Chapter 118: Chapter 118: On What Grounds?

Upon hearing Li Siming and Wang Dadan’s blatant lies, Hua Yusen sneered and retorted, "We all knew who they were before they even came to the village. We don’t need you whining about it. Before the new year, Uncle Miao discussed letting those people move into the Dragon King Temple with us. The village elders know, several others in the village know, and the villagers know. At the same time, these old folks have completed their daily labor tasks. Take Sun Haoran—he uses his knowledge to gather and prepare medicinal herbs, and the money and ration tickets he earns far exceed what our own villagers make. They have already served their purpose. You don’t know a thing, yet you charge in here, shouting and screaming. Who do you think you are? Threatening to beat and kill the elderly? And on what grounds? Your authority as the irresponsible former accountant with a twisted mind, the one who climbs over a young woman’s wall in the middle of the night? Or as the former director who couldn’t even do his job properly?"

Hua Yusen’s speech was stern and righteous, logical and well-founded. Not only did his arguments align with official policies and documents, but they also earned the approval of the Nianqiao Village residents. Wang Dadan and Li Siming truly were bastards, fabricating accusations out of thin air.

After hearing Hua Yusen and thinking about how the newcomers had behaved recently, the villagers had to agree. The old folks had all been doing a fine job. What right did two delinquents like Wang Dadan and Li Siming have to point fingers and threaten violence?

Besides, even if there were a problem, Wang Dadan and Li Siming should have reported it to the village leadership. The village would then investigate and decide on a punishment. They had no right to take matters into their own hands. They were clearly just trying to start trouble and bully people!

Hua Yusen understood Wang Dadan and Li Siming’s motive: they were deliberately tormenting the elderly to fulfill a task from their superiors.

Miao Dahai found several lines of attack against Wang Dadan and Li Siming in Hua Yusen’s words. His brow furrowed, and the atmosphere grew tense. He looked sternly at Wang Dadan and Li Siming. "If you have an issue, you report it to the village. You have no right to speak without an investigation, yet here you are, launching baseless attacks. Just as Mr. Hua said, the village had already assigned this task to Mr. Hua and Mr. Zhao, and they have done an excellent job. This has been approved by our village. Your actions today have violated our village’s resolution and amount to the persecution and torment of these individuals."

Seeing that Miao Dahai had set the tone for the incident, Wu Dazhu, as his trusted man, couldn’t just stand by. He stepped forward and had a few men firmly restrain Wang Dadan and Li Siming. "You are disrupting the progress of the spring planting!" he declared. "You must be punished for this. You won’t be let off lightly."

Dong Sanshu chimed in from the side, "That’s right. The village’s decisions reflect the will of the villagers. These people have increased the village’s income, which benefits both the village and its people. Wang Dadan, Li Siming, for your own selfish gain, you have dared to openly defy the village, the villagers, and directives from above. As a village cadre, I am extremely dissatisfied with your actions."

Although Dong Sanshu and Wu Dazhu hadn’t been village cadres for long, they had spent a lot of time studying how to be one. They never had the chance to learn from cadres outside the village, so they imitated the speech and mannerisms of Miao Cunzheng and Li Guihua. As a result, when handling village affairs, they could speak methodically and make a lot of sense.

Hearing Dong Sanshu, Li Siming was so furious he could have spat blood. "We’re residents of Nianqiao Village!" he retorted. "Everything we do is for the good of Nianqiao Village! Are you being so biased because you have some connection to these old relics? Are you covering for them? Maybe you even accepted bribes from them!"

Li Siming was trying to muddy the waters and divert the villagers’ attention to other matters.

Zhao Nuanyue pushed her way to the front and glared at Li Siming with contempt. "Don’t assume everyone is as rotten as you," she scolded. "You keep running your mouth, so let me ask you: what exactly did they do wrong? What makes you think they did a poor or improper job? If you can’t answer, we’ll report you for slander."

For some reason, when Li Siming saw Zhao Nuanyue, he couldn’t meet her gaze and looked away, retorting with a flimsy excuse, "Look at that old woman over there. She tied less than fifty bundles of grass all day. She wasn’t working hard. I saw it, so of course I had to point it out and educate her."

All eyes turned to Old Madam Qian, who lay unconscious by the road. Old Sir Qian’s face was ashen, his expression filled with despair.

Sun Haoran was taking Old Madam Qian’s pulse and pressing the pressure point below her nose, doing his best to revive her. In truth, she could have woken up already, but Sun Haoran was deliberately keeping her unconscious. This was not only to prevent her from being frightened by the commotion but also to provide clear evidence that Wang Dadan and Li Siming were bullying her.

An elderly woman, hounded by Wang Dadan and Li Siming until she fainted, would naturally stir the villagers’ sympathy.

Gu Qingyu let out a cold laugh, then pointed a finger right at Wang Dadan’s nose. "Open your dog eyes and see how much Sister-in-law Qian bundled today!" she yelled. "Fellow villagers, every one of us has been working diligently! The eyes of the people are sharpest! Everyone, follow me! Let’s go see how many bundles of grass there really are!"

With that said, Gu Qingyu led the way.

Hearing this, the villagers, led by Miao Cunzheng, Li Guihua, and the others, followed her to the livestock team’s fodder storage room.

"Accountant Dong, the pile reached this spot yesterday—you inspected it yourself. Today’s bundles start from the third row. In front of everyone, please start counting..." Gu Qingyu looked at Dong Sanshu. ’Wang Dadan and Li Siming must be punished in front of all the villagers today. As for later tonight, when it’s dark and quiet...’

’Hmph, I certainly won’t let them get away with it. They just wait and see.’

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