The young couple from the farm fights back

The Zhou clan leader and several elders looked gloomily at Zhou Laoer, who was kneeling on the ground. Also in the ancestral hall were Zhou Ershu and his son, as well as Zhou Chunfeng. Many men from the clan gathered outside the ancestral hall to watch the fun.

Clan leader Zhou was mortified by this incident, but fortunately, it happened within his own clan. If Zhou Lao Er had stolen saplings from a villager with a different surname last night, implicating both clans, it would have been a serious matter. If not handled properly, it could have sparked a conflict between the two clans.

Zhou Laoer didn't sleep all night. His face was covered with bruises and looked haggard and lifeless. His eyes were empty. He felt that he had lost face after what he had done today.

No matter how much regret and hatred he felt in his heart, it would be of no use now that the matter had been made public by the clan.

Although the land where the trouble happened last night was registered under the name of Uncle Zhou Er, all the villagers in Shilitun knew that the crops on the land were cultivated by Uncle Zhou Er and the eldest wife of the Zhou family together.

If it was just the eldest branch of the Zhou family, perhaps things would be easier to handle. Boss Zhou would have to cover up the matter for the sake of their brotherhood.

Now, because of Uncle Zhou Er's relationship and Uncle Zhou Er's tough attitude, the clan leader had to punish Zhou Lao Er for this.

Thinking of the many clan members gathered outside the ancestral hall, the clan leader also considered Zhou Laoer's position as a young member of the clan, as well as the Lin mother and daughter who had just been brought to the capital a few years ago. He was worried that the Zhou family might truly thrive thanks to Zhou Siyuan, and he didn't want her to harbor resentment towards the clan. So, despite his scolding tone, he tried to mediate with Zhou Ershu on Zhou Laoer's behalf.

"Uncle, look, last night, Zhou Laoer didn't have time to damage the seedlings in the field, and Dashuan also beat him up, just to vent his anger."

Zhou Chunfeng listened quietly to the clan leader's attempts to smooth things over, his brows drooping slightly and his face turning a little colder.

Uncle Zhou Er first took a look at Zhou Chunfeng's expression, then narrowed his eyes and raised his hand to interrupt the clan leader: "Hey~, Zhou Lao Er really didn't have time to steal the seedlings from our field. That's because my boy happened to find him there. If he hadn't found him, how could we go to seek justice for this loss?"

The clan leader was interrupted mercilessly by Uncle Zhou Er and could not help but stop talking.

Dashuan stood up at the right moment and said, "Ha~. Chief, what you said is so mean. I caught him red-handed and beat him up, but Zhou Laoer shamelessly destroyed our crops. I can't beat him up. He's lucky I didn't break a leg."

Dashuan's words made the clan leader look even uglier.

Dashuan glanced at Zhou Laoer, who looked like a lost dog, with amusement, and curled his lips: "If the clan wants us to just let it go, we can't. Do you know what we are planting in our fields?"

Dashuan's words immediately aroused the curiosity of the onlookers outside. Everyone had long coveted the crops grown on Uncle Zhou's land, but no one could pry a word out of the two families. They were looking forward to taking a peek when they harvested the crops.

Not to mention the tribesmen outside, even the clan leader and elders couldn't help but stretch their necks with serious expressions when they heard this.

Dashuan was not stupid. He first looked back at Zhou Chunfeng.

Seeing Zhou Chunfeng nodded slightly, he immediately raised his chin with an angry look and said, "If Zhou Lao Er pulls out a seedling from our family, I will beat him half to death. What we plant in our fields are precious yams. A single seedling can earn you several taels of silver. Ha~"

wow~~

After Dashuan said this, everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath and there was an uproar.

Yam?

But what about the yams sold by the eldest branch of the Zhou family before?

No wonder Uncle Zhou was so angry. A seedling is worth several taels, how could it not be precious?

A flash of fear crossed Zhou Laoer's face. He couldn't believe that the fields were actually filled with valuable yams. If he had pulled one out last night and been caught by Dashuan, his family would have been devastated.

Uncle Zhou Er slowly took a deep breath, looked at Zhou Chunfeng, and seeing that he did not express his opinion, he turned around and said to the clan leader and others.

"It's the valuable yam. We're not selfish people. We were thinking that when the yam harvest is good in the future, we'll have more seeds and sell them at a low price to the tribesmen to grow together. We'll all make money together. But what happened last night really chilled the old man's heart."

When the tribesmen who were watching heard and saw this, the heat that had just risen in their hearts was poured with a basin of cold water on their heads.

If what Uncle Zhou said was true, all the people in the clan would be able to make a lot of money together in the future. But now, because of what happened to Zhou Laoer, I'm afraid Uncle Zhou is unwilling to help the clan members anymore.

As a result, the onlookers were filled with righteous indignation and began to criticize Zhou Laoer.

"Chief, stealing crops from fellow tribesmen is a serious crime. I remember that our tribe's rules record this. We can't just let this go."

"That's right, Chief. According to clan rules, stealing farm crops is punishable by twenty lashes first, followed by compensation for the crops. Even though Zhou Lao Er didn't succeed in stealing, if he had, wouldn't Zhou Ershu's family have suffered a loss?"

"That's right. It's not because of Zhou Lao Er's bad luck that the people in our clan got rich with Uncle Zhou Er."

"Clan leader, you can't spare Zhou Laoer these twenty lashes. You must beat him."

"There's such a scourge hidden in our tribe. Twenty lashes is considered a light punishment. I hope he doesn't become a thief and destroy the crops of other tribesmen in the future."

"That's right. I used to think Zhou Laoer was an honest guy, but he's the worst of all. Which honest man would sneak into the fields and steal seedlings in the middle of the night?"

Zhou Laoer heard the clansmen outside talking at each other, all of them wanting to beat him to death. He was filled with resentment, but he felt powerless. He raised his head and met Zhou Chunfeng's cold eyes, and a look of sadness appeared on his face.

"Big brother—"

Zhou Laoer firmly believed that as long as the eldest brother was willing to speak up for him, he could be spared from physical pain.

The clan leader raised his hand to signal the tribesmen outside to be silent, then turned back to look at Zhou Chunfeng, who had remained silent. The clan leader had previously noticed that Zhou Ershu and his son were secretly following Zhou Laoda's lead, so he was afraid that the land and the yams belonged to Zhou Laoda.

Uncle Zhou tried his best to protect Boss Zhou, and he must have benefited a lot from it. In the past, he had misjudged Boss Zhou's family and did not have the opportunity to curry favor with them. He had to watch Uncle Zhou getting rich with this family again and again.

The clan leader suppressed the sourness rising in his heart. Faced with the indignation of his clan members and the rage of Uncle Zhou Er, Zhou Lao Er could not escape this punishment.

Forget it. Perhaps this was also an opportunity for him, as the clan leader, to show off in front of Boss Zhou. In the future, his family could also benefit from this relationship and follow Boss Zhou's family.

With the patriarch's plan in mind, the other elders naturally nodded in agreement. Who wouldn't want to join in the fun? Besides, Zhou Lao Er had brought this upon himself. As a member of the Zhou clan, he disregarded clan rules and committed petty theft, so he deserved twenty lashes.

Zhou Chunfeng glanced coldly at Zhou Laoer. His wife had painstakingly established a path, but Zhou Laoer had blindly walked into it. If the Zhou family wasn't taught a lesson, how could they remember that the current eldest wife was still the same wimp they'd been bullied by the Zhou family before?

When Zhou Laoer saw Zhou Chunfeng's gaze, he felt a chill in his heart.

At this moment, Zhou Laoer was sure that the boss would not help him, and even gloated over his current fate.

The tribesmen outside were eager to show off in front of Uncle Zhou Er, and they all shouted for the tribe leader to punish Zhou Lao Er.