The outskirts of Xiaoheyan Village.
The third team of villagers are digging ditches.
They were all listless. They seemed to be digging the soil with great effort with the shovels in their hands, but they were not putting any effort to lift it up.
"What a bunch of bastards, all they know is to be sneaky and cunning!"
"The village chief said that if we don't dig 50 meters today, everyone will have their wages deducted!"
The team leader who was supervising them scolded them.
After being scolded, the villagers seemed to be more cautious.
But the reality is that they work but do not put in any effort.
The team leader had no other choice. He couldn’t just whip him, right?
Just then his wife came over and said something happened at home, so the team leader left.
As soon as he left, everyone gave up.
"Pooh!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, like a ghost demanding death. Who would be willing to work without paying us?"
"This ditch is used a lot by the Dawang Village next door, why do we have to dig it? Zhou Huanghe got a favor and benefited from it, but he asked us to do the work!"
"All these bastards have evil hearts!"
A group of people cursed and swore at Zhou Huanghe's eight generations of ancestors.
At this time, a middle-aged man wearing an ordinary sweatshirt and with a dark complexion walked over.
"Country boy, have a cigarette."
"Hey, Double Happiness?"
Zhang Laoba, who was cursing, suddenly had his eyes light up and reached out to take it.
"My fellow villager, are you from Xiaoheyan Village?"
asked the middle-aged man in the sweatshirt.
"That's right, our ancestors have lived in Xiaoheyan Village for generations."
Zhang Laoba lit a cigarette and took a deep puff.
"Oh, Double Happiness cigarettes are really good to smoke. Although they are a little weak, they are smooth and don't choke the throat at all."
Zhang Laoba looked like he was enjoying it.
"My fellow villager is quite knowledgeable. Do you always smoke this brand?"
Middle-aged man in undershirt smiles.
"I?"
"Haha, I can't even afford to smoke loose cigarettes, so smoking tree leaves is more like it."
Zhang Laoba laughed at himself.
“No way…”
"The land in Xiaoheyan Village is famous for its fertile land in the surrounding area."
"It is said that the yield per mu is twice that of other villages."
"You can't even afford a cigarette?"
The middle-aged man in the sweatshirt was surprised.
"You're so fat, you've made the village chief's pockets full of money!"
Zhang Laoba snorted, his tone full of dissatisfaction.
"As for production, it is true that our village had high production in the past."
"But now, it's all over... The output has dropped, but the public grain payment has increased. How much do you think is left in the hands of us farmers?"
Zhang Laoba has a lot of complaints but usually has no place to vent them.
"By the way, where are you from, brother?"
He looked at the middle-aged man with some confusion.
There are few outsiders in the village, especially the man opposite. He looks gentle and doesn't look like a country person.
"I'm in town to visit relatives and take a stroll."
The middle-aged man in the sweatshirt smiled and handed over another cigarette.
"Oh, I don't think you look like a villager. Are you a worker, or a cadre?"
Zhang Laosan smoked the first cigarette very hard and almost finished it.
Seeing that someone handed him another one, he immediately grinned.
“I guess so…”
The middle-aged man in the sweatshirt was vague.
"By the way, how much is the annual bonus per person in your village?"
He asked again.
"What's the point of being so red? I'm the only strong laborer in my family. I got sick last year, and when we settled the accounts at the end of the year, I still owed the village money!"
Zhang Laosan threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out with his foot.
He gets angry when he mentions the red people in the village.
"Is there such a thing?"
"I heard people in town say that this is not the case. People say that Xiaoheyan Village is a model of overpayment of public grain in the entire commune."
The middle-aged man in the sweatshirt frowned.
"Humph, isn't he a role model? Zhou Huanghe is a skinny donkey pulling hard shit. He doesn't care about the lives of the villagers just for his own promotion."
Zhang Laoba was snorting angrily.
Anyway, the team leader is no longer here and the villagers don’t want to work.
Seeing a stranger coming to chat, they all gathered around.
"Brother, Zhou Huanghe is the local tyrant in the village. Just listen to it here, but don't tell anyone else. If he gets to know, he will definitely cause trouble for you!"
Someone kindly reminded me.
"Is he so powerful? I haven't broken any law, how can he arrest me?"
The middle-aged man in the sweatshirt had a look of disbelief.
"Hey, you're right. Zhou Huanghe doesn't care whether it's illegal or not. In the village, he is the law!"
"His son is a militia captain. He can arrest anyone he wants. Beating him up is the least of his worries."
"If you offend him too much, he will put a big hat on you and send you to the commune."
In the past, all those “troublemakers” in the village who didn’t listen to Zhou Huanghe were dealt with in this way.
"So, Zhou Huanghe is simply lawless, but the commune doesn't care?"
The middle-aged man in the sweatshirt looked serious.
“Who dares to manage?”
"The commune president and Zhou Huanghe are in the same boat. If you dare to file a complaint with the commune, Zhou Huanghe will come to arrest you the moment you do so."
"This guy, there's nothing I can do..."
Maybe it's because I've been suppressing it for too long.
Faced with this stranger, everyone began to accuse him.
The most serious case is Tang Cuzi.
He has a disability in his legs and has difficulty walking and working.
But my wife is quite pretty.
Zhou Huanghe tried every way to make things difficult for his family.
He slept with his wife before he stopped.
Tang Cuzi is a coward. In order to live a good life, he can only endure it.
Everyone in the village knows about this.
"There is such a thing!"
This is bullying men and women, a serious illegal incident.
The middle-aged man in the sweatshirt couldn't help but be shocked.
All of a sudden, strangers appeared in several groups of villagers' gathering places to chat and ask questions.
The team leader, who was somewhat wary, noticed something was wrong and drove the people away.
Some people didn't take it seriously and let the villagers chat. They weren't working anyway, so just don't cause any trouble.
This day almost became a complaint meeting for the villagers.
At this time, Zhou Huanghe was completely unaware.
He brought Zhou Xiaochuan to the village warehouse.
A mule cart was parked outside the warehouse.
"Hurry up, don't dawdle!"
Zhou Xiaochuan yelled at his two militiamen.
The two militiamen had bitter faces. Each of them carried a bag of corn and put it on the cart with great effort.
Zhou Xiaochuan is a very uncouth person.
He eats and drinks delicious food himself, but is very stingy with others.
And he turned his back on people.
He treated the militiamen under his command as slaves.
Although everyone is annoyed with him, he is the captain of the militia and his father is the village chief, so they can only endure it.
When all the corn was loaded onto the truck, Zhou Xiaochuan didn't even give anyone a cigarette, but just waved his hand and sent them away.
"Damn, he's such a stingy guy, not willing to spend a penny."
"He eats meat and doesn't even give us a sip of soup!"
"Ah, who can blame me for having a father who is the village chief?"
After the two militiamen moved away a certain distance, they both started cursing.
"Chen Musheng, you know how to keep accounts, right?"
Zhou Huanghe sat in a chair and took a sip of tea, feeling leisurely and comfortable.
"Oh, some of the items were damaged by moisture, some were eaten by rats, and we also provide relief to the needy families in the village..."
Chen Musheng is very familiar with this.
It was quickly recorded in the warehouse's official account book.
Next, all he had to do was make a mark in the account book in secret, and then use the grain from the village to settle the account after the autumn harvest, and everything would be fine.
He felt for a brick on the wall and pulled it out.
Zhou Huanghe also put down his teacup and watched.
The account book records his actual income and expenditure, so he cannot be careless.
Fortunately, Chen Musheng is a smart person and we have worked together for several years and he is quite reliable.
Just when Zhou Huanghe thought that this time would be like the past and everything would go smoothly.
But he found that Chen Musheng's body suddenly became stiff.
He stood there like a wooden stake, without moving for a long time.
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