When Zhang Juntou returned from his ten-day trip to the county government, he brought a team of fifty men who quietly moved into the medical shed. They were responsible for the daily patrols of the seven-hundred-mile official road.

They take turns traveling back and forth, so they don't actually spend much time in Xujia Village.

The first thing Inspector Zhang did upon returning was to help Xujia Village elect a village head, because he needed assistance with his tasks.

So, urged on by a series of gongs, the families who were supposed to be working in the fields gathered in the open space.

Compared to the data on paper and the few people she usually saw, this was the first time Jiang Zhi, who was also standing in the crowd, met all the villagers.

Saying it's an election for village chief is a bit of an exaggeration; it's more like an election for building chief or production team leader.

She had already checked the household registration. Xujia Village now has a total of 115 people, including adults and children, and 20 households, which is half the population of the old Xujia Village.

We thought the villagers would gradually return, but now it's March and only two households have come back.

It seems those villagers have found a better place to settle down.

At this time, there were only thirty or forty able-bodied men in sight; the rest were the elderly, women, children, and the weak.

Not to mention how it compares to modern residential communities, it's just the population of a single apartment building.

But with such little power, they can hold people hostage at crucial moments.

Standing under the medical tent, Zhang Juntou addressed everyone in front of him: "The former village chief of Xujia Village has been dismissed by Magistrate Zhang, and now a new one needs to be elected."

The village chief bears a heavy responsibility; he must be utterly loyal to the government. From now on, he will not only assist the county government in collecting taxes and levies, but also register labor service workers.

Everyone present had complicated expressions. These were no easy tasks; they were people who could be gossiped about and criticized at any time.

Xu Genyou and Xu Gensheng's eyes searched back and forth in the crowd, and they lowered their heads when they saw Xu Errui.

Tian Gui was also watching, but he grinned and then turned to talk to a few outsiders around him.

Zhang Juntou continued, "Now, will you nominate yourselves or will I appoint them?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd that had been whispering just moments before fell silent; no one wanted to be the first to speak up.

At this moment, Jiang Zhi was also standing in the crowd, and next to her was Xiao Man Ye, who rarely came down the mountain.

Master Xiaoman stroked his beard and said calmly, "Second Sister Rui, this matter will definitely fall to your family!"

Jiang Zhi remained expressionless, but she already had a decision in mind.

She didn't meet Zhang Juntou when she went down the mountain today, but Errui was summoned by Li Laoshi.

Let Errui be the village chief. Although the village chief's handwriting is terrible and looks like a fist, he has his own mother, so he'll have to help him out.

Seeing that his men remained silent, Zhang Juntou didn't want to waste any more time, since the person had already been decided internally.

So, Zhang Juntou said, "Today, you don't need to nominate yourselves; I'll make the decision..."

Before he could finish speaking, someone below said, "Inspector Zhang, we've got a new village chief now. What if Uncle Maoping comes back?"

Jiang Zhi looked over and saw Xu Gensheng, who loved asking "100,000 Whys." She found that this person was particularly inquisitive.

However, his question today was very insightful, and everyone turned to look at Zhang Juntou.

Zhang Jun, hands on his hips, smirked, and asked with some confusion, "You came back and started farming. What else do you want to do? Does that mean you can't farm anymore if you're not the village chief?"

Xu Gensheng persisted, asking, "What if Uncle Maoping wants to go back to being the village chief?"

Zhang Jun squinted, clearly impatient: "Who said I can just become village chief whenever I want? Do you think I'm talking nonsense today!"

Xu Gensheng wasn't satisfied yet: "Uncle Maoping is a member of the Xu family. He served as the village chief for ten years. Why does he insist on going back?"

Jiang Zhi retracted her words; Xu Gensheng wasn't a "quick-witted baby," he was just a contrarian.

As expected, Zhang Juntou flew into a rage: "Since when has a village chief's position been more secure than the emperor's? Do you want me to cut off his head before you stop asking questions?!"

The new recruits want to overthrow the emperor, and now another local tyrant has emerged, so they'll kill them all.

In fact, Xu Maoping would definitely cry foul here: "I won't come back, and I won't be the village chief!"

Xu Gensheng stammered, "I'm just asking, what's the rush?"

Zhang Jun, his face dark, looked around at the people below and said, "What else do you want to say? If you don't say anything, I'll have to!"

The people below were speechless.

Zhang Juntou said, "As the village chief, one must deal with the government officials above and help the villagers to have enough to eat and wear, and maintain harmonious neighborly relations."

Whoever is capable should step forward. This is the last time I'm reminding you!

This time, not only did no one reply, but everyone even quietly took a step back.

The mere mention of "dealing with the government" terrified the group of peasants, and the crucial issue of ensuring the villagers had enough to eat and wear further deterred them from participating.

In the past, people would have just taken these two sentences as polite words.

Everyone can eat porridge and have clothes to wear; it's just that the porridge is a little thinner and the clothes are a little older. Who would really let the village chief take responsibility?

Things are different now.

Being well-fed and warmly clothed is the real meaning of being both hungry and cold; there's always someone who's serious about it coming to your door asking for food and clothing.

Everyone was struggling to make ends meet with porridge and vegetables, barely able to take care of themselves, let alone others.

Looking at the large open space that had suddenly appeared in front of him, Zhang Juntou sneered, "Is that all you've got? Fine, I won't make things difficult for you. I'll just decide on the person directly!"

As he finished speaking, he glared around and looked around before calling out a name: "Xu family Jiang family, come forward!"

"who?"

"Who is the Jiang family?" Everyone in the room looked blank.

The Xu family members' eyes fell on the newcomers here. Could it be that there was someone named Jiang among these newcomers?

Tian Gui and the others were stunned for a moment before looking at Jiang Zhi: The village chief is Sister Jiang!

Xiaoman excitedly shouted, "Aunt Jiang! Aunt Jiang!"

Xu Errui's joy was evident: "Mother, Inspector Zhang is calling for you!"

Just now, Inspector Zhang asked Li Laoshi to call him over. Besides asking about last year's crop harvest on the mountain, he also inquired about the medicinal herb gathering.

They knew there was grain last year, albeit a small amount, enough to keep both families alive.

Finally, he revealed that his own mother was the candidate for village chief, and asked if he would agree to it.

Because he is a son, if he lets his mother, a woman, show her face in public, she will be ridiculed and mocked.

If he didn't want to, then he could only become the village chief himself.

Xu Errui knew he had no skills and couldn't become the village chief.

Besides, with his mother becoming the village chief, he was essentially the village chief's son, so he didn't suffer any loss.

Moreover, he used to be very envious of Xu Dayong and his friends for having a village chief as their father.

On the other side, Jiang Zhi was also somewhat taken aback. She hadn't expected Zhang Jun to let her take the position, especially since there hadn't even been any prior discussion.

Although he had thought about becoming the village chief when he was in the mountains, it was just an unrealistic idea.

This is not a time when modern education emphasizes gender equality.

The phrase "a hen crowing at dawn" is specifically used to insult this kind of thing.

Sure enough, before Jiang Zhi could even leave the crowd, a voice roared angrily, "Letting a woman be the village chief, putting men above her, what kind of rule is this?"