Zhang Cheng and Li Yongheng ran to the ancestral hall in Wang Village.
The gate was chained shut. Li Yongheng drew the machete from his waist and began to slash wildly.
"Bang!"
The chains fell to the ground with a thud.
Pushing open the ancestral hall's main door, the two slipped inside. The Wangcun ancestral hall was large and spacious.
There was a platform directly in front of them, and the words "He, Wang, and Wei" were written in large red paper on the wall.
The clay sculptures are gone, leaving only three incense bowls with extinguished incense sticks inserted inside.
On the left, a two-meter-high pure copper incense burner stands tall.
"Er Gouzi, where are you setting fire?"
Li Yongheng's face was filled with anxiety; the longer it went on, the more dangerous it would be for the village chief and his men.
The ancestral hall was too big, and there were no flammable materials... Zhang Cheng quickly walked to the foot of the platform and pulled out a burlap sack. Inside were burnt candles.
"Uncle, go outside and find some firewood!"
"good!"
Li Yongheng turned and ran out of the ancestral hall. Soon, he rushed back into the ancestral hall carrying a bundle of firewood.
Zhang Cheng dared not burn the platform; if he did, the people of Wang Village would fight him to the death.
Pile the firewood near the gate, pour the candle on top, and light a handful of straw.
The wax melted, and thick smoke billowed up.
"Uncle, you leave Wang Village now, I'm going to find the village chief and the others!"
"No, I'll go with you!"
Zhang Cheng smiled wryly, "Uncle, now is not the time to act rashly. If you show up, those people from Wang Village might act impulsively and take action without thinking."
Li Yongheng gritted his teeth, knowing that Zhang Cheng was right, but leaving now would be like deserting.
"Uncle, don't overthink it, safety comes first."
"Okay, I'll do as you say!"
Li Yongheng nodded, slung his hunting rifle over his shoulder, and rushed out of the ancestral hall.
The fire spread rapidly.
Black smoke billowed out from the gate of the ancestral hall, rising into the sky like beacon fires.
"The ancestral hall is on fire! The ancestral hall is on fire!"
Zhang Cheng rushed out of the ancestral hall, howling and screaming as he ran.
The mixture of dry wood and candle wax produced a truly terrifying-looking thick smoke.
Hearing Zhang Cheng's shout, the old women inside peeked out of the house.
Upon seeing the billowing black smoke rising from the direction of the ancestral hall, everyone's expression changed drastically.
"How could the ancestral hall be on fire? Quick, quick, you brat, go find your father and tell him to put out the fire!"
"It must be because of that idiot Wang Jian. The ancestors are blaming him for being heartless!"
The commotion grew louder and louder.
At the village entrance, the atmosphere was extremely tense, the air seemed to freeze, and everyone present was blushing.
"Oh no, village chief! The ancestral hall is on fire!"
"Quickly, put out the fire!"
The villagers of Wang Village all paled, their eyes filled with anxiety. The ancestral hall had been locked the whole time; how could it have caught fire so inexplicably?
"Is it you?"
"It must be you bunch of bastards!"
"If you dare to set fire to our village's ancestral hall, I'll fight you to the death!"
"Stop! Stop!"
Wang Huanchun spread his arms, blocking the agitated villagers, and began to curse.
"Damn it, what are you all standing here for? Hurry up and get to the ancestral hall to put out the fire!"
"Village chief, Coco and the others..."
"Is the ancestral hall more important, or is it more important for you to vent your anger?" Wang Huanchun's face darkened. "Quickly, everyone go to the ancestral hall to put out the fire."
Wang Huanchun enjoyed immense prestige, and under his tough stance, even if the villagers of Wang Village were unwilling, they could only grumble and run towards the ancestral hall.
Zhang Xiangui and his men also looked grim. The Wangcun ancestral hall had been burned down... They needed to go back to the village and prepare; a real fight was about to break out.
Wang Huanchun took a few deep breaths, stared at Zhang Xiangui, and gritted his teeth.
“Zhang Xiangui, I’m seventy-three years old this year and have seen too much filth. We didn’t have a hard-earned life. That’s why I don’t want Wang Village and the Zhang family to follow in the footsteps of Huangdian Village and Jindian Village. You’d better watch yourselves!”
Wang Huanchun turned around, leaning on his cane, and jogged quickly toward the ancestral hall.
"Uncle!"
As soon as Wang Huanchun left, Zhang Cheng ran out from a nearby alley.
He said quickly, "Uncle Changheng has already left the village, let's hurry!"
"good!"
The group quickly ran out of the village. Not long after they left the village, Li Yongheng jumped out of the ditch.
The old village chief stared at Li Yongheng and launched into a tirade:
"Aren't you incredibly audacious? Daring to come to Wang Village and shoot people?"
Li Yongheng remained silent.
"Did you set fire to the Wangcun Ancestral Hall?" the old village chief asked again.
"Uncle, don't worry, I just lit a fire at the entrance of the ancestral hall, it won't catch fire!" Zhang Cheng explained.
"That's good, that's good!"
The old village chief breathed a slight sigh of relief. If the ancestral hall had really been set on fire, the two villages would have no choice but to fight to the death.
"Let's go back to the village first!"
The old village chief's eyes revealed anxiety.
Even if Zhang Cheng and Li Yongheng hadn't burned down the Wangcun Ancestral Hall, this matter couldn't have ended there.
The group of fourteen people walked briskly and silently along the muddy mountain path.
As they walked, the people behind them began to whisper among themselves.
"The fruit trees on the mountain must have been cut down by that bastard from Wang Village. But he must have cut down the fruit trees to get revenge on Er Gouzi."
"If you're going to take revenge on Er Gouzi, then take revenge on Er Gouzi. Why cut down fruit trees? What does this have to do with us?"
"What an unexpected disaster! So many fruit trees have been cut down. Where will we get fruit to exchange for work points for the next three or four years?"
"Without work points, what will we eat and drink?"
The murmurs weren't loud, but they could be clearly heard in the quiet mountains.
The old village chief, who was walking at the front, had a slight change in expression.
This is indeed a tricky matter. If there are fewer fruits, Zhangjia Village's total work points will decrease. How will they be distributed then?
Zhang Cheng understood the complaints of his uncles and thought that he would take out some money to buy grain for them.
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