"He's been brought here. My husband and his men are holding him outside in the yard."
"Bring it in."
Zhang the Bald was being held down by several burly men as he staggered in, yelling, "What? You're allowed to pick them, but I'm not?"
"Hey, I can't exchange rice for chicken rice cakes anymore? Those are naturally grown, not planted by you, so why can't I pick them!"
One woman retorted, "Tell me, is that picking? You're wasting food!"
Baldy Zhang stubbornly refused to admit his mistake: "It's not your property, I can pick it however I want, it's none of your business!"
Anyway, if he can't get rice, they shouldn't expect to either.
The old village chief stared straight at Zhang the Bald, remaining silent for a long time.
Zhang the Bald felt uneasy under the watchful gaze, but he remained defiant, waiting for the old village chief to negotiate with him.
Anyway, he picked things from the wild, what can they do to him?
"Aren't you worried that when the villagers run out of food, they'll come to your house asking for grain?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Is there anyone in the village poorer than my family? If they come to my house asking for grain, ha, they'll be lucky if they can find it!" He was barefoot anyway, so he wasn't afraid of those who wore shoes.
Let's see what they can do to him!
"So when you're short of food and have no food to eat, aren't you afraid no one will lend you any?"
Zhang the Bald was taken aback.
He borrowed grain for several months of the year, borrowing a little from one neighbor and a little from another, and then paying it back after the harvest.
Remembering Fan Damu and Fan Qian's promises, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "I don't care about all that! If you can't let me have a good time, then nobody will!"
Zhang the Bald's shameless and rogue words thoroughly enraged everyone.
A barrage of curses erupted from the crowd.
Zhang the Bald looked like a scoundrel who was fearless and thought no one could do anything to him.
The old village chief gestured for everyone to be quiet. After the crowd quieted down, he stared at Zhang the Bald and said sharply, "You are lazy and ruthless by nature. You have been running rampant in the village and have disregarded other people's money. Now, the whole village agrees to expel you from the village."
If you reform your ways while away from home, your relatives may still guarantee your return to the village; if you do not reform, you will not be allowed to return to the village for burial after your death.
How about this punishment?
Being expelled from the village is a very big deal!
Without land or skills, they have no chance of starving to death.
Even after death, one might not be able to return to the village for burial, unable to return to one's roots. This is even more terrifying than being driven out of the village!
The courtyard, both inside and outside, was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Zhang the Bald's eyes widened as he looked at the old village chief in disbelief, then at the people around him.
Immediately, he burst into tears and wailed, "Old village chief, I know I was wrong! You can't kick me out of the village!"
Zhang the Bald's wife and children rushed into the courtyard and knelt down in front of the old village chief, tears streaming down their faces, pleading, "Old village chief, your husband can't leave! If he leaves, we widows and orphans won't be able to survive!"
"Father, I don't want Father to leave."
The old village chief lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Don't beg me, beg the other villagers. If everyone agrees not to drive him away, then naturally they won't kick him out of the village."
Zhang the Bald realized what was happening and immediately knelt down, begging everyone and promising never to do anything harmful again.
The villagers had previously wanted to kill Zhang the Bald, but now that they saw him crying with tears and snot streaming down his face, they felt disgusted but couldn't bring themselves to harden their hearts anymore.
"Old village chief, how about we give Zhang the Bald one a chance first? If he's still lazy, greedy, and cunning, then we can expel him from the village!"
"Let's see how he performs later."
Zhang the Bald felt that he had gained nothing but trouble. He had worked hard all night, offended most people, and almost got expelled from the village, but in the end, he didn't get any benefit.
It was all instigated by Fan Damu and Fan Qian; he wants to settle accounts with them.
Damn it, what kind of people are they? They screwed over Zhang the Bald, he won't let them get away with this!
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