50: Chapter 50: Not Following the Rules 50: Chapter 50: Not Following the Rules “Pfft!” While jumping around, Sun Ke was kicked by Gazi and lost his balance, plunging headfirst into a hollow tree trunk with his head inside and body still outside.

“Look at this turtle, burrowing just like a loach, only his head went in while his body’s still out!” Grandma Hao watched and laughed heartily, her face wrinkling up like braised pork, her missing teeth all showing.

Liu Hun turned around and pointed at the lackey who Sun Ke had grabbed earlier, saying, “You!

Come here!”

The lackey shivered with fear, wishing he could burrow into a hole like Sun Ke.

It took him a while to drag his uncooperative feet to where Liu Hun was, looking like he had lost two of his three souls.

“I won’t lay a hand on you, but you need to tell everyone here what Sun Ke had planned for you to do,” Liu Hun patted the lackey’s shoulder, almost knocking him to his knees.

The lackey was a local from Qingquan Gully, and Liu Hun had dealt with all the bullies there—a fact known to all like thunderous rain.

It was crystal clear to him too, and to say he wasn’t scared would be a lie.

Barely managing to get his tongue straight, he said, “I…

He…

No!

It was Sun Ke…

Sun Ke sent me here last night to destroy…

destroy all the mushrooms, and even…

even gave me five hundred yuan.”

“Hey!

This son of a gun Sun Ke really is a dark-hearted bastard!

If the mushrooms were all destroyed, what would we use to rebuild our homes?

What would we use to reclaim the land?

Shameless creature!”

“Yeah!

We can’t let such beasts get away with this, all they care about is money for themselves, without a thought for the many people in Wanbao Village who are still hungry!”

“Right!

Hun, we need to deal with these people properly, we can’t let them off so easily!

Otherwise, word will spread, and others will think the people of Wanbao Village are easy to bully!”

“…”

Liu Hun had already formed an idea in his mind and raised his voice to the people around him, saying, “Everyone, rest assured, since Sun Ke and his group want to act like animals, we’ll let them be just that!

Gazi, go get the plow head for me!”

The savvy villagers immediately understood Liu Hun’s intention and clapped their hands in approval.

Before long, Wanbao Village had a bunch of new plowers, which was invaluable for a village lacking strong labor, and it didn’t cost a penny!

Sun Ke and the lackeys he brought to Wanbao Village thoroughly experienced what it meant to be part of the animal kingdom, as every one of them was harnessed to plow heads, sorting out the fields that had been destroyed by mudslides.

When they had arrived at the village, they looked decent, but upon leaving Wanbao Village…

they were hardly recognizable!

Sun Ke’s money was taken, and the free labor was exploited thoroughly, but now he was in a tough spot.

The reason was simple—an issue involving money!

Actually, Liu Hun now had over ninety thousand yuan, which he planned to lend to the villagers for rebuilding their homes, but this created a problem.

First, ninety thousand yuan wouldn’t stretch far enough to rebuild half the village’s homes without likely having to throw all the money in without satisfying everyone’s needs.

Second, with insufficient funds for even half the village, decisions had to be made about who to lend to—an endeavor sure to offend some.

Lastly, if all the money was spent, there would be no funds to improve the village school or any personal living space, let alone other projects he had in mind.

“In my opinion, Hun, just leave it be.

The land’s already been cleared, right?

Everyone has a pair of hands, so let them dig their own food!

Everyone saw Sun Ke come and they switched sides, now seeing you with money, they all come licking their faces, wanting a share?

No way!” Qin Yue spoke without reserve, saying whatever came to mind.

Bai Lian nodded, adding, “I even heard my aunt say that some people are whispering that since Hun’s money was easily earned, it should be distributed to everyone!

Look at what they’re saying, some were questioning Hun before, and now they’re all chasing after him like dogs sniffing an odor.”

“Ah, giving it away for free definitely won’t work, but who to lend to and who not to?

Everyone in our village knows who can pay back and who can’t, but we can’t just outright say it.

Plus, since the mushroom planting was a success, we should stick to the previous agreement, treat it as a loan for those without money, we all have to contribute,” Fen Ran proposed to Liu Hun, being by Ye Canghai’s side for so long, she had a clear grasp of the village’s situation.

Du Yueling, meanwhile, remained silent, peeling a pomelo before placing a segment in her mouth and then pushing some over to Liu Hun with her pinky finger.

Liu Hun scratched his head, feeling that mushroom farming might end up like vegetable gardening—holding a pig’s head without finding the temple door, eventually harvesting plenty without knowing who to sell to.

Suddenly!

An idea crossed Liu Hun’s mind, just as he was about to speak, Gazi’s shout came from the door.

“Hun brother!

Hun brother!

The town officials are here, now they’re stuck at the entrance of the village!

You better go take a look!” Gazi said, gasping for breath as he ran in, then without a second word took a pomelo from the table and stuffed it into his mouth, smacking his lips before looking at Du Yueling and asking, “Teacher Du, what’s with you?

You look like you can’t smile but also seem like you want to cry, yet you still look so pretty, heh heh!”

Du Yueling gave an embarrassed smile, holding her forehead and struggling to speak for a long while.

Soon, several people left the temple and headed toward the village entrance, hearing the commotion before even reaching there.

“Don’t talk nonsense!

Let me just ask, are you the government officials?

Do you still care about us?

The flash flood destroyed half of our village.

We’re crammed in the temple every day, the food isn’t good, we can’t sleep soundly, and it’s even interfering with the kids’ schooling.

What do you plan to do about it?”

“What are you, a woman, doing here?

Does your word even matter?

Get Mayor Xie here!

If we don’t see the mayor today, we’re not letting anyone go!

We must have an explanation!”

“Right!

We from Qingshui Gully need a solution too!

Coming back and forth without any explanation or money, what kind of situation is this?

Is everyone here just for a gathering?”

“…”

Hearing the villagers clamoring, Liu Hun turned to Fen Ran and asked, “Why are the people from Qingshui Gully here as well?”

Fen Ran recalled what Ye Canghai had said and explained to Liu Hun, “If our village hadn’t recklessly cut down trees, there wouldn’t have been any problems.

It’s a man-made disaster.

But Qingshui Gully, that’s a natural disaster.

It’s next to Qingshui River, and after three days and nights of heavy rain, they aren’t faring much better than our village.”

Liu Hun finally understood, but the most important thing now was to calm the villagers and make sure nothing went awry.

So, he shouted at the top of his lungs, “Stop making noise!”

Hearing the shout, the villagers turned around to see Liu Hun and promptly shut their mouths.

The people from the neighboring Qingshui Gully, who were no less familiar with the name Liu Hun, also quieted down.

“What are you all doing here?

Make way!” With this shout from Liu Hun, the crowd parted to clear a path.

“Director Ren!” Fen Ran immediately recognized Ren Peiling, the rural affairs director, surrounded by villagers.

Ren Peiling was panting heavily, fixing her clothes and hair, showing signs of having been manhandled, with one of her high heels missing a heel.

While appearing slightly disheveled, her makeup was intact, and she still carried an air of authority with a hint of charm.

In Ye Canghai’s words, she was like a lotus in a dam—only to be admired from a distance, but you wouldn’t dare touch.

At that moment, the two staff members who had been by her side appeared out of nowhere.

“All of you…

How could you act like this!

I’m a town official; I’m here to help you solve problems.

Can’t we discuss this properly?” Ren Peiling angrily adjusted her clothes.

It was the first time she had been treated this way in Wanbao Village, never experiencing such treatment in the township government.

Liu Hun approached Ren Peiling and said, “Director Ren, I’m really sorry, our villagers are just a bit anxious.

I hope you won’t take it to heart.”

“Are you Liu Hun?” Ren Peiling blurted out unexpectedly—she had encountered this man before and had heard Xie Heguo mention him a few times since then, leaving her with a strong impression.

Liu Hun was taken aback by Ren Peiling’s question and hadn’t even had a chance to nod or respond when the villagers behind him started making a racket again.

“We can talk, but tell me, what about my house?

What about my fields?” A voice emerged from the crowd.

Ren Peiling’s expression hardened, radiating an aura that rippled like waves stirred by stones.

She addressed the surrounding villagers, “I’m the rural affairs director, in charge of rural matters.

The town sent me here to register the disaster cases so that we can make informed decisions.”

“Register cases?

Isn’t this just like curing the cow pox last minute?

What have you been doing all along?

Hasn’t our village been suffering for just a day or two?

Last time you came, made a brief inspection, and then left.

What was that all about?”

Listening to this voice, Ren Peiling was about to respond when another question came up, “Just tell us, did the town allocate any funds?

Do they plan to help us?”

Ren Peiling composed herself, looked around at the villagers, and said, “Once we clearly understand the situation, the township government can make the appropriate arrangements.

However…

the township’s finances are limited, and without intervention from the county, there’s not much we can do.”

“Hey!

Everyone heard it clear and true!

They’re saying they’re helpless!

Helpless means broke!

They’re just paying lip service here!”

“So what else is there to talk about?

Let’s take action!

Either give us money or don’t think about leaving!”

Someone in the crowd incited a commotion, and the villagers stirred up again, swarming towards Ren Peiling.

Seeing the chaos, Liu Hun was about to push through the crowd and shout when suddenly there was a cry from behind.

He turned to see Ren Peiling, whose high heel had broken.

She was pushed and almost lost her balance, about to fall to the ground.

Liu Hun quickly reached out, caught her, and pulled her close into his arms.