65
Tang Shengkai threw down the straw he was carrying on his shoulder, stared at the young man who was so close to him, his eyes narrowed, and his hand clenched into a fist. But thinking about their current situation, he didn't manage to strike.
Li Qingzhu naturally sensed Tang Shengkai's anger. He scoffed disdainfully and was about to say something more when Village Chief Li, having recovered, pulled him away.
"Enough, Li Qingzhu, look at yourself!"
Li Qingzhu wasn't annoyed when Village Chief Li pushed him away; he still spoke in his usual nonchalant manner, "Third Uncle, you know what kind of person I am."
Village Chief Li was truly furious. He looked up and saw a number of villagers gathered inside and outside the courtyard. Village Chief Li announced loudly, "A few days ago, Li Qingzhu, Xu Erfeng, and Zhang Xiaoguang were responsible for helping to repair this house."
The agreement was that the repairs would be completed in three days, with each person earning 10 work points per day. However, these three men disobeyed the agreement and didn't do the work properly at all. I hereby announce that their work points for these three days are cancelled and will not be counted in this month's total work points.
Xu Erfeng and Zhang Xiaoguang didn't dare to complain, after all, they really hadn't been working properly. They did usually hang around with Zhu Zi, but under normal circumstances, they didn't dare to challenge the village chief.
Li Qingzhu was different; he had long been spoiled. Hearing Village Chief Li's words, he slightly curled one corner of his lips.
"Third Uncle, these work points have already been recorded. Wouldn't it be bad to erase them now? Won't the commune have something to say about it?"
Village Chief Li understood Li Qingzhu's unspoken meaning, but he ignored it and walked away.
He's feeling a bit unwell and needs to go home and rest quickly, or he might get so angry he'll die. The villagers inside and outside the courtyard were whispering among themselves.
Before the village chief had even stepped out of the courtyard, a loud "howl" came from not far away, nearly scaring him out of his wits.
Then I heard, "Oh no, I don't want to live anymore! Who is this heartless bastard who slandered my son?"
They worked hard for three days straight—three whole days!—and ate their own meals, and yet they didn't get a single work point!
He continued crying and cursing without slowing down his pace, and the villagers watching tacitly made way for him.
Old Mrs. Zhou stumbled over, as if she had suffered a great injustice. Upon seeing the village chief, she immediately began tearing at him, shouting, "Li Da, you heartless bastard! Zhu Zi is your own nephew, your own nephew!"
Isn't that better than those outsiders whose backgrounds are unknown? You actually helped those people bully your own nephew, are you even human?
Village Chief Li was rendered speechless by Old Zhou's wife's tantrums and unreasonable demands. "He asked for the work himself, but he won't do it properly. How can we give him work points?"
"Who? Who said he didn't do his job properly? Step forward. Our Zhuzi is clearly doing his job perfectly well, who is slandering him like this?"
"Oh, you heartless bastards! Just because my old man is lame and we have no one to support us, you bully us, a widow and her children!"
Ding Lingzi couldn't help but laugh at Old Zhou's wailing, while Miao's sister-in-law felt ashamed.
Old Mrs. Zhou's hearing was still quite good; she saw Ding Lingzi smiling fiercely as she looked at her.
Ding Lingzi was startled at first, then rolled her eyes. "Aunt Zhou, although I haven't read many books, I know that 'orphan and widow' isn't used like that."
Old Mrs. Zhou completely ignored what Ding Lingzi said and directed her anger directly at Ding Lingzi.
"You filthy slut, tell me, is it true that my house isn't fixed yet?"
"No need for me to say it, it's obvious. Just go inside and see for yourself."
Old Mrs. Zhou spat a mouthful of phlegm at Ding Lingzi. Ding Lingzi didn't react for a second, and the phlegm was about to hit her. Her eyes widened, and she forgot how to react.
Tang Yue felt extremely disgusted. No one noticed how the little girl moved; Ding Lingzi only felt her body being pulled to the side, finally dodging the attack of that thick phlegm.
Ding Lingzi didn't have time to turn around and see who had helped her, but she was angry.
"Old Zhou, you're disgusting. What did I do to you? Why did you spit on me?"
When Old Lady Zhou realized her phlegm hadn't hit the target, she was about to prepare another when the village chief shoved her. "Alright, stop fooling around. Aren't you embarrassed enough already?"
Old Mrs. Zhou had never been pushed by the village chief before, and she plopped down on the ground and started wailing.
"Oh dear, come quick! This ungrateful wretch! My husband's leg is crippled because of him. He can't do any work now!"
This heartless bastard actually dared to bully us, a widow and her orphan!
The villagers who had been watching had long since had enough.
"That old woman Zhou is really something else. She's been repeating the same few sentences over and over for years. We're all tired of hearing it."
"That's for sure. Ever since the village chief became the village chief, my family hasn't gotten anything. All the good things have gone to them. And it's never going to end like this."
"That's right. Year after year, the work done by Li Lao Er's family is the easiest. And that Li Qingzhu, if it weren't for the village chief, who knows how many times he would have been in and out of jail. And it never ends."
The village chief naturally heard the villagers' discussions, and he himself felt that he had let the people down during his years as village chief.
Ignoring Old Zhou's wife's wails, Village Chief Li closed his eyes, as if he had made up his mind. He bowed to the villagers who had gathered around.
The villagers' chatter abruptly ceased, their gazes fixed on Village Chief Li.
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