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

"Village Chief Ma, while everyone's here, you need to make things clear!" Huang Dafu, having seized the initiative, shouted at Ma Yongxian, "That guy you mentioned who collects matsutake and pig-root mushrooms hasn't come for many days. Are we still going to go up the mountain to look for matsutake in the future?"

"Yes, village chief, you need to give everyone a definite answer."

"I still have several pounds of matsutake mushrooms at home. If that kid doesn't come again, wouldn't all my efforts have been for nothing?"

"Village chief, you have to give us an explanation. You can't let us suffer!"

Huang Dafu's words were the truth, which immediately resonated with many people, who demanded an explanation from Ma Yongxian.

Ma Yongxian is an honest man and doesn't know how to use flowery words to fool people. Besides, he doesn't have Liu Weidong's contact information and has no idea why he hasn't come to Gonggeng Village for so long.

So when faced with Huang Dafu's persistent questioning, Ma Yongxian was sweating profusely and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Seeing Ma Yongxian's bewildered expression, Huang Dafu secretly gloated. As long as he continued to relentlessly pursue this honest man, he could further undermine his prestige in the village and ultimately achieve his goal!

Thinking of this, Huang Dafu immediately shouted, "Village chief, even you can't explain it yourself, so how do you plan to account for the losses caused to everyone?"

Liu Weidong, standing outside the crowd, sneered inwardly upon hearing Huang Dafu's words. This guy kept saying Ma Yongxian had caused everyone losses, but Ma Yongxian had actually secured a lot of benefits for everyone before, yet he deliberately ignored it all. He was truly wicked.

Anyway, as long as Liu Weidong shows up soon, he can help Ma Yongxian completely get out of his current predicament. So he didn't rush to show himself, but instead mingled in the crowd and continued to watch the drama unfold. He wanted to see what Huang Dafu's purpose was in targeting Ma Yongxian so recklessly.

When it came to the issue of losses, Ma Yongxian couldn't be vague either. He immediately said loudly, "Don't worry, everyone. I will definitely compensate you for any losses I have caused you. In short, I will not let you suffer any losses!"

Hearing Ma Yongxian say this, Liu Weidong couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. This man was too honest; there was no reason to just agree with him. Wasn't this just jumping into a trap set by Huang Dafu?

And indeed, that was the case. Huang Dafu immediately sneered, "Village chief, you make it sound so easy, but can you really afford to compensate? You agreed to buy it at three yuan per jin. Now, which household doesn't have a few jin of matsutake mushrooms? Adding them together, that's several hundred yuan. How are you going to compensate us?"

Before Ma Yongxian could speak, Huang Dafu continued, "And this doesn't even include the matsutake mushrooms sent by other villages, which would be even more! If so many villages come to our Gonggeng Village demanding money, how will our own villagers survive?!"

"This can't go on like this!"

"Ma Yongxian, pay up!"

"If anyone asks me to go find matsutake mushrooms again, I'll slap them across the face!"

These words thoroughly stirred up the villagers' emotions, and many people started to clamor, bringing the scene to the brink of getting out of control.

Being publicly criticized by so many villagers made Ma Yongxian, an honest man who wholeheartedly cared for the village, so angry that his face turned red. After a long while, he finally managed to say, "Even if I have to sell my blood, I will pay back the money I owe everyone!"

"Heh, stop bragging!" Huang Dafu sneered. "This is a huge sum of money; we couldn't pay it back even if we bled ourselves dry. I think it's better if you step down as village chief and replace him with someone else. That way, even if neighboring villages come to collect their debts, at least we won't be implicated. Don't you all agree?"

Hearing this, Liu Weidong understood why Huang Dafu was targeting Ma Yongxian; it was simply because he wanted to become the village chief himself.

This person, for his own selfish gain, completely denied Ma Yongxian's contributions to Gonggeng Village and even incited the villagers to attack this honest man, which is truly outrageous.

However, under Huang Dafu's instigation, many people forgot Ma Yongxian's past good deeds and clamored for him to give up his position as village chief.

Seeing that he had successfully stirred up everyone's emotions, Huang Dafu was extremely pleased with himself. He knew that the honest Ma Yongxian would definitely not be able to stand this humiliation, and that he would soon be able to replace him as the new village chief of Gonggeng Village!

Ma Yongxian was indeed furious, and the reactions of some people chilled him to the bone. Even honest people have tempers, so he shouted, "Fine, this village chief, I..."

However, before Ma Yongxian could finish speaking, Liu Weidong had already squeezed into the crowd and shouted, "Hey, Village Chief Ma, long time no see!"

Ma Yongxian exclaimed with delight, "Comrade Liu, you've finally arrived! I was so worried!"

"Sorry, things have been a bit busy at the factory lately, that's why I'm late." Liu Weidong greeted him with a smile, then deliberately looked around and said, "Oh, it's quite lively today, is the village holding a meeting?"

Ma Yongxian couldn't keep his feelings to himself and said angrily, "They all say that Comrade Liu, you're not coming. They're all making trouble for me and demanding that I compensate everyone for their losses!"

Liu Weidong's face darkened as he said, "Who spread this rumor? I, Liu Weidong, keep my word. Since we agreed to buy matsutake and pig burr mushrooms on a long-term basis, I will definitely do what I say and will never go back on my word!"

The villagers, who had just been jeering, suddenly fell silent, many looking at Huang Dafu with resentment. If it weren't for his instigation, they wouldn't have been pressing Ma Yongxian so relentlessly; it was all his fault for making them offend the village chief!

Huang Dafu knew that now that Liu Weidong had appeared, it was impossible to bring down Ma Yongxian today, so he awkwardly started to walk out of the crowd.

Ma Yongxian had no intention of making things difficult for Huang Dafu. Instead, he eagerly said to Liu Weidong, "Comrade Liu, our village has recently accumulated quite a few matsutake mushrooms and about ten catties of pig-head mushrooms. You see..."

However, Liu Weidong was not a kind-hearted person like Ma Yongxian, and had no intention of letting Huang Dafu off the hook for targeting his partner.

Before Ma Yongxian could finish speaking, Liu Weidong interrupted him calmly: "Village Chief Ma, this matter is not urgent. I am more interested in knowing who said I would not come again?"

All eyes turned to Huang Dafu, who could no longer slip away and could only awkwardly laugh, "It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!"

"Misunderstanding?" Liu Weidong said with a half-smile, "If I had arrived a moment later, Village Chief Ma wouldn't be the village chief now, but you would be, right? Now you can just casually say 'misunderstanding' and it's all over? There's no such logic in the world."

After Liu Weidong's reminder, the others suddenly realized what had happened. It turned out that Huang Dafu had instigated everyone to make things difficult for Ma Yongxian so that he could become the village chief himself.

Feeling used, the crowd glared angrily at Huang Dafu, knowing that his days in the village were numbered.

However, Liu Weidong felt that this was not enough. Since Huang Dafu dared to target his partner, he should teach him a lesson he would never forget!