In a clearing in the toon tree forest, two women were arguing.
"You two, stop arguing! Do you still want to make money?"
"The Jin family's child grew up under my watch, how can he not be from Xia Jiagou."
"I see some people even called relatives from other villages to help. Who is picking, isn't it? It's not like they won't grow back."
The surrounding villagers tried to persuade them.
Qingqing hugged her mother's legs, her small body trembling, clearly frightened.
Xia Liping, with her broad back and sturdy build, was naturally combative but clumsy with her hands.
When she saw Jin Mengxiang carrying a full bag of toon sprouts, she was consumed by jealousy.
"Piss off!"
Xia Liping put her hands on her hips and fiercely turned back to curse at the persuaders.
"The toon sprouts in Xia Jiagou aren't for just anyone to pick. Your own wife, anyone can sleep with her, right?"
"What are you all pretending to be good people for? If she, Jin Mengxiang, can pick today, will people from all over the ten-mile radius be able to pick freely tomorrow? Will you all be left with nothing then!"
Xia Liping was known as a shrew, and her parents were not to be trifled with. This entire family were all belligerent and unreasonable ruffians.
The villagers, who were originally just spectators, saw Xia Liping fly into a rage and had no choice but to stop trying to persuade them, continuing with their toon sprout picking.
Xia Liping scanned the surroundings, looking triumphant like a victorious general.
"Jin Mengxiang, you found a rich man outside, got dumped by him, and you still have the face to come back."
"Bah!"
"What a disgrace!"
"Shameless, not an ounce of decency!"
Xia Liping's mouth was never kind.
Jin Mengxiang's face turned pale, "How dare you slander me!"
"What, did I say something wrong?" Xia Liping's face was full of provocation as she rushed in front of Jin Mengxiang.
"Qingqing, come with Mom." Jin Mengxiang felt that if she couldn't win, she could retreat. She pulled her daughter with one hand and grabbed her woven bag with the other, preparing to leave.
"Leave the things here!" Xia Liping roared and fiercely snatched at Jin Mengxiang's woven bag.
"What are you doing? This is what I picked." Jin Mengxiang had worked hard to pick so much, how could she be willing to have it snatched away? She immediately started struggling with Xia Liping.
"What do you mean 'yours'? This belongs to our Xia Jiagou. Hand it over to me!" Xia Liping was stronger and in a few moves, snatched the full bag of toon sprouts.
Just as she was secretly gloating, a thunderous roar suddenly came, "Stop!"
Xia Cheng, full of anger, rushed over and snatched the woven bag back.
"Xia Cheng, you ungrateful wretch, what do you think you're doing?" Xia Liping, with her ruffian nature, quickly tried to snatch back her spoils.
Xia Cheng, young and strong, pushed her to the ground with one shove. He then put the woven bag back into Jin Mengxiang's hands.
"Thank you." Jin Mengxiang felt an unbearable sadness in her heart, tears streaming down her face.
"I'll fight you to the death!" Xia Liping, seeing his tender pity, was immediately enraged.
She picked up a stone, gritted her teeth, and charged forward.
---
At the village committee office, a pot of hot tea had already been brewed twice.
Only Xia Deya, Chen Zhiming, and Lin Fan remained in the office; everyone else had gone to pick toon sprouts.
"Manager Chen, hearing your words is better than reading ten years of books!" Lin Fan raised his cup, using tea as a toast.
He now understood why Chen Zhiming's attitude towards him was neither warm nor cold.
He had expected that the person sent by the Xie family would be overly attentive and blindly follow his lead. He never imagined Chen Zhiming's demeanor to be so unpretentious and humble.
It turned out he was truly capable!
This fellow could recite the price changes of all categories of daily necessities over recent years, the characteristics and differences of their production areas, and even had very insightful opinions on some commodities with significant price fluctuations, accurately predicting future market trends with well-reasoned arguments.
Lin Fan inquired about medicinal herbs, such as goji berries, American ginseng, and Angelica sinensis, and was surprised that Chen Zhiming knew them all by heart and offered convincing advice.
After listening attentively, Lin Fan was deeply impressed.
Chen Zhiming smiled humbly, "Before I left, Mr. Xie specifically called me in and said that you, sir, are a rare genius of this era, with the talent to govern the world. He instructed me to listen carefully to your teachings."
Lin Fan understood upon hearing this. It turned out this fellow had acted on his own initiative, which explained his reserved attitude.
The two exchanged a smile, each understanding the other's thoughts.
Lin Fan picked up his tea cup and drank it down. Indeed, capable people all possessed pride.
Chen Zhiming thought to himself that he had initially believed Lin Fan, having achieved success at a young age, to be arrogant and self-important. He hadn't expected him to be so devoid of temper.
As the two were experiencing mutual admiration, several villagers suddenly ran in.
"Old Six!"
"Old Six!"
"They're fighting, Xia Cheng's head is bleeding!"
Xia Deya abruptly stood up, his expression instantly becoming extremely serious.
"Call the people over here."
"I think they're all just bored and have too much time on their hands!"
"When there's no money to be made, they cry poverty!"
"Now that they can finally earn money, all sorts of bad habits are cropping up."
Xia Deya's face turned red, and he hopped with rage, cursing loudly.
The villagers turned and ran out of the village committee office.
Lin Fan was not surprised at all by the stir caused by wealth.
Xia Deya, feeling he had lost face, walked back and forth in the courtyard.
Lin Fan and Chen Zhiming stood quietly at the office doorway, both wanting to see how he would handle the situation.
About fifteen minutes later.
Xia Liping and her mother walked into the village committee compound.
Xia Cheng's family of three, because his mother's legs were not nimble, carried her over.
Jin Mengxiang and her daughter followed behind.
Not only had the people arrived, but the toon sprouts they had picked hadn't been left behind either. The group, laden with bags and bundles, looked like refugees fleeing famine.
"Old Six, you must deliver justice for me!" Xia Liping's mother began wailing as soon as she entered the village committee compound, and her whole body slowly collapsed.
"Uncle Six, I was beaten!" Xia Liping, not being a gentle soul herself, plopped down on the ground with a thud, tears streaming down her face.
Both mother and daughter were beating the ground with their hands, as if they had suffered immense grievances.
Jin Mengxiang said nothing, lowering her head and weeping, continuously wiping her tears.
Almost everyone in Xia Jiagou was surnamed Xia, and they were all related to each other.
Jin Mengxiang didn't expect to get justice here; she only hoped that Xia Deya wouldn't be too biased and would give her and her daughter a way to live.
Xia Cheng glared angrily at Xia Liping and her mother, who were rolling on the ground and throwing a tantrum. His fists clenched with a crackling sound, almost forgetting the pain in his forehead.
Seeing Jin Mengxiang's weak and pitiful appearance, he couldn't help but want to go over and comfort her several times, "Don't worry, you still have me."
However, with so many people present, he couldn't bring himself to say such cheesy words.
"Stop arguing!"
"Are you mourning the dead!"
Xia Deya shouted loudly.
Then, as if two hands had grabbed Xia Liping and her mother by the throats, their wails immediately ceased.
"Get up, and if I hear another cry, all of you can get lost!" Xia Deya cursed, showing them no quarter.