the construction site to gather and stack the collapsed red bricks, making it convenient for the bricklayers to start building the walls the next day.
Then, according to the phone number provided by his brother-in-law, he asked the roofing manufacturer to make another set of steel frame beams and colored steel tiles.
There was still some cement and sand left, so they didn't need to buy more.
The site was tidied up in one day, ready for construction to resume the next day.
Such a large commotion was bound to attract the attention of some people. To prevent another sneak attack at night, Biao Biao and Liang Liang voluntarily stayed to guard with Yang Jian.
Song Jianmin also learned about the matter and specially drove his Santana over for them to use. He also brought two steel pitchforks, each over two meters long. These things were definitely great weapons in a group fight.
Yang Shuanglin also wanted to stay and guard, but Yang Jian and Yang Hui persuaded him to go back.
Fortunately, the night passed without incident. The next morning, more than ten bricklayers arrived, the same crew as before. No further instructions were needed, and they started work immediately.
The process was smooth, and no one came to harass them for two consecutive days.
The walls had already risen more than two meters high. According to the progress, they would be topped off in another two days. However, less than an hour after starting work on the third morning, someone came to stop the construction.
Yang Jian happened to be at the site and saw that it was urban management officers, about a dozen of them. The leader seemed to be the captain, in his thirties, burly, with a fleshy face and a fierce expression.
"Who is in charge here?"
Although the captain looked fierce, his tone was quite amiable.
Yang Jian had to step forward: "It's me. May I ask what's wrong?"
"This is an illegal structure. Please stop construction immediately and demolish it yourself within three days. Otherwise, we will carry out forced demolition after three days, and you will be responsible for the consequences."
"Captain Zhang, we have completed the procedures with the land department to build this house. How did it become an illegal structure?"
Yang Jian clearly saw the person's surname was Zhang from his name tag.
"We have not received any information here, so we must stop. We advise you not to proceed further, or the losses will be even greater."
Captain Zhang then had some photos taken and led his team away.
Yang Jian did not understand the situation and had to call his brother-in-law. Gao Daqiang also didn't know what was going on, saying that he had completed the procedures with the land department and had not heard of any other required procedures.
With the authorities intervening to stop them, Yang Jian was helpless and had to ask the bricklayers to temporarily halt construction.
Yang Hui rushed over from the hospital when she heard about it. The workers had already left.
"Sister, do you know anyone who can inquire about what other procedures need to be completed?"
Yang Jian's experience was still shallow, and he didn't know what procedures were required for building a house.
Yang Hui sighed: "There are no procedures to be completed. Your brother-in-law just asked. Those people just came to find fault deliberately. They usually cooperate with the land department in law enforcement and rarely intervene directly. This is another scheme from those people behind the scenes, their goal is this piece of land."
"You mean those people were bribed, but they are indeed in charge?"
"Yes. If they really come for forced demolition, we can't stop them. Second brother, forget it. We can't fight against those people. Your brother-in-law is honest and has no connections in the government. We can't open this repair shop."
Yang Hui knew that in this small county town, it was a society of connections. Everything depended on relationships. Even if one was hospitalized, without connections, one might not even get a bed and would have to sleep in the corridor. But with connections, a phone call could immediately arrange the best ward for you.
Was he really going to stop construction, to be bullied like this?
Yang Jian was unwilling. His sister and brother-in-law had a difficult time these years. The couple had been running long-haul trucks for years, leaving their two children at home to be cared for by their elderly parents. It was fine a few years ago, but in the last two years, the elderly parents' health had deteriorated. Not only could they not take care of the children, but they also needed care themselves.
The brother-in-law thought about selling the truck and doing something locally. He had studied auto repair before, had the skills and experience, and the venue. He thought opening a small auto repair shop, even if the income was less than running trucks, could support the family and allow him to take care of the elderly and children.
He never expected it to be so difficult. The house was flattened, the person was beaten, and there was nowhere to seek justice.