"Are you sure you want to return it?" the old village chief asked in a deep voice, looking at the dense crowd in the courtyard.
The noisy crowd quieted down for a moment, then became even noisier: "What does that mean? He took our things, of course he has to return them!"
"Do you know how hard it is for me to peel a few pounds of fruit? Why should I give it to him for free?"
"Yes, they're so heartless. They'd even cheat someone from their own village. They have no conscience at all!"
...
Li Changlin, standing to the side, could tell that the people who were saying harsh and disgusting things were all from those few families.
The Fan family in the village was so shrewd that they were almost beyond measure. This person and Uncle Fan were still related by blood, within five degrees of kinship.
Zhang the Bald and Zhang the Aunt's husband are brothers. Zhang the Aunt is the poorest in Shanshui Village because her husband is a gambler, which drags them down. Zhang the Bald is simply lazy and good-for-nothing. His two acres of land yield less than the harvest of one acre of other people's land.
Another family is Wang Mazi's, which is also one of the poorest in the village! And he is also his mother's fourth uncle.
He was cunning, lazy, greedy, and slippery, and was a notoriously difficult person in the village.
At this moment, he pointed at the old village chief and shouted: "Hey, my own niece married into your family as your daughter-in-law, Changlin, I am still your great-grandfather!"
"You can't help outsiders bully this poor old woman! If you don't stand up for me today, the Wang family will never acknowledge you as their mother again!"
Li Changlin was practically rolling his eyes to the heavens.
They take advantage of their age and constantly use the Wang family to intimidate them!
"Fourth Uncle, what are you saying?" Wang Guifen was also disgusted with her fourth uncle, who often used her name, and asked with a deep frown.
“What are you saying? Of course it’s the truth! Niece Guifen, you have to ask your father-in-law to help our Wang family!” Wang Mazi didn’t care and pointed at his niece to make a request.
Wang Guifen was filled with regret, regretting that she had mentioned the matter of exchanging rice when she went to his house yesterday.
Yesterday, I heard from Fan Jin and Shui Qing that the more the merrier, so I thought I should tell my family about this wonderful thing. But I never expected...
She took a deep breath and looked up at her parents in the crowd, asking, "Father, Mother, what do you think?"
When the two elderly people met their daughter's unfriendly gaze, they shrank back, glanced at the fourth son, and finally stood beside their daughter, saying in a low voice, "We'll listen to Guifen."
If her family withdraws, we will withdraw too; if her family doesn't withdraw, we won't withdraw either.
Wang Mazi was displeased and pointed at his elder brother and sister-in-law, shouting angrily, "Hey, we agreed on everything before we came, how could you two go back on your word?"
"If we cancel our reservations later, you won't get a refund, so don't complain."
The elderly couple kept their heads down like quails, remaining silent.
The old village chief glanced around with a heavy gaze, then said to his grandson beside him, "Changlin, go get some paper and pen. Write down the names of those who want to return the rice and the weight of the water chestnuts. We'll have your Uncle Fan's family return the water chestnuts later."
"Hey, isn't this rice? Why is it water chestnut?" Fan Damu complained.
The old village chief's sharp gaze swept over them, and he sneered, "You gave me water chestnuts, and you don't believe they'll exchange them for rice? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to return the water chestnuts?"
The people in his group whispered among themselves: "Yeah, as long as we have water chestnuts, that'll be fine. Da Mu, don't make any more demands."
"Didn't we agree before we came that we'd accept a refund for the water chestnuts, or we'd have to pay more?"
Upon hearing this, the old village chief under the eaves let out a barely audible sneer.
Price increase?
Given Fan Er's wife's decisive actions over the past few days, she has returned the chicken head rice, and it's likely that these people will never cooperate again.
They've already planned to raise prices before even selling their goods; no wonder these families are so poor in the village.
If one's mind is not upright, then they are rotten to the core and not worth helping...
Wang Mazi was extremely disdainful when he saw his second and eldest brothers standing together, unwilling to back down.
They really won't shed tears until they see the coffin. Even Fan Jin's own mother and elder brother said that Fan Jin was dirt poor. If he really had such a powerful and wealthy classmate, how could he have been so poor at the age of twenty-eight?
They must have made a fortune long ago.
It's just to fool the village's fools.
Besides, if it's true, we can just replace it later, why take this risk!
Fan Damu watched the people queuing to register, a smile playing on his lips.
He had already spoken with Fan Jin's elder brother, Fan Qian, and he would go to the prefectural city in the next couple of days to inquire about the matter, hoping to strike up a conversation using Fan Jin's name.
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