The male supporting character was actually myself.

Chapter Eleven: I'm Here

Li Zhenxing retorted defiantly, "Unregistered residents aren't considered one of us. Besides, his family are landlords! That kind of class background means a lifetime of labor reform. I didn't bully any commune members."

"Hmph! It's a mistake in the household registration management. People who have lived in Lijiazhuang for so many years don't have household registration. This is your dereliction of duty as the village chief."

Today you can find an excuse to kick Old Song's family out; tomorrow, if the harvest is bad, you might find some other reason to kick other families out as well.

"As the village chief, instead of thinking about how to lead the villagers to prosperity and a life of plenty, all you do is scheme these crooked ideas. Do you even deserve to be a village chief?"

These questions left Li Zhenxing speechless.

The others, fearing retaliation, shrank back and slowly retreated towards the door. Two cowardly individuals had already taken advantage of the chaos to run away.

Despite Jiang Chen's help during this period, the Song family was still dirt poor and had very little to pack.

Song Aiwan had recovered from the shock and knew that Jiang Chen had done his best tonight. After all, he was outnumbered and his family was in the wrong, so he couldn't stay in the village in the middle of the night and decided to go out and hide for a while, and think of a solution tomorrow.

Therefore, she obediently packed her bags and came out from the inner room. She also helped her father and younger brother pack their bags before following Jiang Chen, walking unsteadily through the village towards the more desolate wild jujube forest.

“We’re just passing through the main street, we’re not stealing or robbing anyone, what’s there to be afraid of?” Jiang Chen led the Song family past the village entrance with a flashlight. Song Qingshan, who didn’t want to cause trouble, instinctively wanted to walk through the sparsely populated street, but Jiang Chen stopped him.

Their commotion woke up some light sleepers, and occasionally people on the street opened their windows to look out by the moonlight.

Song Aiguo, carrying a bamboo basket filled with rice, flour, oil, and books, followed behind Jiang Chen with his head down, not saying a word.

He's maintained this state ever since he vowed to go to university, and at first glance, he really does seem a bit mentally unstable.

Song Qingshan didn't dare to say a word. Seeing his daughter resolutely following Jiang Chen through the street where people were watching, he could only lower his head and hurry after her.

Being kicked out in the middle of the night was too humiliating, reminding him of those times he was tied up and forced to kneel at intersections with a placard bearing his name on his back. So, as he walked down the street carrying his bundle, he always covered his face, afraid of being seen.

"Wait a moment, I'll pack some things." Jiang Chen led them directly to his residence and packed bedding and other items.

“The village chief is deliberately picking a fight to drive our family out of Lijiazhuang.”

Song Aiwan felt a surge of anger whenever she thought about how that guy had been harassing her in private. "We don't have household registration, so we're unregistered. We can't stay here any longer, or some people who are trying to mess with you will find something to use against us sooner or later."

Jiang Chen quickly packed up, carried his things, and led them away, gently comforting them, "Please bear with it for one night. I'll resolve the household registration issue tomorrow."

The group of people who were shouting that they wouldn't give you any food must be because Li Zhenxing and the Party Secretary wanted to pocket your share, which is why they sneaked out in the middle of the night to drive you away.

If they start making a big fuss and fan the flames to incite more people to be hostile to you, it will be difficult to handle the situation later.

Perhaps we should take a step back and spend the night in the wild jujube grove.

Without occupying a house in the village, Li Zhenxing had no chance to push his luck and escalate the situation further.

"Can't I even stay at your place?" Song Aiguo suddenly blurted out.

The chilly mountain wind stung people's faces. Jiang Chen used a bundle to shield Song Aiwan from the wind and explained, "The house I live in also belongs to the village collective. Don't forget that all the property in the village now belongs to the team. There is no such thing as personal property."

Moreover, the problem of unregistered residents is very serious. Your family's background is also problematic. If someone finds a handle against you, they can easily accuse you of espionage, arrest you, and detain you for several days.

"It's just one night; there's no need to confront them head-on and escalate the situation."

Song Qingshan sighed deeply, "How come we're not registered here? I've lived here most of my life, why am I not considered a resident of Lijiazhuang?"

"Household registrations are all manually recorded and copied, which makes it easy to make mistakes or omissions, and even easier to tamper with."

"Thinking about those things is useless. Since you don't have household registration in Lijiazhuang, and you won't be under the team's jurisdiction and won't need to work there, Xiaowan and Aiguo have plenty of time to study and try to get good results in the college entrance exam!"

"If we don't work, we don't get work points, and that's how our family of three eats, wears, and uses..."

“I’m here.” Jiang Chen shone his flashlight on the dilapidated shack by the wild jujube grove and said casually, “You only spend a few dollars a year, I can afford to support you.”

The words "I'm here for you" warmed Song Aiwan's heart.

The chill of being kicked out of her home in the cold night was completely driven away. She had never experienced being protected before, and now she finally had someone she could rely on to protect her. Watching Jiang Chen busily cleaning and making the bed, she felt a sweet warmth in her heart.

"It's getting late, everyone should go to sleep." After tidying up the two dilapidated shacks, spreading out thick quilts and hanging cotton curtains to block the wind, Jiang Chen patted the dust off his body and sat down in the ditch outside the shacks. "I'll keep watch here for you tonight, so that no fools will come and cause trouble."

After all that trouble, it was already one or two in the morning.

The cold moonlight shone on the wild jujube trees that had not yet sprouted and were baring their claws. The wind howled and occasionally the cries of wild cats could be heard, which sounded rather eerie.

The soft chatter in the shack gradually subsided. Jiang Chen took a blanket from his spatial storage, draped it over himself, and looked up at the twinkling stars, pondering where to begin tomorrow.

"Are you cold?" There was a rustling sound behind him, and then Song Aiwan tiptoed over with a quilt in her arms, leaned against him, and wrapped the quilt around both of them.

"Why aren't you asleep so late?"

"I can't sleep." Song Aiwan leaned against him, feeling his warm body and the unique scent of a man wafting towards her. Her face flushed, and she pressed her cheek against his shoulder, whispering, "Li Zhenxing won't give up easily."

For several years now, he has been secretly pestering me to be his concubine.

She said that as long as I secretly get along with her, she'll let me live a life of luxury and never have to worry about anything.

I refused and even threatened to report him for hooliganism in town, which finally made Li Zhenxing less aggressive. Making us leave Lijiazhuang tonight was just the beginning; who knows what other tricks he'll pull?

After all, he is the village chief…

Jiang Chen pulled the blanket tighter around her, wrapping her up more securely, and chuckled, "You should have told me about this sooner."

Since Li Zhenxing doesn't want to live a good life as village chief, he should quit.

"If he obediently yields his position to Li Changgeng tomorrow, that's fine; if he doesn't, he can expect to go to jail."

"So the prison listens to you? You can put whoever you want in there?"

"You don't really think that all the officials in the village are honest, upright, and just, do you? Do you know why they don't dare to mess with me? Because I have their weaknesses in my hands."

Li Zhenxing and the others underestimated me, thinking I only knew about petty theft.

In reality, very few people who commit murder, arson, or embezzlement have clean hands.

Chapter Twelve: Agricultural Reform for Non-Agricultural Use

Song Aiwan was startled and stared at his expression with her almond-shaped eyes, wondering if he was joking.

“There are plenty of dirty deeds in the village, but the officials won’t investigate unless the people complain. Just the fact that he stole things from the team’s warehouse and sold them is enough to put Li Zhenxing in jail for several years.”

Add to that his personal grudges, the various pretexts he used to settle scores during those years—such as accidentally killing someone, embezzling retained funds, etc.—and I think bringing him down would be a piece of cake.

The original owner was a very competent villain, skilled in scheming and holding a lot of leverage over others.

Therefore, until the male lead Song Aiguo returned from university, he still held the highest authority in the village, which allowed him to firmly grasp the role of the best supporting actor and constantly oppose him in an attempt to make a fortune for himself.

As a result, the male protagonist, who worked hard and suffered without complaint, and made selfless contributions by bleeding and sweating, finally moved all the villagers.

Jiang Chen's selfish and wicked nature was clearly seen by everyone; he schemed his whole life but ultimately died a lonely and miserable death.

"And what about you? Do you have any dirt on others?" Song Aiwan asked in a low voice.

Jiang Chen shook his head. "I know how to do things properly. I've never caused anyone's death, nor have I ever given anyone a reason to criticize me."

She felt a little relieved and leaned on his shoulder in silence.

The two sat quietly, watching the stars and the moon.

The day after Jiang Chen learned that the siblings had come to her door, Song Aiwan asked someone to inquire with the plump, dark-skinned girl who worked as a saleswoman in the next village to find out what had happened at the supply and marketing cooperative the day before yesterday.

This girl is smart and sensible, and more importantly, she knows how to weigh the pros and cons.

She may not necessarily like him that much when she's with him. Like most people in this era, Song Aiwan is quite clueless about the word "love".

She was simply instinctively seeking a safe haven to shelter her from the storm, finding the best option within limited circumstances and then giving it her all—that was all.

"Host, the script didn't mention that this girl was being harassed by that Li Zhenxing. Could he have already succeeded?" The little white cat whispered in his ear as he carried the sleeping Song Aiwan back to the shed and placed her on the bed.

Jiang Chen came out, looked through the script, and shook his head, saying, "There shouldn't be. If he had already succeeded, Li Zhenxing wouldn't have made such a fuss."

After reading the script over and over again, I finally noticed a clue.

The part about being kicked out of the village late at night was not written, probably because it didn't have much impact on the male protagonist, Song Aiguo, and the household registration issue didn't prevent him from taking the college entrance exam later on.

The majority of the script focuses on how the protagonist leads the villagers to prosperity, with these plot points being glossed over in the early parts.

However, the plot mentions that Song Aiwan refused all marriage proposals until she accidentally fell to her death off a cliff, and she never had any relationship with any man.

Did something happen tonight in the original storyline that prevented her from getting married?

If I hadn't transmigrated into this body and replaced the selfish original owner, what would I have done after my family of three was kicked out tonight?

Song Qingshan is unlikely to be of any help; even if he kneels to death at the village committee, no one will pay him any attention.

Song Aiguo's protagonist aura is all about suffering and deep-seated grudges; it's impossible for him to have a cheat code that makes others willingly help him.

The most likely candidate is Song Aiwan. In order to prevent her elderly and frail father from suffering and to avoid jeopardizing her promising younger brother, given her calculating nature, she might very well give herself to Li Zhenxing.

So, as the village chief's secret lover, she was determined to leave the mountains through her own efforts. Unable to marry through arranged marriages, she endured humiliation until her untimely death.

I wonder if the changes I've made will affect the direction of the script...

"You really didn't sleep all night?" Song Aiwan woke up to find herself in bed. It was already getting light outside the shack. She hurriedly came out and saw Jiang Chen pouring hot soup into a lunchbox. She felt both touched and shy.

She didn't even know when she fell asleep leaning against him.

"I took a nap. I'll catch up on sleep after I finish my business today." He handed over the breakfast he had taken out of the food maker. "Wash up and eat while it's hot."

Although the shack was rudimentary, Jiang Chen had already prepared a large bucket of water and two thermos flasks of hot water.

Toothpaste, toothbrush, and white towel were all provided. After washing up, the three members of the Song family sat on a rock and ate hot millet porridge from their lunchboxes.

"Where did you get these meat buns?" Song Aiguo swallowed one in three bites, choking and stretching his neck. "Did you steam them at home this morning?"

Jiang Chen ate his meal slowly and deliberately. "Or what? I'll conjure up a steamer of buns for you out of thin air?"

"He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding," Song Qingshan thought, and tried to persuade him not to embezzle the team's property, lest someone seize on this as leverage and cause a major incident.

But he swallowed his words back. His whole family eats, drinks, and wears other people's things; what right does he have to lecture them?

"Don't worry, all my things came from legitimate means. I didn't steal or rob anything, and I'm not breaking the law," Jiang Chen explained in advance, sensing the old scholar's hesitation.

After breakfast, he told Song Aiguo and his son to rest in the shack and wait patiently. Then he took Song Aiwan back to the village, got on his motorcycle, and headed straight for the town.

Regardless of how the Song family lost their household registration, the issue of unregistered residents must be resolved as soon as possible.

Instead of getting into a fight with Li Zhenxing and his gang in the village, it would be better to just buy them urban residency permits in one go. Anyway, Jiang Chen didn't plan to stay in the village forever; it would be more comfortable to move to the town sooner.

When he came to the town to apply for a job at the supply and marketing cooperative, he had already figured out the general situation in the mission world.

The buying and selling of household registrations was still done secretly and discreetly, requiring connections and influence.

The original owner had been an activist for several years, traveling around and getting to know many people. It was precisely because of this that he was able to successfully report the supply and marketing cooperative director who was making things difficult for him at every turn.

With an additional benefit, through a friend's introduction to a certain leader, a brand-new bicycle was all that was needed to exchange the supply and marketing cooperative's employment notice for a teacher's contract.