The male supporting character was actually myself.

"Looks like a bookworm, what an idiot!"

"Get out of here! Didn't you hear what Brother Jiang said?"

…………

As Jiang Chen led the way in hurling insults, a group of more than a dozen young people laughed and mocked him in their local dialect, spewing vulgarities.

Upon hearing this, Song Aiguo, who had just turned eighteen, clenched his fists in anger. His face was full of rage and his whole body was trembling, but he didn't know how to refute it. He just stared at Jiang Chen with a furious look.

"Host, the protagonist has cursed you countless times in his mind." The little white cat perched on his shoulder, wagging its tail, and whispered a reminder: "The mission progress bar is halfway complete. Cursing isn't enough; you have to hit him."

Having prepared himself, Jiang Chen sneered, bent down slightly, and suddenly produced a fist-sized, earth-colored object in his hand, which he hurled at Song Aiguo's chest. "Kid, still not convinced? Get lost!"

"Get lost, don't pollute our eyes!"

"You idiot, if you don't get out of here, I'll beat you to death!"

"Damn it, this kid has no memory at all..."

…………

Seeing this, the others picked up clods of dirt and stones from the ground and started hitting Song Aiguo without saying a word.

Chapter Two: Jiang Chen's Soul Has Been Swapped...

"Congratulations, host, on completing the world's first mission!" The little white cat, seeing its host repeatedly pound the protagonist with fist-sized clods of dirt five or six times, hurriedly reminded him, "That's enough! You're hitting him so hard, aren't you going to offend the protagonist? It'll be hard to clear your name later..."

Jiang Chen watched as Song Aiguo was pelted with dirt and stumbled back several steps, his face covered in grime. He coldly snapped, "Still not leaving? Go home and read your books!"

"That little brat is really damn stubborn!"

"I'm so angry watching this, I really want to slap them twice!"

…………

Amidst the grumbling and cursing of the group, Song Aiguo finally realized what was happening and, without even brushing the dirt off his clothes, clutched his stomach and ran all the way back to the village.

Jiang Chen then had time to receive the original owner's memories and glanced down at his own clothes.

The original owner was an orphan. He lost his father at the age of four and his mother at the age of six, leaving him with only a dilapidated mud house. The village they lived in was called Lijiazhuang, which was the largest village in the surrounding dozens of miles, located deep in the mountains, with about nine hundred households and a population of more than four thousand.

Limited by the times and technology, so many people could only make a living by farming in the fields cleared from the valleys and mountains. The irrigation system was inadequate, and to get a good harvest, they had to carry and haul water to irrigate the fields. As a result, the villagers spent their days in the fields but did not reap much harvest.

Most families barely manage to make ends meet.

Furthermore, with the household responsibility system not yet in place, many people still rely on the collective system for sustenance and simply get by. Poverty has become the most glaring label for this mountain village.

Taking advantage of the special circumstances of the past few years, Jiang Chen, this new generation of village tyrant, seized the opportunity to reap many benefits.

Therefore, his attire represented the wealthy young people in the village: a blue-gray shirt, military green trousers, and a pair of liberation shoes.

The other young men who respectfully called him "Brother Jiang" were dressed in mostly gray, blue, and green, but most of them were clearly not in good condition. Their clothes had patches on them, and some were even barefoot without shoes.

After driving away Song Aiguo, who had a questionable class background, Li Jianshe, the skinny, dark-skinned henchman, came over and asked, "Brother Jiang, you said before that you were setting up a work team to lead everyone to do something big, holding meetings and selecting people. What exactly are you planning to do? Can you tell everyone now?"

"That's right, tell me quickly what important things our newly formed work team is going to do?"

Everyone looked at Jiang Chen and asked him questions in their dialect.

He paused for two seconds, then waved his hand and gave the order, "We're going to do something really big that will benefit everyone in the village! Go back today, and tomorrow morning, bring your tools and gather at the village entrance."

The original owner was a sophisticated and selfish troublemaker who, in previous years, led the way in causing trouble and gaining considerable personal benefits and power. Now, with the initial momentum barely subsided, he, at only nineteen years old, has become the undisputed leader in the village by acting like a rogue and a scoundrel. The village chief, who was once respected for his authority, was thrown into a cowshed a few years ago and has not dared to intervene since.

News travels slowly in the deep mountains, and since it was only the beginning of spring and the New Year had just passed, most news had not yet reached Lijiazhuang.

The original owner was quick-witted. In the past two years, he had been causing trouble everywhere and had gotten to know a lot of well-informed people. As a result, he knew some policies and inside information in advance and thought that he should take the initiative and make more money while others dared not show their faces.

Today, he gathered the young people in the village to form a new work team. His original intention was to have everyone cut down the trees on the hill behind the village that belonged to the village collective and store them for future sale. He also wanted to cultivate the hill into farmland. After everyone had worked hard to complete the task, he would find an excuse to occupy the land.

Anyway, those with nothing to lose have nothing to fear. The original owner thought that as long as he was fed, his whole family wouldn't go hungry. If he risked his life, who would dare to do anything to him? He could just fight to the death. If anyone didn't want him to have a good life, then his whole family shouldn't expect to have a good life either!

Now that Jiang Chen has transmigrated and replaced the original owner, he certainly won't continue doing things like logging, clearing land, and forcibly seizing it. He has no choice but to first dismiss everyone and figure out where to start before leading them to begin work.

The group of young people, who usually formed cliques and listened to the original owner, obediently dispersed and went about their business after he told them to meet tomorrow.

Jiang Chen slowly walked back, carefully observing Li Family Village based on the original owner's memories along the way.

My immediate feeling can be summed up in one word—poor!

They were really poor; it was more impactful than any period drama I'd seen on TV.

The short, dark mud-brick houses; children playing barefoot in the street, their faces dirty and wearing patched clothes; men carrying manure; women carrying water; elderly men and women sitting in the sun at the crossroads, their hair thinning and gray...

Few villagers could dress as neatly as the original owner, with clean clothes, no patches, and even socks and shoes. Many people ate a bowl of thin porridge and half a wild vegetable and cornmeal for breakfast, and they were all sallow, thin, and pale.

"My God, these conditions are too harsh!" The little white cat couldn't help but click its tongue and muttered, "Host, why don't you use a cheat code to lead everyone to wealth and prosperity? It's so pitiful that they can't even get enough to eat."

"Let's wait and see. If it's a normal and inspiring story, we shouldn't try to steal the spotlight from the main character. Otherwise, the script might keep getting updated, which could cause some trouble later."

Policy and the overall environment are crucial factors in determining whether a stock can take off. Otherwise, if someone is convicted of speculation, they may face confiscation, fines, and a few days in jail at best, and three to five years at worst, or even execution for multiple offenses.

At this stage, we can at most help the villagers solve the problem of farming; filling their stomachs is the priority.

Let the protagonist, with his halo, lead the way in the remaining projects that make big money.

After making up his mind, Jiang Chen bypassed the village and headed towards the river instead of going home. He needed to figure out the specific geographical location before considering how to solve the major irrigation problem.

On the other side, Song Aiguo, after being beaten and scolded, stumbled home while clutching his stomach. Just as he was about to let go of the door when he got inside, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to close the dilapidated door.

"What happened to you?" Song Aiwan, the older sister, was sitting on the bed mending clothes when she looked up and saw her younger brother rushing in, covered in dirt and looking flustered. He was even closing the door furtively in broad daylight. She asked in alarm, "Were you beaten up again? Who did it? Have they come after you?"

Because of their unfavorable family background, the whole family has suffered a lot over the years.

So much so that when Song Aiwan saw her brother's appearance, her first reaction was to put down her clothes and grab the wooden stick from the corner of the wall, fearing that she would be beaten up again by a swarm of people rushing in without explanation, just like before.

"Aiguo, have you gotten into trouble with those bastards again?" The father came out from the inner room when he heard the commotion. He saw his son covered in dirt and sighed. "They always say that reading makes one more sensible. How come you've become even more ignorant after learning some books? Their ignorance is a tragedy of our times. You can't go along with them!"

"It must be Jiang Chen again. I heard him talking about some kind of work team. I wonder what he's up to now."

The father and his two sons spoke in their local dialect, speaking quickly and deliberately in a low voice, as if afraid of being overheard and causing trouble.

While muttering her dissatisfaction under her breath, Song Aiwan scooped a ladle of water from the water vat and poured it into the old washbasin. She then handed over a faded, unrecognizable towel, saying, "Hurry up and wash yourself."

"Dad, Sister, the sun must have risen in the west today!" Song Aiguo, still pounding with shock from running so fast, finally managed to say after closing the door and standing still for a while, "Jiang... Jiang Chen is acting like he's possessed. He... he's acting really strange..."

Chapter Three has no ill intentions.

"You're such a grown man, and you're talking incoherently. Did you hit them on the head?"

Song Aiwan didn't understand what her younger brother was saying. She stepped forward, touched his forehead to make sure he didn't have a fever or get injured, and looked at him blankly. "Speak properly, what happened? If someone bullies you, do you think he'll defend you?"

Song Aiguo didn't know how to describe it. He hurriedly covered his stomach with his right hand and pulled something out of the collar of his army green, patched, and faded shirt with his left. Six fist-sized round balls were placed on the old wooden table. He hurriedly tore open the earth-colored oil paper that was wrapped around them, revealing the white, soft, and steaming hot contents inside—large meat buns!

A unique, unfamiliar aroma of meat wafted out, and Song Aiguo swallowed hard, his hands trembling with excitement as he handed it to his father, "Meat buns made from wheat flour!"

When Jiang Chen led the way in driving me away, he hit me with this, specifically aiming for my chest.

When I touched it, I felt something was wrong; it felt like a big steamed bun, so I quickly stuffed it into my clothes.

Dad, do you think Jiang Chen's soul has been replaced?

He used to cause all sorts of trouble for our family, so why is he suddenly willing to hit someone with a steamed bun today?

"That's really strange." Song Aiwan was even more confused. After a couple of seconds of stunned silence, she hurriedly went to the inner room to get a bamboo basket and covered the meat buns with it. "Don't let anyone find out! Dad, is Jiang Chen trying to frame our family?"

"He wouldn't have poisoned the steamed buns, would he?"

Song Aiguo was immediately met with a glare from his sister as soon as he blurted out, "Who would be willing to use flour to poison someone? This is full of meat! I think Jiang Chen will soon come knocking on our door with his men and falsely accuse us of stealing the team's grain and meat."

"But there aren't that many lean meats in the team." After being laughed at by his sister, Song Aiguo also felt that poisoning was really too far-fetched.

Jiang Chen is a local bully. Does he need to poison someone to do anything?

It's more likely to be a frame-up, but I haven't heard of the team slaughtering livestock recently. These days, with the crackdown on speculation, who could possibly get so much lean meat?

Even if someone were to sell it, who would have that much spare money to buy it?

Let alone their own family, the entire Lijiazhuang village is basically a place where people hardly see any oil or fat throughout the year. Being able to eat a bowl of dark flour dumplings with some pork cracklings during the Spring Festival is a great joy.

I never even dared to dream of such a soft, fragrant, white-flour meat bun!

"Who cares, let's eat first!" Song Aiguo looked at the oily and fragrant meat buns and swallowed hard.

I can't even remember the last time I've tasted meat. I only had a bowl of clear soup porridge this morning and my stomach was growling. Since meat buns were delivered to my door, I might as well eat them.

Even if I get a beating after eating, it's worth it!

"Dad, Sister, let's eat before Jiang Chen comes knocking. I don't believe he can devour us alive." Song Aiguo grabbed a meat bun with one hand and handed it over, while his other hand was already stuffing a broken piece into his mouth. "Even if we die, at least we'll die with a full stomach!"

Song Qingshan, the father, was born into a landlord family. In his early years, his family fell into decline. He and his parents abandoned their property outside and ran away to live in a house deep in the mountains as a way out, and thus settled down there.

My family had a private tutor who taught me to read and write from a young age, so we were considered to be from a scholarly family.

Unexpectedly, the wheels of time rolled on too quickly, and the Song family, who had retreated all the way to the deep mountains, did not have a long time to live a peaceful life before they suffered disaster.

However, despite experiencing the ups and downs of most of his life, Song Qingshan still maintained his refined and gentle character, and his inherent temperament remained undeniable.

Even though he encountered such a strange thing today, he didn't make a fuss. After thinking for a moment, he chose to share the meat buns with the children.

"So delicious!" After eating two meat buns, Song Aiguo almost swallowed his tongue.

The meat filling, with its generous amount of oil and perfectly balanced fat and lean meat, is so fragrant it defies description. One bite paired with the soft and sweet white dough is simply divine!

They swallowed the two pieces in the blink of an eye, taking only a few seconds.

"It's so delicious!" Song Aiwan savored the lingering fragrance on her lips and teeth, carefully tasting the meat flavor. She regretted eating too quickly. "I should have saved one for Aiguo. I still have to go to the team to earn work points. You do all the hard work."

Song Aiguo brushed the dirt off his clothes and peered anxiously into the yard through the old window frame, saying, "I haven't seen Jiang Chen yet. Who knows what mischief he's up to now."

“Not necessarily.” Song Qingshan waved his hand, pulled out a crooked wooden stool, sat down, and said slowly, “I don’t think he has any bad intentions.”

"Isn't he bad enough?" Song Aiguo stared at his father, his eyes wide, and said angrily, "Have you forgotten how he targeted our family in previous years?"

Song Qingshan shook his head and sighed, "That was the fault of the times, not his. Even without Jiang Chen, there would be Li Chen, Li Jianshe, Li Qingguo... The larger environment was what it was, and our family's class background issue couldn't be avoided."

"That was his doing too!" Song Aiwan muttered with slight dissatisfaction. "We're all outsiders who came to Li Family Village. It's one thing for the Li family to target us, but who does he think he is?"

"That's why I've always said that Jiang Chen's evil is different from others." Song Qingshan analyzed seriously: "To judge a person's behavior, you have to consider the environment in which he is situated."

Jiang Chen's parents were refugees who came to Lijiazhuang, and by chance, they settled down in this mountainous area. Ninety percent of the families in Lijiazhuang are surnamed Li, and if you trace their ancestry back, they can be considered to have the same ancestor. It was inevitable that they would gang up on outsiders.

Our Song family is just like the Jiang family – we have no connections or background. In a mountain village where numbers matter, we're bound to suffer!

But Jiang Chen became an orphan at the age of six. It was a chaotic time, and how could a teenager like him survive if he didn't follow the trend?