Upon hearing the question, Jiang Zhi stopped and turned to look at the person who had spoken.
Not just her, everyone looked over!
"Who are you? Do you want to be the village chief?"
Zhang Juntou was furious. He had asked several times before but no one showed up. Now that he had nominated someone, this person jumped out to obstruct him. It was as if they were deliberately trying to make things difficult for everyone.
The person who spoke was Xu Changming, Xu Changshou's elder brother, who also had no desire to be the thankless village chief.
Upon hearing that it was a woman, which violated a major taboo regarding gender roles, the words were blurted out.
With dozens of men in the village, how could they be bossed around by women? What face would Xujia Village have left if others talked about it later?
But now that everyone was staring at him, his face turned red, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Anyone else in the village is fine, but not women!"
Zhang Jun's lips twitched, but instead of getting angry, he smiled and said, "Go on!"
Once Xu Changming finished speaking, he could easily continue: "Inspector Zhang has been on the battlefield and knows that only men can stand tall and upright, while women are all timid and afraid of trouble. If we send Jiang Shi now... wouldn't that just make us a laughing stock?"
As soon as he finished speaking, several voices immediately echoed in agreement: "Yes, no matter what, we can't let a woman be in that position."
"When a woman is in charge, the walls collapse and the house crumbles—it's a disaster!"
Among those who echoed these sentiments were both men and women.
Not being able to gain an advantage is a loss, especially for a village chief; even a small gain is still a gain.
Even if you don't have the ability, you still have to say a few sarcastic things.
Zhang Jun waved his hand and said to Xu Changming, "Just tell me if you want to be the village chief or not. Don't give me any other nonsense!"
Xu Changming resolutely refused: "I can't do it!" He wouldn't worry about other people's basic needs.
Zhang Juntou walked up to him, his tone suddenly becoming heavy: "Brother, if you want to talk about the battlefield, then I'll talk to you about the battlefield."
On the battlefield, we only think about how to survive and how to defeat the enemy; swords and arrows don't discriminate between men and women.
In other places, men and women can be considered, but there is no distinction between life and death.
When encountering a woman during the suppression of bandits or the attack on towns, a single slash will still result in her losing her head.
But Xu Changming couldn't hear the hidden meaning in these words, and even defended himself: "Women are definitely not fit for important matters! There are no women in charge of the Xu family."
Facing an elderly person, Zhang Juntou unusually didn't get angry, but instead spoke in a sarcastic tone: "What do you mean by 'big deal'? Who cooks your meals? Who tills your fields?"
Xu Changming said in a daze, "Of course, the family cooks the meals and the family farms the land. These things aren't a big deal!"
"Don't women cultivate your fields and cook your meals? Food is the most important thing for people, eating is of paramount importance. It seems you're not hungry enough!"
After Zhang Jun finished speaking, he ignored Xu Changming, who was still trying to argue, and said to Jiang Zhi, who had already walked out of the crowd: "Jiang family of Xu, I think you have a unique understanding of grain cultivation."
"You'll be the village chief. You'll ensure everyone has food and clothing. Are you capable of this role?"
This time, Jiang Zhi did not give a direct answer.
She had just realized that those who rush things are not good business; those who are courted will not eat shit, not to mention that others are not convinced.
Now, Zhang Juntou wants to establish himself by talking about grain, which is a case of good intentions gone wrong.
He had woven a basket too big for himself to carry, so he couldn't easily take on the task.
She looked around at the crowd and said loudly, "You all heard what Inspector Zhang said: whoever wants to be the village chief can be the chief, whether they are men, women, old or young."
Everyone's pots are hanging up, waiting for rice. Whoever can bring us a meal, come and help!
A murmur rippled through the crowd: "Nobody has anything to eat. Even if someone is the village chief, they might not be responsible for feeding everyone else!"
This is a huge pitfall; only a fool would jump into it.
Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "Sister Liu is right. No one should feed someone else. So the village chief is like a hot coal. Anyone who tries to take over will get burned."
The person who just spoke was Liu, Xu Genyou's mother.
Liu was just an ordinary peasant woman who never spoke a word in public, but she still understood the principles of being a decent person.
He felt extremely embarrassed after being praised in public, and quickly pulled his eldest daughter-in-law, Tian, to leave.
Ms. Tian was an honest woman; in the past, she would follow her mother-in-law wherever she went.
But today she didn't want to leave; instead, she stood next to Aunt Jiang.
For some reason, the thought of her aunt becoming the village chief made her inexplicably happy.
She was especially pleased when she heard Li Laoshi say in the village that Aunt Jiang had beaten her sister-in-law in town, and that her sister-in-law's two brothers had also beaten her.
Over the years, I've had to do all the work myself and swallow my anger, all because my sister-in-law's family is so powerful.
He didn't dare make a scene in the village now because Aunt Jiang beat him up, but he'll definitely be even less likely to do so when Aunt Jiang becomes the village head.
Liu tried to pull her eldest daughter-in-law away, but to her surprise, she couldn't move Tian. Instead, she attracted more attention and immediately shrank back and stood still.
After praising Liu, Jiang Zhi said to Zhang Juntou, "I don't hide anything from anyone when I farm. Everyone has learned this skill. I don't care whether there's a good harvest or not."
I can't manage what's in terms of clothing and food; let others who are capable take care of that!
She quit too!
Zhang Juntou was a rough man who disliked scheming and intrigue.
They had clearly agreed to meet Jiang Zhi before, but now they're making excuses and delaying, all because of those sour people in the village.
But there were no other suitable candidates at the moment, so he said to everyone with a dark face, "If this isn't good enough and that isn't good enough, do you want me to force you to choose someone?"
Errui and Xiaoman became anxious, but dared not speak, and could only keep rubbing their hands and looking around.
Li Laoshi picked at a few rat whiskers on his chin, blinking his eyes incessantly.
Tian Gui and the other outsiders glared hatefully at Xu Changming and his group, who were talking too much, and shouted, "Eating is the most important thing in the world. Whoever lets me collect an extra shi of grain, I'm willing to have an extra master."
Anyway, my grandparents died a long time ago, so calling out "Grandpa" won't hurt me.
If I have enough to eat and drink, I can have a few more children and give my grandfather many great-grandchildren, so that he can be happy in the afterlife.
Stared at by these eyes, Xu Changming's face turned red, but he stubbornly refused to accept a woman as the village chief.
Just then, Grandpa Xiaoman, who had been listening quietly in the crowd, stepped forward and said loudly, "I have lived in this village all my life and I am now sixty years old. If we're talking about electing a village chief, I have a say in it."
In an era when imperial power did not extend to the countryside, besides the village head and the village chief, there was actually another group of mysterious figures in charge of the most basic level of management.
That was the clan elder.
They are not on the government's list, but they wield immense power among the people.
This group of people interfered in family affairs based on either their age or their experience.
Sometimes, they even interfere in government affairs, and even the weaker village chiefs are controlled by them.
Uncle Xiaoman used to be a man who could speak with his head held high in the village, but he fell silent after his family suffered misfortune.
In a moment of crisis, it was a woman who saved her entire family.
Xu Changming looked at his cousin, Xiaoman, who, despite a year's passage, showed no signs of aging and instead radiated health, and his expression became somewhat complicated: "Brother Changgeng, this really isn't a good thing, the Xu family..."
Xiaoman gave him a cold glance and interrupted him: "You're like a hawk burping after eating too much chicken! So what if a woman is the village chief? She's not riding on your family's shrine! Everyone agrees, but you're just talking too much."
Xu Changming was speechless; the entire room fell silent…
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