Reborn in 1981, starting by smashing my iron rice bowl.

"Twenty yuan a month?"

"So much money!"

"Since Weidong has paid so much money, it doesn't seem to matter if he doesn't work."

The villagers were all taken aback and began whispering among themselves.

For farmers these days, twenty yuan a month is definitely a large sum of money. So many people felt that since Liu Weidong was willing to pay so much money, it wasn't a big deal if he didn't work.

The fact that most people supported Liu Weidong infuriated Wang Deli, who slammed his enamel mug heavily on the table. Not only did the tea spill everywhere, but a piece of enamel chipped off the bottom of the mug, causing him considerable distress.

However, this did frighten everyone, and no one dared to speak up for Liu Weidong anymore.

Feeling that the village chief's authority had returned, Wang Deli coldly said, "Starting today, the village will assign work for everyone each day. If anyone fails to complete their work, everyone's work points will be deducted! If you don't want to implicate everyone, then you'd better obediently go to work!"

Wang Deli's move was quite cunning, essentially binding everyone's interests to Liu Weidong's. If he continued to refuse to work as before, he would become the village's public enemy!

Seeing that everyone was silent and looking at Liu Weidong with wary eyes, Wang Deli secretly gloated: "You brat, you dare to go against me in Hexi Village, I'll make you regret this!"

Despite the suspicious looks from others, Liu Weidong remained calm and composed, showing no sign of panic.

Wang Deli wanted to use shared interests to sow discord between Liu Weidong and the villagers, while Liu Weidong could naturally use shared interests to bind himself to everyone. Then they'd show this old guy just how powerful money really is!

However, Wang Deli's purpose in convening the village meeting today was not simply to force Liu Weidong to work in the fields; more importantly, he wanted to force him to reveal the secret to making money.

Feeling he had the upper hand, Wang Deli continued to press Liu Weidong: "Everyone knows that some people in the village have made money and become rich, but they haven't thought about helping others get rich together. They only care about spending money to avoid working. Everyone, please judge for yourselves, is this reasonable?!"

Wang Deli's words further pitted Liu Weidong against the other villagers, and many who had initially sympathized with Liu Weidong began to think that the village chief's words seemed to make some sense.

Seeing that everyone's gaze towards Liu Weidong had changed, Wang Shujuan was extremely worried. She wanted to say a few words in his defense, but didn't know how to begin. Tears welled up in her eyes; her pitiful appearance was heartbreaking to see.

Liu Weidong noticed his sister's unease, gave her a reassuring smile, and then stood up and said loudly, "The village chief said that I forgot about everyone after I made money, so I want to ask Third Grandfather to uphold justice!"

Third Grandfather is the most senior person in the village and a veteran of the Red Army who fought against the Japanese! Even now, leaders still visit him during festivals, making him the most respected person in the village.

Now that Liu Weidong wants to ask the Third Grandfather to intervene, even Wang Deli doesn't dare to object.

The old man, leaning on his cane, stood up shakily, coughed twice, and said to everyone, "If you all trust this old man, then I'll say a few more words."

Even Wang Deli had no objections, so of course the others dared not object. They all said that the Third Grandfather was highly respected and that he was the most suitable person to be the judge.

"Third Grandfather, please sit down and talk," Liu Weidong said, helping the old man to sit down. Then he said slowly, "I just want you to be my witness. Did I ever say that I would buy matsutake mushrooms and pig mushrooms in the village for five yuan per kilogram?"

The Third Grandfather nodded without hesitation and said, "That's right. This afternoon, Wei Dong bought a lot of matsutake mushrooms from Xiao Liuzi and the others. They were all five yuan a pound. I saw it with my own eyes!"

As soon as the Third Grandfather finished speaking, a gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd. Although everyone knew about it, many thought Liu Weidong was just bragging. After all, matsutake mushrooms and pig mushrooms weren't anything valuable; only a fool would spend so much money to buy them.

But now that Uncle San is testifying for Liu Weidong, no one can help but believe him. Many have already secretly decided to go up the mountain after work tomorrow. Even if they only find half a pound of matsutake mushrooms, they can sell them for two yuan and fifty cents, which is more than they could earn from a hard day's farm work!

"As expected of a veteran Red Army soldier who fought the Japanese devils, seeking your justice is definitely the right thing to do!" Liu Weidong first flattered the old man, then loudly proclaimed, "Now everyone should know, right? I, Liu Weidong, am not a selfish person! If I didn't want to help everyone get rich together, I wouldn't be buying matsutake mushrooms at such a high price!"

The villagers nodded in agreement with Liu Weidong's statement. His reputation, built on solid evidence, was indeed very convincing. Now everyone believed that Wang Deli was spreading rumors, and that he was only saying this out of jealousy of Liu Weidong.

Just as everyone was about to be persuaded by Liu Weidong, Wang Deli said angrily, "Even if you do this, you must be making a profit. You can't possibly lose money doing this, can you? Taking advantage of the villagers and pretending to be a good person, you're shameless!"

Liu Weidong sneered, "Everyone heard that. I wanted to get rich together with everyone, but the village chief sees it as taking advantage of us. Well then, everyone can sell their matsutake mushrooms to the village chief and let him lead us to prosperity!"

Wang Deli's expression immediately changed drastically. He asked, "Why would you sell it to me?"

Liu Weidong said matter-of-factly, "Didn't you say I was taking advantage of everyone? Now I'll give you the chance to take advantage, and at the same time, lead everyone to get rich. It's a win-win situation!"

At this point, Liu Weidong deliberately smiled slightly and said, "When it comes to leading everyone to prosperity, the village chief is the most experienced. After all, under his leadership, our Hexi Village has become worse year by year, if not worse. That's obvious to everyone, don't you all agree?"

"Wei Dong is right!"

"Our village is the poorest in the whole county!"

"The village chief's family eats meat every few days, while we struggle to even get enough to eat!"

Wang Deli always used his position as village chief as a tool to amass wealth, completely disregarding the lives of others. The villagers' incomes declined year after year, a stark contrast to those of neighboring villages, and everyone had long been dissatisfied with him.

So Liu Weidong's words really resonated with everyone, and many young people hid in the crowd and started to make a fuss, which made Wang Deli so angry that his face turned ashen.

"Alright, stop arguing!" Seeing the situation getting out of control, the Third Grandfather stood up and said, "Deli, give everyone a straight answer: can we collect matsutake mushrooms like Weidong did?"

Wang Deli frowned and said, "Why would I accept that stuff? Isn't that just throwing money down the drain?"

The Third Elder immediately shouted, "Since the village chief is unwilling, then from now on everyone should send the matsutake mushrooms to Wei Dong's house. It's settled then, meeting adjourned!"