Chapter 324 Fang Jianhua was a prostitute, and so was my son Jianguo.

“You ungrateful wretches! Every year when the rice is drying, my son stays up all night patrolling to prevent anyone from stealing it from the village. When we're irrigating the fields, he doesn't even have time to eat. He'd be skinned alive during a harvest season. Whenever something good happens, he thinks of you all. If it weren't for wanting you to have more money, why would he shamelessly fawn over Su Laosan? Even if Su Laosan married Erniu, he's still his brother-in-law. Who's ever seen a brother being bossed around by his brother-in-law? It's all for you…”

Erniu's mother stared intently at those who were sowing discord and spat several times.

She'll fight anyone who dares to dismiss her son from his position as village party secretary.

Although Erniu's mother exaggerated a bit, Brother Fang did indeed do those things, which is something that everyone in the village has witnessed.

The man didn't dare to retort, so he awkwardly touched his nose and glanced at the eldest family in the crowd.

Aunt Fang spat loudly and said, "Don't listen to her nonsense. The matchmaker made it very clear that Erniu's mother looked down on them. She said the Su family didn't have a house, Su Laosan didn't have a proper job, and his business was unstable. She said he might starve to death one day. She wanted the matchmaker to leave all the money to her daughter and give her daughter as much as she wanted. What a shameless person she is!"

"You're talking nonsense..."

Erniu's mother wanted to talk back, but Aunt Fang didn't give her a chance at all.

She continued, "...That's not enough. She's expected to do absolutely nothing but stay home and look after her daughter's child. What kind of talk is that? What kind of mother-in-law has nothing better to do than stay home all day looking after her daughter-in-law's child? If you didn't know better, you'd think her daughter was going to become someone else's empress..."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Erniu's mother was so angry that her face turned red and her neck bulged. She put her hands on her hips and spat at Aunt Fang, shouting, "I'm doing this for Erniu's own good! I'm doing all this for Erniu's own good! You can't even give birth to a daughter, what do you know? All you do is bully your daughter-in-law..."

"Oh, haha..."

Aunt Fang laughed mockingly, glanced disdainfully at Er Niu's mother, and called to her two daughters-in-law, "Whether it's bullying or not, let my two daughters-in-law come out and talk to me. Eldest daughter's wife and second daughter's wife, tell your aunt how I usually treat you at home."

She looked up at the crowd.

Two inconspicuous women squeezed in from the periphery of the crowd.

She answered with a bright smile, "My mom is so good to me. I've been married into the family for so long, and I've never done any heavy work at home..."

Another person said, "My mom also washed my clothes and made my shoes. During my postpartum period, my mom cooked brown sugar and egg water for me every day."

"impossible!"

Erniu's mother didn't believe it at all, saying, "You're working yourselves to death in the fields, and there are so many people in the village watching."

“Auntie, what are you saying? With so much land at home, do you expect the men to work themselves to death? We care about our men, and if we lend a hand, does that mean our mother-in-law will treat us badly?” one of them said.

Another one curled her lip and said, "Auntie, you treat your daughter-in-law badly, like a man. She has to do farm work and housework, and you're always slapping her and wielding a broom. Do you think my mother is like you? What a joke."

Aunt Fang smiled smugly to the side, glancing sideways at Er Niu's mother, and said, "You can't compare to me as a daughter-in-law, and you can't compare to my son either. Besides a little girl, what else do you have to brag about?"

"Pah, what utter nonsense!"

Erniu's mother pointed at Brother Fang and said loudly, "My son is the village party secretary, he..."

"Come on, who hasn't done the things he did?"

Looking at the dense crowd, Aunt Fang's voice was even louder than Erniu's mother's, "When everyone is too busy, do we not lend a hand? How come Fang Jianhua is taking credit for helping us out? Just because he's the village secretary..."

Some people thought about it and realized, "Ah, that makes sense."

We're all from the same village, our ancestors have lived here for generations, we've all grown up together since we were little, and the villagers always help each other when someone has a problem. How come becoming the village party secretary means you've accomplished something?

Brother Fang's eyes narrowed slightly as he gave Aunt Fang a deep look, to which Aunt Fang returned the look with a defiant glare.

Brother Fang laughed, "What are you doing, Aunt? Weren't you just saying that you can't write two 'Fang' characters with one stroke? Why are you shouting and killing our family now?"

“Nephew, that’s not quite right. I didn’t threaten to kill your family. I just think you’re not qualified for the position. This village secretary position should be given to someone with real ability.”

"Change someone else? Who, you?" Brother Fang narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Aunt Fang glanced behind her, and suddenly someone in the crowd raised their voice, "Fang Jianhua promoted intercropping of rice not for our sake at all, but to gain political achievements to advance his career!"

These words were like a boulder crashing into the mud, creating huge waves.

"Really? He wants to climb the ladder? Climb out and become an official? What would that make us?"

"What will it become? It'll be a stepping stone, of course!"

"The Su family seems to have connections. As long as Fang Jianhua can achieve political success, he can be promoted and make a fortune."

"Damn it! We trusted him so much! What kind of person is this to be the village secretary? He should get down here right now..."

"...Fang Jianhua, get off the stage!"

"Step down!"

"roll!"

The dark mass of people immediately turned their attention to Brother Fang.

Brother Fang pursed his lips, his eyes blazing with barely suppressed anger, and stared intently at Aunt Fang with a clenched fist.

"Boss, what a mess you've made!"

Grandpa Fang had long seen through it; many of these people were instigated by his eldest son's family, with the aim of bringing down Fang Jianhua, the village party secretary. Seeing that his eldest grandson had dealt with the situation fairly well, he kept quiet.

Unexpectedly, things took another turn so quickly!

Worried that his eldest grandson would be implicated by his eldest son, Grandpa Fang became furious and sternly ordered, "Keep an eye on your wife!"

Uncle Fang glanced at him.

He said, "Dad, if Fang Jianhua is good at being the village party secretary, my son Jianguo is good at it too."

"Pah! Have you no shame?"

Fang Xiaodi spat on the ground, "So this is what you've been jumping around for? Fang Jianguo still wants to be the village party secretary? Your whole family should take a good look in the mirror and see if he's even qualified!"

When Fang Xiaodi spoke up to help Fang Dage, Fang Jiangang also stood up and spoke up to help him fight Fang Jianguo.

"My brother has helped the villagers with all the things your brother has done. When everyone was confirming the rice planting, my brother helped out. Did he not help with watering the rice or leading patrols in the middle of the night? My brother helped the villagers thresh rice, and his arms were so swollen that he couldn't even hold a bowl or chopsticks to eat! When the village was robbed, my brother chased after the thieves for miles and almost got hacked to death! The older folks all know about these things, right?"

Those who had been incited by Aunt Fang shouted in unison that they knew.

Some people seized the opportunity to fan the flames, saying, "In that sense, what Fang Jianguo did was much more dangerous, and he worked much harder..."

"Right? You don't know until you compare. After this comparison... it seems like Fang Jianhua is just putting on a show?" someone chimed in.

Brother Fang looked in the direction of the voice, but couldn't find who was speaking.

But with two people leading the way, many villagers have already started discussing it.

Fang Xiaodi's face turned pale with anger, and he sneered, "A toad trying to eat swan meat doesn't know its own limitations. He can't just become the village party secretary whenever he wants. It's a position decided by the villagers' vote and the leaders issued the appointment letter based on public opinion. He's a government official!"

Erniu's mother also nodded and spat at the eldest son's house.

"You ate a few peanuts, didn't even drink any alcohol, and you're already acting like a drunkard?! You want to be the village party secretary? Dream on..."

Grandpa Fang called out to Uncle Fang, "Stop making a fool of yourself here. Don't others know what kind of person your son is? Even your own family knows! Fang Jianguo is completely unsuitable to be the village party secretary..."

Uncle Fang gave a forced smile.

He said, "Dad, whether it's appropriate or not depends on what everyone says. It's just a vote, right? Vote! Tomorrow morning, let everyone vote for the two of them under the big locust tree at the village entrance. If the votes we see don't go up for Fang Jianhua, our whole family will move out of this village! Second son, do you dare to let your son compete with my son?"

Erniu's father was suddenly called out, and his eyes darted around in a flustered manner as he looked at Grandpa Fang and Brother Fang.

Brother Fang glanced at the eldest son's family, who seemed determined to win, pursed his lips, and opened his mouth to refuse. But then, Brother Fang snorted coldly and shouted, "Let's compete then! Do you think we're afraid of you?"

Brother Fang, "..."

Grandpa Fang frowned and glared at Little Brother Fang.

Brother Fang remained silent, and the villagers started gossiping again. One said he might be too scared, another said he was probably feeling guilty and was using us as stepping stones to become a high-ranking official, which was not fair.

Seeing that more and more people were gathering in this direction, Brother Fang gritted his teeth and nodded.

Although Grandpa Fang disagreed, things had come to this point, and he could only take it one step at a time.

He waved for the crowd to disperse, and Brother Fang smiled at the villagers who were concerned about him, saying, "They won't make such a fuss when the results come out tomorrow."

"It's still uncertain who will win or lose; we'll see," said Uncle Fang and his family.

The crowd dispersed, and the family returned to the main room.

Grandpa Fang sat in the main seat and asked Brother Fang, "How confident are you in beating Jian Guo?"