After speaking, Xu Yulan began to straighten Liu Ergou's clothes. She then pushed him out of the room, signaling with her eyes for him to hurry. Liu Ergou reluctantly walked to the door, opened it, and put on a smile.

"Uncle Lu, you're here. What does the Village Committee want with me?" Liu Ergou asked.

Upon hearing his question, Lu Hongda answered, "What else could it be? Of course, it's about your clinic!"

At this point, Lu Hongda glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby before leaning closer to Liu Ergou's ear.

In a quieter voice, he added, "Let me tell you, Er Gou, this is a good thing—a really big deal for you! However, you have to keep that temper of yours in check."

Lu Hongda's words left Liu Ergou even more confused. Something about my clinic? And it's good news? But I have to control my temper? What in the world is going on?

Before Liu Ergou could give it another thought, Lu Hongda grabbed the utterly confused man and dragged him straight toward the Village Committee office.

A few moments later, the two arrived. As soon as he entered the office, Liu Ergou saw Liu Jingming sitting there with a dark, furious expression. Seeing Liu Ergou arrive, Liu Jingming glared at him sharply, as if he wanted to eat him alive.

This left Liu Ergou puzzled, and he unconsciously touched his hair. I've been out of the village for a while, and I'm pretty sure I haven't done anything to offend Liu Jingming. So why is he giving me that look? This guy is really something else.

Thinking this, Liu Ergou simply shrugged and said nothing more. He found an empty seat and sat down.

Liu Ergou had assumed they would get down to business once he was seated, but to his surprise, another three or four people trickled in after him. Soon, the small office was crowded.

Looking around, Liu Ergou realized these were all village officials. He rarely saw them all gathered together, so their presence in the office must have meant something important was happening today. As for what that could be, he couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he wracked his brain.

Just as Liu Ergou was puzzling over this, Lu Hongda began to speak.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, I have an announcement to make!"

Hearing this, Liu Ergou's interest was piqued, and he immediately sat up straight to listen.

He heard Lu Hongda continue, "The decision from the higher-ups regarding Liu Jingming's case has come down!"

"He will be given a major demerit and placed on probation for one year. If any disciplinary infractions occur during this period, his position as Village Chief will be immediately revoked! I ask everyone present to collectively supervise him! Now, we will have Liu Jingming review his mistakes."

After Lu Hongda finished speaking, Liu Ergou froze in place. Wait, what's going on? Liu Jingming got a major demerit?

At that moment, Liu Ergou finally understood the reason for Liu Jingming's expression when he first walked in. If I were in his shoes, I'd probably look the same way.

As Liu Ergou tried to make sense of it, Liu Jingming reluctantly stood up.

He addressed everyone present, saying, "I'm sorry, everyone. I was wrong. As the Village Chief, I should lead by example, not embezzle the funds for the construction of the village clinic. I admit my mistake in this matter, and I ask everyone to supervise me from now on. If a similar error occurs again, you won't need to say a word; I, Liu Jingming, will vacate the position of Village Chief myself!"

As he said this, Liu Jingming bowed to everyone present, then turned his head to glare fiercely at Liu Ergou, a look that clearly said, *Just you wait.*

It was only then that Liu Ergou finally pieced together what had happened. So that old rascal embezzled the construction funds for my clinic and got caught red-handed. But why is he blaming me for it? And for that matter, how did anyone find out he embezzled the funds in the first place?

Before Liu Ergou could figure it out, Lu Hongda stood up again and continued, "Now, for the second matter!"

"In light of Comrade Liu Jingming's major demerit and one-year probationary period, and to prevent any further misconduct, the higher-ups are sending a university graduate to come here and learn. The student should be arriving in a while. When they do, I hope everyone will cooperate with their work."

"Alright, those are the two announcements. That will be all. Meeting adjourned!"

After he finished, everyone began to disperse.

Liu Ergou was about to leave as well, but Lu Hongda stopped him.

"Er Gou, don't go just yet. There's something I need to discuss with you." Liu Ergou nodded and stayed behind.

Soon, the office emptied out, leaving only Liu Ergou, Lu Hongda, and Liu Jingming.

Just then, Liu Jingming suddenly strode up to Liu Ergou.

He snarled, "Liu Ergou, you're a ruthless one, aren't you? How dare you go to town to report me!"

"I'll concede this time, but you just wait. This isn't over. Sooner or later, I'll make you pay me back double!"

After saying this, Liu Jingming turned to leave. But after just a few steps, he seemed to remember something and spun back around.

"And let me tell you, even if you brought me down and I'm no longer the Village Chief, don't you ever think Hui Hui will marry you!"

"Stop daydreaming! Even if it were the end of the world, Hui Hui would never marry you. So give up those little schemes of yours!"

Having said his piece, Liu Jingming finally turned and left in a huff.

This left a baffled Liu Ergou sitting there, completely lost. What on earth is going on? This is all a chaotic mess. All I did was go to town to treat a patient, when did I ever report him? And what does any of this have to do with Hui Hui? That old fool Liu Jingming must be losing his mind; he can't go three sentences without bringing her up.

As Liu Ergou mulled this over and was about to speak, something suddenly clicked. He remembered mentioning to Fu Yan over drinks that he was short on funds for building his clinic.

Liu Ergou instantly understood. That old rascal Liu Jingming must think I went to town and successfully reported him. That's why he said all that. But in reality, I just casually complained about it to Fu Yan while we were drinking. I can't believe Fu Yan actually went and handled this for me. That's a huge surprise. As for why Liu Jingming keeps bringing up Hui Hui... well, that much is obvious.

Lu Hongda watched the pensive Liu Ergou and coughed gently twice, breaking him from his thoughts.

Once Liu Ergou looked up at him, Lu Hongda finally spoke.

"Ahem, Er Gou, I asked you to stay because there was something else I wanted to talk to you about."

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