Early morning of the 10th.
The sun climbed over the mountain.
Golden light bathed the entire village.
The air was dry, but not cold, much like yesterday.
Not to mention the Frost's Descent solar term, the temperature hasn't even dropped, and the sun even seems brighter than yesterday.
The villagers of Hongxing Village came out of their homes one after another and looked up at the sky.
"Isn't it supposed to be Frost's Descent today? No way! The sun's shining so brightly, I think it might even warm up a bit!"
"That's right! We were busy until late last night trying to harvest, but we have nothing today!"
"Could what that city girl said be a lie? What should we do then?"
Village Chief Li sat on a small stool, puffing on his pipe. "Commander Jiang and that girl both said they'd take responsibility if anything happened. What are you afraid of? If they dare not pay, then make a scene. You'll get compensation sooner or later."
The villagers fell silent, but their mood remained heavy.
They are all genuine farmers. It's true that they like money, but what they want even more is food.
The same applies to the other villages.
They hadn't seen Xu Xinghe in person, nor had they heard her words, and their emotions were even more intense than those in Hongxing Village.
The discussions grew wildly, like weeds.
At first, the villagers just gathered together and whispered among themselves.
By noon, the sun was getting increasingly scorching, and the complaints changed their tone.
"We worked ourselves to the bone to harvest, but nothing happened. Not only did we lose grain, but we also worked two days for nothing!"
"This military is so unreliable! How can they listen to a girl like that!"
"That's right, a lot of the grain my family harvested didn't grow well. Let alone sell it, we can't even cook it properly for our own consumption!"
The afternoon sun was still blazing, but it seemed to have warmed up, and even the wind that blew by wasn't so cold.
More and more villagers gathered together, and their complaints grew louder and louder like a snowball rolling downhill.
The villages that had clashed with the soldiers yesterday are now filled with complaints.
"My son sprained his ankle yesterday while rushing to collect the harvest, and he's still in bed!"
"There's absolutely no chance of frost today!"
"Let's go find them! We need to get an explanation from them!"
These words immediately garnered a large response.
Many villagers carried their farm tools and marched in a large group toward the military headquarters, their disorderly footsteps kicking up dust.
The soldiers on guard immediately noticed something was wrong: why were so many people suddenly here!
He thought of the frantic harvesting these past two days, his face changed drastically, and he couldn't help but raise his voice, "Oh no! The villagers are coming!"
"Damn it, there's no frost today, they'll definitely want an explanation."
"Go find Political Commissar Wang quickly!"
A large, dark crowd arrived at the entrance of the military compound.
The leader of the men looked grim and shouted into the room, "Get your men out here! Give us an explanation! There was no such thing as a massive frost, it's all a lie! Who's going to compensate us for the losses from the emergency harvest?"
"Yes, my son injured his leg while harvesting, you must pay for his medical expenses!"
"My husband hurt his back trying to finish the job, it's all your fault!"
In the crowd, Ma Lao Er struggled to squeeze to the front, revealing his head with a bruised and swollen face.
He can finally get his revenge!
At first, the village chief and others thought he was being unreasonable, making trouble out of nothing, and a troublemaker.
What's even more infuriating is that he was beaten up that very night with a sack over his head, without even seeing who did it.
But it must be Jiang Linchuan, there's no one else but him!
Now I can finally prove that I'm the smartest one! The rest of you are all idiots! You actually believed a city bumpkin!
He also had a reason to deal with Jiang Linchuan openly and fairly, and it would be best to send the other party directly to prison!
"Get Jiang Linchuan and Xu Xinghe out here! They have to kowtow and apologize to us!" Ma Lao Er shouted in a shrill voice. "If it weren't for their terrible orders, would we have suffered like this? We lost our food and people got injured. Not only do we have to compensate them, but we're also going to sue them for fraud and make them regret it!"
"Yes, make them come out and apologize!"
Ma Lao Er's cronies joined in the commotion, inciting the other villagers as well.
Soon, they became even more excited, and some even picked up small stones from the ground and threw them into the gate of the military headquarters.
"Come out! Don't hide inside like a coward!"
"Jiang Linchuan, if you're a man, then get out here!"
Political Commissar Wang put on his military overcoat and hurried to the gate.
Before he could even speak, a stone flew over first.
Zhou Chengmu, who had become a bodyguard, reacted quickly and pulled the person away, while simultaneously using his back to shield Political Commissar Wang.
The stone hit his shoulder with a thud.
He winced in pain, but quickly relaxed his brow, pretending nothing was wrong.
Political Commissar Wang, disregarding everything else, anxiously said, "Fellow villagers, please calm down and be quiet!"
The villagers' emotions had been completely stirred up by Ma Lao Er and his gang, and they were no longer listening to him. Instead, they shouted even louder.
"You make it sound so easy, but your family's harvest didn't fail!"
"That's right! You officials have plenty of money and food, how could you understand how much we ordinary people suffer!"
"Stop talking and just pay up!"
Political Commissar Wang cleared his throat, took a large megaphone, and said in a steady voice, “I know everyone worked hard to harvest the crops, but the yield was reduced, and you are all feeling resentful. But please trust us. It’s not even the 10th yet, so please don’t worry. Also, even if the Frost’s Descent solar term doesn’t come, we will take full account of all the losses and compensate everyone. We will absolutely not let our fellow villagers suffer losses in vain.”
Ma Lao Er scoffed, "You talk a good game, but what are you going to use to compensate us? We've worked hard all year, do you really think you can just pay us a few stinking coins?"
He stepped forward, spitting as he spoke, "Furthermore, compensation alone isn't enough. Jiang Linchuan and his companion must come out and kowtow to admit their mistakes! Otherwise, we'll block this place today and refuse to leave! Tomorrow, we'll go directly to the county to report them for fraud!"
Ma Lao Er led a group of people to try and break in.
The other villagers, being opportunists, also moved forward upon seeing this.
The situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control.
Political Commissar Wang's forehead was beaded with sweat. "Men, stop them! Absolutely do not let them in!"
If these people are allowed in, what will their military headquarters become?!
He tried to continue trying to calm her down, but his voice was drowned out by Ma Lao Er's loud voice.
"They didn't treat us like human beings at all, otherwise they wouldn't have played us like this!"
"That's grain! If we lose so much, what will we do next year!"
"They must have grain here. Let's rob them of their grain, so we don't end up with nothing!"
Ma Lao Er's cronies are still stirring up trouble.
"Come on, let's grab the grain! Don't be afraid, do you know what 'the law doesn't punish the masses' means? As long as there are many of us, the police can't arrest us. We're innocent!"
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