Chapter 139: Chapter 139: People Fear the Educated
Zhang Ruijun covered his mouth and laughed, scooped the tofu pudding into the bowl, and gave him three sticks of fried dough.
"Ah, old fellow, you should take better care of your health."
He followed this up with a smile of his own, but this smile made Liu Zheng lose face.
After receiving the tofu pudding, he deliberately spilled it on the ground.
Then he took the opportunity to pick a quarrel.
"Are you bullying an old man, huh? It’s so hot, how can I drink this? Go and get me another bowl, a cool one."
"Hey, it’s not right to talk like that, Village Chief Liu.
I told you just now, this is half a bowl of tofu pudding, and I also said the tofu pudding is cold, how could it burn you?"
Seeing his lie exposed, Liu Zheng turned his back and shouted loudly, "The rent for your shop hasn’t been paid yet, has it? This house is mine, and the price is going up this year, you know that? An extra 100 yuan per month."
"What, are you kidding me? Village Chief Liu, we had an agreement before. And we both signed it in black and white, don’t you think it’s a bit inconsiderate to just raise the price like this?"
Liu Zheng turned his head with an arrogant look of indifference.
Then he completely ignored him and sat down on a chair, continuing to eat the three sticks of fried dough.
At this moment, he turned and pointed at Zhang Ruijun and said, "The house price has to rise, but this tofu pudding must still be made for me. Don’t you know that in the city, they say customers are god, but it’s even more so in our village?
We should keep up with the times, so today I will keep up and play the role of a god. Hurry up and bring me all the remaining tofu pudding, I want to have three bowls."
Zhang Ruijun was suddenly speechless, regretting that he had ever joked with him, knowing his stupid temper.
Liu Zheng used to be someone who could take a joke, but in the past few years, ever since his son started a construction company, he has become a loner at home, especially after his wife passed away two years ago. His temperament has drastically changed, making him feel like he’s not on the same level as the villagers anymore.
I wish we had never elected him as the village head.
Zhang Ruijun shook his head in regret and said, "Alright, alright, if you want to drink it, then I’ll make it, but it’s going to take a long time, it might take until noon. If you really want it, you’ll have to pay more."
"What’s this talk of paying more? If we’re talking about paying more, then you might as well not run this shop."
"Hey, that’s not right, old village head, you can’t say that. If you say I can’t run it, then I won’t, but the village isn’t owned by your family, is it?"
Who knew, Liu Zheng might have felt that he was losing face and just glanced sideways, then suddenly slapped the table and said, "I am the village head now, and I have the right to manage you all. This shop of yours is bullying the villagers, and if word gets out, will you still be able to run it?"
"No, village head, you can’t say that. I’m not refusing to make it for you, I’m just saying I’ll bring it to you, plus the work I’ll do. You know I don’t own any land in our village, I’m an outsider, and making money isn’t easy for me."
"I don’t care whether it’s easy for you to make money; you just have to serve me."
Zhang Ruijun wasn’t a hot-tempered person, and was quite honest. Sighing, he said, "Alright, alright, I won’t charge you extra, I’ll go make it."
At that moment, Zhang Ruijun felt he had made a mistake.
If only he had known, he wouldn’t have provoked this tyrant.
He twisted his head, picked up the large pot he had used to serve the tofu pudding, and walked towards the kitchen, disheartened.
But after just two steps, he was stopped by Liu Zheng.
"Old Zhang, don’t bother. Let me tell you, some people just don’t want to eat and are deliberately causing trouble for you."
The speaker was none other than Liu Xing who had encountered Liu Zheng earlier in the morning.
Although both had the surname Liu, they weren’t from the same stock. Liu Xing belonged to the southern Liu clan, accounting for about 20% of the village.
Liu Xing, on the other hand, was from another Liu branch in the east of the village. With different ancestors, the two men didn’t have much to do with one another until now. In fact, the two Liu lines didn’t get along very well, and Liu Xing’s branch of the Liu family was also quite large.
They were among the first to come to the village. The people from Liu Xing’s branch were numerous, but now it was Liu Zheng’s branch that had become the dominant Liu clan in the village, accounting for about 25%.
That’s why Liu Zheng was able to rally the villagers to confront Liu Xing.
The truth was that Liu Xing’s branch, the Liu Family, didn’t hold many official positions in the village, and the one who had managed to squeeze in was often too ill to speak on their behalf in the village.
And that sick member was Liu Zheng’s old uncle.
Liu Zheng’s old uncle wanted to hand over his position to Liu Xing, but Liu Zheng prevented it, always obstructing Liu Xing’s entry into the village committee under the pretext that he wasn’t elected by the villagers.
Liu Xing also thought that Liu Zheng was too cunning, so he took up his duty as a small-time doctor. Liu Xing knew not just these skills; he had also learned some martial arts while studying in the city, so he wasn’t afraid of these village tyrants.
At this moment, Liu Xing stood up.
Liu Xing was tall and strapping, and full of vigor, this lad.
He looked sturdy, and now he approached Liu Shengli. Liu Zheng was feeling overwhelmed, thinking that Liu Xing had come to beat him up, especially since he wasn’t feeling strong today.
Furthermore, he hadn’t arranged for support from the other villagers beforehand, so it was too late to call for help, leaving him in a panic. All he did was look up at Liu Xing, not even considering getting up, as if his butt was welded to the stool.
Then he stuttered, "What are you trying to do, lad? Are you taking Zhang Ruijun’s side?"
His words hit the mark with Liu Xing. He felt their recent spat had gotten too intense, and if things really escalated to violence, it could lead to a village-wide brawl. Therefore, Liu Xing didn’t do anything out of line but spoke up for Zhang Ruijun.
"Village head, you can’t do this. This is pure bullying, taking advantage of your position. You ignore all these fellow villagers, and if there’s another election, chances are, nobody will vote for your pretty face."
He hadn’t expected Liu Zheng to come to reason with him, but at that moment, he didn’t want to cause any conflict, knowing that fighting today doesn’t just hurt people, it costs money.
Liu Zheng had an education and knew some legal stuff. If you really decided to sue yourself, he might not be able to keep his post as village head—in fact, he might even end up behind bars. So unless it was absolutely necessary, he couldn’t afford a physical confrontation with Liu Xing.
