The male supporting character was actually myself.

Amidst the expectant shouts of the crowd, the sturdy wooden door was finally forced open.

Overjoyed, the crowd surged forward, eager to grab the wheat. Those who entered the warehouse at the very front succumbed to the onslaught and nearly fell to their deaths, trampled to death!

The frenzy of buying only subsided when the noisy villagers discovered the warehouse was empty.

"Where's the wheat in the warehouse? What idiot is talking nonsense?"

"Damn it! Who said anything about distributing wheat?"

"Where's the wheat? Not a single hair in sight! Stop pushing, everyone in the back, there's nothing here!"

"Li Ergun, are you guys just bored and looking for trouble? Are you trying to fool us?"

"I really want to hit you with this stick! Where's the wheat? Did the first ones who rushed in eat it?"

…………

Once everyone realized they had been tricked, they quickly vented their resentment and anger at not getting any wheat or white flour buns on the group that had rammed the door.

"It's Jiang Chen who's lying to everyone! What does it have to do with us? He said he had wheat seeds!" Li Ergun and the others complained bitterly. First, they banged on the door until they were sore all over while trying to grab the wheat. Then they were pushed and stomped on, their bodies covered in shoe prints. Finally, they were cursed at. They had no choice but to turn their anger towards Jiang Chen.

Upon hearing that it was Jiang Chen who was talking about wheat seeds, the crowd, having calmed down, turned around to look at Jiang Chen, who was standing on the street with his arms crossed and followed by a dozen young men carrying shovels. For a moment, they all fell silent and quietly retreated, preparing to leave.

If you get into a conflict with him over wheat, at least you can earn some food if you win;

With nothing to their name, who would want to go head-to-head with a thug like Yama?

"Anyone who didn't finish their work today will get half a day's work points." Li Changgeng felt very satisfied and proudly announced, following Jiang Chen's instructions, "We also know who the ringleaders are."

It is true that Lijiazhuang is planning to plant wheat, but my brother Jiang made it very clear that he plans to sponsor a batch of wheat seeds for Lijiazhuang.

Based on your performance today, Brother Jiang will still give you wheat seeds, but some people don't deserve to receive any!

A large meeting will be held in the square tonight!

Those who can work diligently with us will be guaranteed food and drink;

"Go ahead and cause trouble if you want. While others are enjoying the good life, you can go home and eat cornbread and drink cold water!"

Jiang Chen glanced at the dusty-faced crowd and added, "They even dared to break into the village's collective warehouse; who knows how much grain they've secretly stolen from the village collective."

"Village chief, I'll take you to town to report this to the police. We can't be lenient with these parasites who have ruined the whole pot of soup."

Chapter Twenty-Eight Punishment

Li Ergun and the others were so frightened that their legs went weak and they almost knelt down before Jiang Chen.

These days, it's okay to steal chickens and dogs in private, but it's a serious crime to openly damage the interests of the village collective!

They originally thought that Li Changgeng was too young to be a village chief and that they could take the opportunity to cause trouble and teach him a lesson. But who would have thought that Jiang Chen would act so unpredictably, threatening to report them to the police at the drop of a hat?

Recalling how Li Zhenxing was taken away, they all turned ashen-faced.

"Let's talk this out, why are you bringing up the police?" Li Ergun muttered weakly.

His cousins ​​quickly chimed in, "The village has its own rules. Stop with the nonsense. What's wrong with the police? Can they interfere with how our village distributes its profits?"

"That's right, you know, the law doesn't punish everyone, right? This is the wish of all the members!"

"All the commune members are demanding a share of the wheat. If you're so capable, you can lock them all up in jail!"

Li Changgeng, enraged, brandished his shovel and retorted, "Get lost! The rule of Li Family Village for hundreds of years is—the village chief has the final say! According to the village rules, you lot are in the wrong!"

"First of all, I want to correct you. The saying 'the law does not punish the masses' is just empty talk. As long as you break the law, you must bear the responsibility."

Jiang Chen calmly snorted, "Secondly, you keep saying it's the will of all the members, but have you gotten the consent of the other members?"

"You've already made yourself a representative of others right off the bat. Li Menshuan, ask the other members if they want to be represented by you!"

The other villagers, who were carrying tattered sacks and broken basins, had realized that following Jiang Chen might not necessarily lead to a good life, but if they sided with Li Ergun's gang, they risked going to jail.

Therefore, as soon as Jiang Chen finished speaking, everyone quickly retreated and distanced themselves from Li Ergun's lineage.

"When we hold the general meeting tonight, we'll try to get the opinions of all the villagers—whether to hand over the group that forcibly seized the village's collective warehouse to the police according to national law, or to let the village chief handle it according to village rules."

In addition, I will explain the plans for Lijiazhuang this year.

Everyone, go back and think about whether you want to just drift along, living a life of poverty, or you want to work hard with me, eat and drink your fill, and have some money to spare!

Jiang Chen glanced at the disheveled Li Ergun and his men with a scrutinizing look, then waved his hand and ordered, "Arrest those who led the riot, broke down the door, and looted the warehouse. Tie them up tightly and bring them to the meeting tonight."

"okay!"

"No problem!"

Li Ergun and his gang, relying on Li Zhenxing, had often bullied and oppressed the village. A dozen or so young men from poor families who were always bullied had long disliked them. Led by Li Changgeng, they quickly subdued the twenty or so men by beating and twisting them, then tied them up and locked them in the cowshed.

"Ergun'er!" Just as things were calming down and the crowd was about to disperse, a sharp and shrill cry suddenly came from the street corner. An old woman wearing a blue headscarf and a new floral blue cotton jacket ran and cried out, "My poor Ergun'er, who did you offend?"

Jiang Chen, you damned bastard, why should an outsider like you be in charge of Li Family Village?

Everyone, please be the judge!

Who does he think he is, and what gives him the right to give orders?

Oh my God, I can't live like this...

The distinctive shouts of the old woman at the village entrance, echoing through the deep mountains, immediately drew everyone's attention. Many glanced at Jiang Chen with schadenfreude. Li Ergun's wife was notoriously sharp-tongued and prone to cursing; having provoked such an old woman, he couldn't fight her or win an argument, and was sure to suffer a public humiliation!

"Damn, that old woman Jiang is not someone to mess with." Li Jianshe grinned as he looked at her and muttered under his breath, "Last time, Xiao Lin accidentally stepped on the dustpan she left at the gate, and that old woman cursed at him for three days straight without repeating herself!"

"God open your eyes and see! This is bullying honest people like us..." Li Ergun's wife wailed as she ran over, but before she could finish her sentence, she slipped and fell flat on her face.

"Hahahaha!"

The crowd, who were just about to watch the spectacle, burst into laughter upon seeing this.

"Ouch, I almost fell to my death! You can't bully honest people like us..." Li Ergun's wife was thrown quite hard. She lay in the dirt for a while before she got up and brushed the dirt off her new clothes. Before she could continue crying, she tripped and fell flat on her back.

"Shuo's mother, stop talking about honest people. Even God can't stand it anymore."

"Your family is honest? Oh my, I've really broadened my horizons!"

"Still want to curse? Haven't you had enough of throwing things around?"

"You're lying through your teeth! Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?"

"Where did you get your new clothes? Didn't you take advantage of Li Zhenxing being the village chief to make money? You didn't know when to stop, so you deserved to fall and die!"

…………

People who usually didn't get along with Li Ergun's faction would make sarcastic remarks.

Li Ergun's wife was probably too embarrassed to face him, so she fell twice and made a fool of herself. She quickly got up from the ground and slunk away.

Jiang Chen retrieved the soul weapon and went straight back to his own courtyard.

As evening approached, the smoke from the village chimneys gradually dissipated, and most families had already eaten dinner and taken their stools to the square to gather and wait for the meeting.

Lijiazhuang Village has no electricity, and village meetings are basically held entirely by shouting.

However, with such a large population, some people would inevitably miss the meeting. So the previous village chief devised a simple solution: the team leader, deputy team leader, and other responsible persons in each team would sit at the front to ensure they could hear and understand the meeting content.

As for the others, they were just there for the fun of it. If they could hear something, they would listen; if they couldn't, they would just chat amongst themselves in the back. The team leader would then relay the information to their respective teammates after the meeting.

So when Jiang Chen and Li Changgeng had Li Ergun and his entourage escorted onto the stage, the crowd in front looked solemn; the villagers sitting on the earthen slope behind, smoking pipes and boasting, didn't even glance at them.

"First, let's vote on how to deal with Li Ergun and his gang."

Jiang Chen's gaze swept over the dozens of people in the front row. These people all had high prestige and influence in their respective work teams. As long as they voted, no one would cause trouble.

The old village chief, who was overseeing the operation, tapped his pipe and said, "These litigious people even dared to openly rob the village's collective warehouse. They've definitely broken the law. What do you all think? Should we call the police to arrest them, or should we follow the village rules?"

The team leaders and managers whispered amongst themselves for a moment among those they were on good terms with.

Several elders who had some connection with the Li Ergun family were the first to suggest, "Shouldn't we just leave it to the police?"

"Let the village handle the trouble itself."

"What Ergun and the others did was indeed wrong, but they are all fellow villagers who see each other all the time."

Five hundred years ago, we were one family; there's no need to put us in jail.

"That's right, they robbed the village's collective warehouse. Their behavior was wrong, but they didn't manage to steal anything, and the village didn't suffer any losses. Just handle it according to the village rules, and punish them accordingly."

Those who were not on good terms with Li Ergun's faction naturally wanted to make a big fuss, and after a while, they ultimately prevailed over the majority and decided to use the village rules against them.

"Since all the uncles and elders want to give Li Ergun and his gang some face, let's follow the village rules."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Village Rules and Family Laws

Li Changgeng already had Jiang Chen's instructions, so he was not surprised by this outcome at all. He cleared his throat and said, "Disrespecting the village chief is a serious crime; ignoring village rules is a serious crime; leading a rebellion against advice is a serious crime; forcibly breaking into the village collective warehouse is a serious crime."

Li Ergun and his accomplices were each sentenced to forty strokes of the cane for their four crimes!

Each person must compensate the village collective for the damaged property within two days and pay a 10 yuan deposit as a guarantee that they will never repeat the offense. Those who fail to pay will be sent to the police station and imprisoned!

Tomorrow you have one day to repair the warehouse door yourself or your family members, otherwise you will be punished even more severely and will continue to be flogged.

Starting today, Li Ergun and others who have committed offenses will have their wages halved, and they will no longer be allowed to participate in profit sharing during the harvest season!

This is just a warning, but the village reserves the right to sue.

If you dare to lead any disturbances or disregard village rules again, I will still pursue your criminal liability for forcibly seizing the village's collective warehouse!

The twenty or so people who had been bound hand and foot and squatted in the cowshed all hung their heads and remained silent.

They used to be arrogant and domineering in the village because of Li Zhenxing's connections.

The old village chief was avoiding trouble;

The old Party Secretary knew that his son had no real ability and only became Party Secretary because of his father's connections, so he didn't dare to provoke the younger generation.

In addition, Jiang Chen, the leader of a gang, is unruly and meddles everywhere, causing the power in Li Family Village to fall apart. As long as Li Zhenxing and his gang don't cause any major trouble, no one will take care of them.

Now that Li Ergun's attempt to cause trouble and gain an advantage has failed, and seeing that Jiang Chen supports the new village chief and the Party Secretary does nothing, he knows that the tide has turned and he dares not confront the young men anymore.

Having someone plead on your behalf means you're at least better off than Li Zhenxing, who ended up in jail.

"According to village rules, he'll be punished with a cane!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, what's the point? You didn't even get anything and you'll get a beating."

"Not only were they beaten, but they were also fined!"