"Meng Lin, you and your brother have been trained, right?"

"Yes, we have been practicing since we were young."

"Was it hard at that time?"

"It was tough, we all cried and made a fuss. But we stuck with it."

The two of them were chatting and laughing as they climbed the mountain, but mostly it was Li Manjiang talking.

Li Yungui had arranged two ox carts full of cotton to be processed in the morning.

They had already delivered three thousand pounds in these past few days, and there was still more than half left, so it was better to finish it early for peace of mind.

This time it wasn’t Tao Chunhe who went, because there was a major family event, and going this time would take several days; this was a once-in-a-lifetime event for his cousin, so he stayed home.

The pig farm was being looked after by Uncle Li, and Li Yungui made a round to check on the piglets, who all looked lively.

Uncle Li suggested the pig feed was quite suitable, though cleaning the pig pens was quite laborious in winter.

"Uncle, let’s listen to Teacher Jiang. Xiao Wei and Old Yang have already gone to get coal, two carts this time, it should be enough."

"Alright."

Actually, Wei Kaiyun and his group were arranging to get fish bone powder from the seaside.

The two farms’ consumption was still very large.

"Guodong and Red Army, go ahead."

"Sure, we’ve arranged with Jin Erlin, we’ll use the same driver, it’ll be easier."

After lunch, just when they were about to rest, Cheng Lin came running over. "Master Wei, someone from the Capital has come, my dad asked you to come over."

"Go back and tell your dad, I’ll be there right away."

Old Yang and the others discussed it, and Old Yang decided not to show up.

After Cheng Lin delivered the message, he ran back to look for Feifei.

"Brother Chenglin, we don’t have to worry now, there are elders handling it."

"So we don’t need to do anything?"

"No need, don’t worry, the elders will sort it out."

"Feifei, I’ll go listen for news, if anything happens I’ll let you know." With that, he ran off.

Zhou Changzheng drove over, and it was Xing Zhibin who guided him to Li Family Village.

At the brigade office, Zhou Qiang saw his own grandfather, and shouted loudly, afraid the old man didn’t notice him.

Zhou Changzheng heard Zhou Qiang at the first shout, but really didn’t want to deal with him.

If it weren’t for saving face, he wouldn’t have come at all.

Li Yungui had already asked Li Yunqiang to invite some of the village elders.

Zhou Changzheng looked at this small village, couldn’t believe the Zhou family had lost face here, truly useless people who only cause trouble.

"Director Xing and our guest, please have a seat, I’ll go get some hot water."

"Village Chief Li, no need for that. This is Zhou Qiang’s grandfather, Chief Zhou."

"Sir, please have a seat, our grand-uncle will be here soon."

"Village Chief Li, I’d better go meet the old chief myself."

"No need to trouble yourself, they should be halfway here by now, won’t take long."

Li Yungui saw his younger son coming over, "Cheng Lin, go home and bring a thermos and some tea bowls over."

The kid dashed off in a jiffy.

Sitting in this low, dark house, Zhou Changzheng felt particularly restless, especially hearing his grandson’s shouting, which made his temper flare.

On the way from the city to Li Family Village, he had already understood the situation. He also knew that his grandson was betrayed by his subordinates. But what could he do? He had to begrudgingly accept it.

Never seen anyone so stupid. Out here, people still imagined they were at home, always feeling good about themselves.

This time the mishap was really serious.

"Village Chief Li, have Zhou Qiang come over."

Li Yungui didn’t mind, outwardly treating them as guests.

Zhou Qiang ran directly to Zhou Changzheng’s side.

"Grandpa, you finally came, arrest these unruly people and convict them, they’re too lawless, daring to lock me up?"

Zhou Changzheng slapped Zhou Qiang across the face, thinking, is this boy an idiot?

"Grandpa, why did you hit me?"

"Hit you, indeed. What kind of manners do you have? Is this how I’ve raised you?"

At this moment, Cheng Lin came in carrying a thermos. Watching that fool get hit again, he felt satisfied inside.

Zhou Changzheng looked at his grandson’s face, feeling both heartache and anger.

Just then, a few elders came in. Zhou Changzheng looked around, recognized Li Fugui, "Old Chief, finally found you, you are still so robust. You wouldn’t know, ever since you retired, many of us have been looking for you."

"Zhou Changzheng, still the same, your flattering words are just as smooth. Alright, no need for small talk, your grandson pointed at my nose and told you to come straighten me out. So I called you over to see how you’re going to fix me."

"Old Chief, even if you gave me ten times the courage, I wouldn’t dare. This kid is spoiled by the women at home, so I had no choice but to send him here, hoping he’d learn something, grow some sense, but it turned out like this. It’s truly shameful."

"Zhou Changzheng, let’s not waste words, I know you’re busy. You know how things stand, so just tell me what you plan to do?"

"Old Chief, truly ashamed. This way, I’ll take responsibility for all the village’s losses. I’ll also have this kid apologize to the village and then bring him back. I won’t let him out until he’s well taught."

Xing Zhibin thought to himself, ginger truly gets spicier with age, lowering his stance, so even if there’s resentment, one can’t express it.

Wei Kaiyun also came in, sitting in a corner. Now he had no room to speak. The intention from above was to do nothing; now wasn’t the time.

Wei Kaiyun thought there must be some arrangement from that side.

"Zhou Changzheng, indeed still Zhou Changzheng. Alright, I won’t make it hard for you, we’ll do as you say. Gui Zi, calculate the losses of the chicken farm and pig farm over the past few days for them, as well as your third uncle’s nutritional, living, and lost wages expenses. Clear every penny."

Li Yungui handed a piece of paper to Wei Kaiyun, "Xiao Wei, you calculate this. Here is the daily egg production from the chicken farm."

Wei Kaiyun took the abacus and started calculating rapidly.

He found it amusing, thinking Li Yungui was indeed intending to extort.

In these four days, the reported number of eggs fell short by more than seven hundred.

Also included were medical fees, nutrition fees, lost wages, and Zhou Qiang’s meals for these days.

"Leader, truly our days are too hard, and we have to tighten our belts to get by, so please don’t take it amiss."

Zhou Changzheng suppressed his anger, listening to the figures just now, nearly slammed the table. But he held it in.

As long as money can solve it, it’s not a problem.

Wei Kaiyun’s speed was quick, and after calculating, he handed it to Li Yungui.

Li Yungui looked at the numbers, very satisfied.

"Mr. Zhou, have a look; this is the compensation we’re asking for."

"No need, I’ve already heard it just now. I have no objections, I agree."